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my great love for jesus led me to Islam

The document discusses the author's journey from Christianity to Islam. As a child, he was deeply religious but had questions about Jesus' crucifixion that remained unanswered. Experiences with fortunetellers and paranormal activities as a youth further shook his faith. In the US for college, he witnessed Christians steal from a man, damaging his view of religion. Still seeking answers, he eventually converted to Islam after finding its teachings on monotheism and the prophets, including Jesus, to be more coherent.

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My Love for Jesus Great Led Me to Islam By Alfredo Curuballo Simon Caraballo M.5., S., Texas A&M, M, USA Abo Maryam Marvam
The Quranic Quranic translations used herein were extracted from the SAREER SAHEEH INTERNATIONAL TRANSLATION of the Quran Quran and the Biblical texts from the KING JAMES VERSION. 213dc 1429/L429/933 933 L.D.D,NO.NO.1429/L4299/933 3 3 ISBN:9 78-99605- 9-5 29- O Al l r ightsr eservedfo r compi ler ISBN :978-9960-59-529-0 All rights reserved for compiler sam@myloveforjesus.com mylo veforje s usc. om 0096655220098s 00966552200985
My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lsl6m I Contents I . Int roduct ion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4. . . . I I . Exper iencien theU ni tedS tateos f Amer ica. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8. . . . . . . I I I . TheG ospels . . . . . . . . .1.1 TheA uthent ici toy f theQ ur 'dn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 TheL i fe andM issiono f Jesus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 VI . PropheMt uhammad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3. .3. . VI I . Doct r ineos f Chr ist iani tayn d[ s1am. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5. .l. . TheT r ini ty. . . . . . . . . . . .5.2 TheD ivini tyo f . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5.6. . . DivineS onship. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6.l. TheO r iginalS in. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6. .3 T he MonotheisticR eligiono f Prophets........,. ...73 VIll. Step'l'oivardIs ldnt:Thcl nfluenceO f JesusO n ConversioTno 1s1ant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 7. .8. I X . H o r v l s / a r r A l l e c t e d M l , L i f - e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 1 I'lorvM y ConversionA ffcctedO ther'sL ives ........8. 5 XL WhenR el igionI s Inculcate8d1 'C ompu1sion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8. .8. . . . . . . . . OpenI nvitationt o Popea ndT he RestO f Leadcrs Appendix- ComparisonC hart... Islam W I. Introduction 4 II. My Experience in the United States of America 8 III. The Gospels I I IV. The Authenticity of the Qur'dn 21 V. The Life and Mission of Jesus 26 VI. Prophet Muhammad 33 VII. Doctrines of Christianity and Isliim 51 The Trinity 52 The Divinity of Jesus 56 The Divine Sonship 61 The Original Sin 63 Islam: The Monotheistic Religion of All the Prophets 73 VIII. My Final Step Toward Islam: The Influence Of Jesus On My Conversion To Islam 78 IX. How Islam Affected My Life 81 X. How My Conversion Affected Other's Lives 85 XI. When Religion Is Inculcated By Compulsion 88 XII. An Open Invitation to the Pope and The Rest Of The World Leaders . 95 Appendix - Comparison Chart 99
W My Islam I frfy Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslAm I. Introduction believe that Catholicism was only a As a Catholic, I was led to was the only true religion, and that Judaism preparation for Christianity. were all false. In fact, I only Islam for time in 1978. I had learned that believed in divine origin of Christianity and Judaism. Qur 'an indicates that Allah language) had sent people to the path oftruth and righteousness. Hence the other religions heard about Isldmfor the first learnedt hat Muslims believedi n the The Qur'dn (the proper name for God in the Arabic prophets to every land in order to guide carvet he Christianm essagein to the depths In order to carve the Christian message into subconscioust,h e Church designeda of my subconscious, the Catholic designed a program which, when applied high probability of retention. people's beliefs and their behavior lives. In this scheme, the central figure Jesus and rites are mostly related to events supposed death and resurrection; from birth, to be in December, to his alleged crucifixion These religious rites were many centuries after Jesus' departure rather than Revelation. from childhood, had a very This program affected for the rest of their t he centralf igure is Jesusa nd the surrounding his birth, supposedd eatha nd resurrectionf;r orl his birlh, assumed t o allegedc rucifixion on Easter. introduced by human beings manyc enturiesa fterJ esusd' epafturera thert han by Divine Venezttelaa, t midnight on According to tradition in Venezuela, at December 24th I used to wait for bring the gifts that I had requested in my letter. Being from a family, brothers and sisters, I understood that for "Child Jesus" to bring me what was often confused and puzzled because perfonned so many miracles as and priests, why was he able Wasn't that request easier for Him 24'" nsed rvait the arrival of Jesus to requestedin rny yearly wish frorn poor and having several brothersa nd understoodt hat it was very difficult rvhat I had asked for. But I if Jesus had performed so I had learned from nuns not to bring me a tricycle? Wasrr't requcst easier fbr than bringing dead
MyG reaLt oveF orJ esusL edM eT ot stamp people life? years, l eft As Easterw as approaching, I used to watch how Jesus was until he wanted TV set and help him somehow. I asked God to help him, asked Him not let His 'son' crucified. In I becauseI was taughtt hat do not I couldn ot understanrdv hy suchb rutalityw as on good rnan. As a this incident cultivatedi n intensel ove for greatp ropheto f for perhaps toys Christmas- answert o theirw ish letters- their If objective the was infuse of reverencef or Jesus, i n my case they were I learnedt o love Jesusm ore than my own parents. H owever,r vhiles till a I startedt o question porvero f corrceptth at I had aboutG od was r.vhateveHre rvantedI.{ e had createdt he universet,h e earth.t he sun, t he rnoon.t he stars, a ndl tuman wondeled rvhy He could not save Jesus from resolve this I clirnbed small wall in the house cliallenged God, saying: "lf arer eally porvcrful,a nd cand o u'hateverY ou like, thenr naken ie f1yr .vhenIj ump {romt hisr vall.O therrviseI , believet hat are pou'crfll, becauseY ou from the either." Fofiunately, n'as l the ground. With attemptt o fl1' becarner .norea nd rnorec onvinced rvas porveriul alier all. A childish analysis indee!d My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam p back to Thus, for several the concept of "Child Jesus" left me disappointed. Easter was televised stories of abused was hung on a cross to be crucified. I really to climb inside the and to 'son' be the end, would hide and cry because I taught that "men cry." could not understand why such brutality was inflicted such a man. child, cultivated in me an intense love this great prophet of God. As other children, the they received on Christmas - as an answer to their wish letters - was the cause of affection towards Jesus. the of Church to somehow a feeling reverence for in successful. learned to Jesus more However, while still child, stal1ed to the power of God. The concept that about God that He could do whatever He wanted. He created the universe, the earth, the the moon, the and human beings. I wondered why being crucified on the cross. In order to dilemma, on one occasion climbed a backyard of my and challenged If You are really so powerful, and can do whatever You then make me fly when I jump from this wall. Otherwise, I will not believe that You arc so powcrful, because You could not save Jesus cross Fortunately, the wall was not so high and I fell to every attempt to fly I became more and more convinced that God was not so powcrful after indeed!
W My Ishim I ", Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslAm parents allowed me to work with an old man who was a photographer and I accompanied him to many places. It turned out that he was also a very famous fortuneteller. Wherever we went, many of his female clients would ask him about events that would happen in their future. For this task, he used to smoke brown tobacco, and as it was being consumed and the ashes fell, he would ''reveal' reveal' information to his clients. r also learned that he used to hypnotize people in order to learn hidden things about their lives and would then respond to their Later on in life when I started high school, my I queries. All of these experiences were stored in my subconsciouas t D uring period, m y subconscious at a very early age. During this my parents were attending a center that specialized in parapsychology. parapsychologyI. r accompanied accompaniedth them em several severalt times imes to see what was happening and it was in this center that I about the concepts of meditation, spirits, possession and what I thought was dead people speaking to the livingl learned conceptso f s pirits,p ossessiona nd living'. . my Here I learned to pray twice daily at a small altar that father had built with great care and dedication, dedication. At one of the gatherings I attended, the tlie leader of the session prepared a talisman for me, which he said would protect me, so I took it with me wherever whereverI I went. Meanwhile, I continued continuedt to o think about aboutt the he crucifixion A t time. mv fatherh ad read of Jesus. At the time, my father had a book that he r t he dcadd o living: d evils imitatet he voiceso f deada nd communicateth rought hc living. ] In reality, the dead do not talk to the living; rather, devils imitate the voices of the dead and communicate through the living, On the other hand, Qur 'an recitation and Prophetic supplications are effective ridding people of all evil spirits. The fact that any Muslim can such acts is clear proof of the miraculous nature of the Qur 'an. As for those who supplicate to other than Allah or usc the Bible to rid others of possession by devils, it is no more than a cooperation with those evil spirits or using other evil spirits to get rid of other ones. Qur'an in peoplc spirits.'fhe lact perform naturc the Qur 'rin. fbr thosc whcrs upplicatet o oth0r thanA Iliih otherso f posscssionb y dcvils, morc a cooperationrv ith thosee vil spiritso r usingo there vil spiritst o getr id ofother ones.
Islam W My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lsl6m p frequently. It was entitled "The Life of Jesus Dictated by Himself." He once told me that according to this book, Jesus had traveled to places away from Jerusalem, which made me a little optimistic about finding an answer to my question regarding his crucifixion. crucifi xion. When I graduated from high school, I was granted a scholarship to study engineering in the USA, which I happily happilya accepted. cceptedH. However, owever,before b eforet traveling ravelingi in n 1977, I had a bad experience that affected my belief in Christianity. I saw two Christians help a man who had suffered from an epileptic attack attacko on n the street. But B ut afterwards, they t hey searched his wallet and stole stoles some omeo of f his money.rnoney.1 rI In n spite spiteo of f the fact that individual acts cannot by any means rleans be considered indicative of the validity or invalidity of a religion, this incident greatly affected affectedm me. e. Perhaps Perhapst to o many people this event might seem insignificant, but b ut I had witnessed witnessedm my y father fatherp punish unishm my y brother brothers severely everelyw when hen he brought broughth home ome the equivalent equivalento of f twenty-five fivec cents entsa and nd could not provide him with a satisfactory satisfbctorve explanation xolanationa as s to where he got eot it from. 1 SomeB iblical tcxtsc lcarlyl orbid stealinga nclo thera ctso f evil, as in 1 Some Biblical tcxts clcarly forbid stealing and other acts of the ten commandments: commandments": "Antl And God spake all these words, wot'ds, saying, I am the LORD thy God...Thou shalt other gods me...Thou shalt not make unto thee image, likeness of any thing that is in heaven above ...Thou bow down thyself to them, them: for God Thou shalt not take the name vain Honor thy father and thy mother...Thou Thou shalt commit adultery. Thou shalt not Thou not bear false witness against neighbor. Thou thy neighbor's wife...nor neighbor's." Exodus 1-tcxts are considered to be section of the Bible vith QUI' 'an, only their impact people's lives almost due to the existence of other texts in the Bible that allow their Out of mercy to humankind. God revealed the QUI' '(In as criterion over its predecessor:;. arn thc have no othcr before rne...Thou rnake thec any graven irnagc, or any ofany hcaven above...'fhou shalt not borv thern, nor serve thcm: lbr I the LORD thy God...rrarne of the LORD thy God in vain...Honol thv lathcr thv rnothcr...Thou shalt not kill. not ionunit adtrltcr.y.-Thous ltalt rtot steal. T hou shalt f,rls^cw itncn^sa gainst thy neig-hbor.T hou shalt not covet ncighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's rvifc...rnr any thing that is thy neighbot's." (irxodus 20: l-17) These tcts consiclcrctdo bc a scctiono 1'theB iblc that is in line ith the Qur'an. only' that thcir irnpact on pcoplc's livcs has alntost vanished tluet o cxistcncco l otherl extsi n thc Iliblc thata liorvt heir violation. OLrto 1'rnr'rc)'toh unrankincl(.l od rcvealcdt hc Qirr'rirra s a critcrion or c l i t s prcrlcccssols.
W My Islam II. My Experience in the United States of America I *, Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lsldm II. In 1977, I arrived in the United States of America to ln studiesa t of the F irst, go begin studies at one ofthe universities. First, I had to to a school to learn English, and there I met many people of different beliefs from various parts of the world. In Seattle, Washington, at the English language school, I had a roommate from Saudi Arabia who was working on his master's rnaster's degree and whose name was Fouad. One day, he asked me if it was alright for him to pray in the room. I told him that J I did not have a problem with it. J I was surprised, since it was the first time J I saw a Muslim perform his prayers. Before starting to pray, he ablution. He washed his hands, rinsed his mouth, and washed his face and arms1 in the small sink in our room. was the first time I had seen someone wash his feet a sink meant for washing hands. Then I observed movements of his prayers. He stood up, bowed, knelt down, and prostrated. At that point I remembered how we used to pray in the church by only kneeling down and what performed arms' It in the A t rememberedh ow t Islam grcat importanoe For example, cleanlincss place in addition to making requircment 1br ol performing formal I Isliim assigns great importance to the issue of cleanliness. example, the cleanliness of the dress, body, and making ablution a requirement for the validity of prayer. Ablution is also recommended recommendedb before efore recitation recitationo of f the Qur Qur''6n, an, and going to bed. Washing the entire body bodf is an obligation after sexual intercourse and is a commendable act before the attending of congregational Friday prayer. Other acts, such as washing the brushing teeth, trimming nails, removing the and armpit trimming the moustache. using perfume, tidying up removing harmful objects from the way of others, abstaining polluting public places and utilities, keeping shady places clean, etc. are all acts encouraged and enjoined by Islam. These are also acts one nearer to God, and for which one is rewarded by Him. No other religion comes anywhere ncar Islam as hlr as clcanliness of the and soul is concerned. intercourse bclore the congregational Othcr mouth, brushing nails. thc pubic hair, trimming moustachc. perfume. living places, rernoving objccts u'ay from pollutingp ublicp lacesa nd utilities.k ccpings hadyp lacesc lean,e tc.a re actse ncouragcda nd enjoinedb 5'I slum. -l'hcsc that bring one ncarer God. ancl reuarded l{im. anyrvhere near lsldm fbr body conccrncd.
Islam W My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslAm p left Fouad did was different. A short time later he the institute, and for several months, I did not see another Muslim pray. During break time at the English institute, foreign students from various countries used to meet and discuss a variety of topics. I clearly remember that on one occasion, as we were discussingt discussing the he origin of religions and prayers prayersI I told them: "You pray the way you do because that is the way your ancestors ancestorsu used sedt to o do." I went on to tell them that their ancestors ancestorsu used sedt to o worship the sun, the moon and the stars, and since then, that tradition has been transmitted through all the generations generationsu up p to the present. I had even started to have doubts about the origin of belief in God. However, due d ue to my deep deepC Christian hristianr roots ootsI I did not become an atheist. wentt o mosquea nd observedm any One day I went to visit a mosque and I observed many rvay pray people praying the same way that I had seen Fouad previously. After the prayer, they all on the floor which was very cold to listen a sermon. the rest of the were sitting, them listened to all that the imam had to say. His name Jamil Abdul-Razzaq from Iraq, and he was English about "Backbiting." I remember that his voice was high pitched and emotional. As he around the audience as if somebody had spoken of someone else, but he did not point out anyone specifically. I think his objective was to instill a feeling of involved in backbiting. remained seated to Since people u'ere I joined thern and was Jarnil lraq, giving a talk in Englisha bout" remembetrh at voicew as spoke, he looked sornebody ill someonee lse,b ut anyones pecifically. objectivew ast o I'eelingo f guilt in those with They That same day, someone sent me an envelope some booklets comparing Islam and Christianity. took me a long time to read as I was rvas then busy starting starling as a freshman at Oklahoma State University. It was through the comparative booklets that I learned that Islam the freshmana t OklahomaS tateU niversity.I t r'vasth rought he comparatir"eb ookletst hat learnedt hat Islunt and
~ !P My *t Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam lsl6m message messageo of f Jesus Jesusw were ere both revelations revelationsfr from om God. Jesus said that the message he was conveying was not his but God's: "...for I have not spoken on my own, but the Father who sent me has Himself given me a commandment about what to say and what to speak." (John 49). 12:49). Likewise, the revelation that Prophet Muhammad conveyed to the rest of humanity, hurnanity, was sent by God through Angel Gabriel: ""And And indeed, the Qur'an Qur'6n is the revelation of the Lord of the worlds. The Trustworthy Spirit [[i.i.e., e., Gabriel] has brought it down upon your heart, [[O 0 Muhammad] - - that you may be of the warners .•." Qur'an 26:192-194) ..." (Qur'd n 192-149) t he everyr eligion Therefore, the truth of every religion and the proof of its divine origin depends dependsf fundamentally undarnentallyo on n the accuracy with which the original originalr revelation evelationfr from onr God was preserved and transmitted transmittedt to o the rest of humankind. l'rurnankindT. The he level of deviation and uncertainty uncerlainty depends on the degree of precision precisionw with ith which rvhiche every veryr word vord revealed revealectlo to the prophets was transmitted transmittedt to o others. If I f these thesew words ords have not been accurately transmitted and have instead suffered adulteration, it i t is highly likely that the essence essenceo of f the original message rnessagew would ould be lost forever. Consequently, C onsequentlyi,in n order to make a just and unbiased unbiasedc comparison clr.uparisobne between tween Christianity and Islam, Islctnt,it i t is necessary necessaryto to determine determinet the he extent extentt to o which the original originalC Gospels ospels and the thc Qur Qur'dn 'an have been kept free fice from f}om adulterations, adulterationsa.additions c lditionso or r deletions. What follows in this book is a brief briel'cornparisonb comparison between etween Christianity Christianitya and nd Islam; Isldm; the two most influential irtf-luetttiarel religions ligions in the world rvorldw with ith the thc highest highestn number urrbero of l'fcrllowersfr followers from orn all races and nations, and a nd the two tn,o 1110st n.rostc closely losely associated faiths. I hope that by the will rvill of God Cod this book will assist the seeker scekero of f truth trLrthir in rh his is or her lrcl search searchlb for l the true religion. relision.
To Islam ~ My Great Love For Jesus Led Me ro lslam !2 III. The Gospels The four well-known Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are found in the New Testament section of the Bible. They were written between 70 CE and 115 CE; decades after Jesus had departed, and were supposedly based on documents that have since been lost. The Gospel according to Mark was the first one written in the Greek language in Rome, at least 40 years after Jesus' departure. The Gospel according to Matthew was written in Greek about 90 CEo CE. The Gospel Gospela according ccordingt to o Luke Lr.rkew was as written in Greek approximately 80 CEo CE. These three Gospels are called Synoptic because they are supposed to have originated from the same lost documents. The Gospel according to John!, Johnr, on the other hand, is profoundly different from the Synoptic Gospels. It is in this Gospel that the divinity and preexistence of Jesus was expressed, even though Jesus never confirmed in the statements attributed to himself. This gospel was written between 110 and 115 CEo preexistencoef Jesusr vase xpressed, this attributedto T his gospelw as rvrittenb etween1 10 I 15 CE. The Gospels Gospelsw were erec composed omposeda after ftert the he first followers followerso of f It be Jesus had been divided into several sects. can confirmed that they were written in order to reflect the conception of the practical needs of the community. Although traditional traditionals sources ourcesw were ere utilized r.rtilizedto to write them down, the writers did not exercise great care to keep the original content free from additions, deletions and other forms of corruption, as a s the content contelttu was ,asm meant eantt to o serve servet the he writers' personal personali interests. nterests.This T his fact was confirmed confirrnedb by y ' 'Ihis Jesus'd isciplesA. ccordingt o Ency'clopedia I This John is not onc of Jesus' disciples. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, which was co written by 500 Christian scholars. "the Gospcl according to John is detinitcly and undoubtcdly a j~lbrication." llritannica,u 'hichu as rvrittenb y Chrislians cholars".t he Gospel accordingto Johni s definitclya ndu ndoubtedlya labrication."
W My Ishim Christian authorities! after the Qur 'an had stated it more than 14 centuries ago. !2 ruv Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lst6m authoritiesr Qur'dn centuriesa go. It is worth mentioning tl-that rat these four Gospels were not the only documents written in the centuries following the departureo departure of f Jesus. T There herew were ere many otherss others such uch as the Gospels of Jacob, Peter, Thomas, Philip, and Barnabas. lf If we consider the "The Gospel According to the Hebrews," for example, it was a document written in Aramaic, the same language spoken by Jesus. It was utilized by the Nazarenes who negated the divinity of Jesus and considered him no more than a great prophet. In the fourth century CE, the Gospels According to Mark, Matthew, Luke and John were included in the body of the main Biblical text, and the Church declared the remaining existent documents to be heretical. However, additional changes continued to be made in thcse Gospels even though thought they hey had hada already lreadyb been eend declared eclaredto to be '"The The Word of God." And as years passed by, the same Gospels appeared with different texts from their predecessors, which undisputed evidence of the kind of corruption affecting these books. yearsp assedb y, sameG ospelsa ppeared predecessorsw, hich is undisputede videnceo f cot'rttptiona ffecting r llncl'clopedia Rritannicir. "lmpofiant intentional changess, uch inserliona nd aclditiono l-* 'holc paragraphslo ok placc . . . " pp 521.ln inl roclucl iotno thc Cathol icB ible p.13 ), statedt hat copli stsh ad clcarlyi nscrtcdt hingso ver I According to Encyclopedia Britannica. '"Important changes, such as the inseliion and addition of whole paragraphs took place ... " V2, pp. 519-521. In the introduction to the Catholic Bible (p. 13), it is stated that that the copyists had clearly inserted things over the centuries that were not part of the Scriptures, and a result of that the text that we have now has reached us pregnant with corruption, which is manifest in all copies. Also, Preface to the James Version, produced by 32 Christian scholars backed up consultative bodies, we read: "Yet, the King James Version has defects ... and these defects are so many and so serious " centuricsth trtu 'crcn ot pilrt o1'thcS cripturesa. nd as resulto fthat thc tcxt ne norv reachccul s prcgnantr vith all kinds of corruptionr"v hichi s mani{'esitn copics. Also. in Prefocet o King lersion ploduccd Christians cholarsb ackedu p by 50 consultativeb odies.* 'e read:" Yet. .latnesV ersionh as grave defects. .. anclt hcsec lci'ectasr es o martvt rncsl o scriotts. .."
Islam ~ My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lsl6m !2 Among the many factors to be considered when analyzing the veracity of the Four Canonized Gospels and the ar.authenticity rthenticityo of f the messagest messages that hat carne came along with them, are the following: 1. The original Gospel as was revealed to Jesus and is mentionedi mentioned in n the Qur 'an. l Qur'dn.' as well as in the contemporary Gospelsd. Gospels, does oesn not ot exist existt todal odayr 2. The first records about the sayings of Jesus which were made shortly following his ascension ascensionto to heaven heavenh have ave been lost. 3. The Gospels were written between 70 and 115 1 15 CE, decades after Jesus' departure, depafture, and were based on lost documents. As a consequence, consequence?there th ere was a loose manipulation of the content. 4. None of the Gospels' Gosoels' authors saw Jesus or heard him speak. Hence, they were u'ere not eyewitnesses. 5. The Gospels Gospelsw were erew written ritteni in n the Greek Greekl language anguagew while hile Jesus spoke Aramaic. 6. The present presentG Gospels ospelsa and nd most mosto of f the Epistles Epistlesw were ere not chosen and validated until the fOUlih fourlh century CE, when a resolution by a minority of the Council CoLrncil of Nicea was enforced in 325 CEo CE. Before this date the Gospels did not have any canonical authority, and were changed by the writers of different sects in itt order to comply conrplv with their 'God saida boutJ esus" . . . .and gaveh im Gospel ,i n wasg uidancea nd l ight . . . "( Our 'an5 :16) 2 "Verilv trnto Whcrescrcvcr gospcl shall be preachctl thc rvhole uorld, donc bc fil'a rttcnroli:rlo f lV1arkl: 1:9 and lvlatthuv rvhocver wants lcarn about thc original conccptso f Jesr.rs'tcachinsghso uldr cadl |'tcQ ur'drt. 1 God said about Jesus and We gave him the Gospel, in which was guidance and light " (Qllr 'dn 5:46) 2 Verily I say unto you, Vhcrcsocvcr this gospel preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her." (Mark 14:9 Matthew 26: 13). And whoever vants to learn the concepts of Jesus' teachings should read the Qur ·(In.
W My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam !2 tt GreaLt oveF orJ esusL edM eT ol sl6m personal interests and desires. Up to the present day the practice of tampering with the text is still prevalent. 7. The vast majority of the New Testament is composed of the writings of Paul and his students. Paul, P aul, who never saw or heard Jesus speak, was initially one of the most prominent enemies of Jesus' ministry. He killed many followers of the Messiah and imprisoned them (Acts 8:3, 9: 1-2). 2). He afterwards forced them to confess to lies against Jesus (Acts 26: II). 11). But when Saul (later called Paul) supposedly converted, convefted, "he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles..." (Acts 9:26­27). 26- 27). This event occurred after Paul claimed that Jesus appeared to him and spoke to him on the way to Damascus. He bore witness for himself! himself' without presenting any evidence establishing the truth of his claim presentinga ny evidencee stablishingt he (Acts 3-8). Surprisinglyh, e suddenlyb ecamet he spokesmani n Jesusc laiming 9:3-8). Surprisingly, he suddenly became the chief spokesman in the name of Jesus claiming that he was appointed by Jesus to preach to the world (Acts 9:3-6)? 6).' Paul also ·accused accusedt those hosew who ho "believed not that he was a ' rvitness support clairn cxcept I There was no eye-witness to support Paul's claim except for himself. Such testimony for fbr one's self is rejected according to the Bible Biblc itself. John 5:31 31 states: states: "If I bear bear witness rvitness of myself, my witness is not true:' true." Added to this is the fact that therc are several other contradictions in the narrative. For example, in Acts 9:7 ""And And the men which 'rvhich journeyed joulneyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but but seeing no man," while in Acts 22:9, we read: "but they heard not the voice of him that spoke to me:' me." With this claim, Paul managed to achieve what nhat he could not achieve by force 2 2 According to 1 Jolm iohn 4:1 l "Belovecl, Beloved, believe not every cvefy spirit, but try the spirits whether they are ale of God: because many rnany false prophets are gone out into the world." rvorld." Paul himself hirnselfconfessed confessed to lying in his preaching "Fol For if the truth of God Gotl hath more rnore abounded aboundcd through tlu'ough my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also alsojudged judged as a sinner?" sinnerP" (Romans 3:7).
MyG reaLt oveF orJ esusL edM eT ol slam @ (1 20- 2l). describedB amabas,w ho beeng ood "...carried fulfill' 21:20 6). "Thus, "'30). "All rne" 1: 15), "No oldestB iblical manuscriptws e havea ccessto , 4tl' 5tr' ' that larv, comc or. shall larv, fulfrlled." Mattherv ln "tg. fi'ee fi'om serwant gain the go. thc Jcrvs Jervs; ale larv, thern undel larv; 91. rvithout rvithout Iarv qe, rveak rveak, nright arrr all that 93. nright rvith My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam W disciple" of erring concerning the faith l Timothy 6:20­21). He described Barnabas, who had been good to him, as " ... carried away with their dissimulation," (Galatians 2: 13). Paul even gave himself the right to propagate teachings that were contradictory to those taught by Jesus Christ and went against "the law" which Jesus came to fulfill! (Acts 21 :20 and Romans 7:6). we find: "When Paul would have entered in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not" (Acts 19:30). He also declared that, they which are in Asia be turned away from me" (2 Timothy 15), and man stood with me, but all men forsook me" (2 Timothy 4: 16). 8. The oldest Biblical manuscripts we have access to, are Codexes Vaticanus, Sinaiticus and Alexandrinus; all dating back to between the 4th and 5th centuries AD. The extent of alteration the Gospels were subjected to prior to these dates can hardly be determined, considering that the 1 "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shalI in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." (Matthew 5:17-18). Paul sought to gather round himself as many followers as possible even if his means to do so happened to go against the teachings of Christ or his ways of propagation. In 1 Corinthians 9: 19-23, Paul confesses to horrendous acts of cheating lying and deceit to achieve his purposes. He says: 19. For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. 20. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; 21. To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. 22. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made alI things to all men that I might by all means save some. 23. And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you."
W My Ishim language of the Gospels was Greek while Jesus spoke Aramaic. 9. There are many discrepancies in several places between the fourth and fifth century manuscripts.! 10. The Gospels, seen as a whole, together with the Epistles, contain many errors and contradictions? There is also great uncertainty among Biblical scholars as to who the authors of the Gospels actually were. !P tt Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslam manuscripts.' c ontain effors contradictions.2T here These facts are mentioned here as evidence that the Gospel of Jesus as revealed by God has not reached us in its original form. In this way, it can be affirmed that the four Gospels included in today's Bible and the Epistles that accompany them cannot be considered similar or equivalent to the Gospel revealed to Jesus. As proof of this assertion, the following information is presented: equivalentt o Gospelr evealedt o A s assertiont,h e informationi s The New Testament, Testament. on which modern Christian doctrines rest, has undergone radical changes and almost every new edition differs from the others. Some of the changes that are now being implemented are so fundamental that they strike at the very foundation of Christianity. For example, the t he only two references referencest to o the t I Some Biblical scholars point to the existence of thousands of manuscripts from the Gospels but what is the true value of these manuscripts if amongst the thousands, we cannot find two that are alike?!. According to the International Translation of the New Testament Testament... ... "All the versions versionso of f the New Nerv Testament Tcstamenth that at reached reachedu us s were not similar." 2 2 The numerous errors contained in the Bible led Robert Kehl Zeller to say in his "The Authenticity of the Holy Bible" that no other book ever suffered sufl-ereda as s many changes, errors e nors and corruptions as the Holy Bible. This is in clear contrast to William Muir's and Laura l,aura Vaglieri's statement about the Qur 'an see footnote 2, Page 21 and footnote I, 22.) statementa bout Qur'dn (seef ootnote2 , Page2 1 footnotel , Page
My Love For Led To Islam ~ My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslam !y' ascension of Jesus that were rvere found fbund in irr the Gospels of Mark and Luke have now been deleted from the Revised Standard Staridard Edition (RSV), 1952. These passages contained evidence eviderrcec cited ited to support supportJ Jesus' esus'a ascension scensior.as ars follows: So then after the Lord had spoken to them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. (Mark l 6: 6 : 19) l 9 ) And it came to pass; while rvhile he blessed them, he was rvas parted from them, and carried up to heaven. (Luke 24:51). 51). 'flre The aforementioned aforernentioned verse from fl'on.r Mark 16: l6: 19, has been removed rernoved along with rvith a number numbel of other verses that immediately irnrnediately preceded and succeeded it. As for Luke 24:5, 51, the words, u,ords. "carried up to heaven" heavcn" were removed. Matther'v 1621-"For In Matthew 16:27-28, we read: the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with rvith his angels; and then he shall reward rervard every ever).man man according to his works. rvorks. Verily I say unto you, There be some sorne standing here, which rvhich shall not taste of death, cleath, till they see the Son of man coming corning in his kingdom." kingdorn." As this prophecy never came carne true, it can only be concluded corrcluded that it i t was a fabrication labrication ascribed ascribedt to o Jesus JesusC Christ hrist who rvlto was r,vasa a true prophet of God and whose prophecy cannot be mistaken. The Gospel of Matthew Mattherv contradicts contradicls itself on the same page when rvhen talking about Peter. While Jesus .lesus says of him: "And Jesus answered ansrvered and said unto him, hirn, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it i t unto thee ... . . . That thou art Peter Peter... ... And I will rvill give unto thee the keys kevs of the kingdom liingdom of heaven: and whatsoever rvhatsoever thou shalt bind bintl on earth shall be bound in heaven: hcaven: and whatsoever *'hatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16: 7-9). Matthew 6:23 stands in total contrast to all this as it Mattherv l6:17-19). Matther,v l6:contlast a l l i t
~ My Le'1 Islam states: But he (Jesus) .urned, and unto Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art offence me: for thou savourest not the things but those that be of men." !P nv Great Love For Jesus Le'l Me To lslAm "But said Peter, an unto that be of God, Durirrg During the alleged crucifixiort crucifixion events, Matthew 27:44 The rvere crucified with says: "The thieves also, which were him, cast the same in his teeth." are mentioned as acting together. However, Luke 23 :40 states: "one of the malefactors which railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, and us. But the other answering rebuked "Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou condemnation?" In the latter example, the thieves are not acting together; rather they other. There are too many other contradictions in to record here. him. Here the two thieves arem entioneda sa ctingt ogetherH. owever.L uke 23:39-40 states": And malefactorsr vhich were hanged hirn, save thyself him, saying, art in the same l rr tlre lattere xatnplet,h e two thievesa re together, are in opposition to each T herea ret oo rnarryo therc ontradictionisn the Bible a lterationsa nd contt'adictiottsa,r e not The changes, alterations and contradictions, are Testatttetlbtu t also in the Old found only in the New Testament but Testamentl 'lcstamentl.. For F or example, exal.rtpleir,in t 2 Kings 8:26, 26,we w e are told: Trvo Ahaziah when he "Two and twenty years old was began to reign." This contradicts :2 Chronicles 22:2, which states: and two years when he began to reign" Another contradiction is contradicts2 Chlonicles2 2:2, "Forty t'ivo old was Ahaziah beqan Attotherc ontradictionis found I Vat i c i rn I : curncni calC ounc i l I l (1962- (15i)r c lmi t t cdto c x i s t cnceo { ' crrors in thc Ol,:1 I Vatican Ecumenical Council II (1962-65) admitted to the existence of errors in the Old Testament. 'l cstarnent. ""Now Nou the thc books of ol'thc the Old Testament, I'estament. in accordance v'ith the state of mankind hefore the time of salvation established by Christ. reveal to all men the klHmkdge of God and of man and the ways in which God. just and mercirul. deals with men. These books. though they also contain some things which arc incomplete and temporary ....· In l'I'U'idi'lIlissiIllIlS DeliS on the study oflloly Scripture issued by Pope Leo XIII on Ig th November 1893, it is stated... [is true. no douht. that copyists hale made mistakes in the text of the Bible: ..... And cont'cssion is the master or evidence. accoldance nith tlrc statc of mankind bclilre the tilne of salvatiott establishcd bv Clhrist. rcvcal 1o all tlcn thc ktroulcdgc of God and of nran ancl thc uavs in rihich Cod..itrst lrlld nlcrcilirl. clcals rvith rnen. 'l hcse books. thottgh tltcr also contain solllc things r'r'hich ars incomJ ref te and temnorar y . . . " I t l ' rot ' i t let t l i s s i r t t tlt]st ' l r s c lnt hc s tudl o l ' l l o l v S c r i p t L r ries s u c rhl 1 ' I ) o p cl . c o X l l l o r r 1 8 " 'No v e n l b c r1 8 9 3 ,i t i s statcd." l t is t t uc. t to cioLrbtt.h at copr ists har c t t t l t r ler nistakcs in thc tcxt o1' thct l ibl c : . . . " ' nd cot t l c s s iorils t l l c l l l i l s tefo l ' c idenc c .
My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam 9 MyG reaLt oveF orJ esusL edM eT ol sl6m! y' 8: in 2 Kings 24:8: "Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months... ," when compared to 2 Chronicles 36:9 months...," 9 "Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem." 2 Samuel 6:23: 23: "Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death" stands contradictory to 2 Samuel 21 27::8, 8, which reads: "But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five frve sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite." In the New Standard American Version of 1973, the name Michal, as in 2 Samuel Sarnuel 21 21::8, 8, which appears in both King James Version and the New World Translation of Jehovah's Witnesses, was replaced by Mirab to conceal concealthec the contradiction. ontradictionA. Addressing ddressingth the e issue issueo of f seeing God as stated both John 1: 18 teJls us: man time." This is also confirmed 1 Genesis 32:30 teJls a different the of place to face, and preserved." this is also II "And in the old and new testaments, 18 tells "No hath seen God at any by I John 4: 12. However, 30 tells story "And Jacob called name the Peniel: for I have seen God face my life is Strangely enough, confirmed by Exodus 33: l I "And the Lord spoke unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh And in Exodus 24:9-11, we are told: unto his friend." 9-11, "Then went up Moses, and Aaron..... also they saw God, and did eat and drink." We also find in John 3: 13 ""And And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven. even the Son of rnan rvhich is in heaven." This heaven, man which
~ My Islam again contradicts Genesis 5:24, which states: "And walked with God: and he was not; for God took as well as 2 Kings 2:1 it came to pass, Lord would take up Elijah into ..." Thus, was it only Christ who or Enoch and Elijah as well? Additionally, numerous conflicting versions of (Hebrew, Greek, Samarian, etc.) whose authors many cases unknown to Biblical authorities. situation applies to "the editors ofthe books ofthe Bible, who presumed to God's representatives by their anonymous", according to the French version. QP "t Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lsldm contradictsG enesis5 :states:" And Enoch him," 1 "And when the heaven by a whirlwind was taken up to heaven there are the Old Testament are in The same great majority of authors and editorso f the bookso f the were presumedt o be God's representativebs y people and were also anonymous"a, ccordingto Frenchv ersion. Isldm's Islam's position relative to the Bible is one of fairness and unbiasedj udgment. lt Bible as clearly a book falsehood and unbiased judgment. It views the book that contains some truth; however, some has tainted its noble origin. The distinguishing truth from falsehood are Qur 'an teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. In whatever contents of the Bible that are agreement with the Qur 'an and Sunnah are acceptable disagreement is rejected. Other statements in be either believed or discredited. for scriptures that God revealed to His Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus and others, firm among the pillars of faith without which Muslim. Islamic criteria for distinguishing froni the Qur'dn and teachingso f ProphetM uhamn-radI.n simple terms, contentso f in agreementw ith the Qur'dn and and what is in disagreemenits rejectedO. ther statelnentisn it are not to be belibved As fbr the original scripturest hat revealedt o llis prophets, A braham, flrm belief in them is arnong rvhich one cannot be a
Islam <:ijI My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To tslam Q2 IV. The Authenticity of the Qur'an Qar'An final scripture revealed to humankind by God The (whose proper AllAh),| Qur'dn,has name is Allah),1 the Qur 'an, has remained free from unaltered and human changes for more than 1400 years. This T his final message messagefr from om God was revealed revealedt to o Prophet Muhammad during a period of almost twenty­three twenty-three years. lt A s soona s receiveda segmenht e recitedi t It was revealed in segments of different lengths. As soon as he received a segment he recited it to his companions, who wrote it down and memorized mernorized it. In addition, the Prophet indicated to his scribes the precise location locationw where heree each achs segment egmenst should houldb be e placed placedi in n the body of the text. In this way, the QUI' Qur'dn 'an in its entirety had been written and memorized by hundreds of Prophet Muhammad's followers during his lifetime. Abu Bakr, the first Caliph, assigned a ssignedZ Zaid aidbin bin Thabit Thabitt the he responsibility responsibilityo of f compiling the first copy of the Qur Qur'an 'an in a single text after Prophet ProphetM Muhammad uhammadd died. ied. Then, following follor.vingth the e orders orderso of f the third Caliph, Uthman, Zaid later prepared seven copies which were sent to the different centers of the Islamic world. U thrnanZ, aid laterp repareds evenc opies diflerent The existence of the QUI' 'an in its original Arabic text, existenceo f Qm"dn originalA rabic the tlre existence of millions rnillions of people who memorized it verbatim in different parts of the world through the succeeding succeedingg generations enerationas and nd the complete completea agreement greemenot of f all its copies copiesa and nd manuscripts2 manuscripts'testiftyo testify to the authenticity authenticityo of f the '*.4llah* 1 "Allah" is the same same* word ord that Arabic-Arabrc-speaking speakinCe Christians hristiansa and nd Jews use usef for br God. It is a unique uniquer word vorcgl grammatically, ranrnralicallrs'i.since n cei it t cannot cannotb be e made plural or given giren a gender (i.e. e. masculine masculinc or feminine), ferninine). which rvhich is consistenwt ith the Islamicc onccpto f t ln book.' 'lhc Lif'co f Mohamed". jilliam N,luirs tatesin rcf-erence consistent with Islamic concept of God. 2 In his book, "The Life of Mohamed", William Muir states in reference to the QUl'lil1. "There is other the world remained twelve centuries (now fourteen) with so pure a thc Qrrr'rin. "'|here probably no book in u'orld which has remaincdt rrelvec cnturies(n orvf burtecn)r viths o purca text."
~ My Great For Jesus Islam last and final revelation sent as to humankind. The entire Qur'an is the literal Word of God without the least addition or omission. When God says in the Qur 'an, "Say, "He is Allah, [who is] One," Prophet Muhammad, the conveyor of the message, would not have been able to change a single letter or a word from that divine statement. He had to say what he was commanded to: "Say, "He is Allah, [who is] One," without omitting the imperative verb "say.,,1 I "t Love Led Me To lslAm guidance Qur'dn inthe Qur'dn, "Say, o'He Allih, [who messagew, ould "Say, "He [who isl omining verb "say."l (called hadiths), which Also, the Prophetic narrations are the second source of Islamic legislation and were also revealed by God, in meaning but not in word, were recorded recordeda and nd kept separate separatein in the books of Hadith. On the other hand, the Bible cannot claim such an untarnished existence, being b eing a mixture of words allegedly allegedlys said aid by God, others ascribed to the prophets while still others spoken by people. Qur'dn that this It is clear to anyone who reads the Qur 'an focusese ntirelyo n onenesso f doesn ot Book focuses entirely on the oneness of God. It does not depict the life of Prophet Muhammad or his heroism like most people tend to believe. Any person who reads the Qur Qur'dn 'an will clearly see that its aim is to promote belief that God is one, alone, Him, commands, and abstaining from what He The Qur 'an refers to Muhammad as a messenger of God, like all the other messengers who preceded him. glorifying Hirn, following His frorn has forbidden. Qur'dn referst o Muhammada s messengero f messengerws ho precededh im. Verse ' I-aura Vcccia Vaglicri her "Apologia dell' Islamismo"," therei s anotherp rool'oft he Divinity of theQ ur'dn: it I Dr. Laura Veccia Vaglieri states in book Islamismo", "But there is another proof of the the Qur 'an: is the fact that it has been preserved intact the ages sinee time of its Revelation till the present day. And so it will always remain, by God's will, as long as the universe exists." lbct bcen preset'vcdin tact through tl.rea ges since the of its Revelationti ll presendt a1. so it lvill alwaysr emain, God's rvill, asl ong ast heu niversee xists."
My Great Love For Led Me Islam qy My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslam @ 3: 144 reads: is "Muhammad not but a messenger. messengerhs ave passedo n beforeh im. [Other] messengers have passed on before him. So if he was to die or be killed, would you heels [to unbeliefl? And he who will never harm AIIah all; Allah grateful." turn back on your [to unbelief)? turns back on his heels Allah at but will reward the The Prophet Propheti is s also alsod described escribeda as s one who is unable unablet to o benefit benefita anyone, nyone,including i ncludingh himself~ irrrselfl.without v itl-routth the e permission of God. Verse 7:188 188 tells us: "Say, ""I I hold not for myself power of] benefit or harm, cxcept Allih [the of) except what Allah has willed. And if I knew unscen, much wealth, and no harm lvould have am not except a warner and good to a peoplew ho believe." the unseen, I could have acquired would touched me. I a bringer of tidings people who believe. " In fact, therea re evenv ersesr eproachingth e there are even verses reproaching the Prophet for fbr celiain ceftair-actions. ar ctions.There T here is an incident incidentw wherein herein a blind man rnan interrupted him as he was rvas calling a group of influential influentialM Makkans akkanst to o Islam Isldrrra and nd pleaded pleadedu with ,itht the he Prophet to give him somc sorrer religious eligiousk knowledge. nowledgeI.In n his eagerness eagernestso to guide others. the Prophet Plophet frowned fi'orvned and ignored him for he knew knerv that the blind man Inan was of strong faith, 1aith. and that there rvould would be no harm if he q'aited waited i.until urtil he finished his meeting. H However, orvever,t the he Prophetw Prophet was as reproachedb reproached by y God in the Ihe Qur Qur'dn 'un (80: I-1-II), ll), rvhere wherc He says: ""'The The Prophet frowned frorvned and turned awav away becauset because the he blind man came to him, [Iinterrupting]. interrupting]. But rvhat what rvould would make you perceivc, perceive, 10 lO Muhammadl, that perhaps he might be purificd? purified? Or be remindecl I'eminded ancl and thc the rentembrance remembrance would benefit him? As for he who thinks himself without need, to him vou you givc give attention. And not upon you [[is is :any rny blanrel blame] if he will not bc be puriliecl. purified. But as for he who camc came to you you striving [[for for knowledgel knowledge] while he fears
~ My love led Islam [Allah], from him you are distracted. No! Indeed, [verses] are a reminder." I *t Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lsl6m [Attahl, these [verses] Qur'dn that The reader of the Qur 'an will also find verses warn Prophet Muhammad in strong terms and even threaten him with death if he were to fabricate in the name of God. Verses 69:44-47 "And [Muhammad] had made up about some [false] sayings, We would have seized him by the Then We would have cut from him the aorta. there is no one of you who could [Us] him." any saying 44-47 read: "And if he [Muhammad] Us [false] sayings, right hand; Then And there prevent [Usl from him.tt The The Arab pagans at the time of the Prophet accused him of Qur'dn. point, revealed to him of forging the Qur 'an. At that God him various verses in which He challenged them to produce a book similar to the Qur'an. Qur Verse 88 reads: "Say, "If mankind and the produce the like of this Qur'an, they the like of it, even if they were to each And verses 52:33-34 read: "Or do they "He made it up"? Rather, they do not them produce a statement like it, they truthful." But they failed to do so. later reduced to 10 chapters as is clear from 11: which reads: "Or do they say, "He Say, "Then bring ten surahs like it that and call upon [for assistance] whomever besides Allah, if you should be truthful." failed in this also. It was finally reduced a single chapter. Verses 2:23-24 infonn us: "And if you are in about what We have sent down upon Our Servant [Muhammad], then produce a surah the like thereof and call upon your witnesses other than Allah, if you should be truthful. But if you do not, and you will 'c?nV. erse 17:88r eads: "Say, o'If jinn gathered in order to Qur'in, could not produce the like other assistants." And verses 52:33-34 "Or say, "He has made believe. Then let them if should be truthful." The challenge was laterr educedt o chaptersa s clearf rom Verse 1l :13, which "Or "He invented it"? Say' 'oThen siirahs have been invented and call [for you can besides But they failed in this to a single chapter. Verses 2:23-24 infonn us: "And if you are in doubt about what We have sent down upon Our Servant [Muhammad], then produce a siirah the like thereof and call upon your witnesses other than AllAh' if you should be truthful. But if you do not, and you will
My My Great Great Love Love For For Jesus Jesus Led Led Me Me To To Islam tst6m ~ Q2 then fear the Fire whose fuel is men never be able to, and stones, stones,prepared p repared for the disbelievers." Verse V erse 10:l0:38 says: says: ""Or do they say say [[about about the Prophet], "..He He invented it?" Say, ""Then Then bring forth a siirah like it and call upon [[for for assistance] whomever you can besides Allah, if you should be truthful." They failed to accomplish this as well. proves of Islam, although very compose a single chapter Qur'dn. Had they been able to would have saved in trying to put an Islamby This that the bitter enemies Isliim, eloquent in Arabic, failed to similar to that in the Qur 'an. stand up to the challenge, they themselves much time and effort spent end to Islam by force. Unlike the Bible, Qur'dn the Qur 'an is free from all kinds of contradiction or conflict with reason error, discrepancy, and science. scienceI.In n the Qur'an, Qur'dn, Verse Verse4 4::82, 82,we w e read: read:, ",Then Thend do o they not reflect upon the Qur'an? Qur'dn? If it had been from other than Alliih, [any] Allah, they would have found within it much contradiction." The Qur'cin, foufteen Qur 'an, which was revealed fourteen centuries ago, mentions facts scientists with advanced scientific research. vividly aboutt about the he phaseso phases of f man'se man's embryonic mbryonicd development, evelopment, saying: ""And And certainly did We create man from an extract of clay. drop a firm lodging. Then drop clinging clot, and [of fleshl, flesh], and We made [[from] from] the lump, bones, and We covered the bones into another creation. Allih, creators." (Qur' Qur'an 6n 23 23:: 12- 14) | 4) The Qur'dn only recently discovered or proven by the help of sophisticated equipment and For example, God speaks Then We placed him as a sperm-drop in We made the sperm-drop into a We made the clot into a lump [of with flesh; then We developed him So blessed is Allah, the best of Qur 'an also refers to the formation of the universe and the big bang which begant he V erse 2l:30 oegan the process. Verse 21 :30
W My Islam reads: "Have those who disbelieved not considered that the heavens and the earth were a separated them and made from water every thing? Then will they not believe?" topic of verse was the subject of the Nobel Prize in 1973. Modem science also proved that 80% of the of living cell is actually water. For such knowledge reach Muhammad, an illiterate manl I tt Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslAm '6llave joined entity, and We living believe?'o The this Modern cytoplasm the precise to Muhammad. man', , more than 14 Qur'dn is aword centuries ago is manifest proof that the Qur 'an a word of God, and that Muhammad was His Messenger. V. The Life and Mission of Jesus V. years of Jesus' Very little is known about the early gave in Palestine. All life. The Virgin Mary birth to him Muslims believe in and respect Jesus because of references to him in the Qur 'an and the prophetic sayings as one of the greatest Prophets of the referencest o lhe Qur'dn andt he prophetics ayings ofthe greatestP rophetso f Allah. essenceo f teachingsw asb asedo n the belief in The essence of his teachings was based on uniqueG od andw orshippingn o oneb ut Him in addition. a unique God and worshipping no one but He also preached love and performed miracles, never crediting them to always that it was by God's will? John 5:30, peace. He perforrned several himself, but indicating will.' In 30, Jesus is I the Qur'dn, 48, "And you not recite before you one with your right hand, had [cause forl doubt." 2 spiteo f rvef lnd Christianp reachersin sistingo n going against the teachings his miracles as rcasons to believei n ma1, thcretbre,b e entitledt o ask them: "Why Ciod since hc the sea rvith his staff and it (E,xodus 14:16-29).llis stafI rvas transfbrmed into a reptile( Exodus4 :2-5)." )'ou considerJ oshuaG od though he ordered the sun and the moon to stop and they obeyed his command?"( Joshua1 0:l2-13)." Wh1'rvas F)li.iahn ot consideredG od thoughh e quickenedt hc dead?"( l Kings l7:22)" And what about E,lisharv hoa lsob roughtt he cleadb ackt o lil'e'?("2 Kings4 :32-35).E ven 1 In the Qur 'an, Verse 29:48, God says: did before it any scripture, nor did inscribe hand. Otherwise the falsifiers would have [cause forI 2 In spite of this we find Christian preachers insisting on the teachings of Christ and considering reasons believe in his divinity. One may, therefore, be entitled to ask "do you not consider Moses God since he hit sea with staff and it parted?" (Exodus 14:16-29). His statTwas also transformed a reptile (Exodus 4:2-5). "Why did you not consider Joshua God he ordered the sun and the moon to stop and they obeyed his command?" (Joshua 10: 12-13). "Why was Elijah not considered God though he quickened the dead'I" (I Kings 17:20-22) "And what about Elisha who also brought the dead back to life?" (2 Kings 4:32-35). Even
My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam ~ MyG reaLt oveF orJ esusL edM eT ot st6m@ quoted as saying: "I Luke 11:20 reads: "But out devils." the Heavens life, John ll:41-42 "And and said, Father, me. And I knew because of the people which they may (Peter), a major disciple "Ye men these words; God among by miracles which God did him yourselves (Acts witnessed God and that prophet the widow's lvhom presentp roclaimed": ...that among us; (Luke 7: 1 6). can of mine own self do nothing." 11 :20 if I with the finger of God cast Jesus used to supplicate to God, Creator of and Earth. Upon bringing Lazarus back to 11:41-42 states: Jesus lifted up his eyes, I thank thee that thou hast heard that thou hearest me always: but believe that thou hast sent me." Simon says: Yemen of Israel, hear Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of you and wonders and signs, by in the midst of you, as ye also know." 2:22) Even the people who those miracles knew that they were approved by Jesus was a of God. In the case of son, whom Jesus brought back to life, those present proclaimed: "...a great prophet is risen up and, that God hath visited his people." 16). lnthe Qur'dn,this great In the Qur 'an, this Prophet of God is referred to as "Isa ibn (Jesus, whereas the mentioned 5 times. stand by I said it, that Maryam" the son of Mary) 25 times, name of Prophet Muhammad himself is only In Chapter Qur'dn, Aali-'Imraan 3 of the Qur 'an, called Aali- 'Imraan (The Family of Imran) ofImran) we read: [mention] when the angels said, "0 Mary!, 42. And [mention] "O M"ryt, indeed Allnh you purified you chosen you Allah has chosen and and above the women of the worlds. E,lisha'sb onesa fter deathr aisedt he dead,( 2 l3:21).A s fbr E,zekie(l3 7:7-10),h e broughta arml' thousandso f backt o life, noneo fthem considercdG od evena god. ' (Mary), mothero f thc ProphetJ esus.onty mentioned lhe Qur'an Elisha's bones after his death raised the dead, (Kings 13:20-21). As for Ezekiel (37:7-10), he brought a whole army of thousands of people back to life. Still none of them is considered God or even a I Maryam the mother of the Prophet Jesus, is the only woman by name in the Qur 'an. Her name appears 34 times. In
W My Islam I fuv Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lsldm 43. O your 43.0 Mary, be devoutly obedient to Lord and [in prayer]." prostrate and bow with those who bow [in 44. That is from the news of the unseen which We [O you reveal to you, [0 Muhammad]. And were not with them when they cast their pens as to which of them should be responsible for Mary. Nor were you with them when they disputed. 45. [And mention] when the angels said, "0 Mary, [And "O Mu.y' Alliih word' indeed Allah gives you good tidings of a wordl from Him, whose name will be the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mrry, Mary, distinguished in this world and the Hereafter and among those brought near [to Allah]. [to 46. He will speak to the people in the cradle and in maturity and will be of the righteous." saido 'oMy 47. She said, "My Lord, how will I have a child me?o' [The angel] said' when no man has touched me?" [The said, "Such is Allah; He creates what He wills. decrees a matter, He only says to it, 'Be,' and it 'oSuch When He itr'Ber' is. 48. And He will teach him writing and wisdom2 wisdom' and the Torah and the Gospel [make messengetro Children of 49. And [make him] a messenger to the [who 'Indeed you Israel, [who will say], 'Indeed I have come to with a sign from your Lord in that I design for you from clay [that which is] like the form of a bird3 , then I breathe [that isl bird., t herc singlec hapteri n thc tliblc name, r vhereasa n addition, therc is no single chapter in the Bible by her whereas an entire chapter chaptcr in the Qur Qur'dn 'an is named after aftcr her. hcr. In ln fact, no Qur'anie Qur'dnic chapter chapter mentions mcntions the names of Prophet Muhammad's Muharrrnad's mother, his daughters daughterso or r his wives rvivesb by y name. It I t is owing to thc great greatl love ove for Mary that many Muslims Muslir"nsn name amet their heir daughters daughtersa after fler her. I Referring to the prophet Jesus, who was conceived command from God - the word "Be." 2 i.e. the teachings of the Prophets 3 This miracle plus the miracle of AI-Maa 'idah the table of that descended from the heaven) and others arc mentioned only in the Qur 'an, but not in the Bible. I Itelbrring rvho rvas merely by a command lrom - rvord Bc." 2 e.t het eachingso f theP rophets I ol /l-Maa'idah (the food descendcdf rom a nd othcrs arc ntcntionedo nly in Qur'dn,
My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam ~ My Great Love For fo lslam @ into it and Allah. And I cure to dead - permission into it and it becomes a bird by permission of Allah. And I cure the blind and the leper, and I give life to the - by of Allah. And I inform you of you what eat and what you store in your houses. Indeed in that is a sign for you, if you are believers. 50. And [I [I have come] confirming what was before me what was with a sign from your Allnh of the Torah and to make lawful for you some of forbidden to you. And I have come to you Indeed, Alleh 51. Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Lord, so fear Allah and obey me. Him. That is the straight path." 52. But when Jesus [persistence inl felt [persistence in] disbelief from them, he said, ""Who Who are my supporters for [[the the cause of] Allah?" The disciples said," We are supporters for Allah. Alllh. We have believed in Allah and testify that we are Muslims [[submitting submitting to Him]. 53. Our Lordo Lord, we have believed in what You revealed and have followed registeru s among the rvitnesses[t o truth]." the messenger Jesus, so register us witnesses [to 54. And the disbelievers planned, Alleh planned. And Allah is the best planners. of 55. [Mention] when Alldh O but Allah [Mention] Allah said, "0 Jesus, indeed I will take you and raise you' from those who disbelieve and make those you [in submission to AllAh alone] who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection. Me is your return, and I will judge you concerning that in which you used to differ. you! to Myself and purify you who follow [in Allah superior to those Then to between 56. And as for thoser those who vho disbelieved, I will punish them with a severe punishment in this lvorld and Hereafter, and they will have no helpers." world the ' God sar,edJ esusa nd raisedh im to hcavena live, in body and soul rvithout any harm or pain I saved Jesus and raised him heaven alive, without any harm or pain
~ My Great Love Me To Islam I fr/lyG reatL ove For Jesus Led MeT o lslim did righteous rewards, and 57. But as for those who believed and deeds, He will give them in full their Allah does not like the wrongdoers. All6h you, [O Muhammadl' 58. This is what We recite to [0 Muhammad], of of [[Our] Our] verses and the precise [[and and wise] message. to AllSh is like that He said to 59. Indeed, the example of Jesus Allah of Adam. He created Him from dust; then him, "Be," and he was. himr ttBertt your so do not be 60. The truth is from Lord, among the doubters. among 61. 61. Then whoever argues with you about it after [this] - say' let us call sons' and your women, earnestly [together] of AIInh upon the liars [among [this] knowledge has come to you - say, "Come, call our sons and your sons, our women women, ourselves and yourselves, then supplicate earnestly [together] and invoke the curse Allah the liars [among us]." 62. And there is 62. Indeed, this is the true narration. no deity Allah is the Exalted in Might, no deity except Allah. And indeed, in Might, the Wise. Maryam,, God revealed: And in chapter 19, called Maryam, 16. And mention, [0 Muhammad], [the 16. [O in the Book [the story o{l Mury, her family to a story of) Mary, when she withdrew from a place toward the east. 17. And a screen. 17. And she took, in seclusion from them, Then he represented Then We sent to her Our Angel, and himself to her as a well-proportioned man. 18. She "Indeed, in the Most 18. She said, "Indeed, I seek refuge Merciful [so mel, you should be Merciful from you, [so leave me], if fearing of Allah." AII5h." 19. "I messengeor f your Lord 19. He said, "I am only the messenger of to give you [news of) a pure boy [i.e., son]." to give you [news ofl a pure boy [i.e.' sonl." 20. She said, "How can I have a boy while no man 20. She said, "How can I have a boy while no man has touched me and 1 have not been unchaste?" has touched me and I have not been unchaste?" 21.He said, o(Thus[ it will be]; your Lord says"is 21. He said, "Thus [it will be]; your Lord says, 'It is easy for Me, and.We will make him a sign to the people easy for Me, and.We will make him a sign to the people
My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam W Myc reatL oveF orJ esusL edM eT ot slamR 2 and a mercy from Us. And it is a matter [already] decreed." [already] 22. So she conceived him, him. and she withdrew with 23. And the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm tree. She said, ""Oh, Oh, I wish I had died before this and was in oblivion, forgotten." hero 66Do 24. But he called her from below her, "Do not grieve; your Lord has provided beneath you a stream. 25. And shake toward you the trunk of the palm tree; it will drop upon you ripe, fresh dates. 26. So eat and drink and be contented. And if you 'Indeed, him to a remote place. see from among humanity anyone, say, 'Indeed, I have vowed to the Most Merciful abstention, so I will not speak today to [any] man." [anyl 27. Then she brought him to her people, carrying They O Mury, you O your him. said, "0 Mary, have certainly done a thing unprecedented. 28. 0 sister of Aaron, father was not a man of your unchaste.tt pointed "How evil, nor was mother unchaste." 29. So she to him. They said, "How can we speak to one who is in the cradle a child?" [Jesus]s aid,' olndeedI, the ser-vanot f Allah. given me prophet. And has made me blessed wherever I 30. [Jesus] said, "Indeed, I am servant of He has me the Scripture and made a 31. He am has enjdined prayer and ZakAh,r as long remain and enjoined upon me Zakah,l as I alive And [made me] dutiful my mother, and He 32. [made to has not made me a wretched tyrant. And peace is on me the day I was born and the 33. day I will die and the day I am raised alive." t Zakah is one thc pillarso 1'lslam.I t is a fixcd pcrcentagoef rvealtho n specifiedp ropertiest o bc given to dcscrvingp oor and nccclvp eople. I Zakdh the pillars of Islam. It fixed percentage of wealth on specified properties to be deserving poor needy people.
