Continues from Part I
Jesus Christ – The Rab of all Creation
The Arabic Bible further testifies that Jesus Christ is the Rab or Lord of all creation:
“You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all (hatha huwa Rabu al-kulli).” Acts 10:36
As the Lord of all Jesus sovereignly rules over both the living and the dead:
“For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the living and the dead (likay yasouda ala al-ahya' wal-amwat).” Romans 14:9
The same Arabic translation also says that a person must confess Jesus as his Rab and believe that God has raised him from the dead in order to be saved:
“That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus (b’al-Rabi Yasu’a) and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9
However, the only way one can truly confess that Jesus is Rab is if the Holy Spirit enables him/her to do so:
“Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus be cursed,’ and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit (Yasu’a Rabun illa b'al-Ruhi al-Qudusi).” 1 Corinthians 12:3
In fact, according to Jesus the prophet David himself was inspired by the Holy Spirit to confess that the Christ was his Rab:
“While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, ‘How is it that the teachers of the law say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit (al-Ruh al-Qudus), declared: “The Lord said to my Lord (Qala al-Rabu li-Rabi): “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.’” David himself calls him “Lord (Raban).” How then can he be his son?’ The large crowd listened to him with delight.” Mark 12:36-37
Jesus was quoting the following Psalm:
“The LORD says to my Lord (Qala al-Rabu li-Rabi): ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’” Psalm 110:1
One of Jesus’ disciples also quoted this Psalm to prove that Christ is Rab:
“Brethren, I may say to you confidently of the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God (Allaha) had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne, he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ (al-Masiha), that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus (Yasu’a) God (Allahu) raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God (Allahi), and having received from the Father (al-Abi) the promise of the Holy Spirit (al-Ruhi al-Qudusi), he has poured out this which you see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens; but he himself says, ‘The Lord said to my Lord (Qala al-Rabu li-Rabi), Sit at my right hand, till I make thy enemies a stool for thy feet.’ Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God (Allaha) has made him both Lord and Christ (Raban wa Masihan), this Jesus (Yasu’a) whom you crucified.’” Acts 2:33-36
Not only is Jesus the Rab of all he is also the Ilah (God) and Heir who rules forever and who created and sustains all things:
“Thomas answered and said to him, ‘My Lord and my God (Rabi wa Ilahi)!’ Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’ Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (Yasu’a huwa al-Masih ibn Allah), and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:28-31
And:
“In the past God (Allahu) poke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son (ibnihi), whom he appointed heir of all things (ja‘alaho warithan likuli shai’in), and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven… But about the Son (al-ibn) he [the Father] says, ‘Your throne, O God (Ya Allahu), will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God (Allahu Ilahuka), has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.’ He also says, ‘In the beginning, O Lord (Ya Rabu), you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end.’” Hebrews 1:1-3, 8-12
Muhammad, on the other hand, taught that his god is the only Rab and that Allah would never allow any person to take a prophet or angel as a Rab in place of him:
Say (O Muhammad): “O people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians): Come to a word that is just between us and you, that we worship none but Allah, and that we associate no partners with Him, and that none of us shall take others as lords (arbaban) besides Allah.” Then, if they turn away, say: “Bear witness that we are Muslims.” S. 3:64 Hilali-Khan
Nor would he order you to take angels and Prophets for lords (arbaban) (gods). Would he order you to disbelieve after you have submitted to Allah's Will? (Tafsir At-Tabari). S. 3:80 Hilali-Khan
This next passage has been traditionally interpreted to mean that Allah has even forbidden people from taking Jesus as one’s Rab:
They have taken as lords (arbaban) beside Allah their rabbis and their monks and the Messiah son of Mary, when they were bidden to worship only One God. There is no God save Him. Be He Glorified from all that they ascribe as partner (unto Him)! S. 9:31 Pickthall
We say traditionally since the grammar and structure actually imply that Jesus is supposed to be taken as Lord alongside Allah. For the details please consult the following articles:
http://answering-islam.org/Quran/Incoherence/many_gods.htm
http://answering-islam.org/authors/shamoun/rebuttals/zawadi/jesus_lord.html
Moreover, according to Muslim scholars Rab is actually the greatest name of Allah:
The Meaning of Ar-Rabb, the Lord
Ar-Rabb is the owner who has full authority over his property. Ar-Rabb, linguistically means, the master or the one who has the authority to lead. All of these meanings are correct for Allah. When it is alone, the word Rabb is used ONLY for Allah. As for other than Allah, it can be used to say Rabb Ad-Dar, the master of such and such object. Further, it was reported that Ar-Rabb is Allah's Greatest Name. (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Q. 1:2; capital and underline emphasis ours)
Muhammad also taught that Allah is the one who inherits all things:
But as for those who are niggardly with the bounty Allah has given them, let them not suppose it is better for them; nay, it is worse for them; that they were niggardly with they shall have hung about their necks on the Resurrection Day; and to Allah belongs the inheritance of the heavens and earth (wa lillahi meerathu al-samawati wa al-ardi); and Allah is aware of the things you do. S. 3:180
And certainly We! We it is Who give life, and cause death and We are the Inheritors (wa nahnu al-warithoona). S. 15:23
Verily! We will inherit (nahnu narithu) the earth and whatsoever is thereon. And to Us they all shall be returned, S. 19:40
Again, do these Muslims want us to seriously believe that their Allah is the same Allah worshiped by Arabic speaking Christians? Do they really want us to accept that the Allah spoken of in the Arabic Bible is the same Allah worshiped by Muhammad when the Arabic Bible teaches the following?
