We BeliveIn JESUSWe BeliveIn JESUSWe are presentingthis not to placate you out of policy or diplomacy. We are only articulatingwhat our Creator had commanded us in the Noble Qur¡¯an (Whichis translated as follows);
As Muslims we haveno choice. We had said in many words:"Say(O Muslim), "We believe in Allah and that which has been sent down to usand that which has been sent down to Abraham (Abraham), Isma¡¯il(Ishmael), Ishaque (Isaac), Ya¡¯qub (Jacob), and to Al-Asbat[the twelve sons of Ya¡¯cub (Jacob)], and that which has beengiven to Musa (Moses) and ¡®Iesa (Jesus), and that which hasbeen given to the Prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction betweenany of them, and to Him we have submitted (in Islam)".[Chapter 2: verse136]
"WE BELIEVE IN ONE CREATOR, WE BELIEVE IN ALL HIS PROPHETS, WE BELIEVE,THAT JESUS (peace be upon him) WAS ONE OF THE MIGHTIEST PROPHETS OF GOD,THAT HE WAS THE MESSIAH AS WELL AS THE WORD OF GOD, THAT HE WAS BORN MIRACULOUSLY-WITHOUT ANY MALE INTERVENTION (which many modern-day Christians do notbelieve today) , THAT HE GAVE LIFE TO THE DEAD BY GOD¡¯S PERMISSION,AND THAT HE HEALED THOSE BORN BLIND AND THE LEPERS BY GOD¡¯SPERMISSION."Islam respects allreligions. Nevertheless, Muslims consider the view of Christendom to bea misguided one. The Noble Qur¡¯an highlights the importantaspects of Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) mother, his birth, his mission andhis ascension to heaven.
VIRGINMARY:
Story of Jesus(Peace Be Upon Him) in the Noble Qur¡¯an starts with the conceptionof his mother, Mary, when the wife of Imran, Mary¡¯s mother,vowed to dedicate her child to the service of God in the temple. This ismentioned in the following verses (Which is translated as follows);
The Noble Qur¡¯anstated also that the Almighty Allah chose Mary, purified her and raisedher above all other women of the world. This is mentioned in the followingverses (Which is translated as follows);"(Remember)when the wife of ¡®Imran said: "O my Lord! I have vowed to Youwhat (the child that) is in my womb to be dedicated for Your services (freefrom all worldly work; to serve Your place of worship), so accept this,from me. Verily, You are the All-Hearer, the All-Knowing" "Then when shedelivered her child [Maryam (Mary)], she said: "O my Lord! I have delivereda female child," -- and Allah knew better what she delivered, -- "And themale is not like the female, and I have named her Maryam (Mary), and Iseek refuge with You (Allah) for her and for her offspring from Shaitan(Satan), the outcast." "So her Lord (Allah) accepted her with goodly acceptance,He made her grow in a good manner and put her under the care of Zakariya(Zachariya). Every time he entered Al-Mihrab (a praying place or privateroom) to (visit) her, he found her supplied with sustenance. He said: "OMaryam (Mary)! from where have you got this?" She said "This is from Allah"Verily, Allah provides sustenance to whom He wills, without limit" [Chapter3: verses 35-37]
MIRACULOUSBIRTH OF JESUS (Peace Be Upon Him):"And(remember) when the angels said: "O Maryam (Mary)! Verily, Allah has chosenyou, purified you (from polytheism and disbelief), and chosen you abovethe women of the ¡®Alamin (Mankind and Jinns) (of her lifetime)","O Mary! "Submit yourself with obedience to your Lord (Allah, by worshippingnone but Him Alone) and prostrate yourself, and Irkai (bow down etc.) alongwith Ar-Raki¡¯un (those who bow etc.)" [Chapter 3: verses42-43]
"Andmention in the Book (The Qur¡¯an, O Mohammed (Peace Be UponHim), the story of) Maryam (Mary), when she withdrew in seclusion fromher family to a place facing east","She placed ascreen (to screen herself) from them; then We sent to her Our Ruh [angelJibrael (Gabriel)], and he appeared before her in the form of a man inall respects",
"She said: "Verily!I seek refuge with the Most Beneficent (Allah) from you, if you do fearAllah",
"(The angel)said: "I am only a Messenger from your Lord, (to announce) to you the giftof a righteous son",
"She said: "Howcan I have a son, when no man has touched me, nor am I unchaste?",
"He said: "So(it will be), your Lord said: ¡®That is easy for Me (Allah):And (We wish) to appoint him as a sign to mankind and a mercy from Us (Allah),and it is a matter (already) decreed, (by Allah)",
