Isa: "Great Commandments" as Essential to True Muslim Faith

[YieldedOne]

Hey, brothers and sisters of humanity. YieldedOne here. Hope y'all have fun with this!

-----------------------------------------------

Major Point:
Qur'anically speaking, a person cannot be a true, faithful Muslim without obeying Jesus/Isa's Torah-Injeel teaching about "loving the neighbor as oneself".


Discussion of Major Point:
According to Hammudat Abd Al-Ati's summary of the fundamental articles of Islamic faith--found in his work "Islam in Focus"---true, faithful Muslims are obligated by their faith to believe what can be reasonably discerned as authentic, uncorrupted Torah (Torat) and Gospel (Injeel) teaching from the Holy Books of the "people of the Book", namely Jews and Christians. This is explicitly affirmed within the Qur'an. (Surahs 2:136, with cross referencing of 3:1-4; 3:84; 4:163-165; 6:84-87.) Moreover, true Muslims are to fully obey the divinely revealed teaching of God's Messenger and Prophet, Isa/Jesus (Surah 43:63-64), as Jesus' teaching was "confirming the Torah" which antedated him. (Surah 61:6-7)


Given all this, if it is true that Deuteronomy 6:4-6 and Leviticus 19:9-18 (The Great Commandments of Jesus ala Matthew 22:34-40) are good candididates for authentic Torat and Injeel material--per meeting the specifications of accepted Islamic commentaries, such as those produced by Maulana Maududi--then, from Abd Al-Ati's perspective and others like Sohaib N. Sultan* --, the "true Muslim" absolutely must believe in those passages as genuine revelation from Allah and live them out faithfully. To do otherwise is to implicitly break faith with Allah and rebel against Allah's truth as revealed by a divinely-sent Messenger, Prophet, and Messiah, Isa/Jesus.


Implications of Major Point and Discussion:
Muslims and Christians are bound by mutually-held belief in Jesus/Isa as Allah's Mesenger and Prophet and his teaching of the "Great Commandments" such that both groups are committed by their own holy books to obey Jesus/Isa's commands to "love your neighbor as yourself."

----------------------------------

Sohib N. Sultan's The Qur'an and Sayings of Prophet Muhammad: Selections Annotated & Explained on page 24, where there was comment on Surah 3:3-4...

The Torah of Moses and the Gospel of Jesus are mentioned here as scriptures that were sent by God for the purpose of guidance. As such, Muslims are required, by faith, to believe in the unaltered, original Torah and Gospel as books of revelation. However, emphasis must be placed on the word "original" because Muslims believe that the Torah and Gospel were altered by the hands of men in later generations.

[YieldedOne]

The following is From Hammudat Abd Al-Ati's "Islam in Focus". Among all the fundamentals, the first 3 are what I thought very important to this discussion...

************************************************** *********

The true, faithful Muslim believes in the following principal articles of faith:

1. He believes in One God, Supreme and Eternal, Infinite and Mighty, Merciful and Compassionate, Creator and Provider. This belief, in order to be effective, requires complete trust and hope in God, submission to His Will and reliance on His aid. It secures man's dignity and saves him from fear and despair, from guilt and confusion. The reader is invited to see the meaning of Islam as explained above.

2. He believes in all the messengers of God without any discrimination among them. Every known nation had a warner or messenger from God. These messengers were great teachers of the good and true champions of the right. They were chosen by God to teach mankind and deliver His Divine message. They were sent at different times of history and every known nation had one messenger or more. During certain periods two or more messengers were sent by God at the same time to the same nation. The Holy Qur'an mentions the names of twenty-five of them, and the Muslim believes in them all and accepts them as authorized messengers of God. They were, with the exception of Muhammad, known as "national" or local messengers. But their message, their religion, was basically the same and was called ISLAM, because it came from One and the Same Source, namely, God, to serve one and the same purpose, and that is to guide humanity to the Straight Path of God. All the messengers with no exception whatsoever were mortals, human beings, endowed with Divine revelation, and appointed by God to perform certain tasks. Among them Muhammad stands as the Last Messenger and the crowning glory of the foundation of prophethood. This is not an arbitrary attitude, nor is it just a convenient belief. Like all the other Islamic beliefs, it is an authentic and logical truth. Also, it may be useful to mention here the names of some of the great messengers like Noah and Abraham, Ishmael and Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon them all. The Qur’an commands the Muslims thus:


