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2 Tim 4:2
Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season;
reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
KJV
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Five Things You Should Know
About Islam
R. Braun
1. Where did Islam begin?
The idea of Islam has been around for the seventh century and
centers on its god, Allah. The Arab people use the word Allah for
god since it means “the unique god who possesses all the attributes
of beauty and perfection in their infinitude.” Muslims feel strongly
that the English word, God, fails to truly express the divine
essence. Some scholars believe that Allah can be traced back to Ilah,
the south Arabian moon god. Apparently Henotheism (which is the
veneration of one god while not denying the reality of other god’s)
could have existed in pre-Islamic society (Walter 439). In any
respect, Allah appears to have had goddesses that were beneath him
and who were mere human creatures that divided god into parts. At
the time of Muhammad’s birth this belief was very popular.
Muhammad was the self proclaimed prophet of Allah. Muhammad was
born in the city of Mecca, the center of idol worship, in A.D 570.
His father and mother both passed away by the time Muhammad was six
years old. While living with his foster parents, Muhammad had his
first mystical experience where he claimed that two men attacked
him, proceeding to cut open his belly in search of something. Later
he attributed this mystical experience to two angels who had
“cleansed” his heart. In A.D 610 Muhammad claimed to receive the
first series of revelations of the Qur’an from Allah, through the
divine messenger, Michael. Muhammad’s first disciples were his wife,
his cousin Ali, his slave, and his friend Abu Bakr. His goal was to
restore true religion, and the praise of Allah throughout the world,
just as Jesus Christ did during his time (Walter 439).
2. What do Muslims Believe about Jesus Christ?
At first glance, Islam may appear to share similarities with
Christianity, yet there are major differences which should be noted.
An important contrast is seen in the Islamic view of Jesus Christ.
Muslims deny that Christ was God
incarnate or God in the flesh or that there is a
Trinity. To them, Jesus was simply just
one of the many prophets of Allah. According the Qur’an, Jesus
Christ was simply a slave on whom Allah looked with favor, and who,
although he was sinless, did not atone for anyone’s sins. Muslims
agree that Jesus performed miracles, and that he was the Messiah,
but adamantly disagree with Christianity’s main premise, the fact
that Jesus Christ died on the cross.
Different Muslim traditions state that Christ substituted Judas
Iscariot for himself, or that Allah delivered him out of the hands
of the Romans before his planned crucifixion. The majority of
Muslims believe in the ascension, John 3:13-15 (that Jesus was
raised into heaven) but they deny Christ’s
resurrection, (1Corinthians
15:12-18) since to them, Christ did not experience death. While some
would think this to be a good thing, a Christian would point out
that death was and is still required for sin. The punishment for
sin is separation from God, and that comes in
the form of both physical and spiritual death, (Romans 6:23; 2
Corinthians 5:21). Christ had to take our punishment upon Himself in
order for our salvation to be made effective.
3. According to the Muslim faith, how can Man
obtain Salvation?
All Muslims know that in order to obtain the slightest hope of
salvation, they must faithfully follow
and practice the five pillars of Islam. Walter Martin explains each
pillar in detail,
“1.Recitation of the shahada (“there is no God but Allah, and
Muhammad is the prophet of Allah”). 2. Five daily prescribed
prayers. …These must be said in Arabic and include…prostration in
the direction of the holy city, Mecca. 3. Almsgiving, which involves
the duty to give a certain percentage of one’s total income to help
others. 4. Fasting during the entire month of Ramadan, when Muslims
are supposed to fast from all food and drink from sunrise to sunset
in atonement for there own sins over the previous year. 5. A
Pilgrimage to Mecca, the holy city, at least once in a Muslim’s
lifetime” (Martin 447).”
It is easy to see that the salvation of Islam is based solely
upon works, or what man can do to exalt himself in the eyes of
Allah. Yet, when reading the Bible we know that there is nothing
good inside of man. The Bible tells us in Isaiah 64:6 that all of
man’s works or “righteousnesses” are
as filthy rags. Man is saved only by God’s grace, through faith in
Jesus Christ, (Ephesians 2:8-9; Galatians 2:16; Romans 13:12; Titus
3:4-6). The only way we can be exalted in the eyes of God, is
through His Son Jesus Christ, who shed his blood
on our behalf. See the plan of
salvation for more details.
4. Is the Muslim Allah personal or distant?
Islam teaches that Allah is far above the human race in every
way, so much that he is nearly unknowable.
The eternal destiny of each man and women alive on earth is subject
to Allah’s arbitrary will. Allah chooses to send men and women to
paradise or hell, as he so desires. The Allah of the Muslim faith is
extremely impersonal, and may not be conscientiously claimed as
being a god of love in the same vein as the Bible’s God. When a
Muslim prays with his head towards Mecca, he must continually pray
for mercy because he does not know if Allah will forgive him or not.
He has no basis upon which he can be assured of forgiveness.
On the other hand, the God of the Holy Bible is opposite of this
impersonal Allah. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that
he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not
perish but have everlasting life.” And again in 1 John 4:7-10,
“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one
that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not
knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of
God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the
world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we
loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the
propitiation for our sins.” In the
above verse the word love is used eight times, and is used to
describe the God Christians worship. He is a personal God who is
caring, loving and compassionate.
5. Is the Qur’an a reliable book?
To the Muslim the Qur’an is everything. The Qur’an holds within
it the “inspired” words of Muhammad as given to him by Allah. Yet if
the scriptures of the Qur’an are so sacred, then the Muslim should
feel compelled to compare the Qur’an against the most reliable book
ever written, the Holy Bible. The
abundance of available manuscripts which we have today shows great
evidence of the accuracy of the Bible. On the other hand the Qur’an
shows many “discrepancies” where the Qur’an actually contradicts
scripture (Martin 624). Also, in the matter of age, the New
Testament had at least 9,000 copies that existed before Muhammad,
not to mention the 36,000 quotations the early church fathers used
in their writings (Martin 624). The Qur’an cites its proof to
inspiration in the eloquence of its writing, while the Holy Bible
can boast what would seem a limitless supply of evidences for its
inspiration. 2 Timothy 3:16 states, “All scripture is given by
inspiration of God, and is profitable for
doctrine…reproof…correction, (and) for instruction in
righteousness.” For more information on the reliability of scripture
check out this link on inspiration.
Martin, Walter. The Kingdom of the Cults. Bethany House
Publishers, Minneapolis, Min. UP, 1997.
Carlson, Ron; Decker, Edd. Fast Facts on False Teachings.
Harvest house publishers. Eugene, Or. UP, 1994.
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