لطفا منتظر باشید ...
M. Jesus also did the miracles with the grace of God, as he
himself said: John 5:30: "I can of mine own self do nothing ..." and Luke 11:2):
"But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the Kingdom of God is
come upon you."
All miracles performed by Jesus have been done by previous
prophets, disciples, and even unbelievers. On the other hand, Jesus could do no
mighty work where there was unbelief: Mark 6:5-6: "And he could there do no
mighty work save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.
and he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went around about the
villages, teaching."
C. But Jesus was resurrected three days after he died.
M. We will talk about his crucifixion later, because there are
so many controversies about it. For now, I'll only say that this was said by
Paul, who never saw Jesus alive: II Timothy 2:8: "Remember that Jesus Christ of
the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel."
The gospel of resurrection in Mark 16:9-20 has also been
removed in many Bibles. If it has not been removed, it is printed in small print
or between two brackets and with commentary. See The Revised Standard version,
The New American Standard Bible, and The New World Translation of the Holy
Scriptures of the Jehovah's Witnesses. Let me ask you one thing: Did Jesus ever
claim to be God or to say: "Here am I, your God, and worship me?"
C. No, but he is God and man.
M. But did he ever claim that?
C. No.
M. Indeed, he prophesied that people would worship him
uselessly and would believe in doctrines made not by God but by man: Matthew
15:9: "But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments
of men.
All doctrines of modern Christianity are made by men: the
Trinity, the divine sonship of Jesus, the divinity of Jesus Christ, and the
doctrines Original Sin and Atonement. From Jesus' own sayings, recorded in the
New Testament, it is clear that he never claimed divinity or identity with God:
"I do nothing of myself" (John 8:28); "My Father is greater than I" (John 14:28;
"The Lord our God is one Lord" (Mark 12: 29); "My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34); and "Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit"
(Luke 23:46); and "But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the
angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father" (Mark 13:32). Jesus
was called a prophet, a teacher from God, His servant, the Messiah, and later
was escalated to the Son of God, and then to God Himself.
Let us now use our reason: how can a mortal woman give birth to
God?
Jesus slept while God never sleeps: Psalms 121:4: "Behold, he
that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep." God should be powerful‹but
how could people spit on him and crucify him as the Bible alleges? How could
Jesus be God if he worshipped God as any other mortal: Luke 5:16: "And he
withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed."
Jesus was tempted by Satan for forty days(Luke 4:1-13), but in
James 1:13 it is said: "... for God cannot be tempted with evil ..." How can
Jesus be God, then? We can rationalize further and further.
C. Yes, I myself can't understand it, but we have to accept it
blindly.
M. Doesn't that attitude contradict the Bible itself, which
says that you have to prove it: I Thessalonians 5:21: "Prove all things; hold
fast that which is good."
C. It's really confusing.
M. But I Corinthians 14:33 says: "For God is not the author of
confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints." Doctrines made by
men create confusion.
The Doctrine of the Divine Sonship of Jesus
M. Is Jesus the Son of God?
C. Yes. Read in Matthew 3:17, when Jesus was baptized by John:
"And lo a voice from heaven, saying" 'This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased."'
M. You should not accept the word "son" literally, because the
Bible also refers to many prophets and other people as sons and children of God.
Read Exodus 4:22.
C. "And thou [Moses] shalt say unto Pharaoh: 'Thus saith the
Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn."'
M. Here is Jacob (Israel) His firstborn son. Read II Samuel
7:13-14 or I Chronicles 22:10.
C. "He [Solomon] shall build a house for My name, and I will
establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father and he shall
be My son."
M. It will be confusing if you read Jeremiah 31:9: "I am a
father to Israel and Ephraim is my firstborn." In Exodus 4:22 just now, Israel
was called also called the firstborn. Who is the real firstborn: Israel or
Ephraim? Even common people can be children of God. Read Deuteronomy
14:1.
C. "Ye are the children of the Lord your God."
M. Common people can also be called firstborn. Read Romans
8:29.
C. "For whom he did fore know, he also did predestinate to be
conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn of many
brethren."