~ My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam I fr/lvG reatL oveF orJ esusL edM eT o lslAm That is Jesus, the son of Mary the word of truth 34. That is Jesus, the son of Mary the word of truth about which they are in dispute. about which they disPute. not [befitting] Allnh to take a son; 35. It is not [befitting] for Allah to take a exalted exalted is He! When He decrees an affair, He only says to to itr it, ""Ber" Be," and it is. [Jesus "And is Lord and 36. [Jesus said], "And indeed, Allah my straight palh.'.' your Lord, so worship Him. That is a path." also include Further, the words of Prophet Muhammad referencest o l n P rophetM uhammad says: Hereaftel l am the nearest of Mary. The references to Jesus. In one narration, Prophet Muhammad says: "Both in this world and in the Hereafte-:, I nearest of people to Jesus, the son prophets are paternal brothers; their different but their religion is one."l brothers;, mothers are aiffirent but r says: "When In another hadith, Prophet Muhammad any him at both sides except for Jesus, the son to touch but failed' for he touched cover instead."' This was a response grandmother "the wife of Imrdn" in the Qur'dn, she said: "...And Maryr and I seek refuge [forl her descendants from Satai, [from Allahl."3 any human being is born, Satan touches sides of the body with his two fingers, the son of Mary, whom Satan tried failed, for he touched the placenta-cover instead.,,2 response to the supplication of his of Imran" when according to the narration Qur 'an, she said: " ...And I have named her Mary, refuge for her in You and [for] Satan, the expelled [from the mercy of Allah].,,3 The Qur'rirz of Jesus and The Qur 'an considers the characters Muhammad and noble since both Almighty God. Muhammad equally pure, immaculate, both of them are prophets from the same I Nan-ated by Al-Bukhari , hadith no. 3370. 2A l -Bukhar i3, 216. r 3:36. Both the Qur'dn and Prophct Muhammad honored Jesus by stating that he was guarded fiom the cvils of Satan. Actually, this is a refutationo f the Biblicalc laim in Luke 4:2 thatJ esusr vas" tempted by the devil." ] Nan'ated by Al-Bukhari, hadith no. 3370. 2 Al-Bukhari, 3216. 3 3:36. Both the Qur 'an and Prophct Muhammad honored Jesus by stating that he was guarded from the cvils of Satan. Actually, this is a refutation of the Biblical claim in Luke 4:2 that Jesus was "tempted by the devil."
Great Islam W My creat Love For Jesus Led Me To lstam Q2 VI. Prophet Muhammad VI. Prophet Muhammad Jesus had told the Jews that after him no prophet would appear among them, and that the Kingdom of God would be taken from them and given to a nation more worthy of it (Matthew 21:21 :43). This nation was the descendents of Ishmael who had been rejected by the Jews. l r The Qur'dn Qur'dn (61:6) 6) states, ""And And [[mentionl mention] when Jesus, the son of Mary, said, ""O 0 children of Israel' Israel, indeed I am the messenger of Allah to you confirming what came before me of the Torah and bringing tidings of a messenger to come after me, whose name is Ahmad." But when he came to them with evidences, they said, "This is obvious magic." good messengetro whosen ame clear evidencest,h ey o oThisis obviousm agic." TestarnentJ,e susp rophesizetsh e In the New Testament, Jesus prophesizes the coming "Nevertheless of Muhammad in these -' words: I tell you the truth; It is f r -* "-.. for you that I go away: for if I go not away, il not come unto you; but if I depart unto you. And when he is come, he , world of sin, and of righteousnes~ righteousness .t: ... Howbeit when he, the Spirit of ? ~ will guide you into all ' r, :1//al 1 espccialllM' c Not onlv thal the lOth of il day belbrc i Children oj Muslims h morc than Prophcts name the' Jnto : t: : rvill :, r ( ( .c . Le ol- lhc Qur'dn finds that br a certain period (Qur'dn 2:47). rk o1' them and their Prophets, b,v nanre times in the Qur'6n. rade ncouragedM uslimst o fast on rth of the Islamicc alendar)a nd the c to ,lllah firr saving Moses and the of Pharaoh by parling the Red Sea. n commcnlorationo f this event for also hold great respect for all the I Despite this [/ Allah favored 1 Many stories especially Me Not onIv thaI the lOth"of it day before j Children of Muslims h more than Prophets name the' ,e reader of the Qur 'an or (Qur 'an 47). lk of by name 136 Qur 'an, lad encouraged Muslims to :1th Islamic calendar) and e Allah for parting m commemoration of
~ I My tt Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam lslAm truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come... He shall glorify me..." (John 16:7-7-14). 14).Since S incet that hat time, who w ho has hasg glorified lorifiedJ Jesus esusa as s much as Muhammad did]? did'? In the Gospel of Barnabas, one of the Gospels not "since recognized by the Church, Jesus says: men have called me "God," and "Son of God," God, in order that I be not mocked of the demons on the day of judgment, of men hath willed that I be mocked ofmen in this world by the death of Judas; Judas,o making all men to believe that I died upon the cross. And this mocking shall continue until the advent of Mohammed, Mohammed. the messenger of God, who, when rvhen he shall come, shall t I Many people went to extremes regarding the person of Jesus Christ. Some rejected him and spared no cffort el'fort to discredit him, while others later latcr denied his existence existcnce altogether altogethcr considering him to be a fictional character. As for fbr Jesus' teachings regarding rcgarding the belief in only one true God, his so-called called followers follorvers went rvent off in another direction. It was rvas only Islam that declared his prophethood orophethood and defended his character 2 2 According to the Gospels, Gospeli, Christ Chrisl was rvash betrayed etrayer.for flo r 30 pieces pieceso of f silver by b1' his treasurer. trcasurer. However, Horvever, Ibn Kathir, in his Qur'anic Qur'6nic exegesis cxegesis (Q. 4: 157) and others say that the disciple who '"vho allegedly betrayed Christ did not actually do so; instead he sacrificed sacrillced himselffor himself fbr Christ. After he had heard Christ say "On the day of ofdanger, danger, whom shaH shall I cause to look like me, and he shaH shall be my companion cornpanion in Heaven?" that disciple expressed his willingness to be so, and so it was. Such selfless act is worthy of the disciples of Jesus Christ. On the other hand, the act of betrayal committed by Judas, according to the Gospels, is contradictory to other gospel narrations such as Matthew 19:28 "... when the Son of man shaH sit in the throne of his gIOl'y, ye also shaH sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." So, if Judas was a traitor, Jesus would have said cleven thrones" not "twelve . rvillingness ri'as. rvorthyo f discipleso f JesusC hrist.O n t he lvlatthew I 9:shall thc glory, shall Isracl." rvas rvould havc "cicvcn trvelve * - *
Great Islam W My Love For Jesus Led Me To lsl6m @ reveal this deception to those who believe in God's law." (Barnabas220). Barnabas 220). Prophet Muhammad is mentioned several times in various places in the Old Testament. Such mention has survived distortion and corruption. For example in Deuteronomy 18:18-19, we read: "will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, 1 will require it of him." Deuteronomy1 8:18-19w, e read:" I like it I Makkah (Baca), where Prophet Muhammad received revelationsi,s mentionedin Psalms8 4:6,w hich his divine revelations, is mentioned in Psalms 84:6, which says: passing through the valley of Baca make a well; the rain also filleth the pools." "Who it The Qur 'an states in Chapter 3, verse 96, "Indeed, the Qur'dn statesin Chapter3 , verse9 6, "Indeed, [of for was first House [of worship] established mankind that at Baca (Makkah), blessed, and a guidance for the worlds." Prophet Abraham also mentioned the same place where he raised the foundation of the sacred House of (the Ka 'bah) there, indicating that it was an arid area. In the Qur 'an, v. 14:37, we read: "Our Lord, I have settled some of my descendants in an uncultivated valley Your sacred House." In addition, Isaiah 21: 13 mentions revelation from Arabia. ProphetA brahama lsom entionedth e samep lace whereh e raisedt he foundationo f sacredH ouseo f God Ka'bah) ln Qur'tin, 74:37,w e read:" Our descendantsin uncultivatedv alley near 2l:also The fact that Prophet Muhammad would be illiterate Isaiah 29.12, "And' rvho read, and could not read is mentioned in 29: 12, And when they give the book to one who cannot saying, "Read this," he says, "I cannot read." (ESY) ESV) ln find the In Sahih Al-Bukhari, hadith no. 3, we prophet of following, about the first revelation to the Isliim: " ... He (Muhammad) was in the cave when Islam'. "... the
W I My ffy Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam lsl6m angel came to him. He (the angel) said to him ""Read." Read." He (Muhammad) said ""I I cannot read." He (Muhammad) reports ""So, So, he (the angel) held me so tightly that 1 I felt exhausted, then let go of me and said "Read." 1 I said "'6I "Read." I cannot read." He held me again so tightly that 1 I felt exhausted, then let go of me and said "ttRead.Read." tt 1 I said "ttl I cannot read." read.tt So, he held me so tightly for the third time, then let go of me and said ""Read Read in the name of your Lord who created ... created man from a clinging clot. Read and your Lord is the Most Generous Generous..." ..." In Chapter 7, Verse 157, the Qur 'an states: "Those Qur'iin "Those prophet who follow the Messenger, the unlettered whom they find written in what they have of the Torah and the Gospel." Gospel.'o In the year 571 571 CE, in Arabia, the prophesy of Jesus and his predecessors predecessorsw was as fulfilled. The Comforter was born amongst the Children of Ishmael (Ismaa lsnaa'eel),'eel), I t who were polytheists and idolaters. Muhammad Muharnmad stood out among amongh his is people peopled due ue to the genuineness genuinenesosf of his character, his love for truth and his compassion compassionf for or the poor and weak. He came to be known as "Al-AI-Ameen" ((The The Trustworthy) Trustworlhy) amongst his people. He was chosen by Almighty Allah at the age of forty to be His last messenger and prophet prophett to o all humankind. He H e preached preachedb belief elief in the ' lact rvas thc oldcst son of the Prophet I In spite of the fact that Ishmael was the oldest Abraham as is clear from Genesis 16:"And and six years bare Ishmael Genesis 2 I :5, "And Abraham a years son Isaac was born unto him," the Bible comes to claiming otherwise in Genesis 22:2, "And he Take thine son whom Iovest." clcar liom Gcncsis l6:16: "And Abram was fourscore old, when Hagar barc Ishrnacl to Abram," and 2l:5, "And Abraharn was hundred old, when his contradict itself by claimingo thenviscin Gcncsis2 2:2,"An<lh e said, T ake now thy son, thinc only sorr Isaac, whorn thou lovcst."
My Myc Great reatL Love oveF For orJ Jesus esusL Led edM Me eT To ol Islam sl6mp W oneness of Allah, the Creator, who alone deserves to be worshippedS, worshipped, Sustainer ustaineor of f the whole universea universe and nd all that it contains. God supported Prophet Muhammad with many miraclest miracles that hat were confirmedb confirmed by y eye-witnesses, witnessess,such u cha as s the splitting splittingo of f the moon (Q. 54: I) l) and the hurricanet hurricane that hat He sent to counter a full-scale assault by the enemy on Madinah Madinah( (Q. 33:9). 9). Such Suchm miracles iraclesw were ere mentioned mentionedi in n the Qur'lin Qur'iin after their occurrence, and a nd the unbelievers unbelieverso of f the time, who were eager to find faults in the Qur'lin Qur'dn did didnot not find any contradiction contradictionb between etrveenth the e narration narrationi in nthe the Qur'lin Qur'dn and actual events. As a result, many willingly embraced Islam. As for the believers, those miracles strengthened their faith and belief in Allah and His Messenger. Many other miracles were also mentioned in the hadith, hodith, such as the flowing of the water u,ater from froru between the fingers of Prophet ProphetM Muhammad, uharnmadt,the h e increase increasein in the amount amounto of f food during the digging of the trench around Madinah, the telling of things to come, and of things unknown, which Allah revealed revealedto to him. However, Horvevert,the h e living miracle miracleo of f the Prophet is the Qur'lin. It mentions linguistic, scientific legislative issues of a miraculous nature. Propheti s Qur' dn. lt mentionsI i ngLir s tic, and legislativeis sueso f miraculousn ature. ProphetM uharlmad arnongh is companionsh, is Prophet Muhammad lived among his companions, his farnily T here r.vasn otliing hirn that was family and people. There was nothing about him unknown or kept a secret. His life an most minute details about his entire life known to those who believed in him as the Messenger of sacrificed for the sake of their belief God, Muhammad had nothing to them except revelations he received from the Lord of all beings. itis was open book. The lifb were all thoser vho believedi n tlie Messengeor f God and sacrif-icedfo r in while notliing give the revelationsh e receivedfi orn l-ord under the He preached a message of brotherhood banner of hlum, in which there was no distinction based on race, color, language, wealth or sex. This bannero f Lsl7m,i n r.vhichth erer 'vasn o distinctionb ased c olor, languagew, ealtho r T his is confirmed
W I My t, Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lsldm Islam by the words of God in the Qur Qur'dn 'an (49: 13): ""O 0 mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted." The Prophet Prophet,emphasized emphasizetdh that at lineage has no value in God.' 'oYour the sight of God. I He said: "Your Lord is One, and your father (Adam) is one. An Arab is not better than a non- non­Arab and a non-Arab is not better than an Arab, and a Arab Arab. white person is not better than a black person and a black person is not better than a white person except through piety piefy and righteousness.,,righteousnesr."2 This Tt hir meanst means that hat piety and righteousness are the criterion by which Allah judges people, regardless of color or race. righteousnessa re judges r egardlesos fcolor Slavery was widespread throughout the world, and was sanctioned by the man-made made religions of the time and by the Bible itself, as a s in Genesis Genesis9 9::25-25-27, 27,Exodus E xodus2 21:1:2-2-12 12 and Ephesians Ephesians6 6::5. 5. When God sent Muhammad Muhammadw with ith the last of His messages, messagesth, the e freeing freeingo of f slaves slavesb became ecameo one ne of the greatest greatesat acts ctso of f goodness goodnessth that at would bring one nearer to God. Also, it became becamea a praiseworthy praiseworthym means eanst to o gain His approval, pleasure p leasurea and nd expiate expiates sins insa and nd errors. God G od says saysi in n the the Qur Qur'iin 'an (90: 11-l l-13) "But he has not broken through the difficult pass. And what can make you know what is [breaking through] the difficult freeing of a slave." [breaking pass? It is the freeins tu!rc." ) Lahab.a n uncleo f ProphctM uhammad.r c'iectedC od's message. I Abu Lahab, an uncle ofProphct Muhammad. rejected God's As a result, Qur'anic verses were revealed condemning him Q ur'dnicv erscsw erer evcaledc ondemningh im and he was promised Hellfire. His IIis relationship to the thc Prophet provided no protectionfb r him againset ternapl unishrnent. 2 Narratcd by Ahnad. 23 105. protection for against eternal punishment. 2 Narrated Ahmad, 23 05.
Great Me To Islam ~ My creat Love For Jesus Led Me To lsl6m Qy' 66a mercy to the Prophet Muhammad was sent as "a Qttr'dn (21: 107). Prophet worlds." This is stated in the Qur 'an Muhammad said: "The The merciful are treated with mercy by Allih. AlHih. Thus, have mercy upon those on earth' earth, so that He who is in Heaven may have mercy upon you."' yoU."l Another hadith states:" states: "Whosoever does not have mercy upon the people will not receive mercy from Allah.,,2 Allah."' example of Prophet Muhammad was the living A llah statesin Qur'dn (3: 159):" by mercy Altdh, [O lenient mercy. Allah states in the Qur 'an 159): "So from Allah, [0 Muhammad], you were with them. And if you had been rude [in speech] in heart, they would have disbanded from So pardon them and ask forgiveness consult them in the matter..." [in and harsh about you. for them and Prophetw as compassionateev en to his enemies' exampleo f compassionw as shorvnw hen he The Prophet was compassionate even enemies. A clear example of his compassion was shown when conquered Makkah. The Makkan pagans were sure that would exact his vengeance on them. However, when stood at the door of the Ka'bah and said "How you think 1 should act toward "With gracious and merciful brother," they "Be so," declared the Prophet. "I say unto as said unto his brothers: "No blame will you today. Allah will forgive you; merciful of the merciful.'" Then he said "Go, for you are free.,,4 It would have been easy him seek revenge for all the tOliure and followers suffered at their hands, yet he pardoned them conqueredM akkah.T he Makkanp agans 'eres uret hat he vengeanceo n tltetn. How'ever,w hen he to them: do I you?" kindness, replied. it sor" declaredth e Prophet". I you Prophet Joseph saicl "No blamc there be upon youl and He is the most merciful."r Thert saici to them: for are free."4 for hirn to seek fbr tofture death he and his follorverss uffereda t theirl tands.y et lrep aldonedt hem all. I Nar ratecbly At - l i r rnidhi .1 928. I Narratcdb l ivluslirn5. 983. t l'hcscr rordsa req uotcciln lhc Qur'un. t'. 1292 j r'arratcdb y al-lSayhaqiI.t t648.I tt647. I Narrated lw it-Tirmidhi, 1928. 2 Narrated b)' Muslim. 5983. 3 These words arc quoted in the Qur'an. v. 12:92. 4 Narrated by al-Bayhaqi, 18648, 18647.
~ My For Jesus Led Me To Islam Z fUV Great Love lsldm This clearly proves Qur'dnic instructionto those" ...who pardon the people Alliih good." (3:134)A llah alsos aysi n Qur'6n (41:34-35):" Repel [evill by that [deed] whom you [will becomel as though granted it granted it great [ofgood]." When his companions hirn "Oh Lord, have people doing."' got personal was Allah. person angry."2 camet o trernblingw ith f'eart hinking great not cured Makkah."'' rveight Paradise.'o* ' 2 t lbn Ma.iah,3391. a Muslim, that he was indeed a mercy to humankind. In so doing, he was following the Qur'anic instruction to be of those " ...who restrain anger and who and Allah loves the doers of 134) A/liih also says in the Qur'an 34-35): "Repel [evil] [deed] which is better; and thereupon the one between and him is enmity [will become] he was a devoted friend. But none is except those who are patient, and none is except one having a portion [of good]." appealed to him to ask for the descent of God's wrath on his enemies after they had broken his tooth and injured his head, he refused and said, mercy on my for they know not what they are doing.'" He never angry over matters. All his anger for the sake of He used to say: "The truly strong is not one who fights others and defeats them, rather it is the one who restrains himself when angry.,,2 He was an exemplary model of humility. Once a man came to him trembling with fear thinking he was about to meet a great king. The Prophet met him with all humility and said to him: "Calm down, I am a king. I am the son of a woman who used to eat meat in Makkah."j In another hadith, the Prophet said: "Whoever has in his heart an ant's weight of arrogance will not enter Paradise.,,4 I Ibn Hibban. 949. 2 Muslim, 6595. 3 Ibn Majah. 3391. 4 Musli~, 225.
My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam 9 MyG reaLt oveF orJ esusL edM eT ol sldm I time of the When a solar eclipse occurred at the people to say that Prophet's son, Ibrahim's death, began the eclipse was due to his son's death. summoned them and proclaimed: "The sun and the are two of Allah's signs. They do death or birth of anyone.,,1 However, he "The moon Allnhos not eclipse for the ofanyone."' instructed In yet another hadith, Prophet Muhammad followers:" praise excessivelya s the son his followers: "Do not me excessively as of Mary was praised by the Christians. slave of Allah. So call me the slave Allah I am only a Alleh. of Allnh and His ? messenger.,,- messenger."2 him: "You are our One companion once said to power favor over all of us." master and have more and The Prophet, angry at such a thought, - only for the cause of Allah - answered: "Only Master! I am no one's master. deceive you. I do not want to higher than where Allah has Allah's slave and His messenger.,,3 - and his anger was causeo f - answered":O nly Allah is the Do not let the devil you raise me to a status Alllh placed me. I am only Alliih's messenger.''' (divine that Prophet rnade for the weak, the poor, The Shari'ah legislation) Muhammad brought, made caring the indigent, and orphans an integral pali says in the Qur'an 1-3): who denies the Recompense? For that drives away the orphan and does feeding of the poor." Neglecting the needy may also one to the Hellfire. Allah says the Qur 'an 69:33-34): "Indeed, he did not used to believe Allah, Great, nor did he encourage the feeding of parl of Islam. Allah the Qur'tin (107:1-3): "Have you seen the one F or is the one who not encourage the feedingo f Neglectingth e needyr naya lso lead AllAh in the Qur'iin (69:33-34): "Indeed, in Allflh, the Most encouraget he feedingo f the poor." I Al-Bukhari1. 0,1,1. 2A l-Bukhar3i.3 72. r Ahmad1, 2295. 1 AI-Bukhari. 1044. 2 AI-Bukhari. 3372. 3 Ahmad, 12295.
~ My Islam I *t Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslAm Islam condemns all kinds of injustice, aggression and terror against the innocent. Allah says: " "......and and do not transgress. Indeed, Allah Alllh does not like aggressors." (Qur Qur'dn 'an 2: 190) Qur 'an also says: "Because of that, We decreed The Qur'dn "Because upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [[done] done] in the land it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one - - it is as if he had saved mankind entirely..." Qur 'an 5:32). Such is the brutality of murder Islam. Muslims are even encouraged to be kind to animals and are forbidden to harm them. On one occasion Prophet Muhammad said: "A woman was because she tied up a cat until it died. On account of this, she was doomed to Hell. She imprisoned it, not it food or drink, nor did she let it free to eat the vermin of the earth.,,1 (Qur'dn 32). in Isldm. encouragedto animalsa nd Muharnmad 'oA punished giving earth.tt' reporled prostitute gave He also reported the case of a who water to a dog dying of thirst, for which Allah forgave her sins? sins.'.The T he Prophet Prophetw was as asked: asked:' "oMessengeor Messenger of f God, are we rewarded for kindness towards animals?" He said: ""There There is a reward for kindness shown shorvn to every living animal or human being.'" being."l Tlre Islam promotes The message of Isliim tolerance and respect for the rights of non-Muslims. In a hadith, Prophet Muhammad said: " ...Whoever does to another having a covenant of e. a non-Muslim), or falls short in giving one his l'ight, or burdens one with more than he can bear or takes from one something respectf or rightso f Muslims.I n P rophet Muharnmad "...Whoever tloes injustice protection (i.e. Muslim), right, ' Muslim, 5 80,1. 2A 1-Bukhar3i.3 92. I Al -Bukhar2i .3 23. 1 5804. 2 AI-Bukhari. 3392. J AI-Bukhari, 2323.
My Love For Jesus Led Me To lsldm I against his will, I will the Day of Judgment."t messageo f Islam shunning Give back entrusted ^with betrayed you."' Islam alsos trongly disapproveso f selfishnessa nd The "A until himself."Good part of the Islamic messageT. he Prophets aid: with the has the best the believers are those women"'o Also, a O Messenger of companionship?" "Your The man asked, "'Who mother." 'oWho is next?" The Prophet replied,'oYour When the man asked for replied, father."5 Accordingt o Islamict eachingst,h e rervardf or servinga nd looking after Paradise. The Prophet instructeda consultedh im about going for I Abu Darvud.3054. 2A t -Ti rmidhi .1 261. I Al-Bukhari, 13. r Ahmad. 737'1. 5 Muslim. 6452. Great Jesus Me To Islam <:$I against his will, I will be his opponent on the Day of Judgment."] The message of Isliim calls for fulfilling trusts and shunning all acts of betrayal. One hadith states: "Give back what you have been entrusted with to whoever entrusted you with it, and do not betray one who has betrayed yoU.,,2 Isliim also strongly disapproves of selfishness and calls for man to love for others what he loves for himself. The Prophet said, "A man is not considered a believer until he loves for others what he loves for himself.,,3 Good morals and respect for women are also Islamic message. The Prophet said: "The believer the most complete faith is the one who moral behavior. And the best among those who are best in treating their women.,,4 man came to the Prophet and said, "0 Allah, who is most entitled to my best The Prophet said, "Your mother." "Who is next?" The Prophet replied, "Your The man asked again, "Who again replied, "Your mother." the fourth time, the Prophet "Your s According to Islamic teachings, the reward for serving and looking after one's mother is instructed a man who had consulted him 1 Abu Dawud. 3054. 2 At-Tirmidhi. 1261. 3 AI-13ukhari, 13. 4 Ahmad, 7374. 5 Muslim. 6452.
9 My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam V lvtyG reaLt oveF orJ esusL edM eT ol sl6m jihad he o'Stayw ith becauseP aradisei s feet."' while had a mother to take care of by saying "Stay with her because Paradise is under her feet."! The Prophet also said: ""Whoever Whoever has a daughter and does not humiliate her or favor his son over her will enter Paradise.,,Paradise."2 2 Prophet Muhammad also stated: ""Whoever ilhoever has two daughters or two sisters, and treats them well will be my close companion in Paradise.,,3 Thus, it is that to women is strongly emphasized in Islamic teachings and is a major act that may take one to Paradise. Paradise."3 clear kindness emphasizedin teachingsa nd good According to the Shari Shari'ah, 'ah, males are responsible for the welfare of females, whether he happens to be a father, son, brother or even a ruler. She is entitled to her share of the inheritance, to a dowry dolvry at the time of marriage, mariage. to choose whom she wishes to marry, marrv. and to ' 3 106. 2 r lbn 2tl7 9 1 An-Nasa'i. 3106. 2 Ahmad. 1966. 3 Ibn Abi Shaibah. 21179.
Islam 9 My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslam I remarry after divorce and the like. t 1 Allah says in the Qur'dn Qur 'an (2:228): ""And And due to the wives is similar to what is expected of them, according to what is reasonable." lIn Leviticus l5:19-30, rve find: "And if a wornan an and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean every thing that she lieth upon separation every thing also that she sitteth upon whoioever-toucheth her bed shall *'ash himself in water, and be unclean until even' toucheth any thing that shc sat upon shall bathe himseif in water, and bc rrnclean on her bed, or on any thing toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the with her at all, and her flowers be upon hin, trc seven davsr and all the bed whereon And if a i"o-att have an issue of her blood time of her separation, or if separation; all the days of thc issuc of her the days of her separation: she shall lvery whereoin she lieth all the clays ofher issue bed of her separation: and rvhatsoever upon_ unclean, as tlre uncleanncss of hcr scparation. toucheth thosc things shall be unclean, and bathe himself iri water, and be unclean thc shc bc clcansed of her issue, then she nurnber seven days, arrd after that she shall be on.tlay she shall take unto her two turtles, trvo bring thern unto thc priest, to the cong'rcgation. and thc priest shall rnakc fbr the LORD fbr the issue of her unclearuress"' l-he condemns thc rvoman to a lil'etirne of uncleanness ilnd sourcc of impur i ty' : i t also t reats her l ike an olJ'er lder$ 'ho commi t ted a cr imc that need.sa toncmcnt as i f i t nerc hcr choico. Thc depicts thc rvoman in the Inost debasing and hulr-riliating n'a1'. I I In Leviticus 15:19-30, we find: "And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even. And every thing that she lieth upon in her separation shall be unclean: every thing also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean. And whosoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. And whosoever toucheth any thing that she sat upon shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. And if it be on her bed, or on any thing whereon she sitteth, when he toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the even. And if any man lie with her at all, and her flowers be upon him, he shall be unclean seven days; and all the bed whereon he lieth shall be unclean. And if a woman have an issue of her blood many days out of the time of her separation, or if it run beyond the time of her separation; all the days of the issue of her uncleanness shall be as the days of her separation: she shall be unclean. Every bed whereon she lieth all the days of her issue shall be unto her as the bed of her separation: and whatsoever she sitteth upon shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her separation. And whosoever toucheth those things shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. But if she be cleansed of her issue, then she shall number to herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean.. And on the eighth day she shall take unto her two turtles, or two young pigeons, and bring them unto the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. and the priest shall make atonement for her before the LORD fO!' the issue of her uncleanness." The Bible not only condemns the woman to a lifetime of uncleanness and treats her like a source of impurity: it also treats her like an offender who has committed a crime that needs atonement as if it were her choice. The Bible depicts the woman in the most debasing and humiliating way. In 1 Timothy 5: I0, it is considered a "work" for a widow to wash the feet of saints. She is wicked (Zachariah 5:8) and should be forced to marry her husband's brother after his death (Deuteronomy 25:5). She is ineligible for inheritance in the presence of male relatives (Deuteronomy 21: 15-17 and Numbers 27: 1-1 J) and a man reserves the right to sell his daughter (Exodus 21 :7). Furthermore, a female divorcee is prohibited from remarrying (Matthew 5:32) -l-imothy 5:10, i t is considcrcd ii "good 'ork" lbr a idow riash 1'ect of saints. Shc is *icked (Zachariah 5:8) and should bc lbrccd marry'her husb:md' sb rothera f ter hi s death( Det r teronornl '25:5)S, he i s inel igible for inheritance in the presence of rnalc rclatives (Deuterononrl 2 I : 1 5-i 7 and Numbers 27.1- l l ) and a rnan rcsel ' 'est hc r ight to scl l his daughtcr (Exodr.rs 2l :7). Furrhet'lltore. a lclnale divorcce is f rohibitccl l i t r n l rcmarrying (Nlatttreu 5 : 32)
W My Islam I *t Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lsldm Isldm also parents Isliim encourages kindness to and treating them with compassion even when they happen to be in opposition to Islam. Allah says: "And We have enjoined upon man [[care] care] for his parents. His mother carried him, [[increasing increasing her] in weakness upon weakness, and his weaning is in two years. Be grateful to Me and to your parents; to Me is the [final] destination. "66But [final] But if they endeavor to make you associate with Me that of which you have no knowledge, do not obey them but trut accompany them in [this] world with appropriate kindness..." (31:14-15). [this]w orld appropriatek indness...("3 1:14-15). Islctm Islam also calls for lenient and compassionate treatment treatmento of f others. Another A nother hadith states statest that: hat: "the Fire is forbidden from everyone who treats people with kindness, understanding, and compassion and is approachable."l As for those who are harsh, arrogant and inconsiderate, the Prophet counted them among the dwellers of the Hellfire. approachable.t''A s thosew ho a rroganta nd Hellfire.' Islam honors and respects human rights, and the applicationo f Shar'iah guararlteesa Iife peacea nd application of Shar 'iah laws guarantees a life of peace and harmony between people. The Prophet said: "The bankrupt from my nation is one who comes to the Judgment with prayers and fasting and charity. However, he also brings with him (heinous deeds) as he has insulted, abused, stolen from, beaten or killed others. So those whom he wronged take of his deeds to make up for the wrong did them. When his deeds are finished and he still owes them, then their bad deeds are added to his until he is thrown into the Fire.'" good he to good Fire."3 Islant alsoc allsf or justicea ndt olcrancee venw ith Islam also calls for justice and tolerance even with the enemy. A/Nih says: "0 you who have believed, be enerny. Allah O 1'ou rvho IAtimad,3937. ? r Musl i rn6. 53l , I Ahmad, 3937. 2 Muslim, 7136. 3 Muslim, 6531.
Jesus Me To Islam ~ My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslam @ persistently persistently standing standing firm for Alldh, Allah, witnesses witnesses in in justice, and do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being Be that is nearer to righteousness. And fear Allah." Qur 'an 5:8). preYent just. just; righteousnessA. nd Alllh." (Qur'dn Islam is a comprehensivere comprehensive religion ligion that caterst caters to o the needs of the mind, body and soul, and is suitable for all people at all times. It enjoins all good deeds and orders abstention from all evil deeds. I Before his mission, the Prophet was married to Khadijah, a wealthy lady from Makkah, for whom he had worked as a merchant. When the news of his prophethood was made public, his needs of people abstention deeds.' Prophet manied Makkah, the prophethoodw as madep ublic,h is people t Among prophethoodo f Muhammad is the fact that that lacked education.I n spitc broughta completel arv that addresses every aspect in tel'ms ol' belicf, acts of rvorship, introduced perfect systems in marriage.d ivorce,p regnanc)'p, arenting.a limonl. inheritancef,a mily and neighborlyr elations,c rirninalp unishmcnth, urnanr ights,p olitics, econom)', ctiquetlc hori' to conduct oneself rvhen eating, drinking. dressed. traveling, slecping' rvaking up' 1 Among the many proofs of the prophethood of that he was an illiterate man living in an environment education. In spite of this, he brought a complete law every aspect of human life at all times terms of belief, worship, dealings, morals, etc. He marriage. divorce, pregnancy, parenting, alimony, inheritance, family and neighborly relations, criminal punishment, human rights, politics, economy, social life, etiquette of and how when eating, drinking, getting dressed, sleeping, waking up, yawning, sneezing, seeking permission, visiting sick, hygiene, etc, He did not bring 1i'om himself: that such knowledge was his. Had Muhammad's aim been personal gain or glory, would have gone against him to command his followers perform certain having to perform ablution and prayer five times a day. vashing sexual intercourse, fasting ~ without even water - whole month from dawn to sunset every year. especially in which is mainly desert with unbearable heat; let alone forbidding them from acts that are desired by the majority such as drinking, adultery, usury, gambling, etc. It is stated in Deuteronomy 18:and Jeremiah 14:15 that God condemns whoever falsely claims prophesy as he condemned Hananiah to death in less than a year (Jeremiah 28: 15-17). The mission of Prophet Muhammad on the other hand, lasted for 23 years. and his religion today is the lilstest growing religion in the world. During his lifetime he Ias supported by God at all times. permission. r'isiting the sick' personal hygiene, etc. He did all this f}om himsell. and never claimed thats uchk noulcdger vash is. Had Muhammad'sa im beenp ersonagl aino r glorl'. it rvouldh aveg one against him to commancl fbllorvers to pcrfornl ccrtain acts such as having to performa blutiona nd praler llve tirnesa da1. lashing after scxual intercoursef.a sting- u'ithout cvcn drinking 'ater- a rvhole month from da*'n to sunsete vcr)'1ear.c speciallri n Arabia. r vhich is mainll desertr i'ithu nbearablhee at;l ct aloncf brbiildingt hem liom acts that are desired b1' the rnaiolitl' such as drinking. adultcrl, usury' garrbling.e tc. It is statedi n l)cuteronornll'8 :20 and .lcremiahl 4:15 that God condentnsrr hoeverl 'alsellc' lirimsp lophesl as hc condemncd Hananiahto deathi n lesst hm a 1'ca(rJ eremia2hf t :15-17) . ' l 'hmei ssion of Prophctl l'luhamnrado n tltc othcr hand,l astedf irr 23 1'earsa. nd his rcligion todal is thc lirstesgt rorvingr cligion in the worlcl. During his lif'etimeh e uas supportedb y God at all 1imes.
~ My Islam 9 frty Great Love For Jesus Led Me To tstdm offered him enormous their king if he would refused Allah; path sake of power spreado f his messageh, e simpleb asicl ife, free w hich possessedif had lived in a mud house. A s relatedb y wife, "There successiven ights they contentedt hemselvesw ith barley."l At pawned Jew humarrkindt o believei n Allah in Qur'dn: "And jinn mankind (51:56) to guide happir,essa nd rescuet hem fiom calamitieso f this rvorlda ndt he prophets messengerosf year leavingw ith us Qur'i)n, rnessagea,n d teachingst o guide Arnerican "The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential in lfistury" - rvho - "Was in historyw ho r,vass upremelys uccessfuol n botli I Ar - f i rmidhi .2 400. wealth and even to crown him as abandon his call to Allah. He and continued on the path chosen for him by a that entailed all kinds of suffering for the spreading the Word of God. In spite of all the and authority that were at his fingertips after the spread of message, he still led a very simple basic life, from luxuries, which he could have possessed if he wanted. Instead, he slept on a rough straw mat and As related by his "There were many times when the Prophet and his family went for successive nights without any food. Most of the bread contented themselves with was made of barley."] the time of his death, his shield had been to a in exchange for barley to make bread for his family. He dedicated all of his life and efforts to enable humankind to believe in as the only true God. He said the Qur 'an: "And I did not create the and except to worship Me." 51 :56) This was in order them to true happiness and rescue them from the calamities ofthis world and the Hereafter. Prophet Muhammad, last of the and messengers of God, died in the 632 CE, leaving with liS the Qur'an, God's final message, and his teachings to all of humanity up until the Day of Resurrection. An American writer, Michael Hart, states in his book "The ofthe Persons History" that Muhammad - who topped the list - the only man history who was supremely successful on both the secular and religious level." This unique 1 At-Tirmidhi, 2400.
My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam ~ MyG reaLt oveF orJ esusL edM eT ol slamI combination entitled him to be classed as the greatest, most influential character in the world. William Muir, the Scottish historian previously mentioned, praised the clarity of the words of Prophet Muhammad and the ease of his religion. He also stated that the Prophet accomplished wonderful deeds and that there was no other man in history who succeeded succeededin in wakening souls and reviving good morals and virtue viftue in such a shoft short time as he did. The famous historian, George Bernard Shaw, in "The GenuineIs lam", s aid his book Genuine Islam ", Vol. 1, No.8, 1936, said that the world was in desperate desperaten need eed of a man who had Muhammad's intellect, as he was the Prophet who always placed placedh his is faith in a place placeo of f respect respecta and nd honor. H He e added that Islam was the religion most able to accommodate accommodatea all ll civilizations at all times, and that it would claim more ground in Europe in spite of the fact that the clergy of medieval times painted a dark picture of Muhammad and considered consideredh him irn an enemy enemyt to o Christianity. Shaw S hawg goes oeso on n to add: "I have studied him - - the wonderful man - - and in my opinion, far from being an anti-Christ, Christ,he h e must be called the Savior Savioro of f Humanity." He H e continues: continues":"I l believe believet that hat if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern modernw world orld he would succeed succeedin in solving solvingi its ts problems problemsi in n a way that would bring it the much rnr,rchn needed eeded peace and happiness ... " happiness..." Lamarline, the famous French poet Alphonse de Lamartine, says Ilistoire (1854): "Never says in his book, Histoire de la Turquie, has a man set more sublime aim, since aim grasp: undermine the superstitions placed between the creature and the Creator, ... Never has a man accomplished in such a short for himself, voluntarily or involuntarily, a rnore this airn was beyond human undennine superstitionsp laced betweent he creaturea ndt heC reator,..N. everh asa mana ccomplished in such a shorl time such a huge and lasting revolution in
~ My Islam the world... If the grandeur of the aim, the frugality of the means, the immensity of the result are the three criteria of a man's genius, who would dare to compare a of modem history with Mohammad? .. He moved souls. He founded upon a book, of which each letter has become law, a unifying spiritual factor embracing of all languages and races... his forbearance in victory, ambition, which was entirely devoted to one and no manner striving for an empire;... As standards by which human greatness may be measured, we may well ask: "is there any man than he?" I frfv Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lsldm grandeuro f great man modern Mohammad?,.. people his idea in empire;. . . regards all the standardsb y humang reatnessm ay measuredw, e greater "Apologia Dr. Vaglieri states in dell' Islamismo": was "Muhammad, as a preacher of the religion of God, gentle gentlea and nd merciful mercifule even vent towards owardsh his is personal personael enemies. nemies.In I n him were blended and mercy, two the qualities which a human mind can conceive. It difficult to support this with many examples that are be found in his biographies." justice of noblest is not supporl to renowned Dr. Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner, a orientalists aid:" l cannotc oncludeth is addressb ettert han orientalist said: "1 cannot conclude this address better than by expressing a hope that the day will come Christians will honor Christ more by Muhammad. There is a common ground between and Christianity, and he is a better Christian who the truths enunciated by the Prophet Muhammad."] rvill when also honoring "Islam" and a nd betterC hristianw ho reveres truthse nunciatedb y ProphetM uhamutad."l ' "The IslamicR evinv" Mai' 196l . pages6 - I0 I "Islamic Review" May 1961. pages 6 ~ 10.
Led To Islam ~ My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lsl6m I VII. VII. Doctrines Doctrines of of Christianify Christianity and Islhm Islam Many denominations of Christianity believe in the following five doctrines: (1) The Trinity (2) The divinity of Jesus The divine sonship of Jesus (4) Original Sin The Atonement l) (3) sonshipo f Jesus( OriginalS in (5) Isldm, onenesso f only In Isliim, the oneness of Allah, being the one and petitioned for as of God who deserves to be worshipped and help is the fundamental belief of every Muslim, opposed to the triune God of many denominations Christianity. It sees the deification of Jesus as a to paganism. l As described in the Qur 'an, Jesus was incarnation of God, but His Prophet and Messenger, like any other prophet, he was a human being aspect. Islam also rejects the divine sonship of Jesus does not accept the dogma of original sin, sacrifice and the atonement. lt reversion At s describedin Qur'dn,J esusw as not an and in every and the vicarious fundamentaldoctrineosf in Islam ares ix: The fundamental doctrines of faith are six: ( 1) I ) Belief in the oneness onenesso of f God (2) Belief in the existence existenceo of f angels (3) Belief in the revealed revealeds scriptures criptures (4) Belief in the messengers messengerosf of God (5) Belief in the Day of Resurrection (6) Belief in Qadar (predestination), both Qadar predestinationb).o th the good or bad aspects aspectso of f it I S toryo f Civilization.vol.1 1.p.216. Will Durants aidt hat Christianitl'd id not put an end to paganismr:a ther.i t adoptedi t. This appliest o the Christianityo f Paula ndn ot the truea nd pureC hristianity of JesusC hristw ho calledf or ther vorshipo f God alone. I In his book. Story ofCivilization. vol. 11. p. 276. Durant said that Christianity did not put an end to paganism: rather. it adopted it. This applies to the Christianity of Paul and not the true and pure Christianity of Jesus Christ who called for the worship of God alone.
~ My Led Me To Islam The Trinity R2 tt Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslim This doctrine, adhered to by many Christians throughout the world, refers to the existence of three divine, distinct and separate separatep persons ersonsi in n God: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost. It is astonishing, however, that Jesus himself never mentioned the Trinity. He said absolutely nothing about three divine persons in a trinity. As a matter of fact, the word "person" itself is not to be found anywhere in the Bible. The concept that Jesus had about Allah was in no way different from the concept that all the previous prophets had. All of them preached the oneness of God, never the Trinity.l themp reachedth e onenesso f n evert he r been revealed Jesus affirmed the tradition that had to prophets "And one of the who came before him. "And the scribes came, and having heard together, and perceiving that he had well, asked him, Which is the commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The all the them reasoning answered them well. him. first allP him. first of ' 4424,"1 rnaketh I According to Isaiah 44:24, "I am the Lord that maketh all things," Isaiah 45:5, 5, "I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me." rne." and Isaiah Isaiah,45: l5:18 l8 ""For For thus saith the Lord that created the thc heavens; God himself hiurself that formed forrned the earth and made it; he hath established establishcd it, he created it not in vain, he formed lbrmed it to be inhabited: I am arn the Lord; and there is none else." elsc." 1 I Timothy 1-imothy 6: 16 also states about God: ""Who Nho only hath immortality." imnrortality." Isaiah 46:9 confirms: conflrms: ""for for I am God, and there is none nonc else; clsc; I am God, and there therc is none rronel like ikc me." rnc." The QUI' Qur'in. 'on, on the othcr othcrh hand, and.states: s tates":"A Allah llih is the Creator Creatoro of f all al l things, and a nd He is the Guardian Guardiana and nd Disposer Disposero of f all affairs." (39:39 62); 62): ""That That is Allah, AIlih, your Lord! There is no god but He, Creator of all a l l things; then worship Him; and He has power to dispose of all affairs." (6: I02): "And trust in Him lives and dies not." 58); and "There is nothing like unto and the Hearing, the Seeing." (42: 11). It is only reasonable that who is such should bc worshipped alone. disposeo f al l af fai rs. "( 6:102)": And t rust who t ivesa nd not . " (25:5t i ) ;a nd nothingl ike Him, He is Hear ing,t he Seeing. "( 42: l l ) . I t reasonablteh at He ' "vhoi s suchs houldb e rvorshiooeadl one.
My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam W MyG reaLt oveF orJ esusL edM eT ol slAm9 commandments is, Hear, Hear. 0 O Israel; Jsrael: The Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength, this is the first commandment." (Mark 12:28-30). commandment."( 12 :30 ). Other evidence in the Bible shows that Jesus believed evidencein showst hat Jesusb elieved threed ivine personsin a s in only one God, not in three divine persons in one, as in the following saying: "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and Him only shalt thou serve." Matthew 4: 10). (Mattliew incorporated The doctrine of the Trinity was into the teachings of Jesus more than three hundred years after Jesus' departure. The four Canonized Gospels do not contain any reference to Neither Jesus nor his disciples taught this doctrine. Likewise, none of the containa ny referenceto the Trinity. NeitherJ esusn or disciplest aughtt his L ikewise,n oneo f earlier great scholars scholarso or r the followers followerso of f Jesus Jesusp preached reachedit it. . This doctrinew as establishebdy the NiceanC ouncila fterg reat controversieas nd m ore threeh undredy ears afterJ esus'd epaftureT. he Councila doptedth e view ofthe rninority rather than the majority rvho believed in rnonotheism.l doctrine was established by Nicean Council after great controversies and conflict, more than three hundred years after Jesus' departure. The Council adopted the of the minority who monotheism. I I ecumenicacl ouncilsg avet hemsclvcsri ghtsa bovet heir 1 The ecumenical councils gave themselves rights above their authority as in the thc F'irst FirstC Council• ouncil../J esus csusr was v;rsd deified; eitled:in i n the thc Second, Sccondt,the h c Holy ltoly Ghost was rias also deified. deilled. In the thc Third CounciL Council. the thc same was las done donc to Mary and in the thc'lu'clfth Twelfth CounciL Council.the t hc church church* was as granted grantedt the hc right to forgive forgives sins, ins, while in Twentieth, the Pope was made infallible. Encyclopedia Americana says that monotheism began as theological movement at a very early stage in history, and that it preceded the belief in the trinity by tens of years. It also goes on say that Christianity was a product 01'./ udaism. vhieh was very strict as far monotheism was concerned. The belief in the Trinity vas only admitted in the fourth century accurately reflect the original Christian belief in the was deviation from original belief (c.f. V. 27, p. 294) rvhi lei n the I ' r rcnt icthth. el )opcs as rnadein fal l iblc. EnclclopcdiaA nrcricirnas a1,sth at monothcismb egana s a thcological rroYcmenta t ver)'carl) stagei n histor'ya'.n dt hati t p|ccedcdt he bclief trinitv bv tenso f)'cars.I t alsog oeso n to sa'1haCt hrislianityr vas producto 1'Judaisnrn.h ich r'"asr 'crr sLricta s iar as t.nonotl.tcisrmva s 'l'he bel iefi n thc' l r ini tv r ias onl l aclmi t tcdin thc four th ccntur) AD and did not accuratcllr el'lectth e originalC lhristianb eliefi n true nature of God. rather. the Trinity u'as a dcviation fi'om that or iginabl el iel .( c. t .V . 27.p . 291)
~ My For Jesus Islam I tt Great Love ForJesus Led Me To lsl6m However, when considered rationally, the concept of the Trinity is unsustainableI.unsustainable. It t meanst means to o believe in three divine persons who are either finite or infinite. If we consider them infinite, then there are three different infinities, three different omnipotent beings, and consequently three different Gods. However, if we consider them finite, finite. then neither the Father nor the Son nor the Holy Ghost can be God. Indeed the concept of Trinity came into being as a result of falsely ascribing divinity to two "creatures" namely; Jesus and the Holy Spirit (Gabriel). Owing to the irrationality of the doctrine of Trinity, the conventional conventionalr response esponseo of f the Church clerics is that it is a mystery beyond human comprehension, comprehensiona, and nd that it doesn't have to be understood as it suffices to just accept it as a matter of faith. in the and Islam preaches a plain and simple belief oneness of God. It affirms the uniqueness of Allah states that He has no partners. He is the self-sufficient One, on whom all of creation depends, and on no one. He neither gives birth nor is born. Nothing come out of Him, be His equal or be His paftners. sufficient who depends can partner. "I my and speak of what I have seen with Father, father." They you do what you have heard from your answered him, him. "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do what Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, me' a The CatholicE ncyclopediasa ys:" 1'hec oncepto fonc in three The New Catholic Encyclopedia says: "The concept of one God persons did not become part of Christian life and until near the end of the fourth century. This is the took the name of Trinitarian Principle. We do not find among the disciples any idea resembling it at all.'· parl religious practices until century.'fhis concept which first 'l'rinitarian took Wc disciplesa ny idear esemblingit all."
Love Islam W My Great [ove For Jesus Led Me To lslam @ manl who has told you the truth which I heard from God." (John 8:38-40). manr God." 8:38-40). "And this is eternal life, that they know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. I glorified thee on earth, having accomplished the work which thou gavest me to do" (John 17:3-4) only true Jesus I glorified on work The Qur 'an affirms the oneness of God in chapter The Qur 'rirz 112: t12: "Say, "He Alllh, [who Allah, Eternal "Say, "He is Allah, [who is] One, the is there to Refuge. He neither begets nor is born. Nor Him any equivalent." . And Allah has said in the Qur 'an: 0 People Scripture, do not commit excess in religion about Allah except the truth. son of Mary, was but a messenger Allah word which He directed to Mary and soul [created a command] from Him. So believe Allah and messengers. And do not say, "Three"; it for you. Indeed, Allah is but one above having a son. To Him belongs whatever heavens and whatever is on the earth. Allah as Disposer of affairs." 4: 171). another He says: "They have certainly disbelieved "Allah is the third of three." And there is one God. And if they do not desist saying, there will surely afflict the them a painful punishment. So will Allah and seek His forgiveness? And Allah and Merciful." 5:73-74) And Qur'dn: "O of the excessin your or say Allnh The Messiah, Jesus, the Mury, of Allnh and His a [created at commandl in His messengersA. nd sayr" Three"l desist; i t is better God. Exalted is He rvhatever is in the And sufficient is Altlh (4:111). In chapter, "They who say, "Alllh no god except from what they are disbelievers among lvill they not repent to Allnh seekH is A nd Alllh is Forgiving (5 :73-74) r"..f<rr I am God, and not rnan.." (Hoscu l l:"God is a rnan...neithcr t l t e son o f r t t a n . . . " (Nurnbers 2.3:19) "NIy s p i r i t s h a l l not abide in nrortals for ever, for thcy are flesh;" (Ccnesis 6:3) " ..for I am God, and not man.." (Hosea 11 :9) "God is not a man... neither the son of man... " (Numhers 23: 19) "My spirit shall not abide in mortals for ever, for they are flesh;" (Genesis 6:3)
~ My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam I fufyG reatL oveF orJ esusL edM eT o lsldm The only text in the entire Bible that supports the doctrine of Trinity was in the first Epistle of John, chapter 5, verse 7: "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one." However, it has been eliminated from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible and othersr, othersl The Jesus is in human previously he him, "Why good but one, l0:called" accepto called' oGod?" "...17). any'thing all things 'For 'fhe Testament. Holl' tiasy-to-Road Version, Amcrican Version, l- hc Nov T he Standard 'l'hc Standard Vcrsion, InternationaSl tandardV ersion, and of , after it was discovered by the Christian scholars that these were interpolations made in the King James Version and other editions. The Divinity of Jesus Some Christians believe that Jesus God for all eternity, the second person of the divine Trinity who, more than two thousand years ago, chose to appear a body and was born of the Virgin Mary. As recorded in the Gospels, this dogma, like the one discussed, contradicts the words attributed to Jesus. The fact is that Jesus never claimed divinity, instead affirmed the divinity of God alone, saying to those around callest thou me good? There is none that is God" (Mark 10: 18). So, if Jesus Christ refused to be called "good", would he accept to be called "God?" When Jesus spoke of God, he referred to Him as: " ...my Father and your Father, and my God and your God." (John 20: 17). Jesus also rejected the notion that he could do anything on his own. He made it very clear that [For example, The Bible in Basic English, The Darby Translation, Weymouth's New Testament, Holy Bible: Easy-to-Read Contemporary English Version. The American Standard GOD'S WORD translation, The New Living Translation, The New American Standard Bible, The Revised Standard Version, World English Bible, International Standard Version, and Hebrew Names Version of World English Bible.
My MyG Great reaLt Love oveF For orJ Jesus esusL Led edM Me eT To ot Islam stamp W are by the will of God who had sent him. He is recorded as having said: "can of mine own self do nothing': as I are by the as having said: "I hear, judge: judgment just; I and my is because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath (John 30).A gain statest hat he sent me." 5:30). Again he states that the words speaks are not his, but revealed to him as a prophet sent "For by God: I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak." (John 12:49). 49).Also, A lso, in John 7:17-17-18, 18,Jesus J esuss states: tates:" "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him." Jesus also stated that the Lord is greater than him according to John 14:28, 28, which reads," reads,"........1 I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I." Jesus did things only for the pleasure of God, who sent him. hir-n. He states: "And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him. As he spoke these words, many believed on him." (John 29- 30). Also, according to Luke 4:43, Jesus came preach the Kingdom of God: Cod: "And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities therefore am I sent." In addition, J esuss tatedt hat enterirrgth e 8:29­30). to also: for Jesus stated that entering the Kingdom of Heaven is dependant dependanut upon pon doing the will of God: "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter everyone ' 1 This is rvhat what Jesus said of himself whereas he said about Cod. God, ".., " ... for with God all things are possible..."( possible..." (Mark l0:10:27)
ijI My Great Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lsldm Islam into into the the kingdom kingdom of of heaven; heaven; but but he he that that doeth doeth the the will will of ofmy my Father Father which which is is in in heaven."heaven.'" l (Matthew 7:7:21). 21). Again Again he he says: says: ""For For whosoever whosoever shall shall do do the the will will of of God, God, the the same same is is my my brother, brother, and and my my sister, sister, and and mother.,,2 (Mark 3:35) mother."'(Mark According to Mark 13:32, 32, Jesus is also reported to have denied having knowledge of the final hour of this world, saying: " "......but of that day or hour no man knoweth, neither the angels in the heaven nor the Son but the Father." In Luke 13:13.33-33-34, 34J, Jesus esusr refers ef'ersto to hirnselfa himself as s one of the Prophets: "Nevertheless I must walk today, and tomorrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perishes out of Jerusalem. O 0 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee....!" reporled in the Bible, These words of Jesus as repOIied demonstrateth at relationt o stood like any demonstrate that he, in relation to God, other human being. He was not like Adam. He prayed to God I :35, 35 Luke 5: 16), which means conclusively that prophet and not God, for God the Creator but a creation (Mark 1:35, Mark 14:35 and 16), meansc onclusivelyt hat he was a does not pray to anyone. I "Rabbi". translatcda s "Lord'' actualll'm eans" Master." 1 The word "Rabbi", translated as Lord" actually means "John 1:38 says: "Then Jesus turned, and saw them saith unto them, What seek ye? unto (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou?" 2 In Matthew 12:50 we read: "For will of.!!U' Father which is in heaven, the same brother, mother." Matthew here changes the theological purposes. Kisman said Luke Matthew deliberately changed Mark's a hundred purposes. 1:38 sa1's":T hen Jesust urned, sarl'thern following, and They said rrnto him, Rabbi, (which is irrterprcted, N{astcr',) rvhr:rc dwcllest thou?" 2ln Matthew l2:"For whosoever shall do the rvill of my Father hcaven, sarne is my brothcr, and sister, and mother." Matthov herc Word "God" to "my Father" for theological Kisrnan that both l-ukc and Mattherv deliberately changed Mark's text ir hunclred times for theological purposes.
My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam ~ MyG reaLt oveF orJ esusL edM eT ol sl6m p Jesus also used to praise God, as is clear from Matthew 11 ll:25, :25, "Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O 0 Father, Lord of ofheaven heaven and earth." This dogma of divinity is not supported by the words of Jesus as written in the Gospels. Like the doctrine of of Trinity, the doctrine doctrineo of f the incarnation incarnationw was as developed developeda after fter Jesus' Jesus'd departure. eparture.It I t was incorporated incorporatedin into to Christianity Christianityf from rom paganism. In the mythology my'thology of religions that preceded Christianity, it can be seen how some heroes were considered to be gods. Most of what was said about Krishna by the Hindus, Buddha by the Buddhists, Mithra by the Persians, Osiris O siris by the Ancient Egyptians, B Bacchus acchus by the Greeks, Baal by the Babylonians and Adonis by the Syrians, was said of Jesus by the Christians. Islam, on the other hand, has freed its followers from such superstitions by rejecting rejectingt the he doctrine doctrineo of f the incarnation incarnationa and nd of God's embodiment embodimenitn in or union unionw with ith any of His creatures. Islam Isldm states emphatically that neither Jesus nor any other human being may be God. Isliim Isldm also rejects the notion that God may be incarnated incarnatedo or r unite with any of His creation. In Chapter 5, verse 75, the Qur Qur'dn 'an tells us that Jesus was a messenger of God like many of the messengers lnessengers who came before him; and that he and his virtuous virluous mother "used to eat food." The idea is that anyone who eats cannot be God, be it Jesus, Muhammad or as eating need and dependence on external elements, and God is neither processing of need to defecate. Such acts do befit the majesty of other prophets and messengers, a s represents dependenceo n externale lements,a nd in need nor dependent. Also, eating entails processingo f the food in the body and then the needt o defecateS. ucha ctsd o not befitt he rnajestyo f God. Many nations, no n o matter matterh how ow primitive prirnitivet they hey happent happen to o be, reject rejectt the he idea ideat that hat a messenger messengefrr from om God could be a beine who "eats food" like them. As such. manv human being such, many
~ My Islam prophets were discredited by their under this pretext. The Qur'an relates that the people of Noah said about him: "This is not but a man like He eats of that from which eat and drinks of what drink." (23:33). The Qur'an also the Arabs among whom Prophet Muhammad appeared as follows: "And they say: 'What is this messenger that eats food and walks in the markets?'" 25:7). As for those who ascribe divinity to Prophet Jesus, we find that they took divergence to a whole new level by degrading God, the Almighty, and considering Him a human who eats food. RP *t Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lsldm people Qur'dn "This yourselves. you you drink.'o Qur'dn quotes "And 'What markets?r" (25 divergencet o degradingG od, consideringH im hurnanw ho eatsf ood. The divinity of Jesus is rejected in the Qur 'an. Allah Jesusi s rejectedi n Ihe Qur'dn. says: ""They They have certainly disbelieved who say, ""Alliih Allah is the Messiah, the son of Mary" Mary'o while the Messiah has said, ""O 0 Children of Israel, worship Allah, Alleh' my Lord and your Lord." Indeed, he h e who associates associateso others thers with Allah, Alleh, Allah Alllh has forbidden him Paradise, and his refuge is the Fire. And there are not for the wrongdoers any helpers" (5:72) 72) "Indeed, of Jesus to Allah also revealed: "Indeed, the example from dust; Allah is like that of Adam. He created Him then He said to him, ""Be," Be," and he was." (3:3:59)59)1 l In the Qur Qur'dn, 'an, Allah describes describes Jesus as His Prophet, pure and pious like the rest of His prophets, but always as being." He [Jesus] said: "Indeed, I am the servant Allah. He has given me the Scripture and a prophet..." (19:30) resto f prophetsb, ut alwaysa s a human [Jesus] "Indeed, of Alteh. made me prophet . . . '(o1 9:30) Acts 3: 13 also alsos states: tates": "The God of Abraham, and of fathers, hath Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our 1 Melchisedect,h e llible sais o1'him" Without fathcr',r vithout 1 Even Melchisedec. the Bible says or him "Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, end oflife... " (Hebrews 7:3). However no one claimed his divinity. descent, neithcr begirming of days, nor cnd of l i f 'c. . . "( [ Icbrerv7s: 3) .I Iorvev ern o oncc laimedh isd ivini ty.
