Muslim Dawagandist Sami Zaatari once again proves that Allah is not God!
Sam Shamoun
On a number of occasions we observed how the arguments and objections of
Muslim apologists do more damage to the cause of Islam than good. We have
further stated that these same propagandists do not realize that they are
actually serving our cause since some of their arguments pretty much end up
confirming the truth of Christianity. One such dawagandist who is regularly
helping to confirm Christianity while debunking the claims of Islam is Sami
Zaatari. On more than one occasion he has raised objections against the Deity
of Christ that actually ended up proving that Allah is a false god (1, 2, 3)!
Zaatari has done it again! Zaatari just recently published an article where he
quotes Jesus to prove that the Father is the only true
God.
Zaatari writes,
Now the Bible does identify God, and what
makes this interesting is that God is not identified as Jesus, rather Jesus is
excluded from the identification! We read from Jesus himself:
And after quoting John 17:1-3 Zaatari says: So
in the above Jesus identifies who the ONLY TRUE GOD is, and this God is
identified as being the Father. Jesus cannot make himself any clearer; he
refers to the Father as the only true God, which obviously excludes anyone else.
He then concludes:
So in conclusion, if one is an honest
truth seeker, and not brainwashed by the Trinity, one will have to conclude
that Jesus is not God, rather there is only one true God, and that is the
Father.
It is rather unfortunate for Zaatari that in his haste to refute the doctrine
of the Trinity and the Deity of the Lord Jesus he couldn’t see how Christ’s
words prove that Allah is a false god and that Muhammad is a false prophet.
Notice what Jesus said in context:
“After Jesus said this, he looked toward
heaven and prayed: ‘Father,
the time has come. Glorify YOUR Son, that YOUR
Son may glorify you. For
you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to
all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you,
the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.’” John 17:1-3
According to Jesus the only true God is the Father who glorifies his Son, i.e.
Jesus Christ. However, according to Muhammad Allah is not Jesus’ father and
is, in fact, not a father to anyone. Here is what Muhammad said in his
Quran:
And the Jews say: Uzair is the son of
Allah; and the Christians say: The Messiah is the son of Allah; these are the
words of their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved before; may
Allah destroy them; how they are turned away! S. 9:30
And the Jews and the Christians say: We
are the sons of Allah and His beloved ones. Say: Why does He then chastise you
for your faults? Nay, you are
mortals from among those whom He has created, He forgives whom He
pleases and chastises whom He pleases; and Allah's is the kingdom of the
heavens and the earth and what is between them, and to Him is the eventual
coming. S. 5:18
And they say: The Beneficent has taken
(to Himself) a son. Certainly you have made an abominable assertion The heavens
may almost be rent thereat, and the earth cleave asunder, and the mountains
fall down in pieces, That they ascribe a son to the Beneficent. And it is not
worthy of the Beneficent that He should take (to Himself) a son. There
is no one in the heavens and the earth but will come to the Beneficent God as a
servant. S. 19:88-93
Thus, since Zaatari has argued that Jesus himself identified the Father as the
only true God and since the god of Muhammad is not a father to anyone,
especially to Jesus, then he must accept the fact that his Allah is a false
god. Notice the logic behind this:
According to Jesus the Father is the only true God.
- Muhammad taught that Allah is not the Father.
- Therefore, Muhammad’s Allah is not the only true God according to the
teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.
There is simply no way around this since Zaatari affirms that these are the
actual words of the Lord Jesus, e.g., “We read from Jesus himself,” and “Jesus
cannot make himself any clearer.” Zaatari cannot then turn around and
attack the veracity of these very same Biblical verses which he himself used to
prove his position.
Now if we were to add the witness of 1 John 2:22-23 which says,
“Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such
a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son. No one who
denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father
also.” 1 John 2:22-23
Then Muhammad’s god is clearly the spirit of antichrist which makes Muhammad an
antichrist! This simply further proves that Zaatari’s god is not the only true
God that Jesus spoke of and who is revealed in the Holy Bible.