M. If all are firstborn, then what is Jesus?
C. He is the only begotten son of God.
M. Long before Jesus was born, God said to David (Psalms 2:7):
"I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me [David]: 'Thou art my
son; this day have I begotten thee."' So David is also God's begotten son. The
meaning of "Son of God" is not literal but metaphorical. It can be anyone who is
beloved by God. Jesus also said that God is not only his Father but also your
Father (Matthew 5:45, 48).
C. "That ye may be the children of your Father" and "Be ye
therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
M. You can see in many biblical passages that the phrase "Son
of God" signifies love and affection and neamess to God, and that it is not to
be applied to Jesus alone. You will see sons and daughters of God: II Connthians
6:18: "And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters,
saith the Lord Almighty." In view of these and other passages in the Bible,
there is no reason why Jesus should be regarded as the son of God in a literal
or unique sense.
C. But he has no father. That is why he is the son of
God.
M. Then you must also consider Adam as a son of God, for he had
no father or mother. In Luke 3:38, it is said "... Seth, who was the son of
Adam, who was the son of God." Read Hebrews 7:3.
C. "Without father, without mother, without descent, having
neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the son of God;
abideth a priest continually."
M. Who is he? The answer is in Hebrews 7:1: "Melchisedec, king
of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham ..." He is more unique
than Jesus or Adam. Why is he not considered a son of God or God Himself?
C. What do you call Jesus then?
M. Muslims call him Jesus, the son of Mary.
C. No one will deny this.
M. Yes, it is simple and nobody can deny it. Jesus called
himself the son of man and refused to be called son of God. Read Luke
4:41.
C. "And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying:
'Thou art Christ, the Son of God. And he, rebuking them, suffered them not to
speak, for they knew that he was Christ."
M. It is clear here that he refused to be called the son of
God. He also refused such a designation in Luke 9:20-21, and told his disciples
not to refer to him that way.
C. "He [Jesus] said unto them [the disciples]: 'But whom say ye
that I am?' Peter, answering, said: 'The Christ of God.' And he straightly
charged them and commanded them to tell no man that thing."
M. Jesus, who was the expected Messiah, a prophet, was
escalated from teacher to son of God, Lord, and finally to God Himself. Read
John 3:2: "The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him: 'Rabbi, we know
that thou art a teacher come from God ..."; John 6:14: "Then those men, when
they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said: 'This is of a truth that prophet
that should come into the world."' Jesus is also called a prophet in John 7:40;
Matthew 21:11; Luke 7:16 and 24:19. In Acts 9:20, we read: "And straightway he
[Paul] preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the son of God." (You can
conclude from here also that early Christians were still using synagogues, but
later when Christianity deviated from the original teaching of Jesus, churches
were established. Paul, Barnabas, and the Gentiles were expelled from the
synagogues, as they were accused of blasphemy and pollution. See Acts 13:50,
17:18, and 21:28.). In Luke 2:11, it is said that: "For unto you is born this
day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord" and in John 1:1: "In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God."
Was Jesus Crucified?
M. The Qur'an
states in Surah 4:157 that Jesus was not crucified: "And their [Jews'] boasting:
'We killed Messiah Jesus, Son of Mary the Apostle of Allah, but they [Jews]
killed him not, nor crucified him ..." Do you still believe that he died on the
cross?
C. Yes, he died and was then resurrected.
M. We all agree that nobody saw the moment he was resurrected.
They found that the sepulchre in which Jesus had been laid was empty and
concluded that he had been resurrected, because the disciples and other
witnesses saw him alive after the alleged crucifixion. Could it not be possible,
as the Qur'an claims, that he didn't die on the cross?
C. Where is the proof?
M. Let's look at the biblical passages that support this
conclusion. Do you give more weight to what Jesus said or to the hearsay of the
disciples, apostles, and other witnesses?
C. Of course more to what Jesus himself said.
M. That is in accordance with what Jesus said: Matthew 10:24:
"The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord."
C. But Jesus himself said that he will rise from the dead: Luke
24:46: "And said unto them: 'Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to
suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day."'
