CHRIST AND ISLAM – Understanding the Faith of the Muslims St. Andrews Road Church of Christ Instructor: Stewart Schnur Lesson Four of Six The Quran: The Word of God? As great as Muhammad is to Muslims, they believe the great miracle of Islam is not its prophet, but its holy book: the Quran.  It is impossible to understand Islam without coming to grips with a book regarded by a billion Muslims as the very word of God.  There is a new attitude to the Quran among some Christian scholars.  For centuries the Quran has been the object of ridicule by church leaders and by secular writers.  In recent decades there are arguments that Christians should re-examine their negative attitude to the Islamic holy book.  Hans Kung and Wilfred Cantwell Smith have both argued that the Quran should be considered, at least to some degree, as a word from God.  In this chapter we will examine some key issues in a proper response to the Quran. The Quran’s Importance to Islam Muslims are the people of a book, and that book is known to English readers as the Koran or the Quran.   Islamic faith holds that this book contains the very words of Allah, revealed by Gabriel to their prophet Muhammad.  The Quran forms the basis for Islamic religious life, its theology, and its law.  One cannot overestimate the importance of the Quran in the shaping of the Muslim mind.  As noted earlier, there are even Muslim clerics who have memorized the entire scripture, a volume about the same size as the New Testament. It is quite easy to illustrate the powerful influence of the Quran on Muslims.  When you have heard stories from Arab countries about thieves having their hands cut off for stealing, you may have thought that was unjust.  According to Muslims, this is the punishment commanded by Allah.  In Surah 5:38, the Quran we read: “As for the thief, both male and female, cut off their hands.”  It is interesting that in some footnotes in the Quran an appeal is made to the words of Jesus in Matthew 18:8. Christian objections to polygamy would be countered by Muslims by citation of Surah 4:3 of the Quran which allows Muslim men to have up to four wives at the same time.  Allah clearly promotes a double standard in making the revelation to his Prophet Muhammad in Surah 33:50 that he could have as many wives as he wished.  “Only for thee, and NOT For the Believers (at large)” gives permission to Muhammad to have the fifteen or so wives he did have, most of them at the same time.  The Mormons also have in their angelic revelation “Book of Mormon” such authorization but in theory today they do not push the point.  Islamic belief that Jesus predicted the coming of Muhammad is based on the teaching of the Quran (61:6 and 7:157).  “Prophet (Muhammad) whom they shall find described in the Torah and the Gospel.” (7:157).  There is no clear evidence that anything is in the Old or New Testaments about Muhammad.  They say this offers proof that the Bible has been tampered with.  It seems that they want to have it both ways.  The Bible is credible if it speaks of Muhammad and it is not credible if it does not.  They make a stretch to try to justify their position by claiming that passages in the Torah (Dt. 18:15) refers to Muhammad and not to Jesus (Ac. 3:22-23).  In the Gospel (Injel) they claim Jn. 14:16 the “paraclete” (Comforter/Holy Spirit) refers to the praised one (Ahmad/Muhammad). The view that women should be veiled is based on a single verse (24:31).  The fact that the verse does not give explicit instructions on how women should be veiled explains the diverse veiling procedures in different Muslim countries.  This is a major problem with the Quran in that every nation or culture is both right and wrong in their implementation of the passage which ultimately comes down to what certain religious clerics say.  Remember Muslims are taught that their particular Imam (religious cleric) is their religious authority who gives them their right interpretation of the Quran.  This principle obviously causes division, confusion, and chaos. There are two other ways to note the influence of the Quran.  First, Islamic denial of key Christian beliefs is usually rooted directly in the teaching of the Quran.  The first time you hear a Muslim say that they do not believe that Jesus died on the cross you will be astounded.  This to us is just so very basic.  One might think that this is to be taken as a simple declaration that they do not believe that Jesus died for them at Calvary.  One might assume that their denial of the cross was about the significance and sacrificial meaning of the cross.  They simply do not believe in the FACT of the cross. What explains their doubt over what most people except Muslims regard as historical reality?  The answer is simple the Quran has to be right and everything else has to be wrong.  