Eye on the truth
by Faten Sabri
Preface
This book is a brief summary from the origin of Christianity to its present-day reality. Christians need to know that the original message preached by Jesus was the belief in One God and unifying Him in worship. In this summary, I will refer to the Qur'anic verses which mention the story of Jesus Christ and his mother, as well as the Biblical verses to highlight to the Christian readers the True Message of Jesus Christ using their own sources. This book is for all open-minded people and the seekers of the truth, to let them know that what was sent by the Creator (Allah)1 to all nations, through all His messengers, throughout history, was one unique message which is Pure Monotheism. Prophet Jesus was one of God’s pious messengers who endeavored to guide their people to the truth, but many people followed their interpretations and went far from his prophetic teachings. I pray to God that this book will be beneficial to its readers and a source of guidance and blessing, in this life and in the hereafter.
1The Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the Middle East use the word "Allah" to refer to God. It means The Only True God. The word Allah was mentioned in the earlier version of the Old Testament 89 times. (Refer to Genesis 2:4, Book of Daniel 6:20: Hebrew and Arabic Bibles)
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Introduction The belief in the Oneness of God – as a theological concept – began at a very early stage in history. In fact, it preceded by many centuries, the belief in the Trinity (which was never mentioned in the teachings of the prophets of God i.e. Abraham, Moses, and even Jesus Christ himself.)
All Prophets carried the same message to all nations. A simple straightforward message that is considered the condition of salvation: Belief in One God (the Creator) and unifying Him in worship. Every Prophet was the way for the people of his time to get salvation; by following his teachings; worshiping like him - not worshipping the Prophet himself or any other intermediary (idol, saint, priest, etc.). It is the right of the Creator to be worshipped alone and the right of every human being to have a direct connection with His Creator. Prophet Abraham is the ancestor of Judah, the namesake of the Jews. The Jews firmly believe that there is only one God. Judah taught his people the religion of Prophet Abraham and the religion of all the Prophets who came before him which is Pure Monotheism (believing in One God and unifying Him in worship). This is the exact definition of Islam, the religion which started with Prophet Adam and continued with Prophet Muhammad – the last Prophet.
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The Concept of the Trinity
It’s difficult to reconcile the original message of Jesus, the honored human prophet, preaching in Jerusalem to the Trinitarian Christianity with Jesus as God and/or son of God adopted in the Council of Nicea 2 three centuries later. According to Jesus:
"Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only True God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." (John 17:3)
According to Will Durant, the doctrine of the Trinity which was affirmed in the fourth century CE bears no resemblance to the original teachings of Christ concerning the nature of God. It is a complete deviation from his teachings.
Will Durant: "When Christians conquered Rome, the new religion (i.e., Christianity) was infused with the blood of the old idolatrous religion: the title of archbishop, worship for the great mother, and an innumerable number of lords who gave peace of mind and were like who exist in all places and cannot be detected with the senses. All of this came into Christianity as the blood of the mother comes into her child. The civilized empire handed over power and administration to the papacy and the impact of the word replaced the impact of the sword. The preachers of the church started to have positions of power. Christianity instead of putting an end to idolatry, it reinforced it. The Greek faith came back in the rituals and the doctrines of the church and the monastic saints." 3 The doctrine of the Trinity, the idea of worshipping the mother and the child and the idea of the mystical union with God came from Egypt, and led to Platonism, agnosticism, and the erasing of Christian doctrine. Mithraism, which is a religion of Persian origin, prospered in Persia around six centuries before the birth of Christ, and it reached Rome around the year 70 CE,
2 The Council of Nicaea, the first ecumenical debate held by the early Christian church, concludes with the establishment of the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, convened by Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325. 3The Story of Civilization 11/418, An American writer, historian, and philosopher.
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where it spread throughout the Roman lands. Then it reached Britain and spread to a number of British cities. Mithras, was an intermediary between God and man (a similar doctrine in Christianity). ➢ He was born in a cave or in a corner of the earth. ➢ His birthday was December 25 (which is the day celebrated by the Christians as the day when Jesus was born) ➢ He had twelve disciples. ➢ He died to save the world. ➢ He was buried but he came back to life. ➢ He was called "Savior". ➢ Among his attributes is that he was like a peaceful lamb. ➢ The "Divine supper" was held in his memory every year. ➢ One of his symbols was baptism. ➢ Sunday was sacred to him. What the Biblical Scholars say about the Trinity?
