In the transformation of Rome from a publicly pagan to a publicly Christian Empire which was in reality just a new face on the old Mithraism, is God going to stand by and do nothing?
Not according to his word, he’s not.
“Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the LORD, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple…
And I will come near to you to judgment; and…fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts. For I am the LORD, I change not…
Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another…and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD / YHVH, and that thought upon his name / attributes of Singularity and righteousness...” (Malachi 3)
Was it even possible to find a righteous Messenger to the peoples of the world from Christianity? It is a fact that Christianity had become thoroughly corrupted after its politicization within the Roman Empire in the 4th Century.
And what to my wondering eyes should appear, but Muhammad c. 570 CE – 8 June 632 CE), the founder of Islam. He claimed to be God’s Messenger, the final prophet of God sent to restore orthodox monotheism previously preached by Adam, Noah, and leaders of the Hebrews including Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Paul.
Contrary to what became a tenant of faith of Christianity, Paul based his gospel of salvation not on knowing and calling on the name of Jesus Christ but on the preceding scriptures of the prophets which prove Jesus Christ’s role in salvation as the Son of God.
“to him [that is God only, NOT Jesus Christ, see below] that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.” (Romans 16:26-27)
Moslems categorize themselves, Jews and Christians on the basis of God’s word. That is a value judgment if ever there was one. So before denouncing Islam out of hand, we need to examine the basic tenants of the faith.
Muslims believe the Qur’an is the word of God, spoken by the angel Gabriel to Muhammad. This is 100% consistent with the word of God spoken by the angel Gabriel to Daniel and provides validation for Muhammad’s claim. Like Muhammad, Daniel was not part of the Jewish religious entourage. In Daniel’s case, it was impossible because he was a eunuch, but still he was certainly a prophet to the Jews as well as the Gentiles under the non-Jewish world ruler set up by God.
So Islam cannot be discredited on the basis of being established on revelation from the angel Gabriel. The test of truth is the message itself.
What is the essence of Muhammed’s revelation?
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) declared, “The faith is righteousness…”
“Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.” (James 2:23)
Righteousness, as far as Islam is concerned, comprises both faith and practice. Righteous Muslims should have faith in Allah, His angels, Books, Prophets, etc. They, also, should translate their faith into practice by observing morality, truthfulness, honesty, fairness, etc.
This is 100% consistent with the faith of Abraham in action passed to his seed blessing all the nations of the world.
“By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing…I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven…and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” (Genesis 22:15-19)
Christianity narrows “Abraham’s seed” exclusively down to Jesus Christ and therefore those who join identity with him as “Christians”. But that is not a biblical concept.
Yes, Paul makes the point that ” Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made… to thy seed, which is Christ…” But this is in the context of an argument opposing the claims of Jews that Gentiles cannot remain Gentiles while identifying with Abraham’s seed the Christ: “the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.” (Galatians 3:16-170.
Paul’s main point in this passage is that “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.”
In other words, also one with the special Seed the Christ.
“And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.” (Galatians 3)
These include the branch of Abraham through Ishmael – Genesis 21
- “in Isaac shall thy seed be called”, i.e. YHVH’s Savior
- And also of Ishmael the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed – following through on the change of the name Abram / father of a people to Abraham / father of many nations.
Ishmael proved to have the faith of Abraham when he submitted to, obeyed, acted on the word of God – interestingly – in the exact same way that his father Abraham did when he left the security of his homeland and traveled into the wilderness, depending on God for his daily bread and safety from a host of dangers.
Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi, president of the Fiqh Council of North America, states the following: In Psalms 31:1 God is called “righteous” and in Romans 1:17 the expression “righteousness of faith” is used. According to Islam…We believe in the righteousness of Allah. The Qur’an says, (He is Righteous and Merciful) (At-Tur 52:28). The Prophet (peace be upon him) also said, “The faith is righteousness (al-birr).” Among Muslims…the real difference is in the understanding of “righteousness.” In Islam, the righteousness of Allah means that He would not punish anyone unjustly. The righteousness of believers means that they believe and live their lives according to their faith; while Christian theology generally emphasizes righteousness by faith alone without any action. It is often said, especially in the writings of St. Paul, that salvation is by faith alone, and many Christians take this to mean that ethics and morality, then are not necessary for salvation. This idea is not accepted in Islam.
Neither is it biblical.
“Thou believest that there is one God / in monotheism; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?” (James 2:19-22)
“And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God…shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.” (Exodus 20:1-6)
The Arabic term islām, literally “surrender,” illuminates the fundamental religious idea of Islam—that the believer (called a Muslim, from the active particle of islām) accepts surrender to the will of Allah…viewed as the sole God—creator, sustainer, and restorer of the world. The will of Allah.is made known through the sacred…scriptures.
- The Six Articles of Faith
- Belief in monotheism
- Belief in angels
- Belief in Prophets and Messengers
- Belief in the Holy Books
- Belief in Resurrection to face a Day of Judgment – the life of a human being does not end at death, but, in fact, continues afterward towards a new life. The Quran calls this life the “true life.”
- Repentance is the giving up of sin and it is the best way of expressing regret for having committed one. Repentance is the source of and way to success. The Quran says, “Turn to Allah, O Believers, that you may be successful” (24:31).
- When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; (For the Lord thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee” (Deuteronomy 4:30-31)
- People can establish a direct link to Allah while seeking repentance without the necessity of a third person [priest] interfering.
- call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven…if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:” (Matthew 23:9, I John 2:1)
- God loves a person who sincerely repents his or her sin; hence, the repented sin will be considered as if he or she had never committed that sin. However, repentance must be sincere. God knows who sincerely regrets misdeeds and who is just speaking empty words…Forgiveness is a word that stands on six supports.