"So she conceivedhim, and she withdrew him to a far place (i.e. Bethlehem valley about 4-6miles from Jerusalem)", "And the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunkof the date-palm. She said: "Would that I had died before this, and hadbeen forgotten and out of sight!",
"Then [the babe¡®Iesa (Jesus) cried unto her from below her, saying: "Grievenot! Your Lord has provided a water stream under you",
"And shake thetrunk of date-palm towards you, it will let fall fresh ripe dates uponyou", "So eat and drink and be glad, and if you see any human being, say:¡®Verily! I have vowed a fast unto the Most Beneficent (Allah)so I shall not speak to any human being this day",
"Then she broughthim (the baby) to her people, carrying him. They said: "O Mary! Indeedyou have brought a thing Fariya (an unheard mighty thing)", "O sister (i.e.the like) of Harun (Aaron) [not the brother of Musa (Moses), but he wasanother pious man at the time of Maryam (Mary)]! Your father was not aman who used to commit adultery, nor your mother was an unchaste woman",
"Then she pointedto him. They said: "How can we talk to one who is a child in the cradle?",
"He [¡®Iesa(Jesus)] said: Verily! I am a slave of Allah, He has given me the Scriptureand made me a Prophet", "And He has made me blessed wherever I be, andhas enjoined on me Salat (prayer), and Zakat (charity), as long as I live.""And dutiful to my mother, and made me not arrogant, unblest", "And Salam(peace) be upon me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day Ishall be raised alive!",
"Such is ¡®Iesa(Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary). (It is) a statement of truth, about whichthey doubt (or dispute)",
"It befits not(the Majesty of) Allah that He should beget a son [this refers to the slanderof Christians against Allah, by saying that ¡®Iesa (Jesus) isthe son of Allah]. Glorified (and Exalted be He above all that they associatewith Him). When He decrees a thing, He only says to it, "Be!" --- and itis",
[¡®Iesa(Jesus) said]: "And verily Allah is my Lord and your Lord. So worship Him(Alone). That is the Straight Path. (Allah¡¯s Religion of IslamicMonotheism which He did ordain for all of His Prophets)".
[Chapter 19:verses 16-36]
JESUS(Peace Be Upon Him) THE SON OF MARY:
The Church maintainsthat Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) is the "Only-begotten Son" of God, and alsoGod Himself, since the doctrine of Trinity considers God as the Son, asthe Father and as the "Holy Ghost" all at the same time! Catholics furtheremphasize the divinity of Mary as the "Mother of God". Islam rejects allthese concepts in totality. Allah says in the Noble Qur¡¯an(Which is translated as follows);
The Muslims rathercontend that the miraculous birth of Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) withouta father does not make him a God or a "begotten" son of God. Allah saidin the Noble Qur¡¯an (Which is translated as follows);"Surely,they have disbelieved who say: "Allah is the Messiah [¡®Iesa(Jesus)], son of Maryam (Mary)", But the Messiah [¡®Iesa (Jesus)]said; "O Children of Israel! worship Allah, My Lord and your Lord.""Verily, whosoeversetup partners in worship with Allah, then Allah has forbidden Paradisefor him, and the Fire will be his abode. And for the Polytheist and wrong-doersthere are no helpers",
"Surely, disbelieversare those who said: "Allah is the third of the three (in a Trinity)", Butthere is no Ilah (God) (none who has the right to be worshipped) but OneIlah (God --- Allah). And if they cease not from what they say, verily,painful torment will befall the disbelievers among them",
"Will they notrepent to Allah and ask His forgiveness? For Allah is Oft-Forgiving, MostMerciful", "The Messiah [¡®Iesa (Jesus)], son of Maryam (Mary),was no more than a Messenger; Many were the Messengers that passed awaybefore him. His mother [Maryam (Mary)] was a Siddiqah [i.e. she believedin the words of Allah and His Books]. They both used to eat food (as anyother human being, while Allah does not eat). Look how We make the Ayat(proofs, evidences, verses, lesson, signs, revelations, etc.) clear tothem, yet look how they are deluded away (from the truth)".
