If Muslims Believed Their Quran they would become Christians By: Sammy Sabbagh Do Muslims know your Qur’an? Did you know that many Muslims believe that the Qur’an must only be read and can only be understood in the sacred language of God which is Classical Arabic, and as such, cannot be translated? Muslim apologists insist that ‘one must learn Arabic’ in order to understand the Quran. Today, even the most educated Muslim has difficulty understanding Classical Arabic. Any attempt at an objective analysis of the Qur’an by a Muslim is considered the most heinous heresy which at times leads to the death of the analyst. Why would Allah choose to communicate in Arabic the one true religion to all men when even the majority of the world’s Muslims do not speak Arabic? Only 15 to 20 percent of the Muslim population is Muslim Arabs with a high rate of illiteracy. If only 15 to 20 percent of Muslims are Arabs, this means that more than 80 percent of Muslims cannot read or write Arabic and thus do not know the Qur’an (Example: Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Turkey, Nigeria, Iran, Afghanistan, Morocco, etc.). How about you, do you know your Qur’an? Who is Isa (Jesus) in the Qur’an? Did you know that the Qur’an teaches that Isa (Jesus) was born of a Virgin [1] and that He was sinless ? [2] The Qur’an calls Jesus the ‘Word of God’ [3] and ‘Messiah’ (Christ) not once but eleven times.[4] The Qur’an records Jesus having power over death as he performed miracles such as healing the blind and lepers and even raising the dead. [5] The Qur’an further teaches that Jesus Ascended bodily into heaven and knows the way to heaven. [6] Another supernatural power attributed to Jesus is the creation of life. The Qur’an twice mentions Jesus giving life to clay birds. [7] Who is Muhammad of the Qur’an? The Qur’an teaches that Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jonah and even Muhammad repeatedly sinned. [8] In Surah 47, Muhammad was commanded to ask God for forgiveness for his faults. [9] In Surah 33 God even rebuked Muhammad for his sin. [10] The Qur’an nowhere calls Muhammad the ‘Word of God’ or ‘Messiah’. While Jesus performed supernatural miracles of healing and even raising the dead, Muhammad did none. The Qur’an affirms that Moses and Jesus were confirmed as prophets by their miracles. [11] When asked, Muhammad refused to do miracles knowing that other prophets before him proved their credentials through miracles. [12] If God confirmed His prophets through miracles, how come God did not confirm Muhammad whom Muslims claim is the last and ‘seal’ of the prophets? God is certainly capable of doing that! While Jesus ascended bodily into heaven, Muhammad’s body is entombed in Mecca. In the Qur’an Jesus created life but not Muhammad. Jesus’ name is mentioned 97 times in the Qur’an and Muhammad’s only 25 times. Mohammad states he is not different from the prophets before him. He does not know what will happen to him and his followers (after death) and he is only a Warner. “I am nothing new among the Prophets; what will happen to me and to my followers, I do not know; I am only a plain warner.” (Sura 46:9). Jesus on the other hand ascended bodily into heaven and knows the way to heaven. In Sura 3:55, the Quran teaches that Jesus who came down from heaven is in heaven today and that those who follow Jesus and do His work will be lifted above all the unbelievers in the world. If you want to go to heaven when you die, which prophet you think can help you get there? Should you choose a prophet who is not any different from the prophets before him, who does not know where he or his followers are going and who only is a warner? Or a prophet who knows the way to heaven and even lives there now? My Muslim friend, If you are serious about going to heaven, it would be wise for you to study the life of Jesus in the Bible who had authority over death and knows the way to heaven. Myth #1 The Bible has been corrupted and is no longer reliable. Many Muslims claim the original Bible was the Word of God but over time it became corrupted. Since they make such a claim, the burden of proof is on them to produce evidence for such a claim. We challenge and encourage any Muslim to come forward with any evidence of corruption. There is no historical evidence whatsoever that the Bible has been corrupted. Ask yourself the following: When exactly was the original Bible Corrupted? Was it before or after the time of Muhammad? Before the time of Muhammad: If the Bible was corrupted before the time of Muhammad, how come: · Sura 3:3-4 declares that the Torah and the Injeel is the Word of God and a “guide to mankind”. “It is He Who sent down to thee (step by step), in truth, the Book, confirming what went before it; and He sent down the Law (of Moses) and the Gospel (of Jesus) before this, as a guide to mankind, and He sent down the criterion (of judgment between right and wrong). Then those who reject Faith in the Signs of Allah will suffer the severest penalty, and Allah is Exalted in Might, Lord of Retribution”. · Sura 6:115 assert that no one can alter the Word of God. (see also 6:34, 10:64 and 18:27). · Suras 2:136, 2:285, 3:84 and 4:136 state that to be a proper a Muslim, one must read and believe the Before Books (the Old and New Testaments). “O ye who believe! Believe in Allah and His Messenger and the scripture which He hath sent to His Messenger and the scripture which He sent those before (him). Ant who denieth Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messengers and the Day of Judgment hath gone far, far astray.” (Sura 4:136) · Allah tells Muhammad, if you have doubts, ask “those who read the Scripture that was before you,” because truth is found in those scriptures. Allah then urges Muhammad not to be among the waverers. “And if