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This class is about Islam. The speaker has spent a month studying it and wants to give a broad overview of commonly held Islamic beliefs. They share a table showing that in 2010, 65% of people knew very little or nothing about Islam. The speaker then goes on to discuss the reasons why we should learn about Islam, including its status as the second largest world religion and its projected growth. They also discuss the basics of Islam, the Quran, and the differences and similarities between Islam and Christianity. The speaker emphasizes the importance of studying Islam to better understand our own Christian faith and to effectively engage and evangelize Muslims. They also explain the origins of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula and the life of the Prophet Mohammed. Okay, so at the very outset of this class I want to emphasize I am by no means an expert in Islam I was given this about a month or so ago, and I've done a lot of studying since then So over the last month or so I've listened to numerous lectures read several books and studies many articles online But there is an absolute ton of literature on Islam One of the challenges that I encountered while preparing this presentation is the existence of many variations in Islamic beliefs however, my objective in this particular talk is To give you a broad overview of the commonly held Islamic beliefs Hopefully you guys can see this table the table that you're looking at now is from 2010 When the Pew Research Center surveyed US citizens on their knowledge of the Muslim religion As you can see in 2010 about 65% of people knew not very much or nothing at all about the Muslim religion I doubt anyone in this room falls into the bottom Row there, which is the bottom 1% who don't know if they know anything But I hope by the end of this talk all of you will have moved at least into the top two rows Okay, so let's let's go over an outline of what we're going to cover today First why should we learn about Islam and why should you care? Where did Islam come from and who was Mohammed? What are the basics of Islam and what beliefs are widely held by Muslim by Muslims? What is the Quran what do Muslims believe about it? And what does it actually teach? how is Islam different than Christianity and In what ways is it the same? How should we argue against Islam and effectively evangelize them? All right. So why study Islam? Well, let me give you some statistical reasons why you should know more about what Islam is and what it teaches Islam is the second largest world religion today Estimates in 2015 put the Muslim population at around 1.8 billion people in Comparison there are about 2.3 billion Christians. This number includes Protestants Roman Catholics Eastern Orthodox, etc Christians account for about 31% of Religions in the world and Muslims account for about 24% However The Muslim population is growing fast Muslims are projected to be the fastest growing major religion group over the next 50 years the number of Muslims is projected to rise by about 70% between 2015 and 2060 in Contrast the Christian population is only expected to rise about 34% in the next 40 years So It doesn't take a rocket scientist to get from those previous graphs to this graph if current trends continue And that's a substantial is Muslims are projected to outnumber Christians after the year 2060 This graph is of estimated babies born by mother's religion Much of this population growth This Muslim population growth is due to the number of babies born to Muslim households again if trends continue Muslim babies born born will outnumber Christian babies born by 2035 When I showed this graph to Jessica She immediately questioned the projected drop in the number of babies born to Christians after 2045. You can see that there This is due to a serious attrition in the existing Christian religious groups The next graph should show you and highlight this This is a very sobering graph But between 2015 and 2020 you can see the Muslim population continued to grow in spite of many people claiming no religious affiliation if you look closely from 2015 to 2025 about 7.5. I'm sorry 2015 2015 to 2020 about 7.5 million people switched their stated religion to unaffiliated Most of this switching however came from the Christian religious group You can see that while about 5 million people switched into the Christian religious group 13.1 switched out for a net loss of 8.1 million Christians. You can see that at the top Unaffiliated most of that came from the Christian group and you can also see below that unaffiliated Muslims added 420,000 in that five-year period In 2017 there were roughly 3.4 million Muslims in the United States At that time this accounted for about 1% of the US population For reference about 1.8% of the US population is Jewish The graph to the right shows an increase from 2.35 to 3.45 million That's 60% in the space of a decade if growth rates continue by the year 2050 Muslims will be the second largest religious group in the United States at 2.2% of the entire population This makes Islam the fastest growing religion in the United States About 10% of all legal immigrants to the United States are Muslim In the United States the number of mosques has nearly doubled since 2001 on average one new mosque Opens every day in the United States. I'm sorry opens every week in the United States So, what are some other reasons to learn about Islam? Learning about Islam can help us better understand our own Christian faith It can help us distinguish good theology, sorry Can help us distinguish good theology from bad theology Islam is a kind of Christian heresy There's a real sense in which there is there is real value in studying Islamic religion because it will help us understand More about our Christian faith Learning about Islam will equip us to engage and evangelize Muslims Paul was clearly very educated about Pagan Greek philosophers of his day which helped him both evangelize Jews and Greeks So before we get we begin There's quite a lot of scholarly debate among Muslims about the things that I will present today I will try to focus as much as possible on the well-established basic facts of Islam The fact is there is a good chance that you will encounter a Muslim who does not strictly Follow the beliefs and traditions that I will discuss this morning So the basic definition Islam the term Islam has its origin origins in the Islamic language The word Islam is derived from the Arabic root letters SLM which convey the idea of submission surrender and peace in Arabic the term