Leon Joteh:
"The origin of the concept of the Trinity was found in the Greek philosophy, specifically in the ideas of modern Platonism, which took the basis of the idea of Trinity as a view of the Creator of the universe from Plato, then developed it to a great extent, so that the resemblance between this idea and Christianity became greater. So (in their view) the Creator, the One Who is absolutely perfect, appointed two intermediaries between Him and mankind, who emanated from Him, and were also part of Him at the same time, meaning that
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they are contained in His essence. These two entities are reasoning and divine spirit." 4 Then he said: "The marriage of Jewish belief and Greek philosophy did not only produce philosophy, rather it produced a religion too, namely Christianity which imbibed many ideas from the Greeks. The christian concept of divinity is taken from the same source as modern Platonism. Hence you see many similarities between the two, although they may vary in some details. They are both based on a belief in Trinity, in which the three ‘persons’ are one." God confirms this in the Qur’an:
"., and the Christians say, ‘The Messiah is the son of God.’ That is their statement from their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved [before them]’ " (Qur’an 9:30) 5
John Draper:
"Idolatry and polytheism entered Christianity through the influence of the hypocrites who occupied positions of influence and high positions in the Roman state by pretending to be Christians, but they never cared about religion and were not sincere at all. Similarly, Constantine had spent his life in darkness and evil, and he did not follow the commands of the church except for a short while at the end of his life." 6
There is only one verse in the Bible that is taken as evidence for the concept of the Trinity:
➢ "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in
4An introduction to Islamic philosophy. A French Orientalist
5 The last book sent by God. Muslims believe as well in all the earlier revelations of God (the scriptures of Abraham, the book of David, the Torah, The Gospel, etc.). Muslims believe that the original message in all the sacred books is Pure Monotheism (Unifying God in worship). Unlike the Divine scriptures that preceded, the Qur’an has not been kept in the hands of any particular group or clergymen of Muslims which could have led to its misinterpretation or alteration. On the contrary, the Qur’an has always been within the reach of all Muslims who recite it in their daily prayers, and refer to it for all their concerns. 6 History of the Conflict between Religion and Science, John William Draper an English-born American scientist.
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earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one." (1 John 5:7-8 KJV)
However, it is very well known that this verse is a later insertion of the Church. All recent versions of the Bible and most others do not include this verse.
Bart Ehrman:
"…, this represents the most obvious instance of a theologically motivated corruption in the entire manuscript tradition of the New Testament." 7
This verse is a Latin modification that found its way into a Greek translation of the Bible despite being absent from the thousands of other Biblical versions.
This verse is so well known that it has been given as special title: "Comma Johanneum." Comma means a short clause.
Modern Biblical translations come from two manuscripts:
➢ Codex Sinaiticus, which has more edits than any other manuscript in Biblical history (14800 edits).
➢ Codex Vaticanus. which comes from the Vatican.
Neither of these two manuscripts contain the Comma Johanneum. Nor is it found in modern Bible translations with the exception of the NKJV where it was added in order to match the KJV. This might be because the King James New Testament was compiled from over 5000 copies of copies of the original manuscripts which have long since perished.
This added verse was found in only one of the 5000 plus manuscripts. All major theologians do not acknowledge this verse.
In the King James Version, we read:
➢ "(7) for there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. (8) And there are three that bear
7 The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture. Published in 1996. page 116. An American New Testament scholar.
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witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one." (1 John 5:7-8)
According to The Thomas Nelson & Sons Catholic Commentary:
"It is now generally held that this passage, called the Comma Johanneum, is a gloss that crept into the text of the Old Latin and Vulgate at an early date, but found its way into the Greek text only in the 15th and 16th centuries." 8
The verse (1 John 5:7-8) in NIV and most other Bible translations reads:
➢ "(7) for there are three that testify: (8) the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement."
Desiderius Erasmus in "Novum Instrumentum omne"- the first published New Testament in Greek- 9 did not include the infamous Comma Johanneum of 1 John 5:7-8 in the 1516 or 1519 editions. However, it made its way into his third edition in 1522 because of pressure from the Catholic Church.
When his first edition was published in 1516, such a great furor arose over the absence of the Comma that Erasmus, to defend himself, argued that he did not include the Comma Trinitarian formula because he found no Greek manuscripts that included it. Once such a manuscript was produced - the Codex 61 - which was written by one Roy or Froy at Oxford in c. 1520, he reluctantly agreed to include it in his subsequent editions.
Erasmus probably altered the text because of politico-theological-economic concerns. He did not want his reputation to be ruined, or his Novum Instrumentum to go unsold. Thus, the Comma passed into the Stephanus Greek New Testament in 1551 (first New Testament in verses), which came to be called the Textus Receptus, and became the basis for the Geneva Bible New Testament in 1557 and the Authorized King James Version in 1611.
8 The Thomas Nelson &Sons Catholic Commentary. 1953
9 This Greek text is also referred to it as the Textus Receptus.
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Benjamin Wilson:
"This text concerning the heavenly witness is not contained in any Greek manuscript 10 which was written earlier than the fifteenth century. It is not cited by any of the ecclesiastical writers; not by any of early Latin fathers even when the subjects upon which they treated would naturally have led them to appeal to its authority. It is therefore evidently spurious." 11
Martin Luther kept out the passage in his German Bible (1545). But in 1574 the printer Feyerabend added it to later editions of Luther's translation.
