The Quran exhorts Jews and Christians to judge by all the
revelation which God had given them:
If they had observed the Torah and the
Gospel and that which was revealed unto them from their Lord, they would surely have been
nourished from above them and from beneath their feet. Among them there are
people who are moderate, but many of them are of evil conduct. O Messenger!
Make known that which hath
been revealed UNTO THEE from thy Lord, for if thou do it not, thou wilt not
have conveyed His message. Allah will protect thee from mankind. Lo! Allah
guideth not the disbelieving folk. Say O People of the Scripture! Ye have
naught (of guidance) till
ye observe the Torah and the Gospel and that which was revealed unto you from
your Lord. That which
is revealed UNTO THEE (Muhammad) from thy Lord is certain to increase the contumacy
and disbelief of many of them. But grieve not for the disbelieving folk. S.
5:66-68 Pickthall
The foregoing makes it clear that the revelation which God
gave the Jews and Christians doesn’t include the Quran since the verses distinguish
between that which was revealed to them with the supposed revelation given to
Muhammad. This is brought out more clearly in the following texts:
Say (O Muslims): We believe in Allah and that which is revealed UNTO US and
that which was revealed unto Abraham, and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and
the tribes, and that which Moses and Jesus received, and that which the
prophets received from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of
them, and unto Him we have surrendered. S. 2:136 Pickthall
And argue not with the People of the Scripture unless it be
in (a way) that is better, save with such of them as do wrong; and say: We believe in that which hath been
revealed UNTO US and revealed UNTO YOU; our God and your God is One, and
unto Him we surrender. S. 29:46 Pickthall
These texts establish that the Quran is essentially
exhorting the Jews and Christians to observe everything contained in the
inspired Scriptures which were in their possession. Since the only Scriptures
that the Christians possessed were the books of the Holy Bible, which included
the 27 books of the New Testament, this means that the Islamic scripture is
commanding them to observe whatever is contained in these respective
writings.
The Quran even warns Christians to judge by the Gospel that
Christ gave to them, since failing to do so would make them no better than
rebels and evildoers:
And We sent after (following) on their tracks with Jesus,
Mary's son confirming for what (is) between his hands from the Torah/Old
Testament, and We gave him the
New Testament/Bible in it (is) guidance and light, and confirming to what
(is) between his hands from the Torah/Old Testament, and guidance and a
sermon/advice/warning to the fearing and obeying. And the New Testament's/Bible's
people should judge/rule with what God descended in it, and who does not
judge/rule with what God descended, so those, they are the debauchers. S.
5:46-47 Muhammad
Ahmed – Samira
In light of this we have decided to go ahead and consult
our Scriptures to judge the Quran’s teaching on salvation to see whether it is
compatible with the revelations which came before it. If the Quran’s message of
salvation doesn’t line up with the proclamation of the Holy Bible then this
simply provides further evidence that Muhammad was a false prophet.
According to the Islamic scripture a person is saved on the
basis of his faith and righteous deeds:
Allah hath promised those who believe and do good works:
Theirs will be forgiveness and immense reward. S. 5:9 Pickthall
But (as for) those who believe and do good works – We tax not any soul beyond its scope
– Such are rightful owners of the Garden. They abide therein. S. 7:42 Pickthall
Save those who persevere and
do good works. Theirs will be forgiveness and a great reward. S. 11:11
Pickthall
Lo! those who believe and
do good works and humble
themselves before their Lord: such are rightful owners of the Garden; they will
abide therein. S. 11:23 Pickthall
Except those who repent and believe, and work righteousness:
for these will enter the Garden and will not be wronged in the least, – Gardens
of Eternity, those which (God) Most Gracious has promised to His servants in
the Unseen: for His promise must (necessarily) come to pass. They will not
there hear any vain discourse, but only salutations of Peace: And they will
have therein their sustenance, morning and evening. S. 19:60-62 Y. Ali
But those who believe and
work deeds of righteousness, and believe in the (Revelation) sent down
to Muhammad – for it is the Truth from their Lord, – He will remove from them
their ills and improve their condition. S. 47:2 Y. Ali
The Quran further teaches that a person’s good deeds remove
and atone for sins:
If ye make your alms to appear, it is well; but if ye
conceal them, and give them unto the poor, this [will be] better for you, and will atone for your sins:
And God is well informed of that which ye do. S. 2:271 Sale
And keep up prayer in the two parts of the day and in the
first hours of the night; surely
good deeds take away evil deeds this
is a reminder to the mindful. S. 11:114 Shakir
However, all of this contradicts the very Scriptures which
the Quran exhorts Christians to follow and judge by.