Islam can be translated as submission or surrender to the will of God Muslim is also derived from the same Root letters and it means someone or something in the state of Islam who submits and surrenders to the will of God Muslim does not strictly refer to an adherent of Islam in Islamic teaching God created everything Muslim, but not everything or everyone remains Muslim Some are led astray some become Christians some become atheists These definitions while precise will be slightly adjusted for the context of this presentation I will be using the term Islam to refer to the religious belief itself and Muslim to indicate someone Someone who follows the faith of Islam So, where did Islam come from? It originated in the Arabian Peninsula during the early 7th century AD That's some 600 years after the birth of Christ and this will be an important point for our discussion later The Arabian Peninsula was characterized by tribal societies and polytheistic beliefs Islam originated in response to the prevalence of polytheistic beliefs and established a stringent emphasis on monotheism Islam essentially rose as a monotheistic reform movement and then later developed into a comprehensive religious social and cultural framework Islam essentially arose as a monotheistic reform movement and then later developed into a comprehensive Religious social and cultural framework when we go through the life of Mohammed, you will likely see why this development occurred So origins Mohammed Islam's Founding is closely associated to the life and teaching of the Prophet Mohammed Muslims would not consider Mohammed to be the founder of Islam though Instead they would say that the revelations received by Mohammed were simply the culmination of prophetic prophetic messages sent to earlier prophets Essentially Muslims view Mohammed as the final prophet who received the complete and perfected Message of Islam as recorded in the Quran So who is Mohammed? Before I give you the traditional account of Mohammed's life You should know that the details of his life are widely debated and a lot of this is due to the fact that Very little about Mohammed's life is included in the Quran For detailed information about the life of Mohammed including his biography Actions and sayings Muslims turn to what they call hadith literature Hadiths are collections of sayings actions and approvals of the Prophet Mohammed as reported by his companions and later compiled by scholars In contrast the details of Jesus's life were recorded within the lifetimes of his followers As We dive into the discussion of Mohammed's life It's important to consider the concept cherished by Muslims known as al-uswa al-hassanah Which translates to the outstanding example or ideal role model this concept rooted in the Quran? Highlights Mohammed's remarkable character and his role as a paragon that every Muslim should aspire to emulate in their own lives So Let's talk about Mohammed's early life Mohammed was born in Mecca around 570 AD into the respected Hashim clan of the powerful Koresh tribe He lost his father Abdullah before his birth and his mother Amina when he was six years old Orphaned at an early age. He was placed under the care of his grandfather Abdul Matalib and later his hunk his uncle Abdul Talib Mohammed's grandfather was a leader in Mecca and a guardian of the Kaaba, which was a polytheistic pagan shrine We'll talk about it a bit later But Abdul Talib was a camel merchant and took Mohammed on many trading expeditions where it appears He came into contact with both Jews and Christians Mohammed Mohammed was later hired by a wealthy businesswoman named Khadija He later married Khadija. She was 40 and he was 25 Khadija and her family were believed to have been Christians This is likely where much of Mohammed's monotheistic leanings came from Both of his children with Khadija died in infancy in His late 30s Mohammed spent considerable time in solitude Mohammed often retreated to a cave in the mountains surrounding Mecca known as the cave of Hira for contemplation and meditation at the age of 40 during the month of Ramadan while Mohammed was in the cave of Hira. He experienced a profound profound and life-changing encounter During this encounter the angel Gabriel appeared before Mohammed and commanded him to recite Until a divine utterance came out of his mouth following his initial encounter Mohammed continued to receive revelations from Allah through the angel Gabriel over a period of approximately 23 years Initially these revelations were memorized and communicated orally, but later in Mohammed's life He appointed scribes to write them down. It was only after Mohammed's death where they compiled into what we know today as the Quran After Receiving his first revelations in the cave of Hira Mohammed began his mission of conveying the message of Islam privately to his close family members and a few trusted friends His early message to family and friends focused on the core principles of monotheism and rejection of idolatry Shortly after his messages to friends Mohammed began preaching to the people of Mecca And you'll remember the people of Mecca are heavily polytheistic his message focused on the following points monotheism Mohammed's primary message was the absolute oneness of Allah He emphasized that there is no God but Allah and that all forms of polytheism and idol worship were false Rejection of idolatry Mohammed called on the people of Mecca to abandon the worship of idols and to recognize the Futility of worshiping objects that could benefit that could neither benefit nor them nor harm them Accountability on the Day of Judgment He warned of a Day of Judgment when all individuals would be resurrected and held accountable for their deeds Those who believed in Allah and followed his guidance would be rewarded while those who rejected faith and lived unrighteously Would face the consequences Mohammed's initial message was met with mixed reactions in Mecca some people embraced his message while others particularly the leaders of the Koresh tribe opposed him and his followers viewing the message of monotheism as a threat to their established power and the religious practices of the city Initially converts to Islam were few and far and far between But They also faced heavy persecution from the leaders of Mecca over time though Mohammed's followers began to increase Muslims began to be persecuted by the people of Mecca But Mohammed and his wife were spared most of this persecution due to the protection of his uncle Abdul Talib When a dude Abdul Talib when Abdul Talib died However, Mohammed no longer had protection