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Muslims
claim that they believe in the true Jesus Christ.
Muslims praise Jesus as a prophet of God, as sinless,
as "the Messiah," as "illustrious in
this world and the next," as "the Word of
Allah" and as "the Spirit of God."
(e.g. Sura 3:45) Muslims cite their Bible, the Koran,
in confirmation of their belief in Jesus: ‘And we
gave Jesus, Son of Mary, the clear signs, and
confirmed Him with the Holy Spirit." 1
But whatever Islam
claims, it does not believe in the biblical Jesus.
First, it asserts that
Jesus was only one of God’ ‘s endless prophets or
messengers, and not God’s only begotten Son. Muslims
adamantly reject the idea that Jesus is the Son of
God. The Koran repeatedly emphasizes that Jesus Christ
is not the literal Son of God:
"They
say, ‘God has taken to Him a son’... Say: ‘Those
who forge against God falsehood shall not prosper.’
" 2
"Praise
belongs to God [Allah], who has not taken to Him a
son...." 3
"…
Warn those who say, ‘God has taken to Himself a
son’"... a monstrous word it is, issuing out of
their mouths; they say nothing but a lie." 4
"But
who does greater evil than he who forges against God a
lie?" 5
"They
are unbelievers who say, ‘God is the Messiah,
Mary’s Son.’" 6
Thus the Koran
emphatically denies that Jesus Christ is the Son of
God—a teaching that Jesus Himself just as
emphatically affirmed (John 3:16,18; 10:36-38). In
conclusion, the Christian view of Jesus Christ as
God’s literal Son is blasphemy to the Muslim.
Second,
Muslims deny that Christ was God incarnate. Any Muslim
who believes that Christ is God has committed
"the one unforgivable sin" 7 called shirk—a
sin that will send him to hell. Thus the Koran
emphasizes that Jesus was only a man: "The
Messiah, Jesus Son of Mary, was only the Messenger of
God…." 8 Sura 43:59 asserts: "Jesus was no
more than a mortal whom [Allah] favored and
made an example to the Israelites." 9
But even
though Jesus Himself claimed on many different
occasions that He is God, the Koran has Jesus denying
His own deity. When Allah himself supposedly asked
Jesus if He was God, Jesus replied in the Koran,
"It is not mine to say what I have no right
to." 10 In fact, even as a baby, Jesus allegedly
claimed He was only a servant of Allah. According to
Sura 19:20,34, Jesus praised his birth and then said,
"I am the servant of Allah." And Allah
teaches, "It is not for God to take a son unto
Him." 11
Third, Muslims do not
believe that Jesus was crucified and died on the
cross.
Fourth, Islam teaches
that Muhammad was a superior prophet to Jesus because
he brought God’s final revelations to man. Badru D.
Kateregga, a former lecturer and head of the Islamic
studies and comparative religion at Kenyatta
University College, University of Nairobi, Kenya,
exemplifies the common Muslim view of Jesus as an
inferior prophet to Muhammad.
The truth
that all the previous prophets have proclaimed to
humanity was perfected by Prophet Muhammad.... The
Qur’an, which is Allah’s final guidance
to mankind, was revealed to the Prophet
Muhammad... the seal of all prophets, 600 years after
the Prophet Isa (Jesus)... Muhammad... is the one
prophet who fulfilled Allah’s mission during his
lifetime.
Muslims
believe in and respect all the prophets of God who
preceded Muhammad.... They all brought a uniform
message—Islam—from Allah. [But] Muhammad is
the last in seal of prophethood. Through him, Islam
was completed and perfected. As he brought the last
and latest guidance for all mankind, it is he
alone to whom Muslims turn for guidance. 12
Thus
"Muhammad... is the last prophet and messenger of
Allah. His mission was for the whole world and for all
times." 13 In other words, Muslims must not turn
to Jesus for spiritual guidance—only to Muhammad.
But Muslims are wrong.
Jesus is far more than God’s mere messenger. Jesus
Christ is God’s one and only Son (John
3:16-18). Further, He is the Second Person of the
Trinity, God incarnate—God Himself (John 1:1,14;
5:18). Jesus claimed to be both "the Lord"
and "God"’
"You
call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly
so, for that is what I am’, (John 13:13).
‘Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father
[God]" (John 14:9). "I and the Father
[God] are one" (John 10:30).
When Muslims deny that
Christ was crucified on the cross—and that God
substituted someone else in His place—they deny the
clearest teaching of the New Testament. Even Jesus
prophesied—repeatedly—that He had to go to the
cross and that this was God’s direct will for Him
(Matthew 16:21; Luke 18:31-33; John 12:27).
Innumerable eyewitnesses, both Jesus’ friends and
enemies, saw Jesus die on the cross, and many of His
apostles and friends were eyewitnesses to His
resurrection from the dead (John 19:23-27,31-35).
In conclusion, both the
Koran and the Muslim religion are in serious error
concerning their teachings on the most important man
of history, Jesus Christ. Islam claims that it honors
and reverences Jesus even though it rejects what the
Bible teaches about Him. It denies His divine nature
when it teaches that He was only a servant of God, a
mere man. It denies His mission when it teaches that
Jesus never died on the cross. It denies Jesus’ own
teaching concerning the reason He came into the world:
"to give his life as a ransom for many"
(Matthew 20:28).
No one can deny that
Muslims reject the biblical Jesus. Yet it was Jesus
Himself who warned all men, "…if you do not
believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will
indeed die in your sins" (John 8:24).
Notes:
1. A.J. Arberry, The
Koran Interpreted, (New York: MacMillan, 1976), p.
64.
2. Ibid., p. 233.
3. Ibid., p. 315.
4. Ibid., p. 316.
5. Ibid., p. 317.
6. Ibid., p. 130.
7. J.N.D. Anderson, Christianity
and Comparative Religion (Downer’s Grove, IL:
InterVarsity, 1970 edition), p. 47; S.G.F. Brandon,
ed., Dictionary of Comparative Religion, 1970,
p. 306.
8. Arberry, Interpreted,
p. 125.
9. J. N. Dawood,
trans., Koran, p. 149, emphasis added.
10. Arberry, Interpreted,
p. 147.
11. Dawood, Koran,
p. 34.
12. Badru D. Kateregga
and David W. Shenk, Islam and Christianity: A
Muslim and a Christian in Dialogue (Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1980), p. 37, emphasis added.
13. Ibid., p. 35.
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