M. Suffering is often exaggerated in the Bible and termed
"dead," as Paul said in I Corinthians T5:31: "I protest by your rejoicing which
I have in Christ, I die daily" (i.e., I suffer daily). Here are some of the
proofs:
1. On the cross, Jesus beseeched God for help: Matthew 27:46:
"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" In Luke 22:42, it is recounted:
"Saying, Father if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my
will, but shine, be done." (This cup is the cup of death.)
2. Jesus' prayer not to die on the cross was accepted by God,
according to Luke, the author of Hebrews, and James. Thus, how could he die on
the cross?: Luke 22:43: "And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven,
strengthening him." It means that an angel assured him that God would not leave
him helpless: Hebrews 5:7: "Who in the days of his flesh, when he [Jesus] had
offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that
was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared."
Jesus' prayers were "heard," which means that they were
answered in a positive way by God: James 5:16: "... The effectual fervent prayer
of a righteous man availeth much." Jesus himself said in Matthew 7:7-10: "Ask,
and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be
opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh
findeth, and to him who knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of
you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish,
will he give him a serpent?" If all of Jesus' prayers were accepted by God,
including his prayer not to die on the cross, how could he still die on the
cross?
3. His legs were not broken by the Roman soldiers: John
19:32-33: "Then came the soldiers, and broke the legs of the first, and of the
other which was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he
was dead already, they broke not his legs." Can you rely on these soldiers'
assertion that Jesus was dead, or did they want to save him out of their belief
that he was really innocent?
4. If Jesus died on the cross, his blood would clot and thus no
blood would have gushed out of his body when his side was pierced. But the
Gospel states that blood and water came out: John 19:34: "But one of the
soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and
water."
5. When the Pharisees asked Jesus for a sign of his true
mission, he answered: Matthew 12:40: "For as Jonas was three days and three
nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three
nights in the heart of the earth." Disregard the time factor, which was also not
three days and three nights but one day (Saturday, daytime only) and two nights
(Friday night and Saturday night). Was Jonas alive in the belly of the
whale?
C. Yes.
M. Was Jonas still alive when he was vomited out of the belly
the whale?
C. Yes.
M. Then Jesus was still alive, as he prophesied.
6. Jesus himself stated that he didn't die on the cross. Early
Sunday morning Mary Magdalene went to the sepulchre, which was empty. She saw
somebody standing who looked like a gardener. After a conversation, she realized
that he was Jesus and wanted to touch him. Jesus said, as recounted in John
20:17: "Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father ..." "Touch me not"
perhaps because the fresh wound would hurt him. "I am not yet ascended to my
Father" means that he was still alive, because when somebody dies he goes back
to the Creator. This was the strongest proof and was admitted by Jesus
himself.
7. After the alleged crucifixion, the disciples thought that he
was not the same Jesus in body but in spirit, because resurrected bodies are "in
spirit."
C. Wait a minute. How can you be sure that resurrected bodies
are "in spirit"?
M. That is what Jesus himself said in the Bible: that they are
equal to angels.
C. Where does he say that?
M. In Luke 20: 34-36: "And answering said unto them: 'The
children of the world marry, and are given in marriage. But they which shall be
accounted worthy to obtain that world, and then resurrection from the dead,
neither marry, nor are given in marriage. Neither can they die any more for they
are equal unto the angels, and are the children of God, being the children of
the resurrection."'
Then Jesus convinced them that he was the same person by
letting them touch his hands and feet. As they could not believe him yet, he
asked for meat to show them that he still ate like any living individual. Read
Luke 24:36-41: "And as they [the disciples] thus spake, Jesus himself stood in
the midst of them, and saith unto them: 'Peace be unto you.' But they were
terrified and frightened, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said
unto them: 'Why are ye troubled, and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?
Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see, for a spins
hath not flesh and bones, as ye see that I have.' And when he had thus spoken,
he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they yet believed not for Joy,
and wondered, he said unto them: 'Have ye here any meat?' And they gave him a
piece of broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before
them."
8. If you still believe that he died on the cross, then he was
a false prophet and accursed of God according to these passages: beuteronomy
13:5: "And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death ...";
Deuteronomy 21:22-23: "And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he
be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: His body shall not remain
all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he
that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the Lord
thy God giveth thee for an inheritance."
