Recently on
twitter I had given a new follower the following greeting;
Thanks for the
follow! He is Risen, Indeed! A Muslim Brother replied
back with several questions
that will take some thought and time.
The first
question was Who was he? Then after several direct
messages; he followed up
with, What's his rank? Who is his
mother? What is her rank? I believe we could
summarize the question
like this who is Jesus?
This is my initial response: I am certain we have theological
many theological
differences. But what we can agree on is there is just
one God! My friend
replied; “My intention is not to argue, but I'm
glad we agree that God is one. No
equals, no sons, or any deity
associated with Him.”
To begin let
me state; arguing is not my intention either.
I do not find
arguing very useful,
but listening and discussing very helpful. I am
certain I have misconceptions
about Islam, just as my friend has
misconceptions about Christianity.
Muslims and Christians both
have
distorted the truth, A careful discussion I
believe is a great start.
Every
chapter in the Quar’an begins with “In the name of God,
the merciful, the compassionate.”
This is a truth that both Muslims and
Christians should agree on Allah
(Arabic for God) is compassionate
and merciful. Let us be like Allah compassionate
and merciful to one
another.
The person
who sent me a direct message asked me to read Chapter
3 of the Qur’an. As I read the chapter, the main point the Qur’an
was making is God is one! That is
another point that Islam, Judaism
and Christianity agree there is only one
God. We have vastly
different approaches
to the one God; who is the creator of heaven
and earth. Once again you may be surprised
but the Qur’an agrees;
“Our
God and your God is One; and it is to Him we submit.”
(Qur’an 29:46) In
my limited
understanding of Islam; we worship
the same God. The following reasons are why I
believe we worship
the same God. Muslims believe that Allah is:
1. Creator
of everything
2. Eternal
3. All
powerful
4. All
knowing
5. Ever
present
6. Lord over
all
7. The God
of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the other
patriarchs
8. The One
who spoke to Moses from the burning bush
9. The One
who caused Jesus to be born of a virgin
10.The One
who sent all true prophets
11.The Judge
before whom we will stand on the Last Day
The
differences begin to show up when we discuss the person of
Jesus! What I would say to
my Muslims Brothers and Sisters is I
have submitted to Allah and found peace
with him, through Jesus.
Sadly, I
believe there is as many false misconceptions
about Jesus
in the Muslim world as there is of Allah in the Christian
World. I
have written more than I
intended for the first post, so the next post
will
seek to answer; “who is Jesus?” To my
Muslim brother thank
you for great
questions and causing me to think and pray.
Be God’s
Roger Miller
1 comment:
Assalamu Alaikom wa Rahmatu Allah wa barakatuh (may God's peace, blessings and mercy be upon you)
Thank you for posting the conversation between us, though I meant when asking the questions I asked is just to think about when reading Chapter 3 of the Quran, I thought it might help understanding. Nonetheless, your words humble me, as I've told you I'm not a scholar, I'm just someone who loves God and trying my best to submit to His will, insha'Allah (God willing).
I've wondered about certain ayahs (verses) in th Quran in the past, those are mentioned in Chapter 5, interpretation of them is:
{ You will surely find the most intense of the people in animosity toward the believers [to be] the Jews and those who associate others with Allah; and you will find the nearest of them in affection to the believers those who say, "We are Christians." That is because among them are priests and monks and because they are not arrogant. (82) And when they hear what has been revealed to the Messenger, you see their eyes overflowing with tears because of what they have recognized of the truth. They say, "Our Lord, we have believed, so register us among the witnesses. (83) And why should we not believe in Allah and what has come to us of the truth? And we aspire that our Lord will admit us [to Paradise] with the righteous people." (84) So Allah rewarded them for what they said with gardens [in Paradise] beneath which rivers flow, wherein they abide eternally. And that is the reward of doers of good. (85) }
Assalamu Alaikom (peace be upon you)
Your sister :)
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