Is the Gospel of Mark (1:1-14) indicating to us that there is a Prophet to come after Jesus? The same passages also present arguments which state that Jesus is not God. Is the Prophet to come Muhammed?
Saturday, 31 October 2009
Thursday, 29 October 2009
Rape Victims Are Not Punished in Islam
Islam does not teach Muslims to punish the rape victim. Islam punishes the rapists rather than the victim. Despite this clear teaching of Islam there are still some misguided individuals who attempt to demonize Muslims by directing false claims against Islam.
This popular "false claim" of the critics is debunked through a video responding to the infamous Nick Griffin
This popular "false claim" of the critics is debunked through a video responding to the infamous Nick Griffin
Thursday, 15 October 2009
Discussed: Sexual Sensations in the Islamic Paradise
Much has been written about this subject, to the surprise of learned Muslims as paradise in the Islamic mindset is much more than mere sexual-sensation. Thus, the critic’s fascination with this Islamic belief is perplexing to say the least, William Montgomery Watt (paraphrased) did indicate that the critic who focuses on the sexual elements related to Islam speaks more about him/herself as opposed to Islam. In fact he goes further and highlights the fact that the Muslim world is better controlled when it comes to sexual urges than its Western (Christian) counterpart [1]. It does seem that the famous Biblical passage concerning the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye is highlighted while your own eye contains something far more harmful (a plank) yet ignored comes into play. [2]
Historical outline
However, it is still important to outline the view of paradise that the Muslim will have rather than the view the critic wrongly imposes upon the Muslim. Critics often seem horrified that the Muslims would be of the belief that there would be physical sensations in paradise, especially of a sexual nature. The history or the context behind this is that the critic invariably comes from a culture which was or is still subsumed by Christianity and the Christian view of paradise is generally one of a spiritual sensation only and the “horror” of having a physical experience (especially one of a sexual nature) in the “presence of God” in paradise does not sit well with the cultural and religious beliefs that the critics have been moulded by (consciously or subconsciously). Thus, it is fair to say that the critic’s almost obsessive focus on the sexual element within the Muslim paradise is somewhat understandable as it is foreign and incompatible with the influencing factors which shaped their mode of thinking. That does not mean that they are exempt from revising their views in the light of the Muslim response, a response which is usually left unreported leading to a lob-sided debate or one-way argument against Islam.
To the Muslim the critic’s view is extremely myopic and sensationalistic whilst the critics on the unregulated internet do add to the mix in a much more coarse and unsophisticated fashion; this combined with the lack of a Muslim response to balance the discussion leads the Muslim to much frustration. Subsequently shrieks of “Islamophobia” can be heard but all that is required in reality is an analytical approach and an approach that brings to the surface the Muslim response, this is sufficient to show that the Muslims have some genuinely potent points that counter the critics in a convincing fashion. If this methodical approach is adopted as opposed to suspicion and idle claims of Islamophobia this issue would have been put to bed in no time (pun intended) thus forcing the critic in a position of defence rather then the default attack position that the critic has been stuck in concerning this aspect of Islam.
Critics misunderstood
Firstly it is important to show the critics who are representing Islamic views on paradise as solely physical that they are mistaken as according to Islamic theology the individual (in paradise) will have the best of the physical and the best of the spiritual in paradise. So the thunderous denials to the claims that the Islamic paradise is solely focussed on sex or physical well being must be heard as critics are misrepresenting the Islamic views on Paradise. In fact the spiritual aspect of paradise is thought to be greater and more appealing than the physical features of the Muslim paradise. It is concerning that the critics leave this crucial information out in order to carry out their onslaught against Islam
Now we have established that the Islamic views pertaining to paradise are similar to the Christian views in so far as the inhabitant would be at a zenith or peak of spirituality (i.e. his/her relationship with God would be more complete) we can realise the only difference between the two (aside from the obvious theological differences concerning the nature of God) is that the Islamic view incorporates the idea of physical pleasure (i.e. good food, clothing, accommodation, spouses etc). The question is, why would physical pleasure be objectionable to the critic, especially considering that the spiritual side of the Islamic Paradise is very much there too?
The first argument of the critic
Well there are two stances the critic takes to this, the first argument is theologically motivated (usually critics who happen to be Christians use this approach) in that they argue that physical pleasure in the “presence” of God is something unthinkable, especially pleasure of a sexual nature. This view would be more understandable if the Islamic Paradise lacked the spiritual element but the fact remains it does not and is very much similar to the Christian view of paradise when it comes to the spiritual aspect. So I feel the theologically motivated critic argues a straw man as he/she wrongly pre-supposes that the Muslim paradise is solely physical and lacks the spiritual side to it.