Allah is the Father and the Son.
Allah so loved the world that he sent his only Son to save it by dying on the cross and rising from the dead.
Jesus is the Rab or Lord of all creation and the Heir of all things.
A person must confess that Jesus is Rab and that God raised him from the dead in order to be saved.
It is the Holy Spirit who enables a person to confess Jesus as Rab.
The Holy Spirit even inspired the prophet David to worship and confess Jesus the Messiah as his Rab.
Since Islam clearly denies all of these Biblical truths how can these dawagandists use the Arabic Bible to prove that Muhammad's god cannot be a false god or even Satan himself since the word Allah is used in the Arabic translation of the inspired Scriptures?
Many False Prophets and Antichrists have Gone into the World
These Muslim propagandists are apparently unaware of the fact that according to the Holy Bible Muhammad is a false prophet and an antichrist which means that his god who inspired him is actually the spirit of antichrist.
The Scriptures plainly speak of false apostles who are/will be deceived and inspired by Satan to mislead people by proclaiming another Jesus and/or preaching a different Gospel:
“I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough… I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.” 2 Corinthians 11:2-4, 12-15
“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!” Galatians 1:8-9
The Holy Bible also warns of antichrists that will come denying the Father and the Son:
“Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. … 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 2:18, 22-23
Muhammad denied that Allah is the Father and that Jesus is his Son. He also refused to believe that Jesus is Allah and our Rab. As if that wasn’t bad enough Muhammad further rejected Jesus’ vicarious death on the cross and subsequent resurrection. Muhammad is therefore one of those antichrists and false apostles which the Bible warns of, and therefore could not have been inspired by the true God. Muhammad was clearly influenced and taught by an evil, wicked spirit, even Satan himself.
In fact, what makes this rather interesting is that Muhammad himself initially thought that the spirit being who came to him and physically manhandled him was an evil spirit. Moreover, after his first encounter with this spirit Muhammad actually feared that he was demon-possessed and had gone mad and wanted to commit suicide because of it:
I. The beginning of the revelation to the Messenger of Allah was the true dream
6581. 'Urwa related that 'A'isha said, "The beginning [of the revelation] to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, took the form of the true dream in sleep. Whenever he had a dream, it was clear like the break of day. He used to go to Hira' and there he devoted himself to worship for a number of nights. He took provisions with him for that. Then he would return to Khadija and take provisions for the like of that again. This continued until the Truth came to him suddenly while he was in the Cave of Hira'. The angel came to him in it and said, 'Read!'
"The Prophet said, 'I said, "I do not read." He seized me and squeezed me until all the strength went out of me and then released me and said, "Read!" I said, "I do not read." Then he seized me and squeezed me a second time until all the strength when out of me and then released me and said, "Read!" I said, "I do not read." Then he seized me and squeezed me a third time and then released me, and then he said, "Read in the name of your Lord who created man from a blood clot. Read, and your Lord is the Most Generous. He Who taught the use of the Pen" and the ayats up to "Taught man which he knew not." (96:1-5)'
"He returned with that and his heart was quaking. He went to Khadija and said, 'Wrap me up! Wrap me up!' They wrapped him up until the state of terror had left him and then he said to Khadija, 'What is wrong with me?" He told her what had happened and said, 'I am afraid for myself.' She said, 'No, it is good news. By Allah, Allah would never bring disgrace upon you. You maintain ties of kinship, speak the truth, bear people's burdens, give hospitality to your guests and help those who have been afflicted by calamities.'
