Summary
“The
history, doctrines, and ethics of Islam are explicitly linked to its founder, a
Saudi tradesman who rose to wealth and prominence, Muhammed.”[1]
Abdul Saleeb summarizes the five articles of Islamic faith: the oneness of God,
messengers of God, the books of God, the angels of God, and the judgment of
God.[2] A
quick synopsis of these five points will give the reader a good understanding
of foundational Islamic thought and belief.
The
oneness of God is purely monotheistic, denying all other religions including those described within the Qur'an as being brothers of the book.[3] The
messengers of God are those that have carried the message of Allah to other
people, consisting of twenty-five names of prophets within the Qur’an, and
Islamic tradition states that 124,000 messengers from Allah have been sent.[4] The
books of God are not limited to the Qur’an specifically, for Abraham, Moses,
David, and Jesus have all received books; however, over the centuries, these
books have become corrupted, lost, neglected, or concealed.[5] The
angels of God are invisible agents that deliver messages, protect the true
believers, record deeds, and collect the soul of the human at death.[6]
Since Muslims believe the world will end, they view that people live life
either to attain heaven or damnation in hell.[7]
Besides
the five articles of faith, there are the five pillars of Islam as well. These
five pillars are: confession of faith, observance of daily prayers, payment of
religious tax and alms to the poor, fasting during Ramadan, and conducting a hajj
to Mecca once in the believer’s lifetime.[8] Sura
49:15 says, “Only those who are believers who have believed in God and his
apostle, and have never since doubted, but have striven with their belongings
and their persons in the cause of God: such are the sincere ones.”
Critical Analysis
While
the Qur’an may claim to be God’s final revelation, there are some key issues
within the text. This section will discuss some of those issues. The first
issue is the Qur’an itself. There are many passages within the Qur’an that are
self-contradicting, including which books are the correct holy books as well as
how to deal with Jews and Christians. Sura 3:3-4 states, “It is He Who sent
down to thee (step by step), In truth, the book, confirming what went before
it; and He sent down the Law (of Moses) and the Gospel (of Jesus) before this,
as a guide to mankind, and He sent down the Criterion.”[9] If
the truth is in both the Torah and the Gospels, why does the Qur’an state that
Allah will judge between the Christian and the Jew concerning their book (Sura
2:113)?
Furthermore, both
the Jew and the Christian will be judged for their unbelief (Sura 4:153-162).
But, Sura 2:47-62 states that the Christian, the Jew, and the Muslim who
believe in their God, and the last day, and work righteousness shall have their
reward with their Lord: on them shall no fear, nor shall they grieve. Contrastingly,
in Sura 5:82, the Jew is likened to a Pagan in that both are the worst; the
Christian is the closest to the true believer because they are neither arrogant,
nor materialistic. Similar passages seem to speak of a freedom of religion only
to have it later denounced (2:256 cf. 47:25-28). Other passages promote
fighting with the “people of the book,” which is a term used to refer to both
Christian and Jew (Sura 9:29; 25:52).
Witness Plan
The
approach to witnessing to a Muslim is multi-faceted. First, one must exemplify
the faith they claim to have; this includes not just praying for the Muslim,
but loving the Muslim as well. Since the attacks of September 11, as well as
the Madrid and London bombings, Western views concerning Islam have had radical
effects. Muslims notice when they are treated with respect.[10]
The
second approach is that a Christian needs to be able to explain the Bible and
the perceived contradictions and misunderstandings Muslims have towards the
message. For example, Muslims denounce Christianity as being a pantheistic
religion since they view the Trinity as being three gods. “Because of the
often-repeated charge that the doctrine of the Trinity is the result of pagan influence
that imposed itself on Christianity through the actions of church councils in
the fourth century, it is important in our witness to Muslims to emphasize the
experiential and biblical root of this doctrine.”[11]
This
explanation of the Trinity leads one into the discussion of the necessity of
the atonement paid by Jesus Christ. Since the Muslim understands heaven and
hell, good and bad, and realizes that they need Allah in order to attain
entrance into heaven, establishing sin is not an issue, the issue is that they first
need to understand original sin and the need to see Christ as the only way one can be saved (Eph. 2:8-9).[12] This
includes the discussion of the virgin birth of Christ. How can Christ be only a
prophet if he was miraculously conceived? Demonstrating how this connects back
to the prophecies in the Old Testament as well as explaining how Christ’s
suffering and death were necessary and foretold further point to a unified
message within the Bible.
