the doctrines formulated by church leaders at the Council of Nicaea three centuries after him?
If you believe in the Messiah and love him, know that the truthfulness of faith in him is not achieved by mere affiliation to him, nor by repeating doctrines you inherited from others, but rather by following the truth to which he himself called.
True faith begins with knowing God with a correct knowledge :
That you believe in Him as one Creator, with no partner, perfect in His greatness and power, and that you worship Him alone, devote religion sincerely to Him, obey Him and follow His commands.
Do you believe in God as He revealed Himself in His revelation, or do you believe in an image that humans made of Him ?
Discover the truth of the faith to which all the prophets called.
Because we are not speaking about a conception invented by a human, nor about a religion that humans gave a name to, nor about a doctrine that persons decided according to their own interpretations, but rather we are speaking about the origin of the message that God proclaimed in the Qur'an, and attributed it to all His prophets and messengers.
The truth of faith: that you make God your goal, and His revelation your reference, and His messengers are the ones whose guidance you follow, and that you do not raise a creature above the station that God chose for him.
God is the great Creator, who brought into existence the heavens and the earth, created man from nothing, and granted him life, intellect, and the ability to think. And He, glory be to Him, is free of need of His creation, He needs no one, while all creatures are in need of Him.
God has defined Himself to us, saying:
{1) Say, "He is Allah, [who is] One,
2) Allah, the Eternal Refuge.
3) He neither begets nor is born,
4) Nor is there to Him any equivalent.".} [ The Holy Quran112 ].
That you worship God alone, without associating anyone with Him.
True faith is not merely acknowledging the existence of God, but rather that you devote worship to Him alone; because He is the Creator, the Provider, the Owner, and the One alone who deserves to be worshipped.
God said the Most High :
{ 5) And they were not commanded except to worship Allah [being] sincere to Him in religion, inclining to truth, and to establish prayer and to give zakkah. And that is the correct religion. }
[ The Holy Quran98 : 5].
{ 162) Say, "Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds.
163) No partner has He. And this I have been commanded, and I am the first [among you] of the Muslims.".}
[The Holy Quran 6 : 162-163].
2 - That you believe that the angels are creatures whom God created, and they are honored servants, they do not disobey Allah in what He commands them but do what they are commanded.
Among them is Gabriel, peace be upon him, the one entrusted with the revelation to the prophets, and Michael, and Israfil, and others.
God said the Most High :
6) O you who have believed, protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones, over which are [appointed] angels, harsh and severe; they do not disobey Allah in what He commands them but do what they are commanded. }
[ The Holy Quran 66 : 6 ].
3. Belief in the books of Allah
That you believe that God sent down books and revelation for the guidance of humanity, and among them :
4. Belief in the messengers
That you believe in all the prophets and messengers whom God sent, without differentiating between them in the origin of faith in their message.
So we believe in Adam and Noah and Abraham and Moses and Jesus and Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon them, and we believe in every messenger about whom God has informed us.
5. Belief in the Last Day
That you believe that the life of this world is not the end of existence, and that God will resurrect people after their death, and hold them accountable for their deeds, and reward the doer of good with his good, and the evildoer with His justice, and that there is Paradise and Hellfire.
God said the Most High :
( 7) And [that they may know] that the Hour is coming—no doubt about it—and that Allah will resurrect those in the graves. }
[ The Holy Quran 22 : 7 ].
That you believe in the Hereafter and prepare for the meeting with God.
True faith makes you realize that your life is not in vain, and that death is not the end of the story, but rather there is resurrection and reckoning and standing before God.
And this is the true faith to which all the prophets of God and His messengers called; that a person believe in God, the One, the Only, and devote worship sincerely to Him without associating anyone with Him, and believe in what He sent down of revelation, and believe in all His messengers and follow their guidance, and be certain that he is returning to God on the Day of Resurrection, where he will stand before Him and be held accountable for his deeds.