To believe in his death on the cross is to discredit his
prophethood. The Jews claimed that they killed Jesus on the cross in order to
portray him as a false prophet. Christians believe in the crucifixion, for it is
necessary for their doctrine of redemption of sin and, consequently, have to
accept the accursedness of Jesus, too. This Christian belief opposes the Bible's
teaching in Hosea 6:6: "For I desired mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge
of God more than burnt offerings." It also opposes Jesus' own teaching in
Matthew 9:13: "But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not
sacrifice ..." Again Jesus said in Matthew 12:7: "But if ye had known what this
meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the
guiltless."
C. Why do people believe in the resurrection then?
M. It was Paul who taught the resurrection: Acts 17:18: "...
And some [Jews] said: 'What will this babbler say?' To others, He [Paul] seemeth
to be a setter forth of strange gods, because he preached unto them Jesus and
the resurrection." Paul, who never saw Jesus, also admitted that the
resurrection was his gospel (II Timothy 2:8): "Remember that Jesus Christ of the
seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel." He was also the
first one to declare Jesus the Son of God: Acts 9:20: "And straightway he [Paul]
preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God." So Christianity
is not a teaching of Jesus but of Paul.
C. But Mark 16:19 states that Jesus was raised up to heaven and
sat on the right hand of God: "So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he
was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. "
M. As I told you earlier, Mark 16:9-20, has been expunged in
certain Bibles: The Revised Standard Version, The New American Standard Bible
and The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures of the Jehovah's Witnesses
Church. If you still believe that Jesus is divine because he was raised up to
heaven, why don't you accept the divinity of other prophets who were raised up
to heaven?
C. Who were they?
M. Elijah: II Kings 2:1 1-12: "... and Elijah went up by a
whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried ... And he saw him no
more ..." Enoch was also taken by God to heaven: Genesis 5:24: "And Enoch walked
with God, and he was not, for God took him." This was also repeated in Hebrews
11:5: "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death, and was not
found, because God translated him, for before his translation he had this
testimony, that he pleased God."
The Doctrine of Atonement and Original Sin
C. So the redemption of sin through the crucifixion of Jesus was not
part of Jesus' teaching?
M. This is the Doctrine of Atonement, which was accepted by the
Church three or four centuries after Jesus left the earth. It contradicts the
Bible, as the following passages show: Deuteronomy 24:16: "The fathers shall not
be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for
the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin."; Jeremiah 31:30:
"But every one shall die for his own iniquity ...", Ezekiel 18:20: "The soul
that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father,
neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the
righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon
him." Adam and Eve were responsible for their own sin, which was forgiven by
Allah according to the Islamic version.
C. But these are in the Old Testament.
M. Read what Jesus himself said in Matthew 7: 1-2.
C. "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye
judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured
to you again."
M. Read I Corinthians 3:8.
C. "Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one; and
every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour." But we
believe in Original Sin!
M. Do you still want me to prove that children are born without
sin? Read Matthew 19:14.
C. "But Jesus said: 'Suffer not little children, and forbid
them not, to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven."
M. So everybody is born without sin and all children belong to
the kingdom of heaven. Do you know that it was Paul who abolished the Mosaic
law? Read Acts 13:39.
C. "And by him all that believe are justified from all things,
from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses."
M. Let me ask you a question. Why do you believe in the
resurrection if Paul himself, who never saw Jesus alive, admitted that this was
his gospel?
C. Where is it written?
M. Read II Timothy 2:8.
C. "Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised
from the dead according to my gospel." But why do we have to believe that he was
crucified and raised from the dead?
M. I don't know. Islam, the teaching of all of the prophets of
God, has not been contaminated with beliefs or concepts that come from paganism
and superstition.
C. That's what I'm looking for.
M. Why don't you consider the shahadah (witness) or testimony,
first in English and then in Arabic. Let me help you pronounce it.
C. I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah, Who has no
partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger. Ashhadu
an la illaha illa Allah, wahdahu la sharikah lahu, wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan
abduhu wa rasuluhu.. Was Prophet Muhammad ever mentioned in the Bible?