My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam ~ lsl6m @ glorified his servant Jesus." (New Testament, Catholic Edition) From the facts factsp presented resentedto to the reader readera above, bove,it i t is clear that that Islam is not the only religion that refutes Jesus' divinity; the texts of the Bible do as well. In a poll carried out by a British television show called Credo, it was stated by 19 out of 31 Bishops of the Anglican Church that Christians are not obligated to believe that Jesus Christ was God.! believeth atJ esusC hristw asG od.r The Divine Sonship This doctrine, like l ike those thosep previously reviouslyd discussed, iscussedi,is s not in conformity with the teachings and sayings of Jesus. In the conformityw ith teachingsa nd sayingso f I n Bible, the expression"s on hasb eenu sedt o expression "son of God" has been used to refer Adarn( Luke 38)a ndm anyo f earlierp rophetsw ho precededJ esusI.s rael,f or examplew, as calledt he "Son to Adam (3:38) and many of the earlier prophets who preceded Jesus. Israel, for example, was called the of God" in one of the books of Moses: "And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is My sorr, son, My first (Exodus 22). Also, in the Psalmst,h e samet itle r.vasg ivent o even born." 4:22). Psalms, the same title was given to David: "I will declare the decree: the Lord had Thou art My sorr, this day have I begotten (Psalms2 :7). Likewise, i n I Chronicles2, 2:10.S olomon was called the Son of God: "He shall build house My name: and he shall be My sott, and I will be his Father and I will establish the throne of his Kingdom over Israel forever." From the aboves tatementsa nd f}om many othersi n the Bible, it hasb eene stablishetdh att he rvord" son" really meantn eal'nestso God in love. Even Jesuss aid in the ' Dailv Nerrs 25 June 198,1 said unto me, son, thee." Psalms 2:7). in Chronicles, 22: 10, Solomon a for S011, above statements and from others in has been established that the word "meant nearness to Jesus said 1 Daily News 1984.
ij> My Great Love For Jesus Islam following verses: "Love your enemies... that ye may be the children of your Father who is in Heaven." (Matthew 5:44-45). "Blessed are the Peacemakers: for they shall be called the sons of God." (Matthew 5:9). Analysis of all of the previous sayings leaves no doubt regarding the meaning that Jesus assigned to the word "son." Therefore, in view of this, there can be no justification to regard Jesus as the Son of God in an exclusive and unique sense as most Christians do. When Jesus used the phrase "Son of God", it meant exactly same as it meant when it was used for Adam, David, and Solomon. Jesus was referred to as the "Son God" 13 times in the Bible whereas he was referred to as the "Son of Man" 83 times. R2 "t Led Me To lslAm following verses: the 45). they sozs Analysis regarding "son." the same Israel, of God" refered The Qur 'an emphatically and categorically rejects Qur'tin emphatically the 116: "They say' dogma of "sonship" in Chapter 2, verse "They say, ""Allah Allah has taken a son." Exalted is He! Rather' Rather, to Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth. All are devoutly obedient to Him." Furthetmore, to God would Furthermore, attributing a son perfection of God and implicitly deny and negate the imply His need of another being beside Himself. needo f anotherb eingb esideH imself.
Islam ~ My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslam @ The Original Sin The Original Sin According to the explanation of this dogma, Adam sinned when he disobeyed Allah by eating from the forbidden tree (the tree of knowing good from evil as in Genesis 2: 1i). 17'). As a result, and according to Christian theology, all a ll descendants descendantosf of Adam inherit the sin of Adam, which means that all human beings are born with this original sin. And according to Christianity, for God's justice that has been committed. In ln other words, God will not let any sin go unrequited to be satisfied, a price must be paid for every sin and cannot even forgive a simple sin! Accordingly, the only thing that can wipe out sins sinsi is s the shedding sheddingo of f blood. According to Paul, "Without the shedding of blood there is no remission." (Hebrews Hebrews9 9::22)? 221.2B But ut this blood must be perfect, sinless, sinless. and incorruptible. Therefore, Jesus, Jesusa, alleged llegedt to o be the son sono of f God, shed shedh his is sinless sinlessb blood, lood, suffered sufferedi indescribable ndescribablea agony gony and died to pay the penalty for the sins of men. Because Becauseh he e was the infinite God, he alone alonec could ould pay the infinite infinitep price riceo of f sin. Therefore, Thereforen, no o one can be saved unless he accepts Jesus as his personal savior3 . Moreover, everyone is condemned to suffer savior3. inherent eternally in Hellfire because of his or her sinful ' Horv rvill Adam be punished fbr his deed ifhe not know right from wrong? t verl'samet ext in contradiction 'ith otherB iblicalt cxtsw 'hich ] It is therefore fitting to ask: How will he for if he did 2 This very same text is with other Biblical texts which state that atonement could be through offering Leviticus 5: 11, money as in Exodus 30: "of jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, 31 50. 3 Isaiah 43: 11 reads, 001, 1, am the beside me the o1I'ering of flour as in Levi t icus5 : l l . or mone) 'asi n Exodusl 0:15 or jcrvcls ofgold, rings, earrings, and tablets." as in Numbers 3 l : 5 0 . 'r Isaiah4 3:ll reads," I, even I, arn LORD; and bcside rne there is no saviour." This T his verse versec clearly learlvs states tatesth that atG God od is the theo only nh'savior' savior
~ My Islam nature unless he or she accepts atonement for his or her sins made by Jesus with his blood. I tt Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslAm parls: (1) This dogma can be divided into three distinct parts: (2) justice requires the original sin, the belief that God's that the penalty for sin must be for by blood, and the belief that Jesus has paid the for the sins of by his death on the cross and that salvation is only those who believe in his vicarious sacrifice. I that.paid (3) price men for thosew ho believei n vicariouss acrifice.' nart, De Groot Regarding the first part, the Reverend CatholicT eaching,p . 1a0) Scripturet eachesu s (Catholic Teaching, p. 140) writes: "Scripture teaches us that Adam's sin passed unto all men Blessed exempted). For in the words of St. Paul: by the offence of one (Adam) all men were taken condemnation; so also by the Justice of one (Christ) many shall be made 5: 18-19)." words make it plain that all men inherited Adam's Like many other Christian beliefs, the doctrine of 'Inherited Sin' finds no support in the words of Jesus or the prophets who came before him. They taught that man was accountable for his own actions; children would not be punished for the sin of their (our lady "Therefore, as to just." (Romans 19)." These sin. the 'InheritedS in' suppofti n wordso f Jesuso r of every accountablefo r c hildrenw ould punishedfo r oftheir parents. humanb eingi s J esush imselfr egarded No human being is born sinful. Jesus himself regarded childrena s innocenta nd n ot lt is clear children as innocent and pure, not born with sin. It from his reported saying: not the little to come unto me, and forbid them not: for such Kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, shall not receive the Kingdom of God as a little he shall not enter therein." Mark 10: 14-15). "Suffer children Lrnto me. is the whosoever child, (Mark l0:14-15). t bclief thc crucifixiono f Jesusis thc rvayt o salvationf or those rvho bclieve what 1 If the belief in the crucifixion of Jesus is the only way to salvation for those living in his time and those who believe in him afterwards, is the case for the sinners who died before Jesus and never chance to know him or believe in the crucifixion? case lbr sinners r.r'ho died bcfbre and had the chanceto knorvh im or believei n crucifixion?
My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam ~ MyG reaLt oveF orJ esusL edM eT ol slamQ P Rationally considered, it would be the height of injustice to condemn the entire human race for the sin committed committedt thousands housandso of f years yearsa ago go by our first parents. Sin S in is a willful transgression transgressiono of f the Law of God or the Law of right and wrong, hence the responsibility or blame for it must lie only on the person committing it, and not on his children. It is a grave injustice to consider man sinful at birth. How unreasonable and hard-hearted hearted a man can become by believing in the dogma of the inherited sin as shown by the theological dictum of Saint Augustine that all unbaptized infants are doomed to burn eternally in the Fire of Hell?! Until recently, the unbaptized infants were not buried in consecrated grounds in Christendom, because they were believed to have died in 'original sin.' consecratedg roundsi n b ecause wereb elievedt o haved iedi n 'originals in.' Isldm condemns Islam condemns the dogma of Original Sin and regards children as pure and sinless at birth. Sin, it says, is not inherited, but b ut is something somethingth that at one acquires acquiresb by y doing what he or she should not do and by failing to do what he or she should do. The second part of the Christian doctrine of nart justice price atonement is that God's requires that a be paid for the original and all other sins of man. God to pardon a sinner without it be a denial of His justice. The Reverend W. Goldsack The Atonement, p.5) writes in this connection: "It should be clear as daylight to anyone that God law: He cannot forgive a sinner appropriate punishment. For if He would Him 'Just' and Equitable." This ignorance of God's God judge king. He is as the Qur 'an describes "The Gracious, the Recompense." 'Just' If were punishment, would justice, (Zfte Atonementp, .5) connection":l t shouldb e as cannot break His own without first giving him an appropriatep unishmentF. or did so, who rvould call 'Just' view shows complete justice. is not a mere judge or Qur'iin Him: Most Most Merciful. Master of the Day of He is not only 'Just' but also Merciful and
~ My Islam Forgiving, " ...Allah will forgive you; and He is the most merciful of the merciful." Qur'an 12:92). If God knows that man is sincerely repentant, having a real urge to conquer the evil within himself, then Almighty God can forgive his failings and sins altogether. After all, the only proper motive for punishment is to check evil and reform the offender. To punish a person for his past sins, even after he had repented and reformed himself is a sign of vengeance, not Also, forgiving a after punishing him or her, or after inflicting punishment on someone else instead, cannot be considered forgiveness by any stretch of imagination. I mV Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslAm *...Allah (Qur'dn 92).If A fter justice. person someonee lse c annotb e consideredf orgivenessb y The God we worship is a God of mercy. If He prescribes prescribesa a law and demands demandso obedience, bediencei,it t is not for His own benefit, but b ut for the benefit benefito of f humankind. And A nd if He punishes punishesa a man for his faults faultsa and nds sins, ins,it i t is not for His own satisfaction satisfactiono or r compensation, compensationa, as s the Christian dogma proclaims, but b ut it is to curb evil and purify the sinner. God G od forgives the faults and sins of those who have turned away from their sins and reformed themselves without punishing them or any other person on their behalf and this is not contrary to God's Thus, A/liih says: " ...Your Lord has decreed upon Himself mercy: that any of you who does wrong out of ignorance and then repents after that and corrects himself indeed, He is Forgiving and Merciful." (Qur'an 6:54) sinsa ndr eformedt hemselvews ithoutp unishing justice. Allah "...Your himsetf - Qur'dn 54) part dogrna The third of the Christian dogma of the atonement atonementi is s that Jesus Jesusp paid aid the penalty penaltyf for or the original and other sins of men by his death on the cross of Calvary, and that salvation salvationc cannot annotb be e obtained obtainedw without ithout belief in the saving power of his blood. J.F. De Groot Teaching, p. 162) writes: "Since Christ, God Incarnate, has F. (Catholic Teachingp, . w rites:" SinceC hrist,G od Incarnateh, as
My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam W lslam @ taken upon Himself our sins in order to atone for them by giving satisfaction satisfactionto to God's demand demandf for or jr,justice, rsticeH, He e is the mediator mediatorb between etweenG God od and andm man." an."This T his dogma dogmai is s not only a denial of the mercy of God but also of His justice.' justice. [ To demand the price of blood in order to forgive the sins of men is to show a complete lack of mercy, and to punish a man who is not guilty for the sins of others, whether the fanner fonner is willing rvilling or not, is the height of injustice. There are many refutations which confirm the falsity rnanyr efutationsw hich confinn atonemenat nd cruciflxionT. he of the belief in atonement and crucifixion. The following are ale only a few fbr.vfi from orn 21l10ng amongt them: hem: First, the dogma dogrnao of f crucifixion crucifixiono of 1'.Jesus ef susC Christ hristt to o atone atonef for or the original sin is based on a corrupt cornrpt foundation fbundation and anything any,thingb built uilt on a corrupt corruptf foundation bundationis is itself itselfc corrupt. orrupt.T The he idea that Adam's sin was nas passed pessecol on r.rt to o his offspring -['orah contradicts conlratlicttsh the ev verses crsesin in the thc Torah which. ri'hich.according a ccordingto to the Bible. Jesus .lesrrsc came arrren not ot to 1o destroy rlestrorb but ut to fulfill. firlllll. Also, in Deuteronomy Deuterortottr3l 24: -1l,( 16 r we u'c read: rcacl:" "'[-The hc fathers firthcrs shall not be put to death for ftrr the children, cltiltlren, nei neither ther shall the children childrcn be bc put to to death for fbr the the' fathers: every man shall be put to death for fbr his own o*rt sin." In Irr Ezekiel 18:l8:20 we also find: llncl: ""'The l'hc soul sorrl that sinneth, sinncth, it shall die. The son shall not hear bear the iniquity irticlLrit-of or'f the father, f'ather, neither shall the iniquity himself said, according to Manhew 16:27, "then the father bear thc iniquit,v of the son." Jesus himselfs aid.a ccordinsto Matlheu'1 6;27". then he shall I point nruslb c askcd: 'asA dartt'sr clnofsca nd repcntancteo God. his deyralting1 r'ontI 'aradisc.t hc flooding ancl the numerous sacriliccsn raclct u (iocl not a pricc crtoLrghlb r his salration?l)W hat I At this it must he asked: Was Adam's remorse and repentance to God, departing from Paradise. the tlooding and sacrilices made [0 God price enough ttlr salvation'?') What about the sins more horrendous than Adam's') And hOlv mystery of salvation remain unkl10111 to all the prophets only be later diseOVCl'ed by the church') thc rttorc horrcnclousth att 'dattt's'l ,ttd horr could this m) 'ster )o f sal rat iontc nt i t i ru. tn kt tonttto al l thc propl tclos nl l ' to bc latcr discovcrccblv thc church?
~ I My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam lslim reward "t every man according to his works." This is in agreement agreementw with ith the Qur'an Qur'dn as it states states" "That That no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another. And that there is not for man except that [[good] good] for which he strives. And that his effort is going to be seen." (53:38­40) 38- 40) Second, according to Genesis 5:5, 5, our father, Adam, lived with his wife after they had eaten from the forbidden tree for 930 years. This T his proves provest the he falsehood falsehoodo of f Genesis Genesis2 2: :17, which states " "......for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" because becauseit it did not occur. This also indicates that Adam repented from his sin and sought forgiveness and God pardoned him. Ezekiel 18:21-22 states: "But if the wickedl will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, shall surely he shall not die. All his transgressions that he committed, they shall not be unto his righteousness that he hath done he shall live." So, as Adam and his wife "lived", they must have "turned from all the sins they have committed." This means that the sin inherited, and thus, that Jesus had to die for the sins of This agreement with Qur'an, which states: " ...And disobeyed and and turned to in forgiveness [him]." 21-22 wicked' he live, hath mentioned him: in was not inherited. thus. there was no reason Jesush ad sinso f anyone. T his is in total agreemenwt ith the Qur'iin,w hich states:'o ...And Adam his Lord erred. Then his Lord chose him him and guided [himl." (20:121-121-122). 122). Third: It is not correct correcta according ccordingt to o the Bible to say that Jesus Jesush had ad come to die willingly willinely and deliberately deliberatelyf for or the ' I If this is the case with the "''wicked", u'icked". what would be when rvhen the sinner happened to be a righteous person like Adam? Surely, he would be grantedf orgivenessa s he soughtr epentance. granted forgiveness as sought repentance.
My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam ~ Myc reatL oveF orJ esusL edM eT ol slamQ 2 We read sins of men. in the Bible that he did not wish to die on the cross. For when he learnt that his enemies were plotting against his life, he declared that his ""soul soul was exceedingly sorrowful unto death." (Mark 14:l4:34). After that he prayed to God, saying, "Abba, Father, all things are possible unto Thee; take away this cup from me; nevertheless not what I will, will. but what Thou wilt." (Mark 36).H e askedh is disciplest o (Luke 36) protect 14:36). He also asked his disciples to buy swords 22:36) and keep watch over him at night to him from his enemies. Fourth: The Bible tells us in Mark 15 :34 that the crucified with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which is being interpreted as, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Such desperate cries - if we accept for the sake of argument that they did occur - that the crucified not willing to die on the cross. More importantly the contains clear evidence that the person crucified could possibly have been Jesus Christ, as such desperate cries and panic do not befit a of God, let alone is claimed to be God. Fifth: According to Mark 14:50, the crucifixion not witnessed by anyone of the disciples of Jesus as " ... all forsook him, and fled."] Also, none of the Gospel and Epistle writers witnessed the crucifixion; other words, there were no credible eye-witnesses. Thus, the sources of the story are doubtful especially considering that 15:34 person "cried w hich interpreteda s, 66My desperatec ries - acceptf or sakeo f argumentt hat - prove person was imporlantly passage containsc leare videnceth at personc rucifiedc ould not JesusC hrist, desperatec ries prophet one who 50, was witnessedb y anyoneo f discipleso f Jesusa s "... they fled."r witnessedth e in rvords, therew ere crediblee ye-witnesseTs.h us,t he sourceso f the ' rve disciplcso f Jesus 'e aret o conclude 1 As we are to think good of the disciples of Jesus ve are to one of two things: either this text is another interpolation and was not part of the original text, or it was correct) the disciples did leave as they realized that the crucified one was not Jesus himself. way, the result is the same, oftrvo e ithert his anothcri nterpolationa nd rvasn ot o1'thco riginalt ext. (if t he disciplesd id leavea s not.lcsus Either *'a1'. same.
~ My Great Islam Canonical Gospels themselves differ among themselves as I tt creat Love For Jesus Led Me To lsldm CanonicalG ospelst hemselveds iff'era rnongt hemselvesa s to the exact fiom details of the crucifixion from beginning to end. Sixth: The idea that shedding sheddingo of f blood is necessary necessaryto to appease the of God came into Christianity from the appeaseth e wrath carnei nto Christianityf rom primitive image imageo of f God as asa an n all-powerful porverfudl demon. ernon.There T herei is s no logicalc onnectionb etweens in W hat logical connection between sin and blood. What wipes sins blood, rcrnorse.s incerer epentance. away is not blood. but remorse. sincere repentance, persistent persistentr resistance esistancetc to l evil inclinations inclirrationsa and nd constant struggle strugglet to o carry carr1,out o' ut the wi rvill II of o1'God Cod as revealed rer,ealedto to us by the prophets. Furthermore, F urlhermorer, when vhenJ Jesus esusr was vas asked askeda about bout the way to eternal etemal life, his reply was rvas not belief in him hirn as the savior saviort through hrought the he shedding sheddingo of f his blood. Instead, I nsteadi,it t was, ...... ".... but if thou wilt rvilt enter entcr into life, keep the commandments." Matthew 19: 17). commandrnents." (Mattherv | 9 : 1 7). The Christians cherneo f salvationi s and unsound.b ut also contradictst he Christian scheme of salvation is not only morally rationally unsound, but contradicts the words of Jesus Jesusr who .vhoc came amet to o rescue rescuel men nen from li'om sin by his teachings teachingsa and nd the example exampleo of f his godly godll' life lifc rather rathert than han by deliberately deliberatelyd dying ying on the cross crossl for br them, therrt.and a nclo offering ffering his blood for their sins. His H is mission rnissiorut was 'asa also lsct'lo to call sinners sitrnersto to repent repenta as s was wast the he case cascr with vitha all ll the tlrc prophets prophctsb before elbreh him. irn.He H e never said that he came for fbr the thc atonement atonemenot of f human sin. This is emphasized ernphasizeidn in Matthew Mattherv4 4: : 17, 17.as a s we e are aret told old about Jesus: Jesus": "From that time Jesus Jesusb began egant to o preach, and a nd to say, Repent: R epent:for f or the kingdom kingdorno of f heaven heavcni is s at hand." It I t is really incomprehensible that the Bible goes to and abuses Jesus by making him a curse. Paul says: "reallyi ncornprehensibthlea tt he Bibleg ocst o the extreme anda buses.lesLbrys'r nakinglr inra cursc.I )aLrsla ys": Christ hath redeemed fi'orn the curse of thc larv, being us from the law, fbr f<rr it is rvritten, is made a curse for us: for written, Cursed everyone that hangeth on a tree," (Galatians 3: 13) everyoneth at hangctho n t ree, "( Galat ian3s: 13) 'fhe dogmao f atonemerrlti.k c thc pt'cviousC hristian originatccl lionr uttcicnl pagiur The dogma of atonement. Iike the previous Christian dogmas, originated fi'om ancient pagan religions.
My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam U) MyG reaLt oveF orJ esusL edM ef o lslam@ According to Arthur Findley (Rock of Truth, p. 45), 16 names were believed by their peoples to have come for their their salvation salvation and atonement. Some of them were: the Egyptian Egyptian Osiris (1700 BC), the Babylonian Baal (1200 BC), the Hindu Krishna (1000 BC), the Tibetan Andra (725 BC), the Chinese Buddha (560 BC), and the Persian Mithra (400 BC). The dogma of atonement is t-not tot only an insult to rational rationalt thinking, hinking,b but ut it also motivatesp motivates people eoplet to o abandon good deeds and commit evils like murder, thell, theft, rape and adultery. Paul underestimated the importance of the commandments preached by Jesus, and claimed: "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." (Romans 3:28). He even stated that Abraham was not helped b), by his deeds (Romans 4:2). 2). It was thus Paul who made salvation only attainable attainableb by y belief in Christ's Christ'sc crucifixion. rucifixion.W What hat would be the state of mankind if people were to believe in this concept? was made by Jesus The answer to Paul's claim himseli "rhosoever shall break one of teach men so, himself, "Whosoever therefore these least commandments, and shall he shall be called the but whosoever shall do and shall be called great in the (Matthew 5: 19). least in the kingdom of heaven: teach them, the same kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5;19). Islant rejectst he dogrnao f atonemetrt.I t declarest hat Islam rejects the dogma of atonement. It declares that the fbrgivenesso f sinsc annotb e obtainedb y the suftering and sacrificeo f any otherp erson,b ttt only by the graceo f God and a person'so wn sincerer epentanclev ith persistent effbrlst o avoide viland do goodd eeds.F utlhermorei,f tl .-' sinsc ommittedi nvolvei njusticeto people'sr ights.t ho:'c the forgiveness of sins cannot be obtained by suffering and sacrifice of other person, but grace of God and a person's own sincere repentance with efforts to avoid evil and do good deeds. FUlihermore, iftl.' sins committed involve injustice to people's rights, tho:,c
~ My Great Love Islam I "t Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lsl6m rights have to given one hast o seekt heir forgivenessw heneverp ossible. be back to their rightful owners and has to seek their forgiveness whenever possible. The Qur'dn promises Qur'dn salvation to all those who believe in the oneness of God and do good deeds: ",.Yes Yes [[on on the contrary], whoever submits himself in Islam Isliim to Allah while being a doer of good will have his reward with his Lord. And no fear will there be concerning them, nor will they grieve." (2:112). 112). Allah also says in the Qur'dn, Qur'dn, ""'Whoever Whoever would hope for the meeting with his Lord let him do righteous work and not associate in the worship of his Lord anyone." ( 18: 1 8: 11 1 I 0) 2: 14 and and James and 17 complies with both Islam and the commandments, "What brethren, though a not works? faith faith. hath not works, it reads, doth it profit, my man say he hath faith, and have Can save him...? Even so faith, if it is dead, being alone."
My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam ~ Myc reatL oveF orJ esusL edM eT ot stamQ 2 Islam: Isldmz The The Monotheistic Monotheistic Religion of All Alt the Prophets An unbiased analysis of the aforementioned Christian An unbiaseda nalysiso f aforementionedC hristian doctrines can lead to only one are both irrational ofJesus. is sufficient following Jesus' ascendancei nto followers consideredh im propheto f doctrines mentioned previously years later, of the Christian deviation from the other prophets before him. doctrines can lead to only one conclusion; that they are both irrational and contrary to the teachings of Jesus. It is sufficient to know that during the years immediately following Jesus' ascendance into heaven, none of his followers considered him other than a prophet of God. The were conceived many which is a clear indication that the foundation Church was based on a considerable original message of Jesus and all the Believing in the oneness onenesso of f God and worshipping worshippingn no o one elseb ut Him is the rule. A ssociatingo thersi n with God came at humankind. For humankind, A dam, humanb eingsw orshippedn o God (AllAQ. It was only prior to that idol worshipb egant o practicedI.t wast he resulto f people'se xcessivee ndeavorsin reverings ome individuals among them who had passed then sent by God to guide his people and call them back to the worship of Allah that He sent one prophet after another to various preacht he sameb asicm essaget:h at there is god of worship butAllah. else but Associating others in worship a later stage in the history of ten centuries after the father of Adam, human beings worshipped no one but Allah). the era of Prophet Noah worship began to be practiced. It was the result of people's excessive endeavors in revering some righteous away. Noah was back to the right path alone. After nations to preach the same basic message: that no worthy but Allah. The primary mission of all prophets was not to call peoplet people to o believei believe in n the existenceo existence of f God as the Supreme Being and acknowledgingH acknowledging Him im as the Creator, P Provider rovider and Sustainer Sustainero of f the worlds for event even the he polyheistsk polytheists knew nerv by nature that God existed and never doubted that such
If My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam was the case1 I tt Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslAm wast he case'.• O Only nly a a few few of ofthem themp pretended retendedto to denyG deny God's od's existence. those who worshipped God by doing devoted prayers to Him in difficult they did so through intercessorsT. he prophets called them to turn without mediators and hardship.A nd becausem onotheismi s foremosta nd most impofiant fbundation which makes deedsv alid acceptablew, e all the prophets began "Worship Allah; IIim." (Qur'dn 7:65). Qtr'dn (1636): We certainly messenger' [sayingl' 'Worship Atllh Taghiit (false deities)."'And existence. There were those who worshipped God by doing good deeds; they also devoted prayers to Him in difficult times. However, during times of ease, they did so through mediators and intercessors. The called them to tum to God and supplicate to Him alone mediators or intercessors in times of both ease hardship. And because monotheism is the foremost and most important obligation and the foundation deeds valid and acceptable, we find that began by calling their peoples and saying: "Worship Allah; you have no deity other than Him." 7:65). Allah also states in the Qur'dn 16:36): "And certainly sent into every nation a messenger, [saying], 'Worship Allah and avoid Taghut deities).'" in Verse 21:25 25 it states: states:" "And And We sent not before you any messenger except that We there is no deity except Me, so worship it is clear that Islam (submission to has always the religion of all the prophets and messengers of from Adam to Muhammad. Islam indeed the of Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus, According to any revealed to him that there Me." Therefore, that Isldm submissiont o Allah) hasa lways been prophetsa nd messengeros f God, frorn I slam was indeedt he religion of Noalr.A braham,M osesa nd JesusA. ccordingt o Islam, I Atheism onll'started to spreado n a large scale in Clhristians ocieties during the eighteenth and nineteenth centurics. Among the reasons for that were the injustices cornmittcd by the Church manifested in the cnslavcmenth, umiliationa nd abuseo f peoplei n the name of "God'" Christianity also conflicted r.vith rcason ancl hunlan nceds. The Church fought scientillca dvancemenat nd pcrsecutcds cicntistsr.e sultingi n a dichotomyb etrveenm an and laith. Conscquentllp',e opleb ccamem ore concernecwl ith the materialr vorld and gave in to their naturalt endcncy to pursuc rvorldly te mptations. With the absencc of rcason and compatibility.f nith disintegratcda nd religion's role in lif'e becamc nonexlstcnL 1 Atheism only started to spread on Christian societies during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. the reasons for that were the injustices committed by the Church manifested in the enslavement, humiliation and abuse of people in the name of "God." Christianity also conflicted with reason and human needs. The Church fought scientific advancement and persecuted scientists, resulting in a dichotomy between man and faith. Consequently, people became more concerned with the material world and gave in to their natural tendency to pursue worldly temptations. With the absence of reason and compatibility, f~lith disintegrated and religion's role in life became nonexistent.
My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam ~ , Myc reatL oveF orJ esusL edM eT ol slam9 all prophets are brothers and no distinction between them. As for those people guidanceo f the propheto f time and worshippedG od as He should be worshipped, they are Muslims, a nd Paradisew ill who followed the guidance of prophet of their worshipped God and Paradise will be theirs. restored original the same eternal Islam restored to its status should be made all considered message that God revealed to all His prophets. Islam is a continuationo f that messagew, hich is essenceo, ne. Althouglr Allclh had originally addressedit tribe, people or nation prophet, passageo f tirne it was rnisinterpreteda nd superstitionsf,a lse beliefs rituals inventedb y This caused a degenerationo f the superstitionasn dm eaninglesrsit uals. continuation of message, which in essence, one. Although Allah addressed it to a specific through their with the passage of time misinterpreted and mixed with superstitions, false and invented by man. degeneration of true religion into superstitions and meaningless rituals. Islam, as revealed revealedto to Prophet ProphetM Muhammad, uhamrnadi,is s a revival of ofthe the concept concepto of fmonotheismt monotheism taught aughtb by y Jesus Jesusa and nd by all of the tlre preceding precedingp prophets rophetso of f Allah. hlam Islclmi is s a message rnessageto to all of humanity until the end of time and not to a particular group, as a sw was ast the he case casew with ith previous previousp prophets. rophets. Islam rejectsa ll blasphemoutsh eologicalb eliefs rejects all blasphemous theological beliefs and reinstates reinstatesth the e true concept concepto of l'God; God; that He alone is the Creator, the t he Provider Providera and nd Controller Controllero of f everything every.thingin in the universe universea and nd to whom alone alonep perfection erfbctioni is s attributed. This T his necessitates that He alone is to be worshipped. Furthermore, Furlhermore,He H e must be worshipped worshippedi in n the way u,ay that He ordained and not through invented rituals ritr.ralsa and nd acts of worship. I'{He e is the only one to whon whom prayers should be addressedA.addressed. And n d just just as confirmingt confirming the he onenesso oneness of f God is the greatesta greatest and nd rnosti most impOliant rrrportanvt virtue, irtue,a associating ssociatingo others thers rvith l'lirl is the gravest all. is only sirr unfbrgivableb y God unlesso ne repentst o Him before dcatl-rH. e hass aidi n the Qur'dn:" Indeed, Alllh doesn ot forgivc association rvith Him, He what with Him sin of It the sin unforgivable by unless one repents to death. He has said in Qur'cin: "Indeed, Allah does not forgive with but forgives is
W My Great Love For Jesus Led Me Islam less than that for whom He wills." (4:48). Moreover, it is a sin that deprives one of Paradise and consequently relegates the person who commits it to eternity in the Hellfire. This was stated by Jesus as quoted in the Qur'an (5:72): "Indeed, he who associates others with Allah ­Allah I *t To lslim less than whom a sin Hellfire. Qur'dn "Indeed, Alleh - Atllh has forbidden him Paradise, and his refuge is the Fire. And there are not for the wrongdoers any helpers." Directing any act of worship to other than God is the one sin that nullifies all good deeds. The Qur'an confirms: "But if they had associated others with Allah, then worthless for them would be whatever they were doing." (6:88) Qur'dn "But Allnh, then 88) God is indeed the one to whom all needs are sought t he all without intercessors, the one upon whom creatures depend, depend, the Creator and Sustainer of the entire universe, the Oft-Forgiving, the Most-Merciful, Merciful, the Almighty, the Omniscient. Dr. Citing the words of the famous Italian orientalist, Vaglierir, to Islam, Laura Veccia Vaglieri she writes: "Thanks paganism in its various forms was defeated. of the universe, the customs were each liberated from all the which had degraded them, and human free of prejudices. Mankind finally humbled itself before the Creator, the all mankind." She continues, from prejudice, man's will was set had kept him bound to other men called powers. Priests, false salvation and all those who The concept practices of religion and social monstrosities minds were made realized its dignity and Lord and Master of "The spirit was liberated from free from the ties which or other so-called hidden guardians of mysteries, brokers of salvation and all pretended to be mediators | "Apologia dell' Islamismo" translated into English as "lnterpretation of Islam" by Dr. Caselli,p p. 33 34. I "Apologia dell' Islamismo" translated into English "Interpretation ofIslam" by Dr. Caselli, pp. 33 34.
My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam ij) MyG reaLt oveF orJ esusL edM eT ol stam @ between betweenG God od and and man man and and consequently consequentlyb believed elievedt that hat they they had had authority authority over over the the will will of of other other people people fell fell from from their their pedestals. pedestals. Man Man became became the the servant servant of of Allah alone alone and and towards towards other other men men he he had had only only the the obligations obligations of of one one free free man man towards towards another another free free man. While previously men men had had suffered suffered from from the the injustice injustice of of social social differences, Islam ,Islarz proclaimed proclaimed equality equality among among human beings. Each Muslim Muslim was was distinguished distinguished from other Muslims not by reason of of birth birth or or any any other factor not connected with his his personality, but by his greater his morals and intellectual her book, "It was, of arrns nor through the pressure that caused the great and but above all, through the fact presentedb y the Muslims to the vanquishedw, ith accepti t or reject it, was the Book the greatesmt iracleM ohammadc ould showt o thosei n and to thosew ho remaineds tubborn."S hec ontinues,., The strengtho f this messagew as its crystalc lear marvelouse asinessf,o r Islam reachedo ut people without having recourset o explanationso r involved sermons." fear of God, his good deeds, qualities." She also states in her therefore, neither by means of violence of arms of obtrusive missionaries rapid diffusion of Islam, but that this Book presented by the vanquished, with the liberty to accept it or of God, the Word of Truth, the greatest miracle Mohammad could show to those in doubt those who remained stubborn." She continues, "The strength ofthis message was crystal clear simplicity and marvelous easiness, for reached out to the soul of the recourse to long explanations or And as one of the foremost historians, Arnold J. Toynbee, o observes: bsenres": "Indeed, I invite the world to adoptt adopt the he Islamic principle of brotherhood doctrineo f God's onenessb roughtb y Islam wonderful examples of how to unify continuationo f Islamg ivesh opet o the whole r and equality. The doctrine of oneness brought by is of the most the world. The continuation of Islam gives hope to world."l I Civilization onT rial.N ervY ork,O xtbrdU niversitpyr ess1, 948 I Civilization on Trial, New York, Oxford University Press, 1948
~ My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam VIII. My Final Step Toward Islam: The Influence Of Jesus On My Conversion To Islam Z tty Jesus Led Me To lslAm VIII. My Isltim: Influence Of Jesus On Conversion Islfim in the Even a portion of the information contained the previous chapters is sufficient for a seeker of truth to to perceive the authenticity of Islam lshim and the extent to which Christianity has deviated from and contradicted the teachings of Prophet Jesus. Yet I still could not take any decisive step to distance myself from the church had outlined for me. My with me wherever I went. Inside this small always carried were seven small silver crosses supposed image and statue of Jesus. I that ever put it aside something bad would happen to me. reason I never misplaced it; it was always in my Christianity real teachings decisive path that the church "talisman" was always with srnall package I always and a supposedir nagea nd statueo f JesusI. felt if I everp ut it aside r.ne. For this reasonI neverm isplacedit ; wasa lwaysi n rny pocket. reviewingt he literaturet hat had One day, when I was reviewing the literature that rne I readt wo statementsth at been given to me in the mosque, read two statements that filled my heart with great and Tears to flow from my eyes and I said: truth; this is the answer that I could never find!" 'fears started joy happiness. "My God, this is the t his answert hatI couldn everf indl" adrnit the leader that up to that At this point, I must admit to reader time tirne I had never touched or read rcad the rl'te QUI' Qur ·cin. seen or touched a copy of it language, and the name QUI' 'an was not part of my In emphatic, clear and precise manner, guide I had received in the mosque: "They [in boast], 'We killed Christ Messenger of Allah.' But they they crucify him..." Qur 'an 'cirr' I had not seeno r toucheda in any langtragea,r rdt he nalle Qur'dn parl lny vocabulary. l n a categorical, precisc lrlatlner. I read in the study euide lnosque: T'hey said 6oast], 'We Jesus, the son of Mary, the Messenger All[h.' killed him not, nor did they crucify (Qtrr'tin 4: 157) Here, I pausedin reading. I repeateds everatl imes, Here, I paused in the repeated several times, "...lhey killed him tlot, dicl the.1ctr Ltcifi'h im'" At rhe precisem omentI rvasr eadingt hoses tatetrentsI' I'eltt hat bod was answeringth e questiontl tatm adeI nc ltaved oubts about His power due to the lack o1' a logical and convincinagn swer . " ... they killed him not, nor did {hey crucify him. " the precise moment I was reading those statements, I felt that God was answering the question that made me have doubts about His power due to the lack of convincing answer. It was not easy to flnd this anslver. I had to cotnpete It was not easy to find this answer. I had to compete with rnany other studentst o eartta scholarshipI. had to with many other students to earn a scholarship. I had to
My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam ~ My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To tstim @ travel thousands of miles to the state of Washinston in the westernmost part of the USA. I had to Iearn to*speak and read English, and being from Latin America, I had to have a charactert hat was acceptableto the rest of the Muslims in Seattle in order to find statements. probabilities that this information of a Venezuelan in 1978 been decreedby AllAh must while I was still rejoicing great God and asked Him for this newst o Venezuelaa nd give rest of the world. travel thousands of miles to the state of Washington in the westernmost part of the USA. I had to learn to speak and read English, and being from Latin America, I had to have a character that was acceptable to the rest of the Muslims Seattle these two statements. The 1978 were remote. However, what has decreed by Allah be fulfilled. In those moments over this news, I spoke to forgiveness. I wanted to fly with news to Venezuela and it to my family and to the It was happeningju st would reach the hands happening just like in the movies. My great hero, the good guy in Jesus of Nazareth, to whom I pray smalla ltari n my house, h adn ot beenc rucified! the movie, my beloved prophet, small altar in had not been crucified! To me it seemed as used to twice a day in a though the weight of the cross allegedlyc arriedb y JesLrtso Calvaryv anisheda nd disintegratedin the sarner nannert hat greatb uildingsa nd firm mountainsc rumbler vhend emolishedb y allegedly carried by Jesus to Mount Calvary vanished and disintegrated in same manner that great buildings and mountains crumble when demolished by dynamite. What followedt his discoveryw as lesss ignificant.followed this discovery was no less significant. I reasoneda, reasoned, and nd said: said:" "lf If this is the trr.truth, rtht,then h ent this his religioni religion is s the right one." For twenty years, had been killed. I had been journey alternate routes. Now, with a more logical answer, a nd nou, thingsr .vereg etting clearer and the last piece "Dnzzle" This wast he lasti n thes equencoef miraclesth atJ esush ad perfonned by the power Atlah. of God, hadr eturneds ightt o r vhoh adw alkedo n lvater, healed a leper, nlade lame rnultiplied breada nd fish to feed thousandso f peoplea nd given life back to the dead.u ndoubtedlyc ould been crucified! Once again wantedt o belongt o thisr eligion;rvantedto bea Muslirn! I had been told that Jesus taken on a without any another avenue had been opened and now things were getting of the puzzle" was available. was the last in the sequence of miracles that Jesus had performed of Allah. A man who, by the will had returned sight to the blind, who had walked on water, made the walk, multiplied bread and thousands of people and who had dead, undoubtedly could not have I reasoned and resolved; I wanted to belong to this religion; I wanted to be a Muslim!
~ My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam 9 ftfy lsl6m disintegrated, Holy Churches the 'Holy Days' logical was theseb aselesstr aditionsb uilt upon In the same manner that the weight of the cross disintegrated, the resurrection of Jesus on Sunday, the Holy Week (Easter), Good Friday, the visit to the Seven Churches (Stations of the Cross), the fasting on Fridays, the eating of fish instead of meat on those alleged 'Holy Days' also disintegrated all at once and I realized that they were all lies. The power of the talisman vanished. The logical mind of a young man studying to be an engineer was now free to reject all of these baseless traditions built upon the irrational concept of God becoming a man and dying for the sins of men. As a young man who had been a professional fireman saving lives and property and who had not acquired the vices of smoking and drinking even though though these were among the norms of society, I could no longer accept these impositions. course During the summer of 1979 I took an optional Oklahoma illuminated the at Oklahoma State University that further new path I had started to walk. The course was "Islamic Culture." At the end of the summer of went back to Seattle, and before the given me the Islamic literature, I embraced Islam by pronouncing the testimony of faith Shahiidah). called 1979 I same imam who had lslamic embracedI slam officially (the Shahadah)' tne: you I can still remember the imam asking me: "Are I "Yes." Then he sure you want to embrace Islam?" said, insisted: "Even if it means that passport that you are a Muslim?" he said, "If you are sure that is what after me: I testify that none has the except Allah, and I testify is Messenger ojAllah. " I made the testimony then in Arabic by repeating after taking my final step it will be written in your I said: "Even so." Then you want, then repeat testifu right to be worshipped except AllAh, that Muhammad rs the of Allah. " testirnony in English and then it afler the imam, thereby taking to Islam.
My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslam @ Isldm Undoubtedlyc, hangesin volvec ertaina djustmentas nd my casew as no exceptionO. nce I had embracedIs lam, I prornised that I rvould do whatever I could to learn as as possiblea boutt his religion. W hile I was still young having just completed my first year at State University, I married a young Muslim girl. In O klahornat,h e IslarnicC entera ssigned me first Islamic teacher. Brother Faiz from Palestine (may him and reward him for rvhat he taught me) dedicateda lot of his tirnet o teacht nc the prayer, t he pillars Islam, pillars of f-aith,a bout life after t he Day of Resurrectiona nd many other topics. I remember the great in"rpact caused by the life During my life as a n o one ever taughtr re any'things irnilara nd in suchd etail.D eathr vasa lu'aysa m,v"stetroy tne. not know what rvould happen to me once my buried the grottnd.l n Islc1rnI, found detaileda nswersW. hen a persond ies.h e or shem ust be the itrstrlrctiotrs of Prophet T he the personi s rvasltedc ornpletely T hen is rvrappedit t ttvo pieceso f r.vhite andt he body is buriedi n tlte grotttrdr vithotrta coffin andf acingM akkah.T he dcadp ersonu 'ill heart he stepso f rvalk arval frorrr thc grare attd rvill be awaret hath e sltei s beingl cft alone. Shortlyt hereafter, trvo angelsc ome into gravea nd ask tlte cleceasetdh e follorving three questiorts: ( l) is your Lord'? (2) is voul religion? 3) is your prophet? Islam ij/ IX. How Islam Affected My Life Undoubtedly, changes involve certain adjustments and case was exception. Once embraced Islam, promised Allah would much possible about this While relatively Oklahoma Stillwater, Oklahoma, the Islamic Center assigned my Allah bless what dedicated a time to teach me the other of l~lam, the faith, about death, the Resurrection and can still impact discussion of after death. Christian, no taught me anything similar and such detail. Death was always a mystery to me. I did would body had been in ground. In Islelm, I detailed answers. When person dies, he she must buried according to instructions Muhammad. The body of person is vvashed completely and perfumed. Then it wrapped in two pieces of white cloth and the buried in the ground without a and facing Makkah. The dead person vvill hear the steps of the living as they walk away from the grave and will aware that he or she is being left Shortly thereafter, two angels come the grave and the deceased the following questions: I) Who Lord? 2) What your (3) Who
@ My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam I n/|yc reat LoveF orJ esusL edM eT o lsl6m Prophet Muhammad disclosed that the believer would ProphetM uhammadd isclosedth at believerw ould questions have no difficulty answering these correctly, while the unbeliever would not be able to answer them. Furthermore, Furthermored, depending ependingo on n the deedst deeds the he personh person had ad done in this life, he or she would feel either cool breezes from Paradise or scorching Hellfire. The dead person will remain in state until Day of Resurrection. wor"rldf eel perfumed winds from the T he deadp ersonw ill rernaini n this stateu ntil the Resumection. provided Brother Faiz clarified This information by people who cornrnit crimes and some of my doubts about commit are not punished during their worldly It also explains why Allah gives every human being many opportunities to repent and start a new life he clear portrayal of God's utmost justice to creatures. I once thought I had deeply the temporary and eternal was taught that Jesus learned that every person is responsible for and will be rewarded or punished accordingly. This sounded so logical and my soul was reassured by aren ot punishedd uringt heiru 'orldly lives. I t alsoe xplains givese veryh utnanb eingm any opporlunitiesto while lte or she is still alive; a poftrayalo f tttmostj Lrsticeto his creaturesI. deepty understood tl-re concepts of life. While in the Catholic Church, I had died to save us; in Islam I learnedt hat personi s responsiblefo r his own acts rewardedo r punisheda ccorclinglyT, his soundeds o logicala ndm y'soLtul 'asr eassurebdy it. -['his nervk rrorvledgue' asg raduallyt ranslbrrninga ll of This new knowledge was gradually transforming all previousi nfbrmationa s r'vella s lry senseo f priorities. begant o devotet noret itue to str-rdoyf the religion.W hen my previous information as well as my sense of I began to devote more time study of reI igion. When my early morning the gym with morning give monting training at thc gynl began to conflict rnorning prayers, I delayed the training to give priority to my nly prayers. pra) crs. severalv ears beforee tttbracingI sltlnt, I rvas an For several years before embracing Islam, was aspirirrgm usicianr vho had pafticipatedit t severanl rusic concertsp layingt he guitara nd singingI ny hearto ut. But, aspiring musician who p<uiicipated in several music concerts playing the guitar and singing my heart out. But, once Islam I abandoned them and dedicated time learning to recite the QUI' '(In the original language of revelation. The of being a married man and my engineering studies at the I accepted LslcTmI abartdoncdt hern both and dedicatectli ute to learuingt o recitet hc Qar'cin in Arabic; the originall anguageo f its revclatiorTl.h e responsibilities of beinga marriedr nana nd rtt1e" ngincrei rlgs tudiesa t the
My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islcim W lslAm @ age of 21 left me with no time for any other activities. But through the guidance of Allah, my attachment to my new ageo f 2l arryo thera ctivities.B ut throught he guidanceo f attachmentto religion grew staft to the extent that I wanted to start teaching what little I knew. When I returnedto Venezuelarn y farnilyd id returned to Venezuela my family did not know anything about about Islam. Islarn. They used to watch how I prayed without criticizingo r condemningr ny criticizing or condemning my actions. I had been in for vears, joy abroad the USA more than four years, so the of a reunion with parents, brothers and sisters prevailed and reunionw ith my parentsb, rothersa nds istersp revaileda nd they accepted acceptedm me e as I was. rvas. On my job in VenezuelaI, askedp errnissionfi 'om Venezuela, I asked permission from my to pray for rninutes rny supervisor five minutes in my office. I was practically the Venezuelan Muslim in the oil industry practicallyt he only VenezuelanM uslirni n in 1982. I asked Allcth help me persevere steadfast, since temptations appeared everywhere more arrd rnore ofterr. By the grace and nrercy Alloh, rnanagetdo rcrnainu ncornrpted. 1 asked Allah to and be and and more often. mercy of Allah, I managed to remain uncorrupted. Today, after a fter almost almostt thirty hirty'y years 'earss since inceI I first llrst embraced ernbraced Isltlttt,l f'eeli ncreasinglyh appyt hat I dccidedt o becomea Muslim. I f'eele venr norec ontentedu 'hen I seeh ow many peoplea roundr ne afe embracingI sldnt dailn.P raiseb e to Allalr,t he Lord of allthat exists. I ha'n'feb undt hatI slclmi s the f-astesgtr orvingr eligioni n the u'orld.I t hasa ctuallyt he greatesnt urnbero f practicingf crllow'ersin' spite of the rnodestr reansa vailablet o its preachersin cornparison rvith otherr eligionse, specialllC, hristianityW'. hile 1slazr spreadrsv ithe asea ndb y simplen reansC. lrristianitrvv ould Islelm, I feel increasingly happy that decided to become a feel even more contented when see how people around me are embracing Is/am daily. Praise be Allah, the all that have found that h/am is fastest growing religion in world. It has actually the greatest number of practicing followers I in modest means available to preachers in comparison with other religions, especially Christianity. While Is/am spreads with ease and by simple means. Christianity would I l 'hcn urnbcro 1'pract icinIVe lusl inrcsr ccct lsth ct otuln ur r rbcori 'pcople pract icinga l l other rcl igionsp ut toget l rcf... ccordingto thc Sundal 'l inrcs.t hc nunt t rcor l t t tosquc- t tocinls I lntaino l tct i lnca scck wasa t lcast9 10.000p eoplcc ornparetdo 916. ( ) (Xc)h Lr rch-gocrIs h.i s is taking placci n a supposcdlCy l r r ist iacno untD.r vhcrc , lusl inrs. r lrc nt r r tor i t r ' . I The number of practicing Muslims e'.ceeds the total number of people practicing all religions put together. ieeording to the Sunday Times. the number of mosque-gol'rs in Britain one time a lIed: Ivas at least 930.000 people compared to 916.000 church-goers This place in supposcdly Christian cOllntry. Ilherc 'Vluslims arc a minority.
~ My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam have been no match for Islam had it not been for the enormous resources behind their missionary activities. A simple comparison between the converts to Christianity, the two major religions over the world (unlike other religions mostly confined to specific nations), shows Christianity attracts people of limited drawn to the Church due to material temptations it offers are supports argument is the fact that the represent are being abandoned in their countries while being expOlied to On other hand, we find that those who embraceblam are among the untouchables and famous and from scientists and scholars. Even those who stand to lose much convert to Islam members of Christian clergy have done so. I tt To lsldm enormousr esourcesb ehindt heir missionarya ctivities.Islam and rnajor with followers all whose followers are ttations), clearly that means. They are poverty and need as the rnaterial great. What supporls this f'act churches and what they representa re abandonedin tlreir own wealthy home countriesw hile exportedt o poor countries. O n the hand.r ve thoser vho embraceI slc1ma re from untouchablesa nd the poor, the rich and the famousa nd frorn scientistsa nd scholarsE. ven thosew ho in terms of worldly gain as soon as they conveftt o like memberso f the Christianc lergyh ave Consequentlym, y faith keeps getting strongera s I Consequently, my stronger as prornise of Allah is being fulfilled witness that the promise gradually: "They want to extinguish with their mouths, but Allah although the disbelievers His Messenger with to manifest it over all associate others with Allah dislike it." (QlIr 'lin 61 :8-9) "They the light of Allah Atlah will perfect His light dislike it. It is He who sent guidance and the religion of truth religion, although those who associateo thersw ith Allnh dislikc it-" (Qur'rin 6l:8-9) Anyone wlto reads the Bible rnay well notice that Anyone who may some frorrr the Bible itsclf are only being implernentebdy Muslims. A ccorclirttgo the Bible, J esus and the Prophetsb efbre hirn prostratedr vhen prayingt o God (Genesisl7 :3 andM attlrew2 6:36),y et only Muslims do so in their prayers today. Likervise. only Muslim women wear the headc overitrgr lentionccilr l the Biblc, some teachings from itself implemented by According to Jesus and the Prophets before him prostrated when praying to God (Genesis 17:3 and Matthew 26:36), yet do so in their Likewise, only Muslim women wear the head covering mentioned in the Bible,
My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam ~ MyG reaLt oveF orJ esusL edM eT ol slam@ while the vast majority of Christian women wornen tend to disregard disregardt this his teaching teachingi in n spite spiteo of f the fact that Mary used to wear a veil over her head. head.( (Song Songo of f Solomon Solorr-ro4n: 4:9 and 1 I Corinthians CorinthiansI 11 I :5) greetingr -rsebdy Jesus", Peaceb e unto you" Even the greeting used by Jesus, "Peace be (Luke 24:36), 36), is used by Muslims Muslirns while most rnost Christians greet with "Hello". There are many rnany other religious rites which rvhich only Muslims Muslirns practice today, such as wudhu' (ablution ablutionb before efbre prayer), circumcision, c ircuurcisiona, abstaining bstainingf from rom eating pig flesh and the meat nreat of o1' dead animals, etc. Therefore, Therefbre,it is crystal crystalc clear leart that hatt the he true tnre followers follor.verosf of Jesus and the prophets prophetso of f God before belbreI him titn are aret the he Muslims, who w ho follow what they all taught. x. How My Conversion Affected Others' Lives I-laving received this great gift from Allah may praised and glorified), felt a strong desire to convey His X. Affccted Others'Lives I'lavingr eceivedth isg reatg ilt frornA lldlt (nay He be praiseda ndg lorified),I l'elta strot'rdge siret o conveyH is final message messageto to those thosew who ho had hacln not ot heard ltcarcilt it. . I was rvasn not ot very successful successfual at t the outset. Some S orre people peoplet took ook it as a joke, joke, while rvhile others advised advisedm me e to take the message ntcssaget to o the tlte children childrens since incc older people peopler were .verea already lleady'l fixed ixcd in their ways. For a long lorrgt time, itne,my I r.ryo only nll' support sttpltol'wt was as my rtt)'wife, u 'ife, who shared sharedm my y belief beliefi in n Islam. Islum. Irr returnectol thc []nitedS tateso l'AInericat o master'sd egreein safbtyc ngineerirtagt Te.rasA &M In 1990, I returned to the United States of America to do a master's degree in safety engineering at Texas A&University. And it was during this trip I decided to increase my efforts to propagate Ishlm. followed an Islamic training program which I created for myself from material available at the Bryan College Station Islamic Library. I used to write to my family in Venezuela about whatever Islamic topics I studied. Happily hen I returned to Venezuela in 1992. after only a few brief discussions, my parents and one of my older brothers embraced hie/ill. Univcrsi tvA. nd i t rvasd r . r l intgh is t r ip that lclecidedt o irrcreascr nv efJbrtst o pfopagateI sldnr. I fblloucd arl Islamict rairtin-puf ograrnu 'hichI createdfb r rrtvselfl 'om rnateriala railablea t Bry'artC ollegc StatiortI slan-ric l,ibrarl. l usedt o lvritct o n'tl fa rnilf itt Vcncztrela bout rvhatcr .cIsr larnitco picsI st t rdiccIlJ. appi l lu l tct tI returned Vcrrezuelain a ltcr only'a l-etrb ricf cliscttssions, rn)'p arentsa ndo nc o1n- t olderb rothcrsc tttbritccLcls ldrn.
~ My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam Later on, two of my sisters, another brother, and a nephew also embraced Islam. I fufy lslAm Latero n, sistersa, notherb rother,a nd alsoe mbracedIs lam. The director directoro of f the recentlyo recently opened penedl mosque nosquei in n Caracas approvedm y proposafl br Sundayp rograrxt o inviten on- Muslims largestl .nosquein I volurrteeredto coordinatet his prograrnw ith of approved my proposal for a Sunday program to invite non­Muslims to visit the largest mosque in Latin America. volunteered to coordinate this program with the imam the mosque and, praise be to Allah, our initial effort was a complete success. About 250 people attended what was the first public lecture I had ever to Venezuelans about Islam. Perhaps for the first time in Venezuela, a mixture of Jews, Christians, atheists and others about Islam. The program was such a great success that the grace of Allah, many Venezuelans embraced Islam. The Sunday out-reach program is ongoing and anyone interested in knowing about Islalll attend. completes uccessA. bout peoplea ttendedw hat wast he lectureI given Venezuelanas bout Isldm.P erhapsfo r tirnei n Vcnezuelaa, mixtureo f Jervs, attended a lecture aboutI slc1ntT. he prograrnw as sucha greats uccessth at by Allcih. rnatryV enezuclattse mbracedI slam. Sundayo r.rt-reacphro grarnis still ongoinga nda nyone irrterestedin aboutI slail can attetrd. Wherr irr places, I noticc that many When I lecture in different notice Islum. Many people have people are interested in Islam. embraced this religion; many others take literature and through it gradually, just as almost thirty years ago. Still more resistant toward Islalll; they say they many vices they cannot get rid of. At this point, want to tell the reader that when a person embraces Is hllll, his life change dramatically all sudden. It may, but always. Often process that develops as learns to or her brothers and sisters in and to fundamental teachings of faith. those who have attended my lectures have asked the following questions: I. have to speak Arabic in order to be a Muslim? 2. necessary to be an if I want to 3. Should I stop believing in Jesus and reject the Virgin embracedt his r nanyo thct'st ake the available literaturea nd go throughi t gradtrally-,iu sta s I did ahnost others are tttorc resisttrnt oward Islan. that thcy have too Inany viccs that tltey cannotg etr id ol'.A t thisp oiltt.I 'altt o tcllthe readerthat wlren persone rnbraccsL sltlnr.h is or her lif'e may not changed ranraticallya ll of a sttdden.I t rtray,b ut not O fien this is a ltrocessth at dcvclclpsa s the person and gradually gets closer and closer lo Allah, to his brothersa ncls istersi n faith artctl o the lirndatnental tcachingso f the laith. Many of tltoser vho har"ea ttended rly lectureslt avca skectlh c lbllorvingc lltestiorts: L Do I ltavet o speakA rabici tto rdert o bea Mtrslirn? Is it necessartyo ben n Arab i1'Iu ,atrtto be a Muslim? 3. Shoulclls top bel icvingin . lcst tsa t tdr e- icctth e Vi rgin Mary to bc a MLrslint? Mary be Muslim?
