Section 5: Appendices

Section 5: Appendices
1.    Chapter (al-Ikhlas) from the Holy Book (the Majestic Qur’an)
2.    Verse (al-Kursi) from the Holy Book (the Majestic Qur’an)
3.    A brief overview of pagan Roman beliefs
4.    The story of the Virgin Mary and her son the Messiah, Jesus
5.    A specious argument and the response to it
6.    A note about the meaning of the phrase “son of God,” which is mentioned in some of the Gospels
7.    General notes
8.    Sincere words of faith from heart to heart

Appendix 1:
Chapter (al-Ikhlas) from the Holy Book (the Majestic Qur’an)
God says in the Qur’an:
{Say: He, Allah, is One;
Allah, Who is sought by all.
He begets not nor was He begotten,
and there is none comparable to Him.}[al-Ikhlas 112:1-4]

•    Meaning of this chapter:
{Say} This verse is addressed to Prophet Muhammad. God is saying to him: Say, O Prophet, to all humanity.

{He, Allah, is One} Allah [God] is the only one Who is unique in His divinity, His Lordship and His names and attributes, and He has no partner.

{Allah, Who is sought by all} He is the one to Whom all creatures turn and seek their needs from Him.

{He begets not nor was He begotten} He has no son, no father, and no spouse, because these are attributes of created beings. As for God, nothing resembles Him, there is nothing like Him, and He knows Himself better than anyone else does.

{and there is none comparable to Him} There is none that resembles Him in His names, His attributes, or His actions. He is blessed, exalted, and sanctified.

The Lord of the Worlds revealed this chapter, which is short yet momentous in meaning, to refute three groups:
1.    The polytheists at the time of Prophet Muhammad who believed that the angels were the daughters of God.
2.    The Jews who said that Uzayr was the son of God.
3.    The Christians who said that Jesus was the son of God.

In these verses, God definitively denies that He possesses these characteristics, namely begetting or being begotten, and that anything else resembles Him.

Prophet Muhammad said:
<
As for his rejecting Me, it is when he says, ‘He will never recreate me as He created me the first time', but the first creation is not easier for Me than re-creating him.

As for his reviling Me, it is when he says, “Allah has a son”. I am the One Who is sought by all; I beget not nor am I begotten, and there is none comparable to Me.”>>

I ask Allah to make you and me among those who read the Quran and are guided by it to success in this life and to Paradise in the hereafter.?

Appendix 2:
Verse (al-Kursi) (the Verse of the Throne) from the Holy Book (the Majestic Qur’an)

We must venerate God and declare Him to be far above any resemblance to His creation, or being incarnated in them, or being one with them. God is God, and Jesus is Jesus.

Let us read some of the divine attributes of God that are mentioned in this greatest verse of the Quran:
{Allah: There is no god worthy of worship except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of all that exists. Neither slumber nor sleep overtakes Him. To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on Earth. Who is there that can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what was before them and what will be after them, while they encompass nothing of His knowledge except what He wills. His Kursi  extends over the heavens and the earth, and the preservation of both does not weary Him, for He is the Most High, the Most Great.}[al-Baqarah 2:255]

This verse is the best and the most awe-inspiring verse of the Quran because of the attributes of God that it refers to. Prophet Muhammad encouraged us to recite it and make it a regular litany to be recited morning and evening, before going to sleep, and following the obligatory prayers.

{Allah: There is no god worthy of worship except Him}:There is none that is rightfully worshipped except Him, for He is the one true God to whom all forms of worship, obedience and devotion should be directed, because of His perfect nature, perfect attributes and immense blessings. The human being should be a servant or slave to his Lord, complying with His commands and prohibitions and firmly believing that worshipping anything other than Allah is invalid and false because everything except Allah is created and controlled by Him, imperfect, and in need of Him in everyway. Nothing else deserves any type of worship, whether it is a human being or an inanimate object ? a prophet, a rock, a cross, the sun, the moon, a grave, or anything else.

** {the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of all that exists}: Allah has ninety-nine names, and these are two of the greatest of His names, encompassing all the others. The Ever-Living (al-Hayy) is the one who has perfect life, which includes all other attributes of His Essence, such as hearing, seeing, knowledge, might, and so on. The Sustainer of all that exists (al-Qayyoom) is the one Who sustains Himself and all others; sustaining includes all the actions that are attributed to Him as Lord of the Worlds, such as creating, granting provision, causing death, giving life, and all other types of control.

** {Neither slumber nor sleep overtakes Him}: Slumber refers to drowsiness, and sleep is well known. Sleep indicates imperfection, for it happens only after one has become tired or exhausted. These are attributes of imperfection, and Allah is far above having any such attributes; rather, He possesses attributes of perfection that are not subject to any shortcomings whatsoever.

{And to Allah belong the most sublime attributes, for He is the Almighty, Most Wise.}[an-Nahl 16:60]

{To Him belong the most sublime attributes [as confirmed by all those who are] in the heavens and on earth, and He is the Almighty, the Most Wise.}[ar-Room 30:27]

** {To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth}: He is the owner of everything in this universe, including the heavens and the earth and everything in between. The sun, moon, stars, mountains, seas, human beings, and animals all belong to Him. Allah controls them, and His will concerning them is always done, as He decrees. Yet despite that, He is merciful towards them; He provides for them and answers their supplications. He guides them to the path that leads to His Paradise, so that they may follow it, and He informs them about the path that leads to the Fire, so that they may avoid it.

** {Who is there that can intercede with Him except by His permission?}: No one will intercede for anyone else on the Day of Resurrection, except with His permission, because intercession belongs entirely to Allah on that day. If anyone wants to intercede for someone else to be admitted to Paradise, he will ask Allah for permission first. If Allah gives him that permission and accepts his intercession, the one for whom intercession was made will enter Paradise; if not, that person will not enter Paradise. This indicates that Allah’s sovereignty will prevail on the Day of Resurrection, and all other sovereignty will cease.

** Then Allah says: {He knows what was before them}: He knows what is past {and what will be after them}: He knows what will happen in the future. His knowledge encompasses the details of all things past, present, and future; apparent and hidden; whereas people know only what Allah informs them of. 

He says: {while they encompass nothing of His knowledge except what He wills}.

** {His Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth}: The Kursi is the Lord’s footstool. No one knows what it is like except Allah; it is a matter of the unseen, which is not shown to us. We must simply believe in it as Allah has instructed us.

** The fact that the Kursi is described as extending over the heavens and the earth indicates the perfect nature of Allah’s might and the vast extent of His authority. But the Kursi is not the greatest of Allah’s creations; there is something that is greater than it, namely the Throne of the Most Gracious, over which Allah rose.

It is also part of the unseen, and Allah refers to its greatness in the verse:
{The Most Gracious rose over the Throne [in a manner that befits His Majesty].} [Ta-Ha 20:5] He ascended and rose over it. The Throne (al-‘arsh) is the seat of sovereignty.

** {and the preservation of both does not weary Him}:The preservation of the heavens and the earth, and the controlling of their affairs and the affairs of His servants and all of His creation, is not burdensome for Him and does not exhaust Him, for He alone is the Sovereign, the Creator, the Controller. This belief is known as Tawheed ar-Ruboobiyyah (the oneness of divine Lordship).

** {for He is the Most High}: He is the Most High in His essence, over His Throne; the Most High in His power and control, for no one can prevent anything that He decrees; and the Most High in His attributes. Thus, He is absolutely exalted in these three aspects.

** {the Most Great}: Before His might, the might of the tyrants is nothing, and powerful kings will be humbled before His Majesty. Glory be to the one Who possesses might, power, prevalence, and dominion over all things on Earth and in heaven.

** As noted above, this verse is the greatest and most awe-inspiring verse in the Quran because of the momentous matters and sublime attributes it refers to.

This verse includes ten points:
1.    We must worship Allah alone, as He says: {there is no god worthy of worship except Him}.

2.    Allah is the only Lord and Sustainer over His creation, as He says: {the Sustainer of all that exists}, {and the preservation of both does not weary Him}.

3.    He is unique in His names and attributes, as He says: {the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of all that exists}.

4.    Allah is above any imperfection or resemblance to His creation, as He says: {Neither slumber nor sleep overtakes Him}.

5.    His sovereignty encompasses all things, as He says: {To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth}.

6.    Allah’s sovereignty will prevail on the Day of Resurrection, and the sovereignty of all others will cease, as He says: {Who is there that can intercede with Him except by His leave?}.

7.    His knowledge encompasses all things, as He says: {He knows what was before them and what will be after them}.

8.    People have no knowledge except what Allah has informed them of, as He says: {while they encompass nothing of His knowledge except what He wills}.

9.    Allah’s Kursi, the Lord’s Footstool, is vast, as He says: {His Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth}.

10.    This verse is regarded as a doctrine that encompasses the names and attributes of Allah, and it refers to all the divine names and attributes.
Prophet Muhammad encouraged us to recite it frequently and make it part of a daily litany to be recited in the morning and evening, before going to sleep, and after praying.
***

Appendix 3:
A brief overview of pagan Roman beliefs
The Romans were a misguided and lost people who did not know the true Lord (Allah) or believe in any prophet. They lived like animals; in fact, animals were better than them, because animals know their Lord due to their innate nature, whereas the Romans did not. The Romans believed that the universe around them was subject to mighty, unseen forces that had existed for eternity, which were manifested in various natural phenomena such as the wind blowing, the rain coming down, flashes of lightning that dispelled the darkness of the night, the deafening sound of thunder, the setting of the sun and what followed it of the coming of the night and the emergence of the moon and stars, then the rising of the sun and what followed it of the dispelling of darkness, the alternation of the seasons, the growth of animals and plants, and the development of humans from weakness to strength then to weakness again.

The Roman called these forces “active spirits” or “gods”.

The number of these gods, in the Roman view, was immense. For example, there were gods that guarded homes and farms, gods of the forests, gods that controlled violent natural phenomena, such as the turbulent waves of the sea, river floods, strong winds, and the like, gods of warfare, and so on.

The Roman individual’s relationship with his gods was purely materialistic, because he believed that they could help him and benefit him in his work. 

Therefore, he would make offerings and offer sacrifices to them so as to placate them – according to his beliefs – after which they would help him to be very successful in his work, whether he was a farmer, a craftsmen, a soldier who wanted to achieve victory in battle, or anything else.

The Romans had a number of deities in human form, especially those that were the official deities of the Roman state, such as Jupiter who was the greatest of their gods; Minerva who they believed would grant skills in their work to those who used their minds and their hands; Saturn the god of agriculture, and so on.

The Romans believed that the greater the number of worshippers of particular gods, the more ready and willing they would be to reward their worshippers.

What is ridiculous is that when one of the emperors who had achieved great things and great victories died, the Roman Senate would add the name of that Emperor to the list of gods whom they worshipped. Thus, the Emperor would become a god after he had died and turned to dust. This deification happened to a number of emperors, such as Caesar, Augustus, Trajan and others.

It is worth mentioning that the Roman authorities allowed Roman citizens to embrace any foreign religion on condition that that did not prevent him from worshipping and venerating the Roman gods, and joining in their celebrations and rituals, because having everyone participate in veneration of their gods was a symbol of unity and was a means of placating their gods.

In addition to that, it was important that everyone venerate the emperors, by burning incense in front of their statues.

Roman law treated harshly anyone who went against these rules.

Because the Jews went against these rules, the Romans persecuted them harshly in 70 CE and 132-135 CE. Palestine (the land of the Jews and Christians) was under Roman rule at that time.

The Jews took advantage of this power and might of the Romans to try to kill Jesus, as noted above, but Allah saved him from being killed and took him up to heaven without any harm befalling him.

Then after Jesus was taken up to heaven, Paul took advantage of the might and power of the Romans, using them against the followers of Jesus in an effort to wipe out his religion completely and replace it with another religion that outwardly bore the name of Christ, but in fact was contrary to it in all ways. This has been discussed previously in detail.

The Romans remained in power and continued to rule many lands for several centuries, and they continued to distort the religion of Jesus even more, generation after generation, century after century, until it became completely unrecognizable, and transformed to another religion which had nothing to do with the religion of Jesus at all. This has also been discussed previously in detail.

Then approximately six centuries after Jesus had been taken up to heaven, God sent his Prophet Muhammad with the religion of Islam. When the people learned that it truly came from the Lord, and that it was the true religion, they entered it in crowds and the religion of Islam spread. Then the Muslims fought the Romans, because they were not following a true religion; rather they were following a false religion which they had imposed upon the people by force. 