"Then Khadija then went with him to Waraqa ibn Nawfal ibn Asad ibn 'Abdu'l-'Uzza ibn Qusayy, Khadija's cousin (the son of her father's brother), who had become Christian during the Jahiliyya. He could write in Arabic and wrote as much of the Gospel in Arabic as Allah willed. He was an old man who had gone blind. Khadija said to him, 'Cousin! Listen to your nephew.' Waraqa asked him, 'Nephew, what have you seen?' The Messenger of Allah told him what he had seen. Waraqa said to him, 'This is the Namus [Jibril] which Allah sent to Musa. I wish that I were still young. I wish I might still be alive when your people drive you out!' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Will they drive me out?' Waraqa said, 'Yes, no man has brought anything similar to what you have brought without being treated with hostility. If I am still alive on that day, I will give you my strong support.'
"Shortly after that, Waraqa died and there was a pause in the revelation until the Prophet became so sad that we heard that his sorrow several times made him want to throw himself off the tops of the mountains. Whenever he reached the peak of a mountain, Jibril would appear to him and say, 'Muhammad, you are truly the Messenger of Allah.' So his agitation was stilled by that and he would be at peace and then would return home. When the gap in the revelation was long for him, and he was moved to act as before. When he reached the peak of he mountain. Jibril would appear before him and say the like of that to him."
Ibn 'Abbas said that "(faliq al-isbagh) It is He Who splits the sky at dawn," (6:96) is the light of the sun in the day and the light of the moon at night. (Aisha Bewley, The Sahih Collection of al-Bukhari, 95. Book of Dream Interpretation; underline emphasis ours)
And:
So I read it, and he departed from me. And I awoke from my sleep, and it was though these words were written on my heart. (Tabari: Now none of God's creatures was more hateful to me than an (ecstatic) poet or a man possessed: I could not even look at them. I thought, Woe is me POET OR POSSESSED - Never shall Quraysh say this of me! I will go to the top of the mountain and throw myself down that I may kill myself and gain rest. So I went forth to do so and then) when I was midway on the mountain, I heard a voice from heaven saying ‘O Muhammad! thou are the apostle of God and I am Gabriel.’ (The Life of Muhammad – A Translation of Ibn Ishaq’s Sirat Rasulallah, with introduction and notes by Alfred Guillaume translation [Oxford University Press, Karachi, Tenth Impression 1995], p. 106; bold and capital emphasis ours)
Finally:
Then he went to Khadijah and said, “Khadijah, I think that I have gone mad.” “No, by God,” she said, “Your Lord would never do that to you. You have never committed a wicked act.” Khadijah went to Waraqa b. Nawful and told him what had happened. He said, “If what you say is true, your husband is a prophet. He will meet adversity from his people. If I live long enough, I shall believe in him.”
After this, Gabriel did not come to him for a while, and Khadijah said to him, “I think that your Lord MUST HAVE COME TO HATE YOU.” Then God revealed to him:
By the forenoon, and by the night, when it is still, your Lord has not forsaken you, nor does he hate you.
… I recited it, and then he desisted and departed I woke up, and it was as though these words had been written on my heart. There was no one of God’s creation more hateful to me than a poet or a madman; I could not bear to look at either of them. I said to myself, “Your humble servant (meaning himself) is either a poet or a madman, but Quraysh shall never say this of me. I shall take myself to a mountain crag, hurl myself down from it, kill myself, and find relief in that way.” (The History of al-Tabari: Muhammad at Mecca, translated and annotated by W. Montgomery Watt & M.V. McDonald [State University of New York Press (SUNY), Albany 1988], Volume VI, pp. 70-71; bold and capital emphasis ours)
Even Waraqa ibn Nawful, the Christian monk that Muhammad consulted after his encounter with the demon, initially suspected that the spirit who appeared to Muhammad may have been a devil masquerading as Gabriel:
“Waraqa was dumbfounded at this, and said, ‘If Gabriel has actually placed his feet upon the earth, he has done so for the best of people thereupon. And he never came down for anyone except a prophet. For he is the companion of all the prophets and messengers, the one whom God sends down to them. I believe what you tell me of him. Send for ‘Abd Allah’s son, so that I may question him, hear what he says and talk to him. I am afraid it may be someone other than Gabriel, for certain devils imitate him and by so doing can mislead and corrupt some men. This can result in a man becoming confused and even crazy whereas before he had been of sound mind.’” (Ibn Kathir,The Life of the Prophet Muhammad (Al-Sira al-Nabawiyya), Volume I, pp. 296-297; bold emphasis ours)
As far as the evidence from the Holy Bible is concerned both Waraqa and Muhammad were correct in fearing that the being who came to Muhammad was actually an evil spirit.
