Tag: Allah

Reza Aslan’s Interview on Fox and his new book Zealot!

An interview on Fox News of Reza Aslan and his new book Zealot has received numerous social media posts recently.  Here is a copy of the interview that currently has over 2 million views:

The interviewer is slammed for asking him again and again why he is writing this book as a Muslim.  I think Reza’s answers could have been much better, but the interviewer just keeps asking the same question again and again and it gets nowhere and we don’t get to learn much of what Reza actually believes concerning the life of Jesus.

What stood out the most to me in the interview is that Reza states that it is a fundamental truth that everyone agrees that Jesus was crucified, but that’s not the Muslim belief and teaching of Islam as he also states! Reza must mean that every historian believes Jesus was crucified.

Why do Muslims believe Jesus wasn’t crucified?  Sura 4:157-158 clearly states that he wasn’t.  These two verses read:

“That they said (in boast), “We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah”;- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not -Nay, Allah raised him up unto Himself; and Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise.”

This leads me to believe that Reza is a very liberal Muslim.  It even makes me think that he isn’t Muslim at all to so openly deny a teaching of the Qur’an like this.  However, I was told that there were different Muslim interpretations on this passage.  I however don’t think that Jesus actually being crucified was one of them.  Some Muslim scholars believe that Jesus never died and others believe that he died of natural causes, but which Muslim scholar besides Reza believes that Jesus was crucified.

Before Reza I have only read Muslim teachers and Muslims I have spoken with to hold to the interpretation that Jesus did not die, at all! According to Adil Salahi who wrote on this topic on Muslim.org says that there are two views within Islam. He writes:

“The first, which is held by a majority of scholars, is that Jesus Christ did not die but was raised by Allah and that he will make a second coming at a time determined by Allah, when he will be preaching the message of Islam. The other view is that Jesus Christ died a natural death after Allah had saved him from his enemies. Both groups of scholars agree that Jesus Christ was neither killed nor crucified. Needless to say, those who subscribe to the second view do not speak of a second coming of Jesus Christ.” (http://www.muslim.org/islam/deathjarab.htm)

It appears as if Reza has an interpretation which does not fit with the interpretations of mainstream Muslim scholars on the teachings of the Qur’an and the Hadiths, so I’m very interested to read his book to see where else he skews not only on orthodox Islam but also Christianity. I wish the interviewer allowed him to get into such things, but it would have been nice if he had answered her question in a better fashion by just saying, “As a Muslim, I’m very deeply concerned with and interested in the person and history of Jesus (peace be upon him) because there is more in the Qur’an about Jesus (peace be upon him) than Muhammad (peace be upon him) and since the teachings of Christianity contradict the teachings in the Qur’an I have every right and interest as a religious scholar, Muslim, or any person interested in seeking religious and historical truth to research the life of Jesus.” I think if he had answered in such a way it would have shut down her stupid string of questions. She clearly is very ignorant on the subject of religious studies and the desire that any religious adherent should have in researching the claims of religions other than their own.

If Reza and other Muslim scholars are beginning to say that Jesus was crucified then it seems like a direct leave from the direct statements of Sura 4:157-158. I see where there is room for Jesus to have died a natural death in that passage, but there is clearly no room given for him to have died by crucifixion. I have never met a Muslim who has read the Qur’an to say that Jesus died of natural causes, much less that he was crucified, and these were leaders of Muslim unions on college campuses and teachers from whyislam.org who I invited to my world religions class to speak. You can check out their website and they very clearly state that Jesus did not die! (http://www.whyislam.org/submission/prophethood-in-islam/jesus-peace-be-upon-him/jesus/) They leave no room for any other interpretation. I’m afraid to say that Reza doesn’t seem very reliable as a Muslim theologian.

Andy WrasmanLeave a comment

Did you know that the Qur’an has a lot to say about Jesus?

Virgin Mary and Jesus, old Persian miniature. ...
Virgin Mary and Jesus, old Persian miniature. In Islam, they are called Maryam and Isa.

Did you know that the Qur’an has a lot to say about Jesus?

This link provides verses from the Qur’an that mention Jesus: http://www.quranfromallah.com/Topics/Quran-Jesus.html

Surah 2:136 and Surah 4:163 say Jesus is a prophet.

Surah 22:91 and Surah 23:50 say that Mary was a virgin who Allah made pregnant with Jesus through his Spirit.

Surah 4:157 says that Jesus was not killed, nor crucified, and the next verse, 158, explains that Allah raised Jesus to heaven (The Ascension in Christian terms) in both body and spirit.

Andy Wrasman2 Comments

Qur’an and the Injeel #5

I made a reference in the last blog post in this series that mentioned that the Qur’an claims that the prophets of the Old Testament were prophets of Allah and that the Injeel (The Gospel of Jesus) is also from Allah.  I received a comment asking to provide the citations in the Qur’an in case Muslims deny that the Qur’an teaches this.

The following is a Muslim run website that lists the verses in English that mention the Injeel (The Gospel):  http://www.quranfromallah.com/Topics/Quran-Gospel.html

The first verse listed is a key verse, Surah 3:3, which reads, “It is He Who has sent down the Book (the Quran) to you (Muhammad SAW) with truth, confirming what came before it. And he sent down the Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel).”  I’d suggest remembering this Qur’an citation.

This verse directly says Allah sent the Qur’an to confirm the Torah and the Gospel.  If the Qur’an is to confirm the Gospels, then it shouldn’t contradict the Bible, but since it does contradict the Bible, Muslims claim that the Qur’an was sent to “correct” the Bible, to “correct” the corruption that has occurred in the Bible.  The Qur’an however doesn’t say that Allah sent the Qur’an to “correct” what came before, but to “confirm” what had already been given.

