The Muslim Controversy
- Published in Commission to Reach the Unreachable!
By C Barnabas
Last year I went to speak in a one day retreat arranged for the engineering college students at Keelakarai. Keelakarai is a predominantly Muslim area and the engineering college is run by a Muslim management. In the retreat we had the opening message, followed by group discussions and question hour. For the question hour session, we requested the students to write down their questions in a piece of paper and put it in a box. When we opened the box, we found that nearly all the students had asked questions on Trinity, validity of the Scriptures. Divinity of Jesus Christ and His death on the cross.
From those questions, I understood that those were the common questions that their friends had asked them. A Muslim usually asks these questions when he meets an active Christian. He has been taught that Christians are wrong on certain beliefs and here are a few objections that a Muslim usually makes on Christian beliefs and Scriptures.
- Trinity-God cannot exist as Three-in-one: Islam does not oppose the Biblical doctrine of Trinity. The idea that Quran opposes Trinity is mainly because of the misunderstanding of the teachings of Quran on Trinity.
- In sura 5:77 we read, “They misbelieve who say, ‘Verily God is the Third of the three… Take me and my mother as two gods beside God’?” Here it is inferred that Christians worshipped God the Father, Mary the mother and Jesus the Son. Christians do not believe that there are three Gods; They do not also worship Mary. They believe only in one God revealed in the three Persons.
- Sura 4:121 says, “The Messiah, Jesus Son of Mary was only a messenger of Allah, and his word which He conveyed unto Mary and a Spirit from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers and say not ‘Three’ – Cease! (it is) better for you! Allah is only one God. For is it removed from its transcendent majesty that He should have a son…” Here also Quran states that Christians believe in three Gods and God married a partner who bore a son for him. This is not the belief of Christianity. Christians do not believe that there are three Gods and God bore a Son through Mary.
- Sura 5:116 says, “And when Allah saith, O Jesus son of Mary didst thou say unto mankind take me and my mother for two gods beside Allah? He saith: Be glorified! It was not mine to utter that to which I had no right… worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord…” This passage says that Jesus asked Christians to take Him as God and worship Him and Mary. We know that Jesus Christ never called mankind to worship Him and Mary. So Quran does not oppose the Biblical doctrine of Trinity. The confusion is mainly due to the misunderstanding of the teachings in Quran and the Bible. If the Biblical teaching of Trinity is explained well to Muslims, then this misunderstanding will be removed.
- The Christians corrupted the Scriptures: The another objection raised by the Muslim friends is that the Word of God has been changed by Christians. Even though the Quran says that the Jews ‘have perverted the Word’, here are a few passages where Quran supports that the Scriptures are not corrupted.
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- Quran accepts the revelation of the Law, Psalms and the Gospel in sura 5:44-48 with a request to Mohammed to guard it safely.
- In sura 5:47, 68, Quran orders the Muslims to believe in the Bible.
- The Quran says in sura 15:9 that God will protect the Scriptures.
- The Quran also says that the Word of God (Bible) cannot be changed in sura 6:34.
- In sura 16:43, we read that the scriptures are inspired and the Muslims must ask the people of the Book (Jews and Christians) to understand the message.
- In sura 61:6 we read Jesus as saying that another apostle Ahmed will be sent to the world. Since a Muslim could not find such a verse in the Bible, he thinks that the New Testament has been changed. Some manuscripts of the New Testament written before Quran are now available. They are same as the New Testament of the Bible. In sura 6:34 Quran accepts that Bible cannot be changed. Then how and when did this change take place?
- Quran annulled, cancelled and took the place of New Testament: Some Muslims say that Quran has taken the place of the Bible. But for this teaching there is no support from Quran. Quran accepts that the Bible is inspired, revealed and calls all Muslims to respect and accept it. In sura 2:106, the annulment of some verses of Quran is mentioned. Here it does not refer to the annulment of the Bible. Moreover in sura 22:52 we find ‘God will cancel anything that Satan throws in’. This does not refer to Bible but refers only to the wrong statement from the devil.
By C Barnabas