EVIDENCES FOR THE QURANIC ACCOUNT This implicit assumption is one of the causes of hesitation and unwillingness of many people to accept the Quranic view of Jesus. This is in spite of the fact that this point of view is supported by: a. The early history of Christianity which continued for three decades after Jesus’s disappearance as a sect within Judaism. b. The practice of many Christian sects and scholars throughout the history of Christianity. c. The findings of many Biblical scholars and scientific research which was applied to the Bible. d. The instinct of many people (some of whom think they are Christians) who believe in the One God, but cant accept Jesus as God or The Son of God. It is worth noting that the main differences between the Quranic account and what modern research and scholars have found is that the Quran said what it says now about Jesus and his mission fourteen centuries ago and never changed its stand. REASONS HOLDING PEOPLE FROM ISLAM Some of the other reasons which might account for the rejection of the Quranic account include: a. The time-honored bias against Islam which was partly the product of the Crusades and partly the product of the Arab- Israeli conflict in the Middle East. b. Confusion. Many people although they do not accept Christianity, do not know where the truth is. c. Social Pressure and Academic Reputation. Many people were afraid to accept Islam because they felt they would be mocked, alienated from their relatives and peers if they openly rejected Christianity and accepted Islam. At the academic level, especially among orientalists, if one writes favorably about Islam and the Quran no body will review his work, quote from it or even consider it a scholarly work. He could be even destroyed professionally. The Washington Post (January 5, 1978) reported that a University of Richmond Professor, Dr. Robert Alley lost the chairmanship of the Department of Religion there because he holds the view that Jesus never claimed to be the son of God. After considerable research into newly found ancient documents, Dr. Alley concluded that: The (Bible) passages where Jesus talks about the son of God are later additions..... what the church said about him. Such a claim of deity for himself would not have been consistent with his entire lifestyle as we can reconstruct. For the first three decades after Jesus death Christianity continued as a sect within Judaism. The first three decades of its existence of the church were within the synagogue. That would have been beyond belief if they (the followers) had boldly proclaimed the deity of Jesus. ISLAM: THE NATURAL CALL Despite these factors, and some others which I did not mention, there have been many people who have submitted to truth. The Islamic point of view about Jesus and other major issues strikes those who get introduced to it as something which makes a lot of sense and something which they hold implicitly without knowing it. This, and other characteristics made Islam the fastest growing religion in the world throughout history. It appeals even to faithful Christians because they discover that: a. Islam does not abolish Jesus, it rather puts him in the right position in the long line of men who brought real salvation to humanity. In reality they are adding a new dimension to their understanding of God, prophet-hood, and revelation. b. When Christianity and Judaism (or for that matter any religion) are looked at from the Islamic perspective they fit in neatly in the universal framework of the oneness of God and His plans for mankind. Moreover, one will understand clearly why there are some gaps or discrepancies in the Biblical account about certain issues. c. Islam does consider itself the final link in the long chain of revelation. It promises the followers of previous faiths great rewards if they add belief in Islam to their belief in their previous faith. The Prophet Muhammad said, He who has believed in his religion then believed in what is revealed to me will be rewarded twice (by God). That is once for believing in his faith and the other for recognizing truth and believing in Islam. To sum up, Islam considers Jesus as one of Gods great prophets. His mission was to preach the Oneness of God and to lead man to his Lord. He never claimed to be other than a servant and a Messenger of God. The Quranic account of his life and mission is supported by overwhelming evidence. The Muslims do believe in and are awaiting the Second Coming of Jesus. He will come back not as God to judge the non-Christians, but as Jesus, Gods servant. His coming is to correct the misconception which people have developed about his personality and his mission. According to a saying of the Prophet Muhammad, he will stay for forty years which is going to be the happiest years of life on this earth. At that time everybody will believe in him as the messenger, not the Son of God. However, what about those who will not be able to live till his second coming? They better do it now! FURTHER READINGS ON ISLAM AND CHRISTIANITY 1. M. M. Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Quran T. B. 2. Irving, et al., The Quran: Basic Teachings 3. Hamuda Abdulati, Islam in Focus 4. M. Qutb, /slam: The Misunderstood Religion 5. B. A. Bawany, Islam: The First and Final Religion 6. Maurice Bucaille, The Bible, The Quran and Science 7. Maurice Bucaille, The Origin of Man 8. Lordsale and Laura Ragg, The Gospel of Barnabas 9. Muhammad Ata-ur-Rahman, Jesus: A Prophet of Islam 10. Rudolf Augustein, Jesus Son of Man 11. John Hick (ed), The Myth of God Incarnate 12. S. S. Mufassir, Jesus in the Quran.
Posted on: Wed, 14 Jan 2015 18:58:00 +0000
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