| Jesus SINCERITY 112 Al-Ikhlâs In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful 112:1 Say: “He is Allah, the only One, 112:2 “Allah, the Everlasting. 112:3 “He did not beget and is not begotten, 112:4 “And none is His equal.” ---- 4:171 O People of the Book, do not exceed the bounds of your religion nor say about Allah except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, is only Allah’s Messenger and His Word, which he imparted to Mary, and is a spirit from Him! So believe in Allah and His Messenger and do not say “three” [gods]. Refrain; it is better for you. Allah is truly One God. How – Glory be to Him – could He have a son To him belongs what is in Heaven and on earth? Allah suffices as a Guardian! 4:172 The Messiah does not disdain to be a servant of Allah, nor do the angels nearest to Him. And those who disdain to worship Him, and are arrogant, He shall gather all unto himself! 4:173 But as for who believe and do good deeds, He will give them their rewards in full and will increase them from His Bounty. And as for those who disdain are arrogant, He will inflict on them a very painful punishment, and they will not find for themselves, apart from Allah, any friend or supporter. 4:174 O people, a proof from your Lord has come to you, and We sent down to you a clear light (the Qur’an). 4:175 As for those who believe in Allah and hold fast to Him, He will admit them into mercy and bounty from Him and guide them to Himself along a straight path. The entire concept of the Koran is based on a simple premise: God had gotten fed up with sending his messages on how we should live and how He should be worshipped via prophets who did not communicate His message accurately or were misunderstood by a less than receptive audience. God’s patience had run out. He would send one last messenger, his greatest messenger, with his final instructions for mankind: the Koran. Anyone who did not heed the instructions of this ultimate and unsurpassed messenger was doomed to an eternity in Hell. There was only one problem with this latest divine plan for getting humanity to behave: Jesus. If God had already come down to earth to deliver his message personally in the person of Jesus, then sending another messenger with a final message from God made no sense. If Muhammad’s claim to be the last and greatest messenger of God was to have any credibility, the Christian claim that Jesus was the Son of God had to be discredited. There was also a positive side to Jesus’ status. His reputation could also be used to enhance the reputation of an aspiring prophet like the Prophet Muhammad. Jesus of Nazareth before the advent of Islam and during the time of the Prophet Muhammad was a much revered figure, even among the pagan tribes of the Arabian Peninsula. It was said that the Prophet’s grand-father, Abd al-Muttalib, had prayed to the Christian god to grant him sons, something his pagan gods had proven incapable of doing. The Prophet Jesus In many verses Allah will praise the Prophet Jesus as a worthy pre-cursor to his greatest prophet. Muslims believe that the “Comforter” promised in the Gospel of St John, chapter 16, verse 7 is the Prophet Muhammad, not Jesus: “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient for me that I go away; for if I go not away; the Comforter will not come onto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.” John the Baptist, in the New Testament, had announced the coming of Jesus; Jesus, in the Koran, would announce the coming of God’s greatest Messenger. 61:6 And when Jesus, son of Mary, said: “O Children of Israel, I am Allah’s Messenger to you, confirming what came before me of the Torah, and announcing the news of a Messenger who will come after me, whose name is Ahmad.” Then when he (Ahmad i.e. Mohammad) brought them the clear proofs, they said: “This is manifest sorcery.” Jesus would even get his disciples to pledge their allegiance to Allah after explaining his mission to them. 3:50 “I have come to confirm what came before me of the Torah and make lawful to you some of the things that were forbidden to you. I have come to you with a sign from your Lord; so fear Allah and obey me.” 3:51 “Allah is indeed your Lord and my Lord; so worship him. This is the straight path!” 3:52 When Jesus sensed their disbelief, he said: “Who are my supporters in Allah’s Way?” the disciples said: “We are Allah’s supporters; we believe in Allah, so bear witness that we submit.” 3:53 “Lord, we believe in what You have revealed, and we have followed the Messenger; write us down with those who bear witness.” --- 61:14 O believers, be supporters of Allah, as Jesus son o Mary, said to his disciples: "Who are my supporters unto Allah?" The disciples replied: "We are Allah's supporters", and so a group of the Children of Israel believed, while another group disbelieved. Then, We supported those who believed against their foe; and so they were triumphant. This negative/positive side to Jesus may explain the apparent schizophrenic nature of many of the verses concerning his person. Unlike when He is praising Jesus the Prophet, whenever Jesus as the Son of God is mentioned in any verse you can almost feel Allah’s rage; for example in a revelation as to why He sent the Koran. 