For the mission of the prophets was not that people worship humans, or take a creature as a god, or follow beliefs that humans manufacture, but rather their call was one: that people know their Creator, and worship Him alone, and submit to His command, and walk on the light that He sent down for their guidance.
So do you follow the Messiah in his call to the worship of God alone and obedience to Him and commitment to His commandments, or do you follow church teachings that the bishops, the men of the church, formulated and approved in councils after the departure of the Messiah by centuries ?
If the Messiah is your reference in faith, is it not more appropriate that you ask : What did the Messiah himself teach ?
And what did he ask people to believe in?
So did the Messiah call to belief in a doctrine that he himself did not proclaim ?
The Messiah did not ask people to believe in a doctrine that he did not teach them, and he did not say to his disciples : Believe that I am a incarnate god, or a god from a god, begotten not created.
Or that my blood will be shed as an atonement for the sins of humanity, or that my crucifixion is the only way for your salvation from the punishment of God.
So where is the explicit text in the Gospel on the tongue of the Messiah in which he says that he came to die on the cross as a ransom for the sins of humanity ?
And where is the text in the Gospel in which he declares that whoever believes in his crucifixion and resurrection obtains salvation, and that this is the condition upon which the eternal destiny of a person depends ?
Reflect that the formula of faith known as the Nicene Creed was not convened in the time of the Messiah, and the Messiah did not proclaim it to his disciples, but rather it was approved in the year 325 AD, that is, about three centuries after his departure, in a church council to which the Roman Emperor Constantine called, and in which 318 bishops gathered to discuss the disputes about the nature of the Messiah and they approved the creed by voting on it.
And among the most prominent of what came in the Nicene Creed :
" We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, only-begotten of the Father, that is, of the substance of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten not created, equal to the Father in substance, through whom all things came to be, what is in heaven and what is on earth.
Who for us humans, and for our salvation, came down and became incarnate and became man, and suffered, and rose on the third day, and ascended to the heavens, and will come to judge the living and the dead. And we believe in the Holy Spirit ."
Did the Messiah teach the Nicene Creed ?
And did he himself believe in this doctrine that the bishops, the men of the church, formulated after his departure by centuries, and order people to believe in it and embrace it ?
And did the Messiah teach his disciples to believe that he is
" true God from true God and equal to the Father in substance"?
The clear truth : the Nicene Creed is not a revelation that God sent down, nor a doctrine that God proclaimed to His servants, but rather it is a doctrinal formula that men placed in a human council.
The Nicene Creed is not a revelation that God sent down, nor a doctrine that God proclaimed to His servants, but rather it is a doctrinal formula that men placed in a human council.
And attributing doctrines to God that He did not authorize, then obligating people to believe in them and considering them a condition for salvation, is blasphemy against God and a fabrication against Him; for how can what God did not say about Himself be attributed to the Creator, and what humans decided be made a doctrine that His servants must believe in ?
God is not worshipped by what humans decide about His essence, but by what He Himself revealed to His servants.
And whoever attributes to God what He did not say has committed a tremendous matter, and he must fear the reckoning of God and His punishment on the Day of Resurrection.
And the Messiah did not utter the phrases of the Nicene Creed and what is contained in this text, and he did not say to his disciples : Believe in me as being true God from true God, begotten not created, and equal to the Father in substance. And he did not ask them to believe in the term :
" Homoousios " and ( Ousia )
or to teach people this formula.
Let us put the matter before you without complication :
First : The Messiah did not describe himself with these descriptions.
Where did the Messiah say :
I am a god from a god ?
I am light from light ?
I am true god from true god ?
I am begotten not created ?
I am equal to the Father in substance ?
I am of the substance of the Father ?
There is not a single declaration on the tongue of the Messiah in the Gospels that declares these doctrines or affirms them with these phrases.
There is no creed in the writings of the New Testament that the disciples placed in this formula or asked people to acknowledge these terms and believe in them.