The Muslims defeated them and gained control of the lands that they used to rule, namely Greater Syria, Egypt, Turkey (Asia Minor) and elsewhere. The true religion that is preserved by God – namely the religion of Islam – took the place of that distorted religion that had been fabricated by Paul and the Roman emperors who came after him. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds.
***

Appendix 4:
The story of the Virgin Mary and her son, Jesus the Messiah
•    The story of Mary’s birth and upbringing
** ‘Imran, the father of Mary, was in charge of the prayers of the Children of Israel, because of his righteousness and piety, and because he worshipped God a great deal. His wife Hannah (Anne ) vowed to dedicate her child  to worship God and serve the Temple if God blessed her with a son, and instead she became pregnant with Mary after previously being unable to conceive because of her age. Mary means one who is devoted to worship.

** One of the proofs of the virtue of Mary is that Satan did not poke her in the side as he does to all infants. This was a special virtue granted to her and to her son the Messiah Jesus son of Mary, as is mentioned in the hadith from the Prophet Muhammad which speaks of how God protected Mary, as he said: << There is no son of Adam who is born but Satan touches  him, and he begins to cry because of Satan touching him, except Mary and her son.>> Then Abu Hurayrah – the narrator of the hadith – said: Recite, if you wish: {and I seek refuge with You for her and her offspring from the accursed Satan.} [Al ‘Imran 3:36].

And it was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet said: <>

** After weaning her, Hannah (Anne) brought her daughter, Mary, to the Temple (Bayt al-Maqdis), where she handed her over to the worshippers in the worship place in which her husband ‘Imran used to pray, where he was the prayer leader, so that they might give her an upbringing based on worship and obedience. They disputed as to which of them should be her guardian and take care of her. Zachariah was the prophet of that time, so he asked them to let him be her guardian and to give up their right to guardianship, but they refused even though he was their elder and their prophet. Then they agreed to decide the matter by drawing lots; the person whose name was drawn would become Mary’s sponsor, regardless of who he was.

It was Allah’s will that the name of Zachariah should be chosen. This is indicative of Mary’s virtue, because she was cared for and brought up by one of the prophets, not any ordinary man.

** Thus, Mary grew up under the guardianship and care of the prophet Zachariah. She grew up righteous and devoted to worshipping God. She had a chamber in Bayt al-Maqdis  where she used to worship, and miracles happened to her which were indicative of her honorable status before God. Zachariah used to visit her in the chamber, and he would find summer fruits in the winter and winter fruits in the summer.

God says of Mary:
{Every time Zachariah entered the chamber to see her, he found some provisions with her. He said: O Mary, where has this come from? She said: From Allah; for Allah grants provision without measure to whom He wills.}[Al ‘Imran 3:37]

•    The virtues of Mary and her status before her Lord
** One of the proofs of Mary’s virtue is the fact that the angels spoke to her and told her that God had chosen her to be the best of the world’s women at that time.

God says in the Qur’an:
{And [remember] when the angels said: O Mary! Allah has chosen you and purified you – chosen you above the women of all nations [of her own time].O Mary, worship your Lord devoutly; prostrate and bow [in prayer] with those who bow.}[Al ‘Imran 3:42-43]

** Another proof of Mary’s virtue is that the angels brought her the glad tidings from God that she would become pregnant with a boy whose name would be the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary. Not only that, but they also told her that her son, Jesus, would not be like other sons; he would be held in high esteem by God and by people, and he would be one of those close to God, who says in the Qur’an:

{Remember [when] the angels said: O Mary! Allah gives you glad tidings of a word from Him: his name will be the Messiah Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honour in this world and the hereafter and one of those granted nearness [to Allah].}[Al ‘Imran 3:45]

** Mary accepted these glad tidings from her Lord, even though she was greatly astounded by this news, for how could she have a child when she did not have a husband?

{She said: O my Lord! How will I have a son when no man has touched me? He said: Thus Allah creates what He wills. When He has decreed something, He merely says to it, ‘Be!’ and it is.}[Al ‘Imran 3:47]

What is meant by her words {no man has touched me} is that she had not had sexual relations with any man.

This verse means that God has the power to do all things. If He wills a thing, He merely says to it “Be!” and it is. This includes what happened to Mary; when God said “Be!”, Jesus came into being in his mother’s womb by virtue of this divine word.

Hence Jesus is called the “word of God”, and the angels said to Mary:
{Allah gives you glad tidings of a word from Him: his name will be the Messiah Jesus, the son of Mary.}[Al ‘Imran 3:45]

** It is interesting to note that this Qur’anic text is in harmony with what is mentioned in the Gospel of Luke:
“The angel went to her and said, ‘Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women. ’

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favour with God.31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. …
‘How will this be,’ Mary asked the angel, ‘since I am a virgin?’ …
For no word from God will ever fail.’”[Luke 1:28-31, 34, 37]

** When Mary received and accepted these glad tidings, although she was content with them, it caused her a great deal of worry and distress, for who could convince her people of the truth of the matter, that she had conceived her child in this extraordinary manner, by the command of God? Not knowing the truth of the matter, they would base their judgement on what was apparent, and they would accuse her of fornication. She was extremely anxious and wished to die rather than face her people’s accusations.

** It is interesting to note that Muslim women are the best of those who follow the example of Mary, because they prefer death to sexual relations with anyone except their husbands – in contrast to the state of affairs among many Christian women who are very careless about this matter, and boyfriend-girlfriend relationships and sexual relationships outside marriage are very common; even some clergy are not immune to falling into such sins. This is a blatant transgression against women and their husbands, in clear contravention of the teachings of Christ and of all the prophets, and the etiquette to which honourable men and women, especially the Virgin Mary, have always adhered.

Is it possible that this sort of behavior on the part of clergy could be a true reflection of the conduct and character of Jesus? That could never be the case.

** Another proof of the virtue of Mary is the fact that Gabriel – who is the greatest of the angels – gave her glad tidings that she would conceive and become pregnant with the Messiah. We have noted above that the angels had given her the glad tidings before that, then Gabriel – the greatest of the angels – came to give her the glad tidings again and to fulfil these glad tidings. He appeared to her in the form of a man, in some corner of Bayt al-Maqdis where no one could see her, and he informed her that the time had come for the fulfilment of the glad tidings that the angels had brought to her previously, which is that she would become pregnant with the Messiah. Mary was surprised to hear these glad tidings a second time, and she asked Gabriel: How will I have a son when no man has touched me, and I have never been unchaste, committing shameful deeds with men?

The angel Gabriel replied that this was the command and will of God, and we have no choice but to accept God’s command and implement it, for God has great wisdom in all things. So Gabriel did what his Lord had commanded him to do; he breathed into the neck of Mary’s chemise, and that breath reached her uterus and she became pregnant with the Messiah, as women become pregnant from their husbands.

Her foetus remained in her womb for nine months, then she gave birth to him. God tells us his story in the chapter of the Quran called “Mary”:
{Recount [O Muhammad] in the Book the story of Mary, when she withdrew from her family in a place towards the east.

She screened herself from them, then We sent to her Our Angel [Gabriel], and he appeared before her in the form of a perfect human being.

She said: I seek refuge in the Most Merciful from you; [do not come near me] if you fear Him!

He said: I am only a Prophet from your Lord, [to announce] to you the gift of a righteous son.

She said: How will I have a son when no man has touched me, and I have never been unchaste?

He said: Thus it will be. Your Lord says: That is easy for Me; We will make him a sign to humankind, and a mercy from Us. It is a matter already decreed.

So she conceived him and withdrew with him to a remote place.

The pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm tree. She said: Would that I had died before this and had been overlooked and forgotten!

But he  called to her from below her: Do not worry, for your Lord has provided a stream close at hand.

Shake the trunk of the palm tree towards you; it will drop fresh ripe dates upon you.

Eat and drink, and be content. And if you see any human being, say: I have made a vow of silence to the Most Gracious, and today I will not speak to any person.

She came to her people, carrying the infant. They said: O Mary, indeed you have done something unthinkable!

O sister of Aaron,  your father was not an evil man, nor was your mother unchaste!

Thereupon she pointed to the infant. They said: How can we talk to one who is an infant in the cradle?

Jesus said: Verily, I am a slave of Allah; He has given me the Book and made me a Prophet.

He has made me blessed wherever I may be, and has enjoined on me prayer and zakah as long as I live.

And He has made me dutiful towards my mother, and not arrogant or unblessed.

So peace be upon me the day I was born, the day I die and the day I will be raised up to life again!

Such was Jesus son of Mary, and this is the truth about him concerning which they are in doubt.

It is not befitting to Allah that He should beget a son. Glory be to Him! When He decrees a matter, He merely says to it, ‘Be!’ and it is.

Verily, Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. This is a straight path.}[Mary 19:16-36]

•    Commentary on these verses
This pregnancy occurred in Mary’s womb, from a mother without a father; it is indicative of the perfect might of God, for it is something that is not easily done, but it is easy for God. The wisdom behind Jesus being created in this manner is that this would be a sign and proof to people of the might of God, Who created them in various ways. He created their father Adam from neither a male nor a female; he created Eve from a male without a female; He created all of their progeny from both male and female, except for Jesus, whom He created from a female without a male. Thus, with the creation of Jesus, the four possible scenarios were completed, and this points to the perfect might of God and His immense power. This is not difficult for God, for the creation of the heavens and the earth is greater than the creation of human beings, but most people are not aware of that.

God is able to create humans from a male and a female, as is the case for all people, but He may create without a male and a female, as in the case of our father Adam; or He may create from a male without a female, as in the case of our mother Eve, whom God created from the rib of Adam; or He may create from a female without a male, as in the case of the Messiah Jesus son of Mary; or He may create from an old man and a barren woman, as in the case of the Prophets Abraham and Zachariah; or He may not create anything from a male and a female, neither males or females, as in the case of those who are infertile; or He may create from them only males with no females, or only females with no males, or both males and females.

Allah has the power to do all things, as God says in the Qur’an:
{When We will something, We merely say to it, ‘Be!’ and it is.} [al-Nahl 16:40]

God also says in the Qur’an:
{To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. He creates whatever He wills; He bestows female [offspring] upon whomever He wills, and bestows male [offspring] upon whomever He wills,
or He bestows both males and females; and He leaves barren whomever He wills. Verily, He is All-Knowing, Omnipotent.}[as-Shoora 42:49-50]

What this passage means is that God creates whatever He wills, and gives to whomever He wills among His servants female [offspring] only, with no males among them, or He gives to whomever He wills male [offspring] only, with no females among them; He gives to whomever He wills both male and female [offspring]; and He leaves barren whomever He wills, so that they have no offspring. God knows best what He creates, and He is able to create whatever He wills; nothing He wants to create is beyond Him.

Conclusion:
The creation of Jesus was a sign and proof, for all people in general and for the Children of Israel in particular, of God’s great might and His ability to create whatever He wills. Therefore, we have no option but to believe in that and to venerate the Lord in our hearts.

It is interesting to note that the wisdom behind the creation of Jesus from a mother without a father is mentioned in the references that are in circulation among the Christians today. In the book of Isaiah, there is a foretelling of Mary’s conceiving of Jesus, and that his birth would be a sign of God’s power:
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.  [Isaiah 7:14]

“The Lord” is God, and the “sign” is an indication of His might. Immanuel is one of the names of the Messiah.

Despite all that, the Christians do not believe that the divine wisdom behind Mary’s conceiving Jesus in this manner was to highlight the fact that this was a sign of the might of God (Who is referred to here as “the Lord”).

** After Mary gave birth to Jesus, the first words he uttered when he was in the cradle were an affirmation that he was a servant of God. That was when the Jews asked his mother about this child: where did you get him from? Jesus did not say that he was the son of God; if that were the case, he would have said it, because it would have been an honour for him if it were true, and because the situation demanded that he should say something to ward off accusations from his mother.

But in fact, he said:
{Verily, I am a slave of Allah; He has given me the Book and made me a Prophet.

He has made me blessed wherever I may be, and has enjoined on me prayer and zakah as long as I live.

And He has made me dutiful towards my mother, and not arrogant or unblessed.

So peace be upon me the day I was born, the day I die, and the day I will be raised up to life again}[Mary 19:30-33]

What could be clearer than this, which proves that Jesus was a servant of God, a human being, and a prophet; and that he was not God or the son of God?

•    Mary’s mind was put at rest after her son reassured her after she gave birth to him
God tells us in His Book that Mary was very distressed when she gave birth to her son Jesus, because she knew that the people would accuse her of fornication, as it was well-known that she was not married. In their minds, there was no other way for her to get pregnant except through fornication.

God says in the Qur’an:
{The pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm tree. She said: Would that I had died before this and had been overlooked and forgotten!

But Jesus called to her from below her: Do not worry, for your Lord has provided a stream close at hand.

Shake the trunk of the palm tree towards you; it will drop fresh ripe dates upon you.

