Harun Yahya
The famous actor-director Mel Gibson's film The Passion of the Christ
has finally gone on general release after months of debate. Watched with
enormous interest in the USA, the film caused some cinemas to assume the
air of churches. Millions of Christians have queued to watch this important
work about Jesus (peace be upon him), the corner stone of their beliefs.
One of the aspects most concentrated on by film critics is the way that
this film is not pure "entertainment," unlike classic Hollywood movies.
On the contrary, there is suffering and even torture in a great many
scenes. Christians believe that Jesus was killed by the Romans by being
crucified and Mel Gibson shows what a dreadful form of torture crucifixion was, as well as
the cruelty that was inflicted before it.
The Jewish Reaction
The greatest reaction to Mel Gibson's film comes from Jews. Why is that? The answer lies in the history
of Christianity as described in the Bible.
According to the Bible, Jesus is the savior whom the Jews had been awaiting
for centuries, the Messiah. When he began to preach his
message, however, he both called on the Jewish people to believe in God
and also criticized the hypocrisy of various men of religion who enjoyed
great prestige among the Jews. For that reason, although a large number
of the Jewish people came to love Jesus, the men of religion in question
had enormous hostility towards him and decided to set a trap to kill him.
Eventually they decided to complain to the Romans, who ruled Palestine
at the time. Appearing before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, they
told him Jesus claimed to be a king whereas their king was Caesar, and
was causing political unrest. Pilate questioned Jesus, and seeing that
he had committed no crime wanted to set him free. The Jewish religious
leaders insisted, however. They demanded he be crucified, and Pilate accepted
that demand. Again according to the Bible, it was the Jews who were actually
responsible for the decision to execute Jesus.
This led to some Christians harboring an enmity for the Jews throughout
history. One of the reasons for the emergence of "anti-Semitism,"
or hatred of Jews, is that Christians regarded the Jews as "Christ-killers."
The reaction of Jewish leaders to Mel Gibson's film in recent months
has been that the film has revitalized this concept, which has persisted
for the last 2,000 years. In many scenes in the film the hatred and anger
of some Jewish religious figures towards Jesus are depicted. This is an
important point of conflict which divides Christianity and Judaism, which
otherwise have a great deal in common, but in this sets them in opposition to one another.
The Truth Revealed in the Qur'an
However, there is a most important truth behind the current debate over
Jesus between Jews and Christians.
This truth is revealed in the Qur'an. According to the verses of Almighty
God, Jesus was not actually put to death by being crucified. The Jews
set such a trap for him, but God foiled that trap with a miracle and rescued
Jesus, with someone else being crucified in his place. This truth is described
in Surat an-Nisa':
And [on account of] their saying: "We killed the
Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, Messenger of God." They did not kill
him and they did not crucify him, but it was made to seem so to them.
Those who argue about him are in doubt about it. They have no real knowledge
of it, just conjecture. But they certainly did not kill him. (Qur'an,
4:157)
The expression, "they did not kill him and
they did not crucify him" reveals that Jesus was not killed
and crucified. The next statement also contains very important information:
the person crucified was not Jesus, but somebody else, although those
who performed the crucifixion believed that he was Jesus. That was because
this person resembled Jesus, or was made to look like him. (Only God knows
for certain.)
This information in the Qur'an has been the subject of debate between
Christians and Muslims for hundreds of years. Christians say that Jesus
was crucified before hundreds of witnesses, that the gospels and other
Christian authors are agreed on this, and that this is a certain and attested
truth believed in by millions over hundreds of years.
The fact is, however, that some Christians have also accepted the fact
that Jesus was not crucified.
Christians Who Have Not Believed in the
Crucifixion
Some Christians have provided different answers to the question of who it
was who was crucified. They possessed a belief regarded as "heretical"
according to Catholic doctrine. That movement is known as "Docetism."