Two Can Play that Game!
Since Muslims are fond of appealing to the Arabic translation of the Holy Bible to prove their case we have decided to turn to the Greek translation of the Quran to see what happens when we apply the Muslim logic against Islam.
We will be quoting from the Greek version of the Quran that is found here.
What makes this translation unique is that the translators have kept the Arabic word Allah by transliterating it as Allach (alpha-lambda-lambda-chi), as opposed to simply translating it by its Greek equivalent, i.e. ho theos (“the God”). This indicates that the translators did not view Allah as a generic noun but as the actual proper name of the Islamic deity, much like Yahweh is the name of the true God revealed in the Holy Bible.
Be that as it may, this version does use the Greek word theos whenever it refers to Allah as the only God:
Your God (ho theos) is One God (henas theos); there is no God (theos) save Him, the Beneficent, the Merciful. S. 2:163
Allah bears witness that there is no God (theos) but He -- and the angels, and men possessed of knowledge -- upholding justice; there is no god but He, the All-mighty, the All-wise. S. 3:18
He is Allah, the God (ho theos) in the heavens and in the earth. He knoweth both your secret and your utterance, and He knoweth what ye earn. S. 6:3
Lo! I, even I, am Allah (Ego eimai ho Allach), There is no God (theos) save Me. So serve Me and establish worship for My remembrance. S. 20:14
And He it is Who is God (ho theos), in heaven and God on earth; and He is full of Wisdom and Knowledge. S. 43:84
And one of them who should say: Lo! I am a god (theos) beside Him, that one We should repay with hell. Thus We Repay wrong-doers. S. 21:29
Hence, according to the Greek Quran Allah is the only ho theos or theos since no other ho theos or theos exists.
Now if we were to apply the exact same method employed by these Muslim dawagandists we would have to conclude that Allah is the pagan god Zeus since according to Greek mythology Zeus was called ho theos or theos. Note the logic here:
- According to the Greek Quran Allah is ho theos.
- In Greek mythology Zeus was called ho theos.
- Therefore, Allah is actually the pagan god Zeus.
We could even use this to prove that Muhammad’s Allah is actually the Father and Jesus Christ his Son since the Greek NT calls both of them ho theos and theos:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God (ton theon), and the Word was God (theos). He was in the beginning withGod (ton theon).” John 1:1-2
“For God (ho theos) so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
“Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God (ho kyrios mou kai ho theos mou)!’ Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’” John 20:28-29
“while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ (tou megalou theou kai soteros hemon ‘Iesou Christou), 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 2:13
“Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ (tou theou hemon kai soteros ‘Iesou Christou) have received a faith as precious as ours:” 2 Peter 1:1
“For he received honor and glory from God the Father (theou patros) when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’” 2 Peter 1:17
Once again, if the Muslim logic were applied consistently then this means that the Father and the Son are Allah, the God of Muhammad!
- According to the Greek Quran Allah is called theos with or without the article.
- In the New Testament both the Father and the Son are called ho theos or simply theos.
- Therefore, Muhammad’s Allah is a multi-personal being who simultaneously exists as both the Father and Jesus Christ the Son.
We are pretty certain that these Islamic dawagandists would reject our logic on the grounds that the Quran wasn’t written in Greek but in Arabic. We are sure that they would argue that just because individuals use the same words for their G/god(s) this doesn’t mean that they are necessarily worshiping the same G/god. Thus, just because the Greeks called Zeus ho theos this doesn’t mean that Greek speaking Muslims are worshiping Zeus since they also call Allah ho theos. Nor would this imply that Greek speaking Muslims are worshiping the Father and Jesus Christ the Son as Allah despite the fact that both the Greek New Testament and the Greek translation of the Quran use the same words to describe them all.
In the same exact way, just because an Arabic translation of the Holy Bible uses the word Allah this doesn’t mean that Christians and Muslims are worshiping the same God. Nor does this disprove that Islam derived its god from paganism and that the pagan Allah is actually Satan masquerading as God. The Biblical data is clear that the Allah of Islam is the spirit of the antichrist and that Muhammad was one of those antichrists whom the true Apostles of God said would come to deceive people away from the truth of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
As such, the Arabic version of the Holy Bible does not help Islam or confirm Muhammad's claims, and Muslims need to therefore stop using it to prove their case.