My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam W MyG reaLt oveF orJ esusL edM eT ol sl6m @ The answers to all of the above questions are in the negative. Islfim Islam is a universal religion, and Muslims are in every country around the world. Language is not a barrier. To be a Muslim it is necessary necessartyo to believe believei in n Jesus Jesusa as s one oneo of f the greatest prophets of Allah, and in Mary as Jesus' mother, whom Allah favored over all other women. The first step to become a Muslim is indeed a very simple simplea and nd easy easyo one. ne.There T herea are ren no o complexities con-rplexitieosr or difficult requirements such ucha as s special specialc ceremonies, eremonieso,or r the mediation of certain agents, or anything beyond one's means. The only requirement to embrace Islam is to believe sincerely in and obey the one and only true God, to accept God as the Creator, the Sustainer of the universe, the One in whose hands is life and death, the Controller of all things, the only One worthy of worship, the One who has the beautiful names, and most glorious attributes, the One who has no associate, child, mother or and comparable to Him. All forms of paganism must also be abandoned. cefiain an),thing requirementto embraceI slam believes incerely most beautifuln ames,a ndm ostg loriousa ttributest,h e associatec, hild, rrother father, a nd nothing is comparableto Hirn. forrnso f paganisrnr nusta lso none has the right to be After testifying that worslrippedi n Allah and that Muharnmadi s the worshipped in truth but AINih Muhammad is Messenger of Allah, everything gradually with and dedication. If after accepting this firm beliet~ he considered to be a Muslim and may, by Allah's mercy, enter Paradise at Alluh, every,thing else can be learned patience lf anyone dies acceptingt his belief,h e or she is consideredto MLrslima nd t:y Alluh's Inercy.e nterP aradisea t the end of this world. a person testifies that Muhamtrad is the When Muhammad Messengeor f A//clh,t his doesn ot meant hat he is the only propheto f Al/ah, but that he is the lastr ressengeor f Allah andt he lasti n the lineo f prophetgs oingb ackt o Adam. Messenger of Allah, this does not mean that prophet of Allah, last messenger of and the last in line of prophets going back to
~ My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam Z wtV lsldm XI. XI. When When Religion Religion Is Is Inculcated Inculcated By By Compulsion Compulsion Allah Almighty Almighty has revealed that no one can be forced to embrace Islam. This is a fundamental tenet of His teachings. "There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of) the religion. The right course has become clear from the wrong." (Qur 'an 2:256) "There [acceptance ofl Qur'dn2:And Allah has said: "And say, "The truth is from And "And "The your Lord, so whoever wills let him believe; and whoever wills let him disbelieve...'disbelieve..." o (Qur Qur'dn 'an 18:29). 29). Islam also calls for establishing dialogue with the others and inviting them with wisdom and beautiful exhortation to embrace this true religion. ""Invite Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best." trest.o(' (Qur'an Qur'dn 16:125) 125) position The Catholic Church attained the it has today horrendousb loodshedo f millions of as a result of the horrendous bloodshed of innocent people. I was astonished when learned that the Netherlands alone, three million people were when they did not abide by, and Catholic Church. astonishedw hen I learnedt hat in Netherlandsa lone,t hreem illion peoplew ere executed accept the doctrines of the "Upon the 16th L6th February, 1568, 1568, a sentence of the inhabitants of the Holy Office condemned all the Netherlands to death as heretics. From this doom only a few excepted. A proclamation ofthe King, confirmed this decree of the inquisition, be carried into instant execution, to sex, or condition. This is probably death­warrant universal few persons, especially named; were of the dated ten days later, confirrned and ordered it to without regard lo age, probobly the most concise death-warrant f amed. Three millions of people, that was ever framed. n1en,w omen, were senlencedt o the scaffold in: three lines... new decree, the executions certainly did not slacken. Men in the highest and the men, women, and children, sentenced to in: three lines ... And under this certainly
My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam ~ MyG reaLt oveF orJ esusL edM er o lslam Q2 humblest positions were daily and hourly dragged to the stake. Alva, in a single letter to Philip, coolly estimated the number of executions which were to take place immediately after the expiration of holy week, eight hundred heads. ,,1 humblest stake. in a number of executions "at hundred heads."' After the Nicean Council was held it became a capital offense offenset to o possess possessa an n unauthorizedG unauthorized Gospel. ospel.A As s a result, over a million Christians Christiansw were erek killed illed in the yearsf years following ollowing the Council's decision. This was the methodology used by Athanasius to unify the Christians. It may seem to most of us that the perpetrators of these crimes against humanity were bloodthirsty individuals with no genuine motives; but I was shocked to find out that the call to perpetrating these horrendous horrendousc crimes rimes stems stemsd directly irectly from Biblical verse, verse. It may seem obvious to anyone who reads the Bible that these thesei individuals ndividualsw were ere implementing implementings some omet texts exts of some verses of the Bible. "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying .... Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him... But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with rvith him, keep alive for yourselves yourselves( (Numbers Nr-rmber3s1 31: : 17-18). 18).And A nd the Lord said, "Go through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have you pity. Slay utterly old and young, yorrlg, both maids and little children, and women..." (Ezekiel Ezekiel 9:5-5-6). 6). Joshua said to the people of Israel, ""The The Lord has given you the city (of the Canaanites)... Canaanites)'.. all silver, silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the Lord: They The)' shall come into the treasury of the Lord... The people utterly destroyed ' "The Riseo f the DutchR epublic."b y JohnL othropM otley I "The Rise of the Dutch Republic," by John Lothrop Motley
W I My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam lslim all that "t was in the city, man and woman, woman. young and old, old. and ox and sheep, sheep. and ass, ass. with the edge of the sword!. sword'. (Joshua 6: 1 16-6-21) The Lord allegedly said: - "Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, suckling. ox and sheep, sheep. camel and ass." (1 1 Samuel 15:3). 3). 'children also shall be dashed to before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished." (Isaiah 13: 16). - "Their pieces lsaiah 16). - "Samaria shall become desolate; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child" child' shall be ripped up." (Hosea 13: 16). l6). ' Since sonre Church rcccntly bcen allack [slam and accuse it of spread "srvord", ri,ofth mcntioning that the mcntioned thc not being evcn it thc Qur'in. rvhioh to havo by, thc 2 Isldm allored dclend rvcak women and thcrn. "And rvhat [the matterl the cause Alltrh lforl oppressed womcn, .,,1" (Qur'dn 4 : 7 5 ) . i s also ofsel fdef 'ensen ot ofaggrcssi txr . . , l / /Jis a1's": Fight way Alllh those rvho 1,ou transgrcss. Indecd. I Since some Church officials have recently been so bold as to attack Islam and accuse it of having been spread by the sword"', it is worth mentioning that the word "sword" is actually mentioned 406 times in the Bible while not being mentioned even once in the QUI' 'an, So which religion was likely to have been spread by the sword? 2 Islam allowed Jihad as a means to defend and protect the weak such as women and children, and not killing or dashing them, "And what is [the matter] with you that you fight not in lhe causc of Allah and [for] the oppressed among men, women, and children ... !" QUI' 'an 4:75), Jihad is also an act of self defense nol an act of aggression, AINih says: "Fight in the way of Allah those who fight you but do not transgress, Indeed. Allah docs not like transgressor's." transgressors." (QUI' Qur'dn 'an 2: 190), 190). Jihad is also prescribed prescribcd as a means to insure insurc the freedom freedonr of ol- calling others othcrs to the way nirl of Allah Allclh and offering them the choice to embrace it if they so wish without compulsion, Allah says: "There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion. The right course has become clear from the wrong..." QUI' 'an 2:256), Alliih also says: "And say, "The tl'Uth is from YOU!' Lord, so whoever wills let him believe; and whoever wills let him disbelieve." Qur'an 18:29) ofl'ering cmbrace i t if'thc1'l'ish u'ithout compulsion. "-I'here lacceptance ofl religion.'I'he becomc (Our'dn 256). ,llklh sa1's: "And "-l'he truth fronr vour rvhoever belicvc; whoevcr n'ills lct (Our'tin 29
My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam ~ MyG reaLt oveF orJ esusL edM eT ol slAmQ y' It appears that the Bible is the only religious book in the world that sanctionsth sanctions the e killing of children, t the he dashing of infants and the ripping open of the bellies of pregnant women. The presence of such verses in the Bible and ascribing them to God is a clear proof that the Bible was subject to corruption by human hands that invented lies in God's name.' name. l Allah A/Nih says in the noble Qur'dn: Qur'an: ""So So woe to those who write the ""scripture" scripture" with their own hands, then say, ''This This is from Allnh,' Allah,' in order to exchange it for a smalJ small price. Woe to them for what their hands have written and woe to them for what they earn." (2:79) 19 Compulsioni s incompatiblew ith religionb ecausere ligion Compulsion is incompatible with religion because religion depends upon faith and resolution, and these would be meaningless if induced by force. Men and women must be given the opportunity to choose believe in, but the alternatives must presented without bias and without compulsion. Guillotines, saws, axes and meaninglesisf inducedb y M en mustb e whatever religion they believei n, alternativesm ust be presentedw ithout compulsionG. uillotines,s aws,a xesa nd ' Owing to the that the tcxts othors lOwing to the fact that the presence of such texts and others is a cause of great embarrassment embarassment to to the the "editors" of ofthe the Bible, they have havc been interfering intcrfering 'l'hey in in what what allegedly allegedly is the the Word Word of of God. They treated treatcd the text like any other book book written rwitten by humans; and therefore tlierefore added to and deleted delcted from fiorn it, what they they deemed unfit. For example examplc ISamuel lSarnuel 6: 19 reads: "And he hc smote the thc men men of ofBcthshemcsh, Bethshemesh, because they thel'had had looked into the thc ark of ofthc the Lord, even even he smote of the people fifty f i f t y thousand and threescore and ten men." However, Holever, the English. English, French, French. German Gcrman and Arabic translations decided decided that that such an act act does not befit the Merei Merci{ful ul Lord, Lorcl. so they thel changed the the text text to to only only ((seventy sevent1,men), m en). They 1'he1'believed believcd that the mere rnerc "''looking" looking" into the the ark ark of of the the Lord I-ord is not a crime punishable by genocide. genociclc. Even Lven at the present prcsentt time, in. rc.with s ' i th the thc Bible's exposure exposurct to o translators t ranslatorsa and nd printing pr int ing tools, tools. it i t is still st i l l being being altered, al tered.One O nc wonders s'ondersh how orv the situation si t t rat ionr was vas in the thc ancient ancicnt times t imes when rvheno only nl l the the priests pr iestsh had ad access accesst to o the 13ible. Biblc.
W My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam fire should not have been the optionsl given to those who did not want to accept doctrines being enforced by the Catholic Church. Allah had already revealed in His last message to humankind: "There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance ofJ the religion. The right course has become clear from the wrong" Qur 'an 2:256). I fvrvG reatL oveF orJ esusL edM eT o tslAm optionsr AllAh messageto o 'Theres hall [acceptance (Qur'dn Today, we are witnessing the results of compulsion in religion in various countries. Drug addiction, murder, theft, prostitution, corruption, rapes and homosexuality are some of the consequences of imposing a religion on that is not carried in the heart. someo f consequenceosf imposinga religiono n people Sticking to ancestral traditions will not necessarily take a nation to success. successF. For or this reason reasonI I would like to offer at least one alternative that can save lives, rehabilitate alcoholics, alcoholics. as well as r.unite rnite families and society. ' The Bible attributes genocidc he is totally innocent. Sarnucl 29-31we fincl: ''And all the together, rvent llabbah, took i t . And he took thcir whereof was a talent *'ith thc i t David's head. And brought thc abundance. And he thcrcin, put them under saws, harro*'s and madc them antl cities of thc people unto Jcrusalem." Chroniclcs 3" i t out thc people that i t , rvith harrows of iron, and axes, [ven dcalt rvith thc the children of ,{mmon. nll returned Jerusalem," It rnakes rvonder hou *'orld cver livc peace when such inhumane callcd irr callcd Ho'ly Book. and arc ascribed nrophets'l I The Bible attributes heinous acts of genocide to Prophet David, of which he is totally innocent. In 2 Samuel 12:29-31 we find: "And David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it. And he took their king's crown from off his head, the weight whereof was a talent of gold with the precious stones: and it was set on David's head. And he brought forth the spoil of the city in great abundance. And he brought forth the people that were therein, and them under saws, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brick kiln: and thus did he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon. So David and all the returned unto Jerusalem." Also, in I Chronicles 20:3, it is said: "And he brought out the people that were in it, and cut them with saws, and with harrows of iron, and with axes. Even so dealt David with all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people to Jerusalem." It makes one wonder how the world can ever live in when such inhumane acts of genocide arc called upon in a so-called Holy Book, and are ascribed to God and His prophets?
My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam ij) MyG reaLt oveF orJ esusL edM eT ol slAmQ 2 The latest heart-breaking breaking news of the year 2002 regarding the Catholic Church in the USA relates to the sexual abuse that some priests committed against innocent children. Astonishingly, the top ranks in the Vatican did not respond as though such acts were atrocious crimes, but instead tried to cover them up by offering money to silence the victims. I kept a report from several years ago where was stated that more than five percent of in USA were perpetrators of sexual child abuse. However, took several years for this news to become headlines on the main TV stations worldwide. regarding sexual abuse children. the victims. it priests the USA perpetratorso f sexualc hild H owever, it took several news in four The whole world was shocked when the latest 2004 stated that in the past 50 years, more than thousand thousandp priests riestsi in n the USA have haveb been eeni involved nvolvedi in n sexual child abuse. That is an astonishing statistic to say the but not at all surprising. The undoubted truth there is anyone factor to blame, then itself. It is extremely important that these evil acts are not carried perverts. Bible itself encourages immorality 23: 1. Adultery and incest are two falsely attributed to some prophets. Of as we wholly reject the idea that involved in such despicable acts. abuseT. hat astonishings tatisticto sayt he least, T he undoubtedt ruth is that if any one it should be the Bible impoftant the reader knows that just out by pervefts. The encouragesim morality as stated in Ezekiel 1. just of the evil acts falselya ttributedto somep rophetsO. f course, a s Muslims, any prophet of Allah was involvedi n suchd espicablea cts. havea skedt he questionto someC hristians I have asked the following question to some Christians colrlmunities rvhere the Bible is in those countries or communities where generally accepted as Holy Scripture, "Why of murder, rape, theft, alcoholism,] prostitution, generallya ccepteda s Scripture." Wl]y are the rates of rnurder, alcoholism,' prostittttion, r One of thc rnajora busesa nd fnlsc accusationds irccteda gainstt he pcrson of Jesus at thc hands of those rvho corruptcd the Bible' and n'hichn o Muslim '"r'ouldto leratei,s his descriptiona sa "rrincbibber"a s is mentioned in Luke 7:34 "Son of man is courc eating ancl lOne of the major abuses and false accusations directed against the person of Jesus at the hands of those who corrupted Bible. and which no Muslim would tolerate, is his description as a '"winebibber" as is mentioned in Luke 7:34 "The Son of man is come eating and
~ I My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam lsldm homosexuality, "t incest and widespread corruption extremely high compared to those countries where the Qur Qur'dn 'an is the scripture of reference though with some variation?" Many of them have been shocked by this question since they have never thought about making such compansons. comparisons. For example, in a dialogue that I had with a US penalty citizen, I cited a case where the death was imposed in Saudi Arabia on seven criminals who, while under the influence of alcohol, raped a woman. I told him that as a consequence consequenceo of f the application of the full weight of the law hundreds of ofthousands thousands of ofother other women had been saved from other potential criminals. He disagreed and felt that the law was too severe and that it could not be implemented in his country. Based on official statistics, I told him that in his country in the last eight months more than half a million women were raped; an average of two thousand women raped every day! He was shocked and admitted to the effectiveness effectivenesso of f the application applicationo of f the Islamic Law. If I could talk to him again, I would tell him that in Islam, Isldm, even if an imam imarn were to rape a child, as the priests have done in the church, he would be executed without delay, in order to save the rest of the children. How happy I am to have embraced 1Islarn 1am and I am proud to tobe be a Muslim. drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, nrarr, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!." The irony is also apparent when one finds Proverbs 20:1 saying: "Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise." One can only imagine the state of humankind ifit were to believe that one of the greatest prophets of God, like Jesus Christ, was an alcoholic. ofpublicans sinrrers!."'fhc rvhen 1 "Wine rnocker, hurnankind if it werc belicvc greatespt rophetso fGod, JesusC hrist.r vasa n
My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam W To lslam Q/ XII. An Open Invitation to the Pope and Other XII. I begin in the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Merciful. May Allah bless all those who follow the correct path. correct I hereby extend this invitation to the Pope and all the leaders of of the world, especially those who govern and rule over millions of people of other religions, sects and ideologies; I invite all of you to embrace Isliim. Come to Islam and you will be saved from the of and earn His reward in Paradise. If you are a Jew or Christian, Allah will give you a double reward once embrace Islaml World Leaders over millions religiotts, etnbrace Islam. Isldm punishment Allah a you Islam'. . Prophet Muhammad said: "A person (a from the people of the Scripture Jew or Christian) who believes in his prophet (Jesus or Moses) and then believes in Prophet Muhammad (embraces Isllm) Islam) will have a double reward.,,2 have a double reward."' i f rejectt his y ou rvill be held However, if you reject this invitation, you will accountablefo r thoseu ndery our influencea nd all those accountable for all those under your influence and who follow you. atrd the world Like all my Muslim brothers and sisters over, rne rvith the responsibility of conveyingt his messageto humanityt o the besto f my over, Allah has charged me with conveying this message to all humanity to best of ability. He has said: "Say, 0 People come to a word that is equitable ­that "Say, O of the Scripture, between us and you - that we will not worship except Allah Alllh and not associate I T'hep eopleo f the Book (Jeu'sa nd Christiansa) re granteda .s pecial status in ihe Qur'dn as to inviting them to Isldnt ancl establishing^ dialoguer vitht hem.l llah says": do not argue with tlre People-of the S"cripture except in a'way that is best"t (Qttr'an 29:46). 1 The people of the Book (Jews and Christians) are granted a special status in the QUI' 'an as to inviting [sfiim and establishing dialogue with them. Allah says: "And do the People of the Scripture except in a way best." (QUI' 'an 46). The QUI' 'an also states that the Christians are nearest in lovc " ... the nearest of them in affection to the believers who say, "We are Christians." That is because among them are priests and J,ll0nks and because they are not arrogant." (QUI' 'an 5:82) • Narrated hy Muslim. 342. -I'hc Our'dn alsos tatestl tatt he Christiansa rc nearcsitn lovc to the Muslims: ;... tne nearest ofthem in affection to the believers those who say, "We Are Christians." That is becausea mong them are priests and qonks and becauseth ey are not arrogant." (Qttr'an5 :82) ' Narratedb v Muslim. 3,12.
~ I My nAVG Great reatL Love oveF For orJ Jesus esusL Led edM Me eT To o Islam lsl6m anything with Him and not take one another as lords instead of Allah. But if they turn away, then say, ""Bear Bear witness that we are Muslims [[submitting submitting to Him]." (Qur'an Qur'dn 3:64). 64). Having presented the previous proofs in this book so so that whoever has eyes can see them and whoever has intellect can understand understandth them, em, a junction has been reached where Allah, the Exalted, calls on all people to embrace the truth. Once again I affirm that it is my duty and responsibility as a human being, one who submitted by free will to the law and commands of Allah, the one and only God, the Beneficent, the Merciful, to invite all mankind to give up the worship of false deities, whether animate and inanimate objects or any other thing created by Allah AIIAh or fashioned by man. After repenting, they must submit themselves themselvesc completely ompletelyt to o the will of Allcth,Allah, t the he only true God, Creator ofthe of the universe. It is worthy to note that as much money, prestige, and that a non-Muslim might have in this position, power Muslim life, he or she will never have enough to buy his or her entrance to the gardens of Paradise in the next world.! The entranceto gardenso f Paradisein world.l poorest inhabitant of the earth who has testified that none rOnly 1 Only the person personw who ho fulfllls f'ulllllsh his is purpose purposei in n life, lil-e,i.i .e., e..t the he rvorshipo worship of f Allah alone, may be able to achieve true happiness and internal peace. Al[ah says:" Whoever does righteousnessw, hether male female, Al{says: "Whoever righteousness, whether or while he is a believer - - We will surely cause him to live a good life, and We will surely give them their reward lin lin the Hereafterl Hereafter) according accordingt to o the best besto of f what they used usedt to o do." ((Qur Qur'dn 'an 16:97). 97).A Allah llAh also says: "Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance rememtrrance of Allah. Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured." ((Qur Qur'dn 'an l3:J3:28). ln In Chapter 20, Verses 123-124, wc rcad: "... whoever follows My guidance will neither go astray lin [in the world worldl I nor suffer [lin in the Hereafterl. And whoever turns away from My 'fhis remembrance indeed, h e lvill havea depressedIi .e.,d ifficultl life..." latter verse 124, we read: " ... Hereafter]. he will have a depressed li.e., difficult] life... " This explainst he causef or many psychologicaill lnessesa nd u4ry some very rvealthyp' coplea tternpst uicide. explains the cause for psychological illnesses and why wealthy people attempt suicide.
My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam ijI MyG reaLt oveF orJ esusL edM eT dt stamQ z has Muhammad is (the the right to be worshipped but Allah and that His Messenger testimony of faith) will happier more be and dignified in the next world than the richest person who Allah guide did not accept the last message sent by to humankind. says in the Qur'an (3:85) "And whoever Allah Qur'dn 85) "And desires other than Islam Islem as religion never will wilt it be accepted from him, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers." And in 5:36-37 it says: "Indeed, those who disbelieve if they should have all that is in the earth and the like of it with it by which to ransom themselves the punishment of the Day of Resurrection, it will not be accepted from them, and 36-37 "Indeed, from for is painful them a punishment. They will wish to get out of the Fire, but never are they to emerge therefrom, and for them is an enduring punishment." So while one's soul is still within his body and he can still breathe, speak s peaka and nd is conscious consciouso of f his actions, he h e can always repent to Allah, the Exalted. If repentance is sincere and one testifies that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger, while avoiding all forms of paganism, Allah will forgive him, even if he should be but a minute distance away from the Hellfire. Allah will then change the person's bad deeds into good deeds and allow him or her entrance into Jannah (the garden of Paradise) eternally. Allah has said: "Except for those who repent, believe and do righteous work. For them Allah Allnh will replace their evil deeds with good. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful." (25:70). 70). And He has said: ""But But the ones who believe and do righteous deeds We lvill will admit them to gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever. [[It It is] the promise of Allah, [[which which isl is] truth, and who is more truthful than Allah in statement?" (4: 122) It is the promise of Allah for anyone
W My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam who wants to repent sincerely and start a new life. I close this invitation citing the following verses from the Qur 'an, where Allah, the Almighty gives the opportunity to human beings to repent sincerely. He repent, regardless of the magnitude of will forgive them. I who this whe hum repe will My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslAm wants to repent sincerely and start a new life. I close invitation citing the verses from the Qur'dn, re Allah, the Almighty gives the opportunity to all an invites sinners to nt, their sins, and He forgive lnthe In the Qur'dn Qur 'an (39:53-54), 54),A Allah llah revealed: ""Say, Say, ""O 0 My slaves who have transgressed against themselves [by of the mercy of Alteh. Alleh Indeed, it is He who And return [in repentance] to Him before the themselves [by sinning], do not despair Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. who is the Forgiving, the Merciful. [in repentance] to your Lord and submit punishment comes upon you; then helped." you will not be helped." Here Here also, A Allah llah informs us that time for repentanceis repentance is of arrives it is no lon-gFeinrp aolfsys, ibleto obtainf orgiveness. of limited duration and that when death longer possible to obtain forgiveness. extends promise of forgiveness and Finally, Allah extends His mercy steadlast in faith and does mercy to the believer who is steadfast good deeds, saying (20:82): deeds, 82): "But Forgiver of "But indeed, I am the Perpetual whoever righteousness and then whoever repents and believes and does and then continues in guidance." I supplicate all that exists, the I supplicate to Allah, the Creator of true Guide, path all those seekers of truth analysis. I ask Atlahto guidea llthosew ho makes inceres elf-assessments and to improve to what is pleasingt o Him. true Guide, to guide to the right truth whose minds are open to objective Allah to guide all those who make sincere self-assessments and to improve their conditions according pleasing to Him.
a iH: iE :E? !H ? ts iEFiis :Ei ;FF i Fc Is: $Ee Ee E5; lh : EI; E:! ?.=ai:F S': I E ;i; s!EE eR;aii; i , =.rEu ;E- E?^;li EE+ t et; ilp-+ll:Eis Fg; i ii:j;El;:g;:i.*;=;: i;;35i;;Fi;;iFciE3i:;! My Great Love ForJesus Led Me To lstam (d2 E9, E O 6 o ! -Cl e ! L 9 r : 9 q r ! - Q o eb :3=E E 6 c : =2 : a ! - : bD -c E O i 3 ! r ; UcE - o b J : o l ';ee 6 0 - o ! ' u O e 9 -:. ; = B,it F ' v G O E > <6 = . r srtt c F o I t-g|' 2to4 e e ' : r i 6!uH Bi€= iE;i ;f::; r?+ eI'- r:riE;g tirEr; :e2 €r.., * ) - : : . i ; * y ? , " ' , . o - ieE tIi ;t;;€: Et;rrE F!6 FEi ESiEE: ;E;Ff g ;: :; I ;;;B ?!E : 9 9 r - - ; :: 5E E E.EIP ?'zZ i i5 la t iE;'s €!€ E F= ;E : !:E; ?il $ sg Ii : ;;l: EI; E so !Eg 6 rrE.r E€;^; : ; ; ; r E gF ; !EgX j;€ r 3: '< G) ;~ r­o< CD ." Q c... CD III C III r; a. f -t o iii 0;; 3 ~ To you (0 Muhammad) We sent down the Book in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it and as a criterion over it. (Q. 5:48). The Qur'an is the Criterion by which the contents of all other sacred books may be jud2ed. The Bible The Our'lIn On God "for in six days the Lord made heaven and "And We did certainly create the heavens earth, and on the seventh day he rested." and earth and what is between them in six (Exodus 3 I: 17) days, and there touched Us 00 weariness." (Q.50:38) "Then the LORD awaked as one out of sleep, "Allah there is no deity except Him, the and like a mighty man that shouteth by reason Ever-Living, the Sustaioer of {all] existence. of wine." (Psalms 78:65) Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep." (Q. 2:255) Jacob wrestles with God and defeats Him as in "They have not appraised Allah with true Genesis 32:30 appraisal. Indeed, Allah is Powerful and "And the Lord was with Judah; and he drave Exalted in Might." (Q . 22:74) out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could "But Allah is not to be caused failure by not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, anything in the heavens or on the earth. because they had chariots of iron." (Judges I: 19) Indeed, He is ever Knowing and Competent." (Q. 35:44) "I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. 2 .... "Indeed, Allah does not wrong the people at all, but it is the people who are wronging shew me wherefore thou contendest with me. ~. themselves." (Q. 10:44) Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress." (.Job 10:1-3) "My Lord neither errs nor forgets." (Q. "How long wilt thou forget me, ° Lord?" 20:52) (Psalms 13: I) "Indeed, my Lord is the Hearer of 1<
~ i: EE;! E^28?-Ei :FEig t* €E i€C !#'"i'E; 39) 14:Q. supplication."(; tr;n;;E3:t ,ili;'aa EE ! ;;;pziyn;:iis;:F!$ ; i:€:;Eg?E!.ii;;:-t; : I a:,., 3i=uliyEE;: zgELi6=!E1Z:22;zo its;; tEiE 't ?=^ri;z;aEZE?'?=IsE.iAiiiE{3; E*E,, i;!:u, EiiEa i,E;s EiE T Etii: i EiT liEti*r i!;; s: Ez z ;iliiZii i:.:; fr1i,, ?:r t3;f = E 832'g i,E Elir ii i My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslam . 2 8 :fE ii_gis?ieEaIiaEa. ;:.i::Fgii ;i : F 3f:fEi ;iEi EEiS;;Es;iE;ii! ssEi F ;t: ; is:i? =s aEr ;iiE Ei i tlzgE:; i=€*!;g ;;i;E ii ii €;; i E!u! =?b:'E =*I o o L o o -!: o a ? ' ; :+ : - E 5 > € m+ ;, "[It is] the promise of Allah. Allah does not ~ "0 Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear!" (Habakuk 1:2) The Lord is alleged to have said: "... and to break my covenant with them: .. ." (Leviticus 26:44) God was ignorant of Adam's whereabouts and of his eating from the tree according to Genesis 3:9; "And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?" The Lord needs a mark to distinguish the houses ofthe Israelites from the houses of the Egyptians. (Exodus 12: 13). God does not know what goes on on the earth, so He needs to go down to find out, "And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; "I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know." (Genesis 18:20). In Corinthians 1 1:25, Paul says: "Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men." fail in His promise, but most of the people do not know." (Q . 30: 6). Allah is All-Knowing; therefore when Adam and his wife ate from the tree He addressed them in a way that clearly indicated His knowledge of what they had done. "And their Lord called to them, "Did I not forbid you from that tree and tell you that Satan is to you a clear enemy?" (Q. 7: 22) "[Allah is] the Knower of the unseen." Not absent from Him is an atom's weight within the heavens or within the earth or [what is] smaller than that or greater, except that it is in a clear register" (Q. 34:3) "[He is] Knower of the unseen and the witnessed, the Grand, the Exalted. It is the same [to Him] concerning you whether one conceals [his] speech or one publicizes it and whether one is hidden by night or conspicuous [among others] by day." (Q. 13:9-10) "And with Him are the keys of the unseen; none knows them except Him. And He knows what is on the land and in the sea. Not a leaf falls but that He knows it. And no grain is there within the darknesses of the earth and ~ C> ! b~ "Tl Q c... CD Ul c:: Ul r­CD Co s: CD -t o iii ;;;; 3
e c N = 6 - O My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslam I5:; if€ E '.ii, i€;;!;E;i l;E EE::i ==s ,-€es;it;ai :;;^i:fF ie E3;r:iii;:$E;:;E* & E It iil?ii:;i ilC=t Ei; e;;ii=# g3isfli! ssE:E€ -: tiFlii ii! :g i=g!iEig ;ii 74E{:, E+E rE€€ 8.-s^H-:iE ;: I ii;7EZt"-r==S=Elft f ni ; +;€ i i i;::t ..s ' +iz: t ! t;!:' Eir ti gi ttiS j =i - 3,,ei8;E : :ii=,:i : l =i4 i g;E;q*gEE-ii;-' EabrE ; ti i iEi ti: :; E=:iEi iiz ltz:{it;l :i i Ziia,rEti E :-".i i ! + 1 :z z ? Ls I i€ i i : i i Zi i EE Zi i =, ,i , : f tEi Z= o -; O h i r 9 . . L ' 5 : ot a I I : d The Bible unfittingly depicts God as being so poor that lie has to hire a razor in Isaiah 7:20; "In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet: and it shall also consume the beard." And that God has a nose and a mouth from which smoke comes out in Psalms 18:8 "There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured." The Lord cries and sheds tears; my soul shall weep ... and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears." (Jeremiah 13: I 7). God wails, howls and walks naked in Micah I :8; "Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked: I wiII make a wailing like the dragons, and mourning as the owls." (KJV) And He hisses (whistles) for the fly and bee as in; "the Lord shall hiss for the fly ... and for the bee." (Isaiah 7: 18) and He claps with his hands; "I will also smite mine hands together." (Ezekiel 21: I 7) no moist or dry [thing) but that it is [written] in a clear record." (Q. 6:59) " ... Allah is Knowing of all things." (Q. 5:97) "0 mankind, you are those in need of Allah, while Allah is the Free of need, the Praiseworthy." (Q. 35:15) "Allah has certainly heard the statement of those [Jews] who said, "Indeed, Allah is poor, while we are rich." We wiII record what they said and their killing of the prophets without right... " (Q. 3:181) ~ "Exalted is your Lord, the Lord of might, ~ above what they describe." (Q . 37: I80) m. "There is nothing like unto Him,. and He is b the Hearing, the Seeing." (Q. 42:1 I) ;; " ... for Allah is the highest attribute. And He ~ is Exalted in Might, the Wise." (Q. 16:60) ~ "He is Allah, other than whom there is no ~ deity, the Sovereign, the Pure, the Perfection, ~ the Bestower of Faith, the Overseer, the :; Exalted in Might, the Compeller, the ~ Superior. Exalted is Allah above whatever ~ they associate with Him. He is Allah, the ~ Creator, the Inventor, the Fashioner; to Him iii; belong the best names. Whatever is in the 3 heavens and earth is exalting Him. And He is 0 the Exalted in Mi~ht, the Wise." (Q. 59:23-24)
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My creat Love For Jesus Led Me To lsliam 6ii -! lrs i:r9iF?; b; :: s ilgi;iti;?E*? aE-Eii;i:i$ it ,zaI:=: Ef$!g*;:E: r;= igl ;:;Es#;aii s;=li;Eet:s;=:l3,;i:EFi; li-l4; :€rg 3e EEVE#s:!eEr =ei= o g e! : o t r V YE c € - ! r - = 1 t t ; t r t r Y i5E c ! 5 Ze E r9^EF : ! n € ; . ' - . i - d e;i E f l G G a v c € o . a E . : s , . t , ' i . 2 , ! c ! ; l - l - ;5F=F^ - < l t t r : . c E o " ! Y : 5 =: E E: :s3.=-: € E : e o'., €=d y'F7:;E, r= 5 r - - - - for thou savourest not the things that be of are Muslims [submitting to Him). "Our God, but those that be of men." (Matthcw 16:23) Lord, we have believed in whaf You revealed Judas. despite being Jesus' trcasurer. betrayed him and have followed the messenger Jesus, so for thirty pieces of silver; "And said unto them, register us among the witnesses [to truth)." Vhat will ye give me, and I will deliver him (Q. 3:52-53) unto you? And they covenanted with him for "0 you who have believed, be supporters of thirty pieces of silver." (Matthew 26: 14) Allah, as when Jesus, the son of Mary, said to =e i iii r: riEE E',,!v:E'!'f!;;g;ne4;igEr=p= t - ; | . i F, ? " ! - . a_ 7 - ^ ie i€ i =;-i g ,Ezl = € . = a z = - = t 7 - Z i iiz::;4i:i!:: liz=:: EizZzT-u :i:; i; tE:izEi z ' d . i = j E = : . ' / . , . 4 2 J l::.E;fi2,2,j2i7 iE:=2= i ':2=v1 =t i : : 4:: i i - : € ?') ),L _52.=_.=7-:i€E-3 a Z r = : + ' - a 1 ' * t i . = > . : € . ? Z € o : , e i = f , > . . : q a .=;o , F i , o c - . E ,r) -. D r - E r : ; a.l r v o - c j o 5 Y - 7 6 E a , - * . - : " - - a D z<a On Jesus' Disciples Mark 14:50 says of Jesus' disciples: "they all The Qur 'an defends thc disciples of Jesus and forsook him, and fled." And the Bible alleges that confirms their innocence of betrayal and weak thc Messiah said to the disciples: "Why are yc faith. "But when Jesus felt [persistence in) fearful. 0 ye of little faith?" (Matthew 8:26) disbelief from them, he said, "Who are my "But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee supporters for [the cause of) Allah?" The behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: disciples said, "We are supporters for Allah. We have believed in Allah and testify that we the disciples, "Who are my supporters for Allah?" The disciples said, "We are supporters of Allah." (Q. 61: 14) On the Prophets of God Noah is drunk and naked in his tent. (Gcnesis 9:21 ) "Indeed, Allah chose Adam and Noah and Abraham sacrifices his honor (Genesis 12: 10-15 the family of Abraham and the family of and Genesis 20:2). Imran over the worlds." (Q. 3:33) "And Ishmael and Elisha and Jonah and Lot Lot gets drunk. commits incest with his own two - and all lof them) We preferred over the daughters and impregnates them. (Gcncsis 19:30-36) worlds." (Q. 6:86)
My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lsldm Y =Jacob lies to his father and steals the blessing and ~ HEE€gE :#s:i:'$ #gs::E ige;ii;i1E;;EE.iia ii:iEi:i! Ei;;s i;o d i a !g;i+E: ;€girrx I E::Eg*Eg!9 i€re F.l o iEEE;E3€;ir;aE*,;=E:E! E;iiiiE;"al?E :;a: *tr iEt !-o ;ee;:g :#:lic €! gAf E!iEiE . E T ' . E -66 6 9.3I o E*T E 6 9. q - ! ^ ^' o- cY e c > i 6 J 6 b o! ; < 2 ' t '" i6 .E t r : / x ;tsi h 6 - C . . E ^ ^ >EE'- = ; 3 9Y1 J t E ! : : b i E " > . q o g# H E . : t ; '^ <- - #a uL h ! - t r : o ^ , ' = i ? ; o i'"X .Y tr€ i * = -o o -o .E F u.-:. <a I O . g t r , = : . c o O : - - *3.;!'. - r -3lE - :n.;F 4 . 9 :€I gE F = $'F^', : r.6 .= ni 5I * t . i ! , O o q n C = . , j h r 9 3='a .= - q E€ i ' r ! prophethood from his brother. (Genesis: 27). Reuben, the prophet and oldest son of Jacob commits adultery with his father's wife who is the mother of his two brothers. (Genesis 35:22 and Genesis 49:3) Judah, the fourth son of Jacob commits incest with his daughter-in-law and has Pharez and Zarah from her. (Genesis 38:18) The Bible then traces the lineage of Jesus to Pharez (Matthew I: 18), contradicting Deuteronomy 23 :2, which says, "A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to his tenth generation," - 9 H €:> - 9 6 i a d E N . . = ^ - E U - l r i o g . : ? ^ : h 99= o 9 € r - i i 6- ', ic:d d - o f X s r i - i 1 < o 1 - E . ' o : :"! !Fef eEg . J ! h q - a , h ;EE :E^sFll i ' ! " H;=."969 ?ru i4=fiEEe * 9 . : t r . ^ ; ^ . - ' = = = ' - i . ! ^ n ! Q == = -3' : :E- " ?3v ) .g i : ' c . ^ ?z..Ai :9 - = 9 9 r i . . = s X A'A t ' ' 6 ; d : ; o F ' - + : € j E - o r . = S J a s 6 b! o * ? r 2 I c ' 3 E O : = i E U - d r b0 R F - p . . o . = a 4 )c O v * 0 , € ! O F "Peace upon Moses and Aaron." Indeed, We thus reward the doers of good. Indeed, they were of Our believing servants." (Q. 37: 120-122) "0 you who have believed, be not like those who abused Moses; then Allah cleared him of what they said. And he, in the sight of Allah, was distinguished." (Q. 33: 69) Moses did not kill the Egyptian deliberately. The Lord accuses Moses and Aaron of betrayal in the Old Testament: "Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel," (Deuteronomy 32:51) Moses' killing of the Egyptian was deliberate and "And remember Our servants, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob those of strength and [religious) vision. Indeed, We chose them for ~ an exclusive quality: remembrance of the ~ home [of the Hereafter). And indeed they ~ are, to Us, among the chosen and b outstanding." (Q . 38:45-47) ;; "Those were the ones upon whom Allah ~ bestowed favor from among the prophets of ~ the descendants of Adam and of those We ~ carried [in the ship) with Noah, and of the ~ descendants of Abraham and Israel, and of ~ those whom We guided and chose. When the ~ verses of the Most Merciful were recited to f} them, they fell in prostration and weeping." ![ (Q. 19:58) 3'
planned. (Genesis 2: 12) Aaron fashioned the golden calf and ordered the Israelites to worship it in the absence of Moses. (Genesis 32: 1-6). gigirii f;r; i;; il FiE ii:EF iLL 5i Eiggs iti iil*tili; ,i€gi€ :iFF igtiiii iigi:ta g;i;i;igi E Bi!iEB" My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslam 39 . 2 . 2 = = 1 . ; =J * t = 2 1 i= TZEi:i = E,E=i u L : J = < - - O i r ' " e - ! I EP ;,F;=;= t E::=E 6 O O ' t ^ u , ' = 1 2 p+ .=a .EJ E- - 2?- .=i =ItE E .zi ?Avr=,: .12! E'ri g=...J.=-e ! 7'..=E Ez! Eai.is=l ZEa=" -=E nEvY 9-.^i - 2 . ' 5 t , ' ? , , -,E-? q ! ; j : =-=?a t r i c ! : - ' 8 5 = A = = - - ' r = Z.=E = i 7 = r l 2 c = = s i ^ a -=a i s . L l " ! l ' ; 1 = i l = a = J- E-=.= [ ] . = ] ' - - i - - - z E7-ta 3,2Zii i::2 : <Z=1: - 2'a 6 E -4':Td=_,'t ^ e = - 4 s - EE , ; Z=t I z' : r 'F=ET: 8 -" = - Z = ' io Ee+ reA-"s>-=1 E€ 2 -- " *aiee -'-= =Z-:3.= ? n : i ' ' " - a . . i o ' 1 5 !> i ( ) E ? . ' : , ' { ( , -o : . i = > ' a N a r ' l 'c s a David hetrays his neighbor and army chief, has sexual intercourse with his wife and sends him to get killed in war. (2 Samuel 11:4-15). Solomon has a thousand women and they tum his heart away from God; and so he builds temples for their gods (I Kings II: 1-9). David's son. Amnon rapes his sister, Tamar. (2 Samuel 13:11-14). Absalom. the son of David commits open adultery with his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel. (2 Samuel 16: 21) .lob is impatient and refuses to accept the will of God. (.lob 10) Zechariah did not believe God's miracle regarding the hirth of John. so God punished him with dumbness for nine months. "And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, (SeeQ.28:15) The Qur '[in defends Aaron against this false allegation confirming that the one who introduced worship of the calf was as-Samiri and not Aaron. (see Q. 20:85-98) " ... and remember Our servant, David, the possessor of strength; indeed, he was one who repeatedly turned back (to Allah)." (Q. 38: 17) "And We had certainly given to David and Solomon knowledge, and they said, Praise [is duel to Allah, who has favored us over many of His believing servants." (Q. 27: 15) The Qur 'an dismisses the unjust description of the Prophet .lob, and describes him as follows: "Indeed, We found him patient, an excellent servant. Indeed, he was one repeatedly turning back (to Allahl." (Q. 38:44) The Qur 'an defends Zachariah in Q, 19: 10 stating that his silence for 3 days was a sign for the coming true of the miracle. and not by way of punishment. "(Zechariah) said, "My Lord, make for me a sign." He said, "Your sign is I that you will not speak to the people for three s: '< Cl til .II.I. or­< Cll "Tl !:! <­Cll l'": 'r"­Cll Q, s: Cll -l o iii OJ; 3
My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lsldm tEiE:ii; !izsi=Ez€z:because thou beJievest not my words, which nights, [being) sound." 6 ! - c = > : . - , - ' t - ^ 7 - r / ! ; : - A a E < = 6 : - ' f - c?, t - - . a ! ' , : 7 J e - ! 7 G r , ! - - a : a t / . ! - , - , r - > 7 - ! - lii!; l i! ! g iitii iiE iiuiti iEE?:= ;?: iEE eio =, li;1;ziEl:lilEz;iiEz;ilFE ^; , , v ^ - : 1 ! C u f l - ! 9 n A u 9 7 r t i . v = c , 3 * 4 , 7 | 1 - t a v = ' . ^ . = @ i : * ? - 6, ?, EiE 2?. e : ' ; : . ! , . z ' = ; . i Z1|Z: 7{. ; 6 izi A. =i'=.= ?=. L27-'z: =.= - , p t zi I = = . - a = - = liii t= illi'=i =;;E ;i!t l:ii*Z: =i Z= l ii "-i: Z-,Z t; iti i : t i: =:ti=iZz'+=t j?ij:, i:i;=Ei|=t=i=,-i1+E= u , ' - > = ' r l t l t e - . ' J i l ; . = L 2 - a d A : ' h - . 5 t - a t i : t - t ^ - ^ T , ,? d - 1 . = d a , - - - F I ? shall be fulfilled in their season," (Luke 1:20) The Qur 'an confers great respect on all the Jesus allegedly describes all the prophets before Prophets of God, and does not ascribe any him as thicvcs, "AJJ that ever came before me arc obscene acts or wrong-doing to them, [n fact, thieves and robbers."' (John 10:8), God allegedly believing in all the Prophets as well as attributes to His prophets wickedness and lies, respecting them is a main requirement in Islam, (Jeremiah 23:11-16): Allah says "Say, [0 believers), "We have "II. For both prophet and priest arc profane; believed in Allah and what has been revealed yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, to us and what has been revealed to saith tl!e Lord, , Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob 1'2, ,' herefore,the"ir way shall be unto them as and theDescedn ants and what was gi.ven t0 slIpperv ways In the darkness: they shall be d J d h t . h dn'ven 'on, a,n d f'aJJ t Ilerel'll: f'ai' I WI'JJ bri'ng eVI'J Moses an esus an. w a was given to t e upon them, even the year of their visitation, p~o~he~s from their Lord. We make no saith the Lord, dlstmctIon between any of them, and we are 1:1, And I have seen fo]]v in the prophets of Muslims [in submission] to Him." (Q, 2:136) Samaria; they prophesied 'in Baal, and caused Allah praises His prophets: "Ve have already my people IsI'aeJ to err. sent Our messengers with clear evidences 11. I have seen aJso in the prophets of and sent down with them the Scripture and Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit the balance that the people may maintain adultery, and waJk in Jies: they strengthen aJso [their affairs] in justice." (Q. 57:25) the hands of evildoers, that none doth return Allah also says, "And We made them leaders from his wickedness; the.y are.all of them unto guiding by Our command. And We inspired me as Sodom, and the lllhabltants thereof as to them the doing of good deeds, Gomorrah. . . . establishment of prayer, and giving of zakah; 15. 1 hercfore thus salth the Lord o.t hl!sts and they were worshippers of lis." (Q. 21:73) .'<:-llllcernill~ the prophets; BehoJd, I__,I_ll_fe_e_,d"-' _ ~ ~ (;) iil ~ r­o < CD ." ~ <­CD Ul C Ul r­CD Co s: CD -i o iii ;;;; 3
My ireat Love For Jesrrs I ed Ma Ta lcllm gRE F g?fr 3 " ' . b ; c F o l a ! 3 E > . 6 s . i , E . : o U 9 * e;-E s 3.sE E' -ol ! F : o ' ; o SE3P ! 8 . ; ! EEE A EP E; = c d s L L : 5 C E 6€'g E;f € =iesinl AEB Esf ;..?f i :f s3E E3 nE' ,G 22€2 ; gggFra* =e - ' l a U - < b-<^ E5 F €.E e 6 :rlgX them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land. 16. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord." iE# E r:t : ? . - - s d , . EF! Ti;: ! A * - Y*_E ,Jr : t e 9 o ts ;ij - P E5€ "=#.ii - - 6 ) : : F q :€ * i in: f.5 g E g i : p l i * " -gEAi iE EE" . ! :: i €!st! :i€-Ei1 ;; I g i E o ! i ' i 6 i i ; s - = i ' i E -3 E 6: 99 7 8 i ; EqE: Ca :i€ E EiiEE a: €lF i ;ef: EE rlE E ;i:€ E: i:E : EFi;x;i #:r 7 2 = r . : i - * -gE ! l.=rFoic ZE= tsiEE:i;:ig; , 5!;ar:g trcE it FijEigET:E 9EE F " 6 ; - E l ? N:=a c l f j i ii !: ?; EZE|? :, z €E:7=":;s! E i :;;:;}E:*E ; E H-3h-h Ei a:;i:e?;f: ; j ;*fra![?:H !e: E::;?€Ec -'t r=; 2zi;;tzzg .E ; i 'i "EEi i2 z. Allah orders Prophet Muhammad to take the prophets before him as examples. In Q. 6:90, Allah says: "Those are the ones whom Allah has guided, so from their guidance take an example." The Qur'iin has thus saved mankind by clearing the names of the Prophets of God. One can only imagine the grim state of humanity if they were to take those descriptions of prophets as examples to follow. 3: On EQualitv ~ "For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of "[All] praise is [due) to Allah, Lord of the :: Israel." (Jeremiah 16:9) worlds." (Q. 1:2) ;: "there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel." " ...And there was no nation but that there ~ (2 Kings 5:15) had passed within it a warner." (Q. 35:24) ~ The Lord instructs nations to prostrate to the Jews "And We certainly sent into every nation a ~ and lick the dust of their feet. "...they shall bow messenger, [sayingl, "Worship Allah and ~ down to thee with their face toward the earth, avoid Tlighat... " (Q. 16:36) ~ and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt According to these verses, God sent prophets l:l know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be and messengers to all peoples and not only to if ashamed that wait for me." (Isaiah 49:23). the Israelites. ';} One third of the human race is condemned to curse iii and slavery when Canaan, son of Ham, was made a "0 mankind, indeed We have created you ~ slave to Shem and Japheth. (Genesis 9: 18-27) from male and female and made you peoples ~ Jesus is portrayed as a racist in his answer to the and tribes that you may know one another. ~
Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of ~ Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted." (Q. 49:13) ~ My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslam iisI ;illEgI iE !I;EI: i;: :==iE: :; i;ciEE=+ iii i;i:i pili,iEE;!iiEi: ilEtsEE?:lElE g;:a;'i iil1! 'E illg1 {l'iv:iilll tliE ?ig l iiE;;i Ei+i ,iz i:i EitEi iliZ s: Zii: i: z 'zz=€aii!ii ?;!izll:iiIi! According to the Qur '(in both Adam and his wife sinned, repented and shared the responsibility of their actions. Allah says, "But Satan caused them to slip out of it and removed them from that [condition] in which they had been." (Q. 2:36) "They said, "Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely be among the losers." (Q. 7:23) " ...And Adam disobeyed his Lord and erred. Then his Lord chose him and turned to him in forgiveness and guided [him)." (Q. 20:121­122) "And due to the wives is similar to what is expected of them, according to what is reasonable." (Q. 2:228). To learn more about the status of women in Islam the reader can refer to Chapters 4 and 65 from the Qur'tin. G> iil ~,.... o < C1l ." ~ c.. C1l UI C UI ,.... C1l Co :s:: C1l -l o u; ;; 3 Canaanite woman who sought his help to cure her daughter who "were vexed with a devil". He said to her: "It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs." (Matthew 15:22-26) The Bible discriminates between men and women. "And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression." (1 Timothy 2:14) According to the Bible, the impurity resulting from the delivery of a female is twice that of the male. In Leviticus 12: 1-5, we read: "If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days ... And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days ... But if she bear a maid child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her separation: and she shall continue in the blood of her purifying threescore and six days." The Bible also states that just as God is the Head of Christ, the man is the head of the woman. She is not the glory of God like a man, and she was created for man. (l Corinthians 11 :3-9)
On Scientific Facts o E€c3E? 33;1:i5i iEi:;i : !€Fi 3i5=*E sFFE ;;z ;i ::;Ci- =$ffi:€:;.€e:;;;:i; I3s?rgi:#l eir:g€F t r !; E;;*!*s:::":aIi! *: 3 i;; i a;i: i ?5l1sc e:E€!3 li sE;z +seERsuiE: :E !i +:ei i lrzgggsi EH EEiiE*E5EE eE4- ;I;;;fliia:;ii:i: ;i;E {ye 9iiigi Eigg iii ili iili i{; iz1ltiz{itlEii,1iiili*iZ!: !E?,,ti;E'sgE; Si ;EEEEiE My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslim O ot The Bible contradicts contemporary scientific facts The Qur '(in does not contradict or clash with as it claims that the world dates back to 3700 Be, modem science. In fact, it contains scientific i.e., that from the beginning of the creation until the facts that were only discovered in modem times 21 st century, there is only 6000 years; and that there and with the use of extremely sophisticated were only a few days between the creation of the equipment. earth and the creation of man. According to See, for example Q. 2:74, 173, 222; Q. 4:56; Q. geology, however, the earth is about 4550 million 6:99, 125; Q. 10:92; Q. 12:47; Q 13:41; Q. years old, and there was a very long period of time 15:14-22; Q. 16:66; Q. 17:12; Q. 21:30-32; Q. between the creation of the earth and that of man. 22:5; Q. 23:12-14; Q. 24:40, 43; Q. 27:88; Q. ~ The Bible also says that God created light, day and 30:1-4; Q. 36:37-40; Q. 39:5-6; Q. 41:11; Q. 51: ~ night before the creation of the planets, the sun and 47; Q. 52:6; Q. 55:19-20; 37 Q. 57:25; Q. 78:6- m. the moon. (Genesis 1:3). In Revelation 7: 1, we 7; Q. 86: 1-3; Q. 96: 16, etc. b read: "I saw four angels standing on the four The Qur "tin refers in very clear terms to the ~ corners of the earth, holding the four winds of ball-shaped earth as manifested by the ii the earth," meaning that the earth is square, while overlapping of the day and night. "He wraps ~ Matthew 4:8 indicates that the earth is nat when the night over the day and wraps the day ~ saying "Again, the devil taketh him up into an over the night... " (Q. 39:5) ~ exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all Allah says: "We will show them Our signs in ~ the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of the horizons and within themselves until it ~ them". becomes clear to them that it is the truth." d The Bible also claims that the Israelites went to (Q. 41 :53) Allah says: "And those who have E Egypt with Jacob and they were only 70 men and been given knowledge see that what is 3' women. However, when they left, two generations revealed to you from your Lord is the truth, = later, the number of men alone was 603.550. So if and it guides to the path of the Exalted in
Might, the Praiseworthy." (Q. 34:6) ... See "The Bible, The Qur'an & Science" by Maurice Bucaille. Many other contemporary ~ scholars like Dr. Keith Moore, Dr. G. C. C) Goeringer, Dr. Marshall Johnson, Dr. Tagatat ~ Tejasen, Dr. Alfred Kroner, Dr. William W. ~ Hay, Dr. Yoshihide Kozai and Dr. Joe Leigh ;i Simpson have also addressed the issue of ~ miraculous signs in the Qur 'an. ~ id n,|yG reatL ove For Jesus Led Me To lslAm Ff"EFFb sA.rBsi; .,;EaaF:; ' - ' O A ! E.t - I5A** 3-€qs € ;: s ,r gSssE*:;E rg*6:E;; * !?;s?usif ;gFs !sr sf tEslFagE E this was the number of men, considering the fact that Pharaoh used to kill the male children, it means that their total number, including women and children, was about 3 million. How could 70 people become 3 million within two generations? (Deuteronomy 10:22) (Genesis 12:37) (Numbers 1:46) In 2 Maccabees 15:39, we read that drinking water alone is harmful. It states: "For as it is hurtful to drink wine or water alone..." Another scientific anomaly is found in Leviticus 11 :6, when giving the reason that the hare is considered unclean: "And the hare, because he cheweth the cud ..." ;ig:;ia,G:.. i:;E;s;;1g:;'= i.E F.=tr : _: = 'o €*^. jEq'.,4, Ei3 , :iE:;: SbFEi E F:5,,r:5:;*E€fEEF€Is:E-65 ;: i€p€'gI:. 1F .. ;s;: $:E*€"EE: EEg;s;E;5:;! E+E5"I::,.=-E: r:E*:*iFigi'v €=g='Eie€;'iE s;E;;iA: :; E+ E: E5E: i ;:! ;'=; ; ;EZ {t a: € fr E€-!-5tE:Zp: ; E E 2.6€: ; Z* z :{:gEfrie*E5+ =€€€sas€E 5 Utr Preservation of Holy Scriptures o o "How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of "This is the Book about which there is no the Lord is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made doubt, a guidance for those conscious of he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain." Allah." (Q. 2:2) (Jeremiah 8:8) "... And indeed, it is a mighty Book. "And the burden of the Lord shall ye mention Falsehood cannot approach it from before it zZE Ei E::;:€ ,i n=Ei;;tiEA 2e FEE;l;=l€: Ez;;iEI:;E; tg iti if€: n 5 t r i s | " , q X b o J: > u; oe i - ,.7t t--22 = F N . ; - - ) 9 i > o d = o d ! i.:.s :€;; ?i E}.' EpgE orE .;F! EarE Et .,E?E3'F p tEu = . ? g 4_,i. E; *E9i€e ;F: i FE ;Eb9 ' e cr - e o.- ^ = 7Zz :?y-e :i h . = c ; !E> . G P ^Era) t^r l5x-!:gE3-o?. *.=y*,EoZrR'if,: €::.fi_1i;uE2 27 l i . : i : E i l e i : i E rEzsr::igr5= , . or from behind it; [it is] a revelation from a no more: for every man s word shall be hIS [Lord who is] Wise and Praiseworthy." (Q. ~~den; for ye ?ave perverted the words ofth~ 41:41-42). "Indeed, it is We who sent down hvmg .God, of the Lord of hosts our God. the Qur'an and indeed, We will be its (JeremIah 23 :36) guardian." (Q. 15:9). "And it was not "But in vain they do worship me, teaching for [possible] for this Qur'an to be produced by doctrines the commandments of men." other than Allah, but [it is] a confirmation of (Matthew 15 :9) what was before it and a detailed explanation III C III r­CD Co s:: CD c} (ij ;;;; 3

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my great love for jesus led me to Islam

  • 2.
    My Love forJesus Great Led Me to Islam By Alfredo Curuballo Simon Caraballo M.5., S., Texas A&M, M, USA Abo Maryam Marvam
  • 3.
    The Quranic Quranictranslations used herein were extracted from the SAREER SAHEEH INTERNATIONAL TRANSLATION of the Quran Quran and the Biblical texts from the KING JAMES VERSION. 213dc 1429/L429/933 933 L.D.D,NO.NO.1429/L4299/933 3 3 ISBN:9 78-99605- 9-5 29- O Al l r ightsr eservedfo r compi ler ISBN :978-9960-59-529-0 All rights reserved for compiler sam@myloveforjesus.com mylo veforje s usc. om 0096655220098s 00966552200985
  • 4.
    My Great LoveFor Jesus Led Me To lsl6m I Contents I . Int roduct ion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4. . . . I I . Exper iencien theU ni tedS tateos f Amer ica. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8. . . . . . . I I I . TheG ospels . . . . . . . . .1.1 TheA uthent ici toy f theQ ur 'dn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 TheL i fe andM issiono f Jesus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 VI . PropheMt uhammad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3. .3. . VI I . Doct r ineos f Chr ist iani tayn d[ s1am. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5. .l. . TheT r ini ty. . . . . . . . . . . .5.2 TheD ivini tyo f . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5.6. . . DivineS onship. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6.l. TheO r iginalS in. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6. .3 T he MonotheisticR eligiono f Prophets........,. ...73 VIll. Step'l'oivardIs ldnt:Thcl nfluenceO f JesusO n ConversioTno 1s1ant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 7. .8. I X . H o r v l s / a r r A l l e c t e d M l , L i f - e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 1 I'lorvM y ConversionA ffcctedO ther'sL ives ........8. 5 XL WhenR el igionI s Inculcate8d1 'C ompu1sion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8. .8. . . . . . . . . OpenI nvitationt o Popea ndT he RestO f Leadcrs Appendix- ComparisonC hart... Islam W I. Introduction 4 II. My Experience in the United States of America 8 III. The Gospels I I IV. The Authenticity of the Qur'dn 21 V. The Life and Mission of Jesus 26 VI. Prophet Muhammad 33 VII. Doctrines of Christianity and Isliim 51 The Trinity 52 The Divinity of Jesus 56 The Divine Sonship 61 The Original Sin 63 Islam: The Monotheistic Religion of All the Prophets 73 VIII. My Final Step Toward Islam: The Influence Of Jesus On My Conversion To Islam 78 IX. How Islam Affected My Life 81 X. How My Conversion Affected Other's Lives 85 XI. When Religion Is Inculcated By Compulsion 88 XII. An Open Invitation to the Pope and The Rest Of The World Leaders . 95 Appendix - Comparison Chart 99
  • 5.
    W My Islam I frfy Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslAm I. Introduction believe that Catholicism was only a As a Catholic, I was led to was the only true religion, and that Judaism preparation for Christianity. were all false. In fact, I only Islam for time in 1978. I had learned that believed in divine origin of Christianity and Judaism. Qur 'an indicates that Allah language) had sent people to the path oftruth and righteousness. Hence the other religions heard about Isldmfor the first learnedt hat Muslims believedi n the The Qur'dn (the proper name for God in the Arabic prophets to every land in order to guide carvet he Christianm essagein to the depths In order to carve the Christian message into subconscioust,h e Church designeda of my subconscious, the Catholic designed a program which, when applied high probability of retention. people's beliefs and their behavior lives. In this scheme, the central figure Jesus and rites are mostly related to events supposed death and resurrection; from birth, to be in December, to his alleged crucifixion These religious rites were many centuries after Jesus' departure rather than Revelation. from childhood, had a very This program affected for the rest of their t he centralf igure is Jesusa nd the surrounding his birth, supposedd eatha nd resurrectionf;r orl his birlh, assumed t o allegedc rucifixion on Easter. introduced by human beings manyc enturiesa fterJ esusd' epafturera thert han by Divine Venezttelaa, t midnight on According to tradition in Venezuela, at December 24th I used to wait for bring the gifts that I had requested in my letter. Being from a family, brothers and sisters, I understood that for "Child Jesus" to bring me what was often confused and puzzled because perfonned so many miracles as and priests, why was he able Wasn't that request easier for Him 24'" nsed rvait the arrival of Jesus to requestedin rny yearly wish frorn poor and having several brothersa nd understoodt hat it was very difficult rvhat I had asked for. But I if Jesus had performed so I had learned from nuns not to bring me a tricycle? Wasrr't requcst easier fbr than bringing dead
  • 6.