The most important information about Docetism comes from the document
Adversus Haereses (Against Herecies) written by the priest Irenaeus
(115-202) at the end of the second century CE. Irenaeus refers to one
Basilides, one of the representatives of this movement. According to Irenaeus,
Basilides, a historian from Alexandria, insisted in his writings between
130 and 150 CE that Jesus had not been crucified. He maintained that somebody
else, one Simon of Cyrene, had been crucified and that God had miraculously
altered Simon's appearance to resemble that of Jesus, and that the Jews
and Romans thus thought they were crucifying Jesus himself. Basilides
even wrote that Jesus watched as Simon of Cyrene was being crucified,
and that he then moved away and was raised alive into the presence of
God. (William Smith, D., A Dictionary of Christian Biography, Volume
1, p. 768)
Where might this information have reached Basilides from? According to
the writings of a 3rd century Christian theologian, Clement of Alexandria
(150-215), Basilides claimed to have received secret information. According
to his account, an individual called Glaucius, who had acted as interpreter
for Simon Peter, one of Jesus' disciples, learned this secret from Peter,
and Basilides heard it from him. Basilides wrote a new "Bible,"
in which the gospels were corrected in the light of the information he
had received from Glaucius.
Basilides was not the only Docetist to support this claim. In addition
to him, various individuals or sects regarded as "heretics"
by the Church also supported the view that Jesus was not crucified, but
was replaced by someone bearing a resemblance to him. In Was Christ
Really Crucified? The Christian writer Faris al-Qayrawani writes:
In the year A.D. 185 a . . . sect of the descendant of the priests
of Thebes who embraced Christianity claimed that "God forbids that
Christ should be crucified. He was safely lifted up to heaven."
Also in the year A.D. 370 a hermetic Gnostic sect that denied the crucifixion
of Jesus taught that He "was not crucified but it seemed so to
the spectators who crucified Him." Again, in the year A.D. 520
Severus, bishop of Syria, fled to Alexandria where he encountered a
group of philosophers teaching that Jesus Christ was not crucified but
that it only appeared so to the people who nailed Him on the cross.
. . . About A.D. 610 Bishop John, son of the governor of Cyprus, began
to proclaim that Christ was not crucified but that it only seemed so
to the spectators who crucified Him. (Faris al-Qayrawani, Was Christ
Really Crucified?, Villach: Light of Life, 1994, p. 23)
As of the 4th century, however, when the absolute dominion
of the Catholic Church was established, Docetists gradually disappeared
just like the other movements regarded as "heretical." The teaching
that Jesus was crucified confirmed its place as a fundamental dogma of
the Christian world by being imposed by the Church.
Mankind only learned the truth about this subject by means of the revelation
of the Qur'an to the Prophet Mohammed. In the Qur'an God has revealed
this about Jesus:
"… They did not kill him and they did not crucify
him, but it was made to seem so to them..." (Qur'an, 4:157)
The Life of Jesus According to the Quran
According to the historical records of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam,
Jesus lived approximately 2,000 years ago. He was a chosen messenger of
God and is held in honor both in the world and the Hereafter. The Gospel
of Mathew states that he was born either during the reign of Herod l or
in a period of the regime change (4 BCE). According to the Gospel of Luke,
he was born during the reign of Emperor Augustus (27 BCE-14 CE) when a
census was being conducted in Judea (6 CE). Such information cannot be
verified. However, experts analyzing various sources believe that Jesus
was born around 7-6 BCE.
The true religion brought by Jesus, God's chosen Messenger who was rewarded
with Paradise and special gifts, exists today. However, it does so in
name only, for it has been tampered with and falsified. Likewise, the
revelation given to Jesus by God exists only in name and certainly not
in its original, for the Christian scriptures have been tampered with
and altered. As we cannot acquire any true knowledge about Jesus from
this source, we turn to the only source that can provide true information:
the Qur'an, which God promised to protect until the Last Day. The Qur'an
reveals much about Jesus' birth, life, examples of his encounters with
other people, the situation of those living around him, and many other
subjects. It also provides many examples of his efforts to invite the
Jewish people to faith. The Qur'an relates the following words of Jesus:
"I come confirming the Torah that was before me,
and to make lawful for you some of what was previously forbidden to you.
I have brought you a Sign from your Lord. So fear God and obey me. God
is my Lord and your Lord so worship Him. That is a straight path."