[Chapter 5:verses 72-75 ]
Further Allah saysin the Noble Qur¡¯an (Which is translated as follows);"Andthey (Jews, Christians and pagans) say: Allah has begotten a son (Childrenor offspring). Glory be to Him (Exalted be He above all that they associatewith Him). Nay, to Him belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth,and all surrender with obedience (in worship) to Him", "The Originatorof the heavens and the earth. When He decrees a matter, He only says toit: "Be!" and it is". [Chapter 2: verses 116-17]
The birth of Jesus(Peace Be Upon Him)was not any more supernatural than the creation of ourfather Adam. Allah said in the Noble Qur¡¯an (Which is translatedas follows);"Say(O Mohammed (Peace Be Upon Him)) "He is Allah, (the) One", "Allah-us-Samad(The Self-Sufficient Master, Whom all creatures need, He neither eats nordrinks)", "He begets not, nor was He begotten", "And there is none co-equalor comparable unto Him". [Chapter 112 verses 1-4]
MISSION OFJESUS (Peace Be Upon Him):"Verily,the likeness of ¡®Iesa (Jesus) before Allah is the likeness ofAdam. He created him from dust, then (He) said to him: "Be!"--- and hewas". [Chapter 3: verse 59]
It should be mentionedthat while Muslims believe that Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) was given God¡¯s"Good news" they do not recognize the present "Four Gospels" as the utterancesof Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him)."(Remember)when the angels said: "O Maryam (Mary)! Verily, Allah gives you the gladtidings of a Word ["Be!" -- and he was! i.e. ¡®Iesa (Jesus) theson of Maryam (Mary)] from him, his name will be the Messiah ¡®Iesah(Jesus), the son of Maryam (Mary), held in honour in this world and inthe Hereafter, and will be one of those who are near to Allah","He will speakto the people in the cradle and in manhood, and he will be one of the righteous","She said: "O my Lord! How shall I have a son when no man has touched me",
He said: "So(it will be) for Allah creates what He wills. When He has decreed something,He says to it only: "Be!"---and it is" "And He (Allah) will teach him [¡®Iesa(Jesus)] the Book and Al-Hikmah (i.e. the Sunnah, the faultless speechof the Prophets, wisdom, etc.), (and) the Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel(Gospel)",
"And will makehim [¡®Iesa (Jesus)] a Messenger to the children of Israel (saying):"I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, that I design for you outof clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, and breathe into it, and itbecomes a bird by Allah¡¯s Leave; and I heal him who was bornblind, and the leper, and I bring the dead to life by Allah¡¯sLeave. And I inform you of what you eat, and what you store in your houses.Surely, therein is a sign for you, if you believe",
" And I haveto confirm that which was before me of the Taurat (Torah), and to makelawful to you part of what was forbidden to you, and I have come to youwith a proof from your Lord. So fear Allah and obey me".
[Chapter 3:verse 45-50]
Even the churchagrees that the "Four Gospels" were written by four different men, butthey maintain that they were divinely inspired. This idea is rejected byus. It can be agreed that if the four writers were divinely inspired, thenwhy are there so many serious discrepancies and omissions in their individualaccounts of the life of Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him)? Another mission of Jesus(Peace Be Upon Him) was to tell the people about the coming of the finalProphet after him. The Almighty God said in the Noble Qur¡¯an(Which is translated as follows);
The New Testamentspeaks of the coming of a "Comforter" after the ministry of Jesus. SomeChristians believe or were made to believe that the promised "Comforter"is the "Holy Spirit", but this view cannot be maintained because the "HolySpirit" was already present during Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) ministry,and its coming was not a future event. The Muslims, therefore, believethat the term "Comforter" of necessity refers to a Prophet. He was Mohammed(Peace Be Upon Him) the unlearned Prophet , the sole Prophet who broughtwith him a complete, comprehensive revelation from God which has been preservedas it was revealed to him originally, challenging the whole world to comeup with one chapter like it, yet unsuccessfully challenged till presentday. It is the Miracle of Miracles, the Last Testament of faith addressedto the whole world embodying complete light and guidance as well as thereprove of sin."And(remember) when ¡®Iesa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary), said: "OChildren of Israel! I am the Messenger of Allah unto you confirming theTaurat [Torah which came] before me, and giving glad tidings of a Messengerto come after me, whose name shall be Ahmed . But when he (Ahmed i.e. Mohammed(Peace Be Upon Him) came to them with clear proofs, they said: "This isplain magic".
