The Bible and Christianity (an Islamic View)
Position of Jesus and Christians in Islam
One day, a colleague of mine came to see me and said that, through his friend, he acquainted with a Christian engineer who served in Iraq and he wanted to discuss Islam with him but he, my colleague, could not do so because he was not well informed of Christianity and was afraid of assuming this responsibility as he had not studied relevant books and references sufficiently to be able to discharge his responsibility.
A few days later, he brought his friend after the evening prayers, and after a little courtesy talk he asked me whether I believed Islam to be a religion, to which I replied in affirmative. He also asked me whether I also believed that Muhammad was a prophet of God, and whether the religion of Muhammad was better than that of Christianity. I replied in affirmative.
Then he asked, “Do you believe that whosoever does not believe in Islam will be thrown into Hell?” I replied, “Those who do not believe in Islam are of two groups. The first group are those who do not believe in Islam since they have no information about the truth of Islam. This group of people would be tested on the Day of Judgement. If they ‘pass’ the test they would enter Paradise and if not they would go to Hell.
“The second group are those who, having studied and understood the truth of Islam, still do not believe in Islam out of stubbornness and such like. They know that the religion of Islam is a right one, but in spite of this they deny it. Such group of people are obstinate and if they do not feel contrite and repent to Allah the Almighty, then they will be thrown into Hell.”
He said, “If it is so, do you think that millions of Christians will fall into Hell?” I replied, “I did not say that. What I said was that only the obstinate ones will enter hell but those who were ignorant, having no Islamic knowledge would be tested on the Day of Judgment.” He said, “So far I have never heard such a thing from anyone except from you. Contrary to it I have heard from many Muslims that all Christians would fall into fierce Hell. “I said, “Whatever I said is the opinion of all Muslim scholars and is also recorded in our books of philosophy and theology.” He said, “So a group of Christians shall enter Paradise!” To clarify my point, I said, “All those Christians who believed in Jesus Christ and accepted his religion as true before the advent of Islam shall certainly enter Paradise. But after the advent of Islam, only those Christians who ‘pass’ in the test on the Day of Judgement shall enter Paradise.”
The Christian engineer asked whether I knew about Christianity. I replied, “Yes”. He questioned me as to how and from where I have learnt about Christianity. I said that I have learnt about Christianity by studying their books and by holding debates and discussions with various scholars. He wondered and asked why I did not embrace Christianity in spite of the fact that I admitted the greatness of Jesus. I replied that I was well aware of the greatness of Jesus but I also knew of the greater status of Prophet Muhammad. Thus I believed in Jesus and after him I also believe in Muhammad (peace be upon them). He remarked, “Therefore, as for Christ we feel the same.” I said, “Yes.”
He then asked me, “How can you prove that Muhammad was a prophet?” I said, “The same proof which establishes the prophethood of Jesus, also proves the prophethood of Muhammad.” He negated my argument by saying that Jesus was the son of God whereas Muhammad was the son of Abdullah - the Servant of God.” I asked him, “What do you mean by Jesus is the son of God?” and I added, “Do you mean to say that God made Mary to give birth to Jesus in the same way as a man makes his wife to give birth to his son? Or do you mean something else? What do you really mean?”
At this juncture the face of the Christian engineer appeared to change colour and he paused to reflect. After a few minutes he raised his head and said, “This incident, being a supernatural one, is beyond one’s reason and imagination.” I asked him, “How do you believe in a religion which is beyond reason?” Then I gave him an example, saying, “If a person comes here and says to you, I am a prophet of God, and it is compulsory upon you to obey me”, and as soon as you ask for a reasonable proof from him he says to you, “It is beyond your reason to understand me”, would you not laugh at that person?” Then I explained to him that it was the nature of human being that he should not accept anything if he does not understand it.
He asked, “So how do you believe in God despite the fact that your reason cannot comprehend Him?” I said, “I know that this world has been brought about by an able creator, but I do not know what is His nature or reality. This is similar to the fact that one believes in the existence of electricity, but despite that, does not know its nature.”
He then turned to the same subject of the sonship of Jesus Christ, saying, “All Christians all over the world claim that Jesus is the son of God.” I refuted him saying, “Firstly, not all Christians believe in this creed. Secondly, their statement is not a proof; otherwise, if you treat it so, then all Muslims too claim that Jesus is not the son of God. You should then accept this majority’s opinion too!”
He said, “How do you prove that Jesus is the prophet of God?” I replied, “As the Holy Qur’an and the Prophet of Islam confirm the prophethood of Jesus Christ (upon whom be peace); I also believe in him.” He said, “Suppose that the Holy Qur’an and the Prophet Muhammad did not stand witness to the prophethood of Jesus, in that case would you have faith in Jesus?” I said, “In this case, I would not believe in him.” He asked for the reason.