18:4 And to warn those who say: “Allah has taken a son.” 18:5 They have no knowledge thereof, nor do their fathers. What a dreadful word that comes out of their mouths! They only utter a lie. An even more vehement denunciation can be found at the end of surah 19, the chapter ostensibly dedicated to Mary and which documents most of the events surrounding Jesus’ birth. In these verses Allah is shocked and all His creation appalled by the claim that Jesus is not His servant like everyone else and like everyone else will appear before Him by himself, on Judgment Day. 19:88 And they say: “The Compassionate has taken Himself a son,” 19:89 You have indeed made a shocking assertion, 19:90 From which the heavens are almost rent asunder, the earth is split and the mountain fall to pieces. 19:91 For they ascribe a son to the Compassionate. 19:92 Whereas, it is not fitting that the Compassionate should have a son. 19:93 Everyone in the heavens and on earth will surely come to the Compassionate as a servant. 19:94 He keeps count of them and has numbered them. 19:95 And every one of them will come to Him on the Day of Resurrection alone. The infant Jesus, only a few hours after his birth, at the request of his mother who is being accused of having a child out of wedlock, will loudly proclaim that he is not the Son of God but a prophet sent by Allah, who praises Allah and does as Allah commands.. 19:27 Then she brought him (the child) to her people, carrying him. They said: “O Mary, you have surely committed a strange thing. 19:28 “Sister of Aaron, your father was not an evil man and your mother was not unchaste.” 19:29 Whereupon she pointed to him. They said: “How will we talk to one who is still an infant in the cradle?” 19:30 He [Jesus] said “Indeed, I am the servant of Allah, Who gave me the Book and made me a Prophet. 19:31 “And He made me blessed wherever I am and has commanded me to pray and to give the alms, so long as I live; 19:32 And be devoted to my mother; and He did not make me arrogant and mischievous. 19:33 “Peace be upon me the day I was born, the day I die and the day I rise from the dead.” In the next verse, Allah echoes the baby Jesus’ claim. 19:34 Such was Jesus, son of Mary; it is the truth which they (the Christians) dispute. Jesus again, boasting about Allah’s omnipotence and asking that only Allah be worshipped. 19:35 It is not fitting for Allah to have a son. Glory be to Him; when He decrees a thing, He simply says: “Be”, and it comes to be. 19:36 Allah is truly your Lord and my Lord; so worship him. That is a straight path. Allah again, with how wrong the wrongdoers (those who maintain that Jesus is the Son of God) are and how they will be held to account on Judgment Day. 19:37 Yet, the sects among them differed. Woe to those who have disbelieved from the spectacle of a great Day! 19:38 How well they will hear and how well they will see, on the Day they will come onto Us; but the wrongdoers today are in manifest error. 19:39 And warn them of the Day of sorrow, when the issue is decided, while they are heedless and do not believe. Jesus said the meek would inherit the earth. Not so, says Allah. 19:40 It is We Who shall inherit the earth and whomever is on it, and to Us they shall be returned. If God Had Wanted a Son Why Allah has no children, and what He would do if He decided to start a family: 6:101 [He is] the Creator of the heavens and the earth; how could He have a child when He has no consort, and has created everything and has knowledge of everything? 6:102 That is Allah, your Lord, there is no god but He, Creator of all things. Worship Him then; He is the Guardian of all things. ---- 39:4 Had Allah wanted to take to Himself a child, He would have chosen from what He has created whomever He pleases. Glory be to Him; He is Allah, the One, the Conqueror. There may have been confusion in the minds of some of the Arabs to whom the Prophet preached as to the nature of the Son of God, prompting Allah to assert that the angels are not His progeny either. 21:26 They say: “The Compassionate has taken to Himself a son.” Glory be to Him; they (the angels) are [merely] honoured servants. 21:27 They never speak until He has spoken; they only act on His Command. 21:28 He knows what is before them and what is behind them, and they do not intercede except for him whom He approves; and they tremble for fear of Him. If any angel, or Jesus for that matter, makes a claim to being a god, Hell will be his reward. 