The Quran teaches that Jesus did not die on the cross.  The famous teaching is given in 4:157.  “They even say: “We (Jews) have killed the Messiah, Isa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary) the Rasool (prophet) of Allah."  Whereas in fact, neither did they (Jews) kill him nor did they crucify him but they thought they did because the matter was made dubious for them.  Those who differ therein are only in doubt.  They have no real knowledge, they follow nothing but merely a conjecture, certainly they did not kill him (Jesus).  Muslims are prejudiced not to trust the four gospel witnesses of Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John regarding the death of Christ simply because this one verse in the Quran acknowledged by one witness Muhammad overrides all biblical material to the contrary.  Again the mindset is the Bible is the revelation of God if it does not contradict the Quran and everything in the Bible is wrong (tampered with) if it does not agree with what the Quran says.  To us this is unreasonable and illogical to accept the testimony of one witness against the testimony of four witnesses. Secondly, the importance of the Quran is also indicated by its apologetical value for Muslims.   Apologetics is the term in theology for defense of one's faith.  The word comes from the Greek word APOLOGIA, a word which when used means defense.  Many Muslims claim that the Quran has advanced medical and scientific information in it, and that it contains supernatural mathematical realities.  Muslims say that the Arabic is obviously divine and that no human could write such a book.  The lack of miracles in the life of Muhammad is explained by reference to the Quran as the great miracle of Islam.  Is it evidence just because it claims of itself to be special or inspired? The Major Teaching of the Quran Most Christians have not read the Quran.  This can be explained in several ways.  First, there is simply a lack of interest in reading the holy books from other faiths.  Second, some Christians would say it is dangerous to read the false teachings in Islamic scripture.  Third, it is a matter of priority.  "I don't read the Bible enough, so why bother with the Quran." There is another issue to face with the Quran.  May Christians who try to read the Quran have given up simply because they find it boring and incomprehensible.  Secular scholars have often been critical of the Quran's literary style and its lack of order.  Teachers who teach on world religions often assign the reading of fifty pages in the Quran.  The response is always the same: "this is boring ... how can Muslims even think this is God's word? Part of the problem here is one of translation.  Many English renditions of the Quran have been very poorly done.  Further, it is hard for any translator to capture what is said to be the absolute beauty in the Arabic original.  Reading the Quran is entering another universe of meaning for most Christians.  Finally, it hurts comprehension that the Quran is not written in chronological order and that the chapters cover very diverse themes. Despite difficulties in getting through the 114 chapters of the Quran, the main teachings of Islamic scripture are obvious, partly because they are taught over and over again throughout the book.  I would suggest that there are twelve major aspects or themes in the Quran.  One way for us to grasp the similarities and differences between Christianity and Islam is to explore these major themes of the Quran. 1, Allah is the one true God. There are thousands of statements about God in the Quran but its main burden is to affirm the reality of one God over against paganism (the gods and goddesses of Mecca, for example) and, to a lesser extent, a Trinitarian or Christian understanding of God.  The Quran seems to imply that the Father, Son, and Mary make up the Trinity. At 5:116 it says, "O Jesus, son of Mary! Didst thou say unto mankind: Take me and my mother for two gods beside Allah?"  Regardless, Muslims have no patience for any notion of different persons in the Godhead.  In fact, the most serious sin in Islamic doctrine is known as SHIRK, which is the evil of giving God any partners.  When in the Quran God speaks with the “Royal We” this is not considered SHIRK.  This to me is somewhat inconsistent and confusing. 2. Muhammad is the final prophet of God. According to the Quran, Muhammad is a gift to the world (28:46-47; 72:20-23).  He is inspired by God (18: 110) and he is the model for moral conduct (33:21).  "You have indeed, in the life of the Prophet (Muhammad) of Allah, the 'Best Model' for him whose hope is in Allah..."  Muhammad's ministry was allegedly prophesied by Jesus (61:6).  "And remember then Isa (Jesus) the son of Maryam (Mary) said: "O children of Israel! I am the Rasool (prophet) of Allah towards you, confirming the Torah which came before me, and to give you good news of a Rasool (prophet) that will come after me whose name shall be Ahmed (Muhammad)..."  Observe there is no New Testament passage which teaches any such thing.   Islamics therefore conclude the error has to be with the New Testament and not with their Quran.  Not very critical or objective but very effective to prejudice their people against the reliability of the New Testament.  It is also said that Moses prophesied of the coming of the prophet Muhammad (46:10).   Muhammad is said to be the apostle of Allah (48:29) and the seal of the prophets (33:40).  If teaching about God is the first priority of the Quran, the second is affirmation of the integrity of Muhammad as the messenger of Allah. 3. The Quran is the true revelation of Allah. There are hundreds of self-referential statements in the Quran.  We are told in its pages that it is an inspired message (6:19). "...this Quran has been revealed to me by Him...."  The Quran claims to be consistent (not contradictory or in error) (39:23).  The Quran is to be approached with humility (59:21).   The Quran states that readers are not to entertain doubt about it and its claim of truth (11:17).  No freedom of thought to question anything.  There can be no question or debate regarding the one witness Muhammad! 4. Those who follow Allah and his prophet are the true believers. When you read the Quran it is clear that it is delivered in a time of great strife and pressure.  It presents a picture of division between those who are "in" and those who are "out."  True believers are those who follow Muhammad.  The rest (pagans, Jews, and Christians) are enemies.  The increasing anxiety in the text of the Quran between believer and enemy is a clear reflection of the contours of Muhammad's life.   In fact, the earlier Surahs have a more optimistic tone, before Muhammad faced the scorn and ridicule of his Meccan pagan opponents. 5. The joys of Heaven (a garden paradise) await the true followers of Allah. It is often said that Islam is a dreary religion and that there is no concept of joy in it.  While there are aspects of Muslim life that might explain that ascetic (anti-world) view, the Quran spends considerable time on the promise of paradise or heaven for those who are obedient to Allah.  Heaven is pictured as a garden with rivers (3:15).  One section of the Quran reads: "Ye who believed our revelations and were self-surrendered, Enter the Garden, ye and your wives, to be made glad.  Therein are brought round for them trays of gold and goblets, and therein is all that souls desire and eyes find sweet. And ye are immortal therein" (43:69-71).  This paradise apparently is of a physical nature as we will have provided for us mates of our own nature (16:72). 6. Eternal Hell awaits all unbelievers. The Quran has hundreds of references to heaven or paradise but gives much more space to a doctrine of judgment and hell than we do.  In current Christian theology there is an attempt to moderate traditional views on hell and water down the punishment found there.  Christians must remain firm and unapologetic for the teachings of the Bible regarding Hell.  It is hard to imagine how Muslims could soften the Quranic teaching about hell since the statements are so graphic.  In 4:56 Allah states: Lo!   Those who disbelieve our revelations, We shall expose them to the fire.  As often as their skins are consumed we shall exchange them for fresh skins that they may taste the torment."  I don't know about you but this Allah sounds to me like he and his creation has just justified and authorized all who are not Islamic to experience exposure to fire from any Islamic who chooses to do this. 7. The message of the Quran has been given to Jews and Christians, the people of        the Book, though they have distorted the revelations of God. Contrary to popular opinion, Muslims do not believe that their religion started with Muhammad.  Rather, they believe that the Islamic faith, rooted in the eternal God, goes back to God’s revelation to Adam, to Abraham, and other prophets, to Jesus, and then to their greatest prophet Muhammad.  The Quran gives most attention (in terms of space) to Abraham, then Moses, then Jesus, then Noah, and Joseph (Jacob’s son), with brief mention given to a host of other biblical figures. 8. God has given clear signs to validate his revelations.  Unbelievers are basically         hypocrites who pretend to be searching for God. The revelation from God is manifest in creation (10:5-6), both in the design of nature and in humanity (56: 57-59).  The Quran teaches a two day creation (41:9)and a six day creation in 7:54, 32:4.  