Eat and drink, and be content. And if you see any human being, say: I have made a vow of silence to the Most Gracious, and today I will not speak to any person.}[Mary 19:23-26]

But Jesus reassured his mother after she gave birth to him. This was the first sign of his goodness, for he told her to eat the fresh, ripe dates and to drink the water from the stream. He also told her to excuse herself from answering her people when they questioned her as to where she had got him from, by saying that she was fasting, for in their religious laws, fasting meant refraining from speaking. When Mary saw these miracles in her son, she realized that he was indeed a prophet, and she became certain of the promise of her Lord. She did what her son told her to do, because it is not possible that her baby could have spoken such marvellous words except through revelation from God. Thus, her mind was put at rest, and she left the place where she was and went back to her people. When they saw her carrying her infant son, they asked her in astonishment: Where did you get this newborn child? You come from a religious and honourable family, and someone like you does not commit shameful deeds. She responded as one who trusted in her Lord; she pointed to her child, meaning that they should ask him, for he was the one who would answer their questions. They were astonished by her response, for it is not normal for an infant in the cradle to speak and answer the questions of the people around him.

But Jesus spoke momentous words that dispelled their astonishment. First, Jesus affirmed that he was a servant of God, saying: {Verily, I am a slave of Allah}, that is, I am not to be worshipped and I am not a son of God; rather I am a servant and worshipper of God. Then he said: {He has given me the Book}, namely the Injeel;  God decreed that he would be given this book when he grew up. Then Jesus said: {and made me a prophet}, that is, who has been sent to you. He did not say, “He has made me a god,” or “He has made me the son of God,” or any other such thing that the Christians said about him after he was taken up to heaven.

Instead, he said:
{…and made me a Prophet.
He has made me blessed wherever I may be, and has enjoined on me prayer and zakah as long as I live.

And He has made me dutiful towards my mother, and not arrogant or unblessed.

So peace be upon me the day I was born, the day I die and the day I will be raised up to life again!}[Mary 19:30-33]

When Jesus said these words, they realized that he was indeed a prophet, and a prophet speaks only the truth. Mary was reassured at that moment, and this is one of the greatest ways in which Jesus honored his mother.

•    The conclusion of Mary’s story
Immediately after telling us this momentous story in the Qur’an, God says:
{Such was Jesus son of Mary, and this is the truth about him concerning which they are in doubt.

It is not befitting to Allah that He should beget a son. Glory be to Him! When He decrees a matter, He merely says to it, ‘Be!’ and it is.}[Mary 19:34-35]

What these two verses mean is: What We have told you, Muhammad, is the story of the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary. Doubts and confusion arose among the various Christian groups about this, as a result of which they divided into sects and factions.

The reader may note that God attributed Jesus to his mother Mary, and He did not attribute him to Himself, because he was the son of Mary and had no father. If God were indeed his father, He would have attributed him to Himself, because the context would dictate doing so. It is well-known that a person is usually attributed to his father, but as that was not applicable in the case of Jesus, God attributed him to his mother, saying, {Such was Jesus, son of Mary.}

Then God confirms that and says: {It is not befitting to Allah that He should beget a son. Glory be to Him!} It is not possible that God could have a son because having a son would imply that God is in need of His creation, and that is contrary to fact. He is the one Who created them and brought them into being, so how could He be in need of them after that?

God then says, {Glory be to Him!} meaning God is exalted far above that.

Then at the end of this passage, God says: {When He decrees a matter, He merely says to it, ‘Be!’ and it is}.

This is like what He says in another verse, at the end of chapter Al Imran:
{The likeness of Jesus before Allah is as the likeness of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him, ‘Be!’ and he was.

This is the truth from your Lord, so do not be among those who doubt.}[Al ‘Imran 3:59-60]

That is: O Muhammad, do not be among those who doubt the story of Jesus, for the truth has come to you from your Lord.

** Another indication of the virtue of Mary, according to Islam, is the fact that two whole chapters of the Qur’an are named after her and her family. The first is called “Mary”, and the other is “Al ‘Imran.”

•    The Christians have different beliefs about the status and nature of Mary
The three major groups of Christians differ greatly with regard to what they believe about the mother of Jesus, the Virgin Mary. The Eastern Orthodox believe that she was born with a burden of original sin just like the prophets, saints, and other humans except Jesus.

The Catholics, as well as the Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox, believe that Mary was born free of original sin, as was Jesus.

The Catholic and Orthodox churches believe that Mary was taken up to heaven alive; some believe that before that, she died and was resurrected. They put statues and icons of her in their churches and venerate her. They also pray to her but justify that by explaining that they are praying for her intercession.

As for the Protestants, they regard her as being an ordinary creation like any other human, and they object to praying to her. They believe that she was the mother of Jesus, and she did not give birth to the divine; rather she gave birth to a human body only. Some of them say that she is like the white shell of an egg from which the chick emerges.

The Orthodox and Catholics agree that she was a virgin before, during, and after the birth of Jesus, meaning that she had no relations with men, and that Jesus had no siblings; in general, Protestants do not believe that she remained a virgin for the rest of her life.

Catholics, Orthodox, and some Protestant sects call Mary the “mother of God,” meaning the mother of Jesus, who they believe to be part of the Trinity. Most Protestant sects respect her and agree that her son Jesus was part of a Trinity, but they object to the title “mother of God” and excessive veneration of her.

As for the Jews, their view was the exact opposite of that. They believe that she committed shameful deeds, thus becoming pregnant with Jesus and giving birth to him – far be it from her to do such a thing.

Then Islam came and put an end to this terrible confusion about the Virgin Mary. The Qur’an states that she was devoted to worshipping God, honourable, strong and true in faith, pious and pure. She did not worship anything other than God, and she did not call people to worship her or her son. She is mentioned, with words of great respect and honour, in thirty-one places in the Qur’an. The name of her son, Jesus son of Mary, is mentioned twenty-five times in the Qur’an, and he is described as the Messiah nine times. All of that occurs in a context of respect, veneration, and honour, but only to the extent that is appropriate for a human being; it does not imply any belief that they possessed any divine attributes. They were human beings like us; they worshipped God as we worship Him, and they hoped to attain paradise and be saved from hell, just as we do.

The Qur’an tells us that Mary, the daughter of ‘Imran, conceived Jesus by the word of God (“Be!”), and then Jesus remained in her womb, like any other human, until she gave birth to him as all women give birth to their children.

•    In the Qur’an, God describes Jesus as being “the word of Allah”
In the Qur’an, Jesus is described as being the word of God, because he was created in his mother’s womb through the divine word “Be!” The impact of that word was like the effect of the man’s sperm meeting the woman’s egg in her uterus, as a result of which she becomes pregnant and bears a child.

Jesus is also described as “a soul created by Him;” that is, the soul of Jesus was created by God like any other human soul, as God says in the Qur’an when He advises the People of the Book – namely the Jews and Christians:
{O People of the Book, do not exceed the bounds [of truth] in your religion, and do not say anything about Allah except the truth. The Messiah Jesus son of Mary was [no more than] a Prophet of Allah, and His word, which He bestowed upon Mary, and a soul created by Him. So believe in Allah and His prophets. Do not say: Three [trinity]; desist, for that will be better for you. Allah is indeed only one God. Glory be to Him, [far exalted is He] above having a son. To Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth, and sufficient is Allah as a disposer of affairs.

The Messiah would never disdain to be a slave to Allah, nor would the angels who are close to Him. Whosoever disdains His worship and is arrogant, then surely Allah will gather them all before Him.

Then, as for those who believe and do righteous deeds, He [Allah] will give them their reward in full, and will give them yet more out of His bounty. But as for those who are disdainful and arrogant, He will give them a painful punishment, and they will not find for themselves, besides Allah, any protector or helper}. [an-Nisa' 4:171-173]

•    The state in which the Children of Israel were before Jesus was sent to them
Introduction
The children of Israel were prophets and were kings after they were possessed by Pharaoh and his people, for God had bestowed many blessings upon them, as He says in the Qur’an:
{And [remember] when Moses said to his people: O my people, remember the favour that Allah bestowed upon you, when He appointed prophets among you, made you kings, and granted you what He had not granted to any other nation in the world.}[al-Ma’idah 5:20]

But the Children of Israel did not praise God for these blessings, and they went to extremes in transgression and wrongdoing. Their hearts grew hard, they forgot what they had been reminded of, and usury and fornication became widespread among them. They used to kill those who enjoined justice, and they even killed the prophets and distorted the Torah that they had. They transgressed greatly against the Book of God and against His prophets, in ways that no one before them had ever dared to do. So God sent the Messiah to them, but they did not believe that he was a prophet, even though God supported him with many miracles as proof of his prophethood. Then they decided to kill him, but God protected him and took him up to Him in heaven.

God says of the People of the Book (the Jews and Christians):
{Has the time not come for the hearts of those who believe to be humbled at the mention of Allah and of what has been revealed of the truth, and they should not be like those who were given the Book before, whose hearts grew hard with the passage of time? And many of them were evildoers.}[al-Hadeed 57:16]

Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said, commenting on this verse:
God forbade the believers to imitate the People of the Book who had come before them, the Jews and Christians, when their hearts grew hard with the passage of time;  they changed the Book of God which was in their hands, and ran after money, and threw it behind their backs. They persisted in adhering to various views and false teachings, and they followed human opinions with regard to the religion of God, taking their rabbis and priests as lords instead of God. At that point, their hearts grew hard, so they did not accept any admonition or respond to any promise of reward or warning of punishment.

{And many of them were evildoers} in their actions, so their hearts were corrupt, and their good deeds were invalid.

God says elsewhere:
{But because of their breaking of their covenant, We cursed them, and made their hearts grow hard. They distort the meaning of [revealed] words and have forgotten a portion of what was enjoined upon them.}[al-Ma'idah 5:13]

That is, their hearts became corrupt and grew hard, and it became part of their regular practice to distort the meaning of [revealed] words. They abandoned the good deeds that had been enjoined upon them, and they committed actions that were forbidden to them; hence, God forbade the believers from imitating them in any fundamental or minor issues.

Ibn Abi Hatim narrated a hadith from ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ood, and I have never heard anything more wonderful than it except something from the Book of Allah or something that the Prophet said.

He said:
With the passage of time, the hearts of the Children of Israel grew hard, and they invented a book themselves, which they inclined towards and found sweet and pleasant to recite. The truth formed a barrier between them and many of the things that they desired, so they said: Come, let us call the Children of Israel to this book of ours. Whoever follows it with us, we will let him be, but whoever refuses to follow it with us, we will kill him. So they did that. There was a man among them who had great knowledge of religion. When he saw what they were doing, he turned to what he knew of the Book of God and wrote it down on some thin material, then he rolled it up and put it in a vessel, then hung the vessel on a string around his neck. When a lot of killing had taken place, they said to one another: you have killed many of the Children of Israel. Call So-and-so and show your book to him; if he follows it with you, then the rest of the people will follow it with you, but if he refuses, then kill him.

So they called So-and-so, that knowledgeable man, and said: Do you believe in that which is in our book?
He said: What is in it? Show it to me.

They showed it to him, from beginning to end, and then they said: Do you believe in this? He said: Yes, I believe in what is in here – and he pointed to the vessel, so they let him be. When he died, they exhumed his body, and they found that vessel on a string tied around his neck. They found in it what is known as the Book of God, so they said to one another: We have never heard of that; this man must have gotten confused and drifted away.

Then the Children of Israel split into seventy-two sects, and the best of their sects is the people who follow the same path as the one who had that vessel.

Ibn Mas‘ood said: Soon, if you – or some of you – live, you will see things that you will disapprove of and object to. You will not be able to change them, but it will be sufficient for any one of you that God knows that he hates it in his heart.

Abu Ja‘far at-Tabari narrated from ‘Itrees ibn ‘Arqoob that he came to ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ood and said:
O ‘Abdullah, doomed is the one who does not enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong.

‘Abdullah said: Doomed is the one who cannot recognize in his heart what is right and does not hate in his heart what is wrong. With the passage of time, the hearts of the Children of Israel grew hard, and they invented a book by themselves which they liked and found sweet to recite. They said: We will present this book to the Children of Israel; whoever believes in it, we will let him be, but whoever disbelieves in it, we will kill him.

So one of them put the Book of God in a vessel, then wore that vessel on his chest, then when he was asked: Do you believe in this? He said: I believe in this – and he pointed to the vessel on his chest – why would I not believe in this Book?

Among the best of their sects today is the sect that follows the same path as the one who had that vessel.

•    The Children of Israel killed their prophets
God says in the Qur’an:
{As to those who reject the revelations of Allah and unjustifiably slay the prophets, and slay those of humankind who enjoin justice among the people, give them the tidings of a painful punishment.}[Al ‘Imran 3:21]

Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said, commenting on this verse:
This is a condemnation by Allah of the People of the Book for what they committed of sins and unlawful acts by rejecting the revelations of Allah in the past and at present, which were conveyed to them by the prophets. They did that out of arrogance and stubbornness towards the prophets, and because they despised the truth and were too proud to follow it. In addition to that, they killed some of the prophets when they conveyed the laws of Allah from Him to them, for no just reason and with no offence on the part of the prophets, except that they called them to the truth.