Source: http://answering-islam.org/authors/shamoun/allah_bible.html
IHS
Jesus Christ – The Rab of all Creation
The Arabic Bible further testifies that Jesus Christ is the Rab or Lord of all creation:
“You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all (hatha huwa Rabu al-kulli).” Acts 10:36
As the Lord of all Jesus sovereignly rules over both the living and the dead:
“For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the living and the dead (likay yasouda ala al-ahya' wal-amwat).” Romans 14:9
The same Arabic translation also says that a person must confess Jesus as his Rab and believe that God has raised him from the dead in order to be saved:
“That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus (b’al-Rabi Yasu’a) and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9
However, the only way one can truly confess that Jesus is Rab is if the Holy Spirit enables him/her to do so:
“Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus be cursed,’ and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit (Yasu’a Rabun illa b'al-Ruhi al-Qudusi).” 1 Corinthians 12:3
In fact, according to Jesus the prophet David himself was inspired by the Holy Spirit to confess that the Christ was his Rab:
“While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, ‘How is it that the teachers of the law say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit (al-Ruh al-Qudus), declared: “The Lord said to my Lord (Qala al-Rabu li-Rabi): “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.’” David himself calls him “Lord (Raban).” How then can he be his son?’ The large crowd listened to him with delight.” Mark 12:36-37
Jesus was quoting the following Psalm:
“The LORD says to my Lord (Qala al-Rabu li-Rabi): ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’” Psalm 110:1
One of Jesus’ disciples also quoted this Psalm to prove that Christ is Rab:
“Brethren, I may say to you confidently of the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God (Allaha) had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne, he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ (al-Masiha), that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus (Yasu’a) God (Allahu) raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God (Allahi), and having received from the Father (al-Abi) the promise of the Holy Spirit (al-Ruhi al-Qudusi), he has poured out this which you see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens; but he himself says, ‘The Lord said to my Lord (Qala al-Rabu li-Rabi), Sit at my right hand, till I make thy enemies a stool for thy feet.’ Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God (Allaha) has made him both Lord and Christ (Raban wa Masihan), this Jesus (Yasu’a) whom you crucified.’” Acts 2:33-36
Not only is Jesus the Rab of all he is also the Ilah (God) and Heir who rules forever and who created and sustains all things:
“Thomas answered and said to him, ‘My Lord and my God (Rabi wa Ilahi)!’ Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’ Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (Yasu’a huwa al-Masih ibn Allah), and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:28-31
And:
“In the past God (Allahu) poke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son (ibnihi), whom he appointed heir of all things (ja‘alaho warithan likuli shai’in), and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven… But about the Son (al-ibn) he [the Father] says, ‘Your throne, O God (Ya Allahu), will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God (Allahu Ilahuka), has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.’ He also says, ‘In the beginning, O Lord (Ya Rabu), you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end.’” Hebrews 1:1-3, 8-12
Muhammad, on the other hand, taught that his god is the only Rab and that Allah would never allow any person to take a prophet or angel as a Rab in place of him:
Say (O Muhammad): “O people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians): Come to a word that is just between us and you, that we worship none but Allah, and that we associate no partners with Him, and that none of us shall take others as lords (arbaban) besides Allah.” Then, if they turn away, say: “Bear witness that we are Muslims.” S. 3:64 Hilali-Khan
Nor would he order you to take angels and Prophets for lords (arbaban) (gods). Would he order you to disbelieve after you have submitted to Allah's Will? (Tafsir At-Tabari). S. 3:80 Hilali-Khan
This next passage has been traditionally interpreted to mean that Allah has even forbidden people from taking Jesus as one’s Rab:
They have taken as lords (arbaban) beside Allah their rabbis and their monks and the Messiah son of Mary, when they were bidden to worship only One God. There is no God save Him. Be He Glorified from all that they ascribe as partner (unto Him)! S. 9:31 Pickthall
We say traditionally since the grammar and structure actually imply that Jesus is supposed to be taken as Lord alongside Allah. For the details please consult the following articles:
http://answering-islam.org/Quran/Incoherence/many_gods.htm
http://answering-islam.org/authors/shamoun/rebuttals/zawadi/jesus_lord.html
Moreover, according to Muslim scholars Rab is actually the greatest name of Allah:
The Meaning of Ar-Rabb, the Lord
Ar-Rabb is the owner who has full authority over his property. Ar-Rabb, linguistically means, the master or the one who has the authority to lead. All of these meanings are correct for Allah. When it is alone, the word Rabb is used ONLY for Allah. As for other than Allah, it can be used to say Rabb Ad-Dar, the master of such and such object. Further, it was reported that Ar-Rabb is Allah's Greatest Name. (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Q. 1:2; capital and underline emphasis ours)
Muhammad also taught that Allah is the one who inherits all things:
But as for those who are niggardly with the bounty Allah has given them, let them not suppose it is better for them; nay, it is worse for them; that they were niggardly with they shall have hung about their necks on the Resurrection Day; and to Allah belongs the inheritance of the heavens and earth (wa lillahi meerathu al-samawati wa al-ardi); and Allah is aware of the things you do. S. 3:180
And certainly We! We it is Who give life, and cause death and We are the Inheritors (wa nahnu al-warithoona). S. 15:23
Verily! We will inherit (nahnu narithu) the earth and whatsoever is thereon. And to Us they all shall be returned, S. 19:40
Again, do these Muslims want us to seriously believe that their Allah is the same Allah worshiped by Arabic speaking Christians? Do they really want us to accept that the Allah spoken of in the Arabic Bible is the same Allah worshiped by Muhammad when the Arabic Bible teaches the following?