I explained to him that in the absence of the Holy Qur’an and the Prophet of Islam, the prophethood of Jesus would only be proved either by the statements of Christians or by the Bible, neither of which is reliable. He asked for the reason.
- I replied, “Because the contents of the Bible are contrary to reason, and it is not possible for such a book to be termed as the Word of God!” He surprisingly asked, “Is the Bible contrary to reason?” I replied in affirmative, and when he asked for an example, I said to him I do not wish to hurt your feelings but you may refer to my book “Attributes of God and His Prophets according to the Bible”27 which shows how the Bible accuses Jesus Christ to have been born of adultery (may God forbid!)
Here the Christian man bit his finger and said, “No! There is no possibility of such a thing to be in the Bible!” I then, opened the Bible for him and showed him what I had said. He was shocked to see that. Then I explained to him that such irrational topics were in abundance in that book which he would see later on, by the will of God.
Then I said “I hope you forgive me if my words have hurt you, but I was compelled by you to do so. Otherwise, Jesus (upon whom be peace) is one of the Ol-el-‘Azm Prophets (i.e. who had universal mission for his time) who is holy and righteous in our view. It is compulsory to believe in him in the same way as we must believe in Prophet Muhammad.”
- Regarding the reason that I could not accept the statements of Christians to serve as the purpose of proof, I explained to him that, offsetting the Christian views and statements, there are so many 27 presented in part 2 of this book.
persons in the world whose number, in total, is many times greater than that of Christians, for example, the Jews, Buddhists, Zoroastrians and Confucians, and so many other people of different religions in the world, who contrary to Christians, do not recognize Jesus as a prophet. That is why I believe in Jesus on the basis of the Holy Qur’an and Prophet Muhammad.
He said, “So what is the way out now in your opinion?” I said, “In my opinion, let us suppose that we have just now entered this world and want to adopt a religion for ourselves. Then first of all we must remove from ourselves all sorts of past imitations and thoughts so that we may be able to find out with a free mind as to which religion is worthy of following and then opt for that religion sincerely.” He said, “Very well, so how can we find the fact?” I said, “Here we have two books, the Bible and the Qur’an. Given the tampering and distortion that have taken place in the former, such as the many irrational things that are stated, the Bible can no longer merit to be an authentic book for a religion. Therefore, either the original of this book was not correct or its original copy was correct but it was later distorted and corrupted. Consequently, in both cases, the Bible is not an authentic book to be relied on. So the Holy Qur’an is left for us to choose.”
He said, “There could be a possibility that there might be some other religion other than that of the Holy Qur’an, so how can I gather that Islam is better than the other religion? Similarly, how can I take for granted that the Qur’an is authentic so that I may accept it and follow its Prophet?” I said, “Good question! Let me prove the authenticity and the truthfulness of the Holy Qur’an. The Holy Qur’an says in one of its verses, {If you are in doubt about what We have revealed to Our Servant (Muhammad), then produce one chapter like that of it (Qur’an) and call your witnesses other than Allah, if you are truthful.}28 Then I added, “The Arabs were masters of eloquence, literature, and clarity and Muhammad was one of them, and he was not known to be able to read and write nor was he known to have learnt reading or writing from anyone else. However he brought a literary work that still remains an absolutely unique masterpiece. Otherwise the Arabs could have easily competed with him in the Qur’an, but their inability to compete with him in producing such work proves that no human being is competent to challenge the Holy Prophet in bringing the likeness of the Holy Qur’an.
28 The Holy Qur’an, the Heifer (2): 23
This incident provides sufficient proof that there is no doubt in the revelation of the Holy Qur’an from God the Almighty.” He asked, “There is a possibility that some of the Arabs might have been successful in bringing another book similar to the Qur’an but that has not reached us.” I replied, “Had they been successful in doing so, the Christians and the Jews would certainly have used that book in order to refute the claim of the prophet Muhammad, as they were very eager to do so. Since there is no trace of such a thing in history in this respect, it proves sufficiently that all the opponents of the Holy Prophet failed completely to bring another book similar to the Holy Qur’an.”
Then I gave him a philosophical example saying, “The non-existence of a proof for the existence of something is itself a proof of its non-existence” i.e. if you do not find a person in this room, it means that there is no person in this room.
At this point, the Christian engineer seemed to have been convinced by my argument, and when he asked me for my suggestion, I said to him, “In my opinion, you should believe in the prophethood of Muhammad.” He asked, “Does one have to disbelieve in Jesus Christ by believing in Muhammad?” “Not at all!” I answered him, and added, “But in fact, Islam clearly commands its followers to believe in the prophethood of Jesus Christ as well. Moreover, Jesus is recognized by Islam as one of the Five Great Prophets sent by Allah the Almighty to the east and west of the world as His Messenger, and they are called Ol-ul-Azm.” He asked, “Who are the Five Great Prophets?” I replied, “They are Prophets Noah (Nuh), Abraham (Ibrahim), Moses (Musa), Jesus (Isa) and Muhammad (peace be upon them all).”