{and slay those of humankind who enjoin justice among the people} – this is the utmost arrogance, as the Prophet said: <>

Ibn Abi Hatim narrated that Abu ‘Ubaydah ibn al-Jarraah said: I said: O Prophet of Allah, which of the people will be most severely punished on the Day of Resurrection?

He said: <>

Then the Prophet of Allah recited the verse:
{As to those who reject the revelations of Allah, unjustifiably slay the prophets, and slay those of humankind who enjoin justice among the people, give them the tidings of a painful punishment.

Such are the ones whose deeds will come to nothing in this world or in the hereafter, and they will have no helpers.}[Al ‘Imran 3:21-22]

Then the Prophet of Allah said: <>

This was also narrated by Ibn Jareer, except that he said: <>

When they were too arrogant to accept the truth, and looked down on people, God punished them for that by humiliating them and bringing them low in this world, and by inflicting on them a humiliating punishment in the hereafter. 

God says, highlighting the fact that the Jews distorted the Torah:
{Do you [O believers] then hope that they will respond to your call, when a party among them used to hear the word of Allah, and they distorted it knowingly after having understood it?}[al-Baqarah 2:75]

{Among the Jews are some who distort the meaning of [revealed] words.}[an-Nisa' 4:46]

{O Prophet, do not be saddened by those who rush into disbelief, those who say with their mouths: We believe, but have no faith in their hearts, or those among the Jews who eagerly listen to lies and to those who have not even come to you. They distort the meaning of [revealed] words.}[al-Ma’idah 5:41]

{There are some among them who distort the Book with their tongues, so that you would think it is part of the Book, but it is not part of the Book; and they say: This is from Allah, but it is not from Allah. And they tell lies about Allah knowingly.}[Al Imran 3:78]

What this verse means is that some of the Jews distorted the Torah, switching the words around and changing the word of God to give the impression that these were the words that had been revealed and that this was the Torah, but in fact, it was not part of the Torah at all. They said, “This came from God; God revealed it to His Prophet Moses.” But it did not come from God; rather they tell lies about God for worldly gain, knowing full well that they are lying.
***
•    The youth and prophethood of Jesus
Jesus did not spend his youth in idle pursuits and play, and he was not distracted, as most of the Jews were, by turning away from the commands of God and the love of wealth and women. Instead, he showed clear signs of having strong faith and of being a man of virtue and dignity.

As God tells us in the Qur’an, among his first words when he spoke in the cradle were:
{Verily, I am a slave of Allah; He has given me the Book and made me a Prophet. He has made me blessed wherever I may be, and has enjoined on me prayer and zakah as long as I live. And He has made me dutiful towards my mother, and not arrogant or unblessed. So peace be upon me the day I was born, the day I die and the day I will be raised up to life again!}[Mary 19:30-33]

This text is in harmony with what is mentioned in the Gospel of Luke:
And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.[Luke 2:40]

When Jesus reached the age of thirty, God sent to him the greatest of His angels, Gabriel, and revealed to him the true revelation (Injeel), in which there was guidance and light. This was the beginning of his prophethood. God sent him to the Children of Israel, the Jews, and supported him with miracles which proved that he was indeed a prophet. Some of the Children of Israel believed in him, and others disbelieved in him; they should have believed in him, obeyed him, and respected him because the prophets are mediators between God and His creation, who convey His laws to them. Through them, people learn the way to Paradise so that they may follow it, and they learn the way to Hell so that they may avoid it.

In the Gospel of John, there is a statement that God supported Jesus with clear signs which proved that he was a prophet:
“Now there was a Pharisee,  a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.’” [John 3:1-2]

The fact that this Jewish leader said to Jesus, “For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him,” proves that God supported Jesus with miracles which proved that he was a prophet, because humans are not able to do such things. For example, he used to bring the dead back to life, he healed those afflicted with leprosy or blindness, and he told people what they were eating and what food they had stored in their houses. All of that was by God’s permission; Jesus had no independent power or independent knowledge, because he was a human being, no more and no less.

•    A note on the falseness of the doctrine of original sin
Here we may note a subtle point, which is that this Jewish leader [Nicodemus] said to Jesus: “Rabbi,  we know that you are a teacher who has come from God,” thus affirming that Jesus was sent by God to the Jews as a prophet and a teacher, because a prophet teaches the people the knowledge with which God sent him. It is sure that Jesus taught the people the Injeel (true revelation revealed to him from God) and guided them to do good.

The Jewish leader did not say that Jesus had come as a redeemer or a savior, that he was the son of God, that he was God, or any of the other ideas that are common among the Christians.

Jesus approved of what this Jewish man said, and he did not tell him that he was wrong. If the man had said something wrong, Jesus would have objected and corrected him. In his role as a teacher, he would have told him that he had come as a redeemer or savior, approving of what was correct but correcting any mistakes; otherwise, he would not really have been a teacher.

But unfortunately, the attitude of the Jews to whom Jesus was sent, with signs that he was indeed a Prophet, was not pleasing to God. They turned away from obeying God, and they turned away from following the commands in the Torah. 

They were too arrogant to listen to the truth, and they resented those people of virtue, such as prophets and reformers, who sought to advise them; in fact, they killed the prophets, as noted above, and venerated those rabbis and priests who deviated from the truth, giving them the right to promulgate laws and dictate what was permissible and what was forbidden. This comes under the heading of associating others with God, for God is one, and He alone has the right to ordain laws, but by their actions they made the rabbis and priests partners with God and equal to Him.

•    Jesus gathered his sincere disciples around him when his people stubbornly rejected his call
God tells us what Jesus did when his people stubbornly rejected the religion that he brought:
{When Jesus came to know of their disbelief, he said: Who will be my helpers in the cause of Allah? The disciples said: We will be helpers [in the cause] of Allah. We believe in Allah; bear witness that we submit to Allah [as Muslims].}[Al ‘Imran 3:52]

What this verse means is that when Jesus, son of Mary, realized that they were determined to persist in their disbelief, he called out to his inner circle and most loyal followers to ask who would be with him in supporting God’s religion. 

Those closest to him said that they would support it, call people to it, believe in God, and follow Jesus. They bore witness that they submitted to God, affirming His oneness and obeying Him.

•    Jesus sensed imminent danger and realized that the Jews were planning to kill him
Some of the Jews, among whom were the disciples, believed that Jesus was a prophet from God, but many more disbelieved. Palestine at that time was ruled by the Romans who were pagans, who did not believe in God or in His prophets; rather they believed in a number of deified humans that they had made up themselves, a god of livestock, a god of agriculture, a god of war and so on. (See Appendix 3.) They did not care what religion the Jews followed, as long as they did not cause any internal chaos or rebellion that could undermine Roman authority.

To sum up, the Jews could no longer tolerate Jesus, so he began to travel about in secret with his mother, going from one village to another in Palestine, in the company of his disciples. Jesus began to suspect that the Jews intended to kill him.

After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders there were looking for a way to kill him.[John 7:1]

Jesus said to the Jews, explaining that they did not believe in the message that he had brought and they wanted to kill him and get rid of him:
I know you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word.[John 8:37]

It is also clearly stated that the Jews were keen to kill Jesus:
At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill?”[John 7:25]

And:
So from that day on they plotted to take his life.
Therefore, Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the people of Judea.
Instead he withdrew to a region near the wilderness, to a village called
Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.

When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple courts they asked one another, “What do you think? Isn’t he coming to the festival at all?”But the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who found out where Jesus was should report it so that they might arrest him.[John 11:53-57]

•    Jesus is taken up to heaven without any harm befalling him; this proves that the doctrine of the crucifixion is false
When the Jews’ pursuit of Jesus grew intense, and he realized that he was in danger of being killed, he told his people that God would take him up to Him, intending to reassure them that his enemies would never be able to capture him and kill him, or even cause him the slightest harm. This is indicative of Jesus' trust that God would help him and protect him.

Jesus informed the disciples of this when speaking to his disciple John:
Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.”[Matthew 9:15]

Think about his words, “the bridegroom will be taken”; he did not say “he will be killed,” “he will be crucified,” or any other phrase that modern Christians use as the basis for their belief that Christ was killed or crucified.

This also corresponds to what is said in [John 3: 14]: Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up.

Jesus hinted to his people that God would take him up [to heaven] and that he would never be killed or crucified:
The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.

Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I am going to the one who sent me. You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”

The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?”[John 7:32-36]

The words of Jesus “and then I am going to the one who sent me,” after which he said, “You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come,” clearly indicate that Jesus was not the one whom they crucified and killed.

Similarly, if Jesus were the one who was killed on the cross, he would have been found and his location would have been known to them, because they had looked for him and found him in front of them, and they crucified him and killed him – according to those who believe in that. So how could that be in harmony with the words of Jesus, “You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”

These words could not be in harmony except in one of two scenarios: either Jesus was telling lies when he said that they would look for him but not find him, then what happened was that they looked for him and found him – and this is impossible, because Jesus did not and would never tell lies; or Jesus was telling the truth, and later they looked for him but did not find him. This could not have happened except in the scenario that God took him up to heaven and someone else took his place who was made to resemble Jesus, then the Jews killed him, thinking that he was Jesus.

This is the truth concerning which there is no doubt, and it is what is indicated by the biblical reports, and also by the text of the Qur’an, in which God says:
{But they did not slay him or crucify him; rather [another man] was made to resemble him to them [and that man was crucified]. Those who differ concerning this matter are in doubt concerning it, with no [certain] knowledge, but only conjecture to follow. But they certainly did not slay him. Rather Allah took him up to Himself; and Allah is Almighty, Most Wise.}[an-Nisa’ 4:157-158]

•    Note
The words of Jesus, “I am going to the one who sent me,” clearly indicate that he was a prophet sent by God.

•    Note on the falseness of the doctrine of original sin
It is very interesting to note that Jesus was keen to avoid being killed. If he were a redeemer or savior, he would have handed himself over to the Jews in order to fulfil the doctrine of atonement and crucifixion in which modern Christians believe. He would not have tried to flee from them and hide with his mother in Galilee and elsewhere.

•    A specious argument and the response to it
If it were to be asked: The one who was on the cross said when he was dying: “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ (which means ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” (Matthew 27:46 & Mark 15:34) – who is the one who spoke these words?

The answer to that is very easy: the one who said these words was the person who was crucified, whom God caused to resemble Jesus so they captured him, crucified him, killed him and buried him.

It was not Jesus himself, as God tells us in the Qur’an:
{But they did not slay him or crucify him; rather [another man] was made to resemble him to them [and that man was crucified]. Those who differ concerning this matter are in doubt concerning it, with no [certain] knowledge, but only conjecture to follow. But they certainly did not slay him. Rather Allah took him up to Himself; and Allah is Almighty, Most Wise.}[an-Nisa’ 4:157-158]

•    Evidence that Jesus Christ was taken up to heaven in the care of God, and that Jews and Christians who claim that he was crucified are wrong
God says:
{And [the disbelievers] plotted and planned, and Allah also planned, and Allah is the best of planners. And [remember] when Allah said: O Jesus, I will take you back and raise you up to Me and deliver you from those who disbelieve; I will make those who follow you superior to those who disbelieve, until the Day of Resurrection. Then you will [all] return unto Me, and I will judge between you concerning the matters wherein you differed.} [Al ‘Imran 3:54-55]

Here God tells us that He took Jesus up to heaven. God took him up body and soul, the same as he was when he was on Earth,  and He saved him from the Jews who wanted to harm him and who had incited the disbelieving governor of Jerusalem at that time to kill him.

The story behind that is that the enemies of Jesus among the Jews tried to cause trouble for him with the Roman authorities who were ruling Palestine at that time, so that they would kill him. They told stories about him to one of the disbelieving governors in that land, who issued orders that he be killed and crucified. Hence they besieged him in a house in Jerusalem, on a Friday afternoon, the eve of the Sabbath. The reason for that enmity was that when God sent Jesus son of Mary with clear signs and guidance, they envied him for what God had granted him of prophethood and clear miracles, for he used to heal those born blind and lepers, and bring the dead back to life, by God’s leave; he would make the shape of a bird from clay, then breathe into it and it would become a bird that was seen to fly, by God’s permission; and there were other miracles with which God honoured him and caused them to happen at his hands, so as to prove to the people that he was indeed a prophet. But they disbelieved him and opposed him, and they tried to harm him in any way they could, until Jesus could no longer stay in the same city as them; rather he travelled about a great deal and hid from them in the land, along with his mother Mary. But they were not content with that, until they went to the governor of Damascus at that time, who was a polytheist star-worshipper.

