How Can We Help?
First, let us establish the general view of Islam by followers of the sect/denomination:
Islam is the religion of Allah (the god in Arabic) given by Muhammad, the best person from among the Arabs, sent forth to humanity (Jews and Gentiles). Islam is not simply a religion but a way of life. It is a political system with religious aspects and obligations. Islam is the final testament which completed Judaism and Christianity. However, since the People of the Book (Jews and Christians) corrupted their own scriptures (al-kitaab – the Bible), they will be punished in hellfire and will replace sinful Muslims in hell. There will be some Christians that will be saved, but most will not. As for the Jews, they will hide behind stones and the stones will call for Muslims saying, “O Muslim, there is a Jew hiding behind me, kill him!”
The religious aspect for all Muslims comes from the Qur’an. These religious duties must be carried out according to as is stated in the Sira and Hadith. The political side comes from the Sira and Hadith and invoke Sharia (way or path in Arabic). Sharia is often called the Sharia Law as like the Torah (or the Law).
The word Islam has roots in the word peace (salaam/s-l-m). So Muslims will often say Islam is the/a religion of peace. Stories in the Hadith display an alternative picture of peace. A Jewish tribe was slaughtered/decimated after planning an attack on the prophet Muhammad. The men and boys were all beheaded, along with a young woman for irritatingly singing. The women were divided up like cattle and sent to be slaves to various Muslim men. To the victor goes the spoils of windowed women, young girls, and all the belongings of the tribe.
Era – Quick Info
Islam started in 7th-century Saudi Arabia by Muhammed. He dedicated the remainder of his life (he was 40 at the time) to spreading a message of monotheism in a polytheistic world. In 622, he fled north to the city of Medina to escape growing persecution because he wouldn’t leave leaders of tribes there alone. This event marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. Around 630, Muhammad returned to Mecca with an army and conquered the city for Islam. By Muhammad’s death, 50 years later, the entire Arabian Peninsula had come under Muslim control by conquests (war).
The Qur’an teaches:
- there is one God
- God does not have partners (no other deities)
- Do not worship other/false gods
- God is not a Trinity with God, Mary, and the man Christ Jesus
- God does not have a son (because it would make another partner)
We believe most Christians can agree with all of the above. Christianity teaches:
- there is one God
- there are no other gods
- we are to not forsake the Lord our God and worship false idols/gods
- That Mary is not a second god in the Trinity
- that Jesus is not a biological son, a demi-god, or another partner (second deity)
So where is the problem? Muslims teach that Islam says God has no son and when Christians attribute the title Son of God, they are saying God has a literal son. They say God cannot have a son. Many Muslims will adamantly deny the possibility of people being called sons and daughters of God and instead say we are slaves (the Bible calls believers both). They will say the Jews and Christians corrupted all of the verses as soon as they were received. (Some Muslims, mostly scholars, will deny that and say that later after the Torah and Gospels were written that they were corrupted. There is a lack of historical evidence to support that theory.)
There are two problems with the theory that the Jews and Christians corrupted the scriptures upon revelation.
- The Torah, prophets, and the gospels, were all written at various times. It would be hard to corrupt such scriptures when they were constantly being copied, memorized, recited, and hidden in the hearts of believers. Which brings us to,
- The gospels often quote back from the Torah and prophets. The Torah and prophets declared the gospel be so. If there was corruption, surely quotes leading back to the Torah and prophets would be entirely wrong, incorrect, etc. The very fact that Jesus quotes them shows us they were not corrupt during his time.
So when did they become corrupted? As far as history is concerned, there are so many copies to compare to each other that the Bible is one of the most reliably copied book in existence. (I didn’t say true, as atheists wouldn’t agree. Some atheists historians might agree that when it comes to the least corrupted books out there, the Bible is very reliable (5,000+ manuscripts for the gospels alone).)
As for Jesus being the Son of God, literal or not, that’s for another upcoming article [will be linked here upon completion].