10 (A Conservative Version) “BECAUSE THOSE WHO TESTIFY ARE THREE.” Analytical-Literal Translation) “BECAUSE THREE ARE THE ONES TESTIFYING.” (An Understandable Version-The New Testament) “FOR THERE ARE THREE WHO GIVE THEIR TESTIMONY [about Jesus].” (American Standard Version) “AND IT IS THE SPIRIT THAT BEARETH WITNESS, BECAUSE THE SPIRIT IS THE TRUTH.” (Bible Basic English) “AND THE SPIRIT IS THE WITNESS, BECAUSE THE SPIRIT IS TRUE.” (Contemporary English Version) “IN FACT, THERE ARE THREE WHO TELL ABOUT IT.” (The Complete Jewish Bible) “THERE ARE THREE WITNESSES.” (Common Edition, New Testament) “AND IT IS THE SPIRIT WHO BEARS WITNESS, BECAUSE THE SPIRIT IS THE TRUTH.” (Darby) “FOR THEY THAT BEAR WITNESS ARE THREE.” (English Majority Text Version) “FOR THERE ARE THREE THAT BEAR WITNESS.” (English Standard Version) “FOR THERE ARE THREE THAT TESTIFY.” (Good News Bible) “THERE ARE THREE WITNESSES.” (God's Word) “THERE ARE THREE WITNESSES.” (Holman Christian Standard Bible) “FOR THERE ARE THREE THAT TESTIFY.” (The Hebrew Names Version) “FOR THERE ARE THREE WHO TESTIFY.” (International Standard Version) “FOR THERE ARE THREE WITNESSES.” (Living Oracles New Testament) “AND IT IS THE SPIRIT WHO TESTIFIED; BECAUSE THE SPIRIT IS THE TRUTH.” (The Message) “A TRIPLE TESTIMONY.” (New American Standard Bible) “FOR THERE ARE THREE THAT TESTIFY.” (New Century Version) “SO THERE ARE THREE WITNESSES THAT TELL US ABOUT JESUS.” (NET Bible) “FOR THERE ARE THREE THAT TESTIFY.” (New International Reader's Version) “THERE ARE THREE THAT GIVE WITNESS ABOUT JESUS.” (New International Version) “FOR THERE ARE THREE THAT TESTIFY.” (New Living Translation) “SO WE HAVE THESE THREE WITNESSES .” (New Revised Standard Version Bible) “THERE ARE THREE THAT TESTIFY.” (Revised Standard Version) “AND THE SPIRIT IS THE WITNESS, BECAUSE THE SPIRIT IS THE TRUTH.” (Revised Version) “AND IT IS THE SPIRIT THAT BEARETH WITNESS, BECAUSE THE SPIRIT IS THE TRUTH.” (The Scriptures 1998) “BECAUSE THERE ARE THREE WHO BEAR WITNESS.” (Twentieth Century New Testament) “IT IS A THREE-FOLD TESTIMONY.” (Updated Bible Version) “FOR THERE ARE THREE WHO BEAR WITNESS.” (World English Bible) “FOR THERE ARE THREE WHO TESTIFY.”
11 The True Message of Jesus Christ. Scripture translator, “Emphatic Diaglott.”
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The Expositor's Bible Commentary also dismisses the King James and New King James Versions' additions as:
➢ "Obviously a late gloss with no merit." 12
Edward Gibbon:
"All the manuscripts now exist, above fourscore in number, some of which are more than 1200 years old, the orthodox copies of the Vatican, of the Complutensian editors, of Robert Stephens are becoming invisible; and the two manuscripts of Dublin and Berlin are unworthy to form an exception. In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the Bibles were corrected by Lan Frank, Archbishop of Canterbury, and by Nicholas, a cardinal and librarian of the Roman church, secundum Ortodoxam fidem. Notwithstanding these corrections, the passage is still wanted in twenty-five Latin manuscripts, the oldest and fairest; two qualities seldom united, except in manuscripts. The three witnesses have been established in our Greek Testaments by the prudence of Erasmus; the honest bigotry of the Complutensian editors; the typographical fraud, or error, of Robert Stephens in the placing of a crotchet and the deliberate falsehood, or strange misapprehension, of Theodore Beza." 13
Gibbon’s findings were supported by his contemporaries, such as the brilliant British scholar Richard Porson who also proceeded to publish conclusive proof that (1 John 5:7) was first added by the Church in 400 A.D.
The most learned scholars of Christianity now unanimously recognize this verse to be a later interpolation of the Church has not prevented the preservation of this fabricated text in our modern Bibles. To this day, the Bible in the hands of the majority of Christians such as the KJV still unapologetically includes this verse as the inspired word of God without so much as a footnote to inform the reader that all noteworthy scholars of Christianity unanimously recognize it as a later fabrication.
12 The New Testament Canon. Glenn Barker, Vol. 12, 1981, p. 353.
13 Decline and fall of the Roman Empire, IV, Gibbon, p. 418.
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It was only the horrors of the great inquisitions which held Sir Isaac Newton back from openly revealing these facts. According to Newton, this verse first appeared for in the third edition of Erasmus's (1466-1536) New Testament.
The text in (1 John 5:7) only exists in eight Greek manuscripts. These contain the verse in what appears to be a translation from a late recension of the Latin Vulgate. Four of the eight manuscripts contain the verse as a variant reading written in the margin to identify it as a later addition to the manuscript.14
The passage is not quoted by any of the Greek Fathers, it would most certainly was adopted in the Trinitarian controversies. Its first appearance in Greek is in a Greek version of the (Latin) Acts of the Lateran Council in 1215.
Furthermore, the text does not exist in the manuscripts of all ancient versions (Syriac, Coptic, Armenian, Ethiopic, Arabic, Slavonic), with the exception of the Latin version; and it is not found in the Old Latin version in its early form (Tertullian Cyprian Augustine), or in the Vulgate.15
The earliest instance of the passage being quoted as a part of the actual text of the Epistle is in a fourth century Latin treatise entitled Liber Apologeticus (chap. 4), attributed either to the Spanish heretic Priscillian (died about 385) or to his follower Bishop Instantius.
14 The eight manuscripts are as follows:
➢ 61: codex Montfortianus, dating from the early sixteenth century.
➢ 88: a variant reading in a sixteenth century hand, added to the fourteenth-century codex Regius of Naples.
