HISTORY: WHAT IS IT: AIMS OF ISLAM:

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1 WHAT ABOUT HISTORY: Muslim tradition claims that Allah began to reveal himself to a pious Arab named Muhammad beginning in the year 610 o Muhammad (AD ), therefore, is the founder of Islam Muhammad was born in the city of Mecca Orphaned as a young boy and raised by uncle At age twenty five married Khadija, the first of 13 wives When 40, claimed to have received an unusual visit while meditating in a cave on Mount Hira Claimed the angel Gabriel came to him and began to dictate revelation from Allah This, he claimed, continued for 12 years These messages from Gabriel were eventually recorded in the book we know as the Quran o Returned to Mecca to share new revelations but was thrown out Went to Medina Here his new religion grew In 630 returned to Mecca with 10,000 warriors and forced religion on people Muhammad is considered to be the last of the great prophets of Allah o Those that came before him are considered to be Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus He died in the home of his favorite wife, Aisha, to whom he was betrothed when she was six and with whom he consummated marriage when she was nine o Following his death, two major groups sought leadership: the Sunnis and the Shiites Sunni Muslims Agreed that the successor to Muhammad should be elected from ISLAM among the people of the Quarish tribe (Muhammad s tribe) o Known as a caliph Today, make up nearly 90% of Islam Shiite (or Shia) Muslims Felt the new leader should be chosen from the line of Muhammad o Known as a imam (spiritual leader) Sufi Muslims About 150 years after Muhammad s death, a mystical order of Muslim began. Their faith is based on a deep sense of oneness with their god and they preach against the evils of the world and strive for a union with god following an inward path of love They believe that Muhammad was the perfect human, guided by God Among the most aggressive Muslim missionaries Muslims claim their descent directly to Ishmael, son of Hagar and Abraham o Ishmael s mother and wife were Egyptian and his descendants became scattered throughout the Arabian peninsula o Ishmael is considered the father of the present day Arab. WHAT IS IT: Islam is a monotheistic religion which teaches that there is only one God Muslims view Islam as the continuation, extension, or correction of Judaism and Christianity AIMS OF ISLAM: The chief goal of a Muslim is to submit to Allah. This is done primarily by following the Five Pillars o Pillar 1: Confession (Shahadah) The basic creed to all Muslims

2 There is no God but Allah. Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. Muhammad himself claimed that whoever believed and spoke these words would never be touched by the fire of hell o Pillar 2: Prayer (Salat) Five times each day (dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, nightfall) They repeat these words: God is Great; I testify that there is none worthy of worship except God; I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of God; Come to prayer; Come to success; God is Great! o Pillar 3: Charity (Zakat) Tithing to the amount of 2.5% of their income Through this the Muslim hopes to gain favor with Allah, while keeping free from the fear of judgment They look at it as an act of piety to help purify the believer o Pillar 4: Fasting (Sawm) Muslims believe that it was during the month of Ramadan (the ninth month of the Muslim calendar) that Muhammad first received revelation of the Quran During the 30 days of Ramadan, the Muslim will fast daily from sunrise to sunset, ensuring him of great spiritual blessings This fast includes abstinence from pleasures such as sexual intercourse, eating, drinking, and smoking o Pillar 5: Pilgrimage (Hajj) Making a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in your life Why Mecca? The story is told that Abraham, in gratitude to Allah, built an altar of worship at the site where he was rescued from sacrificing his son Ishmael (not Isaac as is stated in the Bible). This altar was known as the Ka bah, which is in the center of Mecca. This is the place Muhammad cleansed of its idol worship and restored to its greatness. It is stated further that Abraham declared that all Muslims must travel to this site at least once in a lifetime. o Many Muslims would add a 6 th Pillar (duty) to Allah: The Jihad Jihad = holy war A life devoted to the struggle for the cause of Allah This takes the form of political, physical or militaristic struggle Origin dates back to Muhammad CENTRAL TEACHING: In need of money, he and his followers raided caravans in the name of Allah. To convince his followers of the need for these raids, Muhammad claimed that Allah had revealed to him that those who exercise jihad would be greatly rewarded for their efforts. It is a misguided claim that jihad is merely a personal struggle with sin The central confession in Islam is the shahada, There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger. Islam teaches submission to God in all things. It is a code of honor, a system of law, and a way of life based on the Quran o The level of devotion to the moral code determines one s salvation Islam means submission to Allah o A Muslim is one who is in a state of submission to Islam

3 BELIEFS: Allah o This is their God whom they claim is the one true God o Allah, however, is not Triune - three persons in one divine essence The Quran says that anyone who accepts the Teaching that God is three-in-one is an unbeliever. It s clear upon close examination that Christianity and Islam do not worship a common God. Allah is an idol. He does not exist except in the minds of his followers. Far from discovering the true God, Muhammad only adds another intruder who steals the glory away from him who is the Maker and Ruler and Savior of heaven and earth. With the Islamic lie, Satan has blinded Muslim eyes to the truth. Here is a comparison between the God of the Bible and the god of Islam. GOD - God exists (I am) - We know who God is from Holy Scriptures - God is not distant or unapproachable - God wants us to grow in our knowledge of him - God is one God but three persons - God s eternal Son came into the world to save the world - No other name under heaven saves ALLAH - Allah does not exist - Allah is known through the Quran - Allah is far removed from mankind - Allah does not want people to know him - Allah has no son or partner - Quran has no concept of redemption - Only the Arabic name, Allah, has any meaning Jesus o In Islam, Jesus is simply the fifth of the sixth great prophets The others: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad o They will teach that he was born of the Virgin Mary; that he is sinless, an apostle and prophet, the Messiah; they will say he performed many miracles; they will say he was a human But they will not say: He is the Son of God, or That he died on the cross, or That he rose from the dead o In Islam, Jesus is only a human messenger or prophet of Allah Plan of Salvation o According to Islam there is no concept of God saving his people from the guilt and punishment of their disobedience o Instead, Allah loves those who do good and obey the Five Pillars of Islam o Allah does not love the person whose bad deeds outnumber the good deeds o The Muslim believes that they will have to wait until the final day of judgment to know if they are saved, because only then will the final tally be given as to the balance of their good and evil o In order to be saved, Islam teaches that each person must bear his or her own burden To recognize this truth, consider these two comments: 1. A Black Muslim prayer leader stated to a seminary class: I used to be a Christian, but Christianity s only a welfare religion Jesus paid it all. Black people don t need to hear that. They need to earn it! Indeed, most Muslims would agree that Islam gives no assurance of salvation Therefore, in the Islamic view, human beings are no more fallen than they are 1 Hahn, Ernest. How to Respond: Muslims. Concordia Publishing House. Pg.45.

