In the Name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful
I want to begin by Praising and Thanking God, for truly there is none worthy of Praise or Thanks but Him.
I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but the One True God, whom has no partner in His Glory, who Is absolutely One, who has no son and no mother, He begets not and never was He begotten. I also bear witness that Muhammad is His Servant and His Final Messenger, whom was sent to the lost tribes of the desert of Arabia to proclaim the Message of Pure Monotheism, to restore it's people back to the faith of Abraham and the Prophets, peace be upon them all. I seek the Grace of God, for by His Grace all things are possible, and I seek His Help and His Guidance, for those whom He Guides to Himself can never stray. He is the Ever Living Eternal One, the One who spoke directly to Moses, and the One who was worshiped and Glorified by Jesus. I ask God to reward the believers with the ultimate blessing, with is to look upon His Glorious and Radiant Face in the Hereafter, and to be with Him for Eternity. I send peace and blessings upon all of His Prophets, and upon His Final Prophet, and upon his family, his companions, and all those who follow him in righteousness until the Day of Resurrection, ameen.
Peace be with you John, I read the email you sent to my mother regarding the confrontation of Catholics and Muslims. I was born in a Roman Catholic home, and after a long search and journey seeking the Truth, I found Islam by the Guidance of the Most Merciful. So as you know, I am a Muslim. And I say this with the utmost humility, not our of pride or arrogance. A Muslim is one who submits himself to God alone, this is the literal meaning of a Muslim. For God Almighty has commanded the Muslim in the Holy Qur'an:
"And the servants of Most Gracious are those who walk on the earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say, "Peace!" Qur'an 25:63
As I know, you are a Christian, and as most Christians you might not have a true understanding of Islam and what it truly means. So before I attempt to respond to the points you made in that email, I must summarize the essence of Islam and its meaning.
The arabic word Islam literally means "surrender" or "submission". Islam, as a faith, means total and sincere surrender to God alone so that one can live in peace and tranquility.
The name Islam is Universal in meaning. Islam is not named after a tribe of people or an individual, as Judaism is named after the tribe of Judah, Christianity after Christ, and Buddhism after Buddha. Islam is not a name chosen by human beings; it was divinely communicated from God. Islam is a complete way of life, implying total sincere submission to God. One who surrenders his or her will to God willingly, is called a Muslim. It was Adam who brought Islam to humanity, since it is the same Message and Way that God revealed since the beginning of time. It is only logical that the name of God's religion or path that He has prescribed for us to follow, should be Universal and not restricted to a certain people, place or time. The name Islam is unique in that it is the only Religion where it's name is not derived from a person, place or thing. And it's essence is so Universal that it can be applied to anytime or place in history where a group of people simply believed in the one God and bowed to Him alone.
Islam simply means to submit yourself to God. Islam has a combination of three central meaning, submission, peace, and salvation. So as a whole, Islam literally means "submitting to the Will of God, and by doing this you will achieve peace and salvation." Being a Muslim is a constant action of submitting to God, it is a verb.. not a noun. All of the Prophets and Messenger submitting their whole self to the One God and Creator of the Universe, hence in essence they were 100 % Muslim (submitters to God). That is why we do not believe that Islam was a new Religion, but it was the completion of the same Universal Message that God has revealed throughout the ages. As God revealed in the Holy Qur'an:
"The same religion He has established for you as that which He enjoined on Noah, which We have sent by inspiration to you, and that which We enjoined on Abraham, Moses, and Jesus." - Holy Qur'an 42:13
"We have sent you Inspiration, as We sent it to Noah and the Messengers after him. We sent Inspiration to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and the Tribes, to Jesus, Job, Jonah, Aaron and Solomon, and to David We gave the Psalms." Holy Qur'an 4:163
You said in your email that God established His promise and revelation with the Children of Israel, which is true and we believe this as well. But we do not believe that God restricted His Message to only a certain people, but that since the beginning of time every people was sent a Messenger to teach to them the Universal Truths of God. For God revealed in the Holy Qur'an:
"And verily, We have sent among every Nation a Messenger (proclaiming): "Worship God alone, and avoid evil and false deities" Then of them were some whom God guided and of them were some upon whom the straying was justified. So travel through the land and see what was the end of those who denied." Qur'ân 16:36
God also says:
"O Children of Israel! Call to mind the favour which I bestowed upon you, and fulfill your covenant with Me as I fulfill My Covenant with you, and fear none but Me. And believe in what I reveal now, confirming the revelation which is with you, and be not the first to reject Faith therein, nor sell My Signs for a small price, and fear Me, and Me alone. And cover not Truth with falsehood, nor conceal the Truth when you know. And be steadfast in prayer, practice regular charity, and bow down your heads with those who bow down." Qur'an 2:40- 41
The Message of Islam is very same Message given to the Hebrews. The absolute pure unadulterated Monotheism of Islam is the same creed the Hebrews and the Prophet's brought for thousands of years. Never did any Prophet speak of God being a "trinity", the Hebrew Bible is explicit about this. God is One, and His Message is One and the same and does not change throughout History. The revelation of God is a straight line without any crookedness. You say in your email that..
"not from an Islamic understanding of God several centuries later following Christ’s revelation, with Islam linking itself to Abraham for legitimacy."
