QUESTIONS FOR MUSLIMS
“THERE IS NO COMPULSION IN RELIGION” SURA 2: 256
“AND YE SHALL KNOW THE TRUTH, AND THE TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE” JOHN 8: 32
All religions claim to lead along the “right path” and it would be wonderful if they did. Imagine if it didn’t matter if one was a Hindu, Buddhist, Catholic, Muslim or Christian - if all roads led to Heaven!
However, this is not true. The issue is TRUTH. The two most prominent religions in the world, Islam and Christianity, both claim the “right path”, the truth. As a Christian, I have examined Islam and quite frankly, I have many questions that need to be answered. I have listed some of these questions in this pamphlet.
What happened to the original followers of Jesus? The Quran teaches that Jesus was a Prophet, received the Injil from Allah and won many followers.
Sura 19: 30 - "He ['Iesa (Jesus)] said: Verily! I am a slave of Allah, He has given me the Scripture and made me a Prophet;"
According to the Quran, Jesus’ followers were to be superior to all unbelievers!
Sura 3:55 - “(And remember) when Allah said: O Jesus! Lo! I am gathering thee and causing thee to ascend unto Me, and am cleansing thee of those who disbelieve and am setting those who follow thee above those who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection...”
My question is, where are these 1st century Muslims who are supposed to be set above unbelievers? I’ve searched through ancient historical writings and nowhere do I find any Muslims until the 7th century. Furthermore, when I look at the historical records, I find that anyone who encountered Christ did not come away believing what Islam teaches about Jesus! The followers of Christ believed Jesus was the Son of God and was crucified for the sins of the world. How can this be in light of Sura 3: 55?
Why should I trust the statements of Mohammed? Mohammed came 600 years after Jesus Christ, never spoke the language of Jesus Christ, never entered the country of Christ, couldn’t give bonafide evidence that he (Mohammed) was a prophet (i.e. prophecies fulfilled in his lifetime) and couldn’t distinguish the true, Biblical accounts from the apochryphal/pagan accounts of the heretical sects that were inhabiting Arabia. Ironically, Mohammed wants us all to believe that we’ve had it all wrong for 600 years and he alone has the truth - contrary to all historical facts, eyewitness accounts, and ancient records!
Why should I believe that Jesus Christ was not crucified? Again, we must go to the primary source documents of history, and history is certainly on the side of Christianity. When we do, we find very, very strong evidence for a crucified and risen Jesus Christ. My question is, if Jesus was not crucified, what happened? I know the theories and I also know that no Muslim knows for sure what happened either, other than He supposedly ascended before the cross. This leads to the next question: why didn’t the disciples know he hadn’t been crucified? None of the disciples, nor the disciples of the disciples, nor their disciples, nor anyone taught what Islam teaches about the crucifixion! Muslims may point to a couple of heretical groups centuries later, but they never taught what Islam teaches about this subject. If the disciples were the original Muslims (Sura 3: 55), why did they preach a crucified and resurrected Jesus? If Allah was in control of all this, why did Allah allow the world to be deceived for 600 years? Wouldn’t Allah ultimately be responsible for starting the “false religion” of Christianity?
Why should I believe the Bible is corrupted?
Most Muslims have come to believe that the Bible has been corrupted by Christians and Jews. Most Muslims, however, aren’t aware that this teaching began with Ibn-Khazem in 1064 AD. This wasn’t the teaching of early Islamic scholars! However, just supposing the Bible has been corrupted, then when was it corrupted, before Mohammed or after him? If before, would he have made the following statements:
Sura 5:68 - Say: "O People of the Book! ye have no ground to stand upon unless ye stand fast by the Law, the Gospel, and all the revelation that has come to you from your Lord..."
Sura 10: 94 - “And if thou (Muhammad) art in doubt concerning that which We reveal unto thee, then question those who read the Scripture (that was) before thee. Verily the Truth from thy Lord hath come unto thee. So be not thou of the waverers.”
Would Mohammed have said this if the Bible was corrupted in his day?
Furthermore, note the following references in the Quran about the words of Allah:
Sura 3: 84 - “Say: "We believe in Allah, and in what has been revealed to us and what was revealed to Abraham, Isma'il, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and in (the Books) given to Moses, Jesus, and the prophets, from their Lord: We make no distinction between one and another among them, and to Allah do we bow our will (in Islam)."
Sura 6: 115 - “And the word of your Lord has been accomplished truly and justly; there is none who can change His words, and He is the Hearing, the Knowing.”
If the Torah, Injil, and Quran are equally the words of Allah, and Allah’s word cannot be changed or corrupted, how can Muslims claim that the Bible has been corrupted? Also, where are the original, incorruptible words of Allah? (Sura 18: 27).
The relationship between the Quran and the Bible is quite interesting. Sura 5: 43-48 tells specifically how Allah revealed his word to Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed. I have noted in the Quran the use of the words “confirm” and “verify” in reference to the Torah and Injil. Passages such as Sura 2: 41, 89: 3: 3, 81; 6: 92, etc. Confirm means “to establish the truth or correctness of” and verify means “to make sure or demonstrate that something is true” (in this case, the Bible!). It’s important to note that the Quran uses confirm, not correct, and verify, not vilify! So I must ask, would Allah have used words like confirm and verify if the Bible of Mohammed’s time was corrupt?
If the Bible was corrupted, was it corrupted after Mohammed? Those who are experts in the field of manuscript evidence can testify that there is a clear, unbroken line of manuscripts from the 2nd century unto the present with no corruption after the 7th century.
This leads to other questions, such as who corrupted the Bible? Fakhruddin Razi (13th C.), on the authority of Ibn Abbas, a nephew of Muhammed, "The Jews and early Christians were suspected of altering the text of the Taurat and Injil; but in the opinion of eminent doctors and theologians it was not practicable thus to corrupt the text, because those Scriptures were generally known and widely circulated, having been handed down from generation to generation." It would have been impossible to gather together all the manuscripts (over 5800), versions (15,000), lectionairies (2135), and over 86,000 quotes of the church fathers. Furthermore, how could there have possibly been collaboration between Jews and Christians in corrupting their sacred books?
I think the greatest question of all is this: how are my sins forgiven? How can I know for sure I’ll go to Heaven when I die? The greatest truth anyone can know is that Jesus Christ did die on a cross as the supreme sacrifice for sin. He shed His holy blood as a payment for the sins of mankind and to satisfy the justice of God. Three days later He proved Himself by rising from the dead. No other religious leader had power over death except Jesus Christ. My friend, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me.” (John 14: 6). Will you turn to Him today?
Pastor Jim Walker
Gospel Light Baptist Church, 235 N. Crismon Rd., Mesa, AZ 85207