They told him that there is a man in Jerusalem who was confusing the people and misguiding them, turning the subjects against the Roman authorities. The governor got angry and wrote to his deputy in Jerusalem – whose name was Pontius Pilate – instructing him to arrest this man and crucify him, putting a crown of thorns on his head, and put a stop to the trouble he was causing to people. When the letter reached him, Pontius Pilate complied with it. He and a group of Jews went to the house where Jesus was, along with a group of his disciples, twelve or thirteen – or, it was said, seventeen. That was on a Friday afternoon, the eve of the Sabbath.

They besieged him there, then when the time came for them to enter the house, God caused one of the disciples who were present to resemble Jesus, and Jesus was taken up to heaven through an opening in the roof of the house as the people in the house were looking on.

The police came in and found that young man who had been caused to resemble Jesus, so they arrested him, thinking that he was Jesus. They crucified him and put the crown of thorns on his head to humiliate him, and they bragged about that. Most Christians believed the Jews’ claim that they had killed Jesus, because they did not know the truth of the matter and had not seen what happened inside the house. Therefore, they, like the Jews, thought that the one who had been killed and crucified was Jesus, and because of that they clearly went far astray. 

Here someone might ask:
Why did the Jews hate Jesus?
The answer is that the message and teachings of Jesus that called for being gentle and kind towards others conflicted with the materialistic nature of the Jews, and their arrogant hard-heartedness. When Jesus came to them, advised them and told them to follow him, they accused him of being a false prophet, and they disbelieved in the signs that confirmed that he was a true prophet, and they said that these wonders were performed with the help of the devils.

Ibn Abi Hatim  narrated that Ibn ‘Abbas said: When Allah wanted to take Jesus up to heaven, he came out to his companions, as there were twelve of them – meaning the disciples – in the house. He came out to them from a well in the house, with his head dripping with water, and said: Among you is someone who will deny me twelve times after having believed in me.

Then he said: Which of you will agree to be made to resemble me, and be killed in my stead, and he will be with me on the same level[in Paradise] as me?
One of the youngest of them stood up, but Jesus said to him: Sit down.

Then Jesus repeated his words, and the young man stood up again, but he said: Sit down.

Then Jesus repeated his words again, and the young man stood up and said: I will do it.

Jesus said: It is you who will do that.

So he was made to resemble Jesus, and Jesus was taken up to heaven through an opening in the roof of the house.

Then a search party of the Jews came and arrested the one who was made to resemble Jesus. They killed him then they crucified him. Some of them denied him twelve times after having believed in him, and they split into three groups. 

One group said: God remained among us as long as He willed, then he ascended to heaven. These are the Jacobites.

Another group said:
The son of God remained among us as long as he willed, then God took him up to Him. These are the Nestorians.

And another group said:
The servant and prophet of God remained among us as long as God willed, then God took him up to Him, and these are the Muslims.

The two disbelieving groups ganged up on the Muslim group and killed them, after which Islam [in the general sense of submission to God] remained unknown until God sent Muhammad.

Ibn ‘Abbas said: This is referred to in the verse in which Allah says:
{Then We helped those who believed against their enemies, so they prevailed.}[as-Saff 61:14]

•    A history lesson
When the Jews crucified that man, they threw him and the wooden cross into a place which they then made into a dump where they threw garbage, impure things, animal carcasses and other filthy things. It remained like that until the time of Constantine, when his mother Helena went there and brought out the remains of that person whom she believed was Christ.

They also found the wood on which the crucified person had been crucified, which they venerated and covered with gold and pearls. Hence they adopted the symbol of the cross, from the shape of which they sought blessings, and they would kiss it. The Empress Helena issued orders that the garbage be removed from that place, and a huge, ornate church was built on that site, which is well known until this day in Jerusalem. It is the church that was called in Arabic Kaneesat al-Qumaamah (lit. the Church of the Garbage Dump), because of what that site used to be, but now they call it the Church of the Resurrection , meaning the place where they believe Jesus was resurrected.

Then Helena issued orders that the garbage and filth of the city be placed on the rock which was the direction towards which the Jews faced when they prayed.  This is how things remained until the Muslim Caliph ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab conquered Jerusalem.  He swept away the garbage with his garment and cleansed the place of filth and impurities.

To sum up: Jesus was not the one who was killed; it was someone else. As for Jesus, God took him up to Himself in heaven, in a great miracle which was an honor for him, the like of which had never happened to any prophet before him. God honored him and humiliated his enemies, the Jews and those Roman police who helped them.

This is the correct belief, which is affirmed by the Qur’an, as we have noted above.
•    The attitude of the Children of Israel after Jesus was taken up to heaven and Paul emerged
The followers of Jesus continued to adhere to the correct belief that he had taught them for a while, but they suffered extreme persecution during that time at the hands of the Jews, especially Paul, who harshly persecuted the followers of Jesus. When he realized that violence had not produced any results and never would, he resorted to the tactic of hypocrisy. Therefore, he claimed to believe in Christ, and strove hard to learn his teachings, until he became one of the most knowledgeable among them. Then after that, he lied to them, claiming that Christ had revealed a gospel to him, and some of them believed him. Then he began his vile mission to distort the religion of Jesus, by introducing into it things that were not part of it. Hence he invented a doctrine which said that Jesus was the son of God, then he invented the doctrine of original sin and the doctrine of redemption.

Many of the followers of Jesus opposed him, as is indicated by the words of Paul himself:
You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me. [2 Timothy 1:15]

At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me.[2 Timothy 4:16]

•    The four stages of the development of Pauline Christianity after Paul’s death
In spite of what Paul tried to do, belief in the oneness of God remained prevalent among Christians for three centuries.

Then came the Council of Nicaea, in which belief in the divinity of Christ was imposed with the support of the Roman Emperor Constantine, to put an end to the disputes in the Christian community, which was part of Roman society. Thus, the version of Christianity that Paul had promoted began to advance.

Then Constantine himself became a Christian, a follower of the religion that had deviated from the original religion of Jesus, which had been shaped by Paul, and he imposed it on Roman society. Constantine gave up his old religion, which was pure idolatry that had no connection to Jesus or any of the other prophets. Christianity grew stronger, but the belief in the oneness of God, to which the bishop Arius had called people, was still prevalent among the Christians in Constantinople, Antioch, Babylon, Alexandria, Asyut, Jerusalem, Caesarea in Palestine, and Tyre.

But the non-unitarian  bishops began to gain control over the Christians, through claims of dreams and visions, until the unitarian belief disappeared, and there was nothing left except the view that Christ was divine.

In 380 CE came the era of the Emperor Theodosius I, who became a Christian, and the Roman Empire officially embraced Christianity in the form that had been shaped by Paul and confirmed by Constantine. Thus, the door was opened wide for the pagan peoples of the Roman Empire to embrace Christianity.

These are the four stages in the development of Christianity which followed the era of Paul, and which led the Christian community far away from the teachings of Jesus and made Christianity a religion that was nothing but a mixture of the myths of Paul and the beliefs of the pagan Romans.
***
•    The Jews’ distortion of the Torah and Injeel (true revelation from God to Jesus) with the passage of time is regarded as one of the greatest factors that led to the distortion of the religion of Moses and Jesus

Allah says, addressing the scholars of all the People of the Book (the Jews and Christians):
{O People of the Book, why do you confuse truth with falsehood and knowingly conceal the truth?}[Al ‘Imran 3:71]
***
Allah says of the scholars of the People of the Book (Jews and Christians):
{And [remember] when Allah took a covenant from those who were given the scripture, that they should make it known and clear to humankind, and not conceal it; but they cast it behind their backs, and sold it for a small price; what a wretched trade they made!}[Al ‘Imran 3:187]
***
Allah says of the People of the Book (Jews and Christians):
{Then woe to those who write the scripture with their own hands, and then say: This is from Allah, in order to trade it for a small price! Woe to them for what their hands have written, and woe to them for what they have earned thereby.}[al-Baqarah 2:79]

This distortion is represented in the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, written after the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was taken up to heaven. 

Christian scholars say they are the original revelation that was in the hands of the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, and his disciples. But the truth of the matter, concerning which there can be no doubt, is that they are man-made books which were written by four people during the period 37-110 CE , after which they began to call each of them a Gospel, to liken them to the original revelation (Injeel) that had been brought by Jesus. This comes under the heading of confusing truth with falsehood. They named them after their authors, calling them the Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel of Mark, the Gospel of Luke and the Gospel of John, when in fact it would be more honest and truthful to call them the Book of Matthew, the Book of Mark, the Book of Luke and the Book of John, and not to call any of them a gospel.
***
Allah admonished the People of the Book (the Jews and Christians), saying:
{O People of the Book, there has come to you our Prophet, disclosing to you much of what you have been concealing of the scripture, and overlooking much. There has come to you from Allah a light and a clear Book.}[al-Ma’idah 5:15]

The word 'Prophet' here refers to Muhammad, and what is meant by “a light” is the Qur’an.
***
The Christian scholars’ distortion of their religion is the main cause of the mysteries and contradictions that exist in modern Christianity (by which I am not referring to the religion that was brought by the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary). If the Torah and Gospels that are in the hands of the Jews and Christians now were the original words of God that were in the hands of Moses and the Jesus, there would be no confusion, ambiguity or mysteries among Christian sects, and issues of doctrine would be very clear because God describes the Torah and the Injeel (true revelation from God to Jesus) as being sources of guidance and light, and guidance and light are contrary to the ambiguity and mysteries found in the Torah and Gospels that the Jews and Christians have now.

It is clear that the Torah and Gospels as they exist now are not the originals that God sent down to His Prophets Moses and Jesus. Rather they are books written by human hands some time after the original revelations,  and in them there is obviously a great deal of deviation from the original text. Whoever reads the Qur’an with a sincere and neutral heart will clearly see the difference between the words of God and the words of humans. Praise be to Allah for establishing proof and showing us the straight path.

•    An important note
With the disappearance of the original revelation to Jesus (Injeel) that had been brought by Jesus, and with the availability of the books written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, which are called Gospels, you will find in them some sound reports and stories, because these books are exactly like history books. Hence some of their texts indicate that Jesus was human, and we have quoted a number of these texts in this book. They also contain the foretelling of the true Prophet, namely Muhammad the Prophet of Islam, of whom there are approximately thirty prophecies in the Bible.

•    God took prophethood away from the Children of Israel
God took prophethood away from the Children of Israel and gave it to the Children of Ishmael. God decrees whatever He wills, and no one has the right to object to the decree of God; it is for Him alone to decide. He sent Muhammad from among the progeny of Ishmael, the son of the prophet Abraham, to all people, both the Children of Israel and others; He enjoined all people to enter his religion and caused his message to be the completion of the messages of all previous prophets.

•    The status of Jesus among the Jews, Christians and Muslims
The Jews went to extremes in their disregard for Jesus. They disbelieved in his prophethood and rejected him, and they accused his mother of shameful deeds – far be it from her to commit such actions.

The Christians went to extremes in venerating him, raising him above humans. They said highly contradictory and illogical things about him: that he is God, the son of God and one of three. Some of them said that he had one nature and others said that he had two natures; some of them said that he had one will and others said that he had two wills.

As for the disciples and the authors of the four Gospels, not even one word was narrated from them to suggest that Jesus ever said of himself that he was God, physical son of God or one of three, and not one word was narrated from him to suggest that he ever told the people to worship him.

The religion of Islam, on the other hand, explains the true facts about the nature of Jesus: he is human and a Prophet whom God created in the womb of his mother Mary by means of the word “Be!” and Jesus came into being in his mother’s womb.

Then God sent him to the Children of Israel, and he instructed them to worship God alone, as God tells us in the Qur’an:
{But the Messiah said: O Children of Israel, worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. Whoever ascribes partners to Allah, then Allah has forbidden paradise for him, and the fire will be his abode. For the wrongdoers there will be no helpers.}[al-Ma’idah 5:72]

And God tells us that Jesus said:
{I said nothing to them except that which You commanded me [to say]: Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.}[al-Ma’idah 5:117]

{Verily, Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. This is a straight path.}[Al ‘Imran 3:51, az-Zukhruf 43:46, Mary 19:36]

And God says:
{No human being to whom Allah has given the scripture, wisdom and prophethood would ever say to the people: Be my worshippers rather than Allah. On the contrary [he would say]: Be perfect in knowledge and in deeds, by virtue of your constant teaching of the scripture and of your constant study thereof.}[Al ‘Imran 3:79]

•    Commentary on these verses
It is absolutely impossible for any human being whom God blessed with prophethood and sent down with a scripture to say to the people, “Worship me instead of God” or “Worship me alongside God.” This is something which is impossible for any of the prophets (blessings and peace be upon him) – whether Jesus or any other prophet – to say, because this is the most reprehensible of notions, to suggest that God would send a man as a prophet, and then this man would set himself up as a god and not as a prophet. It is impossible for any of the prophets to do such a thing, because the prophets are the most perfect of humanity and the most assiduous in worshipping God and in following His commands. What they taught the people was in precise compliance with what God commanded them to do, which was to call people to affirm His oneness and worship Him alone, and to avoid reprehensible actions, the worst and gravest of which is associating anyone or anything with God and taking anyone or anything else besides Him as a god.