    MyG reaLt oveForJ esusL edM eT ot stamp people life? years, l eft As Easterw as approaching, I used to watch how Jesus was until he wanted TV set and help him somehow. I asked God to help him, asked Him not let His 'son' crucified. In I becauseI was taughtt hat do not I couldn ot understanrdv hy suchb rutalityw as on good rnan. As a this incident cultivatedi n intensel ove for greatp ropheto f for perhaps toys Christmas- answert o theirw ish letters- their If objective the was infuse of reverencef or Jesus, i n my case they were I learnedt o love Jesusm ore than my own parents. H owever,r vhiles till a I startedt o question porvero f corrceptth at I had aboutG od was r.vhateveHre rvantedI.{ e had createdt he universet,h e earth.t he sun, t he rnoon.t he stars, a ndl tuman wondeled rvhy He could not save Jesus from resolve this I clirnbed small wall in the house cliallenged God, saying: "lf arer eally porvcrful,a nd cand o u'hateverY ou like, thenr naken ie f1yr .vhenIj ump {romt hisr vall.O therrviseI , believet hat are pou'crfll, becauseY ou from the either." Fofiunately, n'as l the ground. With attemptt o fl1' becarner .norea nd rnorec onvinced rvas porveriul alier all. A childish analysis indee!d My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam p back to Thus, for several the concept of "Child Jesus" left me disappointed. Easter was televised stories of abused was hung on a cross to be crucified. I really to climb inside the and to 'son' be the end, would hide and cry because I taught that "men cry." could not understand why such brutality was inflicted such a man. child, cultivated in me an intense love this great prophet of God. As other children, the they received on Christmas - as an answer to their wish letters - was the cause of affection towards Jesus. the of Church to somehow a feeling reverence for in successful. learned to Jesus more However, while still child, stal1ed to the power of God. The concept that about God that He could do whatever He wanted. He created the universe, the earth, the the moon, the and human beings. I wondered why being crucified on the cross. In order to dilemma, on one occasion climbed a backyard of my and challenged If You are really so powerful, and can do whatever You then make me fly when I jump from this wall. Otherwise, I will not believe that You arc so powcrful, because You could not save Jesus cross Fortunately, the wall was not so high and I fell to every attempt to fly I became more and more convinced that God was not so powcrful after indeed!
  • 7.
    W My Ishim I ", Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslAm parents allowed me to work with an old man who was a photographer and I accompanied him to many places. It turned out that he was also a very famous fortuneteller. Wherever we went, many of his female clients would ask him about events that would happen in their future. For this task, he used to smoke brown tobacco, and as it was being consumed and the ashes fell, he would ''reveal' reveal' information to his clients. r also learned that he used to hypnotize people in order to learn hidden things about their lives and would then respond to their Later on in life when I started high school, my I queries. All of these experiences were stored in my subconsciouas t D uring period, m y subconscious at a very early age. During this my parents were attending a center that specialized in parapsychology. parapsychologyI. r accompanied accompaniedth them em several severalt times imes to see what was happening and it was in this center that I about the concepts of meditation, spirits, possession and what I thought was dead people speaking to the livingl learned conceptso f s pirits,p ossessiona nd living'. . my Here I learned to pray twice daily at a small altar that father had built with great care and dedication, dedication. At one of the gatherings I attended, the tlie leader of the session prepared a talisman for me, which he said would protect me, so I took it with me wherever whereverI I went. Meanwhile, I continued continuedt to o think about aboutt the he crucifixion A t time. mv fatherh ad read of Jesus. At the time, my father had a book that he r t he dcadd o living: d evils imitatet he voiceso f deada nd communicateth rought hc living. ] In reality, the dead do not talk to the living; rather, devils imitate the voices of the dead and communicate through the living, On the other hand, Qur 'an recitation and Prophetic supplications are effective ridding people of all evil spirits. The fact that any Muslim can such acts is clear proof of the miraculous nature of the Qur 'an. As for those who supplicate to other than Allah or usc the Bible to rid others of possession by devils, it is no more than a cooperation with those evil spirits or using other evil spirits to get rid of other ones. Qur'an in peoplc spirits.'fhe lact perform naturc the Qur 'rin. fbr thosc whcrs upplicatet o oth0r thanA Iliih otherso f posscssionb y dcvils, morc a cooperationrv ith thosee vil spiritso r usingo there vil spiritst o getr id ofother ones.
  • 8.
    Islam W MyGreat Love For Jesus Led Me To lsl6m p frequently. It was entitled "The Life of Jesus Dictated by Himself." He once told me that according to this book, Jesus had traveled to places away from Jerusalem, which made me a little optimistic about finding an answer to my question regarding his crucifixion. crucifi xion. When I graduated from high school, I was granted a scholarship to study engineering in the USA, which I happily happilya accepted. cceptedH. However, owever,before b eforet traveling ravelingi in n 1977, I had a bad experience that affected my belief in Christianity. I saw two Christians help a man who had suffered from an epileptic attack attacko on n the street. But B ut afterwards, they t hey searched his wallet and stole stoles some omeo of f his money.rnoney.1 rI In n spite spiteo of f the fact that individual acts cannot by any means rleans be considered indicative of the validity or invalidity of a religion, this incident greatly affected affectedm me. e. Perhaps Perhapst to o many people this event might seem insignificant, but b ut I had witnessed witnessedm my y father fatherp punish unishm my y brother brothers severely everelyw when hen he brought broughth home ome the equivalent equivalento of f twenty-five fivec cents entsa and nd could not provide him with a satisfactory satisfbctorve explanation xolanationa as s to where he got eot it from. 1 SomeB iblical tcxtsc lcarlyl orbid stealinga nclo thera ctso f evil, as in 1 Some Biblical tcxts clcarly forbid stealing and other acts of the ten commandments: commandments": "Antl And God spake all these words, wot'ds, saying, I am the LORD thy God...Thou shalt other gods me...Thou shalt not make unto thee image, likeness of any thing that is in heaven above ...Thou bow down thyself to them, them: for God Thou shalt not take the name vain Honor thy father and thy mother...Thou Thou shalt commit adultery. Thou shalt not Thou not bear false witness against neighbor. Thou thy neighbor's wife...nor neighbor's." Exodus 1-tcxts are considered to be section of the Bible vith QUI' 'an, only their impact people's lives almost due to the existence of other texts in the Bible that allow their Out of mercy to humankind. God revealed the QUI' '(In as criterion over its predecessor:;. arn thc have no othcr before rne...Thou rnake thec any graven irnagc, or any ofany hcaven above...'fhou shalt not borv thern, nor serve thcm: lbr I the LORD thy God...rrarne of the LORD thy God in vain...Honol thv lathcr thv rnothcr...Thou shalt not kill. not ionunit adtrltcr.y.-Thous ltalt rtot steal. T hou shalt f,rls^cw itncn^sa gainst thy neig-hbor.T hou shalt not covet ncighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's rvifc...rnr any thing that is thy neighbot's." (irxodus 20: l-17) These tcts consiclcrctdo bc a scctiono 1'theB iblc that is in line ith the Qur'an. only' that thcir irnpact on pcoplc's livcs has alntost vanished tluet o cxistcncco l otherl extsi n thc Iliblc thata liorvt heir violation. OLrto 1'rnr'rc)'toh unrankincl(.l od rcvealcdt hc Qirr'rirra s a critcrion or c l i t s prcrlcccssols.
  • 9.
    W My Islam II. My Experience in the United States of America I *, Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lsldm II. In 1977, I arrived in the United States of America to ln studiesa t of the F irst, go begin studies at one ofthe universities. First, I had to to a school to learn English, and there I met many people of different beliefs from various parts of the world. In Seattle, Washington, at the English language school, I had a roommate from Saudi Arabia who was working on his master's rnaster's degree and whose name was Fouad. One day, he asked me if it was alright for him to pray in the room. I told him that J I did not have a problem with it. J I was surprised, since it was the first time J I saw a Muslim perform his prayers. Before starting to pray, he ablution. He washed his hands, rinsed his mouth, and washed his face and arms1 in the small sink in our room. was the first time I had seen someone wash his feet a sink meant for washing hands. Then I observed movements of his prayers. He stood up, bowed, knelt down, and prostrated. At that point I remembered how we used to pray in the church by only kneeling down and what performed arms' It in the A t rememberedh ow t Islam grcat importanoe For example, cleanlincss place in addition to making requircment 1br ol performing formal I Isliim assigns great importance to the issue of cleanliness. example, the cleanliness of the dress, body, and making ablution a requirement for the validity of prayer. Ablution is also recommended recommendedb before efore recitation recitationo of f the Qur Qur''6n, an, and going to bed. Washing the entire body bodf is an obligation after sexual intercourse and is a commendable act before the attending of congregational Friday prayer. Other acts, such as washing the brushing teeth, trimming nails, removing the and armpit trimming the moustache. using perfume, tidying up removing harmful objects from the way of others, abstaining polluting public places and utilities, keeping shady places clean, etc. are all acts encouraged and enjoined by Islam. These are also acts one nearer to God, and for which one is rewarded by Him. No other religion comes anywhere ncar Islam as hlr as clcanliness of the and soul is concerned. intercourse bclore the congregational Othcr mouth, brushing nails. thc pubic hair, trimming moustachc. perfume. living places, rernoving objccts u'ay from pollutingp ublicp lacesa nd utilities.k ccpings hadyp lacesc lean,e tc.a re actse ncouragcda nd enjoinedb 5'I slum. -l'hcsc that bring one ncarer God. ancl reuarded l{im. anyrvhere near lsldm fbr body conccrncd.
  • 10.
    Islam W MyGreat Love For Jesus Led Me To lslAm p left Fouad did was different. A short time later he the institute, and for several months, I did not see another Muslim pray. During break time at the English institute, foreign students from various countries used to meet and discuss a variety of topics. I clearly remember that on one occasion, as we were discussingt discussing the he origin of religions and prayers prayersI I told them: "You pray the way you do because that is the way your ancestors ancestorsu used sedt to o do." I went on to tell them that their ancestors ancestorsu used sedt to o worship the sun, the moon and the stars, and since then, that tradition has been transmitted through all the generations generationsu up p to the present. I had even started to have doubts about the origin of belief in God. However, due d ue to my deep deepC Christian hristianr roots ootsI I did not become an atheist. wentt o mosquea nd observedm any One day I went to visit a mosque and I observed many rvay pray people praying the same way that I had seen Fouad previously. After the prayer, they all on the floor which was very cold to listen a sermon. the rest of the were sitting, them listened to all that the imam had to say. His name Jamil Abdul-Razzaq from Iraq, and he was English about "Backbiting." I remember that his voice was high pitched and emotional. As he around the audience as if somebody had spoken of someone else, but he did not point out anyone specifically. I think his objective was to instill a feeling of involved in backbiting. remained seated to Since people u'ere I joined thern and was Jarnil lraq, giving a talk in Englisha bout" remembetrh at voicew as spoke, he looked sornebody ill someonee lse,b ut anyones pecifically. objectivew ast o I'eelingo f guilt in those with They That same day, someone sent me an envelope some booklets comparing Islam and Christianity. took me a long time to read as I was rvas then busy starting starling as a freshman at Oklahoma State University. It was through the comparative booklets that I learned that Islam the freshmana t OklahomaS tateU niversity.I t r'vasth rought he comparatir"eb ookletst hat learnedt hat Islunt and
  • 11.
    ~ !P My*t Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam lsl6m message messageo of f Jesus Jesusw were ere both revelations revelationsfr from om God. Jesus said that the message he was conveying was not his but God's: "...for I have not spoken on my own, but the Father who sent me has Himself given me a commandment about what to say and what to speak." (John 49). 12:49). Likewise, the revelation that Prophet Muhammad conveyed to the rest of humanity, hurnanity, was sent by God through Angel Gabriel: ""And And indeed, the Qur'an Qur'6n is the revelation of the Lord of the worlds. The Trustworthy Spirit [[i.i.e., e., Gabriel] has brought it down upon your heart, [[O 0 Muhammad] - - that you may be of the warners .•." Qur'an 26:192-194) ..." (Qur'd n 192-149) t he everyr eligion Therefore, the truth of every religion and the proof of its divine origin depends dependsf fundamentally undarnentallyo on n the accuracy with which the original originalr revelation evelationfr from onr God was preserved and transmitted transmittedt to o the rest of humankind. l'rurnankindT. The he level of deviation and uncertainty uncerlainty depends on the degree of precision precisionw with ith which rvhiche every veryr word vord revealed revealectlo to the prophets was transmitted transmittedt to o others. If I f these thesew words ords have not been accurately transmitted and have instead suffered adulteration, it i t is highly likely that the essence essenceo of f the original message rnessagew would ould be lost forever. Consequently, C onsequentlyi,in n order to make a just and unbiased unbiasedc comparison clr.uparisobne between tween Christianity and Islam, Islctnt,it i t is necessary necessaryto to determine determinet the he extent extentt to o which the original originalC Gospels ospels and the thc Qur Qur'dn 'an have been kept free fice from f}om adulterations, adulterationsa.additions c lditionso or r deletions. What follows in this book is a brief briel'cornparisonb comparison between etween Christianity Christianitya and nd Islam; Isldm; the two most influential irtf-luetttiarel religions ligions in the world rvorldw with ith the thc highest highestn number urrbero of l'fcrllowersfr followers from orn all races and nations, and a nd the two tn,o 1110st n.rostc closely losely associated faiths. I hope that by the will rvill of God Cod this book will assist the seeker scekero of f truth trLrthir in rh his is or her lrcl search searchlb for l the true religion. relision.
  • 12.
    To Islam ~ My Great Love For Jesus Led Me ro lslam !2 III. The Gospels The four well-known Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are found in the New Testament section of the Bible. They were written between 70 CE and 115 CE; decades after Jesus had departed, and were supposedly based on documents that have since been lost. The Gospel according to Mark was the first one written in the Greek language in Rome, at least 40 years after Jesus' departure. The Gospel according to Matthew was written in Greek about 90 CEo CE. The Gospel Gospela according ccordingt to o Luke Lr.rkew was as written in Greek approximately 80 CEo CE. These three Gospels are called Synoptic because they are supposed to have originated from the same lost documents. The Gospel according to John!, Johnr, on the other hand, is profoundly different from the Synoptic Gospels. It is in this Gospel that the divinity and preexistence of Jesus was expressed, even though Jesus never confirmed in the statements attributed to himself. This gospel was written between 110 and 115 CEo preexistencoef Jesusr vase xpressed, this attributedto T his gospelw as rvrittenb etween1 10 I 15 CE. The Gospels Gospelsw were erec composed omposeda after ftert the he first followers followerso of f It be Jesus had been divided into several sects. can confirmed that they were written in order to reflect the conception of the practical needs of the community. Although traditional traditionals sources ourcesw were ere utilized r.rtilizedto to write them down, the writers did not exercise great care to keep the original content free from additions, deletions and other forms of corruption, as a s the content contelttu was ,asm meant eantt to o serve servet the he writers' personal personali interests. nterests.This T his fact was confirmed confirrnedb by y ' 'Ihis Jesus'd isciplesA. ccordingt o Ency'clopedia I This John is not onc of Jesus' disciples. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, which was co written by 500 Christian scholars. "the Gospcl according to John is detinitcly and undoubtcdly a j~lbrication." llritannica,u 'hichu as rvrittenb y Chrislians cholars".t he Gospel accordingto Johni s definitclya ndu ndoubtedlya labrication."
  • 13.
    W My Ishim Christian authorities! after the Qur 'an had stated it more than 14 centuries ago. !2 ruv Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lst6m authoritiesr Qur'dn centuriesa go. It is worth mentioning tl-that rat these four Gospels were not the only documents written in the centuries following the departureo departure of f Jesus. T There herew were ere many otherss others such uch as the Gospels of Jacob, Peter, Thomas, Philip, and Barnabas. lf If we consider the "The Gospel According to the Hebrews," for example, it was a document written in Aramaic, the same language spoken by Jesus. It was utilized by the Nazarenes who negated the divinity of Jesus and considered him no more than a great prophet. In the fourth century CE, the Gospels According to Mark, Matthew, Luke and John were included in the body of the main Biblical text, and the Church declared the remaining existent documents to be heretical. However, additional changes continued to be made in thcse Gospels even though thought they hey had hada already lreadyb been eend declared eclaredto to be '"The The Word of God." And as years passed by, the same Gospels appeared with different texts from their predecessors, which undisputed evidence of the kind of corruption affecting these books. yearsp assedb y, sameG ospelsa ppeared predecessorsw, hich is undisputede videnceo f cot'rttptiona ffecting r llncl'clopedia Rritannicir. "lmpofiant intentional changess, uch inserliona nd aclditiono l-* 'holc paragraphslo ok placc . . . " pp 521.ln inl roclucl iotno thc Cathol icB ible p.13 ), statedt hat copli stsh ad clcarlyi nscrtcdt hingso ver I According to Encyclopedia Britannica. '"Important changes, such as the inseliion and addition of whole paragraphs took place ... " V2, pp. 519-521. In the introduction to the Catholic Bible (p. 13), it is stated that that the copyists had clearly inserted things over the centuries that were not part of the Scriptures, and a result of that the text that we have now has reached us pregnant with corruption, which is manifest in all copies. Also, Preface to the James Version, produced by 32 Christian scholars backed up consultative bodies, we read: "Yet, the King James Version has defects ... and these defects are so many and so serious " centuricsth trtu 'crcn ot pilrt o1'thcS cripturesa. nd as resulto fthat thc tcxt ne norv reachccul s prcgnantr vith all kinds of corruptionr"v hichi s mani{'esitn copics. Also. in Prefocet o King lersion ploduccd Christians cholarsb ackedu p by 50 consultativeb odies.* 'e read:" Yet. .latnesV ersionh as grave defects. .. anclt hcsec lci'ectasr es o martvt rncsl o scriotts. .."
  • 14.
    Islam ~ MyGreat Love For Jesus Led Me To lsl6m !2 Among the many factors to be considered when analyzing the veracity of the Four Canonized Gospels and the ar.authenticity rthenticityo of f the messagest messages that hat carne came along with them, are the following: 1. The original Gospel as was revealed to Jesus and is mentionedi mentioned in n the Qur 'an. l Qur'dn.' as well as in the contemporary Gospelsd. Gospels, does oesn not ot exist existt todal odayr 2. The first records about the sayings of Jesus which were made shortly following his ascension ascensionto to heaven heavenh have ave been lost. 3. The Gospels were written between 70 and 115 1 15 CE, decades after Jesus' departure, depafture, and were based on lost documents. As a consequence, consequence?there th ere was a loose manipulation of the content. 4. None of the Gospels' Gosoels' authors saw Jesus or heard him speak. Hence, they were u'ere not eyewitnesses. 5. The Gospels Gospelsw were erew written ritteni in n the Greek Greekl language anguagew while hile Jesus spoke Aramaic. 6. The present presentG Gospels ospelsa and nd most mosto of f the Epistles Epistlesw were ere not chosen and validated until the fOUlih fourlh century CE, when a resolution by a minority of the Council CoLrncil of Nicea was enforced in 325 CEo CE. Before this date the Gospels did not have any canonical authority, and were changed by the writers of different sects in itt order to comply conrplv with their 'God saida boutJ esus" . . . .and gaveh im Gospel ,i n wasg uidancea nd l ight . . . "( Our 'an5 :16) 2 "Verilv trnto Whcrescrcvcr gospcl shall be preachctl thc rvhole uorld, donc bc fil'a rttcnroli:rlo f lV1arkl: 1:9 and lvlatthuv rvhocver wants lcarn about thc original conccptso f Jesr.rs'tcachinsghso uldr cadl |'tcQ ur'drt. 1 God said about Jesus and We gave him the Gospel, in which was guidance and light " (Qllr 'dn 5:46) 2 Verily I say unto you, Vhcrcsocvcr this gospel preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her." (Mark 14:9 Matthew 26: 13). And whoever vants to learn the concepts of Jesus' teachings should read the Qur ·(In.
  • 15.
    W My GreatLove For Jesus Led Me To Islam !2 tt GreaLt oveF orJ esusL edM eT ol sl6m personal interests and desires. Up to the present day the practice of tampering with the text is still prevalent. 7. The vast majority of the New Testament is composed of the writings of Paul and his students. Paul, P aul, who never saw or heard Jesus speak, was initially one of the most prominent enemies of Jesus' ministry. He killed many followers of the Messiah and imprisoned them (Acts 8:3, 9: 1-2). 2). He afterwards forced them to confess to lies against Jesus (Acts 26: II). 11). But when Saul (later called Paul) supposedly converted, convefted, "he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles..." (Acts 9:26­27). 26- 27). This event occurred after Paul claimed that Jesus appeared to him and spoke to him on the way to Damascus. He bore witness for himself! himself' without presenting any evidence establishing the truth of his claim presentinga ny evidencee stablishingt he (Acts 3-8). Surprisinglyh, e suddenlyb ecamet he spokesmani n Jesusc laiming 9:3-8). Surprisingly, he suddenly became the chief spokesman in the name of Jesus claiming that he was appointed by Jesus to preach to the world (Acts 9:3-6)? 6).' Paul also ·accused accusedt those hosew who ho "believed not that he was a ' rvitness support clairn cxcept I There was no eye-witness to support Paul's claim except for himself. Such testimony for fbr one's self is rejected according to the Bible Biblc itself. John 5:31 31 states: states: "If I bear bear witness rvitness of myself, my witness is not true:' true." Added to this is the fact that therc are several other contradictions in the narrative. For example, in Acts 9:7 ""And And the men which 'rvhich journeyed joulneyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but but seeing no man," while in Acts 22:9, we read: "but they heard not the voice of him that spoke to me:' me." With this claim, Paul managed to achieve what nhat he could not achieve by force 2 2 According to 1 Jolm iohn 4:1 l "Belovecl, Beloved, believe not every cvefy spirit, but try the spirits whether they are ale of God: because many rnany false prophets are gone out into the world." rvorld." Paul himself hirnselfconfessed confessed to lying in his preaching "Fol For if the truth of God Gotl hath more rnore abounded aboundcd through tlu'ough my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also alsojudged judged as a sinner?" sinnerP" (Romans 3:7).
  • 16.
    MyG reaLt oveForJ esusL edM eT ol slam @ (1 20- 2l). describedB amabas,w ho beeng ood "...carried fulfill' 21:20 6). "Thus, "'30). "All rne" 1: 15), "No oldestB iblical manuscriptws e havea ccessto , 4tl' 5tr' ' that larv, comc or. shall larv, fulfrlled." Mattherv ln "tg. fi'ee fi'om serwant gain the go. thc Jcrvs Jervs; ale larv, thern undel larv; 91. rvithout rvithout Iarv qe, rveak rveak, nright arrr all that 93. nright rvith My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam W disciple" of erring concerning the faith l Timothy 6:20­21). He described Barnabas, who had been good to him, as " ... carried away with their dissimulation," (Galatians 2: 13). Paul even gave himself the right to propagate teachings that were contradictory to those taught by Jesus Christ and went against "the law" which Jesus came to fulfill! (Acts 21 :20 and Romans 7:6). we find: "When Paul would have entered in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not" (Acts 19:30). He also declared that, they which are in Asia be turned away from me" (2 Timothy 15), and man stood with me, but all men forsook me" (2 Timothy 4: 16). 8. The oldest Biblical manuscripts we have access to, are Codexes Vaticanus, Sinaiticus and Alexandrinus; all dating back to between the 4th and 5th centuries AD. The extent of alteration the Gospels were subjected to prior to these dates can hardly be determined, considering that the 1 "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shalI in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." (Matthew 5:17-18). Paul sought to gather round himself as many followers as possible even if his means to do so happened to go against the teachings of Christ or his ways of propagation. In 1 Corinthians 9: 19-23, Paul confesses to horrendous acts of cheating lying and deceit to achieve his purposes. He says: 19. For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. 20. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; 21. To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. 22. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made alI things to all men that I might by all means save some. 23. And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you."
  • 17.
    W My Ishim language of the Gospels was Greek while Jesus spoke Aramaic. 9. There are many discrepancies in several places between the fourth and fifth century manuscripts.! 10. The Gospels, seen as a whole, together with the Epistles, contain many errors and contradictions? There is also great uncertainty among Biblical scholars as to who the authors of the Gospels actually were. !P tt Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslam manuscripts.' c ontain effors contradictions.2T here These facts are mentioned here as evidence that the Gospel of Jesus as revealed by God has not reached us in its original form. In this way, it can be affirmed that the four Gospels included in today's Bible and the Epistles that accompany them cannot be considered similar or equivalent to the Gospel revealed to Jesus. As proof of this assertion, the following information is presented: equivalentt o Gospelr evealedt o A s assertiont,h e informationi s The New Testament, Testament. on which modern Christian doctrines rest, has undergone radical changes and almost every new edition differs from the others. Some of the changes that are now being implemented are so fundamental that they strike at the very foundation of Christianity. For example, the t he only two references referencest to o the t I Some Biblical scholars point to the existence of thousands of manuscripts from the Gospels but what is the true value of these manuscripts if amongst the thousands, we cannot find two that are alike?!. According to the International Translation of the New Testament Testament... ... "All the versions versionso of f the New Nerv Testament Tcstamenth that at reached reachedu us s were not similar." 2 2 The numerous errors contained in the Bible led Robert Kehl Zeller to say in his "The Authenticity of the Holy Bible" that no other book ever suffered sufl-ereda as s many changes, errors e nors and corruptions as the Holy Bible. This is in clear contrast to William Muir's and Laura l,aura Vaglieri's statement about the Qur 'an see footnote 2, Page 21 and footnote I, 22.) statementa bout Qur'dn (seef ootnote2 , Page2 1 footnotel , Page
  • 18.
    My Love ForLed To Islam ~ My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslam !y' ascension of Jesus that were rvere found fbund in irr the Gospels of Mark and Luke have now been deleted from the Revised Standard Staridard Edition (RSV), 1952. These passages contained evidence eviderrcec cited ited to support supportJ Jesus' esus'a ascension scensior.as ars follows: So then after the Lord had spoken to them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. (Mark l 6: 6 : 19) l 9 ) And it came to pass; while rvhile he blessed them, he was rvas parted from them, and carried up to heaven. (Luke 24:51). 51). 'flre The aforementioned aforernentioned verse from fl'on.r Mark 16: l6: 19, has been removed rernoved along with rvith a number numbel of other verses that immediately irnrnediately preceded and succeeded it. As for Luke 24:5, 51, the words, u,ords. "carried up to heaven" heavcn" were removed. Matther'v 1621-"For In Matthew 16:27-28, we read: the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with rvith his angels; and then he shall reward rervard every ever).man man according to his works. rvorks. Verily I say unto you, There be some sorne standing here, which rvhich shall not taste of death, cleath, till they see the Son of man coming corning in his kingdom." kingdorn." As this prophecy never came carne true, it can only be concluded corrcluded that it i t was a fabrication labrication ascribed ascribedt to o Jesus JesusC Christ hrist who rvlto was r,vasa a true prophet of God and whose prophecy cannot be mistaken. The Gospel of Matthew Mattherv contradicts contradicls itself on the same page when rvhen talking about Peter. While Jesus .lesus says of him: "And Jesus answered ansrvered and said unto him, hirn, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it i t unto thee ... . . . That thou art Peter Peter... ... And I will rvill give unto thee the keys kevs of the kingdom liingdom of heaven: and whatsoever rvhatsoever thou shalt bind bintl on earth shall be bound in heaven: hcaven: and whatsoever *'hatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16: 7-9). Matthew 6:23 stands in total contrast to all this as it Mattherv l6:17-19). Matther,v l6:contlast a l l i t
  • 19.
    ~ My Le'1Islam states: But he (Jesus) .urned, and unto Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art offence me: for thou savourest not the things but those that be of men." !P nv Great Love For Jesus Le'l Me To lslAm "But said Peter, an unto that be of God, Durirrg During the alleged crucifixiort crucifixion events, Matthew 27:44 The rvere crucified with says: "The thieves also, which were him, cast the same in his teeth." are mentioned as acting together. However, Luke 23 :40 states: "one of the malefactors which railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, and us. But the other answering rebuked "Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou condemnation?" In the latter example, the thieves are not acting together; rather they other. There are too many other contradictions in to record here. him. Here the two thieves arem entioneda sa ctingt ogetherH. owever.L uke 23:39-40 states": And malefactorsr vhich were hanged hirn, save thyself him, saying, art in the same l rr tlre lattere xatnplet,h e two thievesa re together, are in opposition to each T herea ret oo rnarryo therc ontradictionisn the Bible a lterationsa nd contt'adictiottsa,r e not The changes, alterations and contradictions, are Testatttetlbtu t also in the Old found only in the New Testament but Testamentl 'lcstamentl.. For F or example, exal.rtpleir,in t 2 Kings 8:26, 26,we w e are told: Trvo Ahaziah when he "Two and twenty years old was began to reign." This contradicts :2 Chronicles 22:2, which states: and two years when he began to reign" Another contradiction is contradicts2 Chlonicles2 2:2, "Forty t'ivo old was Ahaziah beqan Attotherc ontradictionis found I Vat i c i rn I : curncni calC ounc i l I l (1962- (15i)r c lmi t t cdto c x i s t cnceo { ' crrors in thc Ol,:1 I Vatican Ecumenical Council II (1962-65) admitted to the existence of errors in the Old Testament. 'l cstarnent. ""Now Nou the thc books of ol'thc the Old Testament, I'estament. in accordance v'ith the state of mankind hefore the time of salvation established by Christ. reveal to all men the klHmkdge of God and of man and the ways in which God. just and mercirul. deals with men. These books. though they also contain some things which arc incomplete and temporary ....· In l'I'U'idi'lIlissiIllIlS DeliS on the study oflloly Scripture issued by Pope Leo XIII on Ig th November 1893, it is stated... [is true. no douht. that copyists hale made mistakes in the text of the Bible: ..... And cont'cssion is the master or evidence. accoldance nith tlrc statc of mankind bclilre the tilne of salvatiott establishcd bv Clhrist. rcvcal 1o all tlcn thc ktroulcdgc of God and of nran ancl thc uavs in rihich Cod..itrst lrlld nlcrcilirl. clcals rvith rnen. 'l hcse books. thottgh tltcr also contain solllc things r'r'hich ars incomJ ref te and temnorar y . . . " I t l ' rot ' i t let t l i s s i r t t tlt]st ' l r s c lnt hc s tudl o l ' l l o l v S c r i p t L r ries s u c rhl 1 ' I ) o p cl . c o X l l l o r r 1 8 " 'No v e n l b c r1 8 9 3 ,i t i s statcd." l t is t t uc. t to cioLrbtt.h at copr ists har c t t t l t r ler nistakcs in thc tcxt o1' thct l ibl c : . . . " ' nd cot t l c s s iorils t l l c l l l i l s tefo l ' c idenc c .
  • 20.
    My Great LoveFor Jesus Led Me To Islam 9 MyG reaLt oveF orJ esusL edM eT ol sl6m! y' 8: in 2 Kings 24:8: "Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months... ," when compared to 2 Chronicles 36:9 months...," 9 "Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem." 2 Samuel 6:23: 23: "Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death" stands contradictory to 2 Samuel 21 27::8, 8, which reads: "But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five frve sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite." In the New Standard American Version of 1973, the name Michal, as in 2 Samuel Sarnuel 21 21::8, 8, which appears in both King James Version and the New World Translation of Jehovah's Witnesses, was replaced by Mirab to conceal concealthec the contradiction. ontradictionA. Addressing ddressingth the e issue issueo of f seeing God as stated both John 1: 18 teJls us: man time." This is also confirmed 1 Genesis 32:30 teJls a different the of place to face, and preserved." this is also II "And in the old and new testaments, 18 tells "No hath seen God at any by I John 4: 12. However, 30 tells story "And Jacob called name the Peniel: for I have seen God face my life is Strangely enough, confirmed by Exodus 33: l I "And the Lord spoke unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh And in Exodus 24:9-11, we are told: unto his friend." 9-11, "Then went up Moses, and Aaron..... also they saw God, and did eat and drink." We also find in John 3: 13 ""And And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven. even the Son of rnan rvhich is in heaven." This heaven, man which
  • 21.
    ~ My Islam again contradicts Genesis 5:24, which states: "And walked with God: and he was not; for God took as well as 2 Kings 2:1 it came to pass, Lord would take up Elijah into ..." Thus, was it only Christ who or Enoch and Elijah as well? Additionally, numerous conflicting versions of (Hebrew, Greek, Samarian, etc.) whose authors many cases unknown to Biblical authorities. situation applies to "the editors ofthe books ofthe Bible, who presumed to God's representatives by their anonymous", according to the French version. QP "t Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lsldm contradictsG enesis5 :states:" And Enoch him," 1 "And when the heaven by a whirlwind was taken up to heaven there are the Old Testament are in The same great majority of authors and editorso f the bookso f the were presumedt o be God's representativebs y people and were also anonymous"a, ccordingto Frenchv ersion. Isldm's Islam's position relative to the Bible is one of fairness and unbiasedj udgment. lt Bible as clearly a book falsehood and unbiased judgment. It views the book that contains some truth; however, some has tainted its noble origin. The distinguishing truth from falsehood are Qur 'an teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. In whatever contents of the Bible that are agreement with the Qur 'an and Sunnah are acceptable disagreement is rejected. Other statements in be either believed or discredited. for scriptures that God revealed to His Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus and others, firm among the pillars of faith without which Muslim. Islamic criteria for distinguishing froni the Qur'dn and teachingso f ProphetM uhamn-radI.n simple terms, contentso f in agreementw ith the Qur'dn and and what is in disagreemenits rejectedO. ther statelnentisn it are not to be belibved As fbr the original scripturest hat revealedt o llis prophets, A braham, flrm belief in them is arnong rvhich one cannot be a
  • 22.
    Islam <:ijI MyGreat Love For Jesus Led Me To tslam Q2 IV. The Authenticity of the Qur'an Qar'An final scripture revealed to humankind by God The (whose proper AllAh),| Qur'dn,has name is Allah),1 the Qur 'an, has remained free from unaltered and human changes for more than 1400 years. This T his final message messagefr from om God was revealed revealedt to o Prophet Muhammad during a period of almost twenty­three twenty-three years. lt A s soona s receiveda segmenht e recitedi t It was revealed in segments of different lengths. As soon as he received a segment he recited it to his companions, who wrote it down and memorized mernorized it. In addition, the Prophet indicated to his scribes the precise location locationw where heree each achs segment egmenst should houldb be e placed placedi in n the body of the text. In this way, the QUI' Qur'dn 'an in its entirety had been written and memorized by hundreds of Prophet Muhammad's followers during his lifetime. Abu Bakr, the first Caliph, assigned a ssignedZ Zaid aidbin bin Thabit Thabitt the he responsibility responsibilityo of f compiling the first copy of the Qur Qur'an 'an in a single text after Prophet ProphetM Muhammad uhammadd died. ied. Then, following follor.vingth the e orders orderso of f the third Caliph, Uthman, Zaid later prepared seven copies which were sent to the different centers of the Islamic world. U thrnanZ, aid laterp repareds evenc opies diflerent The existence of the QUI' 'an in its original Arabic text, existenceo f Qm"dn originalA rabic the tlre existence of millions rnillions of people who memorized it verbatim in different parts of the world through the succeeding succeedingg generations enerationas and nd the complete completea agreement greemenot of f all its copies copiesa and nd manuscripts2 manuscripts'testiftyo testify to the authenticity authenticityo of f the '*.4llah* 1 "Allah" is the same same* word ord that Arabic-Arabrc-speaking speakinCe Christians hristiansa and nd Jews use usef for br God. It is a unique uniquer word vorcgl grammatically, ranrnralicallrs'i.since n cei it t cannot cannotb be e made plural or given giren a gender (i.e. e. masculine masculinc or feminine), ferninine). which rvhich is consistenwt ith the Islamicc onccpto f t ln book.' 'lhc Lif'co f Mohamed". jilliam N,luirs tatesin rcf-erence consistent with Islamic concept of God. 2 In his book, "The Life of Mohamed", William Muir states in reference to the QUl'lil1. "There is other the world remained twelve centuries (now fourteen) with so pure a thc Qrrr'rin. "'|here probably no book in u'orld which has remaincdt rrelvec cnturies(n orvf burtecn)r viths o purca text."
  • 23.
    ~ My GreatFor Jesus Islam last and final revelation sent as to humankind. The entire Qur'an is the literal Word of God without the least addition or omission. When God says in the Qur 'an, "Say, "He is Allah, [who is] One," Prophet Muhammad, the conveyor of the message, would not have been able to change a single letter or a word from that divine statement. He had to say what he was commanded to: "Say, "He is Allah, [who is] One," without omitting the imperative verb "say.,,1 I "t Love Led Me To lslAm guidance Qur'dn inthe Qur'dn, "Say, o'He Allih, [who messagew, ould "Say, "He [who isl omining verb "say."l (called hadiths), which Also, the Prophetic narrations are the second source of Islamic legislation and were also revealed by God, in meaning but not in word, were recorded recordeda and nd kept separate separatein in the books of Hadith. On the other hand, the Bible cannot claim such an untarnished existence, being b eing a mixture of words allegedly allegedlys said aid by God, others ascribed to the prophets while still others spoken by people. Qur'dn that this It is clear to anyone who reads the Qur 'an focusese ntirelyo n onenesso f doesn ot Book focuses entirely on the oneness of God. It does not depict the life of Prophet Muhammad or his heroism like most people tend to believe. Any person who reads the Qur Qur'dn 'an will clearly see that its aim is to promote belief that God is one, alone, Him, commands, and abstaining from what He The Qur 'an refers to Muhammad as a messenger of God, like all the other messengers who preceded him. glorifying Hirn, following His frorn has forbidden. Qur'dn referst o Muhammada s messengero f messengerws ho precededh im. Verse ' I-aura Vcccia Vaglicri her "Apologia dell' Islamismo"," therei s anotherp rool'oft he Divinity of theQ ur'dn: it I Dr. Laura Veccia Vaglieri states in book Islamismo", "But there is another proof of the the Qur 'an: is the fact that it has been preserved intact the ages sinee time of its Revelation till the present day. And so it will always remain, by God's will, as long as the universe exists." lbct bcen preset'vcdin tact through tl.rea ges since the of its Revelationti ll presendt a1. so it lvill alwaysr emain, God's rvill, asl ong ast heu niversee xists."
  • 24.
    My Great LoveFor Led Me Islam qy My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslam @ 3: 144 reads: is "Muhammad not but a messenger. messengerhs ave passedo n beforeh im. [Other] messengers have passed on before him. So if he was to die or be killed, would you heels [to unbeliefl? And he who will never harm AIIah all; Allah grateful." turn back on your [to unbelief)? turns back on his heels Allah at but will reward the The Prophet Propheti is s also alsod described escribeda as s one who is unable unablet to o benefit benefita anyone, nyone,including i ncludingh himself~ irrrselfl.without v itl-routth the e permission of God. Verse 7:188 188 tells us: "Say, ""I I hold not for myself power of] benefit or harm, cxcept Allih [the of) except what Allah has willed. And if I knew unscen, much wealth, and no harm lvould have am not except a warner and good to a peoplew ho believe." the unseen, I could have acquired would touched me. I a bringer of tidings people who believe. " In fact, therea re evenv ersesr eproachingth e there are even verses reproaching the Prophet for fbr celiain ceftair-actions. ar ctions.There T here is an incident incidentw wherein herein a blind man rnan interrupted him as he was rvas calling a group of influential influentialM Makkans akkanst to o Islam Isldrrra and nd pleaded pleadedu with ,itht the he Prophet to give him somc sorrer religious eligiousk knowledge. nowledgeI.In n his eagerness eagernestso to guide others. the Prophet Plophet frowned fi'orvned and ignored him for he knew knerv that the blind man Inan was of strong faith, 1aith. and that there rvould would be no harm if he q'aited waited i.until urtil he finished his meeting. H However, orvever,t the he Prophetw Prophet was as reproachedb reproached by y God in the Ihe Qur Qur'dn 'un (80: I-1-II), ll), rvhere wherc He says: ""'The The Prophet frowned frorvned and turned awav away becauset because the he blind man came to him, [Iinterrupting]. interrupting]. But rvhat what rvould would make you perceivc, perceive, 10 lO Muhammadl, that perhaps he might be purificd? purified? Or be remindecl I'eminded ancl and thc the rentembrance remembrance would benefit him? As for he who thinks himself without need, to him vou you givc give attention. And not upon you [[is is :any rny blanrel blame] if he will not bc be puriliecl. purified. But as for he who camc came to you you striving [[for for knowledgel knowledge] while he fears
  • 25.
    ~ My loveled Islam [Allah], from him you are distracted. No! Indeed, [verses] are a reminder." I *t Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lsl6m [Attahl, these [verses] Qur'dn that The reader of the Qur 'an will also find verses warn Prophet Muhammad in strong terms and even threaten him with death if he were to fabricate in the name of God. Verses 69:44-47 "And [Muhammad] had made up about some [false] sayings, We would have seized him by the Then We would have cut from him the aorta. there is no one of you who could [Us] him." any saying 44-47 read: "And if he [Muhammad] Us [false] sayings, right hand; Then And there prevent [Usl from him.tt The The Arab pagans at the time of the Prophet accused him of Qur'dn. point, revealed to him of forging the Qur 'an. At that God him various verses in which He challenged them to produce a book similar to the Qur'an. Qur Verse 88 reads: "Say, "If mankind and the produce the like of this Qur'an, they the like of it, even if they were to each And verses 52:33-34 read: "Or do they "He made it up"? Rather, they do not them produce a statement like it, they truthful." But they failed to do so. later reduced to 10 chapters as is clear from 11: which reads: "Or do they say, "He Say, "Then bring ten surahs like it that and call upon [for assistance] whomever besides Allah, if you should be truthful." failed in this also. It was finally reduced a single chapter. Verses 2:23-24 infonn us: "And if you are in about what We have sent down upon Our Servant [Muhammad], then produce a surah the like thereof and call upon your witnesses other than Allah, if you should be truthful. But if you do not, and you will 'c?nV. erse 17:88r eads: "Say, o'If jinn gathered in order to Qur'in, could not produce the like other assistants." And verses 52:33-34 "Or say, "He has made believe. Then let them if should be truthful." The challenge was laterr educedt o chaptersa s clearf rom Verse 1l :13, which "Or "He invented it"? Say' 'oThen siirahs have been invented and call [for you can besides But they failed in this to a single chapter. Verses 2:23-24 infonn us: "And if you are in doubt about what We have sent down upon Our Servant [Muhammad], then produce a siirah the like thereof and call upon your witnesses other than AllAh' if you should be truthful. But if you do not, and you will
  • 26.
    My My GreatGreat Love Love For For Jesus Jesus Led Led Me Me To To Islam tst6m ~ Q2 then fear the Fire whose fuel is men never be able to, and stones, stones,prepared p repared for the disbelievers." Verse V erse 10:l0:38 says: says: ""Or do they say say [[about about the Prophet], "..He He invented it?" Say, ""Then Then bring forth a siirah like it and call upon [[for for assistance] whomever you can besides Allah, if you should be truthful." They failed to accomplish this as well. proves of Islam, although very compose a single chapter Qur'dn. Had they been able to would have saved in trying to put an Islamby This that the bitter enemies Isliim, eloquent in Arabic, failed to similar to that in the Qur 'an. stand up to the challenge, they themselves much time and effort spent end to Islam by force. Unlike the Bible, Qur'dn the Qur 'an is free from all kinds of contradiction or conflict with reason error, discrepancy, and science. scienceI.In n the Qur'an, Qur'dn, Verse Verse4 4::82, 82,we w e read: read:, ",Then Thend do o they not reflect upon the Qur'an? Qur'dn? If it had been from other than Alliih, [any] Allah, they would have found within it much contradiction." The Qur'cin, foufteen Qur 'an, which was revealed fourteen centuries ago, mentions facts scientists with advanced scientific research. vividly aboutt about the he phaseso phases of f man'se man's embryonic mbryonicd development, evelopment, saying: ""And And certainly did We create man from an extract of clay. drop a firm lodging. Then drop clinging clot, and [of fleshl, flesh], and We made [[from] from] the lump, bones, and We covered the bones into another creation. Allih, creators." (Qur' Qur'an 6n 23 23:: 12- 14) | 4) The Qur'dn only recently discovered or proven by the help of sophisticated equipment and For example, God speaks Then We placed him as a sperm-drop in We made the sperm-drop into a We made the clot into a lump [of with flesh; then We developed him So blessed is Allah, the best of Qur 'an also refers to the formation of the universe and the big bang which begant he V erse 2l:30 oegan the process. Verse 21 :30
  • 27.
    W My Islam reads: "Have those who disbelieved not considered that the heavens and the earth were a separated them and made from water every thing? Then will they not believe?" topic of verse was the subject of the Nobel Prize in 1973. Modem science also proved that 80% of the of living cell is actually water. For such knowledge reach Muhammad, an illiterate manl I tt Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslAm '6llave joined entity, and We living believe?'o The this Modern cytoplasm the precise to Muhammad. man', , more than 14 Qur'dn is aword centuries ago is manifest proof that the Qur 'an a word of God, and that Muhammad was His Messenger. V. The Life and Mission of Jesus V. years of Jesus' Very little is known about the early gave in Palestine. All life. The Virgin Mary birth to him Muslims believe in and respect Jesus because of references to him in the Qur 'an and the prophetic sayings as one of the greatest Prophets of the referencest o lhe Qur'dn andt he prophetics ayings ofthe greatestP rophetso f Allah. essenceo f teachingsw asb asedo n the belief in The essence of his teachings was based on uniqueG od andw orshippingn o oneb ut Him in addition. a unique God and worshipping no one but He also preached love and performed miracles, never crediting them to always that it was by God's will? John 5:30, peace. He perforrned several himself, but indicating will.' In 30, Jesus is I the Qur'dn, 48, "And you not recite before you one with your right hand, had [cause forl doubt." 2 spiteo f rvef lnd Christianp reachersin sistingo n going against the teachings his miracles as rcasons to believei n ma1, thcretbre,b e entitledt o ask them: "Why Ciod since hc the sea rvith his staff and it (E,xodus 14:16-29).llis stafI rvas transfbrmed into a reptile( Exodus4 :2-5)." )'ou considerJ oshuaG od though he ordered the sun and the moon to stop and they obeyed his command?"( Joshua1 0:l2-13)." Wh1'rvas F)li.iahn ot consideredG od thoughh e quickenedt hc dead?"( l Kings l7:22)" And what about E,lisharv hoa lsob roughtt he cleadb ackt o lil'e'?("2 Kings4 :32-35).E ven 1 In the Qur 'an, Verse 29:48, God says: did before it any scripture, nor did inscribe hand. Otherwise the falsifiers would have [cause forI 2 In spite of this we find Christian preachers insisting on the teachings of Christ and considering reasons believe in his divinity. One may, therefore, be entitled to ask "do you not consider Moses God since he hit sea with staff and it parted?" (Exodus 14:16-29). His statTwas also transformed a reptile (Exodus 4:2-5). "Why did you not consider Joshua God he ordered the sun and the moon to stop and they obeyed his command?" (Joshua 10: 12-13). "Why was Elijah not considered God though he quickened the dead'I" (I Kings 17:20-22) "And what about Elisha who also brought the dead back to life?" (2 Kings 4:32-35). Even
  • 28.
    My Great LoveFor Jesus Led Me To Islam ~ MyG reaLt oveF orJ esusL edM eT ot st6m@ quoted as saying: "I Luke 11:20 reads: "But out devils." the Heavens life, John ll:41-42 "And and said, Father, me. And I knew because of the people which they may (Peter), a major disciple "Ye men these words; God among by miracles which God did him yourselves (Acts witnessed God and that prophet the widow's lvhom presentp roclaimed": ...that among us; (Luke 7: 1 6). can of mine own self do nothing." 11 :20 if I with the finger of God cast Jesus used to supplicate to God, Creator of and Earth. Upon bringing Lazarus back to 11:41-42 states: Jesus lifted up his eyes, I thank thee that thou hast heard that thou hearest me always: but believe that thou hast sent me." Simon says: Yemen of Israel, hear Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of you and wonders and signs, by in the midst of you, as ye also know." 2:22) Even the people who those miracles knew that they were approved by Jesus was a of God. In the case of son, whom Jesus brought back to life, those present proclaimed: "...a great prophet is risen up and, that God hath visited his people." 16). lnthe Qur'dn,this great In the Qur 'an, this Prophet of God is referred to as "Isa ibn (Jesus, whereas the mentioned 5 times. stand by I said it, that Maryam" the son of Mary) 25 times, name of Prophet Muhammad himself is only In Chapter Qur'dn, Aali-'Imraan 3 of the Qur 'an, called Aali- 'Imraan (The Family of Imran) ofImran) we read: [mention] when the angels said, "0 Mary!, 42. And [mention] "O M"ryt, indeed Allnh you purified you chosen you Allah has chosen and and above the women of the worlds. E,lisha'sb onesa fter deathr aisedt he dead,( 2 l3:21).A s fbr E,zekie(l3 7:7-10),h e broughta arml' thousandso f backt o life, noneo fthem considercdG od evena god. ' (Mary), mothero f thc ProphetJ esus.onty mentioned lhe Qur'an Elisha's bones after his death raised the dead, (Kings 13:20-21). As for Ezekiel (37:7-10), he brought a whole army of thousands of people back to life. Still none of them is considered God or even a I Maryam the mother of the Prophet Jesus, is the only woman by name in the Qur 'an. Her name appears 34 times. In
  • 29.
    W My Islam I fuv Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lsldm 43. O your 43.0 Mary, be devoutly obedient to Lord and [in prayer]." prostrate and bow with those who bow [in 44. That is from the news of the unseen which We [O you reveal to you, [0 Muhammad]. And were not with them when they cast their pens as to which of them should be responsible for Mary. Nor were you with them when they disputed. 45. [And mention] when the angels said, "0 Mary, [And "O Mu.y' Alliih word' indeed Allah gives you good tidings of a wordl from Him, whose name will be the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mrry, Mary, distinguished in this world and the Hereafter and among those brought near [to Allah]. [to 46. He will speak to the people in the cradle and in maturity and will be of the righteous." saido 'oMy 47. She said, "My Lord, how will I have a child me?o' [The angel] said' when no man has touched me?" [The said, "Such is Allah; He creates what He wills. decrees a matter, He only says to it, 'Be,' and it 'oSuch When He itr'Ber' is. 48. And He will teach him writing and wisdom2 wisdom' and the Torah and the Gospel [make messengetro Children of 49. And [make him] a messenger to the [who 'Indeed you Israel, [who will say], 'Indeed I have come to with a sign from your Lord in that I design for you from clay [that which is] like the form of a bird3 , then I breathe [that isl bird., t herc singlec hapteri n thc tliblc name, r vhereasa n addition, therc is no single chapter in the Bible by her whereas an entire chapter chaptcr in the Qur Qur'dn 'an is named after aftcr her. hcr. In ln fact, no Qur'anie Qur'dnic chapter chapter mentions mcntions the names of Prophet Muhammad's Muharrrnad's mother, his daughters daughterso or r his wives rvivesb by y name. It I t is owing to thc great greatl love ove for Mary that many Muslims Muslir"nsn name amet their heir daughters daughtersa after fler her. I Referring to the prophet Jesus, who was conceived command from God - the word "Be." 2 i.e. the teachings of the Prophets 3 This miracle plus the miracle of AI-Maa 'idah the table of that descended from the heaven) and others arc mentioned only in the Qur 'an, but not in the Bible. I Itelbrring rvho rvas merely by a command lrom - rvord Bc." 2 e.t het eachingso f theP rophets I ol /l-Maa'idah (the food descendcdf rom a nd othcrs arc ntcntionedo nly in Qur'dn,
  • 30.
    My Great LoveFor Jesus Led Me To Islam ~ My Great Love For fo lslam @ into it and Allah. And I cure to dead - permission into it and it becomes a bird by permission of Allah. And I cure the blind and the leper, and I give life to the - by of Allah. And I inform you of you what eat and what you store in your houses. Indeed in that is a sign for you, if you are believers. 50. And [I [I have come] confirming what was before me what was with a sign from your Allnh of the Torah and to make lawful for you some of forbidden to you. And I have come to you Indeed, Alleh 51. Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Lord, so fear Allah and obey me. Him. That is the straight path." 52. But when Jesus [persistence inl felt [persistence in] disbelief from them, he said, ""Who Who are my supporters for [[the the cause of] Allah?" The disciples said," We are supporters for Allah. Alllh. We have believed in Allah and testify that we are Muslims [[submitting submitting to Him]. 53. Our Lordo Lord, we have believed in what You revealed and have followed registeru s among the rvitnesses[t o truth]." the messenger Jesus, so register us witnesses [to 54. And the disbelievers planned, Alleh planned. And Allah is the best planners. of 55. [Mention] when Alldh O but Allah [Mention] Allah said, "0 Jesus, indeed I will take you and raise you' from those who disbelieve and make those you [in submission to AllAh alone] who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection. Me is your return, and I will judge you concerning that in which you used to differ. you! to Myself and purify you who follow [in Allah superior to those Then to between 56. And as for thoser those who vho disbelieved, I will punish them with a severe punishment in this lvorld and Hereafter, and they will have no helpers." world the ' God sar,edJ esusa nd raisedh im to hcavena live, in body and soul rvithout any harm or pain I saved Jesus and raised him heaven alive, without any harm or pain
  • 31.
    ~ My GreatLove Me To Islam I fr/lyG reatL ove For Jesus Led MeT o lslim did righteous rewards, and 57. But as for those who believed and deeds, He will give them in full their Allah does not like the wrongdoers. All6h you, [O Muhammadl' 58. This is what We recite to [0 Muhammad], of of [[Our] Our] verses and the precise [[and and wise] message. to AllSh is like that He said to 59. Indeed, the example of Jesus Allah of Adam. He created Him from dust; then him, "Be," and he was. himr ttBertt your so do not be 60. The truth is from Lord, among the doubters. among 61. 61. Then whoever argues with you about it after [this] - say' let us call sons' and your women, earnestly [together] of AIInh upon the liars [among [this] knowledge has come to you - say, "Come, call our sons and your sons, our women women, ourselves and yourselves, then supplicate earnestly [together] and invoke the curse Allah the liars [among us]." 62. And there is 62. Indeed, this is the true narration. no deity Allah is the Exalted in Might, no deity except Allah. And indeed, in Might, the Wise. Maryam,, God revealed: And in chapter 19, called Maryam, 16. And mention, [0 Muhammad], [the 16. [O in the Book [the story o{l Mury, her family to a story of) Mary, when she withdrew from a place toward the east. 17. And a screen. 17. And she took, in seclusion from them, Then he represented Then We sent to her Our Angel, and himself to her as a well-proportioned man. 18. She "Indeed, in the Most 18. She said, "Indeed, I seek refuge Merciful [so mel, you should be Merciful from you, [so leave me], if fearing of Allah." AII5h." 19. "I messengeor f your Lord 19. He said, "I am only the messenger of to give you [news of) a pure boy [i.e., son]." to give you [news ofl a pure boy [i.e.' sonl." 20. She said, "How can I have a boy while no man 20. She said, "How can I have a boy while no man has touched me and 1 have not been unchaste?" has touched me and I have not been unchaste?" 21.He said, o(Thus[ it will be]; your Lord says"is 21. He said, "Thus [it will be]; your Lord says, 'It is easy for Me, and.We will make him a sign to the people easy for Me, and.We will make him a sign to the people
  • 32.
    My Great LoveFor Jesus Led Me To Islam W Myc reatL oveF orJ esusL edM eT ot slamR 2 and a mercy from Us. And it is a matter [already] decreed." [already] 22. So she conceived him, him. and she withdrew with 23. And the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm tree. She said, ""Oh, Oh, I wish I had died before this and was in oblivion, forgotten." hero 66Do 24. But he called her from below her, "Do not grieve; your Lord has provided beneath you a stream. 25. And shake toward you the trunk of the palm tree; it will drop upon you ripe, fresh dates. 26. So eat and drink and be contented. And if you 'Indeed, him to a remote place. see from among humanity anyone, say, 'Indeed, I have vowed to the Most Merciful abstention, so I will not speak today to [any] man." [anyl 27. Then she brought him to her people, carrying They O Mury, you O your him. said, "0 Mary, have certainly done a thing unprecedented. 28. 0 sister of Aaron, father was not a man of your unchaste.tt pointed "How evil, nor was mother unchaste." 29. So she to him. They said, "How can we speak to one who is in the cradle a child?" [Jesus]s aid,' olndeedI, the ser-vanot f Allah. given me prophet. And has made me blessed wherever I 30. [Jesus] said, "Indeed, I am servant of He has me the Scripture and made a 31. He am has enjdined prayer and ZakAh,r as long remain and enjoined upon me Zakah,l as I alive And [made me] dutiful my mother, and He 32. [made to has not made me a wretched tyrant. And peace is on me the day I was born and the 33. day I will die and the day I am raised alive." t Zakah is one thc pillarso 1'lslam.I t is a fixcd pcrcentagoef rvealtho n specifiedp ropertiest o bc given to dcscrvingp oor and nccclvp eople. I Zakdh the pillars of Islam. It fixed percentage of wealth on specified properties to be deserving poor needy people.
  • 33.
    ~ My GreatLove For Jesus Led Me To Islam I fr/lvG reatL oveF orJ esusL edM eT o lslAm That is Jesus, the son of Mary the word of truth 34. That is Jesus, the son of Mary the word of truth about which they are in dispute. about which they disPute. not [befitting] Allnh to take a son; 35. It is not [befitting] for Allah to take a exalted exalted is He! When He decrees an affair, He only says to to itr it, ""Ber" Be," and it is. [Jesus "And is Lord and 36. [Jesus said], "And indeed, Allah my straight palh.'.' your Lord, so worship Him. That is a path." also include Further, the words of Prophet Muhammad referencest o l n P rophetM uhammad says: Hereaftel l am the nearest of Mary. The references to Jesus. In one narration, Prophet Muhammad says: "Both in this world and in the Hereafte-:, I nearest of people to Jesus, the son prophets are paternal brothers; their different but their religion is one."l brothers;, mothers are aiffirent but r says: "When In another hadith, Prophet Muhammad any him at both sides except for Jesus, the son to touch but failed' for he touched cover instead."' This was a response grandmother "the wife of Imrdn" in the Qur'dn, she said: "...And Maryr and I seek refuge [forl her descendants from Satai, [from Allahl."3 any human being is born, Satan touches sides of the body with his two fingers, the son of Mary, whom Satan tried failed, for he touched the placenta-cover instead.,,2 response to the supplication of his of Imran" when according to the narration Qur 'an, she said: " ...And I have named her Mary, refuge for her in You and [for] Satan, the expelled [from the mercy of Allah].,,3 The Qur'rirz of Jesus and The Qur 'an considers the characters Muhammad and noble since both Almighty God. Muhammad equally pure, immaculate, both of them are prophets from the same I Nan-ated by Al-Bukhari , hadith no. 3370. 2A l -Bukhar i3, 216. r 3:36. Both the Qur'dn and Prophct Muhammad honored Jesus by stating that he was guarded fiom the cvils of Satan. Actually, this is a refutationo f the Biblicalc laim in Luke 4:2 thatJ esusr vas" tempted by the devil." ] Nan'ated by Al-Bukhari, hadith no. 3370. 2 Al-Bukhari, 3216. 3 3:36. Both the Qur 'an and Prophct Muhammad honored Jesus by stating that he was guarded from the cvils of Satan. Actually, this is a refutation of the Biblical claim in Luke 4:2 that Jesus was "tempted by the devil."
