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ALL PROPHETS WERE MUSLIMS
In Islam, the past Prophets were muslims. Many prophets of
the past received the one religion of Islam. (42:13) Such biblical Prophets were
Muslims? According to the Sura The Cattle (6:85-87) they include Ibrahim
(Abraham), ‘Ishaq (Issac), Yaqub (Jacob), Nuh (Noah), Dawud (David), Sulaiman
(Solomon), Ayyub (Job), Yusuf (Joseph), Musa (Moses), Harun (Aaron), Zakariyya (Zachariah),
Yahya (John the Baptist), ‘Isa (Jesus), Ilyas, Ishmael, Al-Yash’a (Elisha),
Yunus (Jonah) and Lut (Lot).These Messengers and Prophets were all muslims and taught the same message as
Muhammad
ISA THE MUSLIM JESUS
Isa, the Muslim Jesus. The name sounds strange to non-muslims. Islam regards itself, not as a subsequent faith to Judaism and
Christianity, but as the primordial religion, the faith from which Judaism and
Christianity are subsequent developments. In the Qur’an we read that Abraham ‘was
not a Jew nor a Christian, but he was a monotheist, a Muslim’ (3:66). So it is
Muslims, and not Christians or Jews, who are the true representatives of the
faith of Abraham to the world today. (1:134) Jesus’ true name, according to
Islam and the Qur”an, is ‘Isa. His message was pure Islam, surrender to Allah.
(3:84) Like all the Muslim prophets before him, and like Muhammad after him, ‘Isa
was a lawgiver, and Christians should submit to his law. (3:50; 5:48) ‘Isa’s
original disciples were also true Muslims, for they said ‘We believe. Bear
witness that we have surrendered. We are Muslims.’ (5:111). They also advocated,
Islamic Monotheism. According to Islam, ‘Isa was the Messiah. He was supported
by the ‘Holy Spirit’. (2:87; 5:110) He is also referred to as the ‘Word of
Allah’. (4:171) Isa’s mother Mariam was the daughter of ‘Imran, (3:34,35) ƒ¢¢â€š¬¢â‚¬ cf
the Amram of Exodus 6:20 ƒ¢¢â€š¬¢â‚¬ and the sister of Aaron (and Moses). (19:28) She
was fostered by Zachariah (father of John the Baptist). (3:36) While still a
virgin (6:12; 19:19-21) Mariam gave birth to ‘Isa alone in a desolate place
under a date palm tree. 19:22ff) (Not in Bethlehem). According to islam,Isa
spoke whilst still a baby in his cradle. 3:46; 5:110; 19:30) He performed
various other miracles, including breathing life into clay birds, healing the
blind and lepers, and raising the dead. (3:49; 5:111) He also foretold the
coming of Muhammad. (61:6) Isa’s mission was to gather the righteous remnant of
Israel and announce the termination of their dispensation as a people. Jesus, in
the Qur’an, is reported to have said that the corruption of the Scriptures by
the Israelites was the cause of his coming.
ISA WAS GIVEN A BOOK
Like all the prophets of Islam before him, ‘Isa received
his revelation of Islam in the form of a book. (6:90) ‘Isa’s book is called the
Injil or ‘gospel’. (5:46) The Torah was Abraham’s book, and the Zabur (Psalms)
were David’s book. So Jews and Christians are ‘people of the Book’. The one
religion revealed in these books was Islam. (3:18)
As with previous prophets, ‘Isa’s revelation verified
previous prophets’ revelations. (3:49,84; 5:46; 61:6) Muhammad himself verified
all previous revelations, including the revelation to ‘Isa (4:47), and so
Muslims must believe in the revelation which ‘Isa received. (1:136) However,
after ‘Isa the Injil was lost in its original form. Today the Koran is the only
sure guide to ‘Isa’s teaching.
ISA DID NOT DIE
Although Christians believe ‘Isa died on a cross, and Jews
claim they killed him, in reality he was not killed or crucified, and those who
said he was crucified lied (4:157). ‘Isa did not die, but ascended to Allah.
(4:158) On the day of Resurrection ‘Isa himself will be a witness against Jews
and Christians for believing in his death. (4:159) According to Islam, Isa died
not on the Cross, but Allah saved him from the embarrassing act.
And (on account of) their saying, “We killed the
Messiah, ‘Isa son of Maryam, Messenger of Allah.” 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. Allah raised him up to Himself.