(Qur'an, 3:50-51)
Only a few Jews answered his call and became his followers. The Qur'an
reveals the existence of these devout believers as follows:
When Jesus sensed unbelief on their part, he asked: "Who
will be my helpers for [the cause of] God?" The disciples said: "We
are God's helpers. We believe in God. Bear witness that we are Muslims.
Our Lord, we believe in what You have sent down and have followed the
Messenger, so write us down among the witnesses." (Qur'an, 3:52-53)
According to the New Testament, Jesus traveled to all corners of Palestine
with his 12 disciples to call people to faith. On this journey, God allowed
him to perform many miracles. He healed the sick and disabled, cured people
suffering from leprosy, brought sight to those who had been blind from
birth, and raised the dead. The Qur'an reveals these miracles in the verses
below:
"I have brought you a Sign from your Lord. I will
create the shape of a bird out of clay for you and then breathe into it,
and it will be a bird by God's permission. I will heal the blind and the
leper and bring the dead to life, by God's permission. I will tell you
what you eat and what you store up in your homes. There is a Sign for
you in that if you believe." (Qur'an, 3:49)
Remember when God said: "Jesus, son of Mary, remember
My blessing to you and to your mother when I reinforced you with the Purest
Spirit so that you could speak to people in the cradle and when you were
fully grown; and when I taught you the Book and Wisdom, and the Torah
and the Gospel; and when you created a bird-shape out of clay by My permission,
and then breathed into it and it became a bird by My permission; and healed
the blind and the leper by My permission; when you brought forth the dead
by My permission; and when I held back the Children of Israel from you,
when you brought them the Clear Signs and those who did not believe said:
'This is nothing but downright magic.'" (Qur'an, 5:110)
Jesus performed great miracles, and many people were impressed by them.
However, he always stated that these miracles happened only by the will
of God and, according to the Bible, he always told the people he healed:
"Your faith has saved you." In response, the people praised
the Lord when they saw his miracles:
Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up
on a mountainside and sat down. Great crowds came to him, bringing the
lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and laid them
at his feet. And he healed them. The people were amazed when they saw
the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking, and the
blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel. (Matthew 15:29-31)
Despite the increasing obstacles and, in particular among the people
who suffered from oppression and cruelty, the number of believers began
to rise. At the time, Jesus and his disciples had wandered through all
of the towns and cities in the land. Meanwhile, the priests and scribes
(teachers of the law) began to scheme and plot against Jesus, who had
been telling them of the wrongs inherent in the traditions that they had
promoted for years, reminding them of the deviations in the order they
had established and calling them to believe only in God and to live only
for him. (Luke 22:1-2, John 11:47-53)
Like all other Prophets, Jesus called his people to believe in God, to
submit wholeheartedly to Him, to live for His good pleasure, to refrain
from sin and evil, and to do good. He reminded them of life's impermanence
and of death's proximity, and told them that they would have to answer
for all of their deeds in the Hereafter. He called them to worship God
alone and to fear and mind only Him. The Bible also contains much advice
and educational material in this respect. According to
the New Testament, Jesus advised those who were "short on faith,"
brought them the good news of God's imminent dominion, and asked them
to seek God's forgiveness. This dominion is the rule which the Jews expected
to be established when the Messiah arrived, a rule that would bring them
renewed faith and deliverance.
Jesus remained true to the Mosaic law (the commandments of the Torah)
and reprimanded the Jews for straying from it and for their hypocritical
practice. According to the New Testament, he told them: "If you believed
Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me" (John 5:46).
Jesus called people to return to the Torah. The Gospel of Matthew records
his order to abide by the Mosaic law ("the holy law"):
I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill. (Matthew 5:17)
Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments and
teaches men so shall be called least in the kingdom of Heaven; but whoever
does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of Heaven.
(Matthew 5:19)
The Qur'an says the following about Jesus:
[Jesus said,] "I come confirming the Torah before me, and to make lawful for you some of what was previously
forbidden to you. I have brought you a Sign from your Lord. So fear God
and obey me." (Qur'an, 3:50)
The Conflicting Accounts of the Crucifixion in the Gospels
Present-day Christians believe in the Holy Book known as the New Testament.