and was forced to leave due to an assassination attempt in September 622 Muhammad's led Mecca with his followers for the city of Yathrib The city was already a sanctuary city for persecuted Muslims the move from Mecca to Yathrib is known as the Hedra or Migration and holds great significance for Muslims Upon Mohammed's arrival in Yathrib, the city was renamed to Medina the city of the Prophet Mohammed was recognized as the leader and he instituted a constitution the Constitution acknowledged Mohammed as their leader and final judge under God and established Medina as the first Islamic city This Constitution made allowances for non-muslim monotheists Christians and Jews known as the people of the book in the Quran Mohammed took several wives while he was in Medina Twelve to be exact one of his wife's Aisha was only nine or ten years old when the marriage was consummated Mohammed was 53 at the time However, keep in mind that this is not necessarily outside of the cultural norms of the day One of his marriages though was certainly outside of cultural norms Mohammed became attracted to and married his adopted son's wife Zainab His son Zaid eventually divorced her but at that time Arabian society had a very strong aversion to marrying the divorced wives of Adopted sons since adopted sons were considered the equivalent of biological sons The Events pertaining to this marriage are meticulously Quran are meticulously recounted in the Quran Why you might ask well because Mohammed received a unique revelation from Allah that underscored the importance of distinguishing between adopted sons and biological sons this divine revelation also Explicitly clarified that Mohammed's marriage to Zainab was ordained by Allah also during Mohammed's time in Medina there were hostilities with Mecca These hostilities were due to religious and economic factors The core conflict was the religious message preached by Mohammed which changed their polytheistic Which challenged their polytheistic beliefs and practices but also Mecca's persecution of Muslims was causing refugees to flee to Medina in essence Mecca was losing citizens Second issue was over the Kaaba again We'll talk about the Kaaba later on but just bear in mind the Kaaba was a religious shrine that many in the region would travel to Due to hostility towards Muslims Medina and citizens were unable to visit the Kaaba From an economic perspective Mohammed led several raids on the trade routes of Mecca He did this for economic reasons because Medina needed provisions so they took them hostilities eventually grew into major battles In 628 Mohammed journey journeyed to Mecca and eventually established a treaty with the Meccans Among the terms of this treaty was the provision for Muslims to undertake an annual pilgrimage to Mecca to visit the Kaaba This pilgrim this pilgrimage was known as the Hajj Mohammed's decision to initiate this truth was again inspired by a divine vision which he himself Performed a pilgrimage to the Kaaba in Mecca. Although this pilgrimage had been a pre-existing pagan custom Mohammed aimed to reclaim and sanctify the practice for Muslims In 630 Mohammed decided that the Meccans had violated the treaty marched his army of 10,000 into Mecca and the Meccans the Meccans stood no chance Mecca became the second Islamic city One of the first things Mohammed did after defeating Mecca was cleanse the Kaaba of all pagan gods In the years that followed Mohammed subjugated all the surrounding tribes and his policy was Convert to Islam or face the consequences if they were pagan they had to convert if they were Christian and Jewish however people of the book They did not have to convert to Islam, but were required to pay tribute In 632 Mohammed fell seriously ill and passed away Some speculated that he may have been poisoned His death triggered a crisis of sorts because he had not left clear instructions on leadership and governance for Muslims To address this tribal leaders convened and elected a series of what they call caliphs To govern the Muslim world however disputes over some of these elected caliphs resulted in a series of civil wars leading to the emergence of Various Muslim sects each of these sects asserted their claim as the true followers of Muhammad Mohammed and representatives of Islam the primary division between the two sects You may have heard of this division before it's called the Sunni and Shia sect division The conflict between these two sects exists today and has led to tensions sectarian violence and political disputes in various regions of the Middle East So Let's talk about some the things that most Muslims believe There are six pillars that are fundamental to Muslim belief and every Muslim is required to affirm these as part of their faith The six pillars of faith in Islam are as follows belief in a monotheistic God belief in angels Belief in the books the Quran and other divine books belief in the prophets and messengers Belief in the Day of Judgment and afterlife and belief in predestination So let's cover belief in Allah Muslim Muslims believe in the oneness of Allah as the true God This is the central and most fundamental belief in Islam and just to note here Allah is not a proper name It is really just an Arabic title for God. So I'm going to use them interchangeably This strict uncompromising monotheism is referred to as Tauhid the term Tauhid means oneness and Encapsulates the core monotheistic principle, but there is only one God who is the sole creator sustainer and ruler of the universe Tauhid is often contrasted with the Christian doctrine of the Trinity and Emphasizes the absolute oneness of Allah as the only divine being without any partners or associates Here's a direct quote from the Quran Declare Oh Prophet that God is one. He is the Rock. He is neither anyone's father nor anyone's son and None is equal to him You can see a very intentional assault on the Christian doctrine of the Trinity In Islam any form of associating partners with Allah is a very serious sin known as the sin of shirk Committing shirk is seen as an unforgivable sin if a person dies without repenting of it Beliefs in the prophets and messengers God sent prophets and messengers to guide humanity Islamic Teaching teaches that God sent prophets and messengers throughout history to guide humanity Some of these include Adam Noah Abraham Moses Aaron David Solomon Joseph Jesus and Muhammad Islam distinguishes between prophets and messengers Messengers are also prophets, but they are usually given a book and sent to a specific people group Moses and Jesus would both be considered messengers to