21:29 And whoever of them says: “I am a god besides Him” – that one We shall reward with Hell. That is how We reward the wrongdoers. A Mere Servant 43:57 And when the son of Mary was held up as an example, behold, your people turned away from him. 43:58 They said: "Are our deities better or he?” They only cited it to you disputatiously. Indeed, they are a contentious people. 43:59 He was merely a servant whom We favoured and set up as an example to the Children of Israel. ------------------------ Jesus did not object to being a mere servant. 4:172 The Messiah does not disdain to be a servant of Allah, nor do the angels nearest to Him. And those who disdain to worship Him, and are arrogant, He shall gather all unto himself. ------------------------ A servant who may have spoken out turn when he said the meek shall inherit the earth. 43:60 Had We wished, We would have made of you angels to be successors on earth. 43:61 And it is surely the knowledge of the Hour (Judgement Day); so do not doubt it and follow Me. This is a Straight Path. 43:62 And let not Satan bar you. He is, indeed, a manifest enemy of yours. ------------------------ Another reference to Satan as the “manifest enemy”: 2:168 O people eat from the earth’s lawful and pleasant produce, and do not follow in Satan’s footsteps; for he is a manifest enemy of yours. 2:169 He commands you to do evil and indecency and to impute to Allah what you do not know. ------------------------ 43:63 When Jesus brought the clear proofs, he said: “I have come to you with the Wisdom and to make clear to you (the Jews) part of that whereon you are differing. So fear Allah and obey me. 43:64 "Allah is, indeed, my Lord and your Lord; so worship Him. This is a Straight Path.” The Last Supper 5:111 And when I revealed to the disciples (ordering them through Jesus): “Believe in Me and My Messenger”, they replied: “We believe, and Your bear witness that we submit.” 5:112 When the disciples said: “Jesus, son of Mary, is your Lord able to bring down for us a table [spread with food] from heaven?”; he said: “Fear Allah, if you are true believers and be witnesses thereof.” 5:113 They said: “We would like to eat from it so that our hearts may be reassured and know that you have told us the truth.” 5:114 Jesus, son of Mary, then said: “O Allah, our Lord, send down to us a table spread with food from heaven that it may be a festival for the first and last of us and a sign from You; and provide for us, for You are the Best Provider.” If Allah has to do a miracle for someone to believe and that person later renounces their faith, that person is going to be in for some serious pain in the afterlife and perhaps this one. 5:115 Allah said: “I will send it down to you, so that whoever of you disbelieves thereafter I will inflict on him a punishment I do not inflict on any other being.” The Crucifixion Myth Allah is also adamant that Jesus was not crucified, nor did he physically die. Allah only made it appear that he did so that He could bodily raise him to heaven where, according to Muslim tradition, he remains one of the four living prophets who watch over mankind and to whom the faithful can pray (the others being Idris, Khidr and Elias. Khidr and Elias, according to Muslim tradition, continue to wander the earth). 4:157 And their saying: “We have killed the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary and the Messenger of Allah.” They neither killed nor crucified him; but it was made to appear so unto them. Indeed, those who differ about him are in doubt about it. Their knowledge does not go beyond conjecture, and they did not kill him for certain; 4:158 Rather Allah raised him unto Him. Allah is Mighty and Wise. Jesus has been tasked with leading the believers in the final battle at the end-of-times with those who continue to refuse or waited too long to submit to the Will of Allah. The need for an End-of Days generalissimo is also why Jesus did not die on the cross and is with Allah at this very moment waiting to lead His forces in one final glorious battle to establish Allah’s kingdom on earth before He wraps the whole thing up and brings on the end-of-times. Jesus will also be there on Judgement Day to bear witness against those who did not believe he was a Messenger of Allah during his time in earth. 4:159 None of the People of the Book will believe him before his death, and on the Day of Resurrection he (Jesus) will be a witness against them. The alleged verse about the Resurrection is confusing in both content and context. The context being, why did Allah need to bring Jesus back from the dead if the Crucifixion was all an elaborate hoax He concocted? The purported verse about the Resurrection is in surah 2, The Cow, the longest chapter of the Koran; a long rambling narrative where the Jews (Hebrews) figure prominently, as they do throughout most of the Koran. Before giving you the verse in question, first a discussion about the type of cow that is appropriate for a sacrifice to Allah. What does a cow have to do with the Resurrection? Read on. 2:67 And when Moses said to his people: “Allah commands you to sacrifice a cow”, they replied: “Do you make a mockery of us?” He said: “God forbid that I be one of the ignorant (that is, one of the mocking people).” 