Allah is the Father and the Son.
Allah so loved the world that he sent his only Son to save it by dying on the cross and rising from the dead.
Jesus is the Rab or Lord of all creation and the Heir of all things.
A person must confess that Jesus is Rab and that God raised him from the dead in order to be saved.
It is the Holy Spirit who enables a person to confess Jesus as Rab.
The Holy Spirit even inspired the prophet David to worship and confess Jesus the Messiah as his Rab.
Since Islam clearly denies all of these Biblical truths how can these dawagandists use the Arabic Bible to prove that Muhammad's god cannot be a false god or even Satan himself since the word Allah is used in the Arabic translation of the inspired Scriptures?
Many False Prophets and Antichrists have Gone into the World
These Muslim propagandists are apparently unaware of the fact that according to the Holy Bible Muhammad is a false prophet and an antichrist which means that his god who inspired him is actually the spirit of antichrist.
The Scriptures plainly speak of false apostles who are/will be deceived and inspired by Satan to mislead people by proclaiming another Jesus and/or preaching a different Gospel:
“I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough… I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.” 2 Corinthians 11:2-4, 12-15
“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!” Galatians 1:8-9
The Holy Bible also warns of antichrists that will come denying the Father and the Son:
“Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. … 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 2:18, 22-23
Muhammad denied that Allah is the Father and that Jesus is his Son. He also refused to believe that Jesus is Allah and our Rab. As if that wasn’t bad enough Muhammad further rejected Jesus’ vicarious death on the cross and subsequent resurrection. Muhammad is therefore one of those antichrists and false apostles which the Bible warns of, and therefore could not have been inspired by the true God. Muhammad was clearly influenced and taught by an evil, wicked spirit, even Satan himself.
In fact, what makes this rather interesting is that Muhammad himself initially thought that the spirit being who came to him and physically manhandled him was an evil spirit. Moreover, after his first encounter with this spirit Muhammad actually feared that he was demon-possessed and had gone mad and wanted to commit suicide because of it:
I. The beginning of the revelation to the Messenger of Allah was the true dream
6581. 'Urwa related that 'A'isha said, "The beginning [of the revelation] to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, took the form of the true dream in sleep. Whenever he had a dream, it was clear like the break of day. He used to go to Hira' and there he devoted himself to worship for a number of nights. He took provisions with him for that. Then he would return to Khadija and take provisions for the like of that again. This continued until the Truth came to him suddenly while he was in the Cave of Hira'. The angel came to him in it and said, 'Read!'
"The Prophet said, 'I said, "I do not read." He seized me and squeezed me until all the strength went out of me and then released me and said, "Read!" I said, "I do not read." Then he seized me and squeezed me a second time until all the strength when out of me and then released me and said, "Read!" I said, "I do not read." Then he seized me and squeezed me a third time and then released me, and then he said, "Read in the name of your Lord who created man from a blood clot. Read, and your Lord is the Most Generous. He Who taught the use of the Pen" and the ayats up to "Taught man which he knew not." (96:1-5)'
"He returned with that and his heart was quaking. He went to Khadija and said, 'Wrap me up! Wrap me up!' They wrapped him up until the state of terror had left him and then he said to Khadija, 'What is wrong with me?" He told her what had happened and said, 'I am afraid for myself.' She said, 'No, it is good news. By Allah, Allah would never bring disgrace upon you. You maintain ties of kinship, speak the truth, bear people's burdens, give hospitality to your guests and help those who have been afflicted by calamities.'
