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CHRIST IN ISLAM

By Ahmed Deedat
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CHAPTER 1 : CHRISTIAN MUSLIM RESPONSES

DEBATE ON TV
at the end of the debate - "Christianity and Islam" - which appeared on
the SABC-TV program "cross (+) questions" on Sunday 5th June 1983, the
chairman, Mr. Bill Chalmers commented:
"i think it can be said from this discussion that there is ,at present,
somewhat more accommodation on the Islamic side for the founder of
Christianity than there is on the Christian side for the founder of Islam.
what the significance of that is, we leave it to you, the viewer, to
determine, but i do think you will agree that it is a good thing that we
are talking together." "bill" as he is popularly addressed, without any
formalities, on all his programs, by all his panelists, is extremely
charming and stupendous in his humility. he is a picture of what the
holy quran portrays of a good Christian:

"...and nearest among them in love
to the believers wilt thou find
those who say, "we are Christians":
because among these are men devoted to learning
and men who have renounced the world.
and they are not arrogant."
holy quran 5:58

JESUS - HIS STATUS
were the Muslims on the panel, trying to placate the viewers out of
policy, deceit or diplomacy ? nothing of the kind! they were only arti-
culating what god almighty had commanded them to say in the holy quran.
as Muslim they had no choice. they had said in so many words - "we Mus-
lims believe, that Jesus was one of the mightiest messengers of god,
that he was the Christ, that he was born miraculously - without any male
intervention (which many modern-day Christians do not believe today),
that he gave life to the dead by god's permission, and that he healed
those born blind and the lepers by god's permission. in fact no Muslim
is a Muslim if he does not believe in Jesus!"

PLEASANT SURPRISE
over 90% of the people who witnessed this debate must have been pleasantly,
but sceptically, surprised. they might have not believed their ears.
they must have surmised that the Muslims were playing to the gallery-that
they were trying to curry favour with their fellow Christian countrymen;
that if the Muslims would say a few good words about Jesus, then in
reciprocation the Christians might say a few good words about muhummed (may
the peace and the blessings of god be upon all his righteous servants-
like Moses, Jesus, muhummed ); that i scratch your back and you scratch
my back - which would be a sham or hypocrisy.

HATE CULTIVATED
we cannot blame the Christians for their scepticism. they have been so
programmed for centuries. they were trained to think the worst of the ma
muhummed (pbuh) and his religion. how aptly did Thomas Carlyle say about
his Christian brethren over a hundred and fifty years ago - "the lies
which well-meaning zeal has heaped round this man (muhummed) are
disgraceful to ourselves only." we Muslims are partly responsible for this
staggering ignorance of the 1,200,000,000 Christians of the world. we have not
done anything substantial to remove the cobwebs.

OCEAN OF CHRISTIANITY
south Africa is an ocean of Christianity. if Libya boasts the highest
percentage of Muslims on the continent of Africa, then the republic of
south Africa would also be entitled to boast the highest percentage of
Christians. in this ocean of Christianity - the R. S. A. - the Muslim is
barely 2% of the total population. we are a voteless minority-numerically
we count for nothing; politically, we count for nothing, and economica-
lly, one white man, as Oppenheimer, could buy out the whole lot of us,
lock, stock and barrel.

so, if we had feigned to appease, we might be excused. but no! we must
proclaim our master's will; we must declare the truth, whether we liked
it or not. in the words of Jesus (pbuh): "seek ye the truth, and the
truth shall set you free" - (john 9:32).


CHAPTER 2: JESUS IN THE QURAN

CHRISTIANS UNAWARE
the Christian does not know that the true spirit of charity which the
Muslim displays, always, towards Jesus and his mother Mary spring from
the fountainhead of his faith- the holy quran. he does not know that the
Muslim does not take the holy name of Jesus, in his own language, without
saying hazrat Eesa (meaning revered Jesus) or Eesa alai-hiss-salaam i.e.
( Jesus peace be upon him).

every time the Muslim mentions the name Jesus (pbuh) without these words
of respect, he would be considered disrespectful, uncouth or barbaric.
the Christian does not know that in the holy quran Jesus (pbuh) is men-
tioned by name five times (5x) more than the number of times the prophet
of Islam is mentioned in the book of god. to be exact - twenty five time
as against five. for example:

"..we gave Jesus
the son of Mary
clear signs and
strengthened him
with the holy spirit"
holy quran 2:87