➢ 221: a variant reading added to a tenth-century manuscript in the Bodleian Library at Oxford.
➢ 429: a variant reading added to a sixteenth-century manuscript at Wolfenbüttel.
➢ 629: a fourteenth or fifteenth century manuscript in the Vatican.
➢ 636: a variant reading added to a sixteenth-century manuscript at Naples.
➢ 918: a sixteenth-century manuscript at the Escorial, Spain.
➢ 2318: an eighteenth-century manuscript, influenced by the Clementine Vulgate, at Bucharest, Rumania.
15 Issued by Jerome codex Fuldensis. [copied a.d. 541-46] and codex Amiatinus [copied before a.d. 716]) revised by Alcuin (first hand of codex Vallicellianus ninth century).
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J.N. Loughborough:
"The word "Trinity " does not appear in anywhere in the Scriptures. The principal text supposed to teach it is (1 John 5-7) which is an interpolation."16
In fact, the text is not a "strong scriptural argument" after all. The text does not appear in any ancient Greek manuscript earlier than about the 13th century A.D. That is, despite its inclusion in the 1611 original of the King James Version translation into English, it is highly unlikely that it was in the original version of 1 John as John wrote it. No modern Bible translation that I am aware of includes it in the text except the New King James Version, and even this version carries a footnote about the text's absence from Greek manuscripts until relatively recent times. Apparently, it is some scribe's note to himself about the Trinity, originally written in the margin of the manuscript he was copying, and later incorporated into the text by another scribe who may have been uncertain about whether or not it was a correction that belonged in the text; in any case, he opted to include it there.
Dennis Fortin:
"The New Testament does not have any explicit statement on the Trinity apart from 1 John 5:7, which has been rejected as a medieval addition to the text." 17
When thirty-two Biblical scholars backed by fifty collaborating Christian denominations work together to compile the Revised Standard Version of the Bible based upon the most ancient Biblical manuscripts available to them today, there were some very extensive changes made. Among these was the unofficial rejection of the text of 1 John 5:7 as the fabricated insertion which never belonged in the inspired Word of God.
In any way this addition does not confirm the doctrine of the Trinity. The illegitimate addition as it is, presents the Father, Word and Holy Spirit as witnesses. This says 16J.N. Loughborough, Review and Herald. November 5, 1861.
17 God, the Trinity and Adventism. Professor of Historical Theology, Dennis Fortin.
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nothing about the personhood of all three since; verse (7) originally shows inanimate water and blood serving as such.
The word (Trinity) did not come into common use as a religious term until after the Council of Nicea on May 20, 325 A.D., several centuries after the last books of the New Testament were completed, and in fact it is not a Biblical concept, which has been proven to originate from pagan sun worship.
James White made numerous anti-Trinitarian statements and never changed his anti-Trinitarian stance even in the year of his death in 1881 when he said, "The Father was greater than the son in that he was first." 18
The relief of the Original Sin
"And no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another. And if a heavily laden soul calls [another] to [carry some of] its load, nothing of it will be carried, even if he should be a close relative. You can only warn those who fear their Lord unseen and have established prayer. And whoever purifies himself only purifies himself for [the benefit of] his soul. And to God is the [final] destination. " (Qur’an 35:18) Humans cannot be blamed for sins they did not commit, nor can they get salvation without deeds. According to Islam: • Every child is born sinless. It is only after they reach the age of puberty or maturity that they are held accountable for their sins. The first lesson for forgiveness was when God accepted Adam’s repentance for eating the forbidden fruit. • Every soul bears the burden of its own sin. This shows the justice of God. Human beings cannot be blamed for sins they did not commit, nor can they get salvation (if they are evildoers on Earth.) "O mankind, fear your Lord and fear a Day when no father will avail his son, nor will a son avail his father at all. Indeed, the promise of God is 18 James Springer White (August 4, 1821 – August 6, 1881), also known as Elder White, was a co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and husband of Ellen G. White.
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truth, so let not the worldly life delude you and be not deceived about God by the Deceiver. " (Qur’an 31:33) According to Christianity: "Parents are not to be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their parents, each will die for his own sin." (Deuteronomy 24:16) We understand here that: • God is Just. No-one is tortured for a sin he did not commit. You do not sacrifice one child to forgive another’s sin. • God is Perfect; He has no need to die for us. He gives life and death, so He did not die nor was He resurrected. He saved His Prophet Jesus and protected him as He helps and protects His believers. • God is Most Merciful to His creatures, more than a mother is to her children, so He forgives them whenever they repent to Him. It was God’s plan before the creation of Adam that mankind would be placed on earth. Islam does not consider mankind’s life on earth as a punishment, but as part of God’s plan. God created humans to worship Him as He is the Master of the universe. - "And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me. " (Qur’an 51:56) - "And when your Lord said to the angels, ‘Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority.’ They said, ‘Will You place upon it one who causes corruption therein and sheds blood, while we declare Your praise and sanctify You?’ God said, ‘Indeed, I know that which you do not know. " (Qur’an 2:30) The First Forgiveness from God
According to Christianity: The original sin is the sin of the first man, Adam, who disobeyed God in eating the forbidden fruit (of knowledge of good and evil) and, in consequence, transmitted his sin and guilt by heredity to his descendants.
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The Qur’anic verses below tell us about the Islamic perspective of the sin of Adam.