The People of the Book, Jews and Christians, used to worship their rabbis and monks, as God tells us:
{They take their rabbis and priests, and the Messiah son of Mary, as lords besides Allah, even though they were commanded to worship only One God. 

There is no god worthy of worship except Him; glory be to Him, [far exalted is He] above having the partners they ascribe to Him.}[at-Tawbah 9:31]

In other words, they took their rabbis and priests as lords, and they also worshipped Jesus, even though God did not command them to do that. He commanded them to do the opposite, which is to refrain from worshipping anything or anyone except God, and to worship God alone with no partner or associate.

God has explained the true nature of what every prophet commanded his people:
{On the contrary [he would say]: Be perfect in knowledge and in deeds, by virtue of your constant teaching of the scripture and of your constant study thereof.}[Al ‘Imran 3:79]

Being perfect in knowledge and in deeds means being wise and having understanding and knowledge. The command to be perfect in knowledge and in deeds is regarded as being incumbent upon the prophets by virtue of what they learned from that scripture which God sent down to them. Moreover, the prophet’s teaching the people goodness requires him to comply with what he is teaching them and to set a good example for them.

To sum up: believing that the prophets instructed their people to worship them is false; instead, the prophets instructed them to worship God and forbade them from worshipping anyone or anything besides Him.
***

Appendix 5
A specious argument and the response to it
Some argue that Jesus is the son of God (in a literal sense) and that since he had no human father, his father was God.

The response to this false argument is that God created our father Adam and our mother Eve without either a father or a mother, yet no one says that their father was God.

Moreover, God the Father has the power to do all things, and He is not limited by how things usually happen. Nothing is beyond Him. Therefore, God is able to create a human from a male and a female, as is the case with almost all human beings, but He may create from neither a male nor a female, as in the case of our father Adam. God may create from a male without a female, as in the case of our mother Eve, whom God created from the rib of Adam. He may also create from a female without a male, as in the case of the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary. He may create from an old man and a woman who had been unable to have children, as in the case of the Prophet Abraham and the wife of Prophet Zachariah, or He may make a couple infertile and not give create any offspring – whether male or female – for them. He may create males and no females from a couple, or females and no males, or both males and females. 

God is able to do all things; when He wills a thing, he merely says to it “Be!” and it is.

God says in the Qur’an:
{The likeness of Jesus before Allah is as the likeness of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him, ‘Be!’ and he was.}[Al ‘Imran 3:59]

{To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. He creates whatever He wills; He bestows female [offspring] upon whomever He wills, and bestows male [offspring] upon whomever He wills, or He bestows both males and females; and He leaves barren whomever He wills. Verily, He is All-Knowing, Omnipotent.}[ash-Shoora 42:49-50]

What this verse means is that the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and everything in them, belongs to Allah; He creates whatever He wills. He gives to whomever He wills among His servants female (offspring) with no males; He gives to whomever He wills male (offspring) with no females; He gives to whomever He wills both males and females; and He makes whomever He wills infertile, with no offspring. He knows best what He creates, and is able to create whatever He wills; nothing He wants to create is beyond Him.

After noting this, we should ask which idea is closer to reason and logic – to say that God created Jesus in the womb of his mother by means of a single word, “Be!” and Jesus came into being in his mother’s womb, or to say that Jesus is the son of God?

I will leave it for the fair-minded and unbiased reader to seek the truth.
***

Appendix 6
A note about the meaning of the phrase “son of God,” which is mentioned in some of the Gospels
** The phrase “son of God”, which is mentioned in several places in the Gospels, should be understood in the light of the language spoken by Jesus. Referring to the Gospels, we find that the word “son” in this context has connotations of care, love, guidance, faith and honor. This description is applicable to Jesus and his disciples in particular, and it is also applicable to others of the Children of Israel who followed Jesus and acted in accordance with the teachings with which God sent him.

** This meaning is indicated in John 1:12, where the phrase “children of God” refers to those who believed in his name.

** In Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, he writes:
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.[Romans 8:14]

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. [Romans 8:16]

** In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says:
“Blessed are the peace makers, for they will be called children of God.” [Matthew 5:9]

** [In the same chapter], Jesus says:
“…and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.”[Matthew 5:44-45]

The phrase “son of God”, which is mentioned in the Gospels and other books of the Bible that Christians have, is used to refer to both Jesus and his followers equally, those who believe in him, lovers of good and peace, and those who are keen to persist in doing acts of worship. This phrase is not applied only to Jesus himself. Thus, the true meaning of this phrase in the Gospels becomes clear; “son of God” does not refer to being a son or child in the literal sense of having been begotten; rather what is meant is care and love for the followers of Jesus.

** Another matter that makes this very clear is the fact that the description of “son” is used in reference to many people who came before Jesus, so this is not something that is unique to Jesus and his followers.

One example of that appears in the Old Testament, where God says to David:
“You are my son; today I have become your father. Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance.” [Psalm 2:7]

** In fact, in the Old Testament, all the progeny of Adam are described as sons or children of God:
“When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose.” [Genesis 6:1-2]

** What also confirms the above is the fact that the phrase “sons of God” is used as a counterpart to the “sons of Satan” and the “sons of vipers [snakes]” , as is seen in the Gospels where Jesus describes the Jews as a “brood [sons] of vipers.” Everyone knows that they were not literally sons of vipers, and they were not literally sons of Satan; they were described as a brood of vipers because of their scheming and the danger they posed, and their poisonous ideas. They were also described as sons of Satan because of their deceit and lies.

** Conclusion: When the phrase “son of God” appears in the Gospels, it is not meant in a literal sense; rather, it is meant to describe the one concerning whom this phrase is used as being in the care of God and being close to God by virtue of his worship and faith.

The other meaning of being a son is in the sense of lineage or descent, which happens through procreation, in which case the son is part of his father. No one who has understanding, faith and deep insight will doubt that this meaning is not applicable with regard to God. There is no relationship of lineage between God and any of His creation at all, because God does not beget, nor is He begotten. God has no need of His creation; He has no spouse or child, for having a child or spouse is something that is based only on need, and God is above creating something and then needing it. Exalted be He far above that.

What is meant by being the son of God in the Gospels is the first meaning, as stated above.

•    Jesus declared himself to be a human being, which puts a decisive end to any disputes concerning this matter
What clarifies the meaning of the phrase “son of God” that is mentioned in the Gospels is the fact that Jesus declared that he was of human, not divine, origin. If Jesus really were the son of God, he would not have said that he was human, because then he would have been lying. Far be it from him to do such a thing.

Jesus Christ described himself as the “Son of Man” in many places in the Gospels, some of which we have quoted above.

These texts include the following:
** Jesus says of himself:
“For the Son of Man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.” [Luke 9:56 (KJB)]

This text clearly states that Jesus was not the son of God; rather he was the Son of Man and was a human being.

** In the Gospel of John, it says:
“So Jesus said, ‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man… I do nothing on my own…” [John 8:28]

Does this not indicate that Jesus was human, with no divine attributes at all?
If Jesus were God, he would not have described himself as human by saying that he was the “Son of Man,” and he would not have said, “I do nothing on my own,” because the Lord of the universe can do anything, and He controls the affairs of the entire universe. It would not make sense for Jesus to say, “I do nothing on my own” if he were indeed the Lord of the universe.

** Jesus says of himself to the crowd:
The Son of Man came eating and drinking.[Matthew 11:19]

** Jesus said to those who wanted to kill him:
“As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things.”[John 8:40]

** In fact, when it was said to Jesus, “You are the son of God,” the conclusion of his response was that he was the Son of Man (John 1:49-51).

The fact that Jesus described himself as a man clearly indicates that he was human. Would it ever cross the mind of one who says such a thing that he was God or the son of God?

**For other references to the humanity of Jesus, please see Luke 17:22, Luke 18:8 and Matthew 12:32.

** Hence we may conclude that the word “son”, when referring to Jesus, does not mean that Jesus is the son of God in the sense of lineage and procreation. Not at all; what it means is that God was the one who was taking care of him.

•    What is meant by the word “father”?
The word “father”, which is mentioned in several places in the Gospels, should also be understood in terms of the language spoken by Jesus. By referring to the Gospel of John, we find that the word “father” means the one who takes care of someone and is in charge of something. It is well-known that it is God Who is in charge of the entire universe, including all of humanity; therefore He is the father of the universe in this sense.

Jesus said:
“I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.[John 20:17]

The Jews said to Jesus:
“the only Father we have is God himself.”[John 8:41]

And Jesus said to his disciples:
“But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” [Matthew 6:6]

And he said to his disciples:
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.” [Matthew 6:1]

In the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah says:
“Yet you, LORD, are our Father.”[Isaiah 64:8]

Such statements, which are attributed to Jesus and others, are very common in the Bible. All of that attests to the fact that the word “father” is used to describe God as the One Who looks after people, who takes care of His believing servants. It is not used in the literal sense – exalted be God far above that.

Based on the above, when it says in the Gospel that Jesus described God as the “Father”, he meant the one who takes care of people and is in charge of all things. He did not mean a father in the literal sense, in which the son is part of his father.

•    Summary of the above
The word son may have two meanings: literal and figurative.
An example of the literal sense is if you say “I am Eli, son of Daniel,” meaning that Daniel is your father in the sense that he sired you and you are his son.

An example of the figurative sense is saying to a friend’s child, when you want to show some kindness, “O my son [or daughter], come, and I will give you some candy.”

Or saying to your brother’s son, “O my son, do not stay up too late.”

In these two cases, you say “O my son” even though he is not literally your son, but you feel that he is your true son because you are very fond of him, and because you show care for him with the advice that you offer to him, so it is as if he were your true son.

Similarly, a principal may say to the boys in his school, “O my sons, do not drive too fast.”

And a principal may say to the girls, “O my daughters, help your mothers at home.”

In these cases, the principals are saying these words to the students, both boys and girls, even though they are not their children in a literal sense, but they feel as if they are their children because they are raising them.

The same idea applies to the word “son” that is mentioned in the Gospels. It refers to caring, looking after and loving. Hence those who follow the teachings of Jesus are described as the children of God; this is not meant in a real, literal sense of being children through procreation, because God does not beget, nor is He begotten, and none compares to Him. What is meant instead is the second (figurative) meaning.

** The converse is also true. If you call out to an elderly man whom you see in the street, or a friend of your father or uncle, “Father, do you need any help?", what you mean by using the word (father) in this instance is showing respect; you do not mean that he is your father in a literal sense, and that you are his offspring.

Similarly, if you say to an old woman who is carrying some items, or you say to a friend of your mother or aunt, “Mother, do you need any help?”, what you mean by using the word (mother) in this instance is showing respect; you do not mean that she is your mother in a literal sense, and that you are her offspring and that she gave birth to you.
***

Appendix 7
General notes
[1] Is the symbol of the cross part of the religion of Jesus?
** The Christians have taken the cross as a symbol; they glorify it, even though it is an inanimate object that can neither benefit nor harm. They make crosses out of metal or wood, and glorify it.

** The idea of taking the cross as a symbol of Christianity is not mentioned in the four Gospels or in the Epistles of the New Testament. History says that the Christians did not take the cross as a symbol until after the Council of Nicaea which was held in 325 CE. The Romans used to force those who had been sentenced to death by crucifixion to carry crosses to the place where they would be crucified.

** The Roman Emperor Constantine I was the first one to use the cross as a symbol on the shields of his troops, although he was still pagan at that time and had not yet become Christian.

The Christian historian Dr. Asad Rustom states that during a battle in 312 CE, before sunset, Constantine saw above the disc of the sun a cross of light on which it was written “In hoc signovinces (In this sign thou shalt conquer).” 

That night, in a dream he saw Jesus carrying the same symbol, advising him to take it as a banner under which to attack his enemy. When he woke up, he issued orders that crosses be drawn on the shields of his troops, went into battle and was victorious. Thus, this symbol (the cross) later adorned the banners of the Roman state.

** Thus, the flimsy foundations on which Christianity is based become clear. The basis for the cross, which the Christians took as a symbol, is a dream and not revelation from God or teachings of Jesus that are recorded in any of the four Gospels which were written after he was taken up to heaven.