you (Muhammad) are in doubt concerning that which We reveal to you, then question those who read the Scripture (the Bible) that was before you. Verily the Truth from my Lord hath come unto thee. So be not thou of the waverers.” (Sura 10:94) · Please note “the Scripture that was before you” are the Torah and the Injeel. Also notice that those who believe and observe the teaching of the Torah and the Gospel will go to heaven. If only the People of the Scripture (the Jews-see verse 64) would believe and ward off evil, we would remit their sins from them and surely We would bring them into Gardens of delight. If they had observed the Torah and the Injeel (Gospel) and that which was revealed unto them by their Lord, then they would have been nourished from above them and from beneath their feet.” (Sura 5:65-66). · Sura 5:82-83 states that Christians are humble and compassionate and know the Truth when they hear it. So think about this for a moment. Allah confirmed to Muhammad that the Scripture (the Bible) prior the Quran was given by Him. That no one can change God’s perfect Word. Muhammad himself encouraged Muslims to study the Bible (Suras 10:94, 2:136, 4:163, 5:56, 5:68-69, 35:31). You see Muhammad believed the Bible in the sixth century AD was very accurate. So to state that the original Bible has been corrupted before the days of Muhammad makes no sense. How about after the time of Muhammad? After the time of Muhammad: Today there are more than 24,000 partial and complete manuscript copies of the New Testament, and hundreds of Old Testament manuscripts dating back to as early as the third century B.C. These incredible manuscripts are available for your inspection ( Examples: The British Museum, the Cambridge University Library, the Smithsonian Institute, Oxford University, the National Library at Paris, Israel Museum). Even if we did not have any manuscripts, scholars could still reconstruct the New Testament today from just the approximately 86,000 quotations from the early church fathers. Please go to Amazon and find out for yourself as you can purchase right now an encyclopedic size set of the writings of the church fathers. “No other book is even a close second to the Bible on either the number or early dating of the copies. The average secular work from antiquity survives on only a handful of manuscripts; the New Testament boasts thousands. The average gap between the original composition and the earliest copy is over 1,000 years for other books.” (Norman Geisler). For example the Roman emperor Caesar has only 10, Plato has 7, Thucydides has 8, Tacitus has 20, Suetonius has 8, Aristotle has 5. How about the time span between the date of the original manuscript was written and the date of the earliest copy found of both Biblical and secular manuscripts. The closer a manuscript can be found to the event it describes, the more credible a manuscript is. For Caesar it’s a 1000 years span, Plato 1200 years, Thucydides 1,300 years, Tacitus 1,000 years, Suetonius 800 years, Aristotle 1,400 years span, and the Gospel fragments found among the Dead Sea Scrolls dated as early as 50 A.D. These amazing manuscripts prove that the Bible we have in our possession today is the same Bible that the early church possessed over 2,000 years ago and the same Bible Muhammad believed in and encouraged his readers to read (Suras 10:94, 2:136, 4:163, 5:56, 5:68, 35:31). Once again we encourage and challenge any Muslim to bring forth historical evidence that the Bible has been corrupted! To say that the Bible has been corrupted before or after the time of Muhammad makes no sense. I encourage you my Muslim friend to read the Bible and learn more about Jesus Christ whom the Qur’an says lived a life that is much more extraordinary than any prophet including Muhammad. As you read the Bible, you will soon discover that Isa (Jesus) was more than a prophet; He was indeed the unique Son of God who came to redeem you. Why do Muslims claim that the Bible has been corrupted? Muslims claim that the original Bible was the Word of God but that it became corrupted. When exactly was the original Bible corrupted? Was it before or after the time of Muhammad? If the Bible was corrupted before the time of Muhammad, how come the Quran in Surah 3* states that the Torah (which is the Old Testament), the Zabur (which are the Psalms) and the Injeel (which is the Gospel) are the Word of God? As a matter of fact in Surah’s 5 *and 10*, Muhammad himself commended the reading of the Bible of his day. The Quran asserts in Surah’s 6*, 10* and 18* that no one can alter the Word of God. So to state that the original Bible has been corrupted before the days of Muhammad makes no sense. How about after the time of Muhammad? Well today we possess thousands of manuscripts from as early as the third century. These manuscripts predate Muhammad , prove that today’s Bible is exactly the same as the Bible before Muhammad’s time. Now remember that by Muhammad’s time Christianity had already spread over a large part of the world. Hundreds of thousands of copies of the Bible translated into a number of languages had been dispersed. To claim the Bible has been corrupted is to have us believe that hundreds of thousands of Bibles and manuscripts throughout the world were meticulously collected from churches, synagogues, schools, homes and libraries from willing Jews and Christians who agreed to surrender the very book they based their eternal salvation on. Jews and Christians, who by the way were very hostile to one another during those centuries, collaborated to corrupt the Bible. In order to maintain uniformity in corrupting the Bible, these Jews and Christians identically altered the various translations of the Bible all over the world. This makes absolutely no sense. If Jews and Christians