God taught Adam the names of all things
"And He taught Adam the names – all of them. Then He showed them to the angels and said, ‘Inform Me of the names of these, if you are truthful.’ They said, ‘Exalted are You; we have no knowledge except what You have taught us. Indeed, it is You who is the Knowing, the Wise.’ " (Qur’an 2:31-32)
God commanded the Angels to bow down to Adam
"God commands the angels to bow down to Adam. All obey, except for Iblis (Satan), who feels that he is made from fire, should not be bowing to Adam who was made from earth. His disobedience of God’s command followed by his pride caused him to fall out of God’s favor. " (Qur’an 2:33-34) God place Adam and Eve in the garden and tells them that they are free to enjoy of its fruits except one tree. "We 19 said: ‘O Adam! dwell you and your wife in the Garden, and eat of the bountiful things therein as (where and when) you will; but approach not this tree, or you run into harm and transgression.’ " (Qur’an 2:35)
Satan deceived Adam and Eve into eating of the fruits of the tree
"But Satan caused them to slip out of it and removed them from that [condition] in which they had been. And We said, "Go down, [all of you], as enemies to one another, and you will have upon the earth a place of settlement and provision for a time. " (Qur’an 2:36) Addition to the names of all things God wanted to teach Adam how to repent whenever he sins.
19 The reference of God to Himself as WE or US in many verses of the Qur’an denotes Grandeur and Power in Arabic. In the English language this is known as the royal WE, where a plural pronoun is used to refer to a single person holding a high office, such as a monarch. For the avoidance of doubt, the Qur’an has consistently reminded us of the SINGULAR pronoun in reference to God, when called upon by His servants.
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Adam receives the words of repentance from God
"Then Adam received from his Lord [some] words, and He accepted his repentance. Indeed, it is He who is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful. " (Qur’an 2:37) And this was the first forgiveness from God. It was a test to teach all humanity the way of repentance, whenever the human sins he has to repent like Adam, so the inheritance was not the sin itself but the way of repentance. The Qur’an here states as well that Eve is not blamed for Adam’s sin. Each of them accepted their own mistake and repented to God, and asked God to forgive them and God did forgive them. So, the burden of seduction and original sin is lifted from women.
God informed Adam that He will send His guidance to him and his descendants
"We said, ‘Go down from it, all of you. And when guidance comes to you from Me, whoever follows My guidance – there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve.’" (Qur’an 2:38) And God tells us that this life is not our final destination. God has not created human beings just to eat, drink, and reproduce. If that were the case, animals would be considered better than humans, as they also eat, drink, and reproduce, but they are not accountable for their actions. One’s life is a test and each soul is responsible for its own deeds, God honored human beings and favored them above many of His creatures. "And We have certainly honored the children of Adam (Mankind) and carried them on land and sea and provided for them of the good things and preferred them over much of what We have created, with [definite] preference. " (Qur’an 17:70) From the time of Adam, God the Creator assigned the most righteous person as a prophet to his society to guide them. The Creator’s message is to believe in Him and worship Him alone.
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After people slipped into moral decline and corrupted their prophet’s message (by worshiping other things or humans with Him). He would send a prophet to remind them of this pure message. "The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and [so have] the believers. All of them have believed in God (The Creator) and His angels and His books and His messengers, [saying], we make no distinction between any of His messengers. And they say, we hear and we obey. [We seek] Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the [final] destination. " (Qur’an 2:285) While many of the prophets and messengers that God has sent to different nations are mentioned by name in the Qur’an (i.e. Jesus, Moses, Abraham, Noah, David, Solomon, Ishmael, Isaac, Joseph, etc.), others are not mentioned. Therefore, the possibility that other famous religious teachers such as the Hindu Lords Rama, Krishna, and Gautama Buddha were prophets of God cannot be rejected outright. We read in the Qur’an: "And We have already sent messengers before you [Muhammad]. Among them are those [whose stories] We have related to you, and among them are those [whose stories] We have not related to you. And it was not for any messenger to bring a sign [or verse] except by permission of God. So, when the command of God comes, it will be concluded in truth, and the falsifiers will thereupon lose [all]. " (Qur’an 40:78) The story of Prophet Abraham
Although Muslims don’t believe that the current Old Testament and the New Testament are the unadulterated word of God (like the Qur’an) but we will discuss the story of Prophet Abraham in both of them, as Muslims believe that both have a valid source which is the Torah and the Gospel (God’s revelations to the Prophets Moses and Jesus Christ). Therefore, some parts of them are from God and others not. Both the Old Testament and the new testaments underwent severe changes to hide the monotheistic nature of God, the truth of the prophecy of the coming Prophet Muhammad and the importance of the city of Makkah, and other concepts.
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The Promised Son
"Say, [O believers], ‘We have believed in God (The Creator) and what has been revealed to us and what has been revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the Descendants and what was given to Moses and Jesus and what was given to the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and we are Muslims [in submission] to Him.’ " (Qur’an 2:136)
Even though Muslims don’t deny Prophet Isaac’s prophecy, the Promised Son for them was Prophet Ishmael (the father of Arabs), from whom Prophet Muhammad descended as the last Prophet. Here are some evidences from the Bible of this faith:
God made a covenant with Prophet Abraham before both of his sons were born
"On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abraham and said, ‘To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates.’" (Genesis 15:18)
All the descendants of Prophet Ishmael settled in Arabia, this area is located between the Nile and the Euphrates. "His descendants (Ishmael) settled in the area from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt, as you go toward Ashur,. " (Genesis 25:18) Havilah according to the Bible is in southwest Arabia, while Shur is located on the north-eastern border of Egypt, and Ashur was the capital of the Old Assyrian Empire (Iraq today). Therefore, the descendants of Ishmael settled this area extending south of the Hijaz (Arabia) and north, which includes the land of Paran (Makkah according to the Bible), inhabited by Ishmael.