We believe in God, and the revelation given to us, and to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and the Tribes; and that which was given to Moses and Jesus, and that which was given to all prophets from their Lord. We make no discrimination between one and another of them, and we bow to God (2:136, cf. 3:84; 4:163-165; 6:84-87).

3. The true Muslim believes, as a result of article two, in all the scriptures and revelations of God. They were the guiding light which the messengers received to show their respective peoples the Right Path of God. In the Qur’an a special reference is made to the books of Abraham, Moses, David and Jesus. But long before the revelation of the Qur’an to Muhammad some of those books and revelations had been lost or corrupted, others forgotten, neglected, or concealed. The only authentic and complete book of God in existence today is the Qur’an. In principle, the Muslim believes in the previous books and revelations. (YO's Note: The Torat and the Injeel) But where are their complete and original versions? They could be still at the bottom of the Dead Sea, and there may be more Scrolls to be discovered. Or perhaps more information about them will become available when the Christian and Jewish archaeologists reveal to the public the complete original findings of their continued excavations in the Holy Land. For the Muslim, there is no problem of that kind. The Qur’an is in his hand complete and authentic. Nothing of it is missing and no more of it is expected. Its authenticity is beyond doubt, and no serious scholar or thinker has ventured to question its genuineness. The Qur’an was made so by God Who revealed it and made it incumbent upon Himself to protect it against interpolation and corruption of all kinds. Thus it is given to the Muslims as the standard or criterion by which all the other books are judged. So whatever agrees with the Qur’an is accepted as Divine truth, and whatever differs from the Qur’an is either rejected or suspended. God says: 'Verily We have, without doubt, sent down the Qur’an, and We will assuredly guard it’ (15: 9; cf. 2:75- 79; 5: 1 3-14, 41, 45, 47; 6:91 ; 41:43).


*********************************************

[YieldedOne]

Now...

Here is the Maulana Maududi commentary being referenced...a commentary on Surah 3:1-4

******************************************

(3:1) Alif, Lam, Mim.

(3:2) Allah, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting, Who sustains the entire order of the universe - there is no God but He.

(3:3) He has revealed this Book to you, setting forth the truth and confirming the earlier Books, and earlier He revealed the Torah and Gospel

(3:4) for the guidance of mankind;1 and He has also revealed the Criterion (to distinguish truth from falsehood). A severe chastisement lies in store for those who deny the signs of Allah. Allah is All-Mighty; He is the Lord of Retribution.


1. The Torah is generally taken to signify the first five books of the Old Testament, and the Injil (Gospel), to mean the four Gospels of the New Testament, even though those books form a part of it. This has sometimes caused people to wonder if these books were indeed revealed by God. If they are accepted as revealed, one may wonder if the Qur'an really verifies their contents as this verse says. The fact is, however, that the Torah is not identical with the first five books of the Old Testament even though those books form a part of the Torah. Likewise, the Injil is not identical with the four Gospels of the New Testament.

The fact is that the Torah, in the Qur'anic usage, signifies the revelations made to Moses (peace be on him), in about forty years, from the time he was appointed a Prophet until his death. These include the Ten Commandments', which were handed over to him inscribed on stone tablets. Moses took down the rest of the revealed injunctions and handed over one copy to each of the twelve tribes of Israel, and one copy to the Levites for safe keeping. It is this book which was known as the Torah and it existed until the first destruction of Jerusalem. The copy entrusted to the Levites was put beside the Ark of the Covenant along with the Commandment tablets, and the Israelites knew it as the Torah. The Jews, however, neglected the Book: during the reign of Josiah the King of Judah the Temple of Solomon was under repair and the high priest, Hilkiah, chanced to find the Book lying in the construction area. He gave it to the King's secretary, Shaphan, who in turn took it to the King as if it were a strange find (see 2 Kings 22: 8-13).

