The differences between Christianity and Islam

What are the factors which causes a widening gap between muslim and christian communities ?

Praise be to Allaah.   There are many great factors that widen the gaps between Muslims and Christians. The differences in belief between us and them do not let us get close unless they give up their kufr (disbelief) and misguidance, and join the monotheists who believe in One Lord and God, and bear witness that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is His Messenger, and believe that ‘Eesa (Jesus – peace be upon him) was a human being.
These are the most significant deviations in their religion, which widen the gap between us Muslims and them:
1.     The Christian belief that the Messiah is the son of God.
2.     The Christian belief that the Messiah (peace be upon him) is a god alongside God and that he is the second person of the holy trinity, according to their beliefs.
3.     The belief that divinity may be incarnated in humanity.
4.     The belief that God is formed of three Persons, which is known as the doctrine of the trinity.
5.     The Christian belief that the Messiah (peace be upon him) was crucified by the Jews on the command of Pontius Pilate, and that he died on the cross.
6.     The Christian belief that the Messiah died on the cross as a ransom for mankind and as expiation for original sin.
7.     The Christian attitude towards the Jews who disbelieved in Jesus (peace be upon him) and claimed that they crucified him and killed him, and they accused his mother Mary (Maryam) of fornication – of which she was innocent – yet despite all that their attitude towards them today is one of support and loyalty, and their attitude towards the Muslims who venerate Jesus (peace be upon him) and his mother is one of enmity and disavowal.
8.     Their distortion of the Book of God the Gospel (Injeel), whether they distorted the words by changing them or by adding words, or they distorted the meaning, and in doing that they attribute things to God that cannot be attributed to Him.
9.     The doctrine of redemption, which is their belief that God sent His only son to redeem mankind from a sin committed by the father of mankind (Adam – peace be upon him), but God was unable to forgive his sin, so He sent His only son who had no sin, to sacrifice himself in order to do away with sin. This is an attribution of imperfection to the Lord of the Worlds and a denial of the fact that Adam (peace be upon him) repented and Allaah saved the Messiah (peace be upon him) from death.
10. Their disbelief in the Prophethood of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), even though he is mentioned in the Old and New Testaments.
11. Their belief in the soundness of the distorted Torah that they have in front of them today, which contains insults against God, describing Him as having shortcomings, and insults against the Prophets and Messengers, saying things that one can hardly dare utter, but we mention them in order to highlight the abhorrent nature of the kufr (disbelief) that they follow. They describe God as weeping with regret for the Flood which drowned the people of Noah, until His eyes became sore, and the angels came to visit Him – exalted be He far above that.
They describe Lot (peace be upon him) as committing incest with his two daughters, and Noah as drinking wine until he became drunk and his ‘awrah (nakedness) became visible. And there are even more foolish stories than that.
See Hidaayat al-Hayaara fi Awbah al-Yahood wa’l-Nasaara by Ibn al-Qayyim; Naqd al-Nasraaniyyah by Dr. Muhammad ibn ‘Abd-Allaah al-Saheem
And Allaah knows best
Published Date: 2003-04-07.

Islam Q&A

The History of Christmas

       In ancient pagan times, the last day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere was celebrated as the night that the Great Mother Goddess gives birth to the baby Sun God. It is also called Yule, the day a huge log is added to a bonfire, around which everyone would dance and sing to awaken the sun from its long winter sleep.

In Roman times, it became the celebrations honouring Saturnus (the harvest god) and Mithras (the ancient god of light), a form of sun worship that had come to Rome from Syria a century before with the cult of Sol Invictus. It announced that winter is not forever, that life continues, and an invitation to stay in good spirit.

The last day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere occurs between the 20th and 22 December. The Roman celebrated Saturnalia between 17 and 24 December.

