What Does Islam Say About the Christian Creed of Vicarious Sacrifice?


11 November, 2020


QChristians believe that Jesus died for their sins and God needed that to happen because there must be a sacrifice to the sin and it just can't be removed as that will make God unjust, also they claim that it's the same thing with Allah(swt) in Islam based on the hadith of (Sahih Muslim 2767), as it's mentioned that Allah(swt) will put the sin of Muslims on the disbelievers(in this case Jews and Christians) so they ask If their sin can just go away, then why does it have to go on the disbelievers? Why can’t the sin just be obliterated? Why can’t the sin just be placed aside in Hell itself away from everyone?


ANSWER

Professor Shahul Hameed


11 November, 2020


Short Answer:

This hadith refers to a set of disbelievers guilty of horrible sins including those committed on believers. As mentioned in another famous hadith, one way of punishing the sinners is to mete out to them the same punishments meant for the sinners among their victims.


Obviously this is quite different from the Christian idea of punishing the innocent instead of the sinners.


This means that any person who does good deeds, does so for his own benefit; and any who does bad deeds, does so for his own loss. And no one shall bear the burden of another.


Allah in the Quran says:

“Whoever chooses to follow the right path, follows it but for his own good; and whoever goes astray. goes but astray to his own hurt; and no bearer of burdens shall be made to bear another’s burden.” (Quran 17:15)

This means that any person who does good deeds, does so for his own benefit; and any who does bad deeds, does so for his own loss. And no one shall bear the burden of another.

………….

Salam brother,

Thank you for your question and for contacting Ask About Islam.

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What Does Islam Say About The Christian Creed of Vicarious Sacrifice?


This is the hadith you referred to:

Abu Burda reported Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) as saying:

There would come people amongst the Muslims on the Day of Resurrection with as heavy sins as a mountain, and Allah would forgive them and He would place in their stead the Jews and the Christians. (As far as I think), Abu Raub said: I do not know as to who is in doubt. Abu Burda said: I narrated it to ‘Umar b. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz, whereupon he said: Was it your father who narrated it to you from Allah’s Apostle (peace be upon him)? I said: Yes.

This hadith belongs to the list of authentic hadiths.

All the same, scholars have raised some points about its interpretation.

First, in Islam the Quran is always first and the hadiths are only secondary in their status. Whenever the implication of a hadith is contrary to a clearly stated Quranic dictum, it is subjected to further investigation.

Interpretation of this Hadith


There are mainly two aspects to the interpretation of this hadith given by scholars:

One, in the light of several Quranic verses that underscore human accountability for actions and reject scapegoating, the argument that Islam ratifies the Christian creed of vicarious atonement is untenable.

Two, the hadith refers to a set of disbelievers guilty of horrible sins including those committed on believers. As mentioned in another famous hadith, one way of punishing the sinners is to mete out to them the same punishments meant for the sinners among their victims. Obviously this is quite different from the Christian idea of punishing the innocent instead of the sinners.

Allah in the Quran says:

“Whoever chooses to follow the right path, follows it but for his own good; and whoever goes astray. goes but astray to his own hurt; and no bearer of burdens shall be made to bear another’s burden.” (Quran 17:15)

This means that any person who does good deeds, does so for his own benefit; and any who does bad deeds, does so for his own loss. And no one shall bear the burden of another.

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The Christian Creed of Vicarious Atonement


This amounts to a clear rejection of the Christian creed of vicarious atonement. In other words, No one, not even Jesus can bear the sins of Christians as you have said in your question.

Besides, the foundation of all forms of ethical behavior is personal responsibility. That is to say, every human possessing reason and understanding can choose between right and wrong or good and evil; and every such human is answerable for his choice. He cannot escape Divine Judgment by foisting it on an innocent person, even if he is supposed to be the Son of God.

And if we argue that God punishes an innocent person to let off sinners, the Divine Scale of Justice is overturned.

You have written: “Christians believe that Jesus died for their sins and God needed that to happen because there must be a sacrifice to the sin and it just can’t be removed as that will make God unjust…”

This is a curious argument. This would mean that for God to remove a sin, a sacrifice should be made, no matter whether the sacrifice is made by the sinner or an innocent person who has nothing to do with the particular sin! In other words, God does not care for the innocence of the person who makes that sacrifice (even if he were His own Son), for letting off an abject sinner! And you call this Divine Justice!

In short, the hadith you quoted does not justify the Christian creed that Jesus was nailed to the cross and was made to suffer a painful death for rescuing every atrocious sinner from the punishment they deserve.

And Allah knows best.