In conclusion we want to say that we absolutely agree with Zaatari that
Jesus couldn’t have made himself any clearer that the Father is the only true
God which proves that Muhammad’s Allah must be a false god. Therefore, any
God-honoring truth seeker must reject Muhammad as a deceiver and the Quran as a
book of deceptions and lies which perverts the truth of God’s revelation. In
light of this, the readers should take Zaatari’s advise and not allow Muslim
dawagandists to brainwash them into thinking that Jesus was a Muslim who taught tauhid (Islamic monotheism) since the only one
true God according to Jesus is his Father, a fact which the Quran rejects.
Now Zaatari obviously didn’t realize that he was helping to confirm that
Muhammad is a false prophet who preached a false god according to the teachings
of the Lord Jesus Christ. However, he is stuck with the mess that he has
created for himself and must accept that Jesus’s teachings and Islamic doctrine
are simply incompatible.
With that said we want to end by again thanking Zaatari for helping us prove
that the God that Jesus preached is not the same god worshiped by Muslims.
To read our rebuttal to his blatant distortion of the meaning of John 17:3 and
how it relates to the Deity of the Lord Jesus please go here.
Source: http://answering-islam.org/authors/shamoun/rebuttals/zaatari/allah_not_god.html
IHS
By Sam Shamoun & Jochen Katz1
Bassam Zawadi has produced a short article (*) where he tries to show why
Dr. William Lane Craig’s defense (*) of penal substitution is
unsatisfactory.
We recommend reading both articles first since this will make it easier to
understand the context of Zawadi’s “reply” and our refutation of it. After
presenting Dr. Craig’s story about a person who worked in the insurance
business to illustrate the concept of imputation Zawadi responds:
Dr. Craig's analogy is flawed on more than one level:
1) There are several factors that
determine if an insurance claim is successful or not. For example in the event
of 'death by dangerous driving', there is no escape by an insured (or
uninsured) driver from an almost certain jail term. The insurance company will
not assume any liability for the driver's negligence and can do nothing to save
the policy holder from being locked up. In this instance, the driver incurs
liability for his crime. Any negligence in the operation of the automobile is
thus imputed to the policy holder (driver). The insurance company only imputes
certain negligence as outlined in the type of cover (agreement) signed by the
policy holder. The insured driver will be held accountable by the court of law
for any prohibited act (crime) he committed e.g. driving under the influence of
alcohol or drugs etc. This is in no way similar to the example of the Christian
faith, where ALL sin is (allegedly) imputed to Christ during
his Crucifixion! There are no
premiums or excess to be paid and no
limits to the types of sins/negligence. It's ALL forgiven in Christian theology.
2) There is no guarantee that an insurance claim will be successful. Even if
the claim is successful and the driver's negligence is imputed, e.g. in a minor
accident, the insurance company still benefited from the periodic premium fees
(and in some cases a compulsory excess) paid by the policy holder. In short, no insurance company will assume
liability for your actions for free! The only reason why the insurance
company is willing to have some of the policy holder's negligence imputed to
them is because they are benefiting out of it more than the policy holder most
of the time. Hence, it becomes understandable why they would agree to such a
thing in the first place.
He then mentions Dr. Craig’s court analogy and says:
Do Christians really believe that if the
murderer genuinely repented and then someone volunteered to incur his
punishment on his behalf then that means that justice has been served? That's
very revealing of how disastrous Christian theology could influence one's way
of thinking. I really have nothing to say to such absurdity except that I pity
those who believe such a thing and that I thank God for being a Muslim.
Here it is where Zawadi shows that he is deceptive and has little respect
for truth. Notice his assertion carefully since this will expose that he
is a fraud who doesn’t care much for honesty or acting with integrity. It
is absurd and pitiful to believe that justice has been served if a murderer
sincerely repents and someone else volunteers to incur his punishment on his
belief. In saying this Zawadi has basically condemned his own god and
prophet for being both absurd and pitiful.
The conclusion that Zawadi’s argument is dishonest and not merely ignorant is
justified because most of the below following arguments about “Islamic
substitution” were already published on Answering Islam some years ago, for
example in these two articles: (1) Islam's Doctrine of Substitutionary Atonement
and the Ransoming of Sinners [2004], (2) The (In)Justice of Allah Examined [2006]. Morever, Zawadi has
even tried to refute the second one of these articles (1, 2), so that he can hardly claim
ignorance of these traditions.
For instance, Muhammad taught that a cold blooded murderer who had murdered
a hundred people was forgiven solely because he journeyed to a village where he
sought for repentance.
Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri: The Prophet
said, “Amongst the men of Bani Israel there was a man who had murdered
ninety-nine persons. Then he set out asking (whether his repentance could
be accepted or not). He came upon a monk and asked him if his repentance could
be accepted. The monk replied in
the negative and so the man killed him. He kept on asking till a man
advised to go to such and such village. (So he left for it) but death overtook
him on the way. While dying, he turned his chest towards that village (where he
had hoped his repentance would be accepted), and so the angels of mercy and the
angels of punishment quarreled amongst themselves regarding him. Allah ordered the village (towards
which he was going) to come closer to him, and ordered the village (whence he
had come), to go far away, and then He ordered the angels to measure the
distances between his body and the two villages. So he was found to be one span
closer to the village (he was going to). So
he was forgiven.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 56, Number 676)
This belittles sin. There is no punishment at all, so just repent and that
is sufficient. Where is the justice?
Moreover, note that this man’s “repentance” is hardly sincere. When he
doesn’t get a free pass from the monk, i.e. this monk denies that repentance is
possible for him, he simply murders the monk, thus adding to his sin. A man who
would be truly sorry and genuinely seeking to better his life and live on the
basis of God’s commandments would not murder yet another person simply because
this person doesn’t give him what he desired. With this act, he showed his full
wickedness and that he was not really repentant.
Still, Allah has no problem to wink
at his sin and simply forget about his murders.
Thus, if we should believe this tradition, in
Islam one does not even need genuine repentance, it is apparently enough to
pretend to repent.
After Zawadi judged the Christian concept to be absurd and pitiful, we are
anxious to hear his evaluation of the above story.
The prophet Muhammad further taught that a person
who had done absolutely no good deed will still enter paradise solely because
he was afraid to meet Allah in judgment:
Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, “A
MAN USED TO DO SINFUL DEEDS, and when death came to him, he said to his
sons, 'After my death, burn me and then crush me, and scatter the powder in the
air, for by Allah, if Allah has control over me, He will give me such a
punishment as He has never given to anyone else.' When he died, his sons did
accordingly. Allah ordered the earth saying, 'Collect what you hold of his
particles.' It did so, and behold! There he was (the man) standing. Allah asked
him, 'What made you do what you did?' He replied, 'O my Lord! I was afraid of
you.' SO ALLAH FORGAVE HIM.”
Another narrator said "The man said, Fear of You, O Lord!” (Sahih al-Bukhari,
Volume 4, Book 56, Number 688)
Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle
said, "A MAN WHO NEVER DID ANY GOOD DEED, said that if he died, his
family should burn him and throw half the ashes of his burnt body in the earth
and the other half in the sea, for by Allah, if Allah should get hold of him,
He would inflict such punishment on him as He would not inflict on anybody
among the people. But Allah ordered the sea to collect what was in it (of his
ashes) and similarly ordered the earth to collect what was in it (of his
ashes). Then Allah said (to the recreated man), 'Why did you do so?' The man
replied, 'For being afraid of you, and you know it (very well).' SO ALLAH FORGAVE HIM." (Sahih
al-Bukhari, Volume 9, Book 93, Number 597)
Again, this man did not even show any signs of repentance. He merely was
afraid of Allah, but he did not say he regretted his actions or tried to repent
and restitute anything to those whom he had harmed. Without even being asked
for forgiveness, Allah simply forgives
him? Is that Islam’s superior justice when compared with the biblical concept?
To top it off, Muhammad even said that a person who committed sexual
immorality and theft would still go to paradise if s/he died believing in the
Islamic creed!