Their argument also drifts to the obvious tangent in that they cannot comprehend how or why sex would be allowed in Paradise “in the presence of God”, they in fact are quite simply horrified by this. Their horror only arises as Christendom’s views on sex has always been one of a taboo, this perhaps is borne from their belief that Jesus never married and thus they view it (sexual relations) somewhat unbefitting of the pious and those of a spiritual nature; this is further supported by the Catholic priests and nuns vowing celibacy. On the other hand the Muslim view of sex has never really got the stage of taboo or shame. In fact it is seen as a natural desire of the man and woman which would be related to the natural desire of the human for food (though not the same). Islam in this sense recognises the human nature and even recommends avenues to fulfil this desire in an Islamically acceptable fashion, namely within marriage. Marriage is recommended and celibacy is frowned upon and the woman’s desire for sexual satisfaction is acknowledged too.
In fact Muslim writings concerning sex are very analytical and scientific whilst in the past (as well as now) Christian writings have always seemed to be underpinned by suspicion, shame and even eroticism when it comes to sex. Even to this day the Catholic Church is vigorously opposed to contraception as sex thus becomes a thing of pleasure rather than procreation whilst the Muslim does not generally object to contraception as sexual relations are seen through a scientific fashion and the sensual enjoyment of sex is recognised along with it being the mode for reproduction. In fact, upon reflection, I saw the Islamic method of dealing with issues of this type as progressive, modern and scientific (whilst being enveloped with a removal of any negative taboo). This Islamic mindset is deemed a positive one for sex education.
Having set the context we realise that the idea of sex within Paradise for the Muslim is not something of taboo but merely linked to the view that in paradise everybody (man and woman) has their desires fulfilled (both physical and spiritual desires) and sexual urges are included in the physical desires.
Knowing this the critic should factor this into his/her work, if this is done diligently without an agenda-based motivation we would see that the idea of sexual pleasure in the Islamic paradise is not such a big deal and those who do make it into an issue are lacking contextual knowledge and in many cases argue a straw man as they fail to realise that the Muslim paradise includes spiritual pleasure and this pleasure is viewed as the greater form of pleasure.
"In the presence of God"
Going back to the Christian repulsion towards sexual satisfaction “in the presence of God” in paradise one only needs to remind the Christian of their belief concerning Jesus, the Christian believes him to be God. Now, when Jesus was on earth his mother was married to Joseph and he was beset by married people, therefore conjugal relations (sex within marriage) clearly were taking place in the proximity of Jesus. As the Christian believes Jesus to be God then the Christian critics seem hypocritical and even Biblically illiterate when making such an attack against the Islamic view of paradise.
To make the point even more vivid it is hinted that prostitution (illegal sexual relations) was taking place in the locality of Jesus [4]; the question to the Christian is, if the Bible hints at illegal sexual satisfaction taking place in the area of Jesus (who the Christian believes to be God) then how can the Christian critics object to sex in paradise for the Muslim. It really is a case of hypocrisy and ignorance of their ideologies. Of course if that illustration was not sufficient for the critic of a Christian background then how about the belief that the Holy Spirit (who is also thought to be God by Christians) resides in Christians; do Christians not have sex? Certainly they do therefore according to their beliefs we realise they must believe that this sexual satisfaction takes place in the presence of their god. Thankfully there are only a small group of Christians who make such hypocritical and ignorant attacks against Islamic ideas on paradise.
Biblical view
Before moving onto the second group’s argumentation we can look to the Bible and realise there is not much definitive description concerning paradise and thus leaving it open to debate within Christendom whether the body will be physical or not but there is a description of John’s view of paradise in Revelation 22:2, remarkably it seems to fit in line with the Muslim view that paradise will have a physical element to it:
down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations
Though this is not definitive but the fruit being yielded does support the argument that there will be food in the Christian view of paradise, however it is important to note that the Christian view of paradise is not fully understood as the Bible does not really expand upon it thus leaving it open to speculation. So, pardon the pun, this is some food for thought for the critics who come from a Christian background.