The Early Christians
To avoid persecution during the Roman pagan festival, early Christians decked their homes with Saturnalia holly. As Christian numbers increased and their customs prevailed, the celebrations took on a Christian observance. But the early church actually did not celebrate the birth of Christ in December until Telesphorus, who was the second Bishop of Rome from 125 to 136AD, declared that Church services should be held during this time to celebrate "The Nativity of our Lord and Saviour." However, since no-one was quite sure in which month Christ was born, Nativity was often held in September, which was during the Jewish Feast of Trumpets (modern-day Rosh Hashanah). In fact, for more than 300 years, people observed the birth of Jesus on various dates.

In the year 274AD, solstice fell on 25th December. Roman Emperor Aurelian proclaimed the date as "Natalis Solis Invicti," the festival of the birth of the invincible sun. In 320 AD, Pope Julius I specified the 25th of December as the official date of the birth of Jesus Christ.

Christmas official, but not generally observed

In 325AD, Constantine the Great, the first Christian Roman emperor, introduced Christmas as an immovable feast on 25 December. He also introduced Sunday as a holy day in a new 7-day week, and introduced movable feasts (Easter). In 354AD, Bishop Liberius of Rome officially ordered his members to celebrate the birth of Jesus on 25 December.

However, even though Constantine officiated 25 December as the birthday of Christ, Christians, recognising the date as a pagan festival, did not share in the emperor's good meaning. Christmas failed to gain universal recognition among Christians until quite recently. In England, Oliver Cromwell banned Christmas festivities between 1649 and 1660 through the so-called Blue Laws, believing that Christmas should be a solemn day.

When many Protestants escaped persecution by fleeing to the colonies all over the world, interest in joyous Christmas celebrations was rekindled there. Still, Christmas was not even a legal holiday until the 1800s. And, keep in mind, there was no Father Christmas (Santa Claus) figure at that time.

Christmas becomes popular

The popularity of Christmas was spurred on in 1820 by Washington Irving's book The Keeping of Christmas at Bracebridge Hall. In 1834, Britain's Queen Victoria brought her German husband, Prince Albert, into Windsor Castle, introducing the tradition of the Christmas tree and carols that were held in Europe to the British Empire. A week before Christmas in 1834, Charles Dickens published A Christmas Carol (in which he wrote that Scrooge required Cratchit to work, and that the US Congress met on Christmas Day). It was so popular that neither the churches nor the governments could not ignore the importance of Christmas celebrations. In 1836, Alabama became the first state in the US to declare Christmas a legal holiday. In 1837, T.H. Hervey's The Book of Christmas also became a best seller. In 1860, American illustrator Thomas Nast borrowed from the European stories about Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of children, to create Father Christmas (Santa Claus). In 1907, Oklahoma became the last US state to declare Christmas a legal holiday. Year by year, countries all over the world started to recognise Christmas as the day for celebrating the birth of Jesus.

Have a merry Christmas

Today, many of the pagan uses are reflected in Christmas. Jesus was born in March, yet his birth is celebrated on 25 December, the time of solstice. The Christmas celebrations end the 12th day of Christmas (6 January), the same amount of days that the return of the sun was celebrated by ancient and Roman pagans. It thus is no surprise that Christian puritans - or even conservative Christians - often are upset that Christmas "is not as religious as it was meant to be," forgetting that Christmas was not celebrated at all until fairly recently.

https://d1.islamhouse.com/data/en/ih_articles/single/en_The_History_of_Christmas.pdf

les origines de l’islam

      Où le message de Mohammed (que la paix et les bénédictions de Dieu soient sur lui) se situe-t-il

par rapport aux messages précédents révélés par Dieu?  Une brève histoire des prophètes répondra sans doute à cette question.