"Then Khadija then went with him to Waraqa ibn Nawfal ibn Asad ibn 'Abdu'l-'Uzza ibn Qusayy, Khadija's cousin (the son of her father's brother), who had become Christian during the Jahiliyya. He could write in Arabic and wrote as much of the Gospel in Arabic as Allah willed. He was an old man who had gone blind. Khadija said to him, 'Cousin! Listen to your nephew.' Waraqa asked him, 'Nephew, what have you seen?' The Messenger of Allah told him what he had seen. Waraqa said to him, 'This is the Namus [Jibril] which Allah sent to Musa. I wish that I were still young. I wish I might still be alive when your people drive you out!' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Will they drive me out?' Waraqa said, 'Yes, no man has brought anything similar to what you have brought without being treated with hostility. If I am still alive on that day, I will give you my strong support.'
"Shortly after that, Waraqa died and there was a pause in the revelation until the Prophet became so sad that we heard that his sorrow several times made him want to throw himself off the tops of the mountains. Whenever he reached the peak of a mountain, Jibril would appear to him and say, 'Muhammad, you are truly the Messenger of Allah.' So his agitation was stilled by that and he would be at peace and then would return home. When the gap in the revelation was long for him, and he was moved to act as before. When he reached the peak of he mountain. Jibril would appear before him and say the like of that to him."
Ibn 'Abbas said that "(faliq al-isbagh) It is He Who splits the sky at dawn," (6:96) is the light of the sun in the day and the light of the moon at night. (Aisha Bewley, The Sahih Collection of al-Bukhari, 95. Book of Dream Interpretation; underline emphasis ours)
And:
So I read it, and he departed from me. And I awoke from my sleep, and it was though these words were written on my heart. (Tabari: Now none of God's creatures was more hateful to me than an (ecstatic) poet or a man possessed: I could not even look at them. I thought, Woe is me POET OR POSSESSED - Never shall Quraysh say this of me! I will go to the top of the mountain and throw myself down that I may kill myself and gain rest. So I went forth to do so and then) when I was midway on the mountain, I heard a voice from heaven saying ‘O Muhammad! thou are the apostle of God and I am Gabriel.’ (The Life of Muhammad – A Translation of Ibn Ishaq’s Sirat Rasulallah, with introduction and notes by Alfred Guillaume translation [Oxford University Press, Karachi, Tenth Impression 1995], p. 106; bold and capital emphasis ours)
Finally:
Then he went to Khadijah and said, “Khadijah, I think that I have gone mad.” “No, by God,” she said, “Your Lord would never do that to you. You have never committed a wicked act.” Khadijah went to Waraqa b. Nawful and told him what had happened. He said, “If what you say is true, your husband is a prophet. He will meet adversity from his people. If I live long enough, I shall believe in him.”
After this, Gabriel did not come to him for a while, and Khadijah said to him, “I think that your Lord MUST HAVE COME TO HATE YOU.” Then God revealed to him:
By the forenoon, and by the night, when it is still, your Lord has not forsaken you, nor does he hate you.
… I recited it, and then he desisted and departed I woke up, and it was as though these words had been written on my heart. There was no one of God’s creation more hateful to me than a poet or a madman; I could not bear to look at either of them. I said to myself, “Your humble servant (meaning himself) is either a poet or a madman, but Quraysh shall never say this of me. I shall take myself to a mountain crag, hurl myself down from it, kill myself, and find relief in that way.” (The History of al-Tabari: Muhammad at Mecca, translated and annotated by W. Montgomery Watt & M.V. McDonald [State University of New York Press (SUNY), Albany 1988], Volume VI, pp. 70-71; bold and capital emphasis ours)
Even Waraqa ibn Nawful, the Christian monk that Muhammad consulted after his encounter with the demon, initially suspected that the spirit who appeared to Muhammad may have been a devil masquerading as Gabriel:
“Waraqa was dumbfounded at this, and said, ‘If Gabriel has actually placed his feet upon the earth, he has done so for the best of people thereupon. And he never came down for anyone except a prophet. For he is the companion of all the prophets and messengers, the one whom God sends down to them. I believe what you tell me of him. Send for ‘Abd Allah’s son, so that I may question him, hear what he says and talk to him. I am afraid it may be someone other than Gabriel, for certain devils imitate him and by so doing can mislead and corrupt some men. This can result in a man becoming confused and even crazy whereas before he had been of sound mind.’” (Ibn Kathir,The Life of the Prophet Muhammad (Al-Sira al-Nabawiyya), Volume I, pp. 296-297; bold emphasis ours)
As far as the evidence from the Holy Bible is concerned both Waraqa and Muhammad were correct in fearing that the being who came to Muhammad was actually an evil spirit.