It is also worth noting that though there is food in the Muslim paradise (and the Christian view of paradise hints at the same through the Biblical reference cited) we should realise that both the Christian and Muslim beliefs about paradise teach us that there will be no thirst or hunger in paradise therefore the food/drink is something solely for pleasure rather than out of hunger/thirst. As we are discussing the critics who happen to be motivated by evangelising their Christian beliefs to the Muslims we can bring a Bible passage into play. The real motivation behind the Christian critic in attacking the Muslim view of paradise is all down to the fact that Muslims do not view Jesus as God but rather as a Prophet; surely this belief of Muslims should not mean that they get a raw deal! A Biblical passage to encourage the Muslim to take the unfair critique from theologically motivated groups with a mature and patient approach:
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. [3]
These words are attributed to Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew. They do resonate in the hearts of the Muslims who have been unfortunate enough to witness some of the sinister misrepresentations of the Muslim faith by so-called Christians on the internet. I am glad to say that the majority of Christians that I know of do not go down the route of attacking Islam in a wicked manner just because it holds a different teaching to the Trinitarian Christian view.
The second argument of the critic
The second group are those who attack the Muslim view of Heaven solely based on sexual enticement alone, they tend to be people who claim Muslim men are motivated by sex alone and question why “sexual reward” must be offered in order for the Muslim to behave. It is important to correct this group (they usually consist of secularists) as reward is not merely limited to men but includes women too. This critic misses the other rewards of paradise and directs his focus solely on the sexual pleasure within paradise. Well, the question to the critic would be why not have a variety of physical rewards in Heaven?
Muslims and Christians are commanded by their respective faiths to avoid sexual sin (even looking lustfully at a member of the opposite sex); would it not be Just of God to reward those that complied with His orders with something better? This view of paradise by the Muslim does in fact help the Muslim to comply; knowing that there is something better in the hereafter if they avoid the sin in this life. It must be stressed that this is not the reason behind the Muslim avoidance of sin but the reason is due to his/her spiritual nature and closeness to God.
Not to pick on Christianity but to merely use it as an example to put against Islam, within Christendom there has been a number of high profile cases of Christian leaders falling to sexual sin (i.e. Ted Haggard, Jimmy Swaggert etc) whilst, to date, instances of such a nature are unheard of when it concerns high profile Muslim leaders. Now we compare the two, Christianity lacks a clear idea of a “reward” of physical pleasure in paradise while Islam does posses this idea very clearly. Couple this with the fact that sexual sin is not such a widespread problem in the Muslim world as opposed to the Christian world and ask the question which one seems to inspire their respective followers to avoid the sin? Thus the Islamic view of paradise does have an apparent wisdom behind it.
The Islamic belief is that Allah is Just so if an individual who is not appealing to the member of the opposite sex (through no fault of his/her own) has something of comfort from his/her beliefs concerning paradise. Why cannot this person be of the belief that in Paradise he/she will get a spouse who is greater than anything this world can offer, this view surely offers emotional and psychological comfort to the individual. I think this belief is even more relevant in this Hollywood/Pop culture of ours in the West where beauty, wealth and attraction to the opposite sex are seen as the be-all and end-all; yet we know many will never reach the lifestyle that the Western (pop/Hollywood) culture sets for us as the benchmark. Surely, psychologically and emotionally, the Islamic belief is a fine remedy and also curtails the individual’s desire to enter the realms of unregulated materialism thus aiding his/her spiritual growth as materialism is a hindrance to spirituality. It seems to me that the Islamic system has got a system that is workable and of benefit to the individual both psychologically, emotionally and spiritually. This is food for thought.
Summary
The critic generally misses the fuller picture of the Muslim Paradise and blows the sexual element out of perspective and takes it out of context. The critic fails to mention that the Muslim paradise contains spiritual ecstasy and this is the main feature of the Muslim paradise and the physical ecstasy (be it food, drink, accommodation, sexual relations) is second to the spiritual element. Critics also focus entirely on the sexual element of the physical whilst the Muslim paradise contains a whole spectrum of physical delights for the inhabitants.
Theologically motivated critics abhor the idea that physical pleasure should be “in the presence of God” but fail to give a reason why God would not allow physical pleasure in Heaven especially considering that He can view us in this life partaking in physical pleasure. This type of critic also falls into hypocrisy as the Christian Bible shows that physical pleasure (including sexual pleasure) took place in the locality of Jesus and the Christians believe that Jesus is God therefore we realise that the Muslim idea of paradise containing physical delight “in the presence of God” is not something for the Christians to argue against.
