Islam: The Religion of Jesus (Nabi Isa alayhis salaam)
Salaamu ‘alaa Ashrafil Anbiyaa’e wal Mursaleen.
Islam is the universal message of Unity – the Unity of Almighty Allah, the unity of all the heavenly revealed religions, the unity of all the Prophets Alayhim Salaam and the unity of all mankind for Almighty Allah makes this crystal clear in verse 67 of Surahtul Al-Imraan:
No where in the Bible or in the Torah will you find Almighty God saying to Prophet Moosa (Moses – Peace be upon him) or to the Bani Isra’eel that their religion is Judaism. Similarly, nowhere in the Bible will you find Almighty God telling Prophet Esa Alayhis Salaam (Jesus Christ) or his followers that their religion will be called Christianity. All the Prophets (Alayhim Salaam) called the people to surrender their will to the Will of Almighty Allah – which is Islam – and to warn people to stay away from the false gods of human imagination directed to any person, place or thing other than the Glorious Creator and Sustainer.
Unfortunately, in the course of time, the earlier revealed Divine Messages had been misinterpreted and became adulterated with superstitions and degenerated into magical pagan practices and meaningless rituals. The conception of Almighty God and the very core of His True Religion had become debased by the enemies of the Creator. The anthropomorphic tendency of making Almighty God into a being with a human shape and human passions, the association of other persons with the one and only Supreme Creator in His Godhead as in Christianity and Judaism.
Every time a Muslim mentions the name Jesus without the words of respect – Alayhis Salaam, he would be considered uncouth and acting in an un-Islamic manner. The Christian does not know that Nabee Esa Alayhis Salaam (Jesus Christ) is mentioned by name twenty-five times in the Most Holy and Glorious Qur’an spread over fifteen different chapters. He is mentioned five times more by name including titles of respect than our beloved Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him)
Throughout the Most Holy and Glorious Qur’an, he is addressed with respect as: Ibne Mariam; (Son of Mary) Massih, (Messiah) Abdullah, (Servant),
The Islamic view of Nabee Esa Alayhis Salaam (Jesus Christ) lies between two extremes. The Jews rejected him in toto as a prophet, called him an imposter, they persecuted him as a liar and boast that they crucified him on the cross. The Christians on the other hand worship him, as the only begotten Son of Almighty God and they worship him as such. The Orthodox Christian Churches make it a cardinal point of their doctrine that he was crucified on a Friday (which later became Good Friday) and that he died on the cross so that their sins can be forgiven.
Taking men for gods or sons of Almighty Allah was not a new thing. All ancient mythologies have myths and fables of that kind. There was less excuse for such blasphemies after our Beloved Nabee Muhammad Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam had clearly explained our true relation to Almighty Allah than in the times of primitive ignorance and pagan superstition.
Revelation, as represented by the teachings of Jesus Alayhis Salaam, is just one among the many elements that make up the Christian theological tradition. It is not Jesus Christ Alayhis Salaam who defines ‘Christianity’ but ‘
In the Christian world, that which defined faith was not the teachings of Jesus Christ – Alayhis Salaam, but man-made theology with its incomprehensible doctrines of Trinity, divinity, and Atonement, which grew out of the mythological representations and cultic concepts derived from Hellenic syncretism. By this I mean that the development of a man-made religion and beliefs came about by the inclusion of older primitive myths and pagan superstitions and beliefs.
From the viewpoint of the Most Holy and Glorious Qur’an, those human beings who do not use their intellectual and receptive faculties are of a lower order than animals. Instinct is the Divine Guide that animals obediently follow in their lives, whereas man, whose guide is the intellect that offers a guidance greatly superior to that of the instinct, forsakes his guide to follow the desires of his lower instincts. This is made clear to us in verses 178 & 179 in Surahtul Al-A’raf:
The belief in Almighty Allah Subhanahu Wata’ala begetting a son is not a question merely of words or of speculative thought. Islam considers it a stupendous blasphemy against Almighty Allah. It is destructive of all moral and spiritual order, and is condemned in the strongest possible terms as we learn from verses 88 & 89 in Surahtul Mariam:
Begetting a son is a physical act depending upon the needs of men’s animal nature. Almighty Allah is independent of all needs, and in Islam, it is derogatory to attribute such an act on Him. The Holy Qur’an confirms that Nabee Esa (Jesus Christ)) Alayhis Salaam had no human father and that he was conceived immaculately. However, this does not make him the ‘begotten son of Almighty God’ as the Christians claim. By this criterion Prophet Adam (Alayhis Salaam) would have been more entitled to be the son of God because he had neither father nor mother. The Most Holy Qur’an draws attention to the miraculous creation of both of them in verse 59 of Surahtul Al-I-Imran:
As far as our physical bodies are concerned they are mere dust. In Almighty Allah’s sight, Nabee Esa Alayhis Salaam (Jesus) was as dust just as Nabee Adam Alayhis Salaam was of humanity. The greatness of Nabee Esa Alayhis Salaam arose from the Divine Command “Be”: for after that he was more than just dust – he was a great prophet and teacher. The Most Holy Qur’an confirms that Nabee Esa Alayhis Salaam (Jesus) was not crucified. It was the intention of his enemies to put him to death on the cross but Almighty Allah saved him from their plot as revealed in verses 157 and 158 of Surahtul An-Nisaa:
The Christian Church from the 4th century had raging controversies over the nature of Nabee Esa Alayhis Salaam. What was obvious to his earliest followers became lost and adulterated by later converts who distorted their interpretation of ‘sonship’ literally according to their pantheistic upbringings, thus over-riding the basic monotheistic imperative of his teachings.
To reiterate, the Most Holy and Glorious Qur’an confirms in the clearest terms that Nabee Esa Alayhis Salaam (Jesus) was a true servant and messenger of Almighty Allah. Muslims hold him in the highest reverence and believe that he was miraculously born of a virgin. He was endowed with the power to perform many miracles and was sent to preach the true worship of Almighty Allah and to announce the coming of Nabee Muhammad Ibn Abdullah Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam.
There is ground for closer relations between Muslims and Christians because, essentially, Muslims believe the same things about Nabee Esa Alayhis Salaam (Jesus Christ) as did his earliest followers. It is indeed with great regret that it is only the unfortunate encrustation of old distorted pagan mythology that divides them.
And Peace be upon those who follow the Guidance.
Baarak Allaahu Feekum wa-sal-Allaahu wa-Sallam ‘alaa
Nabiyyinaa Muhammad Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam.
my Khutbah’s for propagational purposes without my prior consent.
جَزَاكُمُ اللَّهُ خَيْرًا |