Hence, when the Babylonian King, Nebuchadnezzar, conquered Jerusalem and razed it and the Temple of Solomon to the ground, the Israelites lost for ever the few original copies of the Torah which they possessed, and which they had consigned to obscurity. At the time of Ezra the priest, some Israelites returned from captivity in Babylon, and when Jerusalem was rebuilt the entire history of Israel, which now comprises the first seventeen books of the Old Testament, was recorded by Ezra with the assistance of some other elders of the community. Four of these books, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, consist of a biographical narrative of Moses. In this biography those verses of the Torah available to Ezra and the other elders are also recorded and in the contexts in which they were revealed. The present Torah, therefore, comprises those fragments of the original book which are interspersed throughout the biography of Moses (composed in the manner described above).

In locating these fragments of the original Torah there are certain expressions which help us. These are interspersed between the different pieces of biographical narration and usually open with words such as: 'Then the Lord said to Moses', and 'Moses said, the Lord your God commands you.' These expressions, then, are fragments of the original Torah. When the biographical narration re-commences, however, we can be sure that the fragment of the true Torah has concluded. Wherever authors and editors of the Bible have added anything of their own accord, by way of either elaboration or elucidation, it has become very difficult for an ordinary reader to distinguish the original from the explanatory additions. Those with insight into Divine Scripture, however, do have the capacity to distinguish between the original revealed fragments and the later, human interpolations.

It is these scattered fragments of the original revealed Book which the Qur'an terms as the Torah, and it is these which it confirms. When these fragments are compared with the Qur'an, there is no difference between the two as regards the fundamental teachings. Whatever differences exist relate to legal matters and are of secondary importance. Even today a careful reader can appreciate that the Torah and the Qur'an have sprung from one and the same Divine source.

Likewise, Injil signifies the inspired orations and utterances of Jesus (peace be on him), which he delivered during the last two or three years of his life in his capacity as a Prophet. There are no certain means by which we can definitively establish whether or not his statements were recorded during his lifetime. It is possible that some people took notes of them and that some followers committed them to memory. After a period of time, however, several treatises on the life of Jesus were written. The authors of these treatises recorded, in connection with the biographical account, those sayings of his which they had received from the previous generation of co-religionists, in the form of either oral traditions or written notes about events in his life. As a result the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are not identical with the Injil. Rather, the Injil consists of those statements by Jesus which form part of these Gospels. Unfortunately we have no means of distinguishing the fragments of the original Injil from the pieces written by the authors themselves. All we can say is that only those sections explicitly attributed to Jesus, for example in statements such as: 'And Jesus said' and 'And Jesus taught', constitute the true Injil. It is the totality of such fragments which is designated as the Injil by the Qur'an, and it is the teachings contained in these fragments that the Qur'an confirms. If these fragments are put together and compared with the teachings of the Qur'an one notices very few discrepancies between the two, and any discrepancies that are found can be resolved easily by unbiased reflection.

**********************************

In terms of this particular commentary by Mr. Maududi, I would submit that Deuteronomy 6:4-8 and Leviticus 19:9-18 are good candididates for authentic Torat and Injeel material, given this description. They seem to fulfill all the criteria. Take a look...


"And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying...": Leviticus 19:1

“Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the rules that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it: Deuteronomy 6:1

But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he (Jesus) said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”: Matthew 22:34-40


So...