2:68 They said: “Call on your Lord to explain what [cow] it is.” He replied: “He (Allah) says: ‘Let it be neither too old nor too young, but in between.’ Therefore do what you are commanded to do.” 2:69 They said: “Call on your Lord to tell us what its colour should be.” He replied: “He (Allah) says: ‘Let it be a yellow cow which has a striking colour and which pleases the beholders.’” 2:70 They said: “Call on your Lord to tell us what it (the cow) is; for to us all cows seem to be alike. Thus if Allah wills, we will be rightly guided.” 2:71 He said: “He says: (Allah) ‘It is a cow which is neither harnessed to plough the land nor to water the field, but rather sound with no blemish.’ ” Then they said: “Now you speak the truth.” Thereupon they slaughtered it after they had been reluctant to do so. Following this discussion is a verse, which most commentators on the Koran agree, is about the Jews arguing among themselves as to whether it was the Messiah who died on the cross, or appeared to if you subscribe to Allah's account of the Crucifixion. 2:72 And when you (the Jews) slew a man and fell out among yourselves regarding him, Allah brought forth to light what you had concealed. The next verse is the alleged revelation about the Resurrection, with Allah getting Jesus’ attention by striking him with what Fakhry, in a footnote, says is part of a cow; that it “could be its tongue or the end of its tail." 2:73 We said: “Strike him with a part of it (the cow).” Thus Allah brings the dead to life, and shows you His Signs so that you may understand. M.H. Shakir is more specific in his translation. The deceased must be struck with a part from a sacrificed cow of the type, I assume, described in revelations 2:68-71. 2:73 So We said: Strike the (dead body) with part of the (Sacrificed cow), thus Allah brings the dead to life, and He shows you His signs so that you may understand. From strange to perhaps even stranger is Allah revealing that His raising the dead did not impress his audience, and that their hearts became as hard as stone, if not harder, followed by an exposé on what are some of the most unusual qualities of rocks, and what, or more accurately, who causes rockslides. 2:74 Then your hearts became as hard as stone or harder; for there are stones from which rivers flow, and others which splinter and water comes out of them, and others which tumble down for fear of Allah. Allah is surely not unaware of what you do. “Perverted it”, in the following revelation, is undoubtedly a reference to the New Testament, which should have had nothing to do with turning the other cheek, or treating others as you would like to be treated, and that sort of thing. This could not be the Torah as it too, like the Koran, favours retaliation in kind, among other similarities. 2:75 Do you then hope that they will believe in you when a group of them (the Jews) did hear the Word of Allah, then after they understood it, they knowingly perverted it? Enough! I promised in the introduction to Pain, Pleasure and Prejudice to let God speak for himself and avoid undue speculation on the meaning of Allah’s Revelations to His Messenger, the Prophet Muhammad. But I could not resist writing about the alleged Resurrection verse, everybody else does, even if Allah says we don’t know what we are talking about. 2:76 And when they meet those who have believed they say: “We believe,” but when they come together privately, they say: “Will you tell them what Allah has revealed to you so that they might dispute with you concerning it before your Lord? Have you no sense?" 2:77 Do they not know that Allah knows what they conceal and what they reveal? 2:78 Among them are illiterate people who know nothing of the Book (the Scriptures) except illusory desires. Indeed, they are only conjecturing. What to make of Allah saying He strengthened Jesus with the Holy Spirit, not once, but on at least three occasions. Whose Holy Spirit could it be, unless Allah is referring to Himself, which is highly unlikely considering His rants against those who would claim He is one of three? Could it be that He overheard Bahira talking about the Christian celebration of the Pentecost and the descent of the Holy Spirit on the twelve disciples and misunderstood who was, or were the recipients? The first reference to the Holy Spirit is found in a diatribe against the Jews for refusing to accept the Prophet Muhammad as His latest, greatest and last Messenger. 