Israel and Muhammad is the messenger to the Arabs The Quran the Quran names 25 prophets 21 of which are also found in the Bible But only nine of these are described as messengers Muhammad is considered the final prophet and his revelations are recorded in the Quran Islam is considered a Continuation and culmination of the monotheistic message conveyed by all of these earlier prophets So that includes the ones that we see in the Bible Belief in the books Islam teaches that there is there are a series of inspired books before the Quran Some of these books are as follows the Torah which was revealed to the Prophet Moses the Psalms which were revealed to the Prophet David the gospel which or in Jill as it is referred to Was sent to the Prophet Jesus Note the exact nature and content of the gospel are not defined in Islamic tradition or in the Quran but it is generally understood that the gospel is a message of guidance from Jesus and There are others like the scrolls of Abraham the wisdom of Solomon the scriptures of Noah While Muslims are encouraged to learn from the wisdom contained in earlier scriptures Muslims are also taught that these earlier scriptures have undergone modifications and corruptions over time That the current versions may not accurately represent the original messages given to those prophets It's going to be really important when we start talking about how to engage with Muslims as Christians the Quran however in its current form is to believed to be the Literal Word of God as revealed to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel It serves as a comprehensive guide for every aspect of Muslim life including ethical and moral principles laws and guidance on personal conduct also a very important note here is that Muslims believe the Quran corrects and supersedes any Inconsistencies altercations or corruptions that may have occurred in previous scriptures how convenient The fourth belief is belief in angels Muslims believe in the existence of angels as a fundamental part of their faith angels hold a very prominent and significant role in Islamic theology and Play other roles in the universe They believe that angels were created by Allah from light and unlike humans they do not possess free will Angels are obedient servants that carry out Allah's will without question and according to clear Islamic teaching angels play a vital role in the Day of Judgment They will represent the recorded records of each person's actions and they will assist Allah in determining that person's eternal fate and Lastly Muslims also believe in spirits distinct from angels called jinn. This is where we get our English word genie These spirits have a free will and some of them are evil Muslims are encouraged to pray to Allah for protection from these spirits There here are a few examples of angels in the Quran and their functions Gabriel is the angel responsible for delivering Revelations from Allah to the prophets including the Quran to Muhammad in many cases Gabriel takes the place of the Holy Spirit Here's a quote we gave Jesus the son of Mary clear signs and supported him with Rua or Gabriel Michael is the angel of sustenance who provides nourishment Is Rafi is the angel who will blow the trumpet to announce the Day of Judgment Malik is the angel of death who is responsible for taking souls of the deceased Kiraman and Kata bin are two Recording angels who document the deeds of every individual Noting both their bad and good actions Munkar is the angel who questions is of individuals in their grave about their faith and deeds and A Muslim's faith is considered incomplete without a sincere belief in the existence of angels The fifth core belief is in the afterlife Muslims hold six fundamental beliefs regarding the concept of the afterlife Muslims believe in a day of judgment when all individuals will be resurrected and held accountable for their deeds Those who have lived a righteous life will be rewarded with eternal paradise those who have rejected the faith. However, or lived unrighteously and Persisted in engaging insist in sinful behavior without repentance will face the consequences of eternal eternal punishment in hell They believe in health same Hell is described as a place of intense suffering and torment where individuals will experience pain and anguish for the consequence of the rejection of faith and wrongdoing Some Muslims however may face temporary punishment in hell for their sins But ultimately they will be forgiven and admitted to paradise This temporary punishment is a scene as a means of purification for their souls from the effects of their sins before entering paradise Parallel there Catholics on the day of judgment Intercession by the Prophet Muhammad and other righteous individuals may play a role in seeking Allah's mercy for believers This intercession is not guaranteed, but is an additional opportunity for forgiveness and salvation Don't worry, we'll come back to this later when we talk and discuss Islam versus Christianity in more detail Belief in predestination. This is the sixth and final core belief Qadar refers to the divine Pre-ordainment or foreknowledge of all events and outcomes by God it encompasses the belief that God has complete knowledge of the past Present and future events and he has determined everything That happens in the universe While God's knowledge and decree are all encompassing Muslims also believe in the concept of human free will People have the ability to make choices and decisions and they are accountable for their actions They also affirmed that God's knowledge encompasses all events and outcomes including human choices Human free will and accountability are integral to the divine plan God's knowledge does not compel individuals to make specific choices rather It is a simultaneous awareness of the choices they will make So then there are five pillars what they call five pillars or practices in Islam These are the foundation principles and practices that guide the lives of Muslims worldwide They represent the core acts of worship that shape a Muslim's relationship with God and their fellow humans These pillars are essential to the faith and serve as a blueprint for living a devout life The Shahada is a central creedal statement in Islam Affirming the belief in the oneness of God and the Prophet and the prophethood of Muhammad It is the declaration that there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger by professing the Shahada A person publicly declares their faith and commitment to the monotheistic belief belief at the heart of Islam Salah Muslims are required to perform five