It was a friendly enough
discussion. We found ourselves agreeing on several things. We both believed
there was only one God, who is the creator and sustainer of the Universe. We
agreed that God is Sovereign and that the world He had created was in a mess. Surely,
there would soon come a time when God will act, a time when the righteous and
the wicked will be raised to a final judgement.
He was keen to point out to me
that, along with Judaism, we were all ‘People of the Book.’ He said: ‘We
‘Abrahamic’ religions have much in common and we need to stick together to
overcome the world.’
I liked this Muslim. He had a zeal
and a passion for God with a real desire to obey the one who, according to him,
will ultimately decide whether he has done enough to enter paradise. After commending
him for his desire to honour God and follow truth, I asked him a question: ‘Who
is Jesus?’ His eyes lit up, and he went into a frenzy of excited explanation.
A PROPHET
‘We respect and honour Jesus (peace
be upon him). He is one of our most respected prophets. He is mentioned many
times in the Holy Qur’an, where it speaks of his miraculous birth, his
teachings and the miracles Allah allowed him to perform. This what the Qur’an
says:’
"Christ, the son of Mary, was no more
than a messenger; many were the messengers that passed away before him. His
mother was a woman of truth. They had both to eat their (daily) food. See how
God makes His signs clear to them; yet see in what ways they are deluded away
from the truth!"[1]
"He [Jesus] said: 'I am indeed a servant
of God. He has given me revelation and made me a prophet; He has made me
blessed wheresoever I be; and He has enjoined on me prayer and charity as long
as I live. He has made me kind to my mother, and not overbearing or miserable.
So peace is on me the day I was born, the day that I die, and the day that I
shall be raised up to life (again)!' Such was Jesus the son of Mary. It is a
statement of truth, about which they (vainly) dispute. It is not befitting to
(the majesty of) God that He should beget a son. Glory be to Him! When He
determines a matter, He only says to it, 'Be,' and it is".[2]
NOT MY JESUS
My Muslim
friend was excited to proclaim that we both loved and honoured Jesus, but he
believed in the Jesus of the Qur’an, and this Jesus is not my Jesus. The Islamic
Jesus is a different Jesus. He admitted that we have a difference of opinion
regarding the person of Jesus, but he said: ‘As we have so much in common, we
should not fall out, but rather seek to work together. We do, after all,
worship the same God.’
Can we
overlook our different answers to the question: Who is Jesus? Does it really
matter if he believes Jesus was only a prophet and I believe that Jesus was the
Son of God? Do we really worship the same God?
WHO DO YOU SAY
THAT I AM?
He said to them, “But who do you say that I
am?” Simon Peter replied, “You
are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:15-16)
Now I am certain my learned Muslim
friend would have been familiar with the Islamic doctrine of ‘shirk’. If he
did, he would have known that we cannot just overlook our differences about
Jesus. If ‘shirk’ is true, then He needs to be warning me and seeking to
convert me to the Islamic view of Jesus.
What is shirk?
Shirk means
associating someone with Allah Almighty or you can say partnership. It is the
opposite of oneness of Allah (SWT) that is Tawheed. The Quran calls people to
accept the oneness of Allah Almighty and firmly prohibits people from
associating partners with His personality or attributes. In Holy Quran, Allah
Almighty stated that Shirk is a big sin that Allah (SWT) will never forgive. As
shirk is the major sin that will never to be forgiven so it is important for us
to know about the seriousness and different acts of shirk that we are
committing in our daily life but we don’t realize.[3]
According to
this doctrine, all those who believe Jesus is the Son of God, incur Allah’s
wrath and will never be forgiven.
HOW DO YOU
SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE JESUS?
With my question
regarding the person of Jesus, we discovered a chasm in our beliefs. We can
certainly stand shoulder to shoulder on certain theological and moral issues,
we can be civil and friendly in our discourse, but what separates us is our
answer to the question: Who is Jesus?
It is the
answer to this question that determines our standing before God. It is the
answer to this question that will determine our eternal destiny. Jesus said:
I told you that you would die in your sins,
for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.[4]
THE ISLAMIC JESUS
Regarding Jesus, there is
much Christians and Muslims can agree upon. Islam teaches that Jesus was born
of the virgin Mary, that he lived a sinless life, and he performed many
miracles. Muslims believe Jesus to be the Messiah, who ascended into heaven and
that he will return to the earth. All good so far. We can even agree that Jesus
was a prophet.
God spoke to Moses telling
him that he would send another prophet like him to His people:
I will raise up for them a
prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his
mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And
whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I
myself will require it of him.[5]
Jesus was the one who fulfilled
this prophecy.[6] But the Bible teaches that Jesus was far more
than a prophet.
Son of God
The Old Testament says:
I will tell
of the decree: The Lord said
to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.[7]
The Angel says:
And the
angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the
Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called
holy—the Son of God.[8]
The Apostles say:
And those
in the boat worshipped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”[9]
Simon Peter
replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”[10]
But when
the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born
under the law…[11]
God says:
And behold,
a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well
pleased.”[12]
Scripture teaches that it is
not believing that Jesus is the Son of God which will incur God’s wrath, but
rather wrath awaits those who reject God’s Son.
“For God so
loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in
him should not perish but have eternal life. For God
did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order
that the world might be saved through him. Whoever
believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already,
because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.[13]
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever
does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on
him.[14]
It horrifies me to know that
many who claim to believe in Jesus, have ‘another Jesus’, a Jesus that cannot
save. Friends let’s keep sharing the good news that God has a Son and all who
repent and put faith in Him have eternal life.
[1] The Qur’an – Surah 5:75
[2] The Qur’an – Surah
19:30-35
[3] http://www.quranreading.com/blog/what-is-shirk-in-islam-acts-of-shirk-that-we-dont-realize-we-are-committing/
[4] John 8:24
[5] Deuteronomy 18:18
[6] Acts 3:22; 7:37
[7] Psalm 2:7
[8] Luke 1:35
[9] Matthew 14:33
[10] Matthew 16:16
[11] Apostle Paul – Galatians
4:4
[12] Matthew 3:17
[13] John 3:16-18
[14] John 3:36
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