Many sections of this book call people to believe in and worship God in
a most sincere manner and recommend excellent moral principles. In that
respect, much of the New Testament is compatible with the Qur'an. Therefore
Muslims and Christians have a great many beliefs in common and believe
in the same moral values. This is an important truth which represents
the groundwork for the establishment of dialogue and cooperation between
the two faiths.
However, God also reveals in the Qur'an that two fundamental teachings
in the New Testament are erroneous.
The first of these is the belief that Jesus was crucified and was a kind
of "sacrifice" for all mankind.
The second is the claim that Jesus is the "son of God." (God
is surely beyond that. Far exalted is He above having a son.)
One interesting point is that the statements in the gospels regarding
these two beliefs are actually contradictory.
The Four Gospels
The New Testament contains four separate "gospels" which describe
the life and ministry of Jesus. The first three of these, the gospels
according to Matthew, Mark and Luke, are to a large extent parallel to
one another. They are thus described as the "synoptic" gospels
in the Christian tradition. (The word "synoptic" means "taking
the same point of view, and describes the perspectives of the first three
gospels.) Despite being the second gospel in the Old Testament, the earliest
is the gospel according to Saint Mark. It is accepted that Matthew and
Luke used the gospel according to Saint Mark as a source when writing
their own gospels, making a few additions to it.
The fourth gospel is that of John, and this is very different to the
line taken by the synoptic gospels. Some events described by John do not
appear in the synoptic gospels, or are described in a contrary sense.
Moreover, one event described by John is described totally differently
from the way it appears in the synoptic gospels.
The Contradictory Descriptions of the
Crucifixion
As we have already stated, it is revealed in the Qur'an that the person
who was crucified was not Jesus but, by a miracle of God, someone resembling
him was crucified and Jesus escaped the trap.
The gospels of the New Testament insist that it was Jesus who was crucified.
However, their accounts of the crucifixion conflict with one another to
an extent far greater than in any other subject.
There are enormous discrepancies on this subject, both among the synoptic
gospels and that of John. The account which begins with the Last Supper
of Jesus and the disciples and continues with his arrest and trial is
the subject of considerable contradiction among the gospels. Let us now
examine the major points of these contradictions:
- The synoptic gospels maintain that there was a "ceremony of bread
and wine" at the Last Supper of Jesus and his disciples. Yet John
never mentions this. Instead, he makes an entirely different claim that
the disciples washed his feet as an expression of love and respect.
- There is a similar discrepancy with regard to Jesus' arrest by the
Romans. According to the claim in the synoptic gospels, Judas Iscariot
gave Jesus up by indicating him to the Romans. According to John, Jesus
gave himself up. The replies given to Judas by Jesus are also described
contradictorily: According to Matthew, he said to Judas, "Friend,
do what you came for," whereas according to John there was no dialogue
between the two.
- There is also disagreement with regard to what the disciples did after
Jesus' arrest. According to Matthew, the disciples all fled, with only
Peter watching Jesus from afar. Mark describes the odd detail of how only
"a young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment" watched Jesus,
and how he was caught but freed himself from the garment and escaped.
Like Matthew, Luke writes that only Peter watched Jesus. John, on the
other hand, writes that Simon Peter and another disciple were following
Jesus.
- The answers to the question of who judged Jesus are also different.
The synoptic gospels describe how he was tried by the Jewish Supreme Court
(the Sanhedrin). According to John, Jesus was tried not by the Sanhedrin,
but by Caiaphas, the high priest that time, and his father-in-law Annas.
- Jesus' trial by the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, is also described
very differently. According to the synoptic gospels, Jesus made no reply
to the accusations made against him by Pilate, merely saying "Yes,
it is as you say," when asked if he was the king of the Jews. John,
on the other hand, says that Jesus made a long reply to Pilate, in a detailed
statement saying, "My kingdom is not of this world… But now
my kingdom is from another place."
- Who carried the cross is also unclear. The synoptic gospels write that
a man named Simon of Cyrene carried it, whereas John maintains that Jesus
carried it himself.
- The robbers who were crucified alongside Jesus are also described differently,
as are Jesus' last words.
- The gospels also describe the timing of the crucifixion differently.