4 saved. Because they are not fallen, they have no need of a savior. But because they are not saved either, they need to do good works and do them ethically which alone will earn them the desired salvation. To save themselves by deeds and works is their pride and glory. 2 Quran o Muslim s believe that the Quran is the place where Muhammad eventually recorded the messages given to him by Gabriel It is about the length of the New Testament and was completed in 652 It is the most sacred of their books They hold it to be the eternal, infallible, and unalterable Word of God o They claim that disagreements between the Quran and the Bible occur because the Bible has become corrupt over time These errors, they say, were corrected in the Quran and therefore the Quran is now considered the final word o Most Muslims also believe that the words and deeds of Muhammad are inspired Various collections of his words and deeds are called the Hadith They are used for interpreting the Quran o Muslims believe that only in the Arabic language is the Quran Allah s word Any translation of the Quran into a language other than Arabic nullifies its message God s Word, the Holy Bible, is as different from the Quran as daylight is different from darkness. The Quran has no redemptive intent. It says nothing of a loving God who had mercy on lost sinners. Its intent is not to save people. Its intent is to be one more requirement the Muslim must follow as a good deed in order to earn glory in the afterlife. Here is a comparison between the Bible and Quran in some of our most basic beliefs. BIBLE Sin transgression of God s holy will Jesus God and Savior Angels created by God, after some fell we have good and evil ones Sacred book The Holy Bible Prayer without ceasing Heaven eternal life with God Worship in spirit and truth QURAN Sin weakness, no sinful nature, good and bad behavior Jesus Man and Prophet, sinless Angels Shaitan, fallen angel. Recording angels keep track of good deeds and bad deeds. Sacred book Quran, Torah of Moses, Psalms, and Gospel of Jesus Prayer Five prayers daily, personal prayers Heaven God owned bordello in the sky. Host of virgins especially for those who pay the price of martyrdom Worship strict adherence to the Five Pillars The Quran is one of the other gospels the apostle Paul warned about, But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned (Galatians 1:8). 2 Ibid. Pg. 46. WHY SO APPEALING & DANGEROUS:

5 Because of universalism o Universalism is the false belief that all world religions worship the same God. They just call him by different names. They will tell you they believe in Jesus o Although they believe in him as only a prophet but not as Savior and Lord They will speak of all Scriptures as the Word of God o Although they say that previous Scriptures have been corrupted and are no longer trustworthy Muslims will say that Islam goes back to the dawn of human history, that Adam was the first prophet and Abraham was neither a Jew or Christian, but a Muslim WITNESSING: For Christians there is no option. Love each other as I have loved you (John 15:12), said Jesus. He offered his disciples no choice of whom to love and when to love. The neighbor is never less a neighbor for reasons of religion, history, ethnicity, or social status or for that matter for reasons of personal convenience. Don t think the first thing you have to do is tear apart Muhammad, the Quran, and other aspects of Islamic faith o Begin by speaking positively and confidently about our Christian faith. Be equipped o With a knowledge of the Bible o With a knowledge of Islamic beliefs and history Be a friend o Don t let the stereotype keep you from acting as God desires Get them to read one of the Gospels o The Quran speaks positively of the Gospel that Jesus brought, but most Muslims have never had a chance or the desire to read Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. Recognize their pressure o According to Islam, if someone converts to another faith they would be cast out of their family, or executed CHECKING THE TELLTALE SIGNS: Central Figure Mention of Jesus Salvation by works Anti-Trinitarian Different God Theology often in flux Religious syncretism Another written authority TODAY S CONNECTION: Special Vocabulary Considered by many to be the fastest growing religious body worldwide o It is considered to be the religion of about 21 percent of the world s population o Some predict that the number of Muslims will surpass the number of Christians as early as 2025 Today, Islamic culture - but not total Islamic political control - stretches from as far east as Indonesia to Turkey and Morocco o It has made inroads into Europe, too, and is on the rise as a significant religious force in America Especially active on college campuses and in large communities o MSA The Muslim Student Association CHRISTIAN CONNECTION: Regardless of the tribe, the region or country, Muslims are a people who desperately need the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They need to meet the real Jesus, the Savior who died on a cross and rose victorious again on Easter morning. Without that saving faith they will spend an eternity of death with their prophet Muhammad and his god Allah. The obligation of Christians to Muslims is indeed tremendous. Muslims need to learn that Islam cannot be the continuation, the correction, or the culmination of Christianity because Islam removes the gospel. According to its understanding of itself, the New Testament proclaims the Good News in the person of Jesus, through whom God bears our burden of sin, forgives, and frees us from the bondage of the law. In biblical understanding, submission to the Law in order to gain salvation is neither the continuation, nor the correction, nor the culmination of God s grace in the Messiah. Rather it is the negation of this grace. Jesus the Messiah alone is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. God s salvation is found in no other.

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