M. Yes, but it is not necessary for a Muslim to know it from
the Bible. As you have studied the Bible, I would like to discuss it with you
briefly next time.
Note: The rest of the discussion will be conducted between two
Muslims: "M" and "m."
Muhammad in the Bible
Both Ishmael and Isaac Were Blessed
M. Why did Ishmael and his mother Hagar leave Sarah?
m. After Isaac was weaned, his mother Sarah saw Ishmael mocking
him. After that, she didn't want Ishmael to be heir with her son Isaac: Genesis
21:8-10: "And the child grew, and was weaned, and Abraham made a great feast the
same day that Isaac was weaned. And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian,
which she had born unto Abraham mocking. Wherefore she said unto Abraham: 'Cast
out this bondwoman and her son, for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir
with my son, even with Isaac."'
M. Isaac was about two years old when he was weaned. Ishmael
was then sixteen years old, because Abraham was eighty six years old when Hagar
bore Ishmael and one hundred years old when Isaac was born, according to Genesis
16:16: "And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to
Abram" and Genesis 21:5: "And Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac
was born unto him." Genesis 21:8-10 thus contradicts Genesis 21:14-21, where
Ishmael was portrayed as a baby put on the shoulder of his mother, called "lad"
and "child," when both left Sarah: "And Abraham rose up early in the morning and
took bread and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her
shoulder, and the child ...'Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in shine hand
..."' This is the profile of a baby, not of a teenager. So Ishmael and his
mother Hagar left Sarah long before Isaac was born. According to the Islamic
version, Abraham took Ishmael and Hagar and made a new settlement in Makkah,
called Paran in the Bible (Genesis 21:21), because of a divine instruction given
to Abraham as a part of God's plan. Hagar ran seven times between two hills,
Safa and Marwa, looking for water. This is the origin of one of the rituals that
is performed during the pilgrimage to Makkah. The well of water mentioned in
Genesis 21:19 is still present and is known as called Zamzam. Both Abraham and
Ishmael later built the Ka'bah in Makkah. The spot where Abraham used to perform
prayers near the Ka'bah is still present and is known as the Maqam Ibrahim,
i.e., the Station of Abraham. During the pilgrimage, pilgrims in Makkah and
Muslims all over the world commemorate the offering of Abraham and Ishmael by
slaughtering cattle.
m. But the Bible mentions that Isaac was to be
sacrificed.
M. The Islamic version states that the covenant between God,
Abraham, and his only son Ishmael was made and sealed when Ishmael was supposed
to be sacrificed. On the very same day, Abraham, Ishmael, and all the men of
Abraham's household were circumcised. At that time, Isaac had not even born:
Genesis 17:24-27: "And Abraham was ninety years old and nine when he was
circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. And Ishmael his son was thirteen years
old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. In the selfsame day
was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son. And all the men of his house, born
in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with
him."
A year later, Isaac was born and circumcised when he was eight
days old: Genesis 21:4-5: "And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight
days old, as God had commanded him. And Abraham was an hundred years old, when
his son Isaac was born unto him." So when the covenant was made and sealed
(circumcision and sacrifice) Abraham was ninety nine and Ishmael was thirteen.
Isaac was born a year later, when Abraham was one hundred years old.
The descendants of Ishmael, Prophet Muhammad including all
Muslims, remain faithful until today to this covenant of circumcision. In their
five daily prayers, Muslims include the praise of Abraham and his descendants
with the praise of Muhammad and his descendants.
m. But in Genesis 22 it is mentioned that Isaac was to be
sacrificed.
M. I know, but you will see the contradiction there. It is
mentioned "shine only son Isaac." Shouldn't it be "shine only son Ishmael," when
Ishmael was thirteen years old and Isaac had not even been born? When Isaac was
born, Abraham had two sons. Because of chauvinism, the name of Ishmael was
changed to Isaac in all of Genesis 22. But God has preserved the word "only" to
show us what it should have been.