"..o Mary!
god giveth thee
glad tidings
of a word from him:
his name will be
Christ Jesus, the son of Mary.."
holy quran 3:45

"..Christ Jesus
the son of Mary
was (no more than)
an apostle of god.."
holy quran 4:171

"..and in their (the previous prophets')
footsteps we sent
Jesus the son of Mary.."
holy quran 5:49

"and Zakariya and john,
and Jesus and Elias:
all in the ranks
of the righteous:"
holy quran 6:85

JESUS - HIS TITLES
though Jesus is mentioned by name in twenty-five places in the holy quran
he is also addressed with respect as:"ibne Maryam" - son of Mary;as Masih
(Heb) messiah - translated as Christ; "abd-ullah" servant of Allah; "rasul
-ullah" - messenger of Allah.

he is spoken of as "the word of god", as "the spirit of god", as a "sign
of god", and numerous other epithets of honour spread over fifteen
different chapters. the holy quran honours this mighty messenger of god, and
the Muslims have not fallen short over the past fourteen hundred years i
doing the same. there is not a single disparaging remark in the entire
quran to which even the most jaundiced among the Christians can take
exception.

"EESA" LATINIZED TO JESUS
the holy quran refers to Jesus as "Eesa", and this name is used more
times than any other title, because this was his "Christian" name. actually,
his proper name was "Eesa" (Arabic), or "Esau". (Hebrew); classical
"Yeheshua", which the Christian nations of the west latinized as Jesus.
neither the "j" nor the second "s" in the name Jesus is to be found in
the original tongue - they are not found in the Semitic languages.

the word is very simply - "e s a u" - a very common Jewish name, used
more than sixty times in the very first booklet alone of the bible, in the
part called "genesis". there was at least one "Jesus" sitting on the"bench"
at the trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrin. Josephus the Jewish historian
mentions some twenty five Jesus' in his "book of antiquities". the
new testament speaks of "bar-Jesus"- a magician and a sorcerer, a false
prophet (act 13:6); and also "Jesus-Justus" - a Christian missionary,
a contemporary of Paul (Colossians 4:11). these are distinct from Jesus
the son of Mary. transforming "Esau" to (j)esu(s) - Jesus - makes it
unique. this unique (?) name has gone out of currency among the Jews and
the Christians from the 2nd century after Christ. among the Jews, because
it came to be the proper name of their god(?) - their god incarnate. the
Muslim will not hesitate to name his son - "Eesa" - because it is an
honoured name, the name of a righteous servant of the lord.

MANY REFERENCES
at the end of the most popular translation of the holy quran in English,
i.e. by A. Yusuf Ali , there is a very comprehensive index. while browsing
through (3), we will discover, on page 1837,
i.e.
Jesus, a righteous prophet, vi.85;
birth, iii. 45:47; xix. 22-33;
apostle to Israel, iii. 49-51;
disciples, iii. 52-53; v.114-118
taken up, iii. 55-58; iv.157-159;
like Adam, iii.59;
not crucified, iv.157;
no more than apostle, iv.171; v.78;
xliii 59, 63-64;
not god, v.19,75;
sent with gospel, v.49;
not son of god, ix.30;
message and miracles, v.113; xix.30-33;
prays for table of viands, v.117;
taught no false worship, v.119-121;
disciples declare themselves Muslims, v.114;
mission limited, n.1861 to xiii.38;
followers have compassion and mercy, lvii.27:
disciples as god's helpers, lxi.14;
as a sign, xxiii. 50; xliii.61;
prophesied Ahmed, lxi.6.

CHAPTER 3 : MOTHER AND SON

MARY HONOURED
the second above mentioned topic - "his birth" - are described in two
places - sura 3 and sura 19. reading from the beginning of his birth, on
page 134 of the translation under reference, we come across the story of
Mary, and the esteemed position which she occupies in the house of Islam
before the actual annunciation of the birth of Jesus is given:

behold!
the angels said:
"o Mary!
god hath chosen thee
and purified thee-
chosen thee
above the women of all nations."

holy quran 3:42

"chosen thee above the women of all nations." such an honour is not be b
found given to Mary even in the Christian bible! the verse continue:

"o Mary!
worship thy lord devoutly:
prostrate thyself,
and bow down (in prayer)
with those who bow down."
holy quran 3:43
divine revelation
what is the source of this beautiful and sublime recitation which,in its
original Arabic, moves men to ecstacy and tears? verse 44 below explains

this is part of the tidings
of the things unseen,
which we reveal unto thee
(o apostle!) by inspiration:
thou wast not
with them
when they cast lots with arrows,
as to which of them
should be charged
with the care of Mary:
nor wast thou
with them
when they disputed (the point).
holy quran 3:44

MARY'S BIRTH
the story is that the maternal grandmother of Jesus, Hannah, had hitherto
been barren. she poured out her heart to god: if only god will grant her
child, she would surely dedicate such a child for the service of god in
the temple.