Did Jesus Claim That He Is God?


10 April, 2020


QI want to know your brief viewpoint about these verses of Bible. This is from my Christian friend. He says Muslims always try to prove by the verses of Bible that Jesus is not God. So I would say the following: 1. "...for the Son of man is come to save that which was lost." (Matthew 18:11)How did Jesus save? 2. "For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak." (John 12:49) Jesus is the Son who is before creation. The Son became flesh. God has an order and his order is that flesh should be in submission to the Spirit. Jesus was in the flesh and in submission to the Father. 3. "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill." (Matthew 5:17) This verse means exactly what it says. Jesus came to the world because all men sin and sin caused a separation between man and God. This separation is death. Jesus overcame temptation as a man under law. Jesus overcame sin and death that man could be rejoined to God through the righteousness of Christ for eternal life. 4. "And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God." (Mark 10:18) Jesus again demonstrates his humility as he was flesh. Jesus does not nor did he ever deny being God. Jesus asked the man why he called him good Jesus did not say he was not good. The Bible is very clear that Christ was perfect. 5. "Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me." (Mark 9:37) Perhaps I'm unsure of what your point is with this verse. Jesus teaches us that those who accept Christians in his name also receive him and the Father. There are also many other examples from the Bible that illustrate how Jesus never claimed to be God, although he always affirmed that he was the son of a human. You are correct in the fact that Jesus did not scream out 'I am God; worship me'. This is also by the order of God and according to the prophecies of his coming. Jesus referred to himself as The Son of God and as "I am" which is as God referred to himself to Moses. Jesus did not come to the world to prove he was God nor to prove that God exists but to save man form sin and death. I give you two examples. In Luke Jesus tells the devil a man should worship only God. Yet in John Jesus allows himself to be worshiped. "Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshiped him." (John 9:35-38).


ANSWER

Professor Shahul Hameed


10 April, 2020


Short Answer: 

We do not find Jesus making any amendment to the First Commandment to suggest that Jesus is God Himself, or God incarnate! Read on to understand where the confusion arose.


………….

Salam Dear Jazib,

Thank you for your questions and for contacting Ask About Islam.

The First Commandment


In this response, I directly address the Christian friend, who said that “Muslims always try to prove by the verses of the Bible that Jesus is not God.” So I would say the following:

Please see the First of the Ten Commandments given to Moses. Read the Book of Deuteronomy, verse 4:

[Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord]

The very same First Commandment is endorsed by Jesus in Mark:

[And one of the scribes came, and … asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:] (Mark 12:28-29, KJV)

We do not find Jesus making any amendment to the First Commandment to suggest that Jesus is God Himself, or God incarnate! Isn’t it odd?

With regard to your question:

[…for the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.] (Matthew 18:11) How did Jesus save?

To understand what Jesus meant by this verse, you need to quote the next verse too:

[How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?] (Matthew 18:12, KJV)

Jesus’ Mission


From this it is clear that Jesus’ mission was to bring those Children of Israel who had deviated from the Religion, back to the fold. Thus “saving” in this context does not signify, as is claimed by Christians, “redemption through vicarious sacrifice”. It simply means rescuing from perdition those who had gone astray.

As for your quote:

[For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.] (John 12:49)

John 12:49 underscores the fact that Jesus is the Messenger — one who is sent — of God. So, whatever Jesus said was revealed to him by God. This also very clearly shows that Jesus was not God. Note that he does not say that he spoke for himself as God. Where does the verse say that Jesus ‘is the Son before creation’? The whole Pauline theology about God becoming flesh is completely alien to Jesus’ teaching here.

Commenting on this quote,

[Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.] (Matthew 5:17)

Certainly, one wonders how the quoted verse can mean what you are saying. There is nothing there to even remotely suggest that ‘Jesus overcame sin and death that man could be rejoined to God through the righteousness of Christ for eternal life.’

Jesus and the Torah


Instead, it is obvious that Jesus did not want to destroy the Law, namely the Torah and its commandments, as well as the teachings of the earlier prophets. His mission was to fulfill the mission of the earlier proDid Jesus Claim That He Is God?phets. That is to say, He meant NOT to invalidate the Law, but to take it towards its completion.

We see Jesus in the Gospels as a Jewish rabbi who always upheld the Law. Read the verses:

[For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever, therefore, shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach [them], the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.] (Matthew 5:18-19, KJV)

Indeed Jesus never detracted anything from the Law of Moses; whereas see what Paul did. Read this verse,

[For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness for everyone who believes.] (Romans 10:4, KJV)

Indeed, this is a blatant contradiction of what Jesus taught: that not one dot or iota in the Law will be affected until heaven and earth pass.