It is not right for one who came after the Messiah by centuries to attribute to him pagan doctrines that make a human a god, formulated by humans from themselves, or to make the sayings of the bishops, the men of the church, as if they were the sayings of the Messiah himself.
For the Messiah alone knows best what he said and taught, and it is not permissible for anyone to speak in his name, or to attribute to him a faith that he did not teach to his disciples and did not call people to.
For the words of humans do not become the words of the Messiah merely because they decided them in a council, and a doctrine does not become a revelation from God merely because the bishops, the men of the church, agreed upon it.
And the Messiah did not ask his disciples or any person to believe in these phrases or acknowledge this doctrinal creed.
And the Messiah did not advise his disciples to wait about three centuries after his departure, until the bishops gather in a church council, and set for them a philosophical pagan formula by which they define the nature of his relationship with God, then make belief in this formula a criterion for the validity of belief.
And it is not permissible that we attribute to the Messiah a faith that the bishops, the men of the church, formulated after the departure of the Messiah by centuries, then present it to people as the doctrine that the Messiah came with :
Such as :
· The substance ( Ousia )
· And equal to the Father in substance ( Homoousios ),
· But where did these terms come from?
· And do they go back to the teachings of the Messiah, or to the Greek pagan philosophy that preceded his appearance by centuries ?
This Greek pagan philosophical term was known before the birth of the Messiah by centuries, and was linked to the pagan philosophies whose adherents deified humans and attributed to them the attributes of divinity, but the Messiah did not use this term and did not teach it to his disciples.
And yet, the bishops, the men of the church, used it later to decide that the Messiah is equal to God in substance, that is, to make a human a god based on a pagan philosophical definition that humans placed long ago, not based on a clear declaration that the Messiah said about himself.
So do humans have the right to deify a human, then attribute this belief to God without God having commanded it or the Messiah having taught it ?
And it was used by Greek philosophers before the birth of the Messiah by centuries, and among the most prominent of them:
1. Plato – 427 to 347 BC
Plato used the word Ousia in his philosophical discussions about the reality of existence and the nature of things, and what makes a thing what it is.
2. Aristotle – 384 to 322 BC
Aristotle gave this term central importance in his philosophy, especially in his books Metaphysics and Categories, and used it in speaking about substance.
Was the Messiah calling people to believe in Greek pagan philosophical terms, formulated by philosophers like Plato and Aristotle, or was he calling them to the worship of the One God, and submission to Him, and obedience to Him, and commitment to the commandments ?
The Messiah did not come to teach people human philosophies, or to set for them complex theories about the essence of God and His attributes, but rather he came as a messenger calling them to the worship of God alone, and obedience to Him, and following His command.
So by what right do humans speak in the name of God, and set for Him definitions that He did not set, and decide regarding Him doctrines and a creed that His messengers did not teach, then ask people to believe in them as divine truths ?
Is not God alone the most knowledgeable of Himself, and the most worthy to make His servants know Him, and to clarify to them how they should worship Him, and what He wants them to believe in ?
For God is the great Creator, whom the limited minds of humans cannot encompass, and it is not permissible for anyone to attribute to Him a saying or a doctrine without proof from His revelation.
So how is it right for humans to speak in the name of God, and to determine for Him what He did not determine, and to attribute to Him doctrines and acts of worship that He did not command ?
For God alone is the One who has the right to define Himself to us, and to clarify how He is to be worshipped, and what we must believe in.
So do not make your faith merely an inheritance from your fathers, and do not make the decisions of humans a source of your doctrine, but rather return to the revelation, and reflect on the message of the prophets, and search for the faith to which they all called: the worship of God alone, and not associating anyone with Him, and following His commandments.
And the most important matter is that God alone is the One who knows how He should be worshipped, and what pleases Him and what angers Him; for He is the Creator who alone has the right of legislation and command and prohibition.
And therefore God did not leave people to their minds and interpretations to invent ways of worshipping Him from themselves, but rather He sent to them the messengers, and sent down the books, to clarify to them how they should worship Him, and what He loves and is pleased with, and what He has forbidden and is not pleased with.