According to the synoptic gospels, it was on the second day of Passover.
According to John, it was one day before the Passover.
It is clear that these discrepancies reveal an interesting picture. These events, which comprise the last day in the life
of Jesus from the Last Supper to the crucifixion, took place, according
to the Christian tradition, before hundreds of witnesses. With the exception
of the Last Supper, attended only by the disciples, they must all have
taken place before large crowds. According to the gospels, the arrest
of Jesus took place before hundreds of Romans and Jews. Again according
to the gospels, the crucifixion happened in Jerusalem, before the eyes
of the populace.
So why is it that there are such discrepancies between the accounts of
these events that happened in front of so many eye-witnesses?
The answer is clear: The reason for these discrepancies in the accounts
of the crucifixion is that the story is based on an error. It was not
Jesus who was crucified. God saved this blessed prophet from the trap
laid for him.
Jesus Did Not Die, but Is in the Presence
of God
The Qur'an reveals that the unbelievers devised a plot to take Jesus'
life. However, they failed. The Qur'an relates:
They [the unbelievers] planned and God planned. But God is
the best of planners. (Qur'an, 3:54)
As the verses reveal, they plotted and moved to kill Jesus. However,
their plot failed and they ended up killing a look-alike. During this
event, God raised Jesus up to His presence:
And [on account of] their saying, "We killed the
Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, Messenger of God." They did not kill
him and they did not crucify him, but it was made to seem so to them.
Those who argue about him are in doubt about it. They have no real knowledge
of it, just conjecture. But they certainly did not kill him. (Qur'an,
4:157)
The subsequent verse says the following about Jesus' ascension:
God raised him up to Himself. God is Almighty, All-Wise.
(Qur'an, 4:158)
The reality revealed in the verse is clear. Those who attempted to kill
Jesus did not succeed. The expression "but
it was made to seem so to them" reveals this fact. God showed
them a look-alike and raised Jesus up to His presence. Our Lord also reveals
that those who made that claim had no knowledge of the truth.
Jesus was not killed.
The truth, clearly indicated in the Qur'an and the hadiths (sayings)
of our Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace), is that Jesus
is still alive and will return to Earth toward the end of time.
Jesus Will Return to Earth
The subject of Jesus' return to earth has been of great interest in the
world in recent weeks. In order to learn the truth of this matter, one
of course needs to study the signs in the Qur'an.
There is important evidence in the Qur'an regarding the second coming
of Jesus. This may be set out as follows:
1. "... I will place the people who follow you
above those who are unbelievers until the Day of Resurrection..."
The first verse indicating Jesus' return is given below:
When God said: "Jesus, I will take you back and
raise you up to Me, and purify you of those who are unbelievers. And I
will place the people who follow you above those who are unbelievers until
the Day of Resurrection. Then you will all return to Me, and I will judge
between you regarding the things about which you differed. (Qur'an, 3:55)
God mentions that a group of Jesus' true followers will dominate the
unbelievers until the Day of Resurrection. Jesus did not have many followers
during his tenure on Earth and, with his ascension, the religion that
he had brought degenerated rapidly. Over the next two centuries, those
who believed in Jesus were oppressed because they had no political power.
Therefore, we cannot say that the early Christians dominated the unbelievers
in the sense indicated by the verse given above.
At present, Christianity is so far removed from its original state that
it no longer resembles the religion taught by Jesus. In this case, "And
I will place the people who follow you above those who are unbelievers
until the Day of Resurrection" carries a clear message: There has
to be a group of Jesus' followers who will exist until the Last Day. Such
a group will emerge in his second coming, and those who follow him at
that time will dominate the unbelievers until the Last Day.
2. "There is not one of the People of the Book
who will not believe in him before he dies..."
In the Qur'an, we read that:
There is not one of the People of the Book who will not
believe in him before he dies; and on the Day of Resurrection he [Jesus]
will be a witness against them. (Qur'an, 4:159)
The phrase "there is not one of the People
of the Book who will not believe in him before he dies" is
very interesting. Some scholars believe that the "him/it" in
this verse refers to the Qur'an instead of Jesus, and so understand it
to mean that the People of the Book will believe in the Qur'an before
they die. However, it is beyond dispute that the same word in the preceding
two verses refers to Jesus.