2:87 We have indeed given Moses the Book, and after him We sent one Messenger after another. We also gave Jesus, son of Mary, clear signs (miracles) and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit. Do you, then, whenever a Messenger brings you what you do not desire, become puffed up with pride accusing some [of them] of lying and killing others? 2:88 They said: “Our hearts are sealed.” Nay, Allah has cursed them on account of their unbelief; for they have very little faith. 2:89 And when a book (the Qur’an) came to them from Allah confirming that which they had (the Torah), and though they used hitherto to pray for assistance against those who disbelieved; yet when there came to them what they already knew (that Muhammad would be sent as the Messenger of Allah) they disbelieved in it. So may Allah’s curse be on the unbelievers. The second reference is in a revelation in which Allah substantially elevates the Prophet Muhammad above all other Messengers. 2:253 [Of] those Messengers, We have made some excel the others; to some of them Allah spoke (Moses and Muhammad) and He exalted some (Muhammad) many degrees [above the others]. We gave Jesus, son of Mary, clear signs and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit. Had Allah so willed, those who succeeded them would not have fought one another after they had received the clear signs. But they disagreed [among themselves]; some of them believed and some did not. Had Allah pleased they would not have fought each other, but Allah does what He wills. The third reference to the Holy Spirit is in a revelation that on Judgement Day He will take credit for all the miracles perform by Jesus. In the same breath, Allah reveals that it was the Holy Spirit which made it possible for Jesus to speak and be understood as soon as he was born, which is eerily reminiscent of what the Holy Spirit actually did for the apostles, allowing them to be understood by people who spoke a different language. 5:110 When Allah will say: “O Jesus, son of Mary, remember My Grace upon you and upon your mother, how I strengthened you with the Holy Spirit, so that you could speak to people in the cradle and as an old man; how I taught you the Book, the Wisdom, the Torah and the Gospel; and how, by My Leave, you created out of clay the likeness of a bird, and breathed into it, and then, by My leave, it turned into a bird. And you could heal the blind and the leper by My Leave and you could raise the dead by My Leave. And [remember] how I restrained the Children of Israel from harming you, when you brought them the clear signs (the miracles); whereupon the unbelievers among them said: “That indeed is nothing but manifest sorcery.” The True Story In the Traditions, Jesus, after defeating the forces of evil during the End-Of-Days, will marry, have children and live to a ripe old age. On his death he will be buried in Mecca next to the Prophet Muhammad with the help of a contriving Allah. Revelation 3:55 may refer to this death. 3:54 And they (the Jews) contrived and Allah contrived; Allah is the Best of the contrivers. 3:55 When Allah said: “O Jesus, I will cause you to die, will lift you up to Me, purify you from those who have disbelieved and place those who followed you above those who have disbelieved, till the Day of Resurrection. Then unto Me is your return, so that I may judge between you regarding what you were disputing.” As to "what you were disputing"? This is said to refer to the Jews who argued among themselves as to whether it was the Messiah who died on the cross (see Resurrection in this chapter). 3:56 “But as for those who disbelieved, I will sternly punished them in this world and the Hereafter, and they shall have no supporters.” 3:57 And as for those who believed and done the good deeds, He will pay them their rewards in full. Allah does not love the evildoers. 3:58 This is what we recite (reveal) to you (Muhammad) of the Revelations and Wise Reminder (the Qur’an). 3:59 Jesus in Allah’s sight is like Adam; He created him from dust, then He said to him: “Be”, and there he was. 3:60 [This is] the truth from your Lord; so do not be one of the doubters. A revelation which begins on conciliatory tone and ends with calling the Curse of Allah on the “liars” i.e. “the doubters”. 3:61 To those who dispute with it (the truth regarding Jesus) after the knowledge which has come to you, say [to them]: “Come now; let us call our sons and your sons, our wives and your wives, ourselves and yourselves. Then let us pray to Allah and so call down Allah’s curse upon the liars.” 3:62 This is indeed the true story, and there is no God but Allah, and Allah is truly the Mighty, the Wise! 3:63 And if they turn their backs, then Allah certainly knows the mischief-makers.
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