Hagar is a legal wife to Prophet Abraham
"So, after Abraham had been living in Canaan ten years, Sara his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife." (Genesis 16:3)
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Ishmael is a legal son to Prophet Abraham
Ishmael means "God hears." That God accepted the supplication of Abraham to give him a son. The name Ishmael was chosen by God. It was never mentioned in the Old Testament that Ishmael was an illegitimate son.
"The angel of the Lord also said to her: ‘You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery.’" (Genesis 16:11)
God promised to make from Ishmael a great nation and honors him
" And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. " (Genesis 17:20)
Ishmael is the Promised Son
"Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, ‘Abraham’ ‘Here I am,' he replied. Then God said, ‘Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.’"(Genesis 22:1-2) A contradiction is found here; it is mentioned that ‘take your only son Isaac’. Ishmael was the "only" son of Prophet Abraham for fourteen years, until the birth of Prophet Isaac. When Isaac was born, Ishmael was no longer an only son. It is believed that the name of Ishmael was changed to Isaac in this verse and the word "only" remains, by the mercy of God, to point to the distortion.
According to the Biblical verse below Hagar and Ishmael were sent away because of Sara’s jealousy. In Islam this move happened because of God’s plan and it took place before the birth of Prophet Isaac. By reading the following Biblical verses we can see that the Islamic version of the story is more accurate. - "The child grew and was weaned, and on the day, Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, and she said to Abraham,
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‘Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.’" (Genesis 21:8)
- "Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He put the child upon her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba. When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes." (Genesis 21:14-15) Abraham was 86 years old when Ishmael was born. "Abraham was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael." (Genesis 16:16) And he was one hundred years old when Isaac was born. "Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him." (Genesis 21:5) So, Ishmael was fourteen years old when Isaac was born. This is because as mentioned, the incident happened after Isaac was weaned, and in the tradition of the time, a child is weaned around the age of three. Therefore, when Hagar and Ishmael moved, Ishmael was a full-grown teenager of about seventeen years old. A teenager can’t be lifted up and put under the bushes. According to the Biblical verse Ishmael seems to be a baby not a teenager. This seems to be is another contradiction in the Old Testament.
Ishmael was circumcised before the birth of Isaac "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 self-same 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." (Genesis 17:24-27)
Abraham, Ishmael, and the men of Abraham's family were circumcised, but Isaac was not born at that time. Isaac was born a year later, and he was circumcised at the age of eight.
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"And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him. And Abraham was a hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him." (Genesis 21:4-5) So, when the covenant was made (circumcision and sacrifice) Abraham was ninety-nine and Ishmael was thirteen. Isaac was born a year later, when Abraham was one hundred years old.
Abraham is a Pure Monotheist Prophet Abraham is the ancestor of Judah, whom the Jews came from. So, Abraham cannot be a Jew simply because he came before Judah.
"Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was one inclining toward truth, a Muslim [Monotheist]. And he was not of the polytheists. " (Qur’an 3:67) As it was mentioned in the introduction, Judah taught his people the religion of Prophet Abraham, which is Pure Monotheism (belief in One God and unifying Him in worship). This is the exact definition of Islam; the religion which started from Prophet Adam and continued with the coming of Prophet Muhammad, thereby shifting the religious leadership to the Arabs and the direction of the prayer to Makkah. The Promised Land
When Jesus Christ was asked about the place for worship, he stated that worship will be conducted at a new place other than Jerusalem. This is an indication of changing the direction of the Prayer from Jerusalem to Makkah and shifting of the religious leadership from Israelites to Arabs. "The woman said to him, ‘Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and
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truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.’" (John 4:19-24) Jesus spoke here about true believers who will worship God in a place other than Jerusalem. In the New Testament, Jesus refers to a stone rejected by builders, and then the stone became the cornerstone. It is also mentioned that the kingdom of God will be taken away and given to a people that will produce its fruits. "Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?’ Jesus Christ said: ‘Therefore I tell you that the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you (Israelites) and given to a people who will produce its fruit.’"(Matthew 21:42-43) According to the Islamic version of the story, Prophet Abraham took Ishmael and Hagar and settled in Makkah (Paran in the Bible). A city where the Valley of Baca exist. "Our Lord, I have settled some of my descendants in an uncultivated valley near Your sacred House (the valley of Baca in Makkah), our Lord, that they may establish prayer. So, make hearts among the people incline toward them and provide for them from the fruits that they might be grateful." (Qur’an 14:37) The Valley of Baca was mentioned in the Bible "How lovely is your dwelling place, LORD Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young—a place near your altar, LORD Almighty, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; They will still be praising You. Selah. Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the VALLEY OF BACA, they make it a spring; the rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion. O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; Give
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ear, O God of Jacob! Selah O God, behold our shield, and look upon the face of Your anointed. For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than dwell in the tents of wickedness for the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD WILL give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly." (Psalms 84: 1-11) Some claim that the verses above refer to the alleged Zion and present an argument for its existence. However, the descriptions are more applicable to Makkah as follows: "And proclaim to the people the pilgrimage; they will come to you on foot and on every lean camel; they will come from every distant pass -That they may witness benefits for themselves and mention the name of God on known days over what He has provided for them of [sacrificial] animals. So, eat of them and feed the miserable and poor. " (Qur’an 22:27-28)