Narrated Abu Dharr: I came to the Prophet
while he was wearing white clothes and sleeping. Then I went back to him again
after he had got up from his sleep. He said, "Nobody says: ‘None has the
right to be worshipped but Allah’ and then later on he dies while believing in
that, except that he will enter Paradise." I said, "Even It he had committed
illegal sexual intercourse and theft." I said, "Even if he had
committed illegal sexual intercourse and theft? He said. "Even If he had
committed illegal sexual intercourse and theft." I said, "Even it he
had committed illegal sexual intercourse and thefts." He said, "Even
If he had committed Illegal sexual intercourse and theft, in spite of Abu
Dharr’s dislikeness." Abu
‘Abdullah said, "This is at the time of death or before it if one repents
and regrets and says ‘None has the right to be worshipped but Allah’, he will
be forgiven his sins." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 72, Number 717)
Narrated Abu Dharr: The Prophet said,
Gabriel came to me and gave me the glad tidings that anyone who died without
worshipping anything besides Allah, would enter Paradise. I asked (Gabriel),
‘Even if he committed theft, and even if he committed illegal sexual
intercourse?’ He said, ‘(Yes), even if he committed theft, and
even if he committed illegal sexual intercourse." (Sahih
al-Bukhari, Volume 9, Book 93, Number 579)
412. 'Ubada ibn as-Samit reported that
the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,
"Whoever testifies that there is no god but Allah alone with no partner
and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger and that 'Isa is the slave of
Allah and His Messenger and a word which He cast into Maryam and a spirit from
Him and that the Garden is real and the Fire is real will enter the Garden WHATEVER HIS
ACTIONS." [Agreed upon] (Al-Imam Abu Zakariya Yahya bin Sharaf
An-Nawawi Ad-Dimashqi, Riyad
as-Salihin (The Meadows of the
Righteous), 51. Chapter: On Hope; bold and underline emphasis ours)
In fact, Allah even told a person that he could whatever he
wished since his sins were forgiven, thereby encouraging the individual to
engage in sinful behavior!
Abu Huraira reported from Allah's
Messenger (may peace be upon him) that his Lord, the Exalted and Glorious, thus
said: A servant committed a sin and he said: O Allah, forgive me my sins, and
Allah (the Exalted and Glorious) said: My servant committed a sin and then he
came to realise that he has a Lord Who forgives the sins and takes to account
(the sinner) for the sin. He then again committed a sin and said: My Lord,
forgive me my sin, and Allah, the Exalted and High, said: My servant committed
a sin and then came to realise that he has a Lord Who would forgive his sin or
would take (him) to account for the sin. He again committed a sin and said: My
Lord, forgive me for my sin, and Allah (the Exalted and High) said: My servant
has committed a sin and then came to realise that he has a Lord Who forgives
the sins or takes (him) to account for sin. O
servant, do what you like. I have granted you forgiveness. 'Abd al-A'la said: I do not know whether he
said thrice or four times to do, "what you desire". The hadith has
been narrated on the authority of 'Abd al-A'la b. Hammad with the same chain of
transmitters. (Sahih Muslim, Book 037, Number 6642)
Muhammad further said that on the Day of Judgment
Allah will take out people from hell and admit them into Paradise despite the
fact that they hadn’t performed any good deeds:
“… The Prophet added, ‘Then the prophets
and Angels and the believers will intercede, and (last of all) the Almighty
(Allah) will say, “Now remains My Intercession.” He will then hold a handful of
the Fire from which He will take out some people whose bodies have been burnt,
and they will be thrown into a river at the entrance of Paradise, called the
water of life. “‘They will grow on its banks, as a seed carried by the torrent
grows. You have noticed how it grows beside a rock or beside a tree, and how
the side facing the sun is usually green while the side facing the shade is
white. Those people will come out (of the River of Life) like pearls, and they
will have (golden) necklaces, and then they will enter Paradise whereupon the
people of Paradise will say, “These are the people emancipated by the
Beneficent. He has admitted them
into Paradise without them having done any good deeds and without sending forth
any good (for themselves).” Then it will be said to them, “For you is what
you have seen and its equivalent as well.”’” (Sahih al-Bukhari,
Volume 9, Book 93, Number 532s)
To make matters worse Allah will actually give these
people who have done no good for a reward for every sin they have committed!
2594. Anas narrated that the Prophet said: "Allah will say: ‘Remove from the Fire whoever remembered Me one day,
or feared Me while in a state of sinning.’" (Hasan)
[Abu ‘Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan
Gharib Sahih.