ANTI-CLIMAX
god granted her prayer and Mary was born. she was disappointed. she was
yearning for a son, but instead she delivered a daughter; and in no way
is the female like the male, for what she had in mind. what was she to
do? she had made a vow to god. she waited for Mary to be big enough to
fend for herself.

when the time came, Hannah took her darling daughter to the temple, to
hand over for temple services. every priest was clamouring to be the god
father of this lovely child. they cast lots with arrows for her - like
the tossing of the coin - head or tail ? eventually she fell to the lot
of Zakariya, but not without a dispute.

THE SOURCE OF HIS MESSAGE
this was the story. but where did muhummed (pbuh) get this knowledge
from? he was an ummi (unlettered). he did not know how to read or write.
he is made by god almighty to answer this very question in the verse
above, by saying that it was all "by divine inspiration". "no!", says the
controversialist. "this is muhummed's own concoction. he copied his reve-
lations from the Jews and Christians. He plagiarized it. he forged it."

knowing full-well, and believing as we do, that the whole quran is the
veritable word of god, we will nevertheless agree, for the sake of argu-
ment, with the enemies of muhummed (pbuh) for a moment, that he wrote it
we can now expect some cooperation from the unbeliever.

ask him, "have you any qualms in agreeing that muhummed (pbuh) was an
Arab?" only an opinionated fool will hesitate to agree. in that case
there is no sense in pursuing any discussion. cut short the talk. close
the book!

with the man of reason, we proceed. "that this Arab, in the first ins-
tance, was addressing other Arabs. he was not talking to Indian Muslims,
Chinese Muslims, or Nigerian Muslims. he was addressing his own people -
the Arabs. whether they agreed with him or not, he told them in the most
sublime form - words that were seared into the hearts and minds of his
listeners that Mary the mother of Jesus - a jewess - was chosen above the
women of all nations. not his own mother, nor his wife nor his daughter,
nor any other Arab woman, but a jewess! can one explain this? because to
everyone his own mother or wife, or daughter would come before any other
women.
why would the prophet of Islam honour a woman from his opposition! and a
jewess at that! belonging to a race which had been looking down upon his
people for three thousand years? just as they still look down upon their
Arab brethren today.

SARAH AND HAGAR
the Jews get their cock-eyed racism from their holy bible, where they are
told that their father, Abraham, had two wives - Sarah and Hagar. they
say that they are the children of Abraham through Sarah his legitimate
wife; that their Arab brethren have descended through Hagar, a "bond-
woman", and that as such, the Arabs are an inferior breed. (in fact,
Hagar was not a bond-woman but an Egyptian princess )

will anyone please explain the anomaly as to why muhummed (pbuh) (if he
is the author) chose this jewess for such high honour? the answer is
simple - he had no choice - he had no right to speak of his own desire. "it
is no less than an inspiration sent down to him." (h.q.53:4)

SURA MARYAM
there is a chapter in the holy quran, named sura Maryam "chapter Mary"
(xix) named in honour of Mary the mother of Jesus Christ (pbuh); again,
such an honour is not to be found given to Mary in the Christian bible.
out of the 66 books of the Protestants and 73 of the roman Catholics,
not one is named after Mary or her son. you will find books named after
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, Paul and two score more obscure names,
but not a single one is that of Jesus or Mary!

if muhummed (pbuh) was the author of the holy quran, then he would not
have failed to include in it with Maryam, the mother of Jesus, his own
mother - Amina, his dear wife - Khadija, or his beloved daughter-Fatima.
but no!no! this can never be. the quran is not his handiwork!