Makkah’s gates are open day and night
"And when We made the House (Ka’aba at Makkah) a visitation and a sanctuary for the people (saying :) 'Make the place where Abraham stood a place of prayer. 'And We made a covenant with Abraham and Ishmael: 'Purify My House for those who circumambulate around it, and those who cleave to it, to those who bow and prostrate'" (Qur’an 2:125)
in Makkah, violence, devastation, destruction and hunting is forbidden
"Indeed those who have disbelieved and prevent from the way of God and from this Sacred Mosque, which We have appointed for all mankind – its resident and the foreigner have the same rights in it; and whoever wrongfully intends injustice in it – We shall make him taste a painful punishment." (Qur’an 22:25)
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Makkah is where the pilgrims go from mountain to mountain (strength to strength)
In the above Biblical verses (Psalms 84: 11) we read ‘they go from strength to strength’. In the Hebrew text, the original word for strength that was used in this verse means a hill, mountain or a barrier. This seems to be a very clear description of one of the Muslim’s rituals in the holy city of Makkah during the Pilgrimage, as they go from Al Safa hill to Al Marwa hill. 20
The verse starts with ‘Blessed is the man whose strength is in You. This seems to refer to the final Prophet Muhammad who came with the pure message of the monotheism.21 In addition, the Valley of Baca is clearly mentioned as a proper capitalized noun in the Biblical verse, therefore, it’s an existing place and not a metaphorical one as believed by others. The Biblical verses describe a sacred place accommodating the courts of the Lord. In fact, all of these descriptions apply to the city of Makkah. While Muslims believe that the city of Jerusalem is a Holy Place, they regard Makkah as the Zion prophesied in the Bible. The meaning of the word Zion 22 is ‘elevated place.’ This is a metaphorical description for a holy place applied to many cities. It was used to describe the church and Israel in the Babylonian captivity, so it seems like it has been used for any group or mass of people worshiping God, or to refer to a specific geographical location which can be applied on Makkah here. The Anglican Church of New Zealand printed a book of prayers replacing the word Zion and the word Israel with the words, the holy mountain of God and the people of God, respectively to clarify the meaning.23
20 Dr.Zaghlul Al Najar. http://www.elforkan.com/7ewar/printthread.php?t=1210
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia3KTd-wAZA
21 Dr.Zaghlul Al Najar. http://www.elforkan.com/7ewar/printthread.php?t=1210 22 Hidayat Al Hayara. Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya.
23 For All the Saints a Resource for the Commemorations of the Calendar. Liturgical Version. The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, 2014.
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Moreover, the idea that the text tells about the past can be easily contested, as the expression of incidents in the form of the past is used in the language of the Bible, regardless of their point in history or future. "The ancients’ writers used the future tense to denote the present, the past without discrimination, and the past used to denote the future, Espinosa says: "This caused many similarities." It is very well known that the Temple in Jerusalem was established a long time after Prophet Abraham, while the Holy House in Makkah was there before Abraham. The Qur’an tells us that it was in fact the first House of worship appointed for humanity, built by Prophet Adam with the help of the angels. It was Adam who erected the foundations of this House, which was later rebuilt later by Prophet Abraham and Ishmael. " Indeed, the first House [of worship] established for mankind was that at Makkah - blessed and a guidance for the worlds." (Qur’an 3:96) Ka’aba which has always existed in the accounts of history; was visited annually by people from the most distant corners of Arabia; and its sacredness was respected by the whole of Arabia. Today its visitors come for all over the world and its sacredness to believers is well-known. The verses below command the believers to praise the Creator at the villages inhabited by Kedar, i.e. to glorify and praise Him in Makkah as Kedar is a son of Ishmael and a forefather of Arabs. His offspring lived in Arabia. We read: "Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants there of. Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains." (Isaiah 42:10-11) Prophet Ishmael is the base for the Family Tree of Prophet Muhammad through Kedar. Muslims lift up their voices by praising God the Almighty and glorifying Him in Makkah. In their five daily prayers, Muslims include the praise of Prophet Abraham and his followers with the praise of Prophet Muhammad and his followers. "As you know, Kedar is a descendent of Ishmael, these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, listed in the order of their birth: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam. " (Genesis 25:13)
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Makkah which is covered by a multitude of camels and to which flocks of Kedar are gathered "The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the Lord. All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory." (Isaiah 60:6-7)
Makkah exists between Midian (North Saudi Arabia) & Sheba (Yemen) Kedar & Nebaioth are sons of Ishmael: According to Genesis 25:13. Kedar was the second son of Ishmael, the ancestor of the Prophet Muhammad. Nebaioth is the firstborn son of Ishmael. Abraham decided to settle Ishmael and his mother Hagar there because of a divine instruction given to Abraham. Hagar did not find water; so, she ran seven times between two hills looking for water. This is the origin of one of the rituals performed during the pilgrimage to the city of Makkah by Muslims - the same ritual referred to earlier concerning the two strengths. "Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So, she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt." (Genesis 21:19-21) The Bible tells us that a well of water gushed out in the Desert of Paran (The name "Paran" or "Faran" has often been used to refer to the wilderness and mountains near Makkah) from which Hagar and her son drank. 24 This is consistent with the above verses which refer to the Valley of Baca as a place of springs. The well is available to this day and is called the well of Zamzam. As mentioned earlier, Abraham and Ishmael later rebuilt the Ka’aba (the house of
24 Sir Sayyad Ahmad Khan (1870). A series of essays on the life of Mohammad: and subjects subsidiary thereto. London: Trübner& co. pp. 74–76.