If it is indeed true that the aforemention texts are good candididates for authentic Torat and Injeel material (according to the specifications of the Maulana Maududi commentary mentioned earlier in this thread), then the "true Muslim" (from Abd Al-Ati's perspective) MUST believe in those passages as genuine revelation from Allah and live them out faithfully.


Any and all response is gracious welcome, brothers and sisters.

[YieldedOne]

So, here's my perspective on what Isa was teaching...

Torah-asserted, Jesus-affirmed Commandments from God
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”


Torah-asserted, Jesus-affirmed Criteria for "Loving Your Neighbor As Yourself"(Leviticus 19:9-18)
1) When you gain from your work, don't just think about yourself. Think of the poor and the wayfarer.
2) Don't steal.
3) Don't operate by false pretenses or motives.
4) Don't lie to each other.
5) Don't oppress or rob your neighbor.
6) Don't mistreat the physically (or mentally) challenged.
7) Don't promote injustice or partiality. Judge righteously.
8) Don't slander others.
9) Don’t threaten the life of your neighbors.
10) Don't hate your brother (or sister) "in your heart."
11) Don't take vengeance for yourself.
12) Don't hold a grudge against your neighbor.

The "New" Commandment from Jesus
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another."

"This is my command: Love each other."

Verification of Jesus' teachings by His disciples and followers
"For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another." --1 John 3:11

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” --Galatians 5:13-14, Paul

The Core Message of Jesus as God's Prophet and Messenger:
Human beings are to express singular worship of and submission to the One Uncreated Creator by a) thanksgiving, adoration and glorification to the Creator and b) works of loving-kindness and compassion to others and ourselves. In this, we are also to consecrate ourselves and be holy, compassionate, merciful, and loving because our Creator is holy, compassionate, merciful and loving.

[YieldedOne]

I really don't see to many followers of Islam fundamentally disagreeing with any of this stuff..but I'm a Christian, so I don't know.

Which is part of why I'm having this discussion here. Does this line of thinking work, regarding Isa as Prophet and Messenger of Allah, the Quran's veneration of the Torat and Injeel, etc.? Is there any faith-based reason why a Muslim would say that the commandment from Isa (via Moses) to "love your neighbor as yourself" wouldn't be an acceptable tenet of faith as a Muslim?

I'm asking these questions very honestly, siblings. Just straight askin'.

All the response I can get...I will be eternally greatful for.

For the glory, honor, and love of Allah the Loving and Exceedingly Compassionate!

[Eric H]

Greetings and peace be with you YieldedOne, welcome to the forum;

Interesting questions

In the spirit of praying to One God

Eric

[YieldedOne]

Thanks for the welcome, Eric. Peace and blessings, bro. ;o)

And I love your signature thought. Yeah!

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might."

[Ramadhan]

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might."

I agree.

Hence, you shall never partner anything to Him. Not even a human being prophet who was given miracles.

[YieldedOne]

Welcome to the discussion, naidamar! It's nice to know that we both agree with the belief of One God aka Deut. 6:4. What do you think about those questions I asked? I'd love to get your impressions.

[YieldedOne]

All my Muslim brothers and sisters out there. Your feedback would be ever so helpful with this thought project, critical or otherwise.

Any and all feedback will be greatly appreciated!

Definitely waitin' on your response, naidamar...hehe...

[YieldedOne]

Brothers? Sisters?

[YieldedOne]

Aw, come on now. Nobody?

[YieldedOne]

I guess patience is a virtue. Seriously though, peeps. I really do wanna see if this line of argument is good or not. If it doesn't work, I sure wanna know about it. Hit me with your best shot.

If anything, do it just for the heck of it!

[YieldedOne]

Reading material while I'm waiting:

"A Common Word Between Us and You"


(Google "A Common Word" and it will come right up!)

Composed by 138 Islamic authorities and scholars from around the world...

[YusufNoor]

i'm assuming this post is referring to:

28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[e] 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’[f] 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[g] There is no commandment greater than these.”