CHAPTER 4 : THE GOOD NEWS

behold! the angels said:
"o Mary!
god giveth thee
glad tidings
of a word from him:
his name will be
Christ Jesus
the son of Mary
held in honour
in this world
and the hereafter
and (of the company of)
those nearest to god;
holy quran 3:45

"nearest to god," not physically nor geographically, but spiritually.
compare this with - "and (Jesus) sat on the right hand of god."(mark -
16:19). the bulk of Christendom has misunderstood this verse as well as
many others in the bible. they imagine the father (god) sitting on a
throne - a glorified chair - and his "son", Jesus, sitting on his right
hand side. can you conjure up the picture? if you do, you have strayed
from the true knowledge of god. he is no old father Christmas. he is a
spiritual being, beyond the imagination of the mind of man. he exists.
he is real, but he is not like anything we can think of, or imagine. in
eastern languages "right hand" meant a place of honour, which the holy
quran more fittingly describes as - "in the company of those nearest to
god."

the above verse confirms that Jesus is the Christ, and that he is the
word which god bestowed upon Mary. again, the Christian reads into these
words, a meaning which they do not carry. they equate the word "Christ"
with the idea of a god incarnate; and the word from god to be god!.

CHRIST NOT A NAME
the word Christ is derived from the Hebrew word messiah, Arabic-masih.
root word m-a-s-a-h-a, meaning to rub, to massage, to anoint. priests an
kings were anointed when being consecrated to their offices. but in its
translated, Grecian form "Christ", it seems unique:befitting Jesus only.

the Christian has a knack of transmuting baser metals into shining gold.
what he is wont to do is to translate names into his own language like
"Cephas" to Peter, "messiah" to Christ. how does he do that? very easily
messiah in Hebrew means anointed. the Greek word for anointed is "chris-
tos". just lop off the 'os' from Christos and you are left with Christ.
now change the little 'c' to a capital 'c', and "hey, presto!" he has
created a unique (?) name! Christos means anointed, and anointed means
appointed in its religious connotation. Jesus (pbuh) was appointed (anointed)
at his baptism by john the baptist, as god's messenger.every prophet
of god is so anointed or appointed. the holy bible is replete with the
"anointed" ones. in the original Hebrew - made a "messiah". let us keep
to the English translation - "anointed." not only were prophets and pri-
ests and kings anointed (Christos-ed), but horns, and cherubs and lamp-
posts also.

I am the god of beth-el, where you anointed a pillar.....
genesis 31:13

if the priest that is anointed do sin....
leviticus 4:3

and Moses.anointed the tabernacle and all things that was therein...
leviticus 8:10

...the lord shall....exalt the horn of his anointed
1 Samuel 2:10

thus saith the lord to his anointed to cyrus....
isaiah 45:1

thou art the anointed cherub....
ezekiel 28:14

there are a hundred more such references in the holy bible. every time you
come across the word anointed in your English bible, you can take it that
that word would be Christos in the Greek translations, and if you take
the same liberty with the word that the Christians have done, you will
have - Christ cherub, Christ cyrus, Christ priest and Christ pillar, etc.

SOME TITLES EXCLUSIVE
although, every prophet of god is an anointed one of god - a messiah,
the title "masih" or "messiah" or its translation "Christ" is exclusively
reserved for Jesus, the son of Mary, in both Islam and in Christianity.
this is not unusual in religion. there are certain other honorific title
which may be applied to more than one prophet, yet being made exclusive
to one by usage: like "rasul-lullah", meaning messenger of god, which title
is applied to both Moses (19:51) and Jesus (61:6) in the holy quran.
yet "rasul-lullah" has become synonymous only with the prophet of Islam
among Muslims.

every prophet is indeed a friend of god, but its Arabic equivalent "kha-
lil-lullah" is exclusively associated with father Abraham. this does not
mean that the others are not god's friends. "kalimul-lah" (one who spoke
with god) is never used for anyone other than Moses, yet we believe that
god spoke with all his messengers, including Jesus and muhummed (may the
peace and blessings of god be upon all his servants). associating certain
titles with certain personages only, does not make them exclusive or unique
in any way. we honour all in varying terms.

whilst the good news was being announced (verse 45 above) Mary was told
that her unborn child will be called Jesus, that he would be the Christ,
a "word" from god, and that.....

"he shall
speak to the people
in childhood*
and in maturity.
and he shall be
(of the company) of
the righteous."
holy quran 3:46

* this prophecy found fulfillment within a very short time. we find this
in sura Maryam below:

at length she brought him
(the babe) to her people,
carrying him (in her arms).
they said:"O Mary!
truly an-amazing thing
hast thou brought!
O sister of Aaron
thy father
was not a man of evil
nor thy mother a woman unchaste!"
holy quran 19:27-28