Another point we need to make here has to do with the interpretation
of "before he dies." Some believe that this stands for the People
of the Book "having faith in Jesus before their own death."
According to this view, everyone from the People of the Book will definitely
believe in Jesus before he or she dies. But so far, millions of the People
of the Book have lived and died without ever believing in Jesus. Therefore,
the verse does not speak of the death of this group, but rather of the
death of Jesus. In the end, the reality revealed by the Qur'an is this:
"Before Jesus dies, all People of the Book
will believe in him."
This can only be possible with the return to Earth of Jesus and all the
People of the Book having faith in him during this second life. That is
in fact the promise in the hadith. (Only God knows for certain.)
3. "He is a Sign of the Hour..."
In the Qur'an, we are informed of Jesus' return to Earth. This verse
states that Jesus is a sign of the Hour:
He [Jesus] is a Sign of the Hour. Have no doubt about
it. But follow me. This is a straight path. (Qur'an, 43:61)
The great scholars of Islam interpret this pronoun as referring to Jesus,
an opinion that they base on other Qur'anic verses and hadiths.
Jesus lived six centuries before the Qur'an's revelation. Therefore we
cannot consider his first life as a sign of the Day of Judgment. The verse
says that Jesus will return toward the end of time or, in other words,
during the last period of time before the Day of Judgment. In that context,
his return is a sign of the Hour's imminent arrival. (God knows best.)
4. "He will teach him the Book and Wisdom, and
the Torah and the Gospel."
The verses 45-48 of Sura 3 reveal that God will teach Jesus the "Book,"
the Torah, and the Gospel. Obviously, this book in question is very important.
The same expression is also used in the verse given below:
Remember when God said: "Jesus, son of Mary, remember
My blessing to you and to your mother when I reinforced you with the Purest
Spirit so that you could speak to people in the cradle and when you were
fully grown; and when I taught you the Book and Wisdom, and the Torah
and the Gospel." (Qur'an, 5:110)
When we examine how "Book" is used here, we see that it refers
to the Qur'an in both cases. The verses reveal that after the Torah, Psalms
and the Gospel, the Qur'an is the final divine book. Another verse uses
"Book" to denote the Qur'an, after mentioning the Torah and
the Gospel. (Qur'an, 3:2-3)
In this case, the Qur'an is the third book that Jesus will be taught.
But this will be possible only when he returns to Earth, for he lived
600 years before the Qur'an's revelation. The hadiths also reveal that
Jesus will rule with the Qur'an, not the Gospel, on his second coming.
This corresponds with the meaning of the verse. (Allah knows best.)
5. "The likeness of Jesus in God's sight is the
same as Adam."
The verse "The likeness of Jesus in God's
sight is the same as Adam." (Qur'an, 3:59) could also indicate
Jesus' return. Muslim scholars who have written Qur'anic commentaries
point out that this verse indicates the fact that both Prophets did not
have a father, for God created both of them with the command "Be!"
However, the verse could also have another meaning: Just as Adam was sent
down to Earth from God's presence, Jesus could be sent down to Earth from
God's presence during the End Times. (Only God knows for certain.)
6. "...The day I was born, the day I die, and
the day I am raised up again alive..."
Surah Maryam also mentions Jesus' death in the following verse:
[Jesus said,] "Peace be upon me the day I was born,
the day I die, and the day I am raised up again alive." (Qur'an,
19:33)
When this verse is considered in conjunction with Surah Al `Imran verse
55, an important reality emerges: While Surah Al `Imran states that Jesus
was raised up to God's presence and does not mention that he died or was
killed, Surah Maryam speaks of the day on which he will die. This second
death can only be possible after he returns and lives on Earth for a period
of time. (Only God knows for certain.)