The Holy Bible teaches that a person is saved by the grace
and mercy of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and not on the basis
of righteous deeds:
“Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the
presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but
these have been written so
that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that
believing you may have life in His name.” John 20:30-31
“Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of
sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who
believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed
through the Law of Moses.” Acts 13:38-39
“and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. Now
therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the
disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But
we believe that we are saved
through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.””
Acts 15:9-11
“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and
that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result
of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10
“nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the
works of the Law but through
faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be
justified by faith in Christ and
not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be
justified.” Galatians 2:16
“It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for
this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might
demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him
for eternal life.” 1 Timothy 1:15-16
“For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient,
deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice
and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of
God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He
saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but
according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the
Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so
that being justified by His gracewe would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Titus 3:3-7
“And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal
life, and this life is in His
Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have
the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son
of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.” 1 John 5:11-13
Christ himself taught that a person is not saved by
observing the Mosaic Law, but by loving and believing in him:
“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy
of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And
he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He
who has found his life will lose it, and
he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.” Matthew 10:37-39
“Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone wishes to
come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For
whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but
whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a
man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give
in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come
in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man
according to his deeds.’” Matthew 16:24-27
“And someone came to Him and said, ‘Teacher, what good
thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?’ And He said
to him, ‘Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to
enter into life, keep the commandments.’ Then he said to Him, ‘Which ones?’ And
Jesus said, ‘You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You
shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your
father and mother; and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ The
young man said to Him, ‘All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?’ Jesus
said to him, ‘If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and
give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, FOLLOW ME.’ But
when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one
who owned much property… Then Peter said to Him, ‘Behold, we have left
everything AND FOLLOWED YOU; what then will there be for us?’ And
Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I say to you, that
you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit
on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the
twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or
brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms FOR MY NAME’S SAKE, will
receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life. But
many who are first will be last; and the last, first.’” Matthew 19:16-22, 27-30
“Now He said to them, ‘These are My words which I spoke to
you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in
the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then
He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said
to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from
the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness
of sins would be proclaimed IN HIS NAME to all the nations, beginning from
Jerusalem.’” Luke 24:44-47
“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so
must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes
will in Him have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His
only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For
God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world
might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not
judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not
believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:14-18
“‘Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to
eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father,
God, has set His seal.’ Therefore they said to Him, ‘What shall
we do, so that we may work the works of God?’ Jesus answered
and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He
has sent.’… Jesus then said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I
say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it
is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. For
the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the
world.’ Then they said to Him, ‘Lord, always give us this
bread.’ Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger,
and he who believes in Me will never thirst. But I said to
you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. All that the
Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly
not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My
own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of
Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it
up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that
everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I
Myself will raise him up on the last day... Truly, truly, I
say to you, he who believes
has eternal life.’” John 6:27-29, 32-40, 47
“‘Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God,
believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling
places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for
you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and
receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And
you know the way where I am going.’ Thomas said to Him, ‘Lord,
we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?’ Jesus
said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the
Father but through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father
also; from now on you know
Him, and have seen Him.’” John 14:1-7
“ to open their eyes so that they may turn
from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness
of sins and an inheritance
among thosewho have been sanctified by faith in Me.” Acts 26:18
The inspired Scriptures also proclaim that atonement is
based on the vicarious sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus Christ, since there
can be no forgiveness of sins without the shedding of blood:
“And any man from the house of Israel, or from the aliens
who sojourn among them, who eats any blood, I will set My face against that
person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people. For
the life of the flesh is in the blood, and
I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for IT IS
THE BLOOD by reason of the life THAT MAKES ATONEMENT.’” Leviticus 17:10-11
“just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to
serve, and to give His life a
ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28 – cf. Mark 10:45
“While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take,
eat; this is My body.’ And when He had taken a cup and given
thanks, He gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all
of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is
poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.’” Matthew 26:26-28 – cf. Mark
14:22-24
“This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that
one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came
down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will
give for the life of the world is My flesh.” John 6:50-51
“ Be on guard for yourselves and for all
the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the
church of God which He
purchased with His own blood.” Acts 20:28
“Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight
by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our
sin. But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known,
to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness
is given through faith in
Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and
Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and
all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by
Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of
atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith.