Comments: Remembering Allah and fearing Him is the sign of one’s faith. The Hadith confirms that even those persons who have no good in their Register of
Deeds expect the weakest form of faith (iman) will ultimately get deliverance from Fire
through Allah’s benevolence and mercy. (English Translation of Jami‘
At-Tirmidhi, Compiled by Imam Hafiz ‘Eisa Mohammad Ibn ‘Eisa At-Tirmidhi,
From Hadith no. 1897 to 2605, translated by Abu Khalil (USA), Ahadith edited
and referenced by Hafiz Abu Tahir Zubair ‘Ali Za’i, final review by Islamic
Research Section Darussalam [Darussalam Publishers & Distributors, First
Edition: November 2007], Volume 4, Chapter 9. What Has Been Related About ‘The
Fire Has Two Breaths,’ And What Has Been Mentioned About Those Who Will Exit
The Fire From The People of Tawhid,
p. 572; underline emphasis ours)
And:
2596. Abu Dharr narrated that the Messenger of
Allah said: "I know that the last of the people of the Fire depart from
the Fire and the last of the people of Paradise to enter Paradise. A man will
be brought forth and He will say: ‘Ask about his small sins and hide his large
sins.’ So it will be said to him: ‘Did you do this and that on such and such a
day, did you do this and that on such-and-such a day?’" He said:
"Then it will be said to him: ‘FOR EACH OF YOUR SINS YOU SHALL HAVE A
REWARD.’" He said: "So he will say: ‘O Lord! I have done things
that I do not see here.’" He (Abu Dharr) said: "I saw the Messenger
of Allah laugh until his molars were visible." (Sahih)
Abu ‘Eisa said: This Hadith is Hasan
Sahih.
Comments: Allah’s benevolence and mercy are boundless. NO RULES OR LAWS CAN BIND HIM, since
He is for Whom it is said in the Qur’an: He cannot be questioned as to what He
does. (21:23) HE WILL, THEREFORE, CHANGE THE SINS INTO VIRTUOUS DEEDS FOR WHOMEVER
HE WILLS. (Ibid., Chapter 10. Something Else Regarding The Story Of
The Last Of The People Of The Fire To Leave it, pp. 573-574; capital and
underline emphasis ours)
Talk about a travesty of justice! Allah
not only doesn’t punish the wicked he actually rewards them for their
wickedness! As the commentator stated, Allah is not bound by anything and is therefore a capricious being
who can pervert justice. Clearly, Muhammad’s god is not simply an
amoral being, one who is morally neutral, he
is actually immoral and unholy who is actually promoting wickedness and the
outright perversion of justice by such teachings (or at the very least
Muhammad is since he is the one that is alleged to have made these statements).
Moreover, hadiths such as the one stating that Allah gave license to a person
to sin as much as he wants simply because Allah forgave him for repenting
actually promote and encourage
individuals to commit heinous and evil acts. This makes the Islamic
god complicit in all the vile, immoral actions that Muslims commit around the
world, including the gross sins and sexual immorality that Muhammad himself and
his companions engaged in.
Contrast the teachings of Muhammad with that of a true inspired servant of God,
namely the blessed Apostle Paul:
“What shall we say, then? Shall we go on
sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we
live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into
Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him
through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the
dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have
been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united
with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with
him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that
we should no longer be slaves to sin — because anyone who has died has been
freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will
also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he
cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he
died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In
the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil
desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of
wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have
been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as
instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master,
because you are not under law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because
we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Don't you know that when you
offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one
whom you obey — whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to
obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you
used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to
which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have
become slaves to righteousness. I put this in human terms because
you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of
your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so
now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. When
you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What
benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those
things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin
and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to
holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but
the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:1-23
“Or do you not know that the unrighteous
will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually
immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor
thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will
inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were
washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ and by the Spirit of our God… Flee from sexual immorality.
All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually
sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the
Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your
own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”
1 Corinthians 6:9-11, 18-20
“You, my brothers, were called to be
free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature;
rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single
command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ If you keep on biting and devouring
each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. So
I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful
nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the
Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in
conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are
led by the Spirit, you are not under law. The acts of the sinful nature are
obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft;
hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions,
factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I
warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the
kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have
crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we
live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become
conceited, provoking and envying each other.” Galatians 5:13-26
“So I tell you this, and insist on it in
the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of
their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the
life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of
their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to
sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust
for more. You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. Surely you heard
of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You
were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self,
which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the
attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in
true righteousness and holiness. Therefore each of you must put off
falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one
body. In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still
angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. He who has been stealing must
steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that
he may have something to share with those in need. Do not let any unwholesome
talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up
according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not
grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of
redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander,
along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another,
forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:17-32
“Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge
you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and
to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. For you
know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will
of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;
that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor,
not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;
that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord
is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly
warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.
Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his
Holy Spirit to you.” 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8
“For the grace of God that brings
salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and
worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this
present age, while we wait for the blessed hope — the glorious
appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to
redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his
very own, eager to do what is good.” Titus 2:11-14
What a stark contrast! The instructions of Muhammad and his god
encourage murder, sexual immorality and wickedness whereas Paul’s inspired
teachings promote sexual purity, holiness, self-sacrifice, unconditional love
etc. Muhammad, to use the words of John the Baptist, was not worthy to untie
Paul’s sandal straps, let alone that of the Lord Jesus who was the One
responsible for transforming the Apostle and empowering him to become a holy and
righteous vessel whom he used to accomplish his sovereign purposes.
Returning to the issue at hand, it seems that the reason why Muhammad believed
that Allah could simply forgive people and allow them to enter into paradise
despite having committed heinous crimes and having never performed any good
deeds is because Muhammad actually
thought that Allah would punish the Jews and Christians in hell for all the
crimes committed by Muslims!
Chapter 8: THROWING OF NON-BELIEVERS IN HELL-FIRE FOR BELIEVERS AS DIVINE GRACE AND MERCY
Abu Musa' reported that Allah's Messenger
said: When it will be the Day of Resurrection Allah would deliver to every
Muslim a Jew or a Christian and say: That is your RESCUE from Hell-Fire.
(Sahih Muslim, Book 037, Number 6665)
Abu Burda reported on the authority of
his father that Allah's Apostle said: No Muslim would die but Allah would admit IN
HIS STEAD a Jew or a Christian in Hell-Fire. 'Umar b. Abd al-'Aziz
took an oath: By One besides Whom there is no god but He, thrice
that his father had narrated that to him from Allah's Messenger.
(Sahih Muslim, Book 037, Number 6666)
Abu Burda reported Allah's Messenger as
saying: There would come people amongst the Muslims on the Day of Resurrection
with AS HEAVY SINS AS A MOUNTAIN, and Allah would FORGIVE THEM and He would
PLACE IN THEIR STEAD the Jews and the Christians. (As far as I
think), Abu Raub said: I do not know as to who is in doubt. Abu Burda said: I
narrated it to 'Umar b. 'Abd al-'Aziz, whereupon he said: Was it your father
who narrated it to you from Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him)? I
said: Yes. (Sahih Muslim, Book 037, Number 6668)
These hadiths indicate that Muhammad
actually believed and affirmed penal substitution, albeit a rather perverted
form of it!
What makes Muhammad’s (per)version of penal substitution so unjust is that these Jews and Christians obviously did
not volunteer to take the place of Muslims in hell, which means that Allah is
actually forcing them to enter there against their will!
Now if Zawadi thinks that a person who volunteers to incur the punishment of a
murderer is absurd and pitiful then what does he do with the teachings of his
false prophet who has people being sent to hell in the place of wicked and vile
Muslims against their will?
And since Zawadi attacked the Christian doctrine of penal substitution as being
unjust he is going to have to condemn Muhammad and his god for teaching
something similar. Zawadi has to admit that Muhammad must have been absurd
for claiming that Allah would ransom Muslims from the fire by having Jews and
Christians take their place of punishment in hell. He needs to acknowledge that
Muhammad must have been rather pitiful for actually believing that Allah would
punish Jews and Christians for the sins of believers so that murderers and
rapists like Muhammad and his companions could be forgiven and enter paradise!
More importantly, in light of his condemnation of penal substitution Zawadi
needs to stop being a Muslim. He must abandon the false prophet Muhammad for
teaching such a perverted and corrupt version of penal substitution.
Otherwise if Zawadi refuses to do so then he will simply be exposing himself as
a liar and deceiver who is not interested in truth but only in attacking
Christianity.
Hopefully, Zawadi will be a man of integrity and do the right thing by
abandoning the false prophet Muhammad and embrace Jesus as his Lord and Savior.
Once he does he will then be thankful and praise his risen Lord and Savior for
delivering him from the lies and deception of Allah and his messenger.
I praise the risen Lord Jesus that I am not a Muslim who blindly follows the
false prophet Muhammad and his corrupt teachings!