This allows the
believer to discuss how Christ’s message and self-understanding influenced and
radically changed the disciples. Furthermore, discussing the cross and the
resurrection as the cornerstone of Christianity allows the believer to explain
why the Gospel writers and Paul both died defending it against pagan influences
as well as the proof of Christianity.[13]
Conclusion
The
goal of this paper was to discuss a summary of Islam, as well as some critical
issues within the Qur’an, and a witness plan to be used. In light of the spread
of Islam within the last century, both into the West as well as down into
Africa, Christians need to be aware and prepared in order to defend
Christianity against Islam. While Christianity and Islam have some
similarities, they are in fact very different and as such, Muslims should be
treated with love and respect, but seen as lost and in need of salvation.
Bibliography
Braswell,
Jr., George W. What You Need to Know
about Islam and Muslims. Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 2000
Caner,
Ergun. “Islam,” in The Popular
Encyclopedia of Apologetics: Surveying the Evidence for the Truth of
Christianity. Edited by Ed Hindson and Ergun Caner. Eugene, OR: Harvest
House, 2008.
[1] Ergun Caner, “Islam,” in The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics: Surveying the Evidence for the
Truth of Christianity, ed. Ed Hindson and Ergun Caner (Eugene, OR: Harvest
House, 2008) 277.
[2] Abdul Saleeb, “Islam,” in To Everyone an Answer: A Case for the Christian Worldview, ed. by
Francis J. Beckwith, William Lane Craig, and J. P. Moreland (Downers Grove:
InterVarsity Press, 2004), 351-353. Abdul Saleeb is a pseudonym for a former
Muslim who converted to Christianity (see the biography information at the end
of the book).
[3] The Holy
Qur’an: Translation and Commentary, trans. A. Yusuf Ali (Brentwood, MD:
Amana Corps, 1983). This is the text that will be used for all Qur’an
references throughout the paper. Concerning the oneness of Allah, see also Sura
5:75; 6:22-23, 136-137, 163; 16:51; 112:1-4.
[4] Saleeb, Islam,
351; see also Sura 2:107 and note; 4:150-173.
[5] Ibid., 352.
[6] Ibid. Gabriel is the chief angel, since he is the one
who delivered the message to Muhammad; see Sura 2:285; 6:100; 34:40-41;
46:29-32; 72:1-28.
[7] George W. Braswell, Jr., What You Need to Know about Islam and Muslims, (Nashville: Broadman
and Holman, 2000), 25. See Sura 5: 36-37; 6:128; 29:68; 37:88-102). The Muslim
must believe, as well as follow the five pillars of Islam in order to be
accepted into heaven.
[8] Saleeb, Islam,
353.
[9] See also Sura 2:53; the Criterion is also known as
the Furqan, which is the expression
of God’s will: the standard of right and wrong. Sura 43:3-4 states that the
original versions of these books are located in the Mother of the Book, which
is in heaven.
[10] As an American soldier, this author has worked with
several Muslim interpreters. The biggest thing that has stood out to the
Muslims is the kindness and lack of swearing. This has opened several
conversations to discuss Christianity in a country where proselytizing is
illegal.
[11] Saleeb, Islam,
358, note 17.
[12] Ibid., 360.
[13] Ibid., 353-371 for this section as well as for more
information discussing the theological differences between Islam and
Christianity.
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