format_quote Originally Posted by
christianuk
Muslim-Christian Dialogue
Believe it or not, there's a book with the very same name. Here it is, you should read it:
http://www.sultan.org/books/muslimchristianialogue.pdf
format_quote Originally Posted by
christianuk
At the end of the day if a motor repair manual fixes your car every time who can say it is no good and must be rejected as wrong
That is because you think it's fixed, but the major fault is still there. It is entirely possible to drive an unroadworthy car, thinking it's ok, or it's been fixed, but the major underlying problem hasn't gone away, and is a dangerous threat to the car.
Our comments, are to invite you to belief in one true God, with no associates whatsoever in His Exclusive Divinity, be that in the form of a son, or incarnations of God (something Christianity and Hinduism share in common), or in any other way. No sons, no 3-in-1's, Just purely One. Glorified and Exalted be He above all that is falsely attributed to Him.
- There is only One God. He alone should be worshipped. He is our Creator, Sustainer, and Lord.
- He does not beget, nor is He begotten. He has no sons, daughters, siblings, parents, cousins, or relatives of any sort.
- He is eternal and does not die, in any way.
- He does not depend on anyone/anything yet we all depend on Him. He is free of all want and need.
- There is nothing like Him. He is all Hearing, all Seeing, all Knowing, all Powerful, Incomparable, the Creator of the Universe.
- He did not and does not, become flesh, dwell in human or animal bodies, nor are there any incarnations of Him. He is not mixed up in His creation in any way.
- He is not composed of persons, nor a trinity. There are no secondary, lesser, greater, equal, or multiple gods, nor any intermediaries. And no denying of God's existence either.
- There are no sharers, associates, persons or parts whatsoever in His exclusive Divinity. Simply, He is One, in every sense of the word One.
Where are the sayings of Jesus that Islam accepts?
In the translations of verses from the Qur'an below, I have highlighted the words of Jesus (peace be upon him) in red.
And will make him a messenger unto the Children of Israel, (saying): "Lo! I come unto you with a sign from your Lord. Lo! I fashion for you out of clay the likeness of a bird, and I breathe into it and it is a bird, by Allah's leave. I heal him who was born blind, and the leper, and I raise the dead, by Allah's leave. And I announce unto you what ye eat and what ye store up in your houses. Lo! herein verily is a portent for you, if ye are to be believers.
And (I come) confirming that which was before me of the Torah, and to make lawful some of that which was forbidden unto you. I come unto you with a sign from your Lord, so
fear Allah and obey me.
Lo! Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. That is a straight path."
But when Jesus became conscious of their disbelief, he cried: "Who will be my helpers in the cause of Allah?" The disciples said: "We will be Allah's helpers. We believe in Allah, and bear thou witness that we have surrendered (unto Him). Our Lord! We believe in that which Thou hast revealed and we follow him whom Thou hast sent. Enrol us among those who witness (to the truth)". (3:49-53)
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And when I inspired the disciples, (saying): "Believe in Me and in My messenger", they said: "We believe. Bear witness that we are Muslims."
When the disciples said: "O Jesus, son of Mary! Is thy Lord able to send down for us a table spread with food from heaven?" He said: "Fear Allah, if ye are true believers."
(They said: ) "We wish to eat thereof, that we may satisfy our hearts and know that thou hast spoken truth to us, and that thereof we may be witnesses."
Jesus, son of Mary, said: "O Allah, our Lord! Send down for us a table spread with food from heaven, that it may be a feast for us, for the first of us and for the last of us, and a sign from Thee. Give us sustenance, for Thou art the Best of Sustainers."
Allah said: "Lo! I send it down for you. And whoso disbelieves afterwards from amongst you, him surely will I punish with a punishment wherewith I have not punished any of (My) creatures."
And when Allah will say: "O Jesus, son of Mary! Did you say unto mankind: Take me and my mother for two gods beside Allah?"
He will say: "Be Glorified!
It was not mine to utter that to which I had no right. If I used to say it, then You knew it. You know what is in my mind, and I know not what is in Your Mind. Lo! You, only You, are the Knower of Things Hidden.
I spoke unto them only that which You commanded me, (saying): Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. I was a witness of them while I dwelt among them, and when You took me, You were the Watcher over them. You are Witness over all things.
If You punish them, lo! they are Your slaves, and if You forgive them (lo! they are Your slaves). Lo! you, only You, are the Mighty, the Wise." (5:111-118)
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They surely disbelieve who say: "Lo! Allah is the Messiah, son of Mary." The Messiah (himself) said: "
O Children of Israel, worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord." Lo! whoso ascribes partners unto Allah, for him Allah has forbidden paradise. His abode is the Fire. For the wrong-doers there will be no helpers. (5:72)
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He spoke: "Lo! I am the slave of Allah. He has given me the Scripture and has appointed me a Prophet, and has made me blessed wheresoever I may be, and has enjoined upon me prayer and almsgiving so long as I remain alive, and (has made me) dutiful toward my mother, and has not made me arrogant, unblest. Peace on me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I shall be raised alive!"