Those who avoid God’s revelation are blind, deaf, and dumb (2:17-18).  If this revelation from their Allah does not create prejudice then I don’t know what prejudice is.  Allah guarantees to take away light and leave in darkness all who will not believe, “This is the Book in which there is no doubt”  (2:2).  Freedom to question their Quran is upfront simply forbidden.  It is not possible that there could be an error.  You will submit!   Muslims believe the Quran is a miracle in itself and hence there is no need for Muhammad to perform miracles to authenticate his prophetic status. 9. Salvation comes to those who accept Allah's way and obey his laws. In the Quran there is a clear dividing line between believer and unbeliever, as noted above.  This line is between those who obey Allah and those who do not.  SALVATION IS ATTAINED BY HUMAN WORKS OR GOOD DEEDS.  It is not a matter of God’s grace, as in the Christian faith.  In Surah 23:102-103 the Quran states that those whose scales are heavy with good works will go to paradise, while those light in obedience will inherit hell.  Consider the futility and uncertainty of this doctrine.  Have you done enough?  Can you ever know if you have done enough works?  Only the work of self-destruction (Jihad) in the name of merciful Allah can give you the assurance of the paradise you seek, so say many of their clergy today. 10. It is imperative to join the battle on behalf of Allah and his prophet Muhammad. Though there are few commands in the Quran that could be stretched to justify modern Islamic terrorism, there are many statements about the necessity of defending Islam when it is attacked.  Watch out Christians!  For example, Surah 2:190 states: Fight in the way of Allah against those who fight against you, but begin not hostilities.”  The Quran is a call to decision about Allah’s message through Muhammad.   There is a spiritual battle going on in the hearts of humanity, and this spiritual warfare sometimes justifies physical war, according to the Quran.  All depends upon which Imam you have interpret the Quran to you and don’t forget you have to obey your Imam if you want paradise. 11. The Quran gives guidelines on the way of righteousness and goodness. The Quran’s instructions on morality are not given in any particular Surahs but are scattered at random throughout the Muslim scripture.  Kenneth Cragg, a leading “Christian” scholar of Islam, has arranged these teachings topically in his book “Readings in the Quran” (London: Harper Collins, 1988).  The Quran devotes considerable space to the importance of prayer.  All Muslims are to pray facing Mecca, and, if possible, every Muslim should make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their life.  The believer is to be a person of generosity, a notion illustrated in warnings against usury or charging interest.  Believers are to be careful about sexual purity.  Women in particular are to dress modestly and be very discreet in the presence of males who are not related to them. 12. Muhammad is to be followed as the model for moral and spiritual conduct. While the Quran gives general guidelines on morality, it also commends Muhammad as the ideal human to follow for goodness and purity.  Surah 42:52 says that the prophet is a guide to the Straight Way.  The emphasis on Muhammad led Muslims to record their memories about Muhammad in the HADITH and these stories are often used to give moral, spiritual, and legal guidelines on topics not specifically addressed by the Quran.  The inference of the HADITH is that Muhammad lived an inspired life and some would say sinless. A Christian Response to the Quran Whatever else is done in a proper Christian response to the Islamic Scripture, every Christian must take seriously the absolute importance of the Quran to the Muslim.  Some Islamic scholars suggest that the Quran is to Islam what Christ is to Christianity.  We need to remember that the Quran is viewed as divine by Muslims whereas Muhammad is not.  Muslims would never say that Muhammad is the incarnate Word of God.  The utter supremacy of the Quran to Muslims is a reality that Christians must not forget. Beyond this, how do we respond to the Quran?  There have been two tendencies over the centuries.   The dominant one has been to denigrate the Quran at every opportunity, along with Muhammad.  The attack on the Quran has followed several lines.  First, its literary style has been targeted.  Thomas Carlyle said. "It is a toilsome reading as I ever undertook, a wearisome, confused jumble, crude."  Second, Christians have often regarded the Quran as ultimately a product of demonic inspiration given Muhammad's denial of Christ's deity; and his death on the Cross. In recent years there has been a more moderate attitude to the Quran among some Christian scholars.   