How were the Messiah and the prophets before him teaching people the religion of God ?
If we return to the texts of the Old Testament, we find that the teaching of the prophets relied primarily on clear and interconnected matters, all revolving around defining people about God, and calling them to worship Him and obey Him and follow His commands.
First : Conveying the message of God and what He revealed to His prophets and messengers.
The prophets were conveying to people what God revealed to them, and clarifying His commands and commandments as He sent them down, and calling them to believe in them and act upon them, so that they would know what God wants from them and follow the path that pleases Him.
Second : Calling people to worship God alone without associating anyone with Him.
For God is the Creator who brought us into existence, and the Lord who provides for us and manages our affairs, and He alone deserves worship and submission and supplication.
So no prophet nor angel nor human, however high his station and great his position, deserves to be worshipped with God or to have anything of worship devoted to him; for the creature, however great his station, remains a servant of God, and worship is a right purely for the Creator alone, with no partner.
Third: Reminding people of the commandments of God and His commands that He sent down for their guidance and the reform of their lives.
And calling them to obey Him and follow His law and avoid what He forbade them; for God knows best what is good for His servants, and He has clarified to them the path of truth and good, and warned them against the path of falsehood and evil.
Fourth : Warning people against associating partners with God and against injustice and against opposing His commands, and clarifying the consequence of their deeds.
For obedience to God and belief in Him and following His messengers is the path to attaining His pleasure and entering Paradise and eternal bliss, while associating partners with Him and turning away from His guidance and persisting in disobeying Him, its consequence is loss and torment in the fire of Hell.
The prophets did not ask people to worship the prophets themselves.
Rather, they were emphasizing that they are servants of God and His messengers, and that God alone deserves worship.
Book of Numbers 16 : 28
Moses, peace be upon him, says :
" By this you shall know that the Lord has sent me ."
In Deuteronomy 6 : 4:
Moses, peace be upon him, says :
" Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one ."
This is a clear call to the oneness of God, and not a philosophical explanation of the relationship of hypostases or substances.
Isaiah, peace be upon him :
In Isaiah 45 : 5 :
" I am the Lord, and there is no other. There is no God besides Me ."
Book of Micah 6 : 8
" He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God ."
And this shows that the mission of the prophets was aimed at reforming the relationship of a person with his Lord and with people, and not merely indoctrinating him with doctrinal terms.
Jeremiah, peace be upon him :
In the Book of Jeremiah – Chapter 7, verse 23 :
" But this is what I commanded them, saying : Listen to My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people; and walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you ."
And here God commands the children of Israel to hear His word and obey Him and follow His commands, and makes that the basis of their relationship with Him: that He be their God, and that they be His people.
Book of Ezekiel 18 : 30
" Repent and turn away from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin ."
Their call was not merely defining people about God, but rather they called them to abandon sins and return to Him and seek His forgiveness.
And this meaning is confirmed in the Book of Exodus 20 : 3 – 5 :
" You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God ."
And the meaning is clear : God commands His servants not to take another god with Him, and not to prostrate to another or worship other than Him.
The Messiah himself confirmed that the worship of God and obedience to Him are the basis of faith and the oneness of God:
Gospel of John 17 :3
" And this is eternal life : that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent ."
And this clarifies the difference between the messenger who conveys the message of God, and God who deserves worship.
He says in Mark 12 : 29 :
" The Lord our God, the Lord is one ."
Gospel of John 14 : 15
Jesus said :
" If you love Me, keep My commandments."
And he says in the Gospel of Matthew 4 : 10 :
" You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only ."
And this same meaning is affirmed by the Noble Qur'an, as God says on the tongue of the Messiah, peace be upon him :
{ 117) I said not to them except what you commanded me – to worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. And I was a witness over them as long as I was among them; but when You took me up, You were the Observer over them, and You are, over all things, Witness.