Such was Jesus, son of Mary: (this is) a statement of the truth concerning which they doubt.
It befits not (the Majesty of) Allah that He should take unto Himself a son. Glory be to Him! When He decrees a thing, He says unto it only: Be! and it is.
[Jesus said],: "
And indeed, Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. That is the right path."(19:30-36)
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When Jesus came with clear proofs (of Allah's Sovereignty), he said: "I have come unto you with wisdom, and to make plain some of that concerning which ye differ.
So fear Allah, and obey me. Lo! Allah, He is my Lord and your Lord. So worship Him. This is a right path."
But the factions among them differed. Then woe unto those who do wrong from the doom of a painful day. (43:63-65)
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And when Jesus son of Mary said: "O Children of Israel! Lo! I am the messenger of Allah unto you, confirming that which was (revealed) before me in the Torah, and bringing good tidings of a Messenger to come after me, whose name is the Praised One - Ahmad." Yet when he has come unto them with clear proofs, they say: "This is mere magic." (61:6)
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O ye who believe! Be Allah's helpers, even as Jesus son of Mary said unto the disciples: "Who are my helpers for Allah?" They said: "We are Allah's helpers." And a party of the Children of Israel believed, while a party disbelieved. Then We strengthened those who believed against their foe, and they became the uppermost. (61:14)
End of quotes from Qur'an.
Allah has sent a succession of prophets to people throughout the ages, to convey His message to them, and with guidance to show people how He wants them to live and worship Him. Muslims believe in all the prophets God sent, and do not reject or blaspheme any of them, from Adam, to the last and final prophet, Muhammad, peace be on them all. They were the purest and noblest of humanity and were not divine in any way. God sent all the prophets with the same message and not different messages. The message was:
to submit wholeheartedly to God and worship Him and Him alone, without any associates in, or parts to, His Exclusive Divinity, and to obey the prophet. They taught that people should be under no misperception that they can commit themselves to God as their Lord, and then combine this with accepting others as their Lord, or associating others in His Divinity, in whatever way. They taught that we should strive hard to translate our belief in the One True God into practice, by obeying God and the messengers He sent, who were also role models and examples for us, showing us practically how to put the guidance they were sent with into practice in our daily lives, explaining the scriptures, warning against wrong-doing, giving good tidings, and giving additional legislation from God.
So Islam is not a new faith but is the same Ultimate Truth that God revealed to all prophets, including Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus (peace be upon them). Thus Islam is not named after a specific person (like Christianity, Buddhism), nor after a certain race or place (like Judaism, Hinduism), but is named by God Himself, and the meaning loosely translates as 'submission to God', which is what every Prophet and their righteous followers did, from amongst all times, all races and all peoples. That in itself is one fraction of the evidence that it was the way of all the Prophets from the beginning.
With time, the message got forgotten or corrupted. So people started worshipping other gods along with Him, made idols, said that God begot a son, said that certain people were incarnations of God, some rejected belief in God altogether, while others elevated the status of some prophets to divine, or at the other end rejected or blasphemed some of the prophets. Whenever God's message got distorted by people, or forgotten, a new messenger was sent, not with any new or changed message, but reinforcing the actual message that God sent all the messengers with, the actual core beliefs that people were taught from the beginning of humanity, confirming the true parts of previous teachings and scriptures, and correcting wrong beliefs and misconceptions that had crept in.
God required that whenever He sent a new messenger, that messenger should be followed along with any new scripture given to him. This chain of messengers culminates in prophet Muhammad (peace on him), who is the last and final prophet and messenger. Since his prophethood, Gods message is available unchanged and unadulterated, for the entire world, until the end of time. He wasn't sent as prophet and messenger for a specific group of people and specific time (e.g. as Moses and Jesus were to the Children of Israel), but he was sent for all the world, for all time, until the Day of Judgement. Thus he is the last, not first, prophet of Islam; a messenger to all mankind, for now, and for all time to come.
Muslims love and respect Jesus (peace be upon him) and believe in him as he was; one of the most noble and purest of humanity to ever walk the earth, and one of the greatest messengers of Allah, sent to the Children of Israel. We do not reject him (as Jews do), nor do we deify him (as Christians do). Neither he, nor any other messenger, ever claimed divinity, or to be God's son. We believe he was born miraculously of the noble virgin Mary (peace be on her), and that he is the messiah. We do not however, believe that he was crucified. He'll return to earth near the end of time.
Peace.