We’ll need to ask Muslims some questions.  Who corrupted the Bible?  When was it corrupted?  Why was it corrupted?  What part of the Bible has been corrupted?  Muslims do not have answers to these questions!  I have only met one Muslim who has given an answer to me.  He told me that the apostle Paul corrupted the Bible, because Paul was not a true believer.  He was a pagan.  I shared with the Muslim that this is impossible.  Paul was a contemporary with Jesus and Jesus’ apostles.  If he was changing or corrupting God’s Word, the other apostles would have stopped it.  I also shared that the apostle John definitely outlived Paul.  John would have been able to correct any of Paul’s distortions after Paul’s death, if he actually did corrupt them.  The Muslim responded, “I don’t know anything about John.  I don’t want to speak about what I don’t know.”

Please visit Crescent Project.  The bulk of this series is outlining the Bridges series from Crescent Project.

Andy Wrasman1 Comment

Qur’an and the Injeel #4

Quran
Quran (Photo credit: kevinschoenmakers)

Please visit Crescent Project.  The bulk of this series is outlining the Bridges series from Crescent Project.

The Qur’an says that the Injeel (Muslim’s Arabic name for the Gospels) is the word of Allah.  They however, say that it’s been changed, or corrupted, which is why Allah had to send the Qur’an through Muhhammed.  It’s also why many of them haven’t read the Injeel.  So how can a Christian respond to a Muslim who says, “Yes, the Injeel is the word of God and Jesus was a prophet, but it has been changed!”?

Logical Response

Simply ask questions.

“When was the Injeel (NT) corruptued?”

“How was it been corrupted?”

“Who corrupted it?”

“What parts are corrupted?  Has the whole Injeel been changed?”

Muslims generally won’t have answers to these questions.

You can then ask,”Did Muhammad tell Muslims to read the Bible in the Qur’an?  Did he say it was the word of Allah in the Qur’an?”  The answers to these questions are yes, and if you want check the first post in this series and you’ll see the verses from Qur’an which claim this.

The next statement to follow up the answer to these questions is, “If Muhammad said to read the Bible and didn’t make any mention of it being changed or corrupted, then it must have been changed after Muhammad.”

That then leads into the “Historical Response” which shows that the Bible hasn’t been changed before or after Muhammad.

Andy Wrasman1 Comment

The Qur’an and the Injeel #3

Please visit Crescent Project.  The bulk of this series is outlining the Bridges series from Crescent Project.

This series has shown where the Qur’an states that the the Gospel of Jesus, the Injeel (the Arabic name Muslims use for the Gospels) is from Allah.  This is phenomenal!  From the authoritative word of Allah for Muslims, there is the direct teaching that not only Jesus but other prophets from the Old Testament delivered the word of God to humanity.  It has also been shared in this series that Muslims believe that Allah has revealed his word in succession as previous scriptures were distorted, corrupted, or changed by men.  The differing understandings and views that Muslims and Christians have concerning the Injeel (The Gospels) has also been shared.  To read the rest of this series scroll down, or click on the Islam label at the bottom of this post.

Theological Response

One response to a Christian apologist could give to Muslims for why the Injeel has not been corrupted is a theological response.

When Muslims say the Injeel has bee corrupted, Fouad Masri, founder of Crescent Project, suggests saying, “Astaghfurallah”!  This means, “God forbid.”

Why should this response be given?  It would appear that such a response is instantly setting up a fight, using the name of Allah and throwing it back in a Muslims face that he or she is WRONG!  In fact, this is done from a loving position.  Muslims say “God Forbid” whenever something is said or done that goes against Allah or his will.  The idea is that Christians apologists should respond with “God Forbid” to direct them to the truth that what they just said went against God’s word, because it suggests that humans are stronger than God.

From a theological study of the Qur’an, who is stronger, man or God?  Clearly God.  From a theological study of the Qur’an, is the Injeel (The Gospels) from Allah and is the Injeel Allah’s Word?  The answer is yes.  It then stands to reason, if they were God’s words when they were written down, how could man have the power to change them?  If man can corrupt God’s word, how do you know then if the Qu’ran can’t be corrupted.  God will save and protect his word.
At this point a Christian can encourage a Muslim to know that in the Injeel God has promised to keep his word.  Encourage a Muslim to read the Injeel.  Copies of the New Testament can even be purchased which have the title “Injeel” on the cover and they are written in both Arabic and English.  It would be the perfect time to share the Injeel with a Muslim, ensuring him or her that God’s word cannot be corrupted, because God will preserve his word – man is not stronger than God.
Many Muslims have not read the Injeel, because they have always been told that it is corrupted!  They are taught that it is corrupted because it clearly contradicts what the Qur’an teaches.  Yet, the Qur’an says the Injeel is the word of Allah.  Christians must begin to interact with Muslims to show them that the Qur’an mandates that the Injeel be kept and read and that it came before the Qur’an and God’s word cannot be changed by men, since God is stronger than men and God has promised to keep his word.  Once Muslims begin to read the Injeel, in the view that it is the word of God and can be trusted, they will learn what the Injeel’s teachings about God and the prophets runs contrary to that of the Qur’an, and if they were in fact reading it as God’s word that came before the Qur’an then in hope they will see the Qur’an for what it truly is, the word of a man.

Andy Wrasman5 Comments