32 “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and the

w/o referring to all of the OP's sidebars, my opinion on this is:

those 2 commands sum up the "Decalogue," and as such, the "Decalogue" is the core of Judaism, SHOULD be the core/foundation of Christianity and IS the core/foundation of Islam

that's in the fewest words possible.

[YieldedOne]

First of all, Yusuf...

:rock:


Thanks for the interaction!

Next...you said...

those 2 commands sum up the "Decalogue," and as such, the "Decalogue" is the core of Judaism, SHOULD be the core/foundation of Christianity and IS the core/foundation of Islam. that's in the fewest words possible.

You are exactly right, bro. Deuteronomy 6:4-6 and Leviticus 19:9-18 is a restatement of the Decalogue, which is core to all 3 Abrahamic faiths. Which is why it absolutely makes SENSE for both Old Testatment passages to be candidates for AUTHENTIC Torat of Moses and the Matthew 22:34-40 New Testament passage to be seen as authentic Injeel of Jesus. Especially along with all of the information given earlier.

What all this means is that, as you have said, the "Great Commandments" of Jesus is part of the "core/foundation of Islam"...SAME AS Christianity (at least in principle). And THAT means that we have common criteria by which to hold each other and ourselves accountable when it comes to how Muslims and Christians relate to themselves and others.

Torah-asserted, Jesus-affirmed Criteria for "Loving Your Neighbor As Yourself"(Leviticus 19:9-18)
1) When you gain from your work, don't just think about yourself. Think of the poor and the wayfarer.
2) Don't steal.
3) Don't operate by false pretenses or motives.
4) Don't lie to each other.
5) Don't oppress or rob your neighbor.
6) Don't mistreat the physically (or mentally) challenged.
7) Don't promote injustice or partiality. Judge righteously.
8) Don't slander others.
9) Don’t threaten the life of your neighbors.
10) Don't hate your brother (or sister) "in your heart."
11) Don't take vengeance for yourself.
12) Don't hold a grudge against your neighbor.

To the extent a Muslim ISN'T doing this, they are denying their faith. To the extent a Christian ISN'T doing this, they are denying their faith.

That thought alone should give us ALL pause...

[YieldedOne]

So, if I hear YusufMoor right, the "Great Commandments" of Isa ARE essential to the "true" Muslim faith.

Let's just pick THREE of these...

--Don't hold a grudge against you neighbor.

--Don't slander others.

--Don't operate by false pretenses or motives.

Can you imagine how much Muslim/Christian dialogue would be transformed if we JUST did these things? If we could UN-GRUDGE all of the vitriol about the Christian Crusades and the Islamic "Ghazawats"?

What if BOTH SIDES really believed that to hold grudges against their neighbor was to BREAK FAITH with Allah and his servant Jesus/Isa...such that they didn't do it anymore?

It's almost too good to be true.

[MartyrX]

As the Imam said at Jumma, we all need to practice forgiveness. Each and everyone of us of all faiths.

[YieldedOne]

So...

Whenever I look in the New Testament and I see Jesus saying:

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another."

I'm inclined to believe that he probably really, historically TAUGHT that as God's authorized Messenger and Prophet. Why? Because it's so SIMILIAR to what's already been taught and re-taught, it just makes sense!

And this "Love one another" teaching is binding on any who believe in Jesus as God's authorized Messenger and Prophet.

Yeah.

[YieldedOne]

Ok. I'm putting this over here...because I think it applies much more here. (Plus I think I've caused enough issues over there! )

MustafaMc:
Other Muslims correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that the Quran is a subset of the all inclusive "Mother of the Book" in the sense that the Taurat and the Injeel were subsets of it.

Questions:
1) Is what MustafaMc saying correct? About the Torat and the Injeel being subsets within the "Mother of the Book"
2) If so, is it safe to say that Jesus/Isa's Torat-Injeel "Great Commandments" are included in those subsets?

Insanely curious. Or just insane. Ha!