The words "I will multiply thy seed" in Genesis 22:17 was
applied earlier to Ishmael in Genesis 16:10. Was not the whole of Genesis 22
applicable to Ishmael then? "I will make him a great nation" has been repeated
twice for Ishmael in Genesis 17:20 and Genesis 21:18, and never applied to Isaac
at all.
m. The Jews and Christians maintain that Isaac was superior to
Ishmael.
M. They can say that if they want to, but the Bible does not
support this claim: Genesis 15:4: "And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto
him [Abraham], saying: 'This [Eliezer of Damascus] shall not be shine heir, but
he that shall come forth out of shine own bowels shall be shine heir."' So
Ishmael was also Abraham's heir.
Genesis 16:10: "And the angel of the Lord said unto her
[Hager]: 'I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered
for multitude. "'
Genesis 17:20: "And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee. Behold,
I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him
exceedingly. Twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great
nation."
Genesis 21:13: "And also of the son of the bondwoman will I
make a nation, because he is thy seed."
Genesis 21:18: "Arise, lift up the lad [Ishmael], and hold him
in shine hand, for I will make him a great nation."
Deuteronomy 21:15-17: "If a man have two wives, one beloved and
another hated, and they have born him children, both the beloved and the hated;
and if the firstborn son be hers that was hated: Then it shall be, when he
maketh his sons to inherit that which he hash, that he may not make the son of
the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, which is indeed the
firstborn: But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by
giving him a double portion of all that he hash: for he is the beginning of the
strength; the right of the firstborn is his." Islam does not deny God's
blessings on Isaac and his descendants, but the son of promise is Ishmael, from
whom arose Muhammad as the seal of the prophets.
m. But Christians and Jews claim that Ishmael was an
illegitimate son.
M. That is what they say, but not what the Bible states. How
could such a great prophet as Abraham have an illegal wife and a son out of
wedlock!
Genesis 16:3: "... and [Sarah] gave her [Hager] to her husband
Abram to be his wife." If the marriage was legal, how could their offspring be
illegal? Is a marriage between two foreigners, a Chaldean and an Egyptian, not
more legal than a marriage between a man with a daughter of his father? Whether
it was a lie of Abraham or not, it is stated in Genesis 20:12: "And yet indeed
she [Sarah] is my sister, she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter
of my mother; and she became my wife."
The name Ishmael was also chosen by Allah Himself: Genesis
16:11: "And the Angel of the Lord said unto her [Hager]: 'Behold, thou art with
child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael, because the Lord
hath heard thy affliction."' Ishmael means "God hears." Where in the Bible is it
written that Ishmael was an illegitimate son?
m. Nowhere.
M. Long before both Ishmael and Isaac were born, Allah made a
covenant with Abraham: Genesis 15:18: "... saying Unto thy seed have I given
this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the Euphrates." Doesn't
the greater part of Arabia lie between the Nile and the Euphrates, where all the
descendants of Ishmael settled at a later date?
m. Do you mean that no land was promised to Isaac and his
descendants?
M. We Muslims don't deny that Isaac was also blessed. See
Genesis 17:8: "And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed [Isaac] after thee,
the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land Canaan, for an everlasting
possession; and I will be their God."
Do you see also the difference that Abraham was called "a
stranger" in Canaan but not in the land between the Nile and the Euphrates? As a
Chaldean, he was more Arab than Jew.
m. But the covenant was made with Isaac, according to Genesis
17:21: "But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto
thee at this time in the next year."
M. Does this exclude Ishmael? Where in the Bible does it say
that Allah would not make any covenant with Ishmael?
m. Nowhere.
Criterion of the Prophet by Jeremiah
Jeremiah 28:9: "The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of
the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the Lord
hath truly sent him."
The word Islam also signifies tranquillity and peace, peace
between the Creator and his creatures. This prophecy of Jeremiah cannot be
applied to Jesus, as he himself stated that he didn't come for peace: Luke
12:51-53: "Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you nay, but
rather division, for from henceforth there will be five in one house divided,
three against two and two against three. The father shall be divided against the
son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the
daughter against the mother; the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and
the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law." See also Matthew
10:34-36.
Until Shiloh Come
This was a message
of Jacob to his children before he died: Genesis 49:1): "And Jacob called unto
his sons, and said: 'Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which
shall befall you in the last days. "