     Le premier homme, Adam, était musulman en ce sens qu’il n’adorait nul autre que Dieu et qu’il se conformait à Ses commandements.  Mais avec le temps et la dispersion des hommes sur la terre, les gens ont commencé à s’éloigner de ce message et à adorer d’autres divinités conjointement avec Dieu ou en dehors de Lui.  Certains se sont mis à adorer les hommes pieux décédés, parmi eux, tandis que d’autres ont préféré adorer les esprits ou les forces de la nature.  C’est à ce moment que Dieu a commencé à envoyer des messagers aux hommes, afin de les ramener sur la voie du monothéisme pur, conforme à leur vraie nature, et de les mettre en garde contre les graves conséquences qui les attendaient s’ils persistaient à diriger leur adoration (sous toutes ses formes) vers d’autres que Dieu.

       Noé a été le premier messager envoyé pour prêcher le message de l’islam à son peuple, après que ce dernier se soit mis à adorer ses pieux ancêtres en même temps que Dieu.  Noé a appelé son peuple à cesser d’adorer ses idoles et lui a ordonné de revenir à un monothéisme pur en n’adorant que Dieu.  Certains ont décidé de suivre ses enseignements, mais la majorité ont refusé d’y croire.  On peut dire de ceux qui ont décidé de le suivre qu’ils étaient musulmans, car c’est bel et bien l’islam qu’ils suivaient; mais ceux qui se sont détournés de Noé sont restés mécréants et pour cette raison, ils ont été saisis par le châtiment.

      Après Noé, Dieu a envoyé des messagers à chaque nation qui s’était éloignée de la vérité, afin de la ramener sur la bonne voie.  Cette vérité a toujours été la même à toutes les époques et se résume essentiellement à rejeter tous les objets d’adoration et à diriger son adoration exclusivement vers Dieu, le Créateur et Seigneur de tous, et de se conformer à Ses commandements.  Mais, ainsi que nous l’avons mentionné plus haut, comme chaque nation avait une langue, une culture et un mode de vie différents, des messagers différents ont été envoyés à chacune pour une période de temps déterminée.

      Dieu a envoyé des messagers à toutes les nations et, au royaume de Babylone, Il a envoyé Abraham – l’un des premiers et plus grands prophètes – qui a appelé son peuple à rejeter l’adoration des idoles auxquelles il était entièrement dévoué.  Il les a appelés à l’islam, mais ils l’ont rejeté et ont même tenté de le tuer.  Dieu a éprouvé Abraham par de nombreuses épreuves, et sa foi s’est avérée véridique à chacune d’elles.  En reconnaissance des nombreux sacrifices d’Abraham, Dieu a proclamé que de sa descendance serait issue une grande nation parmi laquelle des prophètes seraient élus.  Chaque fois qu’un peuple, parmi sa descendance, commençait à s’éloigner de la vérité, c’est-à-dire de l’adoration exclusive de Dieu et de l’obéissance à Ses commandements, Dieu lui envoyait un autre messager pour le ramener sur la bonne voie.

        Par conséquent, plusieurs prophètes proviennent de la descendance d’Abraham, comme ses deux fils Isaac et Ismaël, ensuite Jacob (Israël), Joseph, David, Salomon, Moïse et, bien sûr, Jésus, pour ne nommer que ceux-là (que la paix et les bénédictions de Dieu soient sur eux tous).  Un prophète a été envoyé aux enfants d’Israël (les juifs) chaque fois que ceux-ci s’éloignaient de la vraie religion de Dieu, et ils étaient obligés, chaque fois, de suivre le messager qui leur était envoyé et de lui obéir.  Tous les messagers ont été envoyés avec le même message, c’est-à-dire de rejeter toute adoration qui n’est pas dirigée vers Dieu exclusivement et d’obéir à Ses commandements.  Certains ont choisi de ne pas croire en ces prophètes tandis que d’autres y ont cru.  Ceux qui y ont cru étaient en réalité des musulmans, puisque cette religion révélée, qu’ils suivaient, était l’islam.

        Parmi les messagers, il y a eu Mohammed (paix et bénédictions de Dieu soient sur lui), descendant d’Ismaël, fils d’Abraham (paix sur lui), qui a été envoyé après Jésus.  Mohammed (paix et bénédictions de Dieu soient sur lui) a prêché le même message que les prophètes et messagers l’ayant précédé, c’est-à-dire le message de l’islam – l’adoration exclusive à Dieu et l’obéissance à Ses commandements – duquel les fidèles des autres prophètes s’étaient éloignés.

        Comme nous pouvons donc le constater, le prophète Mohammed (paix et bénédictions de Dieu soient sur lui) n’a pas fondé une nouvelle religion, tel que le croient erronément de nombreuses personnes; il a plutôt été envoyé comme le tout dernier prophète de l’islam.  En révélant à Mohammed Son dernier message, qui est un message éternel et universel destiné à toute l’humanité, Dieu a finalement honoré l’alliance qu’il avait conclue avec Abraham. 

        Tout comme il incombait aux contemporains de Mohammed de suivre le message qu’il leur transmettait en tant que dernier d’une succession de prophètes, il incombe à l’humanité tout entière de suivre ce même message.  Dieu a promis que ce message demeurerait inchangé et qu’il resterait applicable en tout lieu et en tout temps.  Une chose est sûre, c’est que le mode de vie prôné par l’islam est le même que celui que suivait le prophète Abraham, car la Bible et le Coran décrivent tous deux Abraham comme  un exemple élevé d’un homme qui s’est totalement soumis à Dieu, qui n’a adoré que Lui sans jamais rien Lui associer et sans intermédiaires.  Une fois que l’on a compris cela, il devient évident que, de toutes les religions, l’islam est la seule dont le message est à la fois éternel et universel, car tous les prophètes et messagers étaient « musulmans », c’est-à-dire qu’ils étaient soumis à la volonté de Dieu et qu’ils prêchaient l’islam, ou la soumission à la volonté de Dieu Tout-Puissant, en n’adorant que Lui et en obéissant à Ses commandements.

         Il est donc clair que ceux qui s’identifient comme musulmans, de nos jours, ne suivent pas une nouvelle religion; ils suivent plutôt la religion et le message de tous les prophètes et messagers qui ont été envoyés à l’humanité sur l’ordre de Dieu, c’est-à-dire l’islam.  Le mot « islam » est un mot arabe qui signifie littéralement « soumission à Dieu »; et les musulmans sont ceux qui se soumettent volontairement à Dieu et qui Lui obéissent activement, vivant en conformité avec Son message.

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http://fr.islamway.net/article/46894/partie-2-de-4-les-origines-de-l-islam?ref=p-new

God in Christianity…What Is His Nature ?

Pre-reading questions:

1. What is the nature of God in Christianity?
2. Is God one or three (Trinity)?
3. Is Jesus equal with God?
4. Is Jesus God or part of God?
5. Is Jesus a son of man or son of God?
6. So, who is Jesus really?
7. What is your opinion?

Please read the following text carefully, critically, and without any preconceptions!

Jesus said, "Seek the truth,and the truth will set you free."

As a seeker of the truth and a student of life, and after many years of observation, research and comparative study, it appears to me that people often base their beliefs and judgments on weak, sandy foundations, rather than on the solid foundation of rock that Jesus recommended.
Concerning the topic at hand, I have noticed some major differences between what is commonly and officially understood about God in Christianity, and what the Bible itself states!
In this booklet, I would like to share with you -out of love and concern what I have noticed and learned through my continuous journey of research, analysis, and study.

The intent of this work is to honestly and sincerely present the truth that I found, not to hurt the feelings of anyone.

Now let us turn to discuss some issues and questions concerning the nature of God in Christianity, namely the Trinity and divinity of Jesus.

• Is God One or Three?
• Is Jesus God or Part of God?
• What do you think?
• What is your answer?

Let us get the answer from the Bible:

• One came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he (Jesus) said unto him, Why callest thou me good*? There is none good but one, that is, God. But if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

(Matthew 19:16-17)

___________________________

* Why callest thou me good? Or in modern English, "Why do you call me good?" we wouldn't find this wording and meaning in some Bibles! This text is found in King James Version. Don't take my word for it! Check your Bible!
Several questions can be asked about the above verses. Some of the more intuitive ones are:
• "Why do you call me good?" Why did Jesus question his own goodness?
• Jesus emphatically stated that "there is none good but one, that is, God," Why did he refer to the one God as the "good" one only?
• Why did he exclude himself from being good, if he were God?
•. Jesus explicitly pointed out that "if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." Why didn't Jesus command the questioner believe in him (Jesus) as God in order to enter into eternal life?
•. Based on Jesus' testimony, isn't keeping the commandments enough for getting eternal life?
• Now, let us re-read the verses of Matthew (19:16-17) as stated in King James Version and the same verses as reported in the New International Version of the Holy Bible.

• One came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God.

(In King James Version)

• Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?"
"Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments."

(In the New International Version)

To make it easy to compare, here are Jesus' two different questions:
According to King James Version (KJV), in simple English, Jesus asked:
• Why do you CALL ME GOOD?
But, according to the New International Version (NIV), Jesus said:
• Why do you ASK ME ABOUT WHAT IS GOOD?
Please honestly compare between Jesus' question in the King James Version and his question in the New International Version. Do they have the same meaning? Can they both be correct?

Going back to the critical question, Is Jesus God?, I think that if Jesus were God or part of God, his logical response would be to approve of what the questioner called him (i.e., "Good Master").

Sound reasoning and plain logic tell us that God is good. And if Jesus were God or part of God (part of the Trinity) he MUST BE GOOD! Don't you agree?

Presumably, some of the possible, expected responses that Jesus could utter in response to the young man saying "Good Master" include:
• "Certainly, I am good, for I am God,"
• "You are right. I am good."
• Or at least, knowing that he was obviously good, being God or a manifestation of God, Jesus could have answered the young man without taking issue with his words by saying:
• "If thou wilt enter into life,keep the commandments."
But, astonishingly, Jesus responded to the young man's words "Good Master" with something unexpected! He denied that he was good, wondering, "Why do you call me good?"

So, instead of denying his goodness, wouldn't it have been more reasonable for Jesus to seize this occasion and acknowledge that he was good, since he was God or a manifestation of the one God, if such were the case? Why would he refer to the true God along, and not reveal his own 'good' divinity? Was he hiding the truth about himself from the questioner?
• Now this is life eternal, that they know you, the ONLY true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

(John 17:3)

In this verse, Jesus again distinguishes himself from the ONLY true God! It is this only true God who created and sent Jesus. So, who has the full authority to command and send? The ONLY true God or Jesus? Who is greater, the one who orders and sends or the one who is ordered and sent?

• There is One God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. (1 Timothy 2:5)
This verse points to two identities:
(1) One God, and (2) one mediator (Jesus)! Jesus is described as "the man." The verse did not call him "the God Christ Jesus." In fact, nowhere in the Bible is Jesus called God!
To further discuss and answer the question, Is Jesus God or part of God?, let us carefully, critically, and objectively read the following parts of verses reported in Matthew 4:1-10.

• Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.
• After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
• Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.
• He (the devil) said to him (Jesus), "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me."

Did these versed trigger any questions or thoughts in your mind?

Let me share with you some of questions and thoughts that stroke my mind after reading the above verses:

1) The Bible says, "Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert…" I wonder who has more authority and more power, Jesus or the Spirit? Why didn't Jesus lead himself to the desert if he were God? Does God need someone to lead Him?
2) Based on the testimony of the above verse, the devil (Satan) tempted Jesus who is considered to be God by some Christians. The simple and logical question that could be raised is: Can God be tempted?

The same Bible tells us that God can't be tempted! This fact is uttered by
Jesus in the same story of temptation. Similarly, James, the brother of Jesus said:
• "God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one."

(James 1:13)

3) The Bible reports that "After fasting forty days and forty nights, he (Jesus) was hungry." Analyzing this verse, let's reason together:
• Does God fast?
• To whom was Jesus fasting? To himself as God or to someone who is greater than him?
•. Does God feel hungry or thirsty?

4) In the story of "the temptation of Jesus' (you find this heading in several bibles), we came to discover that the devil (Satan) moved and controlled Jesus! Did Satan do that with Jesus the man or Jesus the God? If Satan did that with Jesus the man, what is the point? And if the devil did that with Jesus the God, can God be tried, move, and controlled? Let's remember James' words, "God cannot be tempted by evil…"
At the end of the dialogue between Jesus and Satan and after Satan asked Jesus to "fall down and worship" him, Jesus said to the devil:
• Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only." (Matthew 4:10)

I assume, if Jesus were God incarnate, he might have easily responded, "No, Satan. It is you who must fall down and worship me, your God!" but instead he invoked the above scripture about worshipping the true God ONLY.

On the other hand, we learned from the story that:
• Satan SAW Jesus.
• Satan SAID TO Jesus.
• Satan HEARD Jesus.
• Satan TOOK Jesus.
• Satan SHOWED Jesus.
• Satan SPOKE WITH Jesus.
(Please read the whole story of the temptation of Jesus, Matthew 4:1-10)

But, the Bible emphatically indicates that GOD CANNOT BE SEEN OR HEARD.

• No one has ever seen him. And no one can see him.
(1 Timothy 6:16)
• You have never heard His voice nor seen His shape.
(John 5:37)
• Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
(1 Timothy1:17)
Additionally, before I conclude this section, let me ask: During Jesus' life on earth didn't his family, people, and followers see and hear him?

Therefore, according to the description of God in the above verses, Jesus cannot be God. Isn't this reasonable and logical? So, what is the truth? Think about it!

By Dr. Naji I. Al-Arfaj

---

from / http://quran.al-islam.com/Loader.aspx?pageid=1425&ContentID=3725

The Phenomenal Growth of Islam

.  It is well known that in the USA and the whole world, Islam is the fastest-growing religion.  The following are some observations on this phenomenon:

n  “Islam is the fastest-growing religion in America, a guide and pillar of stability for many of our people...” (Hillary Rodham Clinton, Los Angeles Times).¹

n  “Moslems are the world’s fastest-growing group...” (The Population Reference Bureau, USA Today).²

n  “....Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the country.” (Geraldine Baum; Newsday Religion Writer, Newsday).³

n  “Islam, the fastest-growing religion in the United States...” (Ari L. Goldman, New York Times).⁴

This phenomenon indicates that Islam is truly a religion from God.  It is unreasonable to think that so many Americans and people from different countries have converted to Islam without careful consideration and deep contemplation before concluding that Islam is true.  These converts have come from different countries, classes, races, and walks of life.  They include scientists, professors, philosophers, journalists, politicians, actors, and athletes.  (To read the stories of people who have converted to Islam, please visit the links at Stories of New Muslims.)

The points mentioned in this chapter constitute only some of the evidence supporting the belief that the Quran is the literal word of God, that Muhammad  is truly a prophet sent by God, and that Islam is truly a religion from God. 

_____________________________

Footnotes:

(1) Larry B. Stammer, Times Religion Writer, “First Lady Breaks Ground With Muslims,” Los Angeles Times, Home Edition, Metro Section, Part B, May 31, 1996, p. 3. 

(2) Timothy Kenny, “Elsewhere in the World,” USA Today, Final Edition, News Section, February 17, 1989, p. 4A. 

(3) Geraldine Baum, “For Love of Allah,” Newsday, Nassau and Suffolk Edition, Part II, March 7, 1989, p. 4. 

(4) Ari L. Goldman, “Mainstream Islam Rapidly Embraced By Black Americans,” New York Times, Late City Final Edition, February 21, 1989, p. 1.