Then I started to encourage him to accept Islam; and by the grace and blessings of Allah, he embraced Islam and recited the three declarations of faith for accepting Islam and he also accepted the authority of Imam Ali and his eleven son-Imams (upon whom be peace).
Excellences of Islam over other Religions
During the holy month of Ramadahn, one day I arrived at my house after the midday congregational prayers. I was very tired as I had stayed behind for more than an hour to explain various religious issues being asked by many Muslims in the courtyard of the holy shrine of Imam Husayn (upon whom be peace) in Karbala. On my arrival at home as I was about to take a rest, the doorbell rang. There was nobody else in the house to attend to that, and I thought to ignore it but struck me that someone might be in need and if fulfilled by me, would accrue a great heavenly reward to me.
Then I remembered that I had made an appointment to receive an official from Baghdad. We were to discuss my request to import equipment for establishing a local radio station at Karbala, and establishing a college, namely al-Qur’an al-Hakim College and several other items. I did not want to hold the scheduled meeting before I could take a bit of a rest. On the other hand, none of my colleagues who were due to be present in the meeting had arrived yet. I do not like to hold such meetings without the presence of my companions especially when the meeting was with government officials.
Reluctantly, I got up and went to open the door. A man in his sixties was outside. He greeted me and said, “My family members and I have come from Kadhimayn to see you. Is it possible for you to see us?” I said, “You are most welcome.” He said, “My son has received his education in Germany and has returned from there recently with a German Christian wife. In our discussion with her about Islam she asked us to convince her about the genuineness of Islam. We tried, but did not succeed. We decided to seek your guidance in this matter. That is why we have come here from Kadhimayn taking the advantage of today – Friday – which is our holiday
.” I said to him, “I am very happy to receive all of you.” Then I offered the German woman to say what she wanted. Her husband himself became her interpreter. She said, “My husband and his parents claim that Islam supersedes Christianity, and therefore I should accept Islam, although I have not seen any bad thing in Christianity so as to change my religion. I am a religious woman and have studied the Bible and also used to attend church. All members of my family are also religious people. Keeping these conditions in view, is there any reason in your opinion that I should quit Christianity and enter Islam? and why?” She tried to explain her contention by quoting an example, saying, “If you have a beautiful house, will you wish to change it, if there is nothing wrong with it?” Along the same line I said, “I do not want you to abandon your religion. I want you to augment the beauty of your religion with another beauty, the beauty of Islam. I do not want you to change your house but to add another storey over your house so that you may have more facilities like brighter space for enjoying better life.”
With much surprise, she said, “But aren’t Islam and Christianity each other’s enemies and would never come together?” I said, “No. The example of the religions of Christianity and Islam is like the stages of education, i.e. high school stage and university stage. So the example of my inviting you to Islam is like inviting you to university education after you have cleared successfully the stages of high school, so that you may complete your education.” She said, “How can I agree with you when I have learnt from the very beginning in my home, in my school and in my environment that Islam has always been against Christianity, and that Muhammad was the sworn enemy of Christ, and Muslims have been the enemies of Christians?”
I said, “Whatever you have learnt from the very beginning is quite the reverse because Islam is a well-wisher of Christianity, and the proof for this is in our Holy Qur’an, {Say (O Muslims!) “We believe in Allah, and in which is revealed to us . . . and that which Moses and Jesus received.”}29 Muhammad also is a well-wisher and a brethren of Christ as mentioned in the Holy Qur’an, {The Messiah, son of Mary, was no other than a messenger, messengers (the like of whom) had been sent before him.}30 Muslims too are well-wishers of Christians as can be seen from the following verse: {You will find the nearest of them in affection to those who believe (to be) those who say, “Lo! We are Nazarenes.”}31 Then I asked her, “Having seen these clear-cut verses of the Holy Qur’an, do you still think that that which you have heard before is right or this which you hear and see now?” The Christian lady was very much impressed with my reasoning. Her family members also expressed their 29 The Holy Qur’an, the heifer (2): 136.
30 The Holy Qur’an, the Table Spread (5): 57 31 The Holy Qur’an, the Table Spread (5): 82
surprise; I said, “This was due to our inadequate publicity at home and abroad. May Allah help us.”
Then she said, “Now I agree with you as you have proved it from the Qur’an. If you had not proved it from the Qur’an, I would have said that you were saying this so just to convince me to accept Islam and is not based on reality. Now please elaborate as to how the religion of Islam after Christianity is a ‘university stage' after a high school stage'?” I said, “You yourself are a Christian and know well that Christianity is a religion of morality.” She replied in affirmative. Then I said, “But Islam has augmented the excellences of morals with other issues just as university education provides new branches of learning to those of the high school stage.” She said, “Give an example.” I said, “For example, Islam has established the systems of politics and economics, and laid down the programmes for the armed forces, health, wealth and others.”