It is the doctrine of Christianity that is alien and blasphemous, the Jews and the Muslims are those that have maintained the Pure Monotheism that God has ordained since the beginning. God took that same Message that He gave to the Hebrews and when He revealed it again to Muhammad, He made it complete and for the whole world. That same Message that was sent to every people and ever tribe was now proclaimed for all of mankind. God's revelation is consistent, what He said to Noah, He said the same thing to Abraham, and to Moses and to all people. All of the Prophet's were Muslims because they worshiped none but God and submitted to Him, the Pure Message of Islam has always existed.
God revealed in the Holy Qur'an:
"Never We send before a Messenger before you without this same inspiration sent by Us to him; that there is no god but I; therefore worship and serve Me alone." Qur'an 21:25
John, I grew up a Catholic. Everything we ever did was dedicated to the virgin Mary, and the Saints an things other than the one true God. I got sick of this and I just wanted to worship God and nothing else, as the Prophet's did. Only Islam offered me this, and only Islam was so clear me and made perfect sense. I do not worship a mystery God, or a three in one mystery that can never be understood. I worship the one true and Ever Living God of the Prophets with nothing along side with Him. This is the Religion of the Prophet's, of the Hebrews, and of Jesus.
As for the so called old testament prophesies of Jesus being God or what not.. just talk to a Hebrew scholar or someone who knows the original Hebrew of the Tanach, and clearly you will be shown that the so called prophesies are purposely translated to fit Christian dogma. I just bought a Hebrew Bible with English, and it is not the exact same as the Christian translation. And as for the Catholic Church..
Christianity as we know it today is a result of hundreds of years of theological development and was not complete from the beginning. Here is some of my proof that I now offer from the "New Catholic Encyclopedia". The central and core doctrine of Christianity is the "trinity", this is Christianity's theological foundation, for God's nature is a crucial part of ones faith.
"It is difficult in the second half of the 20th century to offer a clear, objective and straightforward account of the revelation, doctrinal evolution, and theological elaboration of the Mystery of the trinity. Trinitarian discussion, Roman Catholic as well as other, present a somewhat unsteady silhouette. Two things have happened. There is the recognition on the part of exegetes and Biblical theologians, including a constantly growing number of Roman Catholics, that one should not speak of Trinitarianism in the New Testament without serious qualification. There is also the closely parallel recognition on the part of historians of dogma and systematic theologians that when one does speak of an unqualified Trinitarianism, one has moved from the period of Christian origins to, say, the last quadrant of the 4th century. It was only then that what might be called the definitive Trinitarian dogma 'One God in three Persons' became thoroughly assimilated into Christian life and thought ... it was the product of 3 centuries of doctrinal development" (emphasis added).
"The New Catholic Encyclopedia," Volume XIV, p. 295
But God Revealed in the Holy Qur'an:
"This day have those who reject faith given up all hope of your way of life, but do not fear them, only fear Me. This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your way of life" Qur'an 5:3
As For Jesus (peace be upon him), God revealed about him in the Holy Qur'an:
"When Jesus came with Clear Signs, he said: "Now have I come to you with Wisdom, and in order to make clear to you some of the (points) on which ye dispute: therefore fear Allah and obey me. "For God, He is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him alone, this is the Straight Way."But sects from among themselves fell into disagreement: then woe to the wrong-doers, from the Penalty of a Grievous Day!" Qur'an 43:63-65
Jesus was a servant of God, he called people to worship God alone. Many early Christian groups held to this belief that Jesus was a servant of God who called people to worship God. The Ebionites are an example of Jewish Christians who denied the divinity of Jesus (peace be upon him).
In the end, Islam is simply the worship of God alone. All beings in the Heavens and on Earth bow to the Creator and nothing else. Bowing to images of human beings or any living thing, or seeking refuge in things other than the Creator are blasphemous before God and violate the First Commandment which was the very cornerstone of truth that each Prophet taught, including Jesus. I once bowed to images and statues of Mary and Saints, but now I bow to God my Creator, the One True God and only King and Lord, the same God Jesus relied upon and worshiped in submission. Islam has liberated me from the idolatry of Roman Catholicism, it has liberated me from worshiping pictures and dead people, I now worship my Creator alone and have a direct and personal relationship with Him, if Moses spoke directly to God, then so can I, without any barriers. And many people are coming to the light of Islam, dozens people have embraced Islam in our Mosque in the past year, and more people are seeing the Truth.
"Don't you see that to God bow down in worship all things that are in the heavens and on earth, the sun, the moon, the stars; the hills, the trees, the animals; and a great number among mankind?" Qur'an 22:18
"I am the Lord and there is no other, besides me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged Me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting, men may know that there is none besides Me. I am the Lord and there is no other. I form the Light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster. I, the Lord, do all these things." Isaiah 45: 5-7
"God! There is no god but He, the Living, the Self-Subsisting, Eternal One. No slumber can seize Him nor sleep. His are all things in the Heavens and on Earth. Who is there can intercede in His presence except as He gives permission? He knowswhat (appears to His creatures as) before or after or behind them. Nor shall they compass aught of His knowledge except as He wills. His Footstool extends over the Heavens and the Earth, and He feeleth no fatigue in guarding and preserving them for He is the Most High, the Supreme." Qur'an 2:255
AND IN THE WISE WORDS OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD (peace be upon him)
"My relation to the long chain of Prophets can be understood by the parable of a Palace. The Palace was most beautifully built. Everything was complete therein except that one brick. I am that brick and now the Palace has been completed." - Prophet Muhammad (s)
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