118) If You should punish them – indeed they are Your servants; but if You forgive them – indeed it is You who is the Exalted in Might, the Wise. }
[ The Holy Quran 5 : 117 ]
Was God incapable of defining Himself to people, so that they needed, after the departure of the Messiah by centuries, gatherings and philosophical discussions to set a definition of the nature of God ?
Or has God defined Himself to His servants, and sent to them the prophets to call them to worship Him alone and obey Him ?
If the Messiah called to the worship of God alone, and confirmed that the Lord our God is one Lord, and commanded people to obey the commandments of God, then why do we make the terms that the theologians formulated after him a criterion for understanding his call ?
Likewise, the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, did not come with a new call different from the call of the prophets before him, but rather he called people to the same message to which all the prophets called: the worship of God alone, devoting worship to Him alone, and obeying Him and following His commands and avoiding His prohibitions :
The Noble Qur'an 39, verse 11:
{ 11) Say, [O Muhammad], " Indeed, I have been commanded to worship Allah, [being] sincere to Him in religion. }
So what do we notice from the calls of all the prophets ?
Notice that the axis of these calls is knowing God and worshipping Him and obeying Him, and not asking people to learn complex philosophical terms to define the reality of the divine essence.
And if we return to the messages of the prophets before the Messiah, how do we find them teaching people the religion of God ?
Do we find Noah and Isaiah and Jeremiah and Abraham and Moses and Jesus and Muhammad, peace be upon them, teaching people a philosophical term that defines the nature of God, and asking them to understand terms like substance and hypostasis so that their belief in God would be valid ?
What we find in the calls of the prophets is a clear matter: the worship of God alone, belief in Him, obedience to His commands, and following His law.
For God alone is the God who deserves worship, and all the prophets and messengers, from Adam to Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon them, called people to the worship of God alone, devoting religion sincerely to Him, and obeying Him and following His commands and avoiding His prohibitions.
Islam is the message of God to humanity.
And this is the reality of Islam: that you submit to God alone, and devote worship sincerely to Him, and believe in His revelation, and follow His messengers, and obey His commands and avoid His prohibitions. For Islam is not a new religion that Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, brought, but rather it is the religion of all the prophets in the origin of their call : the worship of the One God and submission to Him.
God said the Most High :
{ 19) Indeed, the religion in the sight of Allah is Islam. And those who were given the Scripture did not differ except after knowledge had come to them – out of jealous animosity between themselves. And whoever disbelieves in the verses of Allah, then indeed, Allah is swift in [taking] account. }
[The Holy Quran 3 : 19].
And He said, glory be to Him :
{85) And whoever desires other than Islam as religion – never will it be accepted from him, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers .}
[The Holy Quran 3 : 85 ].
And He said the Most High :
{158) Say, [O Muhammad], "O mankind, indeed I am the Messenger of Allah to you all, [from Him] to whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. There is no deity except Him; He gives life and causes death." So believe in Allah and His Messenger, the unlettered prophet, who believes in Allah and His words, and follow him that you may be guided. }
[ The Holy Quran 7 : 158 ].
So do not postpone the search for the truth, and do not let what you inherited from others stand between you and responding to God. If it has become clear to you that God is one with no partner, and that Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, is the Messenger of God, and that Islam is the message to which all the prophets called, then why do you hesitate to follow the truth ?
Verily, entering into Islam is an easy matter, it does not need an intermediary, nor a priest or a pastor, nor complex rituals; all you have to do is believe in God alone, and believe in His Messenger Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, and utter the two testimonies truthfully, convinced of their meaning:
"I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah."
And by that you enter into Islam, and begin a new journey in knowing God and worshipping Him, and you learn prayer and the rest of the affairs of your religion step by step.
So do not wait until death surprises you, but rather respond to the call of God as long as you are alive, and ask Him to guide you to the truth and make you firm upon it.
Make God your goal, and the truth your choice, and Islam your path to the pleasure of God and salvation in the Hereafter