[Chapter6: verse 61]
JESUS (PeaceBe Upon Him) WAS RAISED TO HEAVEN:
Jesus (PeaceBe Upon Him) was followed by a few disciples who were inspired by God tosupport him. Not only that, but the non-believers plotted to kill Jesus(Peace Be Upon Him), but God had a better plan for him and his followersas the Noble Qur¡¯an tells us in the following verses (Whichis translated as follows);
As the above versesindicate Jesus was raised to heaven before he died. This means that accordingto the Noble Qur¡¯an he was not crucified. It was the plan ofthe enemies of Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) to put him to death on the cross,but God saved him and somebody else was crucified. This plot and the falseaccusation about Mary are considered by the Noble Qur¡¯an tobe some of the sins of the non-believing Jews. All of this is made clearin the following verses (Which is translated as follows);"Thenwhen ¡®Iesa (Jesus) came to know of their disbelief, he said:"Who will be my helpers in Allah¡¯s Cause?" Al-Hawariun (thedisciples) said: "We are the helpers of Allah; we believe in Allah, andbear witness that we are Muslims (i.e. we submit to Allah)","Our Lord! Webelieved in what You have sent down, and we follow the Messenger [¡®Iesa(Jesus)]; so write us down among those who bear witness (to the truth i.e.La Ilaha Ill-Allah -- none has the right to be worshipped but Allah)",
"And they (disbelievers)plotted [to kill ¡®Iesa (Jesus)], and Allah planned too. AndAllah is the best of the planners",
"And (remember)when Allah said: "O ¡®Iesa (Jesus)! I will take you and raiseyou to Myself and clear you [of the forged statement that ¡®Iesa(Jesus) is Allah¡¯s son] of those who disbelieve, and I willmake those who follow you (Monotheist, who worship none but Allah) superiorto those who disbelieve [in the Oneness of Allah, or disbelieve in someof His Messengers, e.g. Mohammed, ¡®Iesa (Jesus), Musa (Moses),etc. (Peace Be Upon Him), or in His Holy Books, e.g. the Taurat (Torah),the Injeel (Gospel), The Qur¡¯an] till the Day of Resurrection.Then you will return to Me and I will judge between you in the mattersin which you used to dispute",
"As to thosewho disbelieve, I will punish them with a severe torment in this worldand in the Hereafter, and they will have no helpers". [Chapter 3: verses52-56]
Finally, we testifythat there is no God except Allah and there is none worthy of worship exceptHim, He has no partners, Mohammed is His slave and His Messenger, and that¡®Iesa (Jesus) son of Mary is Allah¡¯s slave, HisMessenger, His word (Be! and he was) which he bestowed on Mary and a spiritcreated by Him. We believe that all Prophets are brothers no differentbetween their religion, which is one religion "Al-Islam". We attest thatthe Paradise is true, the Hell-fire is true, and God will Resurrect mankindfrom graves. Allah says in The Noble Qur¡¯an (Which is translatedas follows);"Andbecause of their (Jews) disbelief and uttering against Maryam (Mary) agrave false charge (that she has committed illegal sexual intercourse)","And because of their saying (in boast), "We killed Messiah ¡®Iesa(Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary), the Messenger of Allah," -- but they killedhim not, nor crucified him, but the resemblance of ¡®Iesa (Jesus)was put over another man (and they killed that man), and those who differtherein are full of doubts.They have no(certain) knowledge, they follow nothing but conjecture. For surely; theykilled him not [i.e. ¡®Iesa (Jesus), son of Maryam [Mary]", "ButAllah raised him [¡®Iesa (Jesus)] up (with his body and soul)unto Himself (and he (Peace Be Upon Him) is in the heaven).
And Allah isever All-Powerful, All-Wise", "And there is none of the people of the scripture(Jews and Christians), but must believe in him [¡®Iesa (Jesus),son of Maryam (Mary), as only a Messenger of Allah and a human being],before his [¡®Iesa (Jesus) or a Jews or a Christian¡¯s]death (at the time of the appearance of the angel of death). And on theDay of Resurrection, he [¡®Iesa (Jesus)] will be a witness againstthem".
[Chapter 4:verses 156-159]
This is our messageand we will be witnesses against you in the day of Judgment that we conveyedthe message of TRUTH and left it up to you, to follow the TRUTH or stayin darkness. The Almighty Allah said in the Noble Qur¡¯an (Whichis translated as follows);"He(Allah) has ordained for you the same religion (Islam) which He ordainedfor Nuh (Noah), and that which We have inspired in you (O Mohammed (PeaceBe Upon Him)) and that which We ordained for Ibrahim (Abraham), Musa (Moses)and ¡®Iesa (Jesus) saying you should establish religion (i.e.to do what it orders you to do practically), and make no divisions in it(religion) (i.e. various sects in religion). Intolerable for the Polytheist,pagans and idolaters is that to which you (O Mohammed (Peace Be Upon Him)) call them. Allah chooses for Himself who He wills, and guides unto Himselfwho turns to Him in repentance and in obedience". [Chapter 42: verse 13]
"Allah!La Ilaha Illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), the EverLiving, the One Who Sustains and protects all that exists. Neither slumber,nor sleep overtake him. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whateveris on the earth. Who is he that can intercede with Him except with HisPermission? He knows what happens to them (His creatures) in this world,and what will happen to them in the Hereafter. And they will never compassanything of His Knowledge except that which He wills. His Kursi (a footstoolor chair) extends over the heavens and the earth, and He feels no fatiguein guarding and preserving them. And He is the Most High, the Most Great.""There is no compulsion in religion. Verily, the Right path has becomedistinct from the wrong path. Whoever disbelieves in worship other thanthe real God (Allah), and believes in Allah, then he has grasped the mosttrustworthy handhold that will never break. Allah is All-Hearer, All-Knower".
[Chapter2: verses 255-56.]
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