- The first is to repent over the past.
- The second is to make a firm determination never to revert to it.
- The third is to discharge all the rights of people so that you may meet God quite clean with nothing which to account for.
- The fourth is to fulfill every obligation which you ignored in the past so that you may now be just with it.
- The fifth is to aim at the flesh grown as a result of unlawful earning so that you may melt it by grief of repentance till the skin touches the bone and a new flesh grows between them.
- And the sixth is to make the body taste the pain of obedience as you previously made it taste the sweetness of disobedience.
- On such an occasion, you may say, “I seek God’s forgiveness.”8
Paul’s gospel that Jesus Christ is the revelation of the Seed of the Woman Son of God Redeemer finally made manifest after thousands of years did NOT exclude all the people who never heard the name of Jesus Christ from being redeemed – not those who lived and died before Christ’s arrival, and not those who never had opportunity to heard a missionary to their nation, and not those who heard a perverted version of salvation from a corrupt religious leader preaching a false gospel.
Paul himself made this clear.
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse…
“the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds:
- To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:
- But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;
For there is no respect of persons with God.
- For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law:
- and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;”
(For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.” (Romans 1:18-20, 2:5-13)
An Islamic Perspective on Divine Guidance and Human Understanding.
The Qur’an teaches that God, the Wise, has provided His creation with guidance so that they may achieve their proportionate perfection.
The first form of Divine guidance is an inner and instinctive instruction, which is innate in all beings. It is from Him that each created thing derived its form and nature, including such free will and power as that of man. God has granted everything all the means and opportunities of development…
The second form of Divine guidance is where God sends the Prophets and divine books for man to learn the purpose of his creation and how he can realise his true potentials.
This is the highest and the most sophisticated form of divine communication.
According to Islamic beliefs, it is not just the Qur’an but other Divine books, such as the Torah, the Gospel and the Psalm of Prophet David, that are other examples of this connection between the Divinity and mankind.9
With this in mind, Islam’s appearance is not automatically not of God.
Islam is not limited to the revelation that was sent to the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, but was also the message of previous Prophets. The Qur’ān teaches that previous religions, such as Christianity and Judaism, in their original forms were based on the oneness of God. Each Prophet conveyed the consistent divine message of worshiping one God and living a morally upright life. Moses, like other Prophets, called his people to worship only one God and foretold of a final Messenger.
Moses is honored and revered in the Qur’ān…He is not only a Prophet among others in the chain of Prophets, but he is one of the five greatest Prophets, the others being Noah, Abraham, Jesus, and Muhammad peace be upon them. Each of these Prophets delivered the same message, to worship God alone and follow His teachings. Islam is considered one religion from Adam to Jacob to Moses, to Muhammad. Therefore, Muslims believe that Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him did not start Islam / Surrender, but completed it.
This is consistent with
- Moses’ report that “The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;” (Deuteronomy 18:15)
- and Jesus’ accreditation of himself by Moses “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Luke 24:27)
Nevertheless, Muslims have a different understanding of the Torah. For Jews and Christians, the Torah is believed to be the first five books of the Bible beginning with Genesis. However, when examined carefully, these books do not represent revelation given to Moses but are instead biographies…
This is undoubtedly true, as God always uses written records to prove his judgment is true. Adam’s experience with God would certainly have been written down and left as his legacy, Noah would have compiled records to be carried through the flood, etc. There is no question that the rest of the Old Testament and the New Testament consist of memoirs personally experienced by their authors who functioned as prophets.
In the Quran Jews and Christians were categorized as “people of the book,“– possessors of a prior revelation from God that was written down for posterity. People of the book were “protected people” (ahlal‑dhimma, or dhimmis), who were permitted to live among Muslims, undisturbed, and to observe their faith without interference. Quite a different approach from Christianity’s holocaust of the Jews and War on Terror on all Moslems.
The virgin birth of Jesus is found in both Christian and Islamic doctrine that Jesus was conceived by his mother, Mary, through the power of the Holy Spirit and without sexual intercourse, but the Qur’an denies the Christian trinitarian implications. In the Qur’an, God’s creation of Jesus, who had no father, is likened to His creation of Adam, who had neither father nor mother. Both, fashioned out of earth’s elemental components, are viewed as direct manifestations of God’s Divine Command “Be!”
See the post In The Beginning Was The Word for biblical confirmation of this Islamic teaching.
Consistent with the biblical account, Jesus’ prophetic message to his people is called the gospel / Injil. Muslims believe that Jesus was the Messiah awaited by the Jews of ancient Palestine. Like Christians, Muslims believe Jesus’ mission was to rectify deviations that had developed in the religion of the One God. Muslims share with Christians belief in Jesus’ various miracles performed by him (by God’s leave).
Jesus himself said “I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 15:24)
As for Jesus’s fate, the key texts and interrelations of Q 3:54–55, 4:157–158, 5:117, and 19:33 are ambiguous, and the history of interpretation attests to significant variety, just as there is in Christianity. The majority tradition in Islam has held that Jesus never died, that he ascended into heaven…while some scholars argue that the Qur’an does at least imply that Jesus died by crucifixion.4
All agree on the general resurrection.3
It is a sign of bigotry, racism and arrogance for Christians who don’t live according to God’s word to condemn Moslems whose lifestyle does confirm to God’s commandments. And before justifying rejection of Islam because of terrorists, do the math. Christian America has killed far more Moslems.
“Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.” (Romans 2:1)
Kingdom Come 