He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had
left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his
righteousness at the present time, so as to be justand the one who justifies
those who have faith in Jesus. Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded.
Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that
requires faith. For we maintain that a person is justified
by faith apart from the works of the law.” Romans 3:20-28 New International
Version (NIV)
“to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely
bestowed on us in the Beloved. In
Him we have redemption through
His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of
His grace” Ephesians 1:6-7
“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and
walk in love, just as Christ
also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God
as a fragrant aroma.” Ephesians 5:1-2
“For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and
transferred us to the kingdom
of His beloved Son, in whom we
have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible
God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things
were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible
and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all
things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him
all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the
church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He
Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to
dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to
Himself,having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth
or things in heaven. And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in
mind,engaged in evil
deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death,
in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach—”
Colossians 1:13-22
“And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed
with blood, and without
shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Therefore it was necessary for
the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the
heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For
Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven
itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; nor was it
that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place
year by year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise, He
would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now
once at the consummation of the ages He
has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And
inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comesjudgment, so
Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear
a second time for salvation without reference
to sin, to those who eagerly
await Him.” Hebrews 9:22-28
“knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things
like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your
forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb
unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.” 1 Peter 1:18-19
“For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for
you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who
committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and
while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered
no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and
He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to
sin and live to righteousness; for
by His wounds you were healed. For you were continually
straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of
your souls.” 1 Peter 2:21-25
“but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light,
we have fellowship with one another, and
the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7
“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not
sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ,
the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins,
and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” 1 John
2:1-2 NIV
“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning
sacrifice for our sins.” 1 John 4:10 NIV
“and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn
of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us
from our sins by His blood—and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and
Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and
ever. Amen.” Revelation 1:5-6
“When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and
the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and
golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And
they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are You to take the book and to break its
seals; for You were slain, and
purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people
and nation. You have made themto be a kingdom and priests to our God; and
they will reign upon the earth.’” Revelation 5:8-10
“After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one
could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing
before the throne AND BEFORE THE LAMB, clothed in white robes, and palm
branches were in their hands; and
they cry out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation to our God who sits on
the throne, AND TO THE LAMB.’ And all the angels were
standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living
creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,
saying, ‘Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and
power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.’
Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, ‘These who are clothed in the
white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?’ I
said to him, ‘My lord, you know.’ And he said to me, ‘These are the ones who
come out of the great tribulation, and
they have washed their robes and made them white IN THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB. FOR
THIS REASON, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and
night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle
over them. They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor
will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb
in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to
springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their
eyes.’” Revelation 7:9-17
With the foregoing in perspective, it is clear that
Muhammad contradicted the message of salvation as taught in the Holy Bible,
which is the same revelation that he himself commanded Jews and Christians to
judge and go by. As such, Muhammad stands condemned as a false prophet and
antichrist which the inspired Scriptures warned us of:
“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in
sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will
know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So
every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A
good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every
tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So
then, you will know them by their fruits.” Matthew 7:15-20
“For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I
betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. But I
am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will
be led astray from the simplicity and purityof devotion to Christ. For if
one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive
a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you
have not accepted, you bear this beautifully… For such men are false
apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No
wonder, for even Satan
disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not
surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of
righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.” 2 Corinthians
11:2-4, 13-15
“But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to
you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As
we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a
gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!” Galatians 1:8-9
“Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the
Christ? This is the
antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever
denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the
Father also.” 1 John 2:22-23
“For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who
do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the
antichrist. Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we
have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. Anyone
who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have
God; the one who abides in the teaching, he
has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and
does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not
give him a greeting; for the one who gives him a greeting
participates in his evil deeds.” 2 John 1:7-11
Unless noted otherwise, all biblical quotations taken from
the New American Standard Bible (NASB).
Related Articles
Does
Islam teach salvation by works?
Salvation
Jesus and Paul on Salvation
The Bible and Vicarious Atonement – A Response to A Desperate Muslim Dawagandist
Salvation
Jesus and Paul on Salvation
The Bible and Vicarious Atonement – A Response to A Desperate Muslim Dawagandist
To see the role that Allah’s mercy and predestination play
in a Muslim’s salvation, and for Muhammad’s contradictory teaching concerning
salvation, please consult the following articles and rebuttals:
The
Problem of Divine Sovereignty, Predestination, Salvation and Human Free Will
Salvation According to the Old Testament
Salvation According to Islam
Salvation According to the Old Testament
Salvation According to Islam
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