Finally, looking at the Muslim idea of physical delight in the Hereafter we realise that this idea provides great emotional, psychological and spiritual support in combating the superficial, materialistic ideas and teachings on life that the current Pop culture in our Western world imposes upon us.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. [3]
I do hope the critics do ponder upon these points and give the Muslim a fair deal.
May Allah help us all into Paradise. Ameen.
Note: all Bible references come from the New International Version
References
[1] What Is Islam by W.Montgomery Watt, Longman Group, Second Edition, 1979, pg230
[2] New International Version, Matthew 7:3
[3] Ibid. Matthew 5:11-12
[4] Ibid. Luke 7:36-39
Historical outline
However, it is still important to outline the view of paradise that the Muslim will have rather than the view the critic wrongly imposes upon the Muslim. Critics often seem horrified that the Muslims would be of the belief that there would be physical sensations in paradise, especially of a sexual nature. The history or the context behind this is that the critic invariably comes from a culture which was or is still subsumed by Christianity and the Christian view of paradise is generally one of a spiritual sensation only and the “horror” of having a physical experience (especially one of a sexual nature) in the “presence of God” in paradise does not sit well with the cultural and religious beliefs that the critics have been moulded by (consciously or subconsciously). Thus, it is fair to say that the critic’s almost obsessive focus on the sexual element within the Muslim paradise is somewhat understandable as it is foreign and incompatible with the influencing factors which shaped their mode of thinking. That does not mean that they are exempt from revising their views in the light of the Muslim response, a response which is usually left unreported leading to a lob-sided debate or one-way argument against Islam.
To the Muslim the critic’s view is extremely myopic and sensationalistic whilst the critics on the unregulated internet do add to the mix in a much more coarse and unsophisticated fashion; this combined with the lack of a Muslim response to balance the discussion leads the Muslim to much frustration. Subsequently shrieks of “Islamophobia” can be heard but all that is required in reality is an analytical approach and an approach that brings to the surface the Muslim response, this is sufficient to show that the Muslims have some genuinely potent points that counter the critics in a convincing fashion. If this methodical approach is adopted as opposed to suspicion and idle claims of Islamophobia this issue would have been put to bed in no time (pun intended) thus forcing the critic in a position of defence rather then the default attack position that the critic has been stuck in concerning this aspect of Islam.
Critics misunderstood
Firstly it is important to show the critics who are representing Islamic views on paradise as solely physical that they are mistaken as according to Islamic theology the individual (in paradise) will have the best of the physical and the best of the spiritual in paradise. So the thunderous denials to the claims that the Islamic paradise is solely focussed on sex or physical well being must be heard as critics are misrepresenting the Islamic views on Paradise. In fact the spiritual aspect of paradise is thought to be greater and more appealing than the physical features of the Muslim paradise. It is concerning that the critics leave this crucial information out in order to carry out their onslaught against Islam
Now we have established that the Islamic views pertaining to paradise are similar to the Christian views in so far as the inhabitant would be at a zenith or peak of spirituality (i.e. his/her relationship with God would be more complete) we can realise the only difference between the two (aside from the obvious theological differences concerning the nature of God) is that the Islamic view incorporates the idea of physical pleasure (i.e. good food, clothing, accommodation, spouses etc). The question is, why would physical pleasure be objectionable to the critic, especially considering that the spiritual side of the Islamic Paradise is very much there too?
The first argument of the critic
Well there are two stances the critic takes to this, the first argument is theologically motivated (usually critics who happen to be Christians use this approach) in that they argue that physical pleasure in the “presence” of God is something unthinkable, especially pleasure of a sexual nature. This view would be more understandable if the Islamic Paradise lacked the spiritual element but the fact remains it does not and is very much similar to the Christian view of paradise when it comes to the spiritual aspect. So I feel the theologically motivated critic argues a straw man as he/she wrongly pre-supposes that the Muslim paradise is solely physical and lacks the spiritual side to it.
Their argument also drifts to the obvious tangent in that they cannot comprehend how or why sex would be allowed in Paradise “in the presence of God”, they in fact are quite simply horrified by this. Their horror only arises as Christendom’s views on sex has always been one of a taboo, this perhaps is borne from their belief that Jesus never married and thus they view it (sexual relations) somewhat unbefitting of the pious and those of a spiritual nature; this is further supported by the Catholic priests and nuns vowing celibacy. On the other hand the