7. "... you could speak to people in the cradle
and when you were fully grown …"
Another piece of evidence for Jesus's return is the word kahlaan, used
Surat al-Ma'ida 5:110 and Surah Al `Imran 3:46. These verses say:
Remember when God said: "Jesus, son of Mary, remember
My blessing to you and to your mother when I reinforced you with the Purest
Spirit so that you could speak to people in the cradle and when you were
fully grown (kahlaan)…"(Qur'an, 5:110)
He will speak to people in the cradle, and also when
fully grown (kahlaan), and will be one of the righteous. (Qur'an, 3:46)
Kahlaan, which is used only in these two verses, only in reference to
Jesus, and to express Jesus' adulthood means "someone between the
age of 30 and 50, someone who is no longer young, someone who has reached
the perfect age." Islamic scholars agree that it denotes the age
of 35 or above. They base their views on a hadith reported by Ibn 'Abbas
that Jesus was raised up to God's presence in his early 30s, and that
he will live for 40 years when he comes again. Therefore, they suggest
that this verse is evidence for Jesus' return, since his old age will
occur following his second coming. (Muhammed Khalil Herras, Fasl al-Maqal
fi raf`i `Isa hayyan wa nuzulihi wa qatlihi ad-Dajjal (Cairo: Maktabat
as-Sunnah, 1990), 20.)
In short, the miracle of the second coming of Jesus, revealed in a great
many hadiths, is also mentioned in the Qur'an.
Jesus did not die, and will return to Earth again.
The Christian Error of the Trinity
The Qur'an specifically points to the positive beliefs and moral characteristics
of Christians. God has revealed that for Muslims, Christians are "the
people most affectionate to those who believe" and "not arrogant."
(Qur'an, 5:82) According to Islam, Christians are not deniers, but are
a People of the Book, together with the Jews. In other words, they are
faithful people who believe in God's earlier revelations.
However, the Qur'an does point to one major error by Christians. That
is the error of the Trinity, the ascribing of divinity to Jesus. God warns
Christians in this regard in the Qur'an:
O People of the Book! Do not go to excess in your
religion. Say nothing but the truth about God. The Messiah, Jesus son
of Mary, was only the Messenger of God and His Word, which He cast into
Mary, and a Spirit from Him. So believe in God and His Messengers. Do
not say: "Three." It is better that you stop. God is only One
God. He is too Glorious to have a son! Everything in the heavens and in
Earth belongs to Him. God suffices as a Guardian. (Qur'an, 4:171)
Indeed, when we look at the historical facts, it can be seen that the
Trinity is a myth which entered into Christianity at a later date.
Monotheism: The Essence of Christianity
Christianity was originally born among the Jews living in Palestine.
All of those around and who believed in Jesus were Jews and lived according
to the laws of Moses. The most fundamental feature of Judaism was monotheism,
the belief in one God.
However, Christianity began to grow rather different after the ascension
of Jesus into the presence of God and with its spread from the Jewish
world into the pagan one. Monotheistic belief, the essence of the law
of Moses, underwent a great change and Christians began regarding Jesus
as divine.
The belief in the "Trinity" emerged at the end of this process.
This concept describes, for Christians, a three-way belief in God as "Father,
Son and Holy Ghost." The Trinity is one of the fundamental conditions
of faith for traditional Christians. The belief in the Trinity regards
our Almighty Lord from a superstitious perspective and is a mistaken concept
which ascribes divinity to Jesus, sent by God to mankind as a prophet.
Despite harboring a great many inconsistencies and being totally incompatible
with monotheism, it occupies a central role in the Christians' corrupted
system of beliefs. Someone who does not believe in the Trinity, and therefore
that Jesus is the son of God, is not regarded as a real Christian by the
supporters of traditional Christianity.
The Pressure on Those Who Denied the Trinity
One interesting point is that the various individuals and movements which
have opposed belief in the Trinity and maintained that Jesus was only
a prophet of God were subjected to great pressure during the course of
Christian history. These monotheists fiercely opposed those who said that
Jesus was the son of God, and openly stated that this was "ascribing
partners" to God. For that reason, they were for hundreds of years
described as "heretics" and even "enemies of Christianity,"
and those who supported them met with the same reception. Yet those who
believe in the oneness of God have always been in a minority compared
to the proponents of the Trinity in the Christian world.