Some final remarks
We need to clearly distinguish between EARTHLY penalty for criminal deeds
(decided and executed by the state) and the ultimate DIVINE penalty at
the last judgment for breaking the law of God.
No Christian would claim that a murderer or a defrauder who genuinely
repents and accepts Jesus as his Savior from sin and Lord over his life should
not be punished (here on earth) because God also forgives him.
The authority of the state was instituted by God and must judge according to
justice, based on the law of the country.
Thus a Christian understanding does not make light of sins and crimes. We stand
for justice in this life, within the justice system, and thus the Christian
message does not encourage people to lead lawless and sinful lives since
"we are forgiven anyway."
The topic of the above article was ONLY the eternal punishment when God
judges our lives.
And in this eternal punishment, we are ALL guilty. Every Christian, every
Muslim, everyone.
Nobody would make it to heaven based on his own merits. And even Islam
acknowledges that.
If Allah should take men to task for
their evildoing, He would not leave on the earth one creature
that crawls; but He is deferring them to a term stated; and when
their term is come they shall not put it back by a single hour nor put it
forward.” S. 16:61
O believers, follow not the steps of
Satan; for whosoever follows the steps of Satan, assuredly he bids to indecency
and dishonour. But for Allah's bounty to you and His mercy
not one of you would have been pure ever; but Allah purifies whom He will;
and Allah is All-hearing, All-knowing. S. 24:21
Without the mercy of Allah, ALL deserve punishment and would go to Hell.
Against this background, the question that needs to be asked when comparing
Christianity and Islam is this:
What is more a reflection of truly divine justice?
- That the biblical God takes the punishment for sin on HIMSELF – making sure
that everyone still knows: Sin is incredibly serious. The penalty for sin must be paid. Or,
- That the Islamic god simply forgets about punishing certain sins altogether
and let's Muslims into paradise for merely saying the Shahada? Or, as pointed
out by certain hadiths, who punishes and tortures Jews and Christians for the
sins of the Muslims. To make matters even worse, according to Muhammad there
will actually be certain individuals who have not performed any good deeds that
will receive a reward for every single sin they have committed! This means that
Allah is not simply amoral, but immoral and unholy, a being who perverts
justice and promotes wickedness and sin!
Further reading:
Does Goodness live in You?
Postscript
Bassam Zawadi has just come out with an addendum to his original article
seeking to explain away the teachings of his prophet which not only condone and
promote immoral behavior but also undermine and attack the holy and righteous
character of God. What makes Zawadi’s “reply” rather intriguing is that he
doesn’t see just how blatantly inconsistent he truly is. He will jump at every
chance to attack the message of the Holy Bible based on what he perceives to be
its unjust and immoral teachings, even though this is nothing more than a reflection
of his gross misunderstanding and misreading of the inspired Scriptures. Yet
whenever his religion teaches similar concepts to those that he himself
criticizes he will not hesitate to defend them! Nor does he have a problem
coming up with excuses to justify the rather wicked and perverted instructions
of Muhammad!
To make matters worse, Zawadi repeats the same arguments to defend the justice
of Allah sending Jews and Christians to hell in place of Muslims, and raises
the same objection against Jesus’ instructions in Matthew 5:17-20, despite the
fact that he knows that we have already refuted and addressed his desperate
defense and criticism in these articles (1, 2).
To put it mildly, I am not impressed to see Zawadi simply repeating his
assertions without responding to our answers. Lord willing, I will answer the
rest of Zawadi’s “rebuttal”, i.e. the points which have not already been
covered in the earlier articles, in the not so distant future.
If Zawadi really loves Muhammad then he should find another line of work, that
is, unless his intention is to expose and discredit his god and prophet. If so
then we encourage Zawadi to continue writing articles and “rebuttals” since he
is doing an excellent of job of proving that Islam is intellectually and
morally bankrupt, and that Muhammad is a false prophet whom every seeker of
truth should condemn for deceiving and misleading people away from the true God.
Footnotes
1 This article was written mostly by Sam Shamoun but
Jochen Katz contributed the "final remarks" and a couple of comments
on the hadiths quoted in the main text.
Source: http://answering-islam.org/authors/shamoun/rebuttals/zawadi/substitution.html
IHS