The present Christian belief suggests that heaven and earth have already passed.

Did Jesus Claim That He Is God?


In this quote,

[And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God.] (Mark 10:18)

Jesus emphatically corrects any notion that he was God; he does not like to be called even good, as genuine goodness is a quality of God alone. If Jesus were God, his words do not make sense; because, it does not befit God to humble Himself before His creatures.

Commenting on this quote:

[Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me.] (Mark 9:37)

Read the previous verse, and the confusion will vanish.

[And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them.]  (Mark 9:36, KJV)

By the analogy of receiving a child in Jesus’ name, Jesus teaches his followers that whoever accepts Jesus, effectively accepts God Who sent Jesus. This does not mean that those who receive Christians, would be considered as receiving God or Jesus.Did Jesus Claim That He Is God?

Jesus Never Claimed to be God


You stated that: “You are correct in the fact that Jesus did not scream out I am God worship me.”

This is also by the order of God and according to the prophecies of his coming. Jesus referred to himself as “The Son of God” and as “I am” which is as God referred to himself to Moses. Jesus did not come to the world to prove he was God nor to prove God exist but to save man from sin and death.

Indeed, if Jesus had been God, he should have screamed out, “I am God”, as he looked so human.  As noted above, this was essential, because of the repeated declaration in different verses of the Bible that God is one only, such as this verse from Hosea 13:4: “.. You shall acknowledge no God but me, no Savior except me.”

Meaning of Son of God


‘Son of God’ is a phrase used in the Bible for several persons; and so it does not denote that God had literally a son:

[The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose.] (Genesis 6:2, KJV)

In this verse, all men were called “the sons of God”.

[…Adam, which was the son of God.] (Luke 3:38, KJV)

Here Adam is called the son of God.

[Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.] (Matthew 5:9, KJV)

Here we find none other than Jesus saying that all the peacemakers will be called the sons of God.

Do Christians argue that Jesus was God’s son in a literal sense, as Abel was Adam’s son, or Jacob was Isaac’s son?

“I am”


About the name: “I am”: Moses asked God what his name was; and God answered thus:

[And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you] (Exodus 3:14, KJV)

We need to understand that “I am” stands for the original Hebrew phrase: YHWH or Yahweh.

“Most scholars believe YHWH is related to a root word meaning “to be present” or “to exist” and probably meant either “He creates or causes” or simply “I AM”, meaning that God did not depend on anyone or anything for His existence.”

In fact the verse “I am has sent me unto you” could be rendered, “He who creates has sent me unto you”. Indeed “I am that I am” is God’s answer to the impertinent question: “What is your name?” asked of Almighty God.

Eager to prove the divinity of Jesus, Christians argue that simply because Jesus used the phrase “I am” in certain contexts (Examples: Matthew 16:15; Mark 14:62), he must be God. In which case, don’t we all use the phrase “I am” in some context or other?

Quote


With regard to this quote,

[Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? 36 He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? 37 And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. 38 And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshiped him.] (John 9:35-83)

the verses do not prove that Jesus was God. The man whom Jesus addressed asked him about the Son of God, and Jesus said he himself was the Son of God. And note that Jesus had asked him only to believe in the Son of God, and not to worship him.Did Jesus Claim That He Is God?

But then, we are told that the man ‘worshiped’ him. From the context, we do not know what he exactly he did by way of worshiping. Probably, the man bowed to Jesus or showed some sign of obeisance to him, the way people show respect to a great man. But that does not in any way indicate that Jesus allowed the man, let alone asked him, to worship him as God.

Finally, you quoted:

[He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.] (Matthew 16:15-17)

The above verses also do not mean that Jesus claimed to be God. They only mean that Simon Peter acknowledged that Jesus was the Son of God, and then Jesus said that it was revealed to him, by God the Father. How could this mean that God the Father who is in heaven is the same as ‘the Son of God’ who was standing before Peter?

I hope this answers your questions. Please keep in touch.

Salam.

Did Jesus Die to Bring Eternal Life to Man?


29 October, 2016


QHi, or Salam to you. I have a question about what you think of Jesus, who accomplished his mission by dying for the sins of the world and rising from the dead on the third day. By this he destroyed the devil’s power of sin and death and brought forth life and immortality to all who believe. Do you think that God has the power to do this if He wants? The Prophet Isaiah prophesied 700 years before the birth of Christ that the Christ would come to present himself as a sacrificial lamb who would suffer for the guilty and take the punishment due their sins in order to justify them and please God (Isaiah 52:13-53:12). The death of Christ was something that God planned from before eternity and Christ willingly submitted to. How do you respond to this? Jesus said that no man can take his life from him. Jesus said that he willingly lay down his life and then took it back up again (John 10:17-18). How do you respond?Thank you, may God give us the way, the truth and the life.