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worship) in Makkah. The place where Abraham used to perform prayers near the Ka’aba is still there (called the Station of Abraham). During the pilgrimage, pilgrims from all over the world commemorate the offering of Ishmael by Abraham by slaughtering a ram. The fact that another area called "Faran" exists in the south of Palestine does not preclude the existence of another "Faran" that was inhabited by Ishmael in Hijaz (Arabia), where Prophet Ishmael and his father rebuilt the Ka’aba, and where the well Zamzam exploded under his feet, as recognized by a number of historians, like Jerome and the theologian Eusebius who believed that "Faran" was " Makkah. " In the figure we find a map was painted in the French court at the time of Louis XIV showing the location of the Mountains of Faran in the Arabian Peninsula. According to the Muslim faith, Beersheba 25 is one of the names of the well of Zamzam in Makkah, not the name of a city in Palestine, as the geographical description does not apply to south Palestine. In fact, there is no place on the earth where a well gushed out for Hagar and her son Ishmael and where Ishmael lived and begot a great nation other than Makkah.
"Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So, Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, ‘On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.’ The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, ‘I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.’"(Genesis 22:13-18)
25 http://www.al-mawrid.org/index.php/articles/view/beersheba-the-well-of-seven-orthe-well-of-zamzam-2-2
http://neurotherapy-of-christian-brain.blogspot.com/2013/05/well-of-zamzam-or-wilderness-of.html
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Here the verse discusses a place where Abraham offered his son - a place where generations will worship God. There is such place on earth where Jews or Christians celebrate Abraham’s sacrifice and worship God in. However, in Islam, this sacrifice is celebrated in Makkah; it is also the main place of worship for Muslims where they have the feast of sacrifice, to commemorate the sacrifice of Ishmael. We read also: "These I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations."(Isaiah 56:7) Note the mention of all nations. The Jews are only one nation, unlike the Islamic world, which is comprised of many nations. Therefore, this prophecy is about the pilgrimage in Makkah. This verse refers to: - The holy mountain (Mount Arafat): Standing in the mount of Arafat is the main pillar of pilgrimage in Islam. - The sacrifices: During Pilgrimage rams are slaughtered for the poor to commemorate the story of Abraham and Ishmael (Sacrifices).
Spot on the life of Jesus
"Say, ‘He is God, [who is] One, Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, nor is there to Him any equivalent.’"(Qur’an 112)
The Creator is Self-Sufficient. He is apart from His creation, it does not befit His Majesty to take a son or wife, or to beget or to be begotten, and there is no similitude to Him. God, who created space and time, is necessarily transcendent in relation to both. Causation is a law for us who live in space and time, and it is an error on our part to think that He is bound by either. It is God who created the law of causation and we cannot consider Him as a subject to the law He created, therefore God does not change. He created the time, so He is not subjected to time. He does not go through the same stages of time that we go through, does not get tired, and does not
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need to put Himself in a physical form or descend to Earth. We cannot see Him in this life because we are trapped in time and space, while He transcends both.
God is Perfect; He has no need to die for us. He gives life and death, so He did not die nor was He resurrected. He saved His Prophet Jesus and protected him as He helps and protects His believers. God is Most Merciful to His creatures, more than a mother is to her children, so He forgives them whenever they repent to Him.
For Muslims neither Jesus nor God died for humanity on the cross. This belief is shared by many of the ancient Christians who deny the crucifixion of the Christ; Christian historians list many Christian sects who deny the crucifixion.26 The followers of Basilides 27, for example, believed that Jesus Christ was not crucified, as did at least 15 sects of earlier Christians such as the Corinthians and Marquis. Some of these sects - who were in a period of time closer to the time of Jesus - also believe one of Jesus’ disciples was crucified instead of him.
The denial of the crucifixion of Jesus' continued with the monk, The odorus (560 CE), and the Bishop John, the son the governor of Cyprus (610 CE).
It was also denied by the author of the book 'Holy Blood, Holy Cup of Christ'. He stated in his book that Christ was not crucified, and it was the traitor (Judas Iscariot), who was crucified instead of Christ.
Although Holy Qur’an does not mention the name of the one who replaced Jesus on the cross, we will try to follow the logic which points to this supposition as follows:
The crucifixion according to the Qur’an & Bible
Every man will bear his own burden
- "[But] Abraham fulfilled [his obligations] -that no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another and that there is not for man except that for which he strives and that his effort is going to be seen -then he will be recompensed for it with the fullest recompense." (Qur'an 53:37-41)
26 https://www.manyprophetsonemessage.com/2017/06/30/the-early-christians-who-believed-jesus-was-saved-from-crucifixion/
27 Basilides was an early Christian Gnostic religious teacher in Alexandria, Egypt, from 117 to 138 CE, this is a period of time close to the time of the disciples, and it is believed that he got his teachings from Peter and other disciples of Jesus.