Even those neutrals who have researched the subject have established
that real Christianity is the monotheistic Christianity that was suppressed
throughout history. A large part of the independent Bible researchers,
which began in the 18th century in particular, concluded that the Trinity,
confession of sins, and other Christian dogmas had no place in true Christianity.
In their studies of the Old and New Testaments and other Christian sources,
experts have revealed that traditional Christianity has very different
features to that of the time of Jesus, and was shaped centuries after
that time.
Christians Who Have Denied the Trinity
It is under the influence of these sources that some Christian sects
today reject the Trinity. The Unitarian Church, for example, which maintains
churches all over the world, is one major Christian community which rejects
belief in the Trinity. Although they may hold various different views,
the members of that congregation deny that Jesus is the son of God and
say that Christianity demands belief in a single God. Many of them emphasize
the mistaken nature of the claim that Jesus was crucified to redeem the
sins of the world.
One can find opponents of the Trinity among Christians of various different
persuasions and churches. The opponents of the Trinity are growing in
numbers, particularly in America, every day, and there is a rapid rise
in the numbers of people who are openly expressing the truth in the Christian
world. Among these, the "Worldwide Church of God" is particularly
noteworthy. Herbert W. Armstrong, the founder of the church, maintains
that the Trinity is a pagan doctrine which entered Christianity from pagan
cultures.
The most noteworthy point on this subject is that there is no trace of
the belief in the Trinity, portrayed as the foundation of Christianity,
anywhere in the Bible. It appears neither in the Old Testament, the holy
book of the Jews, nor in the New Testament, the Christian sacred text.
Belief in the Trinity depends on the interpretation of a number of statements
in the Bible, and the word itself was first used by Theophilus of Antioch
at the end of the 2nd century. This belief became fully incorporated into
Christian belief long after that. For that reason, Bible researchers and
those opposed to the Trinity concentrate on the questions of "Should
not belief in the Trinity, described as the basis of the Christian religion,
be openly stated in the Bible?" and "If this belief were really
true, should not Jesus have openly spoken of it?" The answer
they provide is clear: No belief which does not appear openly in the Bible
and was thus unknown to the first Christians can form the basis of Christianity.
This is nothing more than a myth which formed after Jesus and under the
influence of Greek culture. It has nothing to do with the essence of Christianity.
This truth can be seen from a careful reading of the Bible.
The Basis of the Bible Is Also "Belief
in One God"
It is revealed in the Qur'an that Jesus issued the following message
to the Jews:
..."O Tribe of Israel! Worship God, my Lord and
your Lord…" (Qur'an, 5:72)
The expressions of Jesus calling to oneness of God are present even in
the gospels of the New Testament, which were exposed to distortion and
falsification. For instance, Jesus answered a teacher of law who asked
him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"
as "The most important one is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our
God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with
all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' (Mark
12:28-30)
The following passage, again from the gospel according to Mark, shows
that Jesus prevented not just the ascription of divinity to him but even
praise of him:
As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees
before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do
to inherit eternal life?" "Why do you call me good?"
Jesus answered. "No one is good-except God alone." (Mark 10:17-18)
In fact, this passage alone is sufficient to show that belief in the
Trinity is a violation of the New Testament. Rejecting praise and stressing
that only God is worthy of praise Jesus openly stated that he too was
a servant of God.
In fact, Jesus is a prophet of God, sent to tell people of the oneness
of God following the corruption of the revelation brought by Moses and
that there is no other god but him. He called upon the Jews, who had corrupted
the true religion brought by Moses, to abandon their bigoted traditions
and superstitions and to submit solely to God. This message of Jesus to
the Children of Israel is revealed thus in the Qur'an:
And when Jesus came with the Clear Signs, he said, "I
have come to you with Wisdom and to clarify for you some of the things
about which you have differed. Therefore fear God and obey me. God is
my Lord and your Lord so worship Him. This is a straight path." (Qur'an,
43:63-64)
"I come confirming the Torah I find already there,
and to make lawful for you some of what was previously forbidden to you.
I have brought you a Sign from your Lord. So fear God and obey me. God
is my Lord and your Lord so worship Him. That is a straight path."
(Qur'an, 3:50-51)
It is the duty of Muslims, Christians, Jews and everyone in the world
to abide by this divine call.