Allah is Almighty, All-Wise. (Surat an-Nisa: 157-158)
In some English translations, we see that some other verses
are translated to give the sense that the Prophet Jesus (as) died before he was
raised to the Allah’s presence. These verses are as follows:
God said:
“O ‘Isa (as)! Verily, I shall cause you to
die (tawaffa), and shall exalt you unto Me…” (Surah Al ‘Imran: 55)
In the 117th verse of Surat al-Ma’idah, the event narrated
in the Prophet Jesus’ (as)’ words is also translated so as to suggest that he
died:
“Nothing did I tell them beyond what You did bid me to
say: ‘Worship God, who is my Sustainer as well as your Sustainer’ And I bore
witness to what they did as long as I dwelt in their midst: but since You have
caused me to die (tawaffa), You alone have been their keeper: for You are
witness unto everything. (Surat al-Ma’idah: 117)
However, the Arabic meanings of the verses above show that
the Prophet Jesus (as) did not die in the sense we know. In Arabic the word
which is translated in these verses as “to die” is “tawaffa”
and comes from the root “wafa – to fulfil”. Tawaffa does not actually
mean “death” but the act of “taking the self back” either in
sleep or in death. From the Qur’an again, we understand that “taking the
self back” does not necessarily mean death. For instance in a verse in
which the word “tawaffa” is used, it is not the death of a human being
that is meant but “taking back his self in his sleep”:
It is He Who takes you back to Himself (yatawaffakum) at
night, while knowing the things you perpetrate by day, and then wakes you up
again, so that a specified term may be fulfilled. Then you will return to Him.
Then He will inform you about what you did. (Surat al-An’am: 60)
The word used for “take back” in this verse is
the same as the one used in Surah Al ‘Imran 55. In other words, in both verses,
the word “tawaffa” is used and it is obvious that one does not die in
one’s sleep. Therefore, what is meant here is, again, “taking the self
back.” The same is also true for the following verse:
Allah takes back people’s selves (tawaffa) when their death
arrives and those who have not yet died, while they are asleep. He keeps hold of
those whose death has been decreed and sends the others back for a specified
term. There are certainly Signs in that for people who reflect. (Surat az-Zumar:
42)
As these verses suggest, Allah takes back the self of the
one who is asleep, yet He sends the selves of those whose deaths have yet not
been decreed. In this context, in one’s sleep one does not die, in the sense in
which we perceive death. Only for a temporary period, the self leaves the body
and remains in another dimension. When we wake up, the self returns to the
body.
ISLAM’S CALL FOR OTHERS TO BELIEVE
Christians (and Jews) could not be freed from their
ignorance until Muhammad came bringing the Qur’an as clear evidence (98:1).
Muhammad is Allah’s gift to Christians and Jews to correct misunderstandings.
They should accept Muhammad as Allah’s Messenger, and the Qur’an as his final
revelation. (5:15; 57:28; 4:47)
Some Christians and Jews are faithful and believe truly.
(3:113,114) Any such true believers will submit to Allah by accepting Muhammad
as the prophet of Islam, i.e. they will become Muslims. (3:198)
Although Jews and pagans will have the greatest enmity
against Muslims, it is the Christians who will be ‘nearest in love to the
believers’, i.e. to Muslims. (5:82) True Christians will not love Muhammad’s
enemies. (58:22) In other words, anyone who opposes Muhammad is not a true
Christian.
ISA WILL RETURN
The prophet ‘Isa will have an important role in the end
times, establishing Islam and making war until he destroys all religions save
Islam. He shall kill the Evil One (Dajjal), an apocalyptic anti-Christ figure.
In one tradition of Muhammad we read that no further
prophets will come to earth until ‘Isa returns as ‘a man of medium height, or
reddish complexion, wearing two light garments, looking as if drops were falling
down from his head although it will not be wet. He will fight for the cause of
Islam. He will break the cross, kill pigs, and abolish the poll-tax. Allah will
destroy all religions except Islam. He (‘Isa) will destroy the Evil One and will
live on the earth for forty years and then he will die’. (Sunan Abu Dawud, Book
37: 4310) The Sahih Muslim has a variant of this tradition: ‘The son of Mary …
will soon descend among you as a just judge. He will … abolish the poll-tax,
and the wealth will pour forth to such an extent that no one will accept
charitable gifts.’ (Sahih Muslim 287)
What do these sayings mean? The cross is a symbol of
Christianity. Breaking crosses means abolishing Christianity. Pigs are
associated with Christians. Killing them is another way of speaking of the
destruction of Christianity. Under Islamic law the poll-tax buys the protection
of the lives and property of conquered ‘people of the Book’. (Sura 9:29) The
abolition of the poll-tax means jihad is restarted against Christians (and Jews)
living under Islam, who should convert to Islam, or else be killed or enslaved.
The abundance of wealth refers to booty flowing to the Muslims from this
conquest. This is what the Muslim ‘Isa will do when he returns in the last days.
CONCLUSION
Clearly there are events recorded in connection with Isa’s
life that non-Christians will not accept, such as the miracles, the virgin
birth, and the resurrection. However what is beyond dispute is that Isa
(‘Jesus’) of Nazareth was a figure of history, who lived, attracted a following
in his life time amongst his fellow Jews and was alledged to be executed by crucifixion by the Roman
authorities, after which his followers spread rapidly. This of course is the
True account of Isa.
The primary sources for the history of Isa’s public life is
in the Qur’an. This was sent down to Muhammad to reveal to all Mankind to true
teachings of Isa and the other prophets as well. Soon we conclude that any
statements about ‘Isa (Jesus) in the bible, re-written by other people than his
followers centuries after Jesus’ departure, must be judged against the
historical evidence from these six century sources, and not vice versa.