** At best, one may suppose that for the cross to be a valid symbol of the Christians it should at least have been part of the teachings of Paul, but it is not part of the teachings of either Jesus or Paul. Nevertheless, the Christians made it a symbol of the religion of Jesus, but Jesus did not know anything about it and was not even crucified in the first place!

** Furthermore, one would assume that Christians should hate the cross, because it is the thing on which their God was crucified – according to their beliefs.

Is that not so?
[2] The origin of the term “Christianity”
** The terms “Christianity” and “Christian” were not known at the time of Jesus or for some time after that. This word does not appear in any of the four Gospels. This word was coined when the Roman pagans in the city of Antioch and others noticed that there was a clear change that had begun to appear in the group that followed Paul, which was composed of Jews and pagans who had embraced Paul’s teachings and had become clearly distinct from the other Jews, who were still adhering to Judaism.

So they called that group Christians – after Christ. There follows proof of that:
“The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.” [Acts 11:26]

That was approximately 15 to 25 years after Jesus had been taken up to heaven.

** This is supported by the fact that the pagans who entered Paul’s religion themselves faced the problem of needing an identity as a banner around which they could rally after they had moved away from their previous pagan origins and entered the new religion that Paul had founded for them. They also needed to have a religion that was distinct from the original religion that Jesus had brought, hence they were called Christians.

** Based on that, using the term Christian to refer to the followers of Jesus who lived at the time of Jesus until approximately a quarter of a century after he was taken up to heaven is regarded as erroneous in both religious and historical terms, and it contributes to misunderstanding and confusion between the true religion and the distorted religion on the one hand, and between the followers of Jesus and the followers of Paul on the other hand.

** The religion of Paul, which was later called Christianity, includes pagan beliefs, symbols and rituals, and complex, ambiguous mysteries that no one could and will never be able to understand or even answer questions about them; not even senior Christian clergy have been able to do that throughout the past twenty centuries.

[3] Acts of worship, customs, rituals and pursuit of personal interests that were introduced into the religion of Jesus after he was taken up to heaven
The religion and message of Jesus – before he was taken up to heaven and before they were subjected to distortion at the hands of Paul and those who came after him – were simple and straightforward, free of this complicated clerical system that is found in the Catholic, Coptic and Eastern churches, with their Popes, patriarchs, cardinals and priests. Music was not played in the Temple where Jesus used to pray; no bells were rung, and there were no crosses. There was no confession of sins before the priests and no sale of indulgences. Marriage was not forbidden to priests before the Council of Nicaea, and there were no images of Christ and his mother.

There was no celebration of Christmas, and there was no Christmas tree and no Father Christmas (Santa Claus). There were no festivals except those that were celebrated by the people of Jesus, namely the Jews, the most important of which was Passover or Easter. Other than that, Christ did not do and did not command it. The evidence for all of that is the fact that none of these things are mentioned in the four Gospels. If any of that had happened, it would have been mentioned in the Gospels, because these are things that people would definitely have narrated and transmitted stories about. Based on that, all of these customs are things that were introduced later into the religion of Jesus; he did not know of them or do any of these things, and neither did his disciples.

Unfortunately, the majority of Christians do eat pork, and commit adultery (which is having sexual relations outside the framework of marriage), even though it is well known to be reprehensible according to religious teachings, reasoning, and sound human nature. Many of them commit such deeds without feeling any shame before God or people, and this is something that may happen both among the clergy and those whom they call their flock, even though such shameful deeds are forbidden in their Scriptures!

It says in the Gospel of Matthew, concerning the prohibition on adultery, that Jesus said to his disciples:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.”[Matthew 5:27-30]

With regard to eating pork, God said to Moses and Aaron, speaking of the animals that it is forbidden to eat:
“And the pig, though it has a divided hoof, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you.”[Leviticus 11:7]

In fact, the Christians – including their clergy – eat pork with relish. In what way are the majority of Christians adhering to the religion of Jesus?

[4] Reasons why the spread of the true message of Jesus was very limited after he was taken up to heaven
** The abrupt ending of Jesus' presence on earth and the violent interference of the Roman government had a great psychological impact on the disciples and followers of Jesus, who were weak in physical, psychological and academic terms. They had no one among them with any type of authority and prominence to whom they could turn to protect the message of Jesus and work to propagate and spread it. They themselves also faced persecution at the hands of the Jews, so their main focus was to save their own skins, lest they be subject to torture and persecution. Hence, they did not think at all of protecting the message of Jesus, and they stopped striving to ensure that it could survive and spread. As a result of that, his message and religion could not spread any further at the public level, and this gave Paul the opportunity to start distorting the message of Jesus, and in fact he had free reign in doing so.

** One of the most significant reasons why the teachings of Jesus did not spread widely is the fact that Paul pulled the rug from under the disciples of Jesus when he claimed to be an apostle appointed by Christ. Hence the people no longer paid attention to the disciples and had no interest in learning the religion from them, because there was a new “prophet” – or so they thought – from whom they could learn the religion directly [namely Paul]. This led to a slowdown in the spread of the true religion of Jesus to a great extent.

** In this regard, it may be said that one of the causes of the slowdown in the spread of the true teachings of Jesus after he was taken up to heaven is the fact that the Jews rejoiced in their victory against Jesus, whom they had killed – or so they thought – so they focused their efforts on the disciples, seeking to eradicate his message and prevent it from spreading further by all means. That took the form of the opportunity that Paul had to begin distorting the message of Jesus and spread the distorted version.

**One of the most significant factors in the slowdown of the spread of the true teachings of Jesus is the fact that the original Injeel (true revelation from God to Jesus) that had been in the hands of Jesus and his disciples was not preserved. Common sense tells us that the Injeel that was in the hands of Jesus, that he preached to the people, is not any of these four Gospels that the Christians have now, and it is not similar to any one of them, because all four Gospels were written after Jesus was taken up to heaven, as were the twenty-three Epistles that are also found in the New Testament. In total there are twenty-seven books, all of which were written by people who did not meet Jesus or see him for even a moment; rather they wrote them after he was taken up to heaven. Hence those books bear their names, and their contents are not identical to one another either in wording or in terms of beliefs and stories, and there are many contradictions and differences between them.

[5] Five reasons why Christian men and women remain Christian despite the contradictions in their religion
Firstly: The Christian masses do not read the four Gospels and the twenty-three Epistles, because the discussion in them is lengthy, complicated, contradictory and not clear. The clergy do not give convincing answers to their questions, because they themselves do not understand the texts properly, but they are not to be blamed for that, because those Gospels are the words of humans like them, and have been translated from another language; their authors are not entirely known, and the process of amendment and translation has been going on for centuries. As a result of all of that, no human could understand them.

Conclusion:
The Christians do not read their Gospels because that is not required by their religion, and the one who does read them will not go beyond reading some prayers that are found in them.

Secondly: Due to the nature of Christianity as it currently exists -with its complicated, idolatrous and mysterious beliefs, symbols and rituals, which are contrary to reason and logic -the Christian clergy throughout history have persistently discouraged their followers from asking questions and inquiring about the religion and about their scripture and what it contains of errors and contradictions. They regard merely asking such questions as being indicative of a lack of faith in this religion, in which they must believe without understanding or using reason!

The reason for that ban on asking questions is that they are well aware that if any of the people – especially educated men and women – think about their religion and its pagan doctrines, symbols and rituals, many questions will come to mind, for which they will never find any answers or sufficient, logical explanations, either from the clergy or anyone else. That will undoubtedly lead to confusion and lack of interest in their religion, and they will lose interest in it and will turn away from it.

Therefore, the clergy simply rebuke their flock when they ask questions, or they give flimsy answers that are not worth a penny, when they say, “This is a divine mystery.”

It is well-known that the true and sound religion has no mysteries; why would it have any mysteries? How can anyone be walking in the light when it is a mystery and a secret? Moreover, there is no mention in the four Gospels or the other books of the New Testament of anyone ever asking Jesus a question and Jesus not answering, or saying, “This is a divine mystery.” He would go to the masses and answer their questions, teaching them how to worship God and convey his message as a prophet. We have quoted above several texts from the New Testament which attest to that.

If the clergy truly followed the example of Jesus, they would do as he did.

If Christians read their scriptures themselves, with reflection and examining them deeply, away from any influence of the clergy, they would discover the truth, which is that these books cannot be the book of God, and they would discover that contemporary Christianity cannot be the religion of Jesus. But most of them follow their Christian community without careful study of its doctrines, following in the footsteps of their parents and society, or because they fear the power of the clergy, or they became Christians because of missionaries taking advantage of factors such as poverty, ignorance or sickness, as happens in Africa, where missionaries entice poor people with medicine, education and money, so this ignorant person enters Christianity (the religion of Paul, not the true religion of Jesus), and thus the missionary achieves his goal.

As a result of what is mentioned above, it is astounding to find that the vast majority of Christians – Arabs and otherwise – do not know their religion or its history; they do not know how it started and how their doctrines, symbols and rituals developed; they do not know about the Gospels and how and when they were written, except for the clergy and professional missionaries, and biblical scholars who specialize in comparative religion.

Thirdly: What Christian society and Christian churches have instilled in ordinary Christians is that their religion is the true religion, and that the path they follow will lead to salvation. This is the assumption that is deeply rooted in their minds -that they are walking in the light and are following the true religion, even though if someone asks them some basic questions about their religion, the answer will either be, “I do not know” or, “You have no right to ask this question.” As for their giving a convincing, academic answer, you should never expect that.

Fourthly: Another reason why the Christians continue to follow their religion is the fact that they have no interest in examining the reports that they read in their books and verifying whether they are authentic or not, or checking the soundness of those who narrated them, as they rely on the narrations of unknown people and obscure characters, and they do not care whether these texts were transmitted through a sound chain of narration from Jesus, or they are merely stories or dreams and visions!

The Christians have deprived themselves of using the ability God has blessed them with to examine, reflect and use their reason. Rather, they have handed the rudder to their clergy, who direct them wherever they wish, and dictate to them whatever foolishness and nonsense they decide upon. If one of the flock wakes up and has sufficient courage to ask the priest a logical question, and the priest is unable to give an answer, the priest replies, “This is a mystery that you cannot understand!”

In reality, they do not know the answer and they do not know how to find the answer, and the knowledge of anyone among them who is a beginner in seeking knowledge is equal to the knowledge of the most senior clergy concerning such issues. They do not seek divine guidance to find the light, nor do they follow the guidance of reason.

It is well-known that if there is no textual or rational proof for matters of doctrine, then that doctrine is something that has been dictated by devils and their followers.

Fifthly: Another reason why the Christians continue to follow their religion is the circulation of stories, tales and dreams that the clergy tell to them, with which they fool their flocks and those to whom they preach – as they claim. 

That started with Paul, who claimed that he had seen Christ in a vision, and Constantine who saw a cross in a dream, and it continues until the present day. You will find clergy telling stories to those to whom they are preaching, saying – for example – that so-and-so saw Christ in a dream, and he told him to become a Christian, so that man became a Christian and a lot of good things happened to him; another person saw himself in a dream in prison, and when he saw the cross, he became a Christian and got out of prison. And they tell other myths and stories. If Christianity were truly the religion of God, and the four Gospels and other books of the New Testaments were truly the Book of God, the clergy would have no need for dreams and visions; rather the priest would refer to these books to find answers and would be able to engage in academic discussions. He would not seek to avoid discussions, or resort to exhorting people by telling stories of dreams, or resort to administering corporal punishment in the church, or try to avoid answering questions by saying, “This is a divine mystery that none of us can know!”

It should be noted that Satan can toy with people’s minds in their dreams, so one must be cautious, for the true religion cannot be learned from dreams; it can only be learned from the revelation that is proven to be from God and protected by Him. A person may have a dream and see himself becoming a king or president or a rich man, but when he wakes up, he is still as he was (and the dream did not change anything)!
***

Appendix 8
Sincere words of faith from heart to heart
There follows some sincere words of faith from heart to heart. Understanding these words will remove some obstacles and resolve some matters that prevent followers of the Christian religion from properly understanding and being convinced of the religion of Islam. I ask God to make these words of benefit.

[1] God sent Muhammad with the religion of Islam to all people, to jinn  and humans, to Arabs and non-Arabs, to white and black, to the Children of Israel and others.

God says in the Qur’an:
{We have not sent you [O Muhammad] but as a bearer of glad tidings and a warner to all humankind.}[Saba’ 34:28]
{And We have not sent you but as a mercy to the worlds.}[al-Anbiya’ 21:107]
{Say [O Muhammad]: O people, verily I am the Prophet of Allah to you all.}[al-A‘raf 7:158]

The religion of Islam replaced all previous religions, and there is no religion after it. God has enjoined humans and jinn to embrace Islam, for it is the final religion, which is protected from distortion and change.