corrupted the Bible, why not at least take out some of the horrible stories in the Bible? Such as Israel’s unfaithfulness as they complained and committed idolatry in the wilderness for forty years. Such as Peter denying Christ three times, or the disciples fleeing after Jesus was arrested. Why do Muslims claim that the Bible has been corrupted? Well the Bible was completed 500 years before the Quran was even revealed to Muhammad. The Bible and the Quran contradicted one another. In order to justify that the Quran was true, Muslims claim the Bible must then be false. Well since the Bible existed way before the Quran, the burden of proof is upon the Muslim to prove the Bible is incorrect and the Quran is correct. No Muslim can provide historical evidence to back up the claim that the Bible has been corrupted. Why do Muslims claim that the Bible has been corrupted? Because the Gospel of Jesus Christ sets people free from the bondage of sin and death. Because the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the “power of God to salvation for everyone who believes” (Rom 1:16). God loves Muslims and wants to save them. Muslims live in our backyards here in the US. As followers of Jesus Christ we are to consider Muslims as our mission field and not as our enemies. The real enemy is Satan; the one who invented the theory of Bible corruption all the way back in Genesis 3 as he questioned the Word of God. This tradition over the years has been espoused by virtually every religion out there, Jesus said: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my Words will by no means pass away”. Pray and ask God to use you in helping Muslims see how much Jesus Christ loves them. Thank you for listening to LifeGate Global Outreach. I am Sammy Sabbagh. Until next time, God bless you. *Surah’s 3:3-4, 5:69, 10:94, 6:34, 6:115, 10:64, 18:27. Who is Jesus of the Qur’an? In Matthew Chapter 16 Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” Did you know that your eternity hangs on your answer to this question? Muslims around the world believe that Jesus was one of their 124,000 prophets and that Muhammad was the last and “seal” of the prophets. Let’s examine the Qur’an and see who Jesus of the Qur’an is. The Qur’an in Surah’s 3 and 19 teach that Jesus was virgin born (a). The Qur’an nowhere records that of Muhammad. The Quran teaches that Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jonah, and even Muhammad sinned (b) but that Jesus was sinless (c). Muhammad was even rebuked as God commanded him to ask for forgiveness for his sin (d). Jesus is called the “Messiah” in the Qur’an not once but eleven times (e). The Qur’an nowhere calls Muhammad Messiah. Jesus is even called the “Word of God” (f) and the Spirit of God (g). The Qur’an records Jesus performing many miracles such as healing the blind and lepers and raising the dead (h) but none by Muhammad. The Qur’an affirms that Moses and Jesus were confirmed as prophets by their miracles (i) and that Muhammad refused to do miracles knowing that other prophets before him proved their credentials through miracles (j). If God confirmed His prophets through miracles, how come God did not confirm Muhammad whom Muslims claim is the last and “seal” of the prophets? God is certainly capable of doing that. The Qur’an further teaches that Jesus ascended bodily into Heaven (k) but not Muhammad. Now think of this for a moment! Since Jesus was virgin born but not Muhammad, since Jesus was sinless but not Muhammad, since Jesus was called “Messiah” but not Muhammad, since Jesus was called the “Word of God” but not Muhammad, since Jesus was called the “Spirit of God” but not Muhammad, since Jesus performed many miracles but not Muhammad, since Jesus ascended bodily into heaven but not Muhammad, since Jesus’ name is mentioned 97 times in the Qur’an and Muhammad only 25 times, what does that tell you? Who is Jesus of the Qur’an? The Qur’an affirms the deity of Jesus Christ. You see God is pointing Muslims to the Bible; to His Son and savior Jesus Christ. Even Muhammad himself pointed and encouraged Muslims to read about Jesus in the Quran and in the Bible (l). God Almighty who created the heavens and the earth is a Just God who demands punishment. If God sends everyone to hell because of their sins that is justice, but where is His love? God of the Bible is also a loving God and His love demands forgiveness. If God sends everyone to Heaven in spite of their sins that is love, but where is His justice? How can God reconcile His love and His justice? The answer is the cross. On the cross Christ paid the penalty for our sins. Christ became the ultimate sacrifice as He shed His blood as the only atonement for our sins. By doing that, He satisfied the justice of God, and the cross revealed to us His love. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved”. If you don’t believe in Jesus of the Bible, if you are not a Christian, God has terrible and great news for you. The terrible news is that your verdict has already been given. You are condemned and the wrath of God is already upon you. You can’t receive worst news than this. The Bible says: “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God, He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:18, 36). This is the ultimate worst news ever. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb 10:31). The great news is that the verdict has not yet been executed. It will, as soon as your heart stops beating or as soon as Jesus comes back; whichever comes first. Either can happen any second. The great news is that God is patient and long-suffering. He is not willing that you perish (2 Peter 3:9). He continues calling sinners to repentance. Don’t procrastinate because His patience will run out.
Posted on: Mon, 04 Nov 2013 03:18:52 +0000