This can be explained on several grounds.  The beauty of the Arabic language used in the Quran has offset frequent complaints about some of the English translations.  Further, even in English, some sections of the Quran are powerful in their rhetoric and read like some of the Psalms in the Old Testament. More important, scholars like Kenneth Cragg and Hans Kung have argued that the Quran brought much light and truth to pagan Arabia, even if it did not bring the full light of the gospel.  They say, Christians should rejoice at every truth advanced by the Quran.  After all, would we prefer that Muhammad had retained his pagan religious heritage?  In answer to these theologians let us respond that Muhammad has not helped God’s cause to redeem the lost but rather that he has made the Muslims “twice as much a son of hell” (Mt. 23:15) because they are programmed to be closed minded to the gospel revealed in Jesus Christ. Given the lofty monotheism of the Quran, it is proper, Kung suggests, to refer to it, in some sense, as a word from God.  Kung is developing a line of argument suggested by Wilfred Cantwell Smith about forty years ago.  Smith, is thought of as one of the most famous “Christian” scholars of Islam. He believed that a proper reaction to the divine truths in the Quran demanded recognition of its message being influenced either by the writings of the Bible or the God of the Bible.  I believe I can say that the Quran has been influenced by the Bible and the false writing called “The Gospel of Barnabas.” In one sense we have inherited three different views of the Quran: (a) in orthodox Islam it is the perfect word of God, NEVER to be questioned; (b) in traditional Christianity it is a boring book that is a product of Hell; and (c) in liberal Christianity it is a partial word from God.  Let us consider another view, one that has been influenced by the last two perspectives. Many of us were raised in a conservative Christian setting where it would never be entertained that any book except the Bible could be inspired by God.  So, our background leads us to have initial sympathies for the traditional Christian viewpoint.  However, to be honest it is hard not to be impressed by the understanding (though limited) Muhammad does have regarding the truth that there is absolutely one true living God. How shall we balance our traditional Christian convictions with the view of those whose concern is that we are soft regarding the issue of Islam?   The Christian response to Islam must express fairness and a genuine seeking of truth.  There are dangers in whatever response we give.  Consider the conservative assessment (boring book from hell) of the Quran, the danger of this position lies in the losing of the opportunity to communicate our gospel message to these we see as lost being outside of the grace of God.  Remember we must not compromise but we also must be wise as serpents and harmless as doves (Mt. 10:16).  We need to loose no opportunity regarding our mission to seek and save the lost.  We must use caution as we observe the negative characteristics of the Quran.  Our negativity preserves for us a warning about the anti-Christian teachings in the Quran.  We must not forget that the Quran is not giving a Christian (gospel) message. Those theologians like Kung and Smith often want to be so soft and smooth in their approaches that they overstate the positive elements in the Quran leaving people confused as to what they are saying.   Consequently they give to Muhammad a prophetic credibility which is clearly not consistent with his ignorance and denial of key elements of the Christian faith.  Likewise, it is very problematic to give the Quran any divine status when its message is fundamentally directed toward Muhammad and not to Jesus.  The clear focus of the Quran is on Mecca and not on Calvary.  Those who give Muhammad and the Quran more credit than they are due have however resisted the temptation to  prejudice the mindset of some.  An extreme (caustic) conservative position does not speak well of those who claim to love the truth.  We do not need to bear false witness against our neighbors.   In the final analysis, any positive things Christians can say about the Quran must be thoroughly tempered by recognition of its major weakness.  The Quran illustrates no pervasive knowledge of either the Old or New Testament, making it easy to argue that the Quran is a product of human authorship, not divine inspiration.  This is especially true given the ways in which the Quran distorts the Gospel message of God’s love in Jesus Christ, his eternal Son.  We can now turn our full attention to the picture of Jesus presented in Islam. ________________________________________________________________________