Astonished by my statements the German lady, asked, “Does Islam deal with these subjects too?” I said, “Oh, yes, and why not?” She said, “I was made to understand before that Islam was a set of ridiculous stories and distortions of Judaism and Christianity.” I said, “but the opposite is true. Islam has distanced true Judaism and Christianity from the ridiculous stories and distortions that have developed in the course of time, and that is why the Holy Qur’an says, {And We have revealed to you the Book (Qur’an) with truth, confirming whatever Book was before it, dominant/prevailing over it (previous book(s)) [by pointing out the distortions and corruptions that have taken place in the previous revealed scriptures]}.”32
She pointed out, “Now, two questions arise for me. Firstly, what are the ridiculous stories in the Judaism and Christianity? Is it possible that such things may have crept into Christianity?” I said, “I do not want to touch this aspect of the matter because I dislike to hurt your feelings and deprive ourselves from the positive results of the discussion. Anyhow, I will point out one issue to you. The Christians believe in the trinity and say that the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are three persons yet they are one.
Is it possible?” She answered, “What is the objection?” I said to her while holding three books in my hand, “Are these books three or one?” She said, “Three.” I said, “If a person comes and says to you that these books are three as well as one, what will you say to him? Will you not say to him, It is not possible that three entities to be called as one entity?” 32 The Holy Qur’an, the Table Spread (5): 48 The Christian lady was astonished so much as if she had heard that argument for the first time in her life. She said, “How is it that Christians believe in trinity?” I said, “I do not know, you ask them. I only know this much that this notion is false.”
She said, “my second question is: You have said that Islam addresses all aspects of life. Is Islam a religion? What relation does exist between religion and politics or economics?” I said, “A religion is everything. But since Christianity has undergone many distortions, there remained nothing in it except some ethical teachings.” She said, can you explain, for example, the economics of Islam?” I said, “Well, let me quote for you relevant verses from the Holy Qur’an:
{And know that whatever you earn of your profits, one-fifth (Khums) of it is the share of Allah.}33 {The alms are only for the poor and the needy.}34 {Allah permitted trading and forbidden usury.}35
{O you who believe, abide by your (commercial) contracts.}36 Then, I started to interpret these Qur’anic verses dealing with Islamic economy in some detail relevant to our discussion. She declared, “I now accept Islam, but only one thing is left, which if you could explain to my entire satisfaction, I shall embrace Islam, otherwise not. I have repeatedly inquired about it from my husband and others but none could give me a satisfactory answer.” I asked her what her question was. “Since the first days I came to Iraq,” she said while pointing at her husband and others, “this family has been asking me to wear Hijaab. So, if wearing Hijaab in Islam is compulsory, then I cannot embrace it at any rate.
I said, “Have you seen the jewellers how they protect their precious jewels in safe boxes?” She said, “Yes, I have seen so.” I asked, “Why do they do so?” She replied, “Just to protect them from the thieves. I said, “Islamic philosophy of wearing Hijaab is the same. For example, you are a young lady and know very well that in every society there are thieves of honour 33 The Holy Qur’an, the public estate (8): 41 34 The Holy Qur’an, Repentance (9): 60 35 The Holy Qur’an, the heifer (2): 275 36 The Holy Qur’an, the Table Spread (5): 1
and chastity. Just As the jewels are safeguarded from the thieves, Islam has similarly made it compulsory on its followers to safeguard the chastity, dignity and nobleness of the female members of society, and as such this order is only in your own interest.” She said, “This is a plausible explanation. Now, if wearing Hijaab is obligatory in Islam, why women are seen in Iraqi television not wearing Hijaab? Is Iraq not an Islamic country?”
I said, “Is your country, Germany, independent or under the yoke of colonialism?” She said, “After the World War II, we fell under the yoke of colonialism.” I said, “Do you believe that colonialism allows you to plan the developments of your country according to your own wishes, to implement the laws out of your own choice, and to let you live as you like?” She said with a gloomy heart, “No, not at all!” I said, “We Muslims too have fallen into the hands of the (politico/economic) colonialism since early twentieth century and all of our national, cultural, political and economic programmes are drawn up by them. Consequently, we Muslims are deprived of implementing any such programmes according to Islamic in our own countries.” She said, “Indeed, this is true.”
Here the Christian lady embraced Islam herself and announced the three declarations of faith; “I bear witness there is not god but Allah, the One having no partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Servant and Messenger of Allah.” She also accepted the immediate successorship of Imam Ali.
All members of her family, especially her husband, knew no bound of happiness on her embracing Islam.