  • 34.
    Great Islam W My creat Love For Jesus Led Me To lstam Q2 VI. Prophet Muhammad VI. Prophet Muhammad Jesus had told the Jews that after him no prophet would appear among them, and that the Kingdom of God would be taken from them and given to a nation more worthy of it (Matthew 21:21 :43). This nation was the descendents of Ishmael who had been rejected by the Jews. l r The Qur'dn Qur'dn (61:6) 6) states, ""And And [[mentionl mention] when Jesus, the son of Mary, said, ""O 0 children of Israel' Israel, indeed I am the messenger of Allah to you confirming what came before me of the Torah and bringing tidings of a messenger to come after me, whose name is Ahmad." But when he came to them with evidences, they said, "This is obvious magic." good messengetro whosen ame clear evidencest,h ey o oThisis obviousm agic." TestarnentJ,e susp rophesizetsh e In the New Testament, Jesus prophesizes the coming "Nevertheless of Muhammad in these -' words: I tell you the truth; It is f r -* "-.. for you that I go away: for if I go not away, il not come unto you; but if I depart unto you. And when he is come, he , world of sin, and of righteousnes~ righteousness .t: ... Howbeit when he, the Spirit of ? ~ will guide you into all ' r, :1//al 1 espccialllM' c Not onlv thal the lOth of il day belbrc i Children oj Muslims h morc than Prophcts name the' Jnto : t: : rvill :, r ( ( .c . Le ol- lhc Qur'dn finds that br a certain period (Qur'dn 2:47). rk o1' them and their Prophets, b,v nanre times in the Qur'6n. rade ncouragedM uslimst o fast on rth of the Islamicc alendar)a nd the c to ,lllah firr saving Moses and the of Pharaoh by parling the Red Sea. n commcnlorationo f this event for also hold great respect for all the I Despite this [/ Allah favored 1 Many stories especially Me Not onIv thaI the lOth"of it day before j Children of Muslims h more than Prophets name the' ,e reader of the Qur 'an or (Qur 'an 47). lk of by name 136 Qur 'an, lad encouraged Muslims to :1th Islamic calendar) and e Allah for parting m commemoration of
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    ~ I Mytt Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam lslAm truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come... He shall glorify me..." (John 16:7-7-14). 14).Since S incet that hat time, who w ho has hasg glorified lorifiedJ Jesus esusa as s much as Muhammad did]? did'? In the Gospel of Barnabas, one of the Gospels not "since recognized by the Church, Jesus says: men have called me "God," and "Son of God," God, in order that I be not mocked of the demons on the day of judgment, of men hath willed that I be mocked ofmen in this world by the death of Judas; Judas,o making all men to believe that I died upon the cross. And this mocking shall continue until the advent of Mohammed, Mohammed. the messenger of God, who, when rvhen he shall come, shall t I Many people went to extremes regarding the person of Jesus Christ. Some rejected him and spared no cffort el'fort to discredit him, while others later latcr denied his existence existcnce altogether altogethcr considering him to be a fictional character. As for fbr Jesus' teachings regarding rcgarding the belief in only one true God, his so-called called followers follorvers went rvent off in another direction. It was rvas only Islam that declared his prophethood orophethood and defended his character 2 2 According to the Gospels, Gospeli, Christ Chrisl was rvash betrayed etrayer.for flo r 30 pieces pieceso of f silver by b1' his treasurer. trcasurer. However, Horvever, Ibn Kathir, in his Qur'anic Qur'6nic exegesis cxegesis (Q. 4: 157) and others say that the disciple who '"vho allegedly betrayed Christ did not actually do so; instead he sacrificed sacrillced himselffor himself fbr Christ. After he had heard Christ say "On the day of ofdanger, danger, whom shaH shall I cause to look like me, and he shaH shall be my companion cornpanion in Heaven?" that disciple expressed his willingness to be so, and so it was. Such selfless act is worthy of the disciples of Jesus Christ. On the other hand, the act of betrayal committed by Judas, according to the Gospels, is contradictory to other gospel narrations such as Matthew 19:28 "... when the Son of man shaH sit in the throne of his gIOl'y, ye also shaH sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." So, if Judas was a traitor, Jesus would have said cleven thrones" not "twelve . rvillingness ri'as. rvorthyo f discipleso f JesusC hrist.O n t he lvlatthew I 9:shall thc glory, shall Isracl." rvas rvould havc "cicvcn trvelve * - *
  • 36.
    Great Islam W My Love For Jesus Led Me To lsl6m @ reveal this deception to those who believe in God's law." (Barnabas220). Barnabas 220). Prophet Muhammad is mentioned several times in various places in the Old Testament. Such mention has survived distortion and corruption. For example in Deuteronomy 18:18-19, we read: "will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, 1 will require it of him." Deuteronomy1 8:18-19w, e read:" I like it I Makkah (Baca), where Prophet Muhammad received revelationsi,s mentionedin Psalms8 4:6,w hich his divine revelations, is mentioned in Psalms 84:6, which says: passing through the valley of Baca make a well; the rain also filleth the pools." "Who it The Qur 'an states in Chapter 3, verse 96, "Indeed, the Qur'dn statesin Chapter3 , verse9 6, "Indeed, [of for was first House [of worship] established mankind that at Baca (Makkah), blessed, and a guidance for the worlds." Prophet Abraham also mentioned the same place where he raised the foundation of the sacred House of (the Ka 'bah) there, indicating that it was an arid area. In the Qur 'an, v. 14:37, we read: "Our Lord, I have settled some of my descendants in an uncultivated valley Your sacred House." In addition, Isaiah 21: 13 mentions revelation from Arabia. ProphetA brahama lsom entionedth e samep lace whereh e raisedt he foundationo f sacredH ouseo f God Ka'bah) ln Qur'tin, 74:37,w e read:" Our descendantsin uncultivatedv alley near 2l:also The fact that Prophet Muhammad would be illiterate Isaiah 29.12, "And' rvho read, and could not read is mentioned in 29: 12, And when they give the book to one who cannot saying, "Read this," he says, "I cannot read." (ESY) ESV) ln find the In Sahih Al-Bukhari, hadith no. 3, we prophet of following, about the first revelation to the Isliim: " ... He (Muhammad) was in the cave when Islam'. "... the
  • 37.
    W I Myffy Great Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam lsl6m angel came to him. He (the angel) said to him ""Read." Read." He (Muhammad) said ""I I cannot read." He (Muhammad) reports ""So, So, he (the angel) held me so tightly that 1 I felt exhausted, then let go of me and said "Read." 1 I said "'6I "Read." I cannot read." He held me again so tightly that 1 I felt exhausted, then let go of me and said "ttRead.Read." tt 1 I said "ttl I cannot read." read.tt So, he held me so tightly for the third time, then let go of me and said ""Read Read in the name of your Lord who created ... created man from a clinging clot. Read and your Lord is the Most Generous Generous..." ..." In Chapter 7, Verse 157, the Qur 'an states: "Those Qur'iin "Those prophet who follow the Messenger, the unlettered whom they find written in what they have of the Torah and the Gospel." Gospel.'o In the year 571 571 CE, in Arabia, the prophesy of Jesus and his predecessors predecessorsw was as fulfilled. The Comforter was born amongst the Children of Ishmael (Ismaa lsnaa'eel),'eel), I t who were polytheists and idolaters. Muhammad Muharnmad stood out among amongh his is people peopled due ue to the genuineness genuinenesosf of his character, his love for truth and his compassion compassionf for or the poor and weak. He came to be known as "Al-AI-Ameen" ((The The Trustworthy) Trustworlhy) amongst his people. He was chosen by Almighty Allah at the age of forty to be His last messenger and prophet prophett to o all humankind. He H e preached preachedb belief elief in the ' lact rvas thc oldcst son of the Prophet I In spite of the fact that Ishmael was the oldest Abraham as is clear from Genesis 16:"And and six years bare Ishmael Genesis 2 I :5, "And Abraham a years son Isaac was born unto him," the Bible comes to claiming otherwise in Genesis 22:2, "And he Take thine son whom Iovest." clcar liom Gcncsis l6:16: "And Abram was fourscore old, when Hagar barc Ishrnacl to Abram," and 2l:5, "And Abraharn was hundred old, when his contradict itself by claimingo thenviscin Gcncsis2 2:2,"An<lh e said, T ake now thy son, thinc only sorr Isaac, whorn thou lovcst."
  • 38.
    My Myc GreatreatL Love oveF For orJ Jesus esusL Led edM Me eT To ol Islam sl6mp W oneness of Allah, the Creator, who alone deserves to be worshippedS, worshipped, Sustainer ustaineor of f the whole universea universe and nd all that it contains. God supported Prophet Muhammad with many miraclest miracles that hat were confirmedb confirmed by y eye-witnesses, witnessess,such u cha as s the splitting splittingo of f the moon (Q. 54: I) l) and the hurricanet hurricane that hat He sent to counter a full-scale assault by the enemy on Madinah Madinah( (Q. 33:9). 9). Such Suchm miracles iraclesw were ere mentioned mentionedi in n the Qur'lin Qur'iin after their occurrence, and a nd the unbelievers unbelieverso of f the time, who were eager to find faults in the Qur'lin Qur'dn did didnot not find any contradiction contradictionb between etrveenth the e narration narrationi in nthe the Qur'lin Qur'dn and actual events. As a result, many willingly embraced Islam. As for the believers, those miracles strengthened their faith and belief in Allah and His Messenger. Many other miracles were also mentioned in the hadith, hodith, such as the flowing of the water u,ater from froru between the fingers of Prophet ProphetM Muhammad, uharnmadt,the h e increase increasein in the amount amounto of f food during the digging of the trench around Madinah, the telling of things to come, and of things unknown, which Allah revealed revealedto to him. However, Horvevert,the h e living miracle miracleo of f the Prophet is the Qur'lin. It mentions linguistic, scientific legislative issues of a miraculous nature. Propheti s Qur' dn. lt mentionsI i ngLir s tic, and legislativeis sueso f miraculousn ature. ProphetM uharlmad arnongh is companionsh, is Prophet Muhammad lived among his companions, his farnily T here r.vasn otliing hirn that was family and people. There was nothing about him unknown or kept a secret. His life an most minute details about his entire life known to those who believed in him as the Messenger of sacrificed for the sake of their belief God, Muhammad had nothing to them except revelations he received from the Lord of all beings. itis was open book. The lifb were all thoser vho believedi n tlie Messengeor f God and sacrif-icedfo r in while notliing give the revelationsh e receivedfi orn l-ord under the He preached a message of brotherhood banner of hlum, in which there was no distinction based on race, color, language, wealth or sex. This bannero f Lsl7m,i n r.vhichth erer 'vasn o distinctionb ased c olor, languagew, ealtho r T his is confirmed
  • 39.
    W I Myt, Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lsldm Islam by the words of God in the Qur Qur'dn 'an (49: 13): ""O 0 mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted." The Prophet Prophet,emphasized emphasizetdh that at lineage has no value in God.' 'oYour the sight of God. I He said: "Your Lord is One, and your father (Adam) is one. An Arab is not better than a non- non­Arab and a non-Arab is not better than an Arab, and a Arab Arab. white person is not better than a black person and a black person is not better than a white person except through piety piefy and righteousness.,,righteousnesr."2 This Tt hir meanst means that hat piety and righteousness are the criterion by which Allah judges people, regardless of color or race. righteousnessa re judges r egardlesos fcolor Slavery was widespread throughout the world, and was sanctioned by the man-made made religions of the time and by the Bible itself, as a s in Genesis Genesis9 9::25-25-27, 27,Exodus E xodus2 21:1:2-2-12 12 and Ephesians Ephesians6 6::5. 5. When God sent Muhammad Muhammadw with ith the last of His messages, messagesth, the e freeing freeingo of f slaves slavesb became ecameo one ne of the greatest greatesat acts ctso of f goodness goodnessth that at would bring one nearer to God. Also, it became becamea a praiseworthy praiseworthym means eanst to o gain His approval, pleasure p leasurea and nd expiate expiates sins insa and nd errors. God G od says saysi in n the the Qur Qur'iin 'an (90: 11-l l-13) "But he has not broken through the difficult pass. And what can make you know what is [breaking through] the difficult freeing of a slave." [breaking pass? It is the freeins tu!rc." ) Lahab.a n uncleo f ProphctM uhammad.r c'iectedC od's message. I Abu Lahab, an uncle ofProphct Muhammad. rejected God's As a result, Qur'anic verses were revealed condemning him Q ur'dnicv erscsw erer evcaledc ondemningh im and he was promised Hellfire. His IIis relationship to the thc Prophet provided no protectionfb r him againset ternapl unishrnent. 2 Narratcd by Ahnad. 23 105. protection for against eternal punishment. 2 Narrated Ahmad, 23 05.
  • 40.
    Great Me ToIslam ~ My creat Love For Jesus Led Me To lsl6m Qy' 66a mercy to the Prophet Muhammad was sent as "a Qttr'dn (21: 107). Prophet worlds." This is stated in the Qur 'an Muhammad said: "The The merciful are treated with mercy by Allih. AlHih. Thus, have mercy upon those on earth' earth, so that He who is in Heaven may have mercy upon you."' yoU."l Another hadith states:" states: "Whosoever does not have mercy upon the people will not receive mercy from Allah.,,2 Allah."' example of Prophet Muhammad was the living A llah statesin Qur'dn (3: 159):" by mercy Altdh, [O lenient mercy. Allah states in the Qur 'an 159): "So from Allah, [0 Muhammad], you were with them. And if you had been rude [in speech] in heart, they would have disbanded from So pardon them and ask forgiveness consult them in the matter..." [in and harsh about you. for them and Prophetw as compassionateev en to his enemies' exampleo f compassionw as shorvnw hen he The Prophet was compassionate even enemies. A clear example of his compassion was shown when conquered Makkah. The Makkan pagans were sure that would exact his vengeance on them. However, when stood at the door of the Ka'bah and said "How you think 1 should act toward "With gracious and merciful brother," they "Be so," declared the Prophet. "I say unto as said unto his brothers: "No blame will you today. Allah will forgive you; merciful of the merciful.'" Then he said "Go, for you are free.,,4 It would have been easy him seek revenge for all the tOliure and followers suffered at their hands, yet he pardoned them conqueredM akkah.T he Makkanp agans 'eres uret hat he vengeanceo n tltetn. How'ever,w hen he to them: do I you?" kindness, replied. it sor" declaredth e Prophet". I you Prophet Joseph saicl "No blamc there be upon youl and He is the most merciful."r Thert saici to them: for are free."4 for hirn to seek fbr tofture death he and his follorverss uffereda t theirl tands.y et lrep aldonedt hem all. I Nar ratecbly At - l i r rnidhi .1 928. I Narratcdb l ivluslirn5. 983. t l'hcscr rordsa req uotcciln lhc Qur'un. t'. 1292 j r'arratcdb y al-lSayhaqiI.t t648.I tt647. I Narrated lw it-Tirmidhi, 1928. 2 Narrated b)' Muslim. 5983. 3 These words arc quoted in the Qur'an. v. 12:92. 4 Narrated by al-Bayhaqi, 18648, 18647.
  • 41.
    ~ My ForJesus Led Me To Islam Z fUV Great Love lsldm This clearly proves Qur'dnic instructionto those" ...who pardon the people Alliih good." (3:134)A llah alsos aysi n Qur'6n (41:34-35):" Repel [evill by that [deed] whom you [will becomel as though granted it granted it great [ofgood]." When his companions hirn "Oh Lord, have people doing."' got personal was Allah. person angry."2 camet o trernblingw ith f'eart hinking great not cured Makkah."'' rveight Paradise.'o* ' 2 t lbn Ma.iah,3391. a Muslim, that he was indeed a mercy to humankind. In so doing, he was following the Qur'anic instruction to be of those " ...who restrain anger and who and Allah loves the doers of 134) A/liih also says in the Qur'an 34-35): "Repel [evil] [deed] which is better; and thereupon the one between and him is enmity [will become] he was a devoted friend. But none is except those who are patient, and none is except one having a portion [of good]." appealed to him to ask for the descent of God's wrath on his enemies after they had broken his tooth and injured his head, he refused and said, mercy on my for they know not what they are doing.'" He never angry over matters. All his anger for the sake of He used to say: "The truly strong is not one who fights others and defeats them, rather it is the one who restrains himself when angry.,,2 He was an exemplary model of humility. Once a man came to him trembling with fear thinking he was about to meet a great king. The Prophet met him with all humility and said to him: "Calm down, I am a king. I am the son of a woman who used to eat meat in Makkah."j In another hadith, the Prophet said: "Whoever has in his heart an ant's weight of arrogance will not enter Paradise.,,4 I Ibn Hibban. 949. 2 Muslim, 6595. 3 Ibn Majah. 3391. 4 Musli~, 225.
  • 42.
    My Great LoveFor Jesus Led Me To Islam 9 MyG reaLt oveF orJ esusL edM eT ol sldm I time of the When a solar eclipse occurred at the people to say that Prophet's son, Ibrahim's death, began the eclipse was due to his son's death. summoned them and proclaimed: "The sun and the are two of Allah's signs. They do death or birth of anyone.,,1 However, he "The moon Allnhos not eclipse for the ofanyone."' instructed In yet another hadith, Prophet Muhammad followers:" praise excessivelya s the son his followers: "Do not me excessively as of Mary was praised by the Christians. slave of Allah. So call me the slave Allah I am only a Alleh. of Allnh and His ? messenger.,,- messenger."2 him: "You are our One companion once said to power favor over all of us." master and have more and The Prophet, angry at such a thought, - only for the cause of Allah - answered: "Only Master! I am no one's master. deceive you. I do not want to higher than where Allah has Allah's slave and His messenger.,,3 - and his anger was causeo f - answered":O nly Allah is the Do not let the devil you raise me to a status Alllh placed me. I am only Alliih's messenger.''' (divine that Prophet rnade for the weak, the poor, The Shari'ah legislation) Muhammad brought, made caring the indigent, and orphans an integral pali says in the Qur'an 1-3): who denies the Recompense? For that drives away the orphan and does feeding of the poor." Neglecting the needy may also one to the Hellfire. Allah says the Qur 'an 69:33-34): "Indeed, he did not used to believe Allah, Great, nor did he encourage the feeding of parl of Islam. Allah the Qur'tin (107:1-3): "Have you seen the one F or is the one who not encourage the feedingo f Neglectingth e needyr naya lso lead AllAh in the Qur'iin (69:33-34): "Indeed, in Allflh, the Most encouraget he feedingo f the poor." I Al-Bukhari1. 0,1,1. 2A l-Bukhar3i.3 72. r Ahmad1, 2295. 1 AI-Bukhari. 1044. 2 AI-Bukhari. 3372. 3 Ahmad, 12295.
  • 43.
    ~ My Islam I *t Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslAm Islam condemns all kinds of injustice, aggression and terror against the innocent. Allah says: " "......and and do not transgress. Indeed, Allah Alllh does not like aggressors." (Qur Qur'dn 'an 2: 190) Qur 'an also says: "Because of that, We decreed The Qur'dn "Because upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [[done] done] in the land it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one - - it is as if he had saved mankind entirely..." Qur 'an 5:32). Such is the brutality of murder Islam. Muslims are even encouraged to be kind to animals and are forbidden to harm them. On one occasion Prophet Muhammad said: "A woman was because she tied up a cat until it died. On account of this, she was doomed to Hell. She imprisoned it, not it food or drink, nor did she let it free to eat the vermin of the earth.,,1 (Qur'dn 32). in Isldm. encouragedto animalsa nd Muharnmad 'oA punished giving earth.tt' reporled prostitute gave He also reported the case of a who water to a dog dying of thirst, for which Allah forgave her sins? sins.'.The T he Prophet Prophetw was as asked: asked:' "oMessengeor Messenger of f God, are we rewarded for kindness towards animals?" He said: ""There There is a reward for kindness shown shorvn to every living animal or human being.'" being."l Tlre Islam promotes The message of Isliim tolerance and respect for the rights of non-Muslims. In a hadith, Prophet Muhammad said: " ...Whoever does to another having a covenant of e. a non-Muslim), or falls short in giving one his l'ight, or burdens one with more than he can bear or takes from one something respectf or rightso f Muslims.I n P rophet Muharnmad "...Whoever tloes injustice protection (i.e. Muslim), right, ' Muslim, 5 80,1. 2A 1-Bukhar3i.3 92. I Al -Bukhar2i .3 23. 1 5804. 2 AI-Bukhari. 3392. J AI-Bukhari, 2323.
  • 44.
    My Love ForJesus Led Me To lsldm I against his will, I will the Day of Judgment."t messageo f Islam shunning Give back entrusted ^with betrayed you."' Islam alsos trongly disapproveso f selfishnessa nd The "A until himself."Good part of the Islamic messageT. he Prophets aid: with the has the best the believers are those women"'o Also, a O Messenger of companionship?" "Your The man asked, "'Who mother." 'oWho is next?" The Prophet replied,'oYour When the man asked for replied, father."5 Accordingt o Islamict eachingst,h e rervardf or servinga nd looking after Paradise. The Prophet instructeda consultedh im about going for I Abu Darvud.3054. 2A t -Ti rmidhi .1 261. I Al-Bukhari, 13. r Ahmad. 737'1. 5 Muslim. 6452. Great Jesus Me To Islam <:$I against his will, I will be his opponent on the Day of Judgment."] The message of Isliim calls for fulfilling trusts and shunning all acts of betrayal. One hadith states: "Give back what you have been entrusted with to whoever entrusted you with it, and do not betray one who has betrayed yoU.,,2 Isliim also strongly disapproves of selfishness and calls for man to love for others what he loves for himself. The Prophet said, "A man is not considered a believer until he loves for others what he loves for himself.,,3 Good morals and respect for women are also Islamic message. The Prophet said: "The believer the most complete faith is the one who moral behavior. And the best among those who are best in treating their women.,,4 man came to the Prophet and said, "0 Allah, who is most entitled to my best The Prophet said, "Your mother." "Who is next?" The Prophet replied, "Your The man asked again, "Who again replied, "Your mother." the fourth time, the Prophet "Your s According to Islamic teachings, the reward for serving and looking after one's mother is instructed a man who had consulted him 1 Abu Dawud. 3054. 2 At-Tirmidhi. 1261. 3 AI-13ukhari, 13. 4 Ahmad, 7374. 5 Muslim. 6452.
  • 45.
    9 My GreatLove For Jesus Led Me To Islam V lvtyG reaLt oveF orJ esusL edM eT ol sl6m jihad he o'Stayw ith becauseP aradisei s feet."' while had a mother to take care of by saying "Stay with her because Paradise is under her feet."! The Prophet also said: ""Whoever Whoever has a daughter and does not humiliate her or favor his son over her will enter Paradise.,,Paradise."2 2 Prophet Muhammad also stated: ""Whoever ilhoever has two daughters or two sisters, and treats them well will be my close companion in Paradise.,,3 Thus, it is that to women is strongly emphasized in Islamic teachings and is a major act that may take one to Paradise. Paradise."3 clear kindness emphasizedin teachingsa nd good According to the Shari Shari'ah, 'ah, males are responsible for the welfare of females, whether he happens to be a father, son, brother or even a ruler. She is entitled to her share of the inheritance, to a dowry dolvry at the time of marriage, mariage. to choose whom she wishes to marry, marrv. and to ' 3 106. 2 r lbn 2tl7 9 1 An-Nasa'i. 3106. 2 Ahmad. 1966. 3 Ibn Abi Shaibah. 21179.
  • 46.
    Islam 9 MyGreat Love For Jesus Led Me To lslam I remarry after divorce and the like. t 1 Allah says in the Qur'dn Qur 'an (2:228): ""And And due to the wives is similar to what is expected of them, according to what is reasonable." lIn Leviticus l5:19-30, rve find: "And if a wornan an and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean every thing that she lieth upon separation every thing also that she sitteth upon whoioever-toucheth her bed shall *'ash himself in water, and be unclean until even' toucheth any thing that shc sat upon shall bathe himseif in water, and bc rrnclean on her bed, or on any thing toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the with her at all, and her flowers be upon hin, trc seven davsr and all the bed whereon And if a i"o-att have an issue of her blood time of her separation, or if separation; all the days of thc issuc of her the days of her separation: she shall lvery whereoin she lieth all the clays ofher issue bed of her separation: and rvhatsoever upon_ unclean, as tlre uncleanncss of hcr scparation. toucheth thosc things shall be unclean, and bathe himself iri water, and be unclean thc shc bc clcansed of her issue, then she nurnber seven days, arrd after that she shall be on.tlay she shall take unto her two turtles, trvo bring thern unto thc priest, to the cong'rcgation. and thc priest shall rnakc fbr the LORD fbr the issue of her unclearuress"' l-he condemns thc rvoman to a lil'etirne of uncleanness ilnd sourcc of impur i ty' : i t also t reats her l ike an olJ'er lder$ 'ho commi t ted a cr imc that need.sa toncmcnt as i f i t nerc hcr choico. Thc depicts thc rvoman in the Inost debasing and hulr-riliating n'a1'. I I In Leviticus 15:19-30, we find: "And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even. And every thing that she lieth upon in her separation shall be unclean: every thing also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean. And whosoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. And whosoever toucheth any thing that she sat upon shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. And if it be on her bed, or on any thing whereon she sitteth, when he toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the even. And if any man lie with her at all, and her flowers be upon him, he shall be unclean seven days; and all the bed whereon he lieth shall be unclean. And if a woman have an issue of her blood many days out of the time of her separation, or if it run beyond the time of her separation; all the days of the issue of her uncleanness shall be as the days of her separation: she shall be unclean. Every bed whereon she lieth all the days of her issue shall be unto her as the bed of her separation: and whatsoever she sitteth upon shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her separation. And whosoever toucheth those things shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. But if she be cleansed of her issue, then she shall number to herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean.. And on the eighth day she shall take unto her two turtles, or two young pigeons, and bring them unto the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. and the priest shall make atonement for her before the LORD fO!' the issue of her uncleanness." The Bible not only condemns the woman to a lifetime of uncleanness and treats her like a source of impurity: it also treats her like an offender who has committed a crime that needs atonement as if it were her choice. The Bible depicts the woman in the most debasing and humiliating way. In 1 Timothy 5: I0, it is considered a "work" for a widow to wash the feet of saints. She is wicked (Zachariah 5:8) and should be forced to marry her husband's brother after his death (Deuteronomy 25:5). She is ineligible for inheritance in the presence of male relatives (Deuteronomy 21: 15-17 and Numbers 27: 1-1 J) and a man reserves the right to sell his daughter (Exodus 21 :7). Furthermore, a female divorcee is prohibited from remarrying (Matthew 5:32) -l-imothy 5:10, i t is considcrcd ii "good 'ork" lbr a idow riash 1'ect of saints. Shc is *icked (Zachariah 5:8) and should bc lbrccd marry'her husb:md' sb rothera f ter hi s death( Det r teronornl '25:5)S, he i s inel igible for inheritance in the presence of rnalc rclatives (Deuterononrl 2 I : 1 5-i 7 and Numbers 27.1- l l ) and a rnan rcsel ' 'est hc r ight to scl l his daughtcr (Exodr.rs 2l :7). Furrhet'lltore. a lclnale divorcce is f rohibitccl l i t r n l rcmarrying (Nlatttreu 5 : 32)
  • 47.
    W My Islam I *t Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lsldm Isldm also parents Isliim encourages kindness to and treating them with compassion even when they happen to be in opposition to Islam. Allah says: "And We have enjoined upon man [[care] care] for his parents. His mother carried him, [[increasing increasing her] in weakness upon weakness, and his weaning is in two years. Be grateful to Me and to your parents; to Me is the [final] destination. "66But [final] But if they endeavor to make you associate with Me that of which you have no knowledge, do not obey them but trut accompany them in [this] world with appropriate kindness..." (31:14-15). [this]w orld appropriatek indness...("3 1:14-15). Islctm Islam also calls for lenient and compassionate treatment treatmento of f others. Another A nother hadith states statest that: hat: "the Fire is forbidden from everyone who treats people with kindness, understanding, and compassion and is approachable."l As for those who are harsh, arrogant and inconsiderate, the Prophet counted them among the dwellers of the Hellfire. approachable.t''A s thosew ho a rroganta nd Hellfire.' Islam honors and respects human rights, and the applicationo f Shar'iah guararlteesa Iife peacea nd application of Shar 'iah laws guarantees a life of peace and harmony between people. The Prophet said: "The bankrupt from my nation is one who comes to the Judgment with prayers and fasting and charity. However, he also brings with him (heinous deeds) as he has insulted, abused, stolen from, beaten or killed others. So those whom he wronged take of his deeds to make up for the wrong did them. When his deeds are finished and he still owes them, then their bad deeds are added to his until he is thrown into the Fire.'" good he to good Fire."3 Islant alsoc allsf or justicea ndt olcrancee venw ith Islam also calls for justice and tolerance even with the enemy. A/Nih says: "0 you who have believed, be enerny. Allah O 1'ou rvho IAtimad,3937. ? r Musl i rn6. 53l , I Ahmad, 3937. 2 Muslim, 7136. 3 Muslim, 6531.
  • 48.
    Jesus Me ToIslam ~ My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslam @ persistently persistently standing standing firm for Alldh, Allah, witnesses witnesses in in justice, and do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being Be that is nearer to righteousness. And fear Allah." Qur 'an 5:8). preYent just. just; righteousnessA. nd Alllh." (Qur'dn Islam is a comprehensivere comprehensive religion ligion that caterst caters to o the needs of the mind, body and soul, and is suitable for all people at all times. It enjoins all good deeds and orders abstention from all evil deeds. I Before his mission, the Prophet was married to Khadijah, a wealthy lady from Makkah, for whom he had worked as a merchant. When the news of his prophethood was made public, his needs of people abstention deeds.' Prophet manied Makkah, the prophethoodw as madep ublic,h is people t Among prophethoodo f Muhammad is the fact that that lacked education.I n spitc broughta completel arv that addresses every aspect in tel'ms ol' belicf, acts of rvorship, introduced perfect systems in marriage.d ivorce,p regnanc)'p, arenting.a limonl. inheritancef,a mily and neighborlyr elations,c rirninalp unishmcnth, urnanr ights,p olitics, econom)', ctiquetlc hori' to conduct oneself rvhen eating, drinking. dressed. traveling, slecping' rvaking up' 1 Among the many proofs of the prophethood of that he was an illiterate man living in an environment education. In spite of this, he brought a complete law every aspect of human life at all times terms of belief, worship, dealings, morals, etc. He marriage. divorce, pregnancy, parenting, alimony, inheritance, family and neighborly relations, criminal punishment, human rights, politics, economy, social life, etiquette of and how when eating, drinking, getting dressed, sleeping, waking up, yawning, sneezing, seeking permission, visiting sick, hygiene, etc, He did not bring 1i'om himself: that such knowledge was his. Had Muhammad's aim been personal gain or glory, would have gone against him to command his followers perform certain having to perform ablution and prayer five times a day. vashing sexual intercourse, fasting ~ without even water - whole month from dawn to sunset every year. especially in which is mainly desert with unbearable heat; let alone forbidding them from acts that are desired by the majority such as drinking, adultery, usury, gambling, etc. It is stated in Deuteronomy 18:and Jeremiah 14:15 that God condemns whoever falsely claims prophesy as he condemned Hananiah to death in less than a year (Jeremiah 28: 15-17). The mission of Prophet Muhammad on the other hand, lasted for 23 years. and his religion today is the lilstest growing religion in the world. During his lifetime he Ias supported by God at all times. permission. r'isiting the sick' personal hygiene, etc. He did all this f}om himsell. and never claimed thats uchk noulcdger vash is. Had Muhammad'sa im beenp ersonagl aino r glorl'. it rvouldh aveg one against him to commancl fbllorvers to pcrfornl ccrtain acts such as having to performa blutiona nd praler llve tirnesa da1. lashing after scxual intercoursef.a sting- u'ithout cvcn drinking 'ater- a rvhole month from da*'n to sunsete vcr)'1ear.c speciallri n Arabia. r vhich is mainll desertr i'ithu nbearablhee at;l ct aloncf brbiildingt hem liom acts that are desired b1' the rnaiolitl' such as drinking. adultcrl, usury' garrbling.e tc. It is statedi n l)cuteronornll'8 :20 and .lcremiahl 4:15 that God condentnsrr hoeverl 'alsellc' lirimsp lophesl as hc condemncd Hananiahto deathi n lesst hm a 1'ca(rJ eremia2hf t :15-17) . ' l 'hmei ssion of Prophctl l'luhamnrado n tltc othcr hand,l astedf irr 23 1'earsa. nd his rcligion todal is thc lirstesgt rorvingr cligion in the worlcl. During his lif'etimeh e uas supportedb y God at all 1imes.
  • 49.
    ~ My Islam 9 frty Great Love For Jesus Led Me To tstdm offered him enormous their king if he would refused Allah; path sake of power spreado f his messageh, e simpleb asicl ife, free w hich possessedif had lived in a mud house. A s relatedb y wife, "There successiven ights they contentedt hemselvesw ith barley."l At pawned Jew humarrkindt o believei n Allah in Qur'dn: "And jinn mankind (51:56) to guide happir,essa nd rescuet hem fiom calamitieso f this rvorlda ndt he prophets messengerosf year leavingw ith us Qur'i)n, rnessagea,n d teachingst o guide Arnerican "The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential in lfistury" - rvho - "Was in historyw ho r,vass upremelys uccessfuol n botli I Ar - f i rmidhi .2 400. wealth and even to crown him as abandon his call to Allah. He and continued on the path chosen for him by a that entailed all kinds of suffering for the spreading the Word of God. In spite of all the and authority that were at his fingertips after the spread of message, he still led a very simple basic life, from luxuries, which he could have possessed if he wanted. Instead, he slept on a rough straw mat and As related by his "There were many times when the Prophet and his family went for successive nights without any food. Most of the bread contented themselves with was made of barley."] the time of his death, his shield had been to a in exchange for barley to make bread for his family. He dedicated all of his life and efforts to enable humankind to believe in as the only true God. He said the Qur 'an: "And I did not create the and except to worship Me." 51 :56) This was in order them to true happiness and rescue them from the calamities ofthis world and the Hereafter. Prophet Muhammad, last of the and messengers of God, died in the 632 CE, leaving with liS the Qur'an, God's final message, and his teachings to all of humanity up until the Day of Resurrection. An American writer, Michael Hart, states in his book "The ofthe Persons History" that Muhammad - who topped the list - the only man history who was supremely successful on both the secular and religious level." This unique 1 At-Tirmidhi, 2400.
  • 50.
    My Great LoveFor Jesus Led Me To Islam ~ MyG reaLt oveF orJ esusL edM eT ol slamI combination entitled him to be classed as the greatest, most influential character in the world. William Muir, the Scottish historian previously mentioned, praised the clarity of the words of Prophet Muhammad and the ease of his religion. He also stated that the Prophet accomplished wonderful deeds and that there was no other man in history who succeeded succeededin in wakening souls and reviving good morals and virtue viftue in such a shoft short time as he did. The famous historian, George Bernard Shaw, in "The GenuineIs lam", s aid his book Genuine Islam ", Vol. 1, No.8, 1936, said that the world was in desperate desperaten need eed of a man who had Muhammad's intellect, as he was the Prophet who always placed placedh his is faith in a place placeo of f respect respecta and nd honor. H He e added that Islam was the religion most able to accommodate accommodatea all ll civilizations at all times, and that it would claim more ground in Europe in spite of the fact that the clergy of medieval times painted a dark picture of Muhammad and considered consideredh him irn an enemy enemyt to o Christianity. Shaw S hawg goes oeso on n to add: "I have studied him - - the wonderful man - - and in my opinion, far from being an anti-Christ, Christ,he h e must be called the Savior Savioro of f Humanity." He H e continues: continues":"I l believe believet that hat if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern modernw world orld he would succeed succeedin in solving solvingi its ts problems problemsi in n a way that would bring it the much rnr,rchn needed eeded peace and happiness ... " happiness..." Lamarline, the famous French poet Alphonse de Lamartine, says Ilistoire (1854): "Never says in his book, Histoire de la Turquie, has a man set more sublime aim, since aim grasp: undermine the superstitions placed between the creature and the Creator, ... Never has a man accomplished in such a short for himself, voluntarily or involuntarily, a rnore this airn was beyond human undennine superstitionsp laced betweent he creaturea ndt heC reator,..N. everh asa mana ccomplished in such a shorl time such a huge and lasting revolution in
  • 51.
    ~ My Islam the world... If the grandeur of the aim, the frugality of the means, the immensity of the result are the three criteria of a man's genius, who would dare to compare a of modem history with Mohammad? .. He moved souls. He founded upon a book, of which each letter has become law, a unifying spiritual factor embracing of all languages and races... his forbearance in victory, ambition, which was entirely devoted to one and no manner striving for an empire;... As standards by which human greatness may be measured, we may well ask: "is there any man than he?" I frfv Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lsldm grandeuro f great man modern Mohammad?,.. people his idea in empire;. . . regards all the standardsb y humang reatnessm ay measuredw, e greater "Apologia Dr. Vaglieri states in dell' Islamismo": was "Muhammad, as a preacher of the religion of God, gentle gentlea and nd merciful mercifule even vent towards owardsh his is personal personael enemies. nemies.In I n him were blended and mercy, two the qualities which a human mind can conceive. It difficult to support this with many examples that are be found in his biographies." justice of noblest is not supporl to renowned Dr. Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner, a orientalists aid:" l cannotc oncludeth is addressb ettert han orientalist said: "1 cannot conclude this address better than by expressing a hope that the day will come Christians will honor Christ more by Muhammad. There is a common ground between and Christianity, and he is a better Christian who the truths enunciated by the Prophet Muhammad."] rvill when also honoring "Islam" and a nd betterC hristianw ho reveres truthse nunciatedb y ProphetM uhamutad."l ' "The IslamicR evinv" Mai' 196l . pages6 - I0 I "Islamic Review" May 1961. pages 6 ~ 10.
  • 52.
    Led To Islam~ My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lsl6m I VII. VII. Doctrines Doctrines of of Christianify Christianity and Islhm Islam Many denominations of Christianity believe in the following five doctrines: (1) The Trinity (2) The divinity of Jesus The divine sonship of Jesus (4) Original Sin The Atonement l) (3) sonshipo f Jesus( OriginalS in (5) Isldm, onenesso f only In Isliim, the oneness of Allah, being the one and petitioned for as of God who deserves to be worshipped and help is the fundamental belief of every Muslim, opposed to the triune God of many denominations Christianity. It sees the deification of Jesus as a to paganism. l As described in the Qur 'an, Jesus was incarnation of God, but His Prophet and Messenger, like any other prophet, he was a human being aspect. Islam also rejects the divine sonship of Jesus does not accept the dogma of original sin, sacrifice and the atonement. lt reversion At s describedin Qur'dn,J esusw as not an and in every and the vicarious fundamentaldoctrineosf in Islam ares ix: The fundamental doctrines of faith are six: ( 1) I ) Belief in the oneness onenesso of f God (2) Belief in the existence existenceo of f angels (3) Belief in the revealed revealeds scriptures criptures (4) Belief in the messengers messengerosf of God (5) Belief in the Day of Resurrection (6) Belief in Qadar (predestination), both Qadar predestinationb).o th the good or bad aspects aspectso of f it I S toryo f Civilization.vol.1 1.p.216. Will Durants aidt hat Christianitl'd id not put an end to paganismr:a ther.i t adoptedi t. This appliest o the Christianityo f Paula ndn ot the truea nd pureC hristianity of JesusC hristw ho calledf or ther vorshipo f God alone. I In his book. Story ofCivilization. vol. 11. p. 276. Durant said that Christianity did not put an end to paganism: rather. it adopted it. This applies to the Christianity of Paul and not the true and pure Christianity of Jesus Christ who called for the worship of God alone.
  • 53.
    ~ My LedMe To Islam The Trinity R2 tt Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslim This doctrine, adhered to by many Christians throughout the world, refers to the existence of three divine, distinct and separate separatep persons ersonsi in n God: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost. It is astonishing, however, that Jesus himself never mentioned the Trinity. He said absolutely nothing about three divine persons in a trinity. As a matter of fact, the word "person" itself is not to be found anywhere in the Bible. The concept that Jesus had about Allah was in no way different from the concept that all the previous prophets had. All of them preached the oneness of God, never the Trinity.l themp reachedth e onenesso f n evert he r been revealed Jesus affirmed the tradition that had to prophets "And one of the who came before him. "And the scribes came, and having heard together, and perceiving that he had well, asked him, Which is the commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The all the them reasoning answered them well. him. first allP him. first of ' 4424,"1 rnaketh I According to Isaiah 44:24, "I am the Lord that maketh all things," Isaiah 45:5, 5, "I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me." rne." and Isaiah Isaiah,45: l5:18 l8 ""For For thus saith the Lord that created the thc heavens; God himself hiurself that formed forrned the earth and made it; he hath established establishcd it, he created it not in vain, he formed lbrmed it to be inhabited: I am arn the Lord; and there is none else." elsc." 1 I Timothy 1-imothy 6: 16 also states about God: ""Who Nho only hath immortality." imnrortality." Isaiah 46:9 confirms: conflrms: ""for for I am God, and there is none nonc else; clsc; I am God, and there therc is none rronel like ikc me." rnc." The QUI' Qur'in. 'on, on the othcr othcrh hand, and.states: s tates":"A Allah llih is the Creator Creatoro of f all al l things, and a nd He is the Guardian Guardiana and nd Disposer Disposero of f all affairs." (39:39 62); 62): ""That That is Allah, AIlih, your Lord! There is no god but He, Creator of all a l l things; then worship Him; and He has power to dispose of all affairs." (6: I02): "And trust in Him lives and dies not." 58); and "There is nothing like unto and the Hearing, the Seeing." (42: 11). It is only reasonable that who is such should bc worshipped alone. disposeo f al l af fai rs. "( 6:102)": And t rust who t ivesa nd not . " (25:5t i ) ;a nd nothingl ike Him, He is Hear ing,t he Seeing. "( 42: l l ) . I t reasonablteh at He ' "vhoi s suchs houldb e rvorshiooeadl one.
  • 54.
    My Great LoveFor Jesus Led Me To Islam W MyG reaLt oveF orJ esusL edM eT ol slAm9 commandments is, Hear, Hear. 0 O Israel; Jsrael: The Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength, this is the first commandment." (Mark 12:28-30). commandment."( 12 :30 ). Other evidence in the Bible shows that Jesus believed evidencein showst hat Jesusb elieved threed ivine personsin a s in only one God, not in three divine persons in one, as in the following saying: "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and Him only shalt thou serve." Matthew 4: 10). (Mattliew incorporated The doctrine of the Trinity was into the teachings of Jesus more than three hundred years after Jesus' departure. The four Canonized Gospels do not contain any reference to Neither Jesus nor his disciples taught this doctrine. Likewise, none of the containa ny referenceto the Trinity. NeitherJ esusn or disciplest aughtt his L ikewise,n oneo f earlier great scholars scholarso or r the followers followerso of f Jesus Jesusp preached reachedit it. . This doctrinew as establishebdy the NiceanC ouncila fterg reat controversieas nd m ore threeh undredy ears afterJ esus'd epaftureT. he Councila doptedth e view ofthe rninority rather than the majority rvho believed in rnonotheism.l doctrine was established by Nicean Council after great controversies and conflict, more than three hundred years after Jesus' departure. The Council adopted the of the minority who monotheism. I I ecumenicacl ouncilsg avet hemsclvcsri ghtsa bovet heir 1 The ecumenical councils gave themselves rights above their authority as in the thc F'irst FirstC Council• ouncil../J esus csusr was v;rsd deified; eitled:in i n the thc Second, Sccondt,the h c Holy ltoly Ghost was rias also deified. deilled. In the thc Third CounciL Council. the thc same was las done donc to Mary and in the thc'lu'clfth Twelfth CounciL Council.the t hc church church* was as granted grantedt the hc right to forgive forgives sins, ins, while in Twentieth, the Pope was made infallible. Encyclopedia Americana says that monotheism began as theological movement at a very early stage in history, and that it preceded the belief in the trinity by tens of years. It also goes on say that Christianity was a product 01'./ udaism. vhieh was very strict as far monotheism was concerned. The belief in the Trinity vas only admitted in the fourth century accurately reflect the original Christian belief in the was deviation from original belief (c.f. V. 27, p. 294) rvhi lei n the I ' r rcnt icthth. el )opcs as rnadein fal l iblc. EnclclopcdiaA nrcricirnas a1,sth at monothcismb egana s a thcological rroYcmenta t ver)'carl) stagei n histor'ya'.n dt hati t p|ccedcdt he bclief trinitv bv tenso f)'cars.I t alsog oeso n to sa'1haCt hrislianityr vas producto 1'Judaisnrn.h ich r'"asr 'crr sLricta s iar as t.nonotl.tcisrmva s 'l'he bel iefi n thc' l r ini tv r ias onl l aclmi t tcdin thc four th ccntur) AD and did not accuratcllr el'lectth e originalC lhristianb eliefi n true nature of God. rather. the Trinity u'as a dcviation fi'om that or iginabl el iel .( c. t .V . 27.p . 291)
  • 55.
    ~ My ForJesus Islam I tt Great Love ForJesus Led Me To lsl6m However, when considered rationally, the concept of the Trinity is unsustainableI.unsustainable. It t meanst means to o believe in three divine persons who are either finite or infinite. If we consider them infinite, then there are three different infinities, three different omnipotent beings, and consequently three different Gods. However, if we consider them finite, finite. then neither the Father nor the Son nor the Holy Ghost can be God. Indeed the concept of Trinity came into being as a result of falsely ascribing divinity to two "creatures" namely; Jesus and the Holy Spirit (Gabriel). Owing to the irrationality of the doctrine of Trinity, the conventional conventionalr response esponseo of f the Church clerics is that it is a mystery beyond human comprehension, comprehensiona, and nd that it doesn't have to be understood as it suffices to just accept it as a matter of faith. in the and Islam preaches a plain and simple belief oneness of God. It affirms the uniqueness of Allah states that He has no partners. He is the self-sufficient One, on whom all of creation depends, and on no one. He neither gives birth nor is born. Nothing come out of Him, be His equal or be His paftners. sufficient who depends can partner. "I my and speak of what I have seen with Father, father." They you do what you have heard from your answered him, him. "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do what Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, me' a The CatholicE ncyclopediasa ys:" 1'hec oncepto fonc in three The New Catholic Encyclopedia says: "The concept of one God persons did not become part of Christian life and until near the end of the fourth century. This is the took the name of Trinitarian Principle. We do not find among the disciples any idea resembling it at all.'· parl religious practices until century.'fhis concept which first 'l'rinitarian took Wc disciplesa ny idear esemblingit all."
  • 56.
    Love Islam W My Great [ove For Jesus Led Me To lslam @ manl who has told you the truth which I heard from God." (John 8:38-40). manr God." 8:38-40). "And this is eternal life, that they know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. I glorified thee on earth, having accomplished the work which thou gavest me to do" (John 17:3-4) only true Jesus I glorified on work The Qur 'an affirms the oneness of God in chapter The Qur 'rirz 112: t12: "Say, "He Alllh, [who Allah, Eternal "Say, "He is Allah, [who is] One, the is there to Refuge. He neither begets nor is born. Nor Him any equivalent." . And Allah has said in the Qur 'an: 0 People Scripture, do not commit excess in religion about Allah except the truth. son of Mary, was but a messenger Allah word which He directed to Mary and soul [created a command] from Him. So believe Allah and messengers. And do not say, "Three"; it for you. Indeed, Allah is but one above having a son. To Him belongs whatever heavens and whatever is on the earth. Allah as Disposer of affairs." 4: 171). another He says: "They have certainly disbelieved "Allah is the third of three." And there is one God. And if they do not desist saying, there will surely afflict the them a painful punishment. So will Allah and seek His forgiveness? And Allah and Merciful." 5:73-74) And Qur'dn: "O of the excessin your or say Allnh The Messiah, Jesus, the Mury, of Allnh and His a [created at commandl in His messengersA. nd sayr" Three"l desist; i t is better God. Exalted is He rvhatever is in the And sufficient is Altlh (4:111). In chapter, "They who say, "Alllh no god except from what they are disbelievers among lvill they not repent to Allnh seekH is A nd Alllh is Forgiving (5 :73-74) r"..f<rr I am God, and not rnan.." (Hoscu l l:"God is a rnan...neithcr t l t e son o f r t t a n . . . " (Nurnbers 2.3:19) "NIy s p i r i t s h a l l not abide in nrortals for ever, for thcy are flesh;" (Ccnesis 6:3) " ..for I am God, and not man.." (Hosea 11 :9) "God is not a man... neither the son of man... " (Numhers 23: 19) "My spirit shall not abide in mortals for ever, for they are flesh;" (Genesis 6:3)
  • 57.
    ~ My GreatLove For Jesus Led Me To Islam I fufyG reatL oveF orJ esusL edM eT o lsldm The only text in the entire Bible that supports the doctrine of Trinity was in the first Epistle of John, chapter 5, verse 7: "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one." However, it has been eliminated from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible and othersr, othersl The Jesus is in human previously he him, "Why good but one, l0:called" accepto called' oGod?" "...17). any'thing all things 'For 'fhe Testament. Holl' tiasy-to-Road Version, Amcrican Version, l- hc Nov T he Standard 'l'hc Standard Vcrsion, InternationaSl tandardV ersion, and of , after it was discovered by the Christian scholars that these were interpolations made in the King James Version and other editions. The Divinity of Jesus Some Christians believe that Jesus God for all eternity, the second person of the divine Trinity who, more than two thousand years ago, chose to appear a body and was born of the Virgin Mary. As recorded in the Gospels, this dogma, like the one discussed, contradicts the words attributed to Jesus. The fact is that Jesus never claimed divinity, instead affirmed the divinity of God alone, saying to those around callest thou me good? There is none that is God" (Mark 10: 18). So, if Jesus Christ refused to be called "good", would he accept to be called "God?" When Jesus spoke of God, he referred to Him as: " ...my Father and your Father, and my God and your God." (John 20: 17). Jesus also rejected the notion that he could do anything on his own. He made it very clear that [For example, The Bible in Basic English, The Darby Translation, Weymouth's New Testament, Holy Bible: Easy-to-Read Contemporary English Version. The American Standard GOD'S WORD translation, The New Living Translation, The New American Standard Bible, The Revised Standard Version, World English Bible, International Standard Version, and Hebrew Names Version of World English Bible.
  • 58.
    My MyG GreatreaLt Love oveF For orJ Jesus esusL Led edM Me eT To ot Islam stamp W are by the will of God who had sent him. He is recorded as having said: "can of mine own self do nothing': as I are by the as having said: "I hear, judge: judgment just; I and my is because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath (John 30).A gain statest hat he sent me." 5:30). Again he states that the words speaks are not his, but revealed to him as a prophet sent "For by God: I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak." (John 12:49). 49).Also, A lso, in John 7:17-17-18, 18,Jesus J esuss states: tates:" "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him." Jesus also stated that the Lord is greater than him according to John 14:28, 28, which reads," reads,"........1 I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I." Jesus did things only for the pleasure of God, who sent him. hir-n. He states: "And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him. As he spoke these words, many believed on him." (John 29- 30). Also, according to Luke 4:43, Jesus came preach the Kingdom of God: Cod: "And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities therefore am I sent." In addition, J esuss tatedt hat enterirrgth e 8:29­30). to also: for Jesus stated that entering the Kingdom of Heaven is dependant dependanut upon pon doing the will of God: "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter everyone ' 1 This is rvhat what Jesus said of himself whereas he said about Cod. God, ".., " ... for with God all things are possible..."( possible..." (Mark l0:10:27)
  • 59.
    ijI My GreatGreat Love For Jesus Led Me To lsldm Islam into into the the kingdom kingdom of of heaven; heaven; but but he he that that doeth doeth the the will will of ofmy my Father Father which which is is in in heaven."heaven.'" l (Matthew 7:7:21). 21). Again Again he he says: says: ""For For whosoever whosoever shall shall do do the the will will of of God, God, the the same same is is my my brother, brother, and and my my sister, sister, and and mother.,,2 (Mark 3:35) mother."'(Mark According to Mark 13:32, 32, Jesus is also reported to have denied having knowledge of the final hour of this world, saying: " "......but of that day or hour no man knoweth, neither the angels in the heaven nor the Son but the Father." In Luke 13:13.33-33-34, 34J, Jesus esusr refers ef'ersto to hirnselfa himself as s one of the Prophets: "Nevertheless I must walk today, and tomorrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perishes out of Jerusalem. O 0 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee....!" reporled in the Bible, These words of Jesus as repOIied demonstrateth at relationt o stood like any demonstrate that he, in relation to God, other human being. He was not like Adam. He prayed to God I :35, 35 Luke 5: 16), which means conclusively that prophet and not God, for God the Creator but a creation (Mark 1:35, Mark 14:35 and 16), meansc onclusivelyt hat he was a does not pray to anyone. I "Rabbi". translatcda s "Lord'' actualll'm eans" Master." 1 The word "Rabbi", translated as Lord" actually means "John 1:38 says: "Then Jesus turned, and saw them saith unto them, What seek ye? unto (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou?" 2 In Matthew 12:50 we read: "For will of.!!U' Father which is in heaven, the same brother, mother." Matthew here changes the theological purposes. Kisman said Luke Matthew deliberately changed Mark's a hundred purposes. 1:38 sa1's":T hen Jesust urned, sarl'thern following, and They said rrnto him, Rabbi, (which is irrterprcted, N{astcr',) rvhr:rc dwcllest thou?" 2ln Matthew l2:"For whosoever shall do the rvill of my Father hcaven, sarne is my brothcr, and sister, and mother." Matthov herc Word "God" to "my Father" for theological Kisrnan that both l-ukc and Mattherv deliberately changed Mark's text ir hunclred times for theological purposes.
  • 60.
    My Great LoveFor Jesus Led Me To Islam ~ MyG reaLt oveF orJ esusL edM eT ol sl6m p Jesus also used to praise God, as is clear from Matthew 11 ll:25, :25, "Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O 0 Father, Lord of ofheaven heaven and earth." This dogma of divinity is not supported by the words of Jesus as written in the Gospels. Like the doctrine of of Trinity, the doctrine doctrineo of f the incarnation incarnationw was as developed developeda after fter Jesus' Jesus'd departure. eparture.It I t was incorporated incorporatedin into to Christianity Christianityf from rom paganism. In the mythology my'thology of religions that preceded Christianity, it can be seen how some heroes were considered to be gods. Most of what was said about Krishna by the Hindus, Buddha by the Buddhists, Mithra by the Persians, Osiris O siris by the Ancient Egyptians, B Bacchus acchus by the Greeks, Baal by the Babylonians and Adonis by the Syrians, was said of Jesus by the Christians. Islam, on the other hand, has freed its followers from such superstitions by rejecting rejectingt the he doctrine doctrineo of f the incarnation incarnationa and nd of God's embodiment embodimenitn in or union unionw with ith any of His creatures. Islam Isldm states emphatically that neither Jesus nor any other human being may be God. Isliim Isldm also rejects the notion that God may be incarnated incarnatedo or r unite with any of His creation. In Chapter 5, verse 75, the Qur Qur'dn 'an tells us that Jesus was a messenger of God like many of the messengers lnessengers who came before him; and that he and his virtuous virluous mother "used to eat food." The idea is that anyone who eats cannot be God, be it Jesus, Muhammad or as eating need and dependence on external elements, and God is neither processing of need to defecate. Such acts do befit the majesty of other prophets and messengers, a s represents dependenceo n externale lements,a nd in need nor dependent. Also, eating entails processingo f the food in the body and then the needt o defecateS. ucha ctsd o not befitt he rnajestyo f God. Many nations, no n o matter matterh how ow primitive prirnitivet they hey happent happen to o be, reject rejectt the he idea ideat that hat a messenger messengefrr from om God could be a beine who "eats food" like them. As such. manv human being such, many
  • 61.
    ~ My Islam prophets were discredited by their under this pretext. The Qur'an relates that the people of Noah said about him: "This is not but a man like He eats of that from which eat and drinks of what drink." (23:33). The Qur'an also the Arabs among whom Prophet Muhammad appeared as follows: "And they say: 'What is this messenger that eats food and walks in the markets?'" 25:7). As for those who ascribe divinity to Prophet Jesus, we find that they took divergence to a whole new level by degrading God, the Almighty, and considering Him a human who eats food. RP *t Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lsldm people Qur'dn "This yourselves. you you drink.'o Qur'dn quotes "And 'What markets?r" (25 divergencet o degradingG od, consideringH im hurnanw ho eatsf ood. The divinity of Jesus is rejected in the Qur 'an. Allah Jesusi s rejectedi n Ihe Qur'dn. says: ""They They have certainly disbelieved who say, ""Alliih Allah is the Messiah, the son of Mary" Mary'o while the Messiah has said, ""O 0 Children of Israel, worship Allah, Alleh' my Lord and your Lord." Indeed, he h e who associates associateso others thers with Allah, Alleh, Allah Alllh has forbidden him Paradise, and his refuge is the Fire. And there are not for the wrongdoers any helpers" (5:72) 72) "Indeed, of Jesus to Allah also revealed: "Indeed, the example from dust; Allah is like that of Adam. He created Him then He said to him, ""Be," Be," and he was." (3:3:59)59)1 l In the Qur Qur'dn, 'an, Allah describes describes Jesus as His Prophet, pure and pious like the rest of His prophets, but always as being." He [Jesus] said: "Indeed, I am the servant Allah. He has given me the Scripture and a prophet..." (19:30) resto f prophetsb, ut alwaysa s a human [Jesus] "Indeed, of Alteh. made me prophet . . . '(o1 9:30) Acts 3: 13 also alsos states: tates": "The God of Abraham, and of fathers, hath Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our 1 Melchisedect,h e llible sais o1'him" Without fathcr',r vithout 1 Even Melchisedec. the Bible says or him "Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, end oflife... " (Hebrews 7:3). However no one claimed his divinity. descent, neithcr begirming of days, nor cnd of l i f 'c. . . "( [ Icbrerv7s: 3) .I Iorvev ern o oncc laimedh isd ivini ty.
  • 62.