Two Can Play that Game!
Since Muslims are fond of appealing to the Arabic translation of the Holy Bible to prove their case we have decided to turn to the Greek translation of the Quran to see what happens when we apply the Muslim logic against Islam.
We will be quoting from the Greek version of the Quran that is found here.
What makes this translation unique is that the translators have kept the Arabic word Allah by transliterating it as Allach (alpha-lambda-lambda-chi), as opposed to simply translating it by its Greek equivalent, i.e. ho theos (“the God”). This indicates that the translators did not view Allah as a generic noun but as the actual proper name of the Islamic deity, much like Yahweh is the name of the true God revealed in the Holy Bible.
Be that as it may, this version does use the Greek word theos whenever it refers to Allah as the only God:
Your God (ho theos) is One God (henas theos); there is no God (theos) save Him, the Beneficent, the Merciful. S. 2:163
Allah bears witness that there is no God (theos) but He -- and the angels, and men possessed of knowledge -- upholding justice; there is no god but He, the All-mighty, the All-wise. S. 3:18
He is Allah, the God (ho theos) in the heavens and in the earth. He knoweth both your secret and your utterance, and He knoweth what ye earn. S. 6:3
Lo! I, even I, am Allah (Ego eimai ho Allach), There is no God (theos) save Me. So serve Me and establish worship for My remembrance. S. 20:14
And He it is Who is God (ho theos), in heaven and God on earth; and He is full of Wisdom and Knowledge. S. 43:84
And one of them who should say: Lo! I am a god (theos) beside Him, that one We should repay with hell. Thus We Repay wrong-doers. S. 21:29
Hence, according to the Greek Quran Allah is the only ho theos or theos since no other ho theos or theos exists.
Now if we were to apply the exact same method employed by these Muslim dawagandists we would have to conclude that Allah is the pagan god Zeus since according to Greek mythology Zeus was called ho theos or theos. Note the logic here:
- According to the Greek Quran Allah is ho theos.
- In Greek mythology Zeus was called ho theos.
- Therefore, Allah is actually the pagan god Zeus.
We could even use this to prove that Muhammad’s Allah is actually the Father and Jesus Christ his Son since the Greek NT calls both of them ho theos and theos:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God (ton theon), and the Word was God (theos). He was in the beginning withGod (ton theon).” John 1:1-2
“For God (ho theos) so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
“Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God (ho kyrios mou kai ho theos mou)!’ Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’” John 20:28-29
“while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ (tou megalou theou kai soteros hemon ‘Iesou Christou), 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 2:13
“Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ (tou theou hemon kai soteros ‘Iesou Christou) have received a faith as precious as ours:” 2 Peter 1:1
“For he received honor and glory from God the Father (theou patros) when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’” 2 Peter 1:17
Once again, if the Muslim logic were applied consistently then this means that the Father and the Son are Allah, the God of Muhammad!
- According to the Greek Quran Allah is called theos with or without the article.
- In the New Testament both the Father and the Son are called ho theos or simply theos.
- Therefore, Muhammad’s Allah is a multi-personal being who simultaneously exists as both the Father and Jesus Christ the Son.
We are pretty certain that these Islamic dawagandists would reject our logic on the grounds that the Quran wasn’t written in Greek but in Arabic. We are sure that they would argue that just because individuals use the same words for their G/god(s) this doesn’t mean that they are necessarily worshiping the same G/god. Thus, just because the Greeks called Zeus ho theos this doesn’t mean that Greek speaking Muslims are worshiping Zeus since they also call Allah ho theos. Nor would this imply that Greek speaking Muslims are worshiping the Father and Jesus Christ the Son as Allah despite the fact that both the Greek New Testament and the Greek translation of the Quran use the same words to describe them all.
In the same exact way, just because an Arabic translation of the Holy Bible uses the word Allah this doesn’t mean that Christians and Muslims are worshiping the same God. Nor does this disprove that Islam derived its god from paganism and that the pagan Allah is actually Satan masquerading as God. The Biblical data is clear that the Allah of Islam is the spirit of the antichrist and that Muhammad was one of those antichrists whom the true Apostles of God said would come to deceive people away from the truth of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
As such, the Arabic version of the Holy Bible does not help Islam or confirm Muhammad's claims, and Muslims need to therefore stop using it to prove their case.
Source: http://answering-islam.org/authors/shamoun/allah_bible.html
IHS
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