Muhammad is the final Prophet, so whoever believes in Muhammad must believe in all the prophets who came before him.

God says:
{Muhammad is not the father of any man among you, but he is the Prophet of Allah and the last of the prophets.}[al-Ahzab 33:40]

The Qur’an is the final Book, so whoever believes in the Qur’an has believed in all the divinely revealed books that came before it (in its original form). It is the Book of God that is preserved and is still as fresh as it was when God revealed it fourteen centuries ago. It has not been subjected to distortion and change, as happened to the Books that came before it, and it has not been lost. Its original copy has been preserved as it was fourteen centuries ago, and all copies of the Qur’an throughout the world are copies of that original copy.

Moreover, the Qur’an has been preserved in the hearts of men and women for fourteen centuries. Millions of people have memorized it in its entirety or in part.

God has promised to preserve it until the end of time:
{Verily, it is We Who have sent down the Reminder [the Qur’an], and verily it is We Who will preserve it.}[al-Hijr 15:9]

God calls the Qur’an “the Reminder” because it mentions all the beliefs and acts of worship that a person needs to know, and it is a reminder for those who pay heed; it reminds them of their goal in life and of the blessings that God has bestowed upon them by guiding them to the straight path, which leads to paradise and saves from hell. By reading the Qur’an, a person receives exhortation so that he will refrain from what God has forbidden when he reads of the consequences for those who disobeyed Him, and he will be motivated to obey God when he reads of the consequences for those who obeyed Him.

Then God says: {and verily it is We Who will preserve it} [al-Hijr 15:9]; meaning that He protected it from distortion at the time when it was revealed and ever since then. When it was revealed, He protected it from the eavesdropping of every accursed devil, and after it was revealed, God instilled it in the heart of His Prophet, so that he memorized it, and then He instilled it in the hearts of the Prophet’s followers until the present day and until the onset of the Hour. God protected its wording from alteration, from anything being added to it or taken away from it, and He protected its meanings from alteration, so if anyone tries to distort any of its meanings, God will inspire someone else to highlight his error and refute it.

[2] In the Qur’an, we read this divine guidance that God revealed more than fourteen centuries ago, to highlight the truth of the message of Muhammad:
{O humankind, the Prophet has come to you with the truth from your Lord, so believe, for it is better for you. But if you disbelieve, then surely to Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth, and Allah is All-Knowing, Most Wise.}[an-Nisa’ 4:170]

{O humankind, proof has come to you from your Lord, and We have sent down to you a manifest light.}[an-Nisa’ 4:174]

{Say: O people, truth has come to you from your Lord. So whoever is guided, is only guided for [the good of] his own soul; whoever goes astray, only goes astray to his own detriment. I am not your keeper.}[Jonah10:178]

Let us not deceive ourselves, and let us give up blindly following our forefathers, for this issue will determine our ultimate fate and whether we abide for eternity in paradise or in hell.

Yes, let us be honest with ourselves and turn to our Lord. Let us respond to His call before it is too late, for the opportunity to believe in Muhammad, and to enter the religion of Islam and attain real, eternal salvation is only available in this world. This opportunity is available to you now, while your soul is still in your body and has not yet left it.

Whoever takes this opportunity, let them be of good cheer, and whoever misses this opportunity, let them think of what they are doing in light of this verse:
{If anyone seeks a religion other than Islam, never will it be accepted from him; and in the hereafter he will be among the losers.}[Al ‘Imran 3:85]

Based on the above, what everyone who hears of the religion of Islam must do is enter this religion; otherwise he will be a disbeliever in what God revealed to the last of His Prophets, and he will be exposing himself to great punishment, which is being sent to hell to abide therein for eternity.

And He says:
{Verily, Allah has cursed the disbelievers and has prepared for them a raging fire. They will abide therein forever, and they will not find any protector or helper. On the day when their faces are turned over in the fire, they will say: Would that we had obeyed Allah and obeyed the Prophet!}[al-Ahzab 33:64-66]

And the Prophet Muhammad said: <>

Anyone who wants to save himself from being admitted to hell on the Day of Resurrection, and wants to be admitted to Paradise, must hasten to believe in Prophet Muhammad and submit to the teachings of Islam, before the soul reaches the throat (at the moment of death) and he dies without believing in that which God has commanded him to believe in, in which case he will die as a disbeliever and will be admitted to hell, where he will remain forever and ever. Then he will feel regret when regret will be to no avail.

[3] The religion that the Christians follow now is not the same as the religion that was brought by God’s Prophet, Jesus the son of Mary; it is completely different from it. Jesus, son of Mary, did not say to the people, “Take me and my mother as gods besides God.” He did not tell the people that he was the son of God, and he did not say that he was one of three – far be it from him to say such a thing. We have affirmed this at the beginning of the book.

In addition, no one can say that the Gospels that the Christians have now – not even one of them – are the same as the original revelation (Injeel) that Jesus brought. We have affirmed that above, with sufficient proof for anyone whose main aim is to follow the truth.

How can it be valid for a man of reason – when this is the case – to take his beliefs from distorted books in order to attain the most precious thing that any rational person could strive to attain in this world, which is God being pleased with him and hence admitting him to Paradise?

Let us put aside the Gospels that we have now, for God has replaced them with another Book, which He has preserved and protected from change, alteration and distortion. Let us turn to it and follow it in order to attain forgiveness and guidance. Let us find out about the true and sound religion, in which there is no ambiguity, mystery or contradiction, the religion that gives a proper understanding of all the prophets, Jesus, Moses, Muhammad and others.

God says in the Qur’an:
{O People of the Book, there has come to you our Prophet, disclosing to you much of what you have been concealing of the scripture, and overlooking much. There has come to you from Allah a light and a clear Book.}[al-Ma’idah 5:15]

In this book, with the help of God, I have been able to prove that the religion that Christians follow now is radically different from the true religion brought by Jesus, son of Mary. By His help, I have also been able to prove that in another book, entitled The gradual changes and developments that occurred in the message of Jesus after his ascension over several centuries.

[4] The only God who deserves to be worshipped is God alone, Allah, and no one else deserves to be worshipped except Him. With regard to Jesus, son of Mary, neither he nor any other person deserves any type of worship directed towards them on our part, because they are human like us. Associating anyone else with God in worship is one of the gravest of sins; it is something with which the Lord of the Worlds – Allah – is not pleased, and it is something that none of the prophets themselves – not Jesus, Muhammad, Moses, nor any other prophet – would approve of.

The prophets themselves used to worship God; they instructed their peoples to worship God and nothing else alongside Him. They explained that this is associating others with God, and God will never forgive a person who dies believing in that. It is one of the sins that doom a person to enter hell – God forbid – and abide therein forever and ever.

Worshipping God alone, while refraining from worshipping anything or anyone else, is the essential call of all the prophets, as God says in the Qur’an:
{And We did not send before you [O Muhammad] any Prophet but We revealed to him: There is no god worthy of worship except Me, so worship Me [alone].}[al-Anbiya’ 21:25]

Singling God out for worship is something that is in harmony with sound reasoning because God is the Creator, the Provider and the Controller of this universe, so He is the only one who deserves to be worshipped. With regard to Jesus, he is human and was created, and he needed others. So how can it make sense to regard a human being as equal to the Lord of humankind by worshipping both of them equally?

Jesus' call to the Children of Israel was based on worshipping God alone and refraining from worshipping anyone other than Him, no matter who that person was. God says in the Qur’an, describing the nature of Jesus’ call:
{But the Messiah said: O Children of Israel, worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. Whoever ascribes partners to Allah, then Allah has forbidden paradise for him, and the fire will be his abode. For the wrongdoers there will be no helpers.}[al-Ma’idah 5:72]

God tells us that Jesus said to his people:
{I said nothing to them except that which You commanded me [to say]: Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.}[al-Ma’idah 5:116]
{Verily, Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. This is a straight path.}[Al ‘Imran 3:51, az-Zukhruf 43:64]

I say: If Jesus were among us today, he would object strongly to what the Christians say about him. God tells us in the Qur’an that he will be asked about this on the Day of Resurrection:
{When Allah says: O Jesus son of Mary, did you say to people: Take me and my mother as two gods besides Allah? He [Jesus] will say: Glory be to You! It would not have been proper for me to say that which I had no right [to say]. If I had said it, You would surely have known it. You know all that I know, whereas I do not know what You know. Verily, You alone are the Knower of the unseen. I said nothing to them except that which You commanded me [to say]: Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. I watched over them whilst I was amongst them, then when You took me up to You, You [alone] were the Watcher over them, and You are Witness over all things.}[al-Ma’idah 5:116-117]

[5] Read the divine call:
{You will surely find that the bitterest among people in enmity towards the believers are the Jews and those who ascribe partners to Allah; and you will surely find that the closest among them to the believers in affection are those who say: We are Christians. That is because among them are scholars and ascetics, and they are not arrogant.

When they hear what has been sent down to the Prophet, you see their eyes overflowing with tears, because of what they recognize as truth therein. They say: Our Lord, we believe; so record us among those who bear witness [to the truth].

Why would we not believe in Allah and in the truth that has come to us, when we hope that our Lord will include us among the righteous people?

Allah will reward them for their words with gardens through which rivers flow, to abide therein forever. Such is the reward of those who do good.}[al-Ma’idah 5:82-85]

Commentary on these verses:
God says to His Prophet Muhammad:
You will surely find, O Prophet, that the Jews are the bitterest among people in enmity towards those who believe in you and follow you, because of their stubborn denial and their being too arrogant to follow the truth. The same is true of those who associate others in worship with God, such as the idol-worshippers and others; they are the bitterest of people in enmity towards you and your religion.

Then God says:
And you will surely find that the closest among them to the Muslims in affection are those who say, We are Christians. That is because among them are scholars and devoted worshippers, and they are humble, not too arrogant to accept the truth. These are the ones who accepted the message of Muhammad when they heard it, and they believed in it and entered Islam.

One of the indications of their being close in affection to the Muslims is the fact that the eyes of some of them flowed with tears when they heard the Qur’an, for they were certain that it was the truth that had been sent down from God; they believed in God and followed His Prophet, and they entered Islam and beseeched God to cause them to be among those who bear witness to the truth, those who bear witness that God is one and bear witness to the message of His prophets, and will bear witness against previous nations on the Day of Resurrection, testifying that their prophets indeed conveyed the message to them.

One of the attributes of these believers among the Christians who entered Islam is that they said: why would there be any blame on us for our belief in God and our belief in the truth that Muhammad brought from God, and our following him and entering his religion? For Jesus called his people to believe in Muhammad when God sent him to humankind, and his message is a completion of the message of Jesus. So what is wrong with our following him, if by following him and entering Islam we will attain the honour of obeying two prophets, namely Jesus and Muhammad, and thus be admitted to Paradise? 

But if we do not follow him and enter his religion, then we will be disobeying those two prophets and exposing ourselves to the wrath of God, and we will deserve to enter hell.

God rewarded them for the words of truth that they spoke, their pride in having entered Islam, and their seeking to be among the righteous. He rewarded them with gardens through the trees of which rivers flow, in which they will remain forever because they excelled in word and deed.

[6] The rational person has no choice but to embrace the religion of Islam, which Jesus, son of Mary, instructed his followers to follow. If you accept this, then there is nothing standing between you and entering Islam except uttering the Islamic testimony of faith (shahadah); this is the first pillar of Islam and the key to entering the faith:
Ashhadu an laailaahailla Allah waashhadu anna Muhammadan rasoolullah.
Waashhadu anna al-Maseeh ‘Eesaa  ibn Maryam ‘abduhuwarasooluhu.

Which means:
“I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah. I bear witness that the Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, is His slave and Prophet.”

Saying this testimony, the person must believe that Jesus is not God or the son of God. He was not killed or crucified, but he was raised up to Heaven, and the creed of atonement is not true.

This is the common statement that God has commanded all people to agree upon. God commanded His Prophet Muhammad to instruct the People of the Book (the Jews and Christians) and say to them:
{Say: O People of the Book! Come to common terms between us and you, that we worship none but Allah, that we associate no partners with Him, and that we not take one another as lords besides Allah. If then they turn away, say: Bear witness that we submit to Allah [as Muslims].}[Al ‘Imran 3:64]

What this verse means is: Say, O Prophet, to the People of the Book, the Jews and Christians: Come to common terms between us and you – that is, a true and just word to which we will all adhere, which is to single out God alone for worship and not associate anything else with Him, be it an image, an idol, a cross, a human being, or anything else, and we will not worship one another. If they turn away from this good call, then say to them, O believers: Bear witness that we are Muslims, submitting to our Lord in servitude and sincerity.

This call to common terms is addressed to the Jews and Christians, and is also addressed to the followers of other religions, because the religion of Islam has abrogated all other religions, and all people must enter it.
***