ANSWER

Professor Shahul Hameed


29 October, 2016


Salam Dear Jeff,

Thank you very much for your question and for contacting Ask About Islam.

Of the Christian creed about the suffering and death of Jesus for saving “the world” (see John 3:16), we get a good idea from Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ.

You can have the painful experience of watching two hours of gruesome, sadistic stomach-churning torture. And if someone asks you why this is done to God, you can say this is absolutely necessary to save your skin from hellfire.

You may also risk anti-Semitism by blaming the Jews, though this would be hypocritical because without their cooperation, how could you be saved? Besides, to blame the Jews alone for the torture and crucifixion of Jesus would be unjust; the whole of humanity shares the guilt, not merely those who sadistically inflict the pain on Jesus, but also—at least—those who believe that their salvation depends on an innocent man being bound and chained, beaten, spat upon, kicked, mocked, flogged until his flesh is ripped piece by piece, and finally nailed to the cross.

One can argue that the terrible spectacle of the torture and murder of the “only begotten” Son of God sinks humanity deeper into sin rather than redeem from it!

You ask me, “By this he destroyed the devil’s power of sin and death and brought forth life and immortality to all who believe. Do you think that God has the power to do this if He wants?”

My dear brother, God is All-Powerful; He can do things we cannot imagine. But just think, why should God send an innocent man to suffer for the guilty, when God is All-Just? If man is sinful, God can command him to repent and return to God, or the All-Merciful God can simply forgive him.

Why should God undermine His own justice and mercy by saying in the first place that all the babies born are sinful because Adam committed an Original Sin and the only way out is that His innocent son must suffer and die? Just imagine, this is to save all the fornicators and robbers and murderers of the world.

Most assuredly this cannot be. Because in the first place, God is One and One Only, (as your own Bible repeatedly says; and as Jesus Christ himself has most emphatically said in Mark 12:29, for instance). And so there was no God the Son, nor was Jesus the only begotten of God.

Second, punishing a surrogate for the sinner violates the basic principles of divine justice. The church dogma that Adam and Eve disobeyed God and that all the children born generation after generation deserve eternal damnation for that reason, unless they believe that God had to sacrifice Himself (because Father and Son are not two Gods) on the cross is a grievous sin against God by itself, to say the least.

What is more, it is said that this was all planned by God in advance, “before eternity”! If so, that belief must absolve all humans from the original sin at once; but the Christians insist that only those who hold this blasphemous belief are redeemed!

You have given verses from the Bible, which you may claim to support your beliefs. But none of these verses is unambiguous: they lend themselves to other interpretations, too. And how will you reconcile your interpretation of those verses with other verses in your own Bible that clearly state that God is One and One Only?

Can you quote one verse from Jesus himself, where he clearly and categorically teaches that belief in vicarious atonement by an innocent man for the sinners is the key to the truth, the way, and the life?

The foregoing gives an idea of the stance of Islam on the above issue, which is derived from the verses of the Quran that say what means:

{The similitude of Jesus before God is as that of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him: “Be”. And he was} (Aal `Imran 3:59).

One of the “proofs” for Jesus to be considered God is that he was born miraculously without a human father. In that case, here is a better candidate for the sonship of God: Adam, who was “born” without a father or a mother!

Furthermore, it is stated that both Adam and Jesus were created from dust, and both came into existence when God said “Be.” Thus it is clear that Jesus was no more than a human; what was special about him was that God chose him to be a great prophet and a sign for the whole world, as mentioned elsewhere in the Quran.

The Quran says what means:

{Who receiveth guidance, receiveth it for his own benefit: who goeth astray doth so to his own loss: No bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another: nor would We visit with Our wrath until We had sent an apostle [to give warning]} (Al-Israa’ 17:15).

In this verse, the doctrine of personal responsibility in all human actions is underscored; man is gifted with freedom of will and action. And we must not be under the delusion that an innocent Son of God has cleared us of all our iniquities by suffering our punishment. Allah is not unjust in the least; and no one will be punished without an advance warning.

The picture is clear: God has no son, nor does He punish an innocent man for the sins of others; each is responsible for his or her own actions. That is because God is All-Just, All-Wise.

And God knows best.

Thank you again for your question and please keep in touch.

Salam.