    My Great LoveFor Jesus Led Me To Islam ~ lsl6m @ glorified his servant Jesus." (New Testament, Catholic Edition) From the facts factsp presented resentedto to the reader readera above, bove,it i t is clear that that Islam is not the only religion that refutes Jesus' divinity; the texts of the Bible do as well. In a poll carried out by a British television show called Credo, it was stated by 19 out of 31 Bishops of the Anglican Church that Christians are not obligated to believe that Jesus Christ was God.! believeth atJ esusC hristw asG od.r The Divine Sonship This doctrine, like l ike those thosep previously reviouslyd discussed, iscussedi,is s not in conformity with the teachings and sayings of Jesus. In the conformityw ith teachingsa nd sayingso f I n Bible, the expression"s on hasb eenu sedt o expression "son of God" has been used to refer Adarn( Luke 38)a ndm anyo f earlierp rophetsw ho precededJ esusI.s rael,f or examplew, as calledt he "Son to Adam (3:38) and many of the earlier prophets who preceded Jesus. Israel, for example, was called the of God" in one of the books of Moses: "And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is My sorr, son, My first (Exodus 22). Also, in the Psalmst,h e samet itle r.vasg ivent o even born." 4:22). Psalms, the same title was given to David: "I will declare the decree: the Lord had Thou art My sorr, this day have I begotten (Psalms2 :7). Likewise, i n I Chronicles2, 2:10.S olomon was called the Son of God: "He shall build house My name: and he shall be My sott, and I will be his Father and I will establish the throne of his Kingdom over Israel forever." From the aboves tatementsa nd f}om many othersi n the Bible, it hasb eene stablishetdh att he rvord" son" really meantn eal'nestso God in love. Even Jesuss aid in the ' Dailv Nerrs 25 June 198,1 said unto me, son, thee." Psalms 2:7). in Chronicles, 22: 10, Solomon a for S011, above statements and from others in has been established that the word "meant nearness to Jesus said 1 Daily News 1984.
  • 63.
    ij> My GreatLove For Jesus Islam following verses: "Love your enemies... that ye may be the children of your Father who is in Heaven." (Matthew 5:44-45). "Blessed are the Peacemakers: for they shall be called the sons of God." (Matthew 5:9). Analysis of all of the previous sayings leaves no doubt regarding the meaning that Jesus assigned to the word "son." Therefore, in view of this, there can be no justification to regard Jesus as the Son of God in an exclusive and unique sense as most Christians do. When Jesus used the phrase "Son of God", it meant exactly same as it meant when it was used for Adam, David, and Solomon. Jesus was referred to as the "Son God" 13 times in the Bible whereas he was referred to as the "Son of Man" 83 times. R2 "t Led Me To lslAm following verses: the 45). they sozs Analysis regarding "son." the same Israel, of God" refered The Qur 'an emphatically and categorically rejects Qur'tin emphatically the 116: "They say' dogma of "sonship" in Chapter 2, verse "They say, ""Allah Allah has taken a son." Exalted is He! Rather' Rather, to Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth. All are devoutly obedient to Him." Furthetmore, to God would Furthermore, attributing a son perfection of God and implicitly deny and negate the imply His need of another being beside Himself. needo f anotherb eingb esideH imself.
  • 64.
    Islam ~ MyGreat Love For Jesus Led Me To lslam @ The Original Sin The Original Sin According to the explanation of this dogma, Adam sinned when he disobeyed Allah by eating from the forbidden tree (the tree of knowing good from evil as in Genesis 2: 1i). 17'). As a result, and according to Christian theology, all a ll descendants descendantosf of Adam inherit the sin of Adam, which means that all human beings are born with this original sin. And according to Christianity, for God's justice that has been committed. In ln other words, God will not let any sin go unrequited to be satisfied, a price must be paid for every sin and cannot even forgive a simple sin! Accordingly, the only thing that can wipe out sins sinsi is s the shedding sheddingo of f blood. According to Paul, "Without the shedding of blood there is no remission." (Hebrews Hebrews9 9::22)? 221.2B But ut this blood must be perfect, sinless, sinless. and incorruptible. Therefore, Jesus, Jesusa, alleged llegedt to o be the son sono of f God, shed shedh his is sinless sinlessb blood, lood, suffered sufferedi indescribable ndescribablea agony gony and died to pay the penalty for the sins of men. Because Becauseh he e was the infinite God, he alone alonec could ould pay the infinite infinitep price riceo of f sin. Therefore, Thereforen, no o one can be saved unless he accepts Jesus as his personal savior3 . Moreover, everyone is condemned to suffer savior3. inherent eternally in Hellfire because of his or her sinful ' Horv rvill Adam be punished fbr his deed ifhe not know right from wrong? t verl'samet ext in contradiction 'ith otherB iblicalt cxtsw 'hich ] It is therefore fitting to ask: How will he for if he did 2 This very same text is with other Biblical texts which state that atonement could be through offering Leviticus 5: 11, money as in Exodus 30: "of jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, 31 50. 3 Isaiah 43: 11 reads, 001, 1, am the beside me the o1I'ering of flour as in Levi t icus5 : l l . or mone) 'asi n Exodusl 0:15 or jcrvcls ofgold, rings, earrings, and tablets." as in Numbers 3 l : 5 0 . 'r Isaiah4 3:ll reads," I, even I, arn LORD; and bcside rne there is no saviour." This T his verse versec clearly learlvs states tatesth that atG God od is the theo only nh'savior' savior
  • 65.
    ~ My Islam nature unless he or she accepts atonement for his or her sins made by Jesus with his blood. I tt Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslAm parls: (1) This dogma can be divided into three distinct parts: (2) justice requires the original sin, the belief that God's that the penalty for sin must be for by blood, and the belief that Jesus has paid the for the sins of by his death on the cross and that salvation is only those who believe in his vicarious sacrifice. I that.paid (3) price men for thosew ho believei n vicariouss acrifice.' nart, De Groot Regarding the first part, the Reverend CatholicT eaching,p . 1a0) Scripturet eachesu s (Catholic Teaching, p. 140) writes: "Scripture teaches us that Adam's sin passed unto all men Blessed exempted). For in the words of St. Paul: by the offence of one (Adam) all men were taken condemnation; so also by the Justice of one (Christ) many shall be made 5: 18-19)." words make it plain that all men inherited Adam's Like many other Christian beliefs, the doctrine of 'Inherited Sin' finds no support in the words of Jesus or the prophets who came before him. They taught that man was accountable for his own actions; children would not be punished for the sin of their (our lady "Therefore, as to just." (Romans 19)." These sin. the 'InheritedS in' suppofti n wordso f Jesuso r of every accountablefo r c hildrenw ould punishedfo r oftheir parents. humanb eingi s J esush imselfr egarded No human being is born sinful. Jesus himself regarded childrena s innocenta nd n ot lt is clear children as innocent and pure, not born with sin. It from his reported saying: not the little to come unto me, and forbid them not: for such Kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, shall not receive the Kingdom of God as a little he shall not enter therein." Mark 10: 14-15). "Suffer children Lrnto me. is the whosoever child, (Mark l0:14-15). t bclief thc crucifixiono f Jesusis thc rvayt o salvationf or those rvho bclieve what 1 If the belief in the crucifixion of Jesus is the only way to salvation for those living in his time and those who believe in him afterwards, is the case for the sinners who died before Jesus and never chance to know him or believe in the crucifixion? case lbr sinners r.r'ho died bcfbre and had the chanceto knorvh im or believei n crucifixion?
  • 66.
    My Great LoveFor Jesus Led Me To Islam ~ MyG reaLt oveF orJ esusL edM eT ol slamQ P Rationally considered, it would be the height of injustice to condemn the entire human race for the sin committed committedt thousands housandso of f years yearsa ago go by our first parents. Sin S in is a willful transgression transgressiono of f the Law of God or the Law of right and wrong, hence the responsibility or blame for it must lie only on the person committing it, and not on his children. It is a grave injustice to consider man sinful at birth. How unreasonable and hard-hearted hearted a man can become by believing in the dogma of the inherited sin as shown by the theological dictum of Saint Augustine that all unbaptized infants are doomed to burn eternally in the Fire of Hell?! Until recently, the unbaptized infants were not buried in consecrated grounds in Christendom, because they were believed to have died in 'original sin.' consecratedg roundsi n b ecause wereb elievedt o haved iedi n 'originals in.' Isldm condemns Islam condemns the dogma of Original Sin and regards children as pure and sinless at birth. Sin, it says, is not inherited, but b ut is something somethingth that at one acquires acquiresb by y doing what he or she should not do and by failing to do what he or she should do. The second part of the Christian doctrine of nart justice price atonement is that God's requires that a be paid for the original and all other sins of man. God to pardon a sinner without it be a denial of His justice. The Reverend W. Goldsack The Atonement, p.5) writes in this connection: "It should be clear as daylight to anyone that God law: He cannot forgive a sinner appropriate punishment. For if He would Him 'Just' and Equitable." This ignorance of God's God judge king. He is as the Qur 'an describes "The Gracious, the Recompense." 'Just' If were punishment, would justice, (Zfte Atonementp, .5) connection":l t shouldb e as cannot break His own without first giving him an appropriatep unishmentF. or did so, who rvould call 'Just' view shows complete justice. is not a mere judge or Qur'iin Him: Most Most Merciful. Master of the Day of He is not only 'Just' but also Merciful and
  • 67.
    ~ My Islam Forgiving, " ...Allah will forgive you; and He is the most merciful of the merciful." Qur'an 12:92). If God knows that man is sincerely repentant, having a real urge to conquer the evil within himself, then Almighty God can forgive his failings and sins altogether. After all, the only proper motive for punishment is to check evil and reform the offender. To punish a person for his past sins, even after he had repented and reformed himself is a sign of vengeance, not Also, forgiving a after punishing him or her, or after inflicting punishment on someone else instead, cannot be considered forgiveness by any stretch of imagination. I mV Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslAm *...Allah (Qur'dn 92).If A fter justice. person someonee lse c annotb e consideredf orgivenessb y The God we worship is a God of mercy. If He prescribes prescribesa a law and demands demandso obedience, bediencei,it t is not for His own benefit, but b ut for the benefit benefito of f humankind. And A nd if He punishes punishesa a man for his faults faultsa and nds sins, ins,it i t is not for His own satisfaction satisfactiono or r compensation, compensationa, as s the Christian dogma proclaims, but b ut it is to curb evil and purify the sinner. God G od forgives the faults and sins of those who have turned away from their sins and reformed themselves without punishing them or any other person on their behalf and this is not contrary to God's Thus, A/liih says: " ...Your Lord has decreed upon Himself mercy: that any of you who does wrong out of ignorance and then repents after that and corrects himself indeed, He is Forgiving and Merciful." (Qur'an 6:54) sinsa ndr eformedt hemselvews ithoutp unishing justice. Allah "...Your himsetf - Qur'dn 54) part dogrna The third of the Christian dogma of the atonement atonementi is s that Jesus Jesusp paid aid the penalty penaltyf for or the original and other sins of men by his death on the cross of Calvary, and that salvation salvationc cannot annotb be e obtained obtainedw without ithout belief in the saving power of his blood. J.F. De Groot Teaching, p. 162) writes: "Since Christ, God Incarnate, has F. (Catholic Teachingp, . w rites:" SinceC hrist,G od Incarnateh, as
  • 68.
    My Great LoveFor Jesus Led Me To Islam W lslam @ taken upon Himself our sins in order to atone for them by giving satisfaction satisfactionto to God's demand demandf for or jr,justice, rsticeH, He e is the mediator mediatorb between etweenG God od and andm man." an."This T his dogma dogmai is s not only a denial of the mercy of God but also of His justice.' justice. [ To demand the price of blood in order to forgive the sins of men is to show a complete lack of mercy, and to punish a man who is not guilty for the sins of others, whether the fanner fonner is willing rvilling or not, is the height of injustice. There are many refutations which confirm the falsity rnanyr efutationsw hich confinn atonemenat nd cruciflxionT. he of the belief in atonement and crucifixion. The following are ale only a few fbr.vfi from orn 21l10ng amongt them: hem: First, the dogma dogrnao of f crucifixion crucifixiono of 1'.Jesus ef susC Christ hristt to o atone atonef for or the original sin is based on a corrupt cornrpt foundation fbundation and anything any,thingb built uilt on a corrupt corruptf foundation bundationis is itself itselfc corrupt. orrupt.T The he idea that Adam's sin was nas passed pessecol on r.rt to o his offspring -['orah contradicts conlratlicttsh the ev verses crsesin in the thc Torah which. ri'hich.according a ccordingto to the Bible. Jesus .lesrrsc came arrren not ot to 1o destroy rlestrorb but ut to fulfill. firlllll. Also, in Deuteronomy Deuterortottr3l 24: -1l,( 16 r we u'c read: rcacl:" "'[-The hc fathers firthcrs shall not be put to death for ftrr the children, cltiltlren, nei neither ther shall the children childrcn be bc put to to death for fbr the the' fathers: every man shall be put to death for fbr his own o*rt sin." In Irr Ezekiel 18:l8:20 we also find: llncl: ""'The l'hc soul sorrl that sinneth, sinncth, it shall die. The son shall not hear bear the iniquity irticlLrit-of or'f the father, f'ather, neither shall the iniquity himself said, according to Manhew 16:27, "then the father bear thc iniquit,v of the son." Jesus himselfs aid.a ccordinsto Matlheu'1 6;27". then he shall I point nruslb c askcd: 'asA dartt'sr clnofsca nd repcntancteo God. his deyralting1 r'ontI 'aradisc.t hc flooding ancl the numerous sacriliccsn raclct u (iocl not a pricc crtoLrghlb r his salration?l)W hat I At this it must he asked: Was Adam's remorse and repentance to God, departing from Paradise. the tlooding and sacrilices made [0 God price enough ttlr salvation'?') What about the sins more horrendous than Adam's') And hOlv mystery of salvation remain unkl10111 to all the prophets only be later diseOVCl'ed by the church') thc rttorc horrcnclousth att 'dattt's'l ,ttd horr could this m) 'ster )o f sal rat iontc nt i t i ru. tn kt tonttto al l thc propl tclos nl l ' to bc latcr discovcrccblv thc church?
  • 69.
    ~ I MyGreat Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam lslim reward "t every man according to his works." This is in agreement agreementw with ith the Qur'an Qur'dn as it states states" "That That no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another. And that there is not for man except that [[good] good] for which he strives. And that his effort is going to be seen." (53:38­40) 38- 40) Second, according to Genesis 5:5, 5, our father, Adam, lived with his wife after they had eaten from the forbidden tree for 930 years. This T his proves provest the he falsehood falsehoodo of f Genesis Genesis2 2: :17, which states " "......for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" because becauseit it did not occur. This also indicates that Adam repented from his sin and sought forgiveness and God pardoned him. Ezekiel 18:21-22 states: "But if the wickedl will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, shall surely he shall not die. All his transgressions that he committed, they shall not be unto his righteousness that he hath done he shall live." So, as Adam and his wife "lived", they must have "turned from all the sins they have committed." This means that the sin inherited, and thus, that Jesus had to die for the sins of This agreement with Qur'an, which states: " ...And disobeyed and and turned to in forgiveness [him]." 21-22 wicked' he live, hath mentioned him: in was not inherited. thus. there was no reason Jesush ad sinso f anyone. T his is in total agreemenwt ith the Qur'iin,w hich states:'o ...And Adam his Lord erred. Then his Lord chose him him and guided [himl." (20:121-121-122). 122). Third: It is not correct correcta according ccordingt to o the Bible to say that Jesus Jesush had ad come to die willingly willinely and deliberately deliberatelyf for or the ' I If this is the case with the "''wicked", u'icked". what would be when rvhen the sinner happened to be a righteous person like Adam? Surely, he would be grantedf orgivenessa s he soughtr epentance. granted forgiveness as sought repentance.
  • 70.
    My Great LoveFor Jesus Led Me To Islam ~ Myc reatL oveF orJ esusL edM eT ol slamQ 2 We read sins of men. in the Bible that he did not wish to die on the cross. For when he learnt that his enemies were plotting against his life, he declared that his ""soul soul was exceedingly sorrowful unto death." (Mark 14:l4:34). After that he prayed to God, saying, "Abba, Father, all things are possible unto Thee; take away this cup from me; nevertheless not what I will, will. but what Thou wilt." (Mark 36).H e askedh is disciplest o (Luke 36) protect 14:36). He also asked his disciples to buy swords 22:36) and keep watch over him at night to him from his enemies. Fourth: The Bible tells us in Mark 15 :34 that the crucified with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which is being interpreted as, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Such desperate cries - if we accept for the sake of argument that they did occur - that the crucified not willing to die on the cross. More importantly the contains clear evidence that the person crucified could possibly have been Jesus Christ, as such desperate cries and panic do not befit a of God, let alone is claimed to be God. Fifth: According to Mark 14:50, the crucifixion not witnessed by anyone of the disciples of Jesus as " ... all forsook him, and fled."] Also, none of the Gospel and Epistle writers witnessed the crucifixion; other words, there were no credible eye-witnesses. Thus, the sources of the story are doubtful especially considering that 15:34 person "cried w hich interpreteda s, 66My desperatec ries - acceptf or sakeo f argumentt hat - prove person was imporlantly passage containsc leare videnceth at personc rucifiedc ould not JesusC hrist, desperatec ries prophet one who 50, was witnessedb y anyoneo f discipleso f Jesusa s "... they fled."r witnessedth e in rvords, therew ere crediblee ye-witnesseTs.h us,t he sourceso f the ' rve disciplcso f Jesus 'e aret o conclude 1 As we are to think good of the disciples of Jesus ve are to one of two things: either this text is another interpolation and was not part of the original text, or it was correct) the disciples did leave as they realized that the crucified one was not Jesus himself. way, the result is the same, oftrvo e ithert his anothcri nterpolationa nd rvasn ot o1'thco riginalt ext. (if t he disciplesd id leavea s not.lcsus Either *'a1'. same.
  • 71.
    ~ My GreatIslam Canonical Gospels themselves differ among themselves as I tt creat Love For Jesus Led Me To lsldm CanonicalG ospelst hemselveds iff'era rnongt hemselvesa s to the exact fiom details of the crucifixion from beginning to end. Sixth: The idea that shedding sheddingo of f blood is necessary necessaryto to appease the of God came into Christianity from the appeaseth e wrath carnei nto Christianityf rom primitive image imageo of f God as asa an n all-powerful porverfudl demon. ernon.There T herei is s no logicalc onnectionb etweens in W hat logical connection between sin and blood. What wipes sins blood, rcrnorse.s incerer epentance. away is not blood. but remorse. sincere repentance, persistent persistentr resistance esistancetc to l evil inclinations inclirrationsa and nd constant struggle strugglet to o carry carr1,out o' ut the wi rvill II of o1'God Cod as revealed rer,ealedto to us by the prophets. Furthermore, F urlhermorer, when vhenJ Jesus esusr was vas asked askeda about bout the way to eternal etemal life, his reply was rvas not belief in him hirn as the savior saviort through hrought the he shedding sheddingo of f his blood. Instead, I nsteadi,it t was, ...... ".... but if thou wilt rvilt enter entcr into life, keep the commandments." Matthew 19: 17). commandrnents." (Mattherv | 9 : 1 7). The Christians cherneo f salvationi s and unsound.b ut also contradictst he Christian scheme of salvation is not only morally rationally unsound, but contradicts the words of Jesus Jesusr who .vhoc came amet to o rescue rescuel men nen from li'om sin by his teachings teachingsa and nd the example exampleo of f his godly godll' life lifc rather rathert than han by deliberately deliberatelyd dying ying on the cross crossl for br them, therrt.and a nclo offering ffering his blood for their sins. His H is mission rnissiorut was 'asa also lsct'lo to call sinners sitrnersto to repent repenta as s was wast the he case cascr with vitha all ll the tlrc prophets prophctsb before elbreh him. irn.He H e never said that he came for fbr the thc atonement atonemenot of f human sin. This is emphasized ernphasizeidn in Matthew Mattherv4 4: : 17, 17.as a s we e are aret told old about Jesus: Jesus": "From that time Jesus Jesusb began egant to o preach, and a nd to say, Repent: R epent:for f or the kingdom kingdorno of f heaven heavcni is s at hand." It I t is really incomprehensible that the Bible goes to and abuses Jesus by making him a curse. Paul says: "reallyi ncornprehensibthlea tt he Bibleg ocst o the extreme anda buses.lesLbrys'r nakinglr inra cursc.I )aLrsla ys": Christ hath redeemed fi'orn the curse of thc larv, being us from the law, fbr f<rr it is rvritten, is made a curse for us: for written, Cursed everyone that hangeth on a tree," (Galatians 3: 13) everyoneth at hangctho n t ree, "( Galat ian3s: 13) 'fhe dogmao f atonemerrlti.k c thc pt'cviousC hristian originatccl lionr uttcicnl pagiur The dogma of atonement. Iike the previous Christian dogmas, originated fi'om ancient pagan religions.
  • 72.
    My Great LoveFor Jesus Led Me To Islam U) MyG reaLt oveF orJ esusL edM ef o lslam@ According to Arthur Findley (Rock of Truth, p. 45), 16 names were believed by their peoples to have come for their their salvation salvation and atonement. Some of them were: the Egyptian Egyptian Osiris (1700 BC), the Babylonian Baal (1200 BC), the Hindu Krishna (1000 BC), the Tibetan Andra (725 BC), the Chinese Buddha (560 BC), and the Persian Mithra (400 BC). The dogma of atonement is t-not tot only an insult to rational rationalt thinking, hinking,b but ut it also motivatesp motivates people eoplet to o abandon good deeds and commit evils like murder, thell, theft, rape and adultery. Paul underestimated the importance of the commandments preached by Jesus, and claimed: "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." (Romans 3:28). He even stated that Abraham was not helped b), by his deeds (Romans 4:2). 2). It was thus Paul who made salvation only attainable attainableb by y belief in Christ's Christ'sc crucifixion. rucifixion.W What hat would be the state of mankind if people were to believe in this concept? was made by Jesus The answer to Paul's claim himseli "rhosoever shall break one of teach men so, himself, "Whosoever therefore these least commandments, and shall he shall be called the but whosoever shall do and shall be called great in the (Matthew 5: 19). least in the kingdom of heaven: teach them, the same kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5;19). Islant rejectst he dogrnao f atonemetrt.I t declarest hat Islam rejects the dogma of atonement. It declares that the fbrgivenesso f sinsc annotb e obtainedb y the suftering and sacrificeo f any otherp erson,b ttt only by the graceo f God and a person'so wn sincerer epentanclev ith persistent effbrlst o avoide viland do goodd eeds.F utlhermorei,f tl .-' sinsc ommittedi nvolvei njusticeto people'sr ights.t ho:'c the forgiveness of sins cannot be obtained by suffering and sacrifice of other person, but grace of God and a person's own sincere repentance with efforts to avoid evil and do good deeds. FUlihermore, iftl.' sins committed involve injustice to people's rights, tho:,c
  • 73.
    ~ My GreatLove Islam I "t Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lsl6m rights have to given one hast o seekt heir forgivenessw heneverp ossible. be back to their rightful owners and has to seek their forgiveness whenever possible. The Qur'dn promises Qur'dn salvation to all those who believe in the oneness of God and do good deeds: ",.Yes Yes [[on on the contrary], whoever submits himself in Islam Isliim to Allah while being a doer of good will have his reward with his Lord. And no fear will there be concerning them, nor will they grieve." (2:112). 112). Allah also says in the Qur'dn, Qur'dn, ""'Whoever Whoever would hope for the meeting with his Lord let him do righteous work and not associate in the worship of his Lord anyone." ( 18: 1 8: 11 1 I 0) 2: 14 and and James and 17 complies with both Islam and the commandments, "What brethren, though a not works? faith faith. hath not works, it reads, doth it profit, my man say he hath faith, and have Can save him...? Even so faith, if it is dead, being alone."
  • 74.
    My Great LoveFor Jesus Led Me To Islam ~ Myc reatL oveF orJ esusL edM eT ot stamQ 2 Islam: Isldmz The The Monotheistic Monotheistic Religion of All Alt the Prophets An unbiased analysis of the aforementioned Christian An unbiaseda nalysiso f aforementionedC hristian doctrines can lead to only one are both irrational ofJesus. is sufficient following Jesus' ascendancei nto followers consideredh im propheto f doctrines mentioned previously years later, of the Christian deviation from the other prophets before him. doctrines can lead to only one conclusion; that they are both irrational and contrary to the teachings of Jesus. It is sufficient to know that during the years immediately following Jesus' ascendance into heaven, none of his followers considered him other than a prophet of God. The were conceived many which is a clear indication that the foundation Church was based on a considerable original message of Jesus and all the Believing in the oneness onenesso of f God and worshipping worshippingn no o one elseb ut Him is the rule. A ssociatingo thersi n with God came at humankind. For humankind, A dam, humanb eingsw orshippedn o God (AllAQ. It was only prior to that idol worshipb egant o practicedI.t wast he resulto f people'se xcessivee ndeavorsin reverings ome individuals among them who had passed then sent by God to guide his people and call them back to the worship of Allah that He sent one prophet after another to various preacht he sameb asicm essaget:h at there is god of worship butAllah. else but Associating others in worship a later stage in the history of ten centuries after the father of Adam, human beings worshipped no one but Allah). the era of Prophet Noah worship began to be practiced. It was the result of people's excessive endeavors in revering some righteous away. Noah was back to the right path alone. After nations to preach the same basic message: that no worthy but Allah. The primary mission of all prophets was not to call peoplet people to o believei believe in n the existenceo existence of f God as the Supreme Being and acknowledgingH acknowledging Him im as the Creator, P Provider rovider and Sustainer Sustainero of f the worlds for event even the he polyheistsk polytheists knew nerv by nature that God existed and never doubted that such
  • 75.
    If My GreatLove For Jesus Led Me To Islam was the case1 I tt Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslAm wast he case'.• O Only nly a a few few of ofthem themp pretended retendedto to denyG deny God's od's existence. those who worshipped God by doing devoted prayers to Him in difficult they did so through intercessorsT. he prophets called them to turn without mediators and hardship.A nd becausem onotheismi s foremosta nd most impofiant fbundation which makes deedsv alid acceptablew, e all the prophets began "Worship Allah; IIim." (Qur'dn 7:65). Qtr'dn (1636): We certainly messenger' [sayingl' 'Worship Atllh Taghiit (false deities)."'And existence. There were those who worshipped God by doing good deeds; they also devoted prayers to Him in difficult times. However, during times of ease, they did so through mediators and intercessors. The called them to tum to God and supplicate to Him alone mediators or intercessors in times of both ease hardship. And because monotheism is the foremost and most important obligation and the foundation deeds valid and acceptable, we find that began by calling their peoples and saying: "Worship Allah; you have no deity other than Him." 7:65). Allah also states in the Qur'dn 16:36): "And certainly sent into every nation a messenger, [saying], 'Worship Allah and avoid Taghut deities).'" in Verse 21:25 25 it states: states:" "And And We sent not before you any messenger except that We there is no deity except Me, so worship it is clear that Islam (submission to has always the religion of all the prophets and messengers of from Adam to Muhammad. Islam indeed the of Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus, According to any revealed to him that there Me." Therefore, that Isldm submissiont o Allah) hasa lways been prophetsa nd messengeros f God, frorn I slam was indeedt he religion of Noalr.A braham,M osesa nd JesusA. ccordingt o Islam, I Atheism onll'started to spreado n a large scale in Clhristians ocieties during the eighteenth and nineteenth centurics. Among the reasons for that were the injustices cornmittcd by the Church manifested in the cnslavcmenth, umiliationa nd abuseo f peoplei n the name of "God'" Christianity also conflicted r.vith rcason ancl hunlan nceds. The Church fought scientillca dvancemenat nd pcrsecutcds cicntistsr.e sultingi n a dichotomyb etrveenm an and laith. Conscquentllp',e opleb ccamem ore concernecwl ith the materialr vorld and gave in to their naturalt endcncy to pursuc rvorldly te mptations. With the absencc of rcason and compatibility.f nith disintegratcda nd religion's role in lif'e becamc nonexlstcnL 1 Atheism only started to spread on Christian societies during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. the reasons for that were the injustices committed by the Church manifested in the enslavement, humiliation and abuse of people in the name of "God." Christianity also conflicted with reason and human needs. The Church fought scientific advancement and persecuted scientists, resulting in a dichotomy between man and faith. Consequently, people became more concerned with the material world and gave in to their natural tendency to pursue worldly temptations. With the absence of reason and compatibility, f~lith disintegrated and religion's role in life became nonexistent.
  • 76.
    My Great LoveFor Jesus Led Me To Islam ~ , Myc reatL oveF orJ esusL edM eT ol slam9 all prophets are brothers and no distinction between them. As for those people guidanceo f the propheto f time and worshippedG od as He should be worshipped, they are Muslims, a nd Paradisew ill who followed the guidance of prophet of their worshipped God and Paradise will be theirs. restored original the same eternal Islam restored to its status should be made all considered message that God revealed to all His prophets. Islam is a continuationo f that messagew, hich is essenceo, ne. Althouglr Allclh had originally addressedit tribe, people or nation prophet, passageo f tirne it was rnisinterpreteda nd superstitionsf,a lse beliefs rituals inventedb y This caused a degenerationo f the superstitionasn dm eaninglesrsit uals. continuation of message, which in essence, one. Although Allah addressed it to a specific through their with the passage of time misinterpreted and mixed with superstitions, false and invented by man. degeneration of true religion into superstitions and meaningless rituals. Islam, as revealed revealedto to Prophet ProphetM Muhammad, uhamrnadi,is s a revival of ofthe the concept concepto of fmonotheismt monotheism taught aughtb by y Jesus Jesusa and nd by all of the tlre preceding precedingp prophets rophetso of f Allah. hlam Islclmi is s a message rnessageto to all of humanity until the end of time and not to a particular group, as a sw was ast the he case casew with ith previous previousp prophets. rophets. Islam rejectsa ll blasphemoutsh eologicalb eliefs rejects all blasphemous theological beliefs and reinstates reinstatesth the e true concept concepto of l'God; God; that He alone is the Creator, the t he Provider Providera and nd Controller Controllero of f everything every.thingin in the universe universea and nd to whom alone alonep perfection erfbctioni is s attributed. This T his necessitates that He alone is to be worshipped. Furthermore, Furlhermore,He H e must be worshipped worshippedi in n the way u,ay that He ordained and not through invented rituals ritr.ralsa and nd acts of worship. I'{He e is the only one to whon whom prayers should be addressedA.addressed. And n d just just as confirmingt confirming the he onenesso oneness of f God is the greatesta greatest and nd rnosti most impOliant rrrportanvt virtue, irtue,a associating ssociatingo others thers rvith l'lirl is the gravest all. is only sirr unfbrgivableb y God unlesso ne repentst o Him before dcatl-rH. e hass aidi n the Qur'dn:" Indeed, Alllh doesn ot forgivc association rvith Him, He what with Him sin of It the sin unforgivable by unless one repents to death. He has said in Qur'cin: "Indeed, Allah does not forgive with but forgives is
  • 77.
    W My GreatLove For Jesus Led Me Islam less than that for whom He wills." (4:48). Moreover, it is a sin that deprives one of Paradise and consequently relegates the person who commits it to eternity in the Hellfire. This was stated by Jesus as quoted in the Qur'an (5:72): "Indeed, he who associates others with Allah ­Allah I *t To lslim less than whom a sin Hellfire. Qur'dn "Indeed, Alleh - Atllh has forbidden him Paradise, and his refuge is the Fire. And there are not for the wrongdoers any helpers." Directing any act of worship to other than God is the one sin that nullifies all good deeds. The Qur'an confirms: "But if they had associated others with Allah, then worthless for them would be whatever they were doing." (6:88) Qur'dn "But Allnh, then 88) God is indeed the one to whom all needs are sought t he all without intercessors, the one upon whom creatures depend, depend, the Creator and Sustainer of the entire universe, the Oft-Forgiving, the Most-Merciful, Merciful, the Almighty, the Omniscient. Dr. Citing the words of the famous Italian orientalist, Vaglierir, to Islam, Laura Veccia Vaglieri she writes: "Thanks paganism in its various forms was defeated. of the universe, the customs were each liberated from all the which had degraded them, and human free of prejudices. Mankind finally humbled itself before the Creator, the all mankind." She continues, from prejudice, man's will was set had kept him bound to other men called powers. Priests, false salvation and all those who The concept practices of religion and social monstrosities minds were made realized its dignity and Lord and Master of "The spirit was liberated from free from the ties which or other so-called hidden guardians of mysteries, brokers of salvation and all pretended to be mediators | "Apologia dell' Islamismo" translated into English as "lnterpretation of Islam" by Dr. Caselli,p p. 33 34. I "Apologia dell' Islamismo" translated into English "Interpretation ofIslam" by Dr. Caselli, pp. 33 34.
  • 78.
    My Great LoveFor Jesus Led Me To Islam ij) MyG reaLt oveF orJ esusL edM eT ol stam @ between betweenG God od and and man man and and consequently consequentlyb believed elievedt that hat they they had had authority authority over over the the will will of of other other people people fell fell from from their their pedestals. pedestals. Man Man became became the the servant servant of of Allah alone alone and and towards towards other other men men he he had had only only the the obligations obligations of of one one free free man man towards towards another another free free man. While previously men men had had suffered suffered from from the the injustice injustice of of social social differences, Islam ,Islarz proclaimed proclaimed equality equality among among human beings. Each Muslim Muslim was was distinguished distinguished from other Muslims not by reason of of birth birth or or any any other factor not connected with his his personality, but by his greater his morals and intellectual her book, "It was, of arrns nor through the pressure that caused the great and but above all, through the fact presentedb y the Muslims to the vanquishedw, ith accepti t or reject it, was the Book the greatesmt iracleM ohammadc ould showt o thosei n and to thosew ho remaineds tubborn."S hec ontinues,., The strengtho f this messagew as its crystalc lear marvelouse asinessf,o r Islam reachedo ut people without having recourset o explanationso r involved sermons." fear of God, his good deeds, qualities." She also states in her therefore, neither by means of violence of arms of obtrusive missionaries rapid diffusion of Islam, but that this Book presented by the vanquished, with the liberty to accept it or of God, the Word of Truth, the greatest miracle Mohammad could show to those in doubt those who remained stubborn." She continues, "The strength ofthis message was crystal clear simplicity and marvelous easiness, for reached out to the soul of the recourse to long explanations or And as one of the foremost historians, Arnold J. Toynbee, o observes: bsenres": "Indeed, I invite the world to adoptt adopt the he Islamic principle of brotherhood doctrineo f God's onenessb roughtb y Islam wonderful examples of how to unify continuationo f Islamg ivesh opet o the whole r and equality. The doctrine of oneness brought by is of the most the world. The continuation of Islam gives hope to world."l I Civilization onT rial.N ervY ork,O xtbrdU niversitpyr ess1, 948 I Civilization on Trial, New York, Oxford University Press, 1948
  • 79.
    ~ My GreatLove For Jesus Led Me To Islam VIII. My Final Step Toward Islam: The Influence Of Jesus On My Conversion To Islam Z tty Jesus Led Me To lslAm VIII. My Isltim: Influence Of Jesus On Conversion Islfim in the Even a portion of the information contained the previous chapters is sufficient for a seeker of truth to to perceive the authenticity of Islam lshim and the extent to which Christianity has deviated from and contradicted the teachings of Prophet Jesus. Yet I still could not take any decisive step to distance myself from the church had outlined for me. My with me wherever I went. Inside this small always carried were seven small silver crosses supposed image and statue of Jesus. I that ever put it aside something bad would happen to me. reason I never misplaced it; it was always in my Christianity real teachings decisive path that the church "talisman" was always with srnall package I always and a supposedir nagea nd statueo f JesusI. felt if I everp ut it aside r.ne. For this reasonI neverm isplacedit ; wasa lwaysi n rny pocket. reviewingt he literaturet hat had One day, when I was reviewing the literature that rne I readt wo statementsth at been given to me in the mosque, read two statements that filled my heart with great and Tears to flow from my eyes and I said: truth; this is the answer that I could never find!" 'fears started joy happiness. "My God, this is the t his answert hatI couldn everf indl" adrnit the leader that up to that At this point, I must admit to reader time tirne I had never touched or read rcad the rl'te QUI' Qur ·cin. seen or touched a copy of it language, and the name QUI' 'an was not part of my In emphatic, clear and precise manner, guide I had received in the mosque: "They [in boast], 'We killed Christ Messenger of Allah.' But they they crucify him..." Qur 'an 'cirr' I had not seeno r toucheda in any langtragea,r rdt he nalle Qur'dn parl lny vocabulary. l n a categorical, precisc lrlatlner. I read in the study euide lnosque: T'hey said 6oast], 'We Jesus, the son of Mary, the Messenger All[h.' killed him not, nor did they crucify (Qtrr'tin 4: 157) Here, I pausedin reading. I repeateds everatl imes, Here, I paused in the repeated several times, "...lhey killed him tlot, dicl the.1ctr Ltcifi'h im'" At rhe precisem omentI rvasr eadingt hoses tatetrentsI' I'eltt hat bod was answeringth e questiontl tatm adeI nc ltaved oubts about His power due to the lack o1' a logical and convincinagn swer . " ... they killed him not, nor did {hey crucify him. " the precise moment I was reading those statements, I felt that God was answering the question that made me have doubts about His power due to the lack of convincing answer. It was not easy to flnd this anslver. I had to cotnpete It was not easy to find this answer. I had to compete with rnany other studentst o eartta scholarshipI. had to with many other students to earn a scholarship. I had to
  • 80.
    My Great LoveFor Jesus Led Me To Islam ~ My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To tstim @ travel thousands of miles to the state of Washinston in the westernmost part of the USA. I had to Iearn to*speak and read English, and being from Latin America, I had to have a charactert hat was acceptableto the rest of the Muslims in Seattle in order to find statements. probabilities that this information of a Venezuelan in 1978 been decreedby AllAh must while I was still rejoicing great God and asked Him for this newst o Venezuelaa nd give rest of the world. travel thousands of miles to the state of Washington in the westernmost part of the USA. I had to learn to speak and read English, and being from Latin America, I had to have a character that was acceptable to the rest of the Muslims Seattle these two statements. The 1978 were remote. However, what has decreed by Allah be fulfilled. In those moments over this news, I spoke to forgiveness. I wanted to fly with news to Venezuela and it to my family and to the It was happeningju st would reach the hands happening just like in the movies. My great hero, the good guy in Jesus of Nazareth, to whom I pray smalla ltari n my house, h adn ot beenc rucified! the movie, my beloved prophet, small altar in had not been crucified! To me it seemed as used to twice a day in a though the weight of the cross allegedlyc arriedb y JesLrtso Calvaryv anisheda nd disintegratedin the sarner nannert hat greatb uildingsa nd firm mountainsc rumbler vhend emolishedb y allegedly carried by Jesus to Mount Calvary vanished and disintegrated in same manner that great buildings and mountains crumble when demolished by dynamite. What followedt his discoveryw as lesss ignificant.followed this discovery was no less significant. I reasoneda, reasoned, and nd said: said:" "lf If this is the trr.truth, rtht,then h ent this his religioni religion is s the right one." For twenty years, had been killed. I had been journey alternate routes. Now, with a more logical answer, a nd nou, thingsr .vereg etting clearer and the last piece "Dnzzle" This wast he lasti n thes equencoef miraclesth atJ esush ad perfonned by the power Atlah. of God, hadr eturneds ightt o r vhoh adw alkedo n lvater, healed a leper, nlade lame rnultiplied breada nd fish to feed thousandso f peoplea nd given life back to the dead.u ndoubtedlyc ould been crucified! Once again wantedt o belongt o thisr eligion;rvantedto bea Muslirn! I had been told that Jesus taken on a without any another avenue had been opened and now things were getting of the puzzle" was available. was the last in the sequence of miracles that Jesus had performed of Allah. A man who, by the will had returned sight to the blind, who had walked on water, made the walk, multiplied bread and thousands of people and who had dead, undoubtedly could not have I reasoned and resolved; I wanted to belong to this religion; I wanted to be a Muslim!
  • 81.
    ~ My GreatLove For Jesus Led Me To Islam 9 ftfy lsl6m disintegrated, Holy Churches the 'Holy Days' logical was theseb aselesstr aditionsb uilt upon In the same manner that the weight of the cross disintegrated, the resurrection of Jesus on Sunday, the Holy Week (Easter), Good Friday, the visit to the Seven Churches (Stations of the Cross), the fasting on Fridays, the eating of fish instead of meat on those alleged 'Holy Days' also disintegrated all at once and I realized that they were all lies. The power of the talisman vanished. The logical mind of a young man studying to be an engineer was now free to reject all of these baseless traditions built upon the irrational concept of God becoming a man and dying for the sins of men. As a young man who had been a professional fireman saving lives and property and who had not acquired the vices of smoking and drinking even though though these were among the norms of society, I could no longer accept these impositions. course During the summer of 1979 I took an optional Oklahoma illuminated the at Oklahoma State University that further new path I had started to walk. The course was "Islamic Culture." At the end of the summer of went back to Seattle, and before the given me the Islamic literature, I embraced Islam by pronouncing the testimony of faith Shahiidah). called 1979 I same imam who had lslamic embracedI slam officially (the Shahadah)' tne: you I can still remember the imam asking me: "Are I "Yes." Then he sure you want to embrace Islam?" said, insisted: "Even if it means that passport that you are a Muslim?" he said, "If you are sure that is what after me: I testify that none has the except Allah, and I testify is Messenger ojAllah. " I made the testimony then in Arabic by repeating after taking my final step it will be written in your I said: "Even so." Then you want, then repeat testifu right to be worshipped except AllAh, that Muhammad rs the of Allah. " testirnony in English and then it afler the imam, thereby taking to Islam.
  • 82.
    My Great LoveFor Jesus Led Me To lslam @ Isldm Undoubtedlyc, hangesin volvec ertaina djustmentas nd my casew as no exceptionO. nce I had embracedIs lam, I prornised that I rvould do whatever I could to learn as as possiblea boutt his religion. W hile I was still young having just completed my first year at State University, I married a young Muslim girl. In O klahornat,h e IslarnicC entera ssigned me first Islamic teacher. Brother Faiz from Palestine (may him and reward him for rvhat he taught me) dedicateda lot of his tirnet o teacht nc the prayer, t he pillars Islam, pillars of f-aith,a bout life after t he Day of Resurrectiona nd many other topics. I remember the great in"rpact caused by the life During my life as a n o one ever taughtr re any'things irnilara nd in suchd etail.D eathr vasa lu'aysa m,v"stetroy tne. not know what rvould happen to me once my buried the grottnd.l n Islc1rnI, found detaileda nswersW. hen a persond ies.h e or shem ust be the itrstrlrctiotrs of Prophet T he the personi s rvasltedc ornpletely T hen is rvrappedit t ttvo pieceso f r.vhite andt he body is buriedi n tlte grotttrdr vithotrta coffin andf acingM akkah.T he dcadp ersonu 'ill heart he stepso f rvalk arval frorrr thc grare attd rvill be awaret hath e sltei s beingl cft alone. Shortlyt hereafter, trvo angelsc ome into gravea nd ask tlte cleceasetdh e follorving three questiorts: ( l) is your Lord'? (2) is voul religion? 3) is your prophet? Islam ij/ IX. How Islam Affected My Life Undoubtedly, changes involve certain adjustments and case was exception. Once embraced Islam, promised Allah would much possible about this While relatively Oklahoma Stillwater, Oklahoma, the Islamic Center assigned my Allah bless what dedicated a time to teach me the other of l~lam, the faith, about death, the Resurrection and can still impact discussion of after death. Christian, no taught me anything similar and such detail. Death was always a mystery to me. I did would body had been in ground. In Islelm, I detailed answers. When person dies, he she must buried according to instructions Muhammad. The body of person is vvashed completely and perfumed. Then it wrapped in two pieces of white cloth and the buried in the ground without a and facing Makkah. The dead person vvill hear the steps of the living as they walk away from the grave and will aware that he or she is being left Shortly thereafter, two angels come the grave and the deceased the following questions: I) Who Lord? 2) What your (3) Who
  • 83.
    @ My GreatLove For Jesus Led Me To Islam I n/|yc reat LoveF orJ esusL edM eT o lsl6m Prophet Muhammad disclosed that the believer would ProphetM uhammadd isclosedth at believerw ould questions have no difficulty answering these correctly, while the unbeliever would not be able to answer them. Furthermore, Furthermored, depending ependingo on n the deedst deeds the he personh person had ad done in this life, he or she would feel either cool breezes from Paradise or scorching Hellfire. The dead person will remain in state until Day of Resurrection. wor"rldf eel perfumed winds from the T he deadp ersonw ill rernaini n this stateu ntil the Resumection. provided Brother Faiz clarified This information by people who cornrnit crimes and some of my doubts about commit are not punished during their worldly It also explains why Allah gives every human being many opportunities to repent and start a new life he clear portrayal of God's utmost justice to creatures. I once thought I had deeply the temporary and eternal was taught that Jesus learned that every person is responsible for and will be rewarded or punished accordingly. This sounded so logical and my soul was reassured by aren ot punishedd uringt heiru 'orldly lives. I t alsoe xplains givese veryh utnanb eingm any opporlunitiesto while lte or she is still alive; a poftrayalo f tttmostj Lrsticeto his creaturesI. deepty understood tl-re concepts of life. While in the Catholic Church, I had died to save us; in Islam I learnedt hat personi s responsiblefo r his own acts rewardedo r punisheda ccorclinglyT, his soundeds o logicala ndm y'soLtul 'asr eassurebdy it. -['his nervk rrorvledgue' asg raduallyt ranslbrrninga ll of This new knowledge was gradually transforming all previousi nfbrmationa s r'vella s lry senseo f priorities. begant o devotet noret itue to str-rdoyf the religion.W hen my previous information as well as my sense of I began to devote more time study of reI igion. When my early morning the gym with morning give monting training at thc gynl began to conflict rnorning prayers, I delayed the training to give priority to my nly prayers. pra) crs. severalv ears beforee tttbracingI sltlnt, I rvas an For several years before embracing Islam, was aspirirrgm usicianr vho had pafticipatedit t severanl rusic concertsp layingt he guitara nd singingI ny hearto ut. But, aspiring musician who p<uiicipated in several music concerts playing the guitar and singing my heart out. But, once Islam I abandoned them and dedicated time learning to recite the QUI' '(In the original language of revelation. The of being a married man and my engineering studies at the I accepted LslcTmI abartdoncdt hern both and dedicatectli ute to learuingt o recitet hc Qar'cin in Arabic; the originall anguageo f its revclatiorTl.h e responsibilities of beinga marriedr nana nd rtt1e" ngincrei rlgs tudiesa t the
  • 84.
    My Great LoveFor Jesus Led Me To Islcim W lslAm @ age of 21 left me with no time for any other activities. But through the guidance of Allah, my attachment to my new ageo f 2l arryo thera ctivities.B ut throught he guidanceo f attachmentto religion grew staft to the extent that I wanted to start teaching what little I knew. When I returnedto Venezuelarn y farnilyd id returned to Venezuela my family did not know anything about about Islam. Islarn. They used to watch how I prayed without criticizingo r condemningr ny criticizing or condemning my actions. I had been in for vears, joy abroad the USA more than four years, so the of a reunion with parents, brothers and sisters prevailed and reunionw ith my parentsb, rothersa nds istersp revaileda nd they accepted acceptedm me e as I was. rvas. On my job in VenezuelaI, askedp errnissionfi 'om Venezuela, I asked permission from my to pray for rninutes rny supervisor five minutes in my office. I was practically the Venezuelan Muslim in the oil industry practicallyt he only VenezuelanM uslirni n in 1982. I asked Allcth help me persevere steadfast, since temptations appeared everywhere more arrd rnore ofterr. By the grace and nrercy Alloh, rnanagetdo rcrnainu ncornrpted. 1 asked Allah to and be and and more often. mercy of Allah, I managed to remain uncorrupted. Today, after a fter almost almostt thirty hirty'y years 'earss since inceI I first llrst embraced ernbraced Isltlttt,l f'eeli ncreasinglyh appyt hat I dccidedt o becomea Muslim. I f'eele venr norec ontentedu 'hen I seeh ow many peoplea roundr ne afe embracingI sldnt dailn.P raiseb e to Allalr,t he Lord of allthat exists. I ha'n'feb undt hatI slclmi s the f-astesgtr orvingr eligioni n the u'orld.I t hasa ctuallyt he greatesnt urnbero f practicingf crllow'ersin' spite of the rnodestr reansa vailablet o its preachersin cornparison rvith otherr eligionse, specialllC, hristianityW'. hile 1slazr spreadrsv ithe asea ndb y simplen reansC. lrristianitrvv ould Islelm, I feel increasingly happy that decided to become a feel even more contented when see how people around me are embracing Is/am daily. Praise be Allah, the all that have found that h/am is fastest growing religion in world. It has actually the greatest number of practicing followers I in modest means available to preachers in comparison with other religions, especially Christianity. While Is/am spreads with ease and by simple means. Christianity would I l 'hcn urnbcro 1'pract icinIVe lusl inrcsr ccct lsth ct otuln ur r rbcori 'pcople pract icinga l l other rcl igionsp ut toget l rcf... ccordingto thc Sundal 'l inrcs.t hc nunt t rcor l t t tosquc- t tocinls I lntaino l tct i lnca scck wasa t lcast9 10.000p eoplcc ornparetdo 916. ( ) (Xc)h Lr rch-gocrIs h.i s is taking placci n a supposcdlCy l r r ist iacno untD.r vhcrc , lusl inrs. r lrc nt r r tor i t r ' . I The number of practicing Muslims e'.ceeds the total number of people practicing all religions put together. ieeording to the Sunday Times. the number of mosque-gol'rs in Britain one time a lIed: Ivas at least 930.000 people compared to 916.000 church-goers This place in supposcdly Christian cOllntry. Ilherc 'Vluslims arc a minority.
  • 85.
    ~ My GreatLove For Jesus Led Me To Islam have been no match for Islam had it not been for the enormous resources behind their missionary activities. A simple comparison between the converts to Christianity, the two major religions over the world (unlike other religions mostly confined to specific nations), shows Christianity attracts people of limited drawn to the Church due to material temptations it offers are supports argument is the fact that the represent are being abandoned in their countries while being expOlied to On other hand, we find that those who embraceblam are among the untouchables and famous and from scientists and scholars. Even those who stand to lose much convert to Islam members of Christian clergy have done so. I tt To lsldm enormousr esourcesb ehindt heir missionarya ctivities.Islam and rnajor with followers all whose followers are ttations), clearly that means. They are poverty and need as the rnaterial great. What supporls this f'act churches and what they representa re abandonedin tlreir own wealthy home countriesw hile exportedt o poor countries. O n the hand.r ve thoser vho embraceI slc1ma re from untouchablesa nd the poor, the rich and the famousa nd frorn scientistsa nd scholarsE. ven thosew ho in terms of worldly gain as soon as they conveftt o like memberso f the Christianc lergyh ave Consequentlym, y faith keeps getting strongera s I Consequently, my stronger as prornise of Allah is being fulfilled witness that the promise gradually: "They want to extinguish with their mouths, but Allah although the disbelievers His Messenger with to manifest it over all associate others with Allah dislike it." (QlIr 'lin 61 :8-9) "They the light of Allah Atlah will perfect His light dislike it. It is He who sent guidance and the religion of truth religion, although those who associateo thersw ith Allnh dislikc it-" (Qur'rin 6l:8-9) Anyone wlto reads the Bible rnay well notice that Anyone who may some frorrr the Bible itsclf are only being implernentebdy Muslims. A ccorclirttgo the Bible, J esus and the Prophetsb efbre hirn prostratedr vhen prayingt o God (Genesisl7 :3 andM attlrew2 6:36),y et only Muslims do so in their prayers today. Likervise. only Muslim women wear the headc overitrgr lentionccilr l the Biblc, some teachings from itself implemented by According to Jesus and the Prophets before him prostrated when praying to God (Genesis 17:3 and Matthew 26:36), yet do so in their Likewise, only Muslim women wear the head covering mentioned in the Bible,
  • 86.
    My Great LoveFor Jesus Led Me To Islam ~ MyG reaLt oveF orJ esusL edM eT ol slam@ while the vast majority of Christian women wornen tend to disregard disregardt this his teaching teachingi in n spite spiteo of f the fact that Mary used to wear a veil over her head. head.( (Song Songo of f Solomon Solorr-ro4n: 4:9 and 1 I Corinthians CorinthiansI 11 I :5) greetingr -rsebdy Jesus", Peaceb e unto you" Even the greeting used by Jesus, "Peace be (Luke 24:36), 36), is used by Muslims Muslirns while most rnost Christians greet with "Hello". There are many rnany other religious rites which rvhich only Muslims Muslirns practice today, such as wudhu' (ablution ablutionb before efbre prayer), circumcision, c ircuurcisiona, abstaining bstainingf from rom eating pig flesh and the meat nreat of o1' dead animals, etc. Therefore, Therefbre,it is crystal crystalc clear leart that hatt the he true tnre followers follor.verosf of Jesus and the prophets prophetso of f God before belbreI him titn are aret the he Muslims, who w ho follow what they all taught. x. How My Conversion Affected Others' Lives I-laving received this great gift from Allah may praised and glorified), felt a strong desire to convey His X. Affccted Others'Lives I'lavingr eceivedth isg reatg ilt frornA lldlt (nay He be praiseda ndg lorified),I l'elta strot'rdge siret o conveyH is final message messageto to those thosew who ho had hacln not ot heard ltcarcilt it. . I was rvasn not ot very successful successfual at t the outset. Some S orre people peoplet took ook it as a joke, joke, while rvhile others advised advisedm me e to take the message ntcssaget to o the tlte children childrens since incc older people peopler were .verea already lleady'l fixed ixcd in their ways. For a long lorrgt time, itne,my I r.ryo only nll' support sttpltol'wt was as my rtt)'wife, u 'ife, who shared sharedm my y belief beliefi in n Islam. Islum. Irr returnectol thc []nitedS tateso l'AInericat o master'sd egreein safbtyc ngineerirtagt Te.rasA &M In 1990, I returned to the United States of America to do a master's degree in safety engineering at Texas A&University. And it was during this trip I decided to increase my efforts to propagate Ishlm. followed an Islamic training program which I created for myself from material available at the Bryan College Station Islamic Library. I used to write to my family in Venezuela about whatever Islamic topics I studied. Happily hen I returned to Venezuela in 1992. after only a few brief discussions, my parents and one of my older brothers embraced hie/ill. Univcrsi tvA. nd i t rvasd r . r l intgh is t r ip that lclecidedt o irrcreascr nv efJbrtst o pfopagateI sldnr. I fblloucd arl Islamict rairtin-puf ograrnu 'hichI createdfb r rrtvselfl 'om rnateriala railablea t Bry'artC ollegc StatiortI slan-ric l,ibrarl. l usedt o lvritct o n'tl fa rnilf itt Vcncztrela bout rvhatcr .cIsr larnitco picsI st t rdiccIlJ. appi l lu l tct tI returned Vcrrezuelain a ltcr only'a l-etrb ricf cliscttssions, rn)'p arentsa ndo nc o1n- t olderb rothcrsc tttbritccLcls ldrn.
  • 87.
    ~ My GreatLove For Jesus Led Me To Islam Later on, two of my sisters, another brother, and a nephew also embraced Islam. I fufy lslAm Latero n, sistersa, notherb rother,a nd alsoe mbracedIs lam. The director directoro of f the recentlyo recently opened penedl mosque nosquei in n Caracas approvedm y proposafl br Sundayp rograrxt o inviten on- Muslims largestl .nosquein I volurrteeredto coordinatet his prograrnw ith of approved my proposal for a Sunday program to invite non­Muslims to visit the largest mosque in Latin America. volunteered to coordinate this program with the imam the mosque and, praise be to Allah, our initial effort was a complete success. About 250 people attended what was the first public lecture I had ever to Venezuelans about Islam. Perhaps for the first time in Venezuela, a mixture of Jews, Christians, atheists and others about Islam. The program was such a great success that the grace of Allah, many Venezuelans embraced Islam. The Sunday out-reach program is ongoing and anyone interested in knowing about Islalll attend. completes uccessA. bout peoplea ttendedw hat wast he lectureI given Venezuelanas bout Isldm.P erhapsfo r tirnei n Vcnezuelaa, mixtureo f Jervs, attended a lecture aboutI slc1ntT. he prograrnw as sucha greats uccessth at by Allcih. rnatryV enezuclattse mbracedI slam. Sundayo r.rt-reacphro grarnis still ongoinga nda nyone irrterestedin aboutI slail can attetrd. Wherr irr places, I noticc that many When I lecture in different notice Islum. Many people have people are interested in Islam. embraced this religion; many others take literature and through it gradually, just as almost thirty years ago. Still more resistant toward Islalll; they say they many vices they cannot get rid of. At this point, want to tell the reader that when a person embraces Is hllll, his life change dramatically all sudden. It may, but always. Often process that develops as learns to or her brothers and sisters in and to fundamental teachings of faith. those who have attended my lectures have asked the following questions: I. have to speak Arabic in order to be a Muslim? 2. necessary to be an if I want to 3. Should I stop believing in Jesus and reject the Virgin embracedt his r nanyo thct'st ake the available literaturea nd go throughi t gradtrally-,iu sta s I did ahnost others are tttorc resisttrnt oward Islan. that thcy have too Inany viccs that tltey cannotg etr id ol'.A t thisp oiltt.I 'altt o tcllthe readerthat wlren persone rnbraccsL sltlnr.h is or her lif'e may not changed ranraticallya ll of a sttdden.I t rtray,b ut not O fien this is a ltrocessth at dcvclclpsa s the person and gradually gets closer and closer lo Allah, to his brothersa ncls istersi n faith artctl o the lirndatnental tcachingso f the laith. Many of tltoser vho har"ea ttended rly lectureslt avca skectlh c lbllorvingc lltestiorts: L Do I ltavet o speakA rabici tto rdert o bea Mtrslirn? Is it necessartyo ben n Arab i1'Iu ,atrtto be a Muslim? 3. Shoulclls top bel icvingin . lcst tsa t tdr e- icctth e Vi rgin Mary to bc a MLrslint? Mary be Muslim?
  • 88.
    My Great LoveFor Jesus Led Me To Islam W MyG reaLt oveF orJ esusL edM eT ol sl6m @ The answers to all of the above questions are in the negative. Islfim Islam is a universal religion, and Muslims are in every country around the world. Language is not a barrier. To be a Muslim it is necessary necessartyo to believe believei in n Jesus Jesusa as s one oneo of f the greatest prophets of Allah, and in Mary as Jesus' mother, whom Allah favored over all other women. The first step to become a Muslim is indeed a very simple simplea and nd easy easyo one. ne.There T herea are ren no o complexities con-rplexitieosr or difficult requirements such ucha as s special specialc ceremonies, eremonieso,or r the mediation of certain agents, or anything beyond one's means. The only requirement to embrace Islam is to believe sincerely in and obey the one and only true God, to accept God as the Creator, the Sustainer of the universe, the One in whose hands is life and death, the Controller of all things, the only One worthy of worship, the One who has the beautiful names, and most glorious attributes, the One who has no associate, child, mother or and comparable to Him. All forms of paganism must also be abandoned. cefiain an),thing requirementto embraceI slam believes incerely most beautifuln ames,a ndm ostg loriousa ttributest,h e associatec, hild, rrother father, a nd nothing is comparableto Hirn. forrnso f paganisrnr nusta lso none has the right to be After testifying that worslrippedi n Allah and that Muharnmadi s the worshipped in truth but AINih Muhammad is Messenger of Allah, everything gradually with and dedication. If after accepting this firm beliet~ he considered to be a Muslim and may, by Allah's mercy, enter Paradise at Alluh, every,thing else can be learned patience lf anyone dies acceptingt his belief,h e or she is consideredto MLrslima nd t:y Alluh's Inercy.e nterP aradisea t the end of this world. a person testifies that Muhamtrad is the When Muhammad Messengeor f A//clh,t his doesn ot meant hat he is the only propheto f Al/ah, but that he is the lastr ressengeor f Allah andt he lasti n the lineo f prophetgs oingb ackt o Adam. Messenger of Allah, this does not mean that prophet of Allah, last messenger of and the last in line of prophets going back to
  • 89.