daily prayers facing the Kaaba and Mecca These prayers are observed at specific times dawn noon mid-afternoon sunset and evening Muslims also fast until sunset during the holy month of Ramadan abstaining from food and drink and other physical needs Zakat is a practice of Giving a portion of one's wealth to those in need Typically, it's calculated as a percentage usually 2.5 percent of savings and investment yearly And then the jihad That or sorry at the Hajj Muslims who are physically and financially Are physically and financially able are required to undertake a pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca The Hajj is performed during the Islamic month of Dhu al-Hajjah and involves Specific rituals that commemorate the actions of the Prophet Abraham and his family The Kaaba is a shrine located near the center of the Great Mosque in Mecca and it's considered the most sacred place on earth The Kaaba is believed to have been built by the Prophet Abraham and his son Ishmael as a household The Kaaba is believed to have been built by the Prophet Abraham and his son Ishmael as a house of worship for Allah One of the required rituals is to rock or to walk around the Kaaba seven times during which time one must kiss and touch the black stone In the period before the rise of Islam The Kaaba was a polytheist sanctuary and was a site of pilgrimage for people throughout the Arabian Peninsula Muhammad would have worshipped at this site as a young child before he was exiled another required ritual Involves running or walking between two hills seven times to commemorate the actions of Hagar Who ran between these two hills in search of water for her son Ishmael when they were left in the desert by Abraham at Allah's? command This is the black stone of Mecca. It's considered the cornerstone of the Kaaba It was also considered to be originally white, but it has become black due to absorbing people's sins This is a progression black stone, which is kind of gross 1977 millions and millions and millions of people visit this site every day and Maybe not every day, but they visit a lot And so you can see kind of the transformation of that over time All else aside touching and kissing this would be a hard note for me This is a black stone in 2020 because pandemic pause All right, so let's talk about the Quran In 2005 a controversy erupted following a report published by Newsweek magazine Alleging that the Quran had been desecrated at Guantanamo Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba the report claimed that during interrogations of detainees US military personnel had flushed a Quran down a toilet as a form of interrogation The publication of this report sent shockwaves throughout the Muslim world Muslims around the globe were deeply offended and outraged at the alleged desecration of their sacred book the Quran holds an Exceptionally high and revered status in Islam and any act that was perceived as disrespecting it was met with intense condemnation In response to the Newsweek report protests and demonstrations erupted in several Muslim majority cities most notably in Afghanistan and Pakistan Thousands of people took the streets to express their anger and frustration these protests many times turned violent leading to clashes with security forces and incidents of Property damage and deaths were reported. The US government was quick to respond to these allegations and Various officials expressed their regret and assured that an investigation into the matter would be conducted Newsweek later retracted the story citing errors in the initial report This is not an isolated incident either where protests triggered were triggered by desecrations of the Quran in 2010 another incident unfolded in the United States resulting in the deaths of 30 protesters To understand these incidents it is essential to grasp the traditional Islamic perspective on the Quran and its profound Significance within the Islamic faith It is very easy for us as Christians to think that Muslims view the Quran the same way we view the Bible But this is simply not the case Muslims believe that the Quran is the literal words of Allah and thus was not authored by any human being in essence Every word in the Quran is believed to have been directly spoken by Allah Muslims also believe that there is a heavenly version of the Quran that has eternally existed with Allah They believe that translations are not the Quran. They are just transliterations and Because the Quran is the literal Word of God it even has divine attributes You see the physical Quran is considered a tangible manifestation of the divine presence For Muslims the Quran is their Jesus Perhaps now you can see why desecration or physical mistreatment of the Quran is such a big deal for Muslims The word Quran means recitation when it's written in Arabic It was originally transmitted orally and as a result makes heavy use of rhyme It has a hundred and fourteen chapters and contains about six thousand two hundred verses compare this to the Bible which has about 31,000 verses The Quran also states that Jesus never professed to be God and should never be worshiped as such in the Quran You will find references to the following biblical characters Adam and Eve Cain and Abel Noah Job Abraham Lot Joseph Moses Aaron David Solomon Elisha Elijah Jonah, John the Baptist Mary and Jesus Although the Quran recounts many of the events involving these individuals Many crucial details are either excluded or altered these alterations often serve the function of validating Muhammad's message and Reinforcing reinforcing his assertion of being a prophet of God Here are a few examples of that One of Noah's offspring offspring declined to board the ark and drowned Pharaoh converted to Islam and was saved while drowning in the Red Sea Abraham offered up Ishmael rather than Isaac Haman is associated with Pharaoh and is depicted as one of his close advisors or officials This is clearly a conflation of the book of Exodus and Esther But many Muslims say that this must have been a different Haman Another important aspect of Islamic belief about the Quran is the doctrine of Abrogation this doctrine teaches that certain verses or teachings of the Quran can be replaced or overridden by Allah with later revelations in essence if there's a conflict or contradiction between two Quranic verses the one revealed later is Considered to have more authority and supersedes the earlier one. This is very important for how Muslims interpret the Quran, especially since Chronologically earlier verses in the Quran have very different attitudes towards Christians and Jews Following Muhammad's death Islamic leaders had the Quran written down into a single book But it was later discovered that there were multiple versions circulating in 644 the leaders ordered that an official version should be identified and that all others should be destroyed According to the mainstream view the Quran has been divinely preserved without change or corruption ever since 644 So, what are some of the important teacher teachings about God in the Quran? Well Allah is the creator of all things and everything was created Muslim God has complete power and knowledge of all things Allah can simply overlook sins rather than punishing them and God is one Tauheed Here are a couple of quotes and they say the most merciful has taken for himself a son You have done an atrocious thing The heavens almost rupture therefrom and the earth splits open and the mountains collapse in devastation That they attribute to the most merciful a son. Oh People of the book do not commit excess in your religion or say about Allah Allah except the truth The Messiah Jesus the son of Mary was but a messenger of Allah and his word Which he declared to Mary and the soul created at his command from him So believe in Allah and his messengers and do not say three it is better for you. Indeed Allah is but one God Exalted is he above having a son God cannot be comprehended. So what is the Quran teaching about man? Well, God cannot be comprehended by man and we cannot know him Man is to worship Allah and submit We do not see anything in the Quran about man being made in the image of God Most importantly man must forsake polytheism and embrace Tauheed Man can and should consider earlier scriptures given to prophets before the Quran Though, of course the Quran should supersede these scriptures since its revelation came later There's also the concept of jihad Which means struggle where believers are encouraged to fight against the enemies of Allah and those who die fighting will be rewarded This is however, there is however some debate over whether this fighting should be defensive or offensive So, what does the Quran say about Jesus Well, the Quran recognizes Jesus as a prophet and messenger of God The Quran describes the miraculous birth of Jesus to the Virgin Mary without a human father Jesus is referred to as the Word of God and spirit from him. It affirms that Jesus was without sin Jesus was sent as a successor to Moses who confirms the truth of the Torah The Quran explicitly states that Jesus is not divine and should not be worshipped The Quran states that Jesus was not crucified but was raised to God's presence and someone else was made to resemble him on the cross and Finally Jesus was the Messiah. However, it doesn't tell us what that means Both agree So let's let's talk about some agreement between Islam and Christianity Both agree that God is the sole creator of the universe and that he is divinely directing history Both teach that God has divinely spoken with authority throughout history Both agree on many moral issues and that morality isn't a human invention Both teach that salvation can be achieved. There is an afterlife resurrection of our bodies and final judgment and There may be other points of agreement. However So, how do we account for this overlap between the teaching of Christianity in Islam Well, clearly our perspective as Christians is that anything Islam gets right they got from Christianity I Mentioned earlier one way to think of Islam is as a form of Christian heresy and like all heresies it retains some elements of truth most Christian heresies also typically substitute search of certain essential truths with human-made interpretations for self-serving purposes Islam is no different All right, so let's go through some disagreements Christian as Christians we believe that divine revelation is conveyed through the Bible alone divine revelation as much for Muslims is Primarily conveyed through the Quran and additional and some additional other books including hadith literature which contains traditions and actions of Muhammad As Christians we believe that God reveals both his will and his character Not only what he requires but also what he is like for Muslims God is completely unknowable and only God's demands are revealed to man as Christians we believe the Bible is The only inspired Word of God We must believe that the Quran is nothing more than a human book which contains some truth and also some falsehood The Quran for Muslims is the only infallible uncorruptible revelation We Believe as Christians that God's justice must be satisfied satisfied and he simply cannot overlook sin as Muslims they believe that God's justice is satisfied by ensuring that every individual is held accountable for their actions With the possibility of forgiveness through sincere repentance of the intercession of angels temporary period of purification after one dies and Some of God's mercy mixed in there, maybe As Christians we believe that man is made in the image of God Muslims do not hold this belief that we are created in the image of God and this is and that we are fundamentally Different from him because we are part of his created order As Christians, we believe that Jesus was crucified and then he rose again affirming his authority over death and his atonement for our sins Muslims explicitly reject that Jesus was crucified and deny his resurrection from the dead as Christians Muhammad was unquestionably, not a genuine prophet and His life is not only lacking in sinlessness, but is also unsuitable as a model for mortal for moral character Muslims however believe that he was the true prophet the last messenger from God and that he was without sin and That his life was a perfect model for believers So they hear some objections that you will probably hear from Muslims About the Christian faith Muslims often object to the Christian doctrine of Trinity the Trinity which they view as a form of polytheism Islam strictly adheres to monotheism, which is called Tauheed and say that Christians believe in three gods so I'm curious. How would you guys? Combat that what would you say if a Muslim said that to you that we believed in three gods? Anyone have an answer for that We don't yes, what would you say instead? One God in three persons, right do you think they would accept that one God in three persons? Right, so I think that's part of what we need to do is we really need to help them understand that it's not three gods It's one God in three persons and we need to articulate that in a way that they'll understand The Quran represents an inaccurate Portrayal of the Christian doctrine of the Trinity our belief centers on a single God who exists in three distinct persons The Father the Son and the Holy Spirit it is essential for us to clarify that Jesus is not a separate God Rather he is the same God as God the Father Muslims see One of the things that they do in the Quran or one of the things that Muhammad did in the Quran is he Conflated well, he didn't exactly conflate. He just simply lied. He says that Jesus He identifies the God of the Bible as Jesus the Father and Mary So there's there's no mention of the Holy Spirit that we see in the scriptures The divinity of Jesus Muslims would say that it is blasphemous and ridiculous to believe that God would procreate and have a son Once more the Quran Presents an inaccurate understanding of the nature of the Trinity when Muslims encounter the term son They often misconstrue it as implying a biological procreation between God and Mary to produce a son However, it is very important for us to emphasize that the connection between the Father and the Son is unique Eternal and a spiritual bond that can be likened to a human father-son relationship Muslims Also say that Jesus never claimed to be God They say I don't see the words I am God ever coming out of Jesus's mouth While those nerd words are not expressly found in the gospel Jesus clearly made the claims to be equal with God and the Jews recognized this because they accused him of blasphemy Muslims would immediately recognize this as the sin of shirk, which would make him ineligible to be a prophet They also say that the Bible has been corrupted but the Quran has been perfectly preserved We acknowledge that different manuscripts of the Bible exist however, the overwhelming majority of these variations are minor and None of these variations have any impact on the major Christian doctrines We need to encourage Muslims to look at the history of the Quran There are many different manuscripts of the Quran available online Most Muslims do not know this and they're not interested in knowing about that They also do not know that history about The Muslim leaders basically deciding. Okay, we need to get rid of anything that might be different and create this one The Quran explicitly advises the people of the book Referring to Christians to refer to their own scriptures to validate the messages conveyed to Muhammad The problem here is that the Quran contradicts these earlier scriptures and it's not just in minor ways rather it Fundamentally changes the claims of the gospel regarding Jesus Let me read a passage here from the Quran and we sent following in their footsteps Jesus the Son of Mary confirming that which came before him in the Torah and we gave him the gospel in which was guidance and light and Confirming that which proceeded of it in the Torah a guidance and instruction for righteousness. You can see he's building a chain here and let the people of the gospel judge by what Allah Allah has revealed therein and Whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed Then it is those who are defiantly disobedient and we have revealed to you. Oh Muhammad a book in truth Confirming what was preached of it in the scriptures. So judge between between them what Allah has revealed The problem here is the content This is a major problem for the Muslim for Muslims and it is vital that we challenge them on this point Muslims claim to have a response for this problem though They say Christians have corrupted the Bible and the major teachings about Jesus We have to ask them when this corruption occurred If the corruption occurred before Mohammed's era It raises a question about why Mohammed would have referred to these scriptures as a source of validation On the other hand if the corruption happened after Mohammed's time We possess numerous manuscripts of the Bible that can counter this claim We have a complete New Testament manuscript dating. We have many actually complete manuscripts dating back to the fourth and fifth centuries That's hundreds of years prior to Mohammed's birth Those manuscripts prove that the Bible has been meticulously preserved throughout the centuries The Bible we have today is the same Bible as Christians had in Mohammed's day All right, so let's talk about sharing the Bible or sharing Christianity with Muslims First Corinthians 3 9 for we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field God's building So I want to close I want to leave you with some practical application specifically about sharing the gospel with Muslims first I want to remind you that it is God's field that he is building his church in we are simply planting and watering seeds But God gives the increase Muslims and Muslim leaders. Oh, sorry. Hold on one second Remember that not all Muslims believe the same thing Do not assume that everything you've heard in this talk applies to every Muslim you meet You may need to do some digging to find out what they really believe Muslims and Muslim leaders can be particularly wary of forming relationships outside their community So it is important to build a relationship that is not necessarily contingent on them converting to Christ Any hint of this may reduce your opportunities for discussion When I was at town north We had a once a meeting once a month meeting called a meeting for a better understanding town north is in Richardson There is a huge population of Muslims in Richardson and so we put together this program where we would invite Muslims to town north to usually we would be having a talk about something that they agreed like let's talk about Noah and kind of look at the nuancing differences between those two and It's really interesting because Those meetings went on for about six months but they were cut off really quickly because their people started having questions about Jesus and there were inconsistencies that the imams couldn't overcome and so It's they they told us that the reason that they cut it off is it seemed like to them That we were trying to convert them to Christianity However That didn't happen We had expressly told them that we were that was not the attempt and that they could hear everything that we were teaching Right, and there was not a lot of conversation after the end of these talks It was simply the presentation of the gospel that started making those questions come up. So It's it's not important for us to Just go straight after Christianity and say well I need to convert this guy as soon as possible just Studying what you have in common a lot of times will end up bringing out those things and then once you've established that Relationship, it'll be very easy for you to speak truth into their lives Well, I hope that after this talk you've moved up on this table The question is now what will you do with this new knowledge? Hopefully the Lord will give you an opportunity to put it to good use Are there any questions you guys have? Go for it You becoming like the gods that you worship so think about that and then what strikes me is that If all of these religions that we've been studying contains some ask some amount of God's light in them Mm-hmm, and then that some are dimmer than others. I I'm interested from you know, what strikes me about Islam is The unknowable you cannot know God, right? So the attributes of God are unknowable. There are things right they share about them and then this inner the The that God can overlook sin so this distortion of atonement But I'm interested in what you studied on if we look at Psalms 115 how that Muslims struggle uniquely in Just living or unique struggles Becoming like the God that they're worshiping Right. Yeah, what I found is that Islam Muslims focus very little on theology. It's mostly about practice They don't know a lot of what you're talking about right now. They don't understand those things So that again is what you really can focus on is encouraging them to read Have them read one of the Gospels the Quran specifically points to the Gospels and says that they're a valid source of for them to learn from and That that rarely happens so if you Encourage them to just just read a gospel Then you can have a discussion about that. Keep in mind. They're gonna say well if there's an inconsistency here with the Quran then Quran supersedes this but they will read it because you can say look the Quran points here. You should be reading this Extremely Informative thank you. Good. I'm curious I've always heard both Muslims and then even non-muslims Christians talk about the lineage to Ishmael Mm-hmm. I just wonder in your studying. It was that substantiated outside of Islamic literature Is there any truth to that at all? Not that I saw the claim at all You know, I gave you a few examples of where Muhammad basically took teachings from the Bible and Twisted them most of the time it was it had a very clear intention But the other times the intention was kind of unknown you can see one of the things that they're required to do is run back and forth between these two hills and That's supposed to you know, that that was Ishmael and that was Hagar It's a lot of it is about ritual and so making up a ritual means he might need to alter something from the scriptures and Somehow I think he thought that that Gave him more prowess, right? So but as far as I can tell there's no Logical way of getting to that it's just it's stated Allah is God And then they recognize Christians and Jews. Yeah, and so when Christians and Jews say God what they say We're talking about the same deity Well, they may call you on the Trinity and say No, it's not then the difficulty is that for Muslims who are very strict to that monotheism and they know something about Christianity They're going to call out the Trinity and they're going to say you believe in three gods. So we don't believe in the same God Yeah, and today they have like origins of creation. Do they believe you know, all I created today. Absolutely creationist. Yeah You mentioned Ramadan early, but it was before the faith was really formed if you followed the timeline, right? so, can you define that and then to you pointed to the Gospels with the Koran But not none of the epistles and Paul is he's not mentioned Yeah, and I'm just at all curious to see where that falls, right? So let me address that second question first So it refers to the Gospels The Mohammed specifically points people to read it to to use it as a verification method But almost nothing about the Gospels is ever referenced in the Quran at all. We don't see it any of his teachings It's it's purely a tool to try to validate the Quran That's it And then Ramadan Honestly, I don't know a whole lot about that beyond you know, what I mentioned here there's there's a lot of superstition surrounding it What was your question exactly? The term itself I thought was derived from Formal worship for Allah that it was this journey right part of Mecca. Yeah, it's a season of But how can it be a season if that? Religion didn't exist yet. That's sort of the timeline. Okay, so so in the Arabian Peninsula the Kaaba existed Way before Islam was established Right, but when when that's why I was saying he would have worshipped there as a young child his grandfather was a guardian of the Kaaba and so all he did and and it was actually very common during that time for people to come and visit the Kaaba is like a You know great wonder of the world or whatever and there was a lot of you know significance to it a lot of spiritual significance to it and so people would visit from everywhere and so when he came in and Came into Mecca. He he islamicized the Kaaba Right, yeah, that's That's one of the things that we can really have a long discussion about because that's one of the points for Christians we have We're we're sure of our salvation. They're not They they're they cannot they have no assurance of salvation. There's all of these things that may help But they don't know and so you even see Muhammad say I don't know. There's there's all of these things that can happen But because I lived a righteous life in general, I lived a righteous life. I know where I'm going I'm going to paradise and if I don't make it to paradise, you know, first off there's all of these other things That'll get me there Thank you Any other questions? No, we're past time. So Okay, let me pray Thank you Lord for Giving us your word Thank you Lord for Giving us your word And we especially thank you for giving us assurance of salvation I cannot imagine living life without that assurance and we thank you so much for sending your son for letting us know What he did who he was and we also thank you Lord for Telling us what you are like not just what you require and then Unimaginably you have made us sons and daughters. We thank you so much for this revelation For the clarity of the revelation that you have sent us and for just the corroboration that has had throughout history that has helped us With our faith we thank you lord That there are opportunities here in the u.s. And that those opportunities are growing We pray that you would give us Diligence to understand what muslims believe but also a heart for them that we would Desire to see their conversion to know you and The proper jesus pray all these things in jesus name