    ~ My GreatLove For Jesus Led Me To Islam Z wtV lsldm XI. XI. When When Religion Religion Is Is Inculcated Inculcated By By Compulsion Compulsion Allah Almighty Almighty has revealed that no one can be forced to embrace Islam. This is a fundamental tenet of His teachings. "There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of) the religion. The right course has become clear from the wrong." (Qur 'an 2:256) "There [acceptance ofl Qur'dn2:And Allah has said: "And say, "The truth is from And "And "The your Lord, so whoever wills let him believe; and whoever wills let him disbelieve...'disbelieve..." o (Qur Qur'dn 'an 18:29). 29). Islam also calls for establishing dialogue with the others and inviting them with wisdom and beautiful exhortation to embrace this true religion. ""Invite Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best." trest.o(' (Qur'an Qur'dn 16:125) 125) position The Catholic Church attained the it has today horrendousb loodshedo f millions of as a result of the horrendous bloodshed of innocent people. I was astonished when learned that the Netherlands alone, three million people were when they did not abide by, and Catholic Church. astonishedw hen I learnedt hat in Netherlandsa lone,t hreem illion peoplew ere executed accept the doctrines of the "Upon the 16th L6th February, 1568, 1568, a sentence of the inhabitants of the Holy Office condemned all the Netherlands to death as heretics. From this doom only a few excepted. A proclamation ofthe King, confirmed this decree of the inquisition, be carried into instant execution, to sex, or condition. This is probably death­warrant universal few persons, especially named; were of the dated ten days later, confirrned and ordered it to without regard lo age, probobly the most concise death-warrant f amed. Three millions of people, that was ever framed. n1en,w omen, were senlencedt o the scaffold in: three lines... new decree, the executions certainly did not slacken. Men in the highest and the men, women, and children, sentenced to in: three lines ... And under this certainly
  • 90.
    My Great LoveFor Jesus Led Me To Islam ~ MyG reaLt oveF orJ esusL edM er o lslam Q2 humblest positions were daily and hourly dragged to the stake. Alva, in a single letter to Philip, coolly estimated the number of executions which were to take place immediately after the expiration of holy week, eight hundred heads. ,,1 humblest stake. in a number of executions "at hundred heads."' After the Nicean Council was held it became a capital offense offenset to o possess possessa an n unauthorizedG unauthorized Gospel. ospel.A As s a result, over a million Christians Christiansw were erek killed illed in the yearsf years following ollowing the Council's decision. This was the methodology used by Athanasius to unify the Christians. It may seem to most of us that the perpetrators of these crimes against humanity were bloodthirsty individuals with no genuine motives; but I was shocked to find out that the call to perpetrating these horrendous horrendousc crimes rimes stems stemsd directly irectly from Biblical verse, verse. It may seem obvious to anyone who reads the Bible that these thesei individuals ndividualsw were ere implementing implementings some omet texts exts of some verses of the Bible. "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying .... Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him... But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with rvith him, keep alive for yourselves yourselves( (Numbers Nr-rmber3s1 31: : 17-18). 18).And A nd the Lord said, "Go through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have you pity. Slay utterly old and young, yorrlg, both maids and little children, and women..." (Ezekiel Ezekiel 9:5-5-6). 6). Joshua said to the people of Israel, ""The The Lord has given you the city (of the Canaanites)... Canaanites)'.. all silver, silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the Lord: They The)' shall come into the treasury of the Lord... The people utterly destroyed ' "The Riseo f the DutchR epublic."b y JohnL othropM otley I "The Rise of the Dutch Republic," by John Lothrop Motley
  • 91.
    W I MyGreat Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam lslim all that "t was in the city, man and woman, woman. young and old, old. and ox and sheep, sheep. and ass, ass. with the edge of the sword!. sword'. (Joshua 6: 1 16-6-21) The Lord allegedly said: - "Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, suckling. ox and sheep, sheep. camel and ass." (1 1 Samuel 15:3). 3). 'children also shall be dashed to before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished." (Isaiah 13: 16). - "Their pieces lsaiah 16). - "Samaria shall become desolate; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child" child' shall be ripped up." (Hosea 13: 16). l6). ' Since sonre Church rcccntly bcen allack [slam and accuse it of spread "srvord", ri,ofth mcntioning that the mcntioned thc not being evcn it thc Qur'in. rvhioh to havo by, thc 2 Isldm allored dclend rvcak women and thcrn. "And rvhat [the matterl the cause Alltrh lforl oppressed womcn, .,,1" (Qur'dn 4 : 7 5 ) . i s also ofsel fdef 'ensen ot ofaggrcssi txr . . , l / /Jis a1's": Fight way Alllh those rvho 1,ou transgrcss. Indecd. I Since some Church officials have recently been so bold as to attack Islam and accuse it of having been spread by the sword"', it is worth mentioning that the word "sword" is actually mentioned 406 times in the Bible while not being mentioned even once in the QUI' 'an, So which religion was likely to have been spread by the sword? 2 Islam allowed Jihad as a means to defend and protect the weak such as women and children, and not killing or dashing them, "And what is [the matter] with you that you fight not in lhe causc of Allah and [for] the oppressed among men, women, and children ... !" QUI' 'an 4:75), Jihad is also an act of self defense nol an act of aggression, AINih says: "Fight in the way of Allah those who fight you but do not transgress, Indeed. Allah docs not like transgressor's." transgressors." (QUI' Qur'dn 'an 2: 190), 190). Jihad is also prescribed prescribcd as a means to insure insurc the freedom freedonr of ol- calling others othcrs to the way nirl of Allah Allclh and offering them the choice to embrace it if they so wish without compulsion, Allah says: "There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion. The right course has become clear from the wrong..." QUI' 'an 2:256), Alliih also says: "And say, "The tl'Uth is from YOU!' Lord, so whoever wills let him believe; and whoever wills let him disbelieve." Qur'an 18:29) ofl'ering cmbrace i t if'thc1'l'ish u'ithout compulsion. "-I'here lacceptance ofl religion.'I'he becomc (Our'dn 256). ,llklh sa1's: "And "-l'he truth fronr vour rvhoever belicvc; whoevcr n'ills lct (Our'tin 29
  • 92.
    My Great LoveFor Jesus Led Me To Islam ~ MyG reaLt oveF orJ esusL edM eT ol slAmQ y' It appears that the Bible is the only religious book in the world that sanctionsth sanctions the e killing of children, t the he dashing of infants and the ripping open of the bellies of pregnant women. The presence of such verses in the Bible and ascribing them to God is a clear proof that the Bible was subject to corruption by human hands that invented lies in God's name.' name. l Allah A/Nih says in the noble Qur'dn: Qur'an: ""So So woe to those who write the ""scripture" scripture" with their own hands, then say, ''This This is from Allnh,' Allah,' in order to exchange it for a smalJ small price. Woe to them for what their hands have written and woe to them for what they earn." (2:79) 19 Compulsioni s incompatiblew ith religionb ecausere ligion Compulsion is incompatible with religion because religion depends upon faith and resolution, and these would be meaningless if induced by force. Men and women must be given the opportunity to choose believe in, but the alternatives must presented without bias and without compulsion. Guillotines, saws, axes and meaninglesisf inducedb y M en mustb e whatever religion they believei n, alternativesm ust be presentedw ithout compulsionG. uillotines,s aws,a xesa nd ' Owing to the that the tcxts othors lOwing to the fact that the presence of such texts and others is a cause of great embarrassment embarassment to to the the "editors" of ofthe the Bible, they have havc been interfering intcrfering 'l'hey in in what what allegedly allegedly is the the Word Word of of God. They treated treatcd the text like any other book book written rwitten by humans; and therefore tlierefore added to and deleted delcted from fiorn it, what they they deemed unfit. For example examplc ISamuel lSarnuel 6: 19 reads: "And he hc smote the thc men men of ofBcthshemcsh, Bethshemesh, because they thel'had had looked into the thc ark of ofthc the Lord, even even he smote of the people fifty f i f t y thousand and threescore and ten men." However, Holever, the English. English, French, French. German Gcrman and Arabic translations decided decided that that such an act act does not befit the Merei Merci{ful ul Lord, Lorcl. so they thel changed the the text text to to only only ((seventy sevent1,men), m en). They 1'he1'believed believcd that the mere rnerc "''looking" looking" into the the ark ark of of the the Lord I-ord is not a crime punishable by genocide. genociclc. Even Lven at the present prcsentt time, in. rc.with s ' i th the thc Bible's exposure exposurct to o translators t ranslatorsa and nd printing pr int ing tools, tools. it i t is still st i l l being being altered, al tered.One O nc wonders s'ondersh how orv the situation si t t rat ionr was vas in the thc ancient ancicnt times t imes when rvheno only nl l the the priests pr iestsh had ad access accesst to o the 13ible. Biblc.
  • 93.
    W My GreatLove For Jesus Led Me To Islam fire should not have been the optionsl given to those who did not want to accept doctrines being enforced by the Catholic Church. Allah had already revealed in His last message to humankind: "There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance ofJ the religion. The right course has become clear from the wrong" Qur 'an 2:256). I fvrvG reatL oveF orJ esusL edM eT o tslAm optionsr AllAh messageto o 'Theres hall [acceptance (Qur'dn Today, we are witnessing the results of compulsion in religion in various countries. Drug addiction, murder, theft, prostitution, corruption, rapes and homosexuality are some of the consequences of imposing a religion on that is not carried in the heart. someo f consequenceosf imposinga religiono n people Sticking to ancestral traditions will not necessarily take a nation to success. successF. For or this reason reasonI I would like to offer at least one alternative that can save lives, rehabilitate alcoholics, alcoholics. as well as r.unite rnite families and society. ' The Bible attributes genocidc he is totally innocent. Sarnucl 29-31we fincl: ''And all the together, rvent llabbah, took i t . And he took thcir whereof was a talent *'ith thc i t David's head. And brought thc abundance. And he thcrcin, put them under saws, harro*'s and madc them antl cities of thc people unto Jcrusalem." Chroniclcs 3" i t out thc people that i t , rvith harrows of iron, and axes, [ven dcalt rvith thc the children of ,{mmon. nll returned Jerusalem," It rnakes rvonder hou *'orld cver livc peace when such inhumane callcd irr callcd Ho'ly Book. and arc ascribed nrophets'l I The Bible attributes heinous acts of genocide to Prophet David, of which he is totally innocent. In 2 Samuel 12:29-31 we find: "And David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it. And he took their king's crown from off his head, the weight whereof was a talent of gold with the precious stones: and it was set on David's head. And he brought forth the spoil of the city in great abundance. And he brought forth the people that were therein, and them under saws, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brick kiln: and thus did he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon. So David and all the returned unto Jerusalem." Also, in I Chronicles 20:3, it is said: "And he brought out the people that were in it, and cut them with saws, and with harrows of iron, and with axes. Even so dealt David with all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people to Jerusalem." It makes one wonder how the world can ever live in when such inhumane acts of genocide arc called upon in a so-called Holy Book, and are ascribed to God and His prophets?
  • 94.
    My Great LoveFor Jesus Led Me To Islam ij) MyG reaLt oveF orJ esusL edM eT ol slAmQ 2 The latest heart-breaking breaking news of the year 2002 regarding the Catholic Church in the USA relates to the sexual abuse that some priests committed against innocent children. Astonishingly, the top ranks in the Vatican did not respond as though such acts were atrocious crimes, but instead tried to cover them up by offering money to silence the victims. I kept a report from several years ago where was stated that more than five percent of in USA were perpetrators of sexual child abuse. However, took several years for this news to become headlines on the main TV stations worldwide. regarding sexual abuse children. the victims. it priests the USA perpetratorso f sexualc hild H owever, it took several news in four The whole world was shocked when the latest 2004 stated that in the past 50 years, more than thousand thousandp priests riestsi in n the USA have haveb been eeni involved nvolvedi in n sexual child abuse. That is an astonishing statistic to say the but not at all surprising. The undoubted truth there is anyone factor to blame, then itself. It is extremely important that these evil acts are not carried perverts. Bible itself encourages immorality 23: 1. Adultery and incest are two falsely attributed to some prophets. Of as we wholly reject the idea that involved in such despicable acts. abuseT. hat astonishings tatisticto sayt he least, T he undoubtedt ruth is that if any one it should be the Bible impoftant the reader knows that just out by pervefts. The encouragesim morality as stated in Ezekiel 1. just of the evil acts falselya ttributedto somep rophetsO. f course, a s Muslims, any prophet of Allah was involvedi n suchd espicablea cts. havea skedt he questionto someC hristians I have asked the following question to some Christians colrlmunities rvhere the Bible is in those countries or communities where generally accepted as Holy Scripture, "Why of murder, rape, theft, alcoholism,] prostitution, generallya ccepteda s Scripture." Wl]y are the rates of rnurder, alcoholism,' prostittttion, r One of thc rnajora busesa nd fnlsc accusationds irccteda gainstt he pcrson of Jesus at thc hands of those rvho corruptcd the Bible' and n'hichn o Muslim '"r'ouldto leratei,s his descriptiona sa "rrincbibber"a s is mentioned in Luke 7:34 "Son of man is courc eating ancl lOne of the major abuses and false accusations directed against the person of Jesus at the hands of those who corrupted Bible. and which no Muslim would tolerate, is his description as a '"winebibber" as is mentioned in Luke 7:34 "The Son of man is come eating and
  • 95.
    ~ I MyGreat Love For Jesus Led Me To Islam lsldm homosexuality, "t incest and widespread corruption extremely high compared to those countries where the Qur Qur'dn 'an is the scripture of reference though with some variation?" Many of them have been shocked by this question since they have never thought about making such compansons. comparisons. For example, in a dialogue that I had with a US penalty citizen, I cited a case where the death was imposed in Saudi Arabia on seven criminals who, while under the influence of alcohol, raped a woman. I told him that as a consequence consequenceo of f the application of the full weight of the law hundreds of ofthousands thousands of ofother other women had been saved from other potential criminals. He disagreed and felt that the law was too severe and that it could not be implemented in his country. Based on official statistics, I told him that in his country in the last eight months more than half a million women were raped; an average of two thousand women raped every day! He was shocked and admitted to the effectiveness effectivenesso of f the application applicationo of f the Islamic Law. If I could talk to him again, I would tell him that in Islam, Isldm, even if an imam imarn were to rape a child, as the priests have done in the church, he would be executed without delay, in order to save the rest of the children. How happy I am to have embraced 1Islarn 1am and I am proud to tobe be a Muslim. drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, nrarr, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!." The irony is also apparent when one finds Proverbs 20:1 saying: "Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise." One can only imagine the state of humankind ifit were to believe that one of the greatest prophets of God, like Jesus Christ, was an alcoholic. ofpublicans sinrrers!."'fhc rvhen 1 "Wine rnocker, hurnankind if it werc belicvc greatespt rophetso fGod, JesusC hrist.r vasa n
  • 96.
    My Great LoveFor Jesus Led Me To Islam W To lslam Q/ XII. An Open Invitation to the Pope and Other XII. I begin in the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Merciful. May Allah bless all those who follow the correct path. correct I hereby extend this invitation to the Pope and all the leaders of of the world, especially those who govern and rule over millions of people of other religions, sects and ideologies; I invite all of you to embrace Isliim. Come to Islam and you will be saved from the of and earn His reward in Paradise. If you are a Jew or Christian, Allah will give you a double reward once embrace Islaml World Leaders over millions religiotts, etnbrace Islam. Isldm punishment Allah a you Islam'. . Prophet Muhammad said: "A person (a from the people of the Scripture Jew or Christian) who believes in his prophet (Jesus or Moses) and then believes in Prophet Muhammad (embraces Isllm) Islam) will have a double reward.,,2 have a double reward."' i f rejectt his y ou rvill be held However, if you reject this invitation, you will accountablefo r thoseu ndery our influencea nd all those accountable for all those under your influence and who follow you. atrd the world Like all my Muslim brothers and sisters over, rne rvith the responsibility of conveyingt his messageto humanityt o the besto f my over, Allah has charged me with conveying this message to all humanity to best of ability. He has said: "Say, 0 People come to a word that is equitable ­that "Say, O of the Scripture, between us and you - that we will not worship except Allah Alllh and not associate I T'hep eopleo f the Book (Jeu'sa nd Christiansa) re granteda .s pecial status in ihe Qur'dn as to inviting them to Isldnt ancl establishing^ dialoguer vitht hem.l llah says": do not argue with tlre People-of the S"cripture except in a'way that is best"t (Qttr'an 29:46). 1 The people of the Book (Jews and Christians) are granted a special status in the QUI' 'an as to inviting [sfiim and establishing dialogue with them. Allah says: "And do the People of the Scripture except in a way best." (QUI' 'an 46). The QUI' 'an also states that the Christians are nearest in lovc " ... the nearest of them in affection to the believers who say, "We are Christians." That is because among them are priests and J,ll0nks and because they are not arrogant." (QUI' 'an 5:82) • Narrated hy Muslim. 342. -I'hc Our'dn alsos tatestl tatt he Christiansa rc nearcsitn lovc to the Muslims: ;... tne nearest ofthem in affection to the believers those who say, "We Are Christians." That is becausea mong them are priests and qonks and becauseth ey are not arrogant." (Qttr'an5 :82) ' Narratedb v Muslim. 3,12.
  • 97.
    ~ I MynAVG Great reatL Love oveF For orJ Jesus esusL Led edM Me eT To o Islam lsl6m anything with Him and not take one another as lords instead of Allah. But if they turn away, then say, ""Bear Bear witness that we are Muslims [[submitting submitting to Him]." (Qur'an Qur'dn 3:64). 64). Having presented the previous proofs in this book so so that whoever has eyes can see them and whoever has intellect can understand understandth them, em, a junction has been reached where Allah, the Exalted, calls on all people to embrace the truth. Once again I affirm that it is my duty and responsibility as a human being, one who submitted by free will to the law and commands of Allah, the one and only God, the Beneficent, the Merciful, to invite all mankind to give up the worship of false deities, whether animate and inanimate objects or any other thing created by Allah AIIAh or fashioned by man. After repenting, they must submit themselves themselvesc completely ompletelyt to o the will of Allcth,Allah, t the he only true God, Creator ofthe of the universe. It is worthy to note that as much money, prestige, and that a non-Muslim might have in this position, power Muslim life, he or she will never have enough to buy his or her entrance to the gardens of Paradise in the next world.! The entranceto gardenso f Paradisein world.l poorest inhabitant of the earth who has testified that none rOnly 1 Only the person personw who ho fulfllls f'ulllllsh his is purpose purposei in n life, lil-e,i.i .e., e..t the he rvorshipo worship of f Allah alone, may be able to achieve true happiness and internal peace. Al[ah says:" Whoever does righteousnessw, hether male female, Al{says: "Whoever righteousness, whether or while he is a believer - - We will surely cause him to live a good life, and We will surely give them their reward lin lin the Hereafterl Hereafter) according accordingt to o the best besto of f what they used usedt to o do." ((Qur Qur'dn 'an 16:97). 97).A Allah llAh also says: "Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance rememtrrance of Allah. Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured." ((Qur Qur'dn 'an l3:J3:28). ln In Chapter 20, Verses 123-124, wc rcad: "... whoever follows My guidance will neither go astray lin [in the world worldl I nor suffer [lin in the Hereafterl. And whoever turns away from My 'fhis remembrance indeed, h e lvill havea depressedIi .e.,d ifficultl life..." latter verse 124, we read: " ... Hereafter]. he will have a depressed li.e., difficult] life... " This explainst he causef or many psychologicaill lnessesa nd u4ry some very rvealthyp' coplea tternpst uicide. explains the cause for psychological illnesses and why wealthy people attempt suicide.
  • 98.
    My Great LoveFor Jesus Led Me To Islam ijI MyG reaLt oveF orJ esusL edM eT dt stamQ z has Muhammad is (the the right to be worshipped but Allah and that His Messenger testimony of faith) will happier more be and dignified in the next world than the richest person who Allah guide did not accept the last message sent by to humankind. says in the Qur'an (3:85) "And whoever Allah Qur'dn 85) "And desires other than Islam Islem as religion never will wilt it be accepted from him, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers." And in 5:36-37 it says: "Indeed, those who disbelieve if they should have all that is in the earth and the like of it with it by which to ransom themselves the punishment of the Day of Resurrection, it will not be accepted from them, and 36-37 "Indeed, from for is painful them a punishment. They will wish to get out of the Fire, but never are they to emerge therefrom, and for them is an enduring punishment." So while one's soul is still within his body and he can still breathe, speak s peaka and nd is conscious consciouso of f his actions, he h e can always repent to Allah, the Exalted. If repentance is sincere and one testifies that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger, while avoiding all forms of paganism, Allah will forgive him, even if he should be but a minute distance away from the Hellfire. Allah will then change the person's bad deeds into good deeds and allow him or her entrance into Jannah (the garden of Paradise) eternally. Allah has said: "Except for those who repent, believe and do righteous work. For them Allah Allnh will replace their evil deeds with good. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful." (25:70). 70). And He has said: ""But But the ones who believe and do righteous deeds We lvill will admit them to gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever. [[It It is] the promise of Allah, [[which which isl is] truth, and who is more truthful than Allah in statement?" (4: 122) It is the promise of Allah for anyone
  • 99.
    W My GreatLove For Jesus Led Me To Islam who wants to repent sincerely and start a new life. I close this invitation citing the following verses from the Qur 'an, where Allah, the Almighty gives the opportunity to human beings to repent sincerely. He repent, regardless of the magnitude of will forgive them. I who this whe hum repe will My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslAm wants to repent sincerely and start a new life. I close invitation citing the verses from the Qur'dn, re Allah, the Almighty gives the opportunity to all an invites sinners to nt, their sins, and He forgive lnthe In the Qur'dn Qur 'an (39:53-54), 54),A Allah llah revealed: ""Say, Say, ""O 0 My slaves who have transgressed against themselves [by of the mercy of Alteh. Alleh Indeed, it is He who And return [in repentance] to Him before the themselves [by sinning], do not despair Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. who is the Forgiving, the Merciful. [in repentance] to your Lord and submit punishment comes upon you; then helped." you will not be helped." Here Here also, A Allah llah informs us that time for repentanceis repentance is of arrives it is no lon-gFeinrp aolfsys, ibleto obtainf orgiveness. of limited duration and that when death longer possible to obtain forgiveness. extends promise of forgiveness and Finally, Allah extends His mercy steadlast in faith and does mercy to the believer who is steadfast good deeds, saying (20:82): deeds, 82): "But Forgiver of "But indeed, I am the Perpetual whoever righteousness and then whoever repents and believes and does and then continues in guidance." I supplicate all that exists, the I supplicate to Allah, the Creator of true Guide, path all those seekers of truth analysis. I ask Atlahto guidea llthosew ho makes inceres elf-assessments and to improve to what is pleasingt o Him. true Guide, to guide to the right truth whose minds are open to objective Allah to guide all those who make sincere self-assessments and to improve their conditions according pleasing to Him.
  • 100.
    a iH: iE:E? !H ? ts iEFiis :Ei ;FF i Fc Is: $Ee Ee E5; lh : EI; E:! ?.=ai:F S': I E ;i; s!EE eR;aii; i , =.rEu ;E- E?^;li EE+ t et; ilp-+ll:Eis Fg; i ii:j;El;:g;:i.*;=;: i;;35i;;Fi;;iFciE3i:;! My Great Love ForJesus Led Me To lstam (d2 E9, E O 6 o ! -Cl e ! L 9 r : 9 q r ! - Q o eb :3=E E 6 c : =2 : a ! - : bD -c E O i 3 ! r ; UcE - o b J : o l ';ee 6 0 - o ! ' u O e 9 -:. ; = B,it F ' v G O E > <6 = . r srtt c F o I t-g|' 2to4 e e ' : r i 6!uH Bi€= iE;i ;f::; r?+ eI'- r:riE;g tirEr; :e2 €r.., * ) - : : . i ; * y ? , " ' , . o - ieE tIi ;t;;€: Et;rrE F!6 FEi ESiEE: ;E;Ff g ;: :; I ;;;B ?!E : 9 9 r - - ; :: 5E E E.EIP ?'zZ i i5 la t iE;'s €!€ E F= ;E : !:E; ?il $ sg Ii : ;;l: EI; E so !Eg 6 rrE.r E€;^; : ; ; ; r E gF ; !EgX j;€ r 3: '< G) ;~ r­o< CD ." Q c... CD III C III r; a. f -t o iii 0;; 3 ~ To you (0 Muhammad) We sent down the Book in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it and as a criterion over it. (Q. 5:48). The Qur'an is the Criterion by which the contents of all other sacred books may be jud2ed. The Bible The Our'lIn On God "for in six days the Lord made heaven and "And We did certainly create the heavens earth, and on the seventh day he rested." and earth and what is between them in six (Exodus 3 I: 17) days, and there touched Us 00 weariness." (Q.50:38) "Then the LORD awaked as one out of sleep, "Allah there is no deity except Him, the and like a mighty man that shouteth by reason Ever-Living, the Sustaioer of {all] existence. of wine." (Psalms 78:65) Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep." (Q. 2:255) Jacob wrestles with God and defeats Him as in "They have not appraised Allah with true Genesis 32:30 appraisal. Indeed, Allah is Powerful and "And the Lord was with Judah; and he drave Exalted in Might." (Q . 22:74) out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could "But Allah is not to be caused failure by not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, anything in the heavens or on the earth. because they had chariots of iron." (Judges I: 19) Indeed, He is ever Knowing and Competent." (Q. 35:44) "I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. 2 .... "Indeed, Allah does not wrong the people at all, but it is the people who are wronging shew me wherefore thou contendest with me. ~. themselves." (Q. 10:44) Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress." (.Job 10:1-3) "My Lord neither errs nor forgets." (Q. "How long wilt thou forget me, ° Lord?" 20:52) (Psalms 13: I) "Indeed, my Lord is the Hearer of 1<
  • 101.
    ~ i: EE;!E^28?-Ei :FEig t* €E i€C !#'"i'E; 39) 14:Q. supplication."(; tr;n;;E3:t ,ili;'aa EE ! ;;;pziyn;:iis;:F!$ ; i:€:;Eg?E!.ii;;:-t; : I a:,., 3i=uliyEE;: zgELi6=!E1Z:22;zo its;; tEiE 't ?=^ri;z;aEZE?'?=IsE.iAiiiE{3; E*E,, i;!:u, EiiEa i,E;s EiE T Etii: i EiT liEti*r i!;; s: Ez z ;iliiZii i:.:; fr1i,, ?:r t3;f = E 832'g i,E Elir ii i My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslam . 2 8 :fE ii_gis?ieEaIiaEa. ;:.i::Fgii ;i : F 3f:fEi ;iEi EEiS;;Es;iE;ii! ssEi F ;t: ; is:i? =s aEr ;iiE Ei i tlzgE:; i=€*!;g ;;i;E ii ii €;; i E!u! =?b:'E =*I o o L o o -!: o a ? ' ; :+ : - E 5 > € m+ ;, "[It is] the promise of Allah. Allah does not ~ "0 Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear!" (Habakuk 1:2) The Lord is alleged to have said: "... and to break my covenant with them: .. ." (Leviticus 26:44) God was ignorant of Adam's whereabouts and of his eating from the tree according to Genesis 3:9; "And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?" The Lord needs a mark to distinguish the houses ofthe Israelites from the houses of the Egyptians. (Exodus 12: 13). God does not know what goes on on the earth, so He needs to go down to find out, "And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; "I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know." (Genesis 18:20). In Corinthians 1 1:25, Paul says: "Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men." fail in His promise, but most of the people do not know." (Q . 30: 6). Allah is All-Knowing; therefore when Adam and his wife ate from the tree He addressed them in a way that clearly indicated His knowledge of what they had done. "And their Lord called to them, "Did I not forbid you from that tree and tell you that Satan is to you a clear enemy?" (Q. 7: 22) "[Allah is] the Knower of the unseen." Not absent from Him is an atom's weight within the heavens or within the earth or [what is] smaller than that or greater, except that it is in a clear register" (Q. 34:3) "[He is] Knower of the unseen and the witnessed, the Grand, the Exalted. It is the same [to Him] concerning you whether one conceals [his] speech or one publicizes it and whether one is hidden by night or conspicuous [among others] by day." (Q. 13:9-10) "And with Him are the keys of the unseen; none knows them except Him. And He knows what is on the land and in the sea. Not a leaf falls but that He knows it. And no grain is there within the darknesses of the earth and ~ C> ! b~ "Tl Q c... CD Ul c:: Ul r­CD Co s: CD -t o iii ;;;; 3
  • 102.
    e c N = 6 - O My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslam I5:; if€ E '.ii, i€;;!;E;i l;E EE::i ==s ,-€es;it;ai :;;^i:fF ie E3;r:iii;:$E;:;E* & E It iil?ii:;i ilC=t Ei; e;;ii=# g3isfli! ssE:E€ -: tiFlii ii! :g i=g!iEig ;ii 74E{:, E+E rE€€ 8.-s^H-:iE ;: I ii;7EZt"-r==S=Elft f ni ; +;€ i i i;::t ..s ' +iz: t ! t;!:' Eir ti gi ttiS j =i - 3,,ei8;E : :ii=,:i : l =i4 i g;E;q*gEE-ii;-' EabrE ; ti i iEi ti: :; E=:iEi iiz ltz:{it;l :i i Ziia,rEti E :-".i i ! + 1 :z z ? Ls I i€ i i : i i Zi i EE Zi i =, ,i , : f tEi Z= o -; O h i r 9 . . L ' 5 : ot a I I : d The Bible unfittingly depicts God as being so poor that lie has to hire a razor in Isaiah 7:20; "In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet: and it shall also consume the beard." And that God has a nose and a mouth from which smoke comes out in Psalms 18:8 "There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured." The Lord cries and sheds tears; my soul shall weep ... and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears." (Jeremiah 13: I 7). God wails, howls and walks naked in Micah I :8; "Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked: I wiII make a wailing like the dragons, and mourning as the owls." (KJV) And He hisses (whistles) for the fly and bee as in; "the Lord shall hiss for the fly ... and for the bee." (Isaiah 7: 18) and He claps with his hands; "I will also smite mine hands together." (Ezekiel 21: I 7) no moist or dry [thing) but that it is [written] in a clear record." (Q. 6:59) " ... Allah is Knowing of all things." (Q. 5:97) "0 mankind, you are those in need of Allah, while Allah is the Free of need, the Praiseworthy." (Q. 35:15) "Allah has certainly heard the statement of those [Jews] who said, "Indeed, Allah is poor, while we are rich." We wiII record what they said and their killing of the prophets without right... " (Q. 3:181) ~ "Exalted is your Lord, the Lord of might, ~ above what they describe." (Q . 37: I80) m. "There is nothing like unto Him,. and He is b the Hearing, the Seeing." (Q. 42:1 I) ;; " ... for Allah is the highest attribute. And He ~ is Exalted in Might, the Wise." (Q. 16:60) ~ "He is Allah, other than whom there is no ~ deity, the Sovereign, the Pure, the Perfection, ~ the Bestower of Faith, the Overseer, the :; Exalted in Might, the Compeller, the ~ Superior. Exalted is Allah above whatever ~ they associate with Him. He is Allah, the ~ Creator, the Inventor, the Fashioner; to Him iii; belong the best names. Whatever is in the 3 heavens and earth is exalting Him. And He is 0 the Exalted in Mi~ht, the Wise." (Q. 59:23-24)
  • 103.
    F/ "V GreatLove For Jesus Led Me To lslam E: Ecz A E 6 6 . - . , i f L 6A o t r o E c ! €- hY : L : > , - F =3 ?E o 0 o - 9 O ' F ^ € 6a ; E 3 . . c = ' o : k - €:" € H . 3 . { 6e O Q E € pu5 o E rEp € ; .q; E c A , H - - 2 ^ v : x L i 3 6 < . 9 o i F d t r i * - 9 bO-O ! v E o / . o o C > 9 , o 9 a a , a 9 ! c < ' = 9 ; n O.! ti t'i 9.e U j 0 . < € - r o A ' o o l 2 : ! > . 9 = "E- o ; H3:8 '= t r i i J a H t r O Y r w * ^ o : : F 5 . 3 ; tr a. 9:E's E€Ei^ : j - ! o o F - c o r - E . E = . E , E H 9Y -$'i; gE=.E: P E i : ,a:*Eo StEg- -1::i ? ' 9 , t w - 9 ; g c l g €EEl ;:EiE i:;! E; ri'i + = { z E.- c c 6 E za ! i g E > . i ; 4 e E *E F, r E?:E o f - c q € : t r t r c i=o 3 EP - c q o -c d= :!?.3= :::-- E' s"E=! r r , 'aEc E o q d,t t t : : OrG , 9 5 t J-o-'':1,b30Ea f . g ' Eg- B E€€ Y - 9 oF = H Z / , 9o o 5 ! H> _ f t :.8 H i ; ti .e E-e t r t >q e'5 ii : -=e.&; k ' , o l o l * -Ela;ui S ' l . i o E ; c S 7 A t , , a O e 3!:EEE= U 5 h . 5 i o r i ' 4 - c t 9 l ; { d=-gxEi: rYJCqP/ aL -v l> ' a q l = . . s a a ' 3 o , 7 E = 1 A > - - 9 d gi€€!'Ea O * = e a 7 , - Y > -, qJ 'o i6 L ' - o 9 o : ^ o d g Z t s c l E c Y i : O - f - E i ' ! 5 E o F.9 q i: >i -3 'F '-r : q.,t ! 2i ;€ ?. Fi ;3 iF i l i = . 2 i e 9 d I o q a !r ;€ K: r ' , 6 =i ei nz .9.; 3 ,q ;; o o . : c . : a q r 6 = Y F €: bo;-:3 P o o : € : - o - o 9 : . j n - - ^ a - i', !: a"qA: o E ' : ; t E i ; { I sJf tEf t : . On Jesus It Jesus is accused of misbehavior towards his mother: The Qur 'an defends Jesus against these false "Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to accusations, stating that he is neither tyrannic do with thee?" (John 2:4) nor cruel. Jesus is accused of being tyrannic and cruel: "And [made me] dutiful to my mother, and "Think not that I am come to send peace on He has not made me a wretched tyrant." (Q. earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword." 19:32) (Matthew 10:34) The first miracle performed by Jesus in the Bible is The first miracle of the Prophet Jesus was his turning water to wine at a wedding in Cana of speaking immediately after his birth, defending Galilee (John 2:9) his mother against the false accusations leveled at her by her people. (Q. 19:30-33) On Mary "Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they The Qur 'an defends Mary, describing what was to him, We be not born of fornication." (John said about her as a grave false charge. "And 8:41 ) [We cursed them) for their disbelief and "And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, their saying against Mary a great slander," of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ." (Q.4:156) (Matthew 1: 16) The Qur'an also mentions God favoring her "And Jesus ... being (as was supposed) the son over all the women of the world. " ...when the of Joseph, which was the son of Heli." angels said, "0 Mary, indeed Allah has (Luke 3:23) chosen you and purified you and chosen you above the women of the worlds." (Q. 3:42)
  • 104.
    My creat LoveFor Jesus Led Me To lsliam 6ii -! lrs i:r9iF?; b; :: s ilgi;iti;?E*? aE-Eii;i:i$ it ,zaI:=: Ef$!g*;:E: r;= igl ;:;Es#;aii s;=li;Eet:s;=:l3,;i:EFi; li-l4; :€rg 3e EEVE#s:!eEr =ei= o g e! : o t r V YE c € - ! r - = 1 t t ; t r t r Y i5E c ! 5 Ze E r9^EF : ! n € ; . ' - . i - d e;i E f l G G a v c € o . a E . : s , . t , ' i . 2 , ! c ! ; l - l - ;5F=F^ - < l t t r : . c E o " ! Y : 5 =: E E: :s3.=-: € E : e o'., €=d y'F7:;E, r= 5 r - - - - for thou savourest not the things that be of are Muslims [submitting to Him). "Our God, but those that be of men." (Matthcw 16:23) Lord, we have believed in whaf You revealed Judas. despite being Jesus' trcasurer. betrayed him and have followed the messenger Jesus, so for thirty pieces of silver; "And said unto them, register us among the witnesses [to truth)." Vhat will ye give me, and I will deliver him (Q. 3:52-53) unto you? And they covenanted with him for "0 you who have believed, be supporters of thirty pieces of silver." (Matthew 26: 14) Allah, as when Jesus, the son of Mary, said to =e i iii r: riEE E',,!v:E'!'f!;;g;ne4;igEr=p= t - ; | . i F, ? " ! - . a_ 7 - ^ ie i€ i =;-i g ,Ezl = € . = a z = - = t 7 - Z i iiz::;4i:i!:: liz=:: EizZzT-u :i:; i; tE:izEi z ' d . i = j E = : . ' / . , . 4 2 J l::.E;fi2,2,j2i7 iE:=2= i ':2=v1 =t i : : 4:: i i - : € ?') ),L _52.=_.=7-:i€E-3 a Z r = : + ' - a 1 ' * t i . = > . : € . ? Z € o : , e i = f , > . . : q a .=;o , F i , o c - . E ,r) -. D r - E r : ; a.l r v o - c j o 5 Y - 7 6 E a , - * . - : " - - a D z<a On Jesus' Disciples Mark 14:50 says of Jesus' disciples: "they all The Qur 'an defends thc disciples of Jesus and forsook him, and fled." And the Bible alleges that confirms their innocence of betrayal and weak thc Messiah said to the disciples: "Why are yc faith. "But when Jesus felt [persistence in) fearful. 0 ye of little faith?" (Matthew 8:26) disbelief from them, he said, "Who are my "But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee supporters for [the cause of) Allah?" The behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: disciples said, "We are supporters for Allah. We have believed in Allah and testify that we the disciples, "Who are my supporters for Allah?" The disciples said, "We are supporters of Allah." (Q. 61: 14) On the Prophets of God Noah is drunk and naked in his tent. (Gcnesis 9:21 ) "Indeed, Allah chose Adam and Noah and Abraham sacrifices his honor (Genesis 12: 10-15 the family of Abraham and the family of and Genesis 20:2). Imran over the worlds." (Q. 3:33) "And Ishmael and Elisha and Jonah and Lot Lot gets drunk. commits incest with his own two - and all lof them) We preferred over the daughters and impregnates them. (Gcncsis 19:30-36) worlds." (Q. 6:86)
  • 105.
    My Great LoveFor Jesus Led Me To lsldm Y =Jacob lies to his father and steals the blessing and ~ HEE€gE :#s:i:'$ #gs::E ige;ii;i1E;;EE.iia ii:iEi:i! Ei;;s i;o d i a !g;i+E: ;€girrx I E::Eg*Eg!9 i€re F.l o iEEE;E3€;ir;aE*,;=E:E! E;iiiiE;"al?E :;a: *tr iEt !-o ;ee;:g :#:lic €! gAf E!iEiE . E T ' . E -66 6 9.3I o E*T E 6 9. q - ! ^ ^' o- cY e c > i 6 J 6 b o! ; < 2 ' t '" i6 .E t r : / x ;tsi h 6 - C . . E ^ ^ >EE'- = ; 3 9Y1 J t E ! : : b i E " > . q o g# H E . : t ; '^ <- - #a uL h ! - t r : o ^ , ' = i ? ; o i'"X .Y tr€ i * = -o o -o .E F u.-:. <a I O . g t r , = : . c o O : - - *3.;!'. - r -3lE - :n.;F 4 . 9 :€I gE F = $'F^', : r.6 .= ni 5I * t . i ! , O o q n C = . , j h r 9 3='a .= - q E€ i ' r ! prophethood from his brother. (Genesis: 27). Reuben, the prophet and oldest son of Jacob commits adultery with his father's wife who is the mother of his two brothers. (Genesis 35:22 and Genesis 49:3) Judah, the fourth son of Jacob commits incest with his daughter-in-law and has Pharez and Zarah from her. (Genesis 38:18) The Bible then traces the lineage of Jesus to Pharez (Matthew I: 18), contradicting Deuteronomy 23 :2, which says, "A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to his tenth generation," - 9 H €:> - 9 6 i a d E N . . = ^ - E U - l r i o g . : ? ^ : h 99= o 9 € r - i i 6- ', ic:d d - o f X s r i - i 1 < o 1 - E . ' o : :"! !Fef eEg . J ! h q - a , h ;EE :E^sFll i ' ! " H;=."969 ?ru i4=fiEEe * 9 . : t r . ^ ; ^ . - ' = = = ' - i . ! ^ n ! Q == = -3' : :E- " ?3v ) .g i : ' c . ^ ?z..Ai :9 - = 9 9 r i . . = s X A'A t ' ' 6 ; d : ; o F ' - + : € j E - o r . = S J a s 6 b! o * ? r 2 I c ' 3 E O : = i E U - d r b0 R F - p . . o . = a 4 )c O v * 0 , € ! O F "Peace upon Moses and Aaron." Indeed, We thus reward the doers of good. Indeed, they were of Our believing servants." (Q. 37: 120-122) "0 you who have believed, be not like those who abused Moses; then Allah cleared him of what they said. And he, in the sight of Allah, was distinguished." (Q. 33: 69) Moses did not kill the Egyptian deliberately. The Lord accuses Moses and Aaron of betrayal in the Old Testament: "Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel," (Deuteronomy 32:51) Moses' killing of the Egyptian was deliberate and "And remember Our servants, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob those of strength and [religious) vision. Indeed, We chose them for ~ an exclusive quality: remembrance of the ~ home [of the Hereafter). And indeed they ~ are, to Us, among the chosen and b outstanding." (Q . 38:45-47) ;; "Those were the ones upon whom Allah ~ bestowed favor from among the prophets of ~ the descendants of Adam and of those We ~ carried [in the ship) with Noah, and of the ~ descendants of Abraham and Israel, and of ~ those whom We guided and chose. When the ~ verses of the Most Merciful were recited to f} them, they fell in prostration and weeping." ![ (Q. 19:58) 3'
  • 106.
    planned. (Genesis 2:12) Aaron fashioned the golden calf and ordered the Israelites to worship it in the absence of Moses. (Genesis 32: 1-6). gigirii f;r; i;; il FiE ii:EF iLL 5i Eiggs iti iil*tili; ,i€gi€ :iFF igtiiii iigi:ta g;i;i;igi E Bi!iEB" My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslam 39 . 2 . 2 = = 1 . ; =J * t = 2 1 i= TZEi:i = E,E=i u L : J = < - - O i r ' " e - ! I EP ;,F;=;= t E::=E 6 O O ' t ^ u , ' = 1 2 p+ .=a .EJ E- - 2?- .=i =ItE E .zi ?Avr=,: .12! E'ri g=...J.=-e ! 7'..=E Ez! Eai.is=l ZEa=" -=E nEvY 9-.^i - 2 . ' 5 t , ' ? , , -,E-? q ! ; j : =-=?a t r i c ! : - ' 8 5 = A = = - - ' r = Z.=E = i 7 = r l 2 c = = s i ^ a -=a i s . L l " ! l ' ; 1 = i l = a = J- E-=.= [ ] . = ] ' - - i - - - z E7-ta 3,2Zii i::2 : <Z=1: - 2'a 6 E -4':Td=_,'t ^ e = - 4 s - EE , ; Z=t I z' : r 'F=ET: 8 -" = - Z = ' io Ee+ reA-"s>-=1 E€ 2 -- " *aiee -'-= =Z-:3.= ? n : i ' ' " - a . . i o ' 1 5 !> i ( ) E ? . ' : , ' { ( , -o : . i = > ' a N a r ' l 'c s a David hetrays his neighbor and army chief, has sexual intercourse with his wife and sends him to get killed in war. (2 Samuel 11:4-15). Solomon has a thousand women and they tum his heart away from God; and so he builds temples for their gods (I Kings II: 1-9). David's son. Amnon rapes his sister, Tamar. (2 Samuel 13:11-14). Absalom. the son of David commits open adultery with his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel. (2 Samuel 16: 21) .lob is impatient and refuses to accept the will of God. (.lob 10) Zechariah did not believe God's miracle regarding the hirth of John. so God punished him with dumbness for nine months. "And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, (SeeQ.28:15) The Qur '[in defends Aaron against this false allegation confirming that the one who introduced worship of the calf was as-Samiri and not Aaron. (see Q. 20:85-98) " ... and remember Our servant, David, the possessor of strength; indeed, he was one who repeatedly turned back (to Allah)." (Q. 38: 17) "And We had certainly given to David and Solomon knowledge, and they said, Praise [is duel to Allah, who has favored us over many of His believing servants." (Q. 27: 15) The Qur 'an dismisses the unjust description of the Prophet .lob, and describes him as follows: "Indeed, We found him patient, an excellent servant. Indeed, he was one repeatedly turning back (to Allahl." (Q. 38:44) The Qur 'an defends Zachariah in Q, 19: 10 stating that his silence for 3 days was a sign for the coming true of the miracle. and not by way of punishment. "(Zechariah) said, "My Lord, make for me a sign." He said, "Your sign is I that you will not speak to the people for three s: '< Cl til .II.I. or­< Cll "Tl !:! <­Cll l'": 'r"­Cll Q, s: Cll -l o iii OJ; 3
  • 107.
    My Great LoveFor Jesus Led Me To lsldm tEiE:ii; !izsi=Ez€z:because thou beJievest not my words, which nights, [being) sound." 6 ! - c = > : . - , - ' t - ^ 7 - r / ! ; : - A a E < = 6 : - ' f - c?, t - - . a ! ' , : 7 J e - ! 7 G r , ! - - a : a t / . ! - , - , r - > 7 - ! - lii!; l i! ! g iitii iiE iiuiti iEE?:= ;?: iEE eio =, li;1;ziEl:lilEz;iiEz;ilFE ^; , , v ^ - : 1 ! C u f l - ! 9 n A u 9 7 r t i . v = c , 3 * 4 , 7 | 1 - t a v = ' . ^ . = @ i : * ? - 6, ?, EiE 2?. e : ' ; : . ! , . z ' = ; . i Z1|Z: 7{. ; 6 izi A. =i'=.= ?=. L27-'z: =.= - , p t zi I = = . - a = - = liii t= illi'=i =;;E ;i!t l:ii*Z: =i Z= l ii "-i: Z-,Z t; iti i : t i: =:ti=iZz'+=t j?ij:, i:i;=Ei|=t=i=,-i1+E= u , ' - > = ' r l t l t e - . ' J i l ; . = L 2 - a d A : ' h - . 5 t - a t i : t - t ^ - ^ T , ,? d - 1 . = d a , - - - F I ? shall be fulfilled in their season," (Luke 1:20) The Qur 'an confers great respect on all the Jesus allegedly describes all the prophets before Prophets of God, and does not ascribe any him as thicvcs, "AJJ that ever came before me arc obscene acts or wrong-doing to them, [n fact, thieves and robbers."' (John 10:8), God allegedly believing in all the Prophets as well as attributes to His prophets wickedness and lies, respecting them is a main requirement in Islam, (Jeremiah 23:11-16): Allah says "Say, [0 believers), "We have "II. For both prophet and priest arc profane; believed in Allah and what has been revealed yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, to us and what has been revealed to saith tl!e Lord, , Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob 1'2, ,' herefore,the"ir way shall be unto them as and theDescedn ants and what was gi.ven t0 slIpperv ways In the darkness: they shall be d J d h t . h dn'ven 'on, a,n d f'aJJ t Ilerel'll: f'ai' I WI'JJ bri'ng eVI'J Moses an esus an. w a was given to t e upon them, even the year of their visitation, p~o~he~s from their Lord. We make no saith the Lord, dlstmctIon between any of them, and we are 1:1, And I have seen fo]]v in the prophets of Muslims [in submission] to Him." (Q, 2:136) Samaria; they prophesied 'in Baal, and caused Allah praises His prophets: "Ve have already my people IsI'aeJ to err. sent Our messengers with clear evidences 11. I have seen aJso in the prophets of and sent down with them the Scripture and Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit the balance that the people may maintain adultery, and waJk in Jies: they strengthen aJso [their affairs] in justice." (Q. 57:25) the hands of evildoers, that none doth return Allah also says, "And We made them leaders from his wickedness; the.y are.all of them unto guiding by Our command. And We inspired me as Sodom, and the lllhabltants thereof as to them the doing of good deeds, Gomorrah. . . . establishment of prayer, and giving of zakah; 15. 1 hercfore thus salth the Lord o.t hl!sts and they were worshippers of lis." (Q. 21:73) .'<:-llllcernill~ the prophets; BehoJd, I__,I_ll_fe_e_,d"-' _ ~ ~ (;) iil ~ r­o < CD ." ~ <­CD Ul C Ul r­CD Co s: CD -i o iii ;;;; 3
  • 108.
    My ireat LoveFor Jesrrs I ed Ma Ta lcllm gRE F g?fr 3 " ' . b ; c F o l a ! 3 E > . 6 s . i , E . : o U 9 * e;-E s 3.sE E' -ol ! F : o ' ; o SE3P ! 8 . ; ! EEE A EP E; = c d s L L : 5 C E 6€'g E;f € =iesinl AEB Esf ;..?f i :f s3E E3 nE' ,G 22€2 ; gggFra* =e - ' l a U - < b-<^ E5 F €.E e 6 :rlgX them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land. 16. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord." iE# E r:t : ? . - - s d , . EF! Ti;: ! A * - Y*_E ,Jr : t e 9 o ts ;ij - P E5€ "=#.ii - - 6 ) : : F q :€ * i in: f.5 g E g i : p l i * " -gEAi iE EE" . ! :: i €!st! :i€-Ei1 ;; I g i E o ! i ' i 6 i i ; s - = i ' i E -3 E 6: 99 7 8 i ; EqE: Ca :i€ E EiiEE a: €lF i ;ef: EE rlE E ;i:€ E: i:E : EFi;x;i #:r 7 2 = r . : i - * -gE ! l.=rFoic ZE= tsiEE:i;:ig; , 5!;ar:g trcE it FijEigET:E 9EE F " 6 ; - E l ? N:=a c l f j i ii !: ?; EZE|? :, z €E:7=":;s! E i :;;:;}E:*E ; E H-3h-h Ei a:;i:e?;f: ; j ;*fra![?:H !e: E::;?€Ec -'t r=; 2zi;;tzzg .E ; i 'i "EEi i2 z. Allah orders Prophet Muhammad to take the prophets before him as examples. In Q. 6:90, Allah says: "Those are the ones whom Allah has guided, so from their guidance take an example." The Qur'iin has thus saved mankind by clearing the names of the Prophets of God. One can only imagine the grim state of humanity if they were to take those descriptions of prophets as examples to follow. 3: On EQualitv ~ "For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of "[All] praise is [due) to Allah, Lord of the :: Israel." (Jeremiah 16:9) worlds." (Q. 1:2) ;: "there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel." " ...And there was no nation but that there ~ (2 Kings 5:15) had passed within it a warner." (Q. 35:24) ~ The Lord instructs nations to prostrate to the Jews "And We certainly sent into every nation a ~ and lick the dust of their feet. "...they shall bow messenger, [sayingl, "Worship Allah and ~ down to thee with their face toward the earth, avoid Tlighat... " (Q. 16:36) ~ and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt According to these verses, God sent prophets l:l know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be and messengers to all peoples and not only to if ashamed that wait for me." (Isaiah 49:23). the Israelites. ';} One third of the human race is condemned to curse iii and slavery when Canaan, son of Ham, was made a "0 mankind, indeed We have created you ~ slave to Shem and Japheth. (Genesis 9: 18-27) from male and female and made you peoples ~ Jesus is portrayed as a racist in his answer to the and tribes that you may know one another. ~
  • 109.
    Indeed, the mostnoble of you in the sight of ~ Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted." (Q. 49:13) ~ My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslam iisI ;illEgI iE !I;EI: i;: :==iE: :; i;ciEE=+ iii i;i:i pili,iEE;!iiEi: ilEtsEE?:lElE g;:a;'i iil1! 'E illg1 {l'iv:iilll tliE ?ig l iiE;;i Ei+i ,iz i:i EitEi iliZ s: Zii: i: z 'zz=€aii!ii ?;!izll:iiIi! According to the Qur '(in both Adam and his wife sinned, repented and shared the responsibility of their actions. Allah says, "But Satan caused them to slip out of it and removed them from that [condition] in which they had been." (Q. 2:36) "They said, "Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely be among the losers." (Q. 7:23) " ...And Adam disobeyed his Lord and erred. Then his Lord chose him and turned to him in forgiveness and guided [him)." (Q. 20:121­122) "And due to the wives is similar to what is expected of them, according to what is reasonable." (Q. 2:228). To learn more about the status of women in Islam the reader can refer to Chapters 4 and 65 from the Qur'tin. G> iil ~,.... o < C1l ." ~ c.. C1l UI C UI ,.... C1l Co :s:: C1l -l o u; ;; 3 Canaanite woman who sought his help to cure her daughter who "were vexed with a devil". He said to her: "It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs." (Matthew 15:22-26) The Bible discriminates between men and women. "And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression." (1 Timothy 2:14) According to the Bible, the impurity resulting from the delivery of a female is twice that of the male. In Leviticus 12: 1-5, we read: "If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days ... And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days ... But if she bear a maid child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her separation: and she shall continue in the blood of her purifying threescore and six days." The Bible also states that just as God is the Head of Christ, the man is the head of the woman. She is not the glory of God like a man, and she was created for man. (l Corinthians 11 :3-9)
  • 110.
    On Scientific Facts o E€c3E? 33;1:i5i iEi:;i : !€Fi 3i5=*E sFFE ;;z ;i ::;Ci- =$ffi:€:;.€e:;;;:i; I3s?rgi:#l eir:g€F t r !; E;;*!*s:::":aIi! *: 3 i;; i a;i: i ?5l1sc e:E€!3 li sE;z +seERsuiE: :E !i +:ei i lrzgggsi EH EEiiE*E5EE eE4- ;I;;;fliia:;ii:i: ;i;E {ye 9iiigi Eigg iii ili iili i{; iz1ltiz{itlEii,1iiili*iZ!: !E?,,ti;E'sgE; Si ;EEEEiE My Great Love For Jesus Led Me To lslim O ot The Bible contradicts contemporary scientific facts The Qur '(in does not contradict or clash with as it claims that the world dates back to 3700 Be, modem science. In fact, it contains scientific i.e., that from the beginning of the creation until the facts that were only discovered in modem times 21 st century, there is only 6000 years; and that there and with the use of extremely sophisticated were only a few days between the creation of the equipment. earth and the creation of man. According to See, for example Q. 2:74, 173, 222; Q. 4:56; Q. geology, however, the earth is about 4550 million 6:99, 125; Q. 10:92; Q. 12:47; Q 13:41; Q. years old, and there was a very long period of time 15:14-22; Q. 16:66; Q. 17:12; Q. 21:30-32; Q. between the creation of the earth and that of man. 22:5; Q. 23:12-14; Q. 24:40, 43; Q. 27:88; Q. ~ The Bible also says that God created light, day and 30:1-4; Q. 36:37-40; Q. 39:5-6; Q. 41:11; Q. 51: ~ night before the creation of the planets, the sun and 47; Q. 52:6; Q. 55:19-20; 37 Q. 57:25; Q. 78:6- m. the moon. (Genesis 1:3). In Revelation 7: 1, we 7; Q. 86: 1-3; Q. 96: 16, etc. b read: "I saw four angels standing on the four The Qur "tin refers in very clear terms to the ~ corners of the earth, holding the four winds of ball-shaped earth as manifested by the ii the earth," meaning that the earth is square, while overlapping of the day and night. "He wraps ~ Matthew 4:8 indicates that the earth is nat when the night over the day and wraps the day ~ saying "Again, the devil taketh him up into an over the night... " (Q. 39:5) ~ exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all Allah says: "We will show them Our signs in ~ the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of the horizons and within themselves until it ~ them". becomes clear to them that it is the truth." d The Bible also claims that the Israelites went to (Q. 41 :53) Allah says: "And those who have E Egypt with Jacob and they were only 70 men and been given knowledge see that what is 3' women. However, when they left, two generations revealed to you from your Lord is the truth, = later, the number of men alone was 603.550. So if and it guides to the path of the Exalted in
  • 111.
    Might, the Praiseworthy."(Q. 34:6) ... See "The Bible, The Qur'an & Science" by Maurice Bucaille. Many other contemporary ~ scholars like Dr. Keith Moore, Dr. G. C. C) Goeringer, Dr. Marshall Johnson, Dr. Tagatat ~ Tejasen, Dr. Alfred Kroner, Dr. William W. ~ Hay, Dr. Yoshihide Kozai and Dr. Joe Leigh ;i Simpson have also addressed the issue of ~ miraculous signs in the Qur 'an. ~ id n,|yG reatL ove For Jesus Led Me To lslAm Ff"EFFb sA.rBsi; .,;EaaF:; ' - ' O A ! E.t - I5A** 3-€qs € ;: s ,r gSssE*:;E rg*6:E;; * !?;s?usif ;gFs !sr sf tEslFagE E this was the number of men, considering the fact that Pharaoh used to kill the male children, it means that their total number, including women and children, was about 3 million. How could 70 people become 3 million within two generations? (Deuteronomy 10:22) (Genesis 12:37) (Numbers 1:46) In 2 Maccabees 15:39, we read that drinking water alone is harmful. It states: "For as it is hurtful to drink wine or water alone..." Another scientific anomaly is found in Leviticus 11 :6, when giving the reason that the hare is considered unclean: "And the hare, because he cheweth the cud ..." ;ig:;ia,G:.. i:;E;s;;1g:;'= i.E F.=tr : _: = 'o €*^. jEq'.,4, Ei3 , :iE:;: SbFEi E F:5,,r:5:;*E€fEEF€Is:E-65 ;: i€p€'gI:. 1F .. ;s;: $:E*€"EE: EEg;s;E;5:;! E+E5"I::,.=-E: r:E*:*iFigi'v €=g='Eie€;'iE s;E;;iA: :; E+ E: E5E: i ;:! ;'=; ; ;EZ {t a: € fr E€-!-5tE:Zp: ; E E 2.6€: ; Z* z :{:gEfrie*E5+ =€€€sas€E 5 Utr Preservation of Holy Scriptures o o "How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of "This is the Book about which there is no the Lord is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made doubt, a guidance for those conscious of he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain." Allah." (Q. 2:2) (Jeremiah 8:8) "... And indeed, it is a mighty Book. "And the burden of the Lord shall ye mention Falsehood cannot approach it from before it zZE Ei E::;:€ ,i n=Ei;;tiEA 2e FEE;l;=l€: Ez;;iEI:;E; tg iti if€: n 5 t r i s | " , q X b o J: > u; oe i - ,.7t t--22 = F N . ; - - ) 9 i > o d = o d ! i.:.s :€;; ?i E}.' EpgE orE .;F! EarE Et .,E?E3'F p tEu = . ? g 4_,i. E; *E9i€e ;F: i FE ;Eb9 ' e cr - e o.- ^ = 7Zz :?y-e :i h . = c ; !E> . G P ^Era) t^r l5x-!:gE3-o?. *.=y*,EoZrR'if,: €::.fi_1i;uE2 27 l i . : i : E i l e i : i E rEzsr::igr5= , . or from behind it; [it is] a revelation from a no more: for every man s word shall be hIS [Lord who is] Wise and Praiseworthy." (Q. ~~den; for ye ?ave perverted the words ofth~ 41:41-42). "Indeed, it is We who sent down hvmg .God, of the Lord of hosts our God. the Qur'an and indeed, We will be its (JeremIah 23 :36) guardian." (Q. 15:9). "And it was not "But in vain they do worship me, teaching for [possible] for this Qur'an to be produced by doctrines the commandments of men." other than Allah, but [it is] a confirmation of (Matthew 15 :9) what was before it and a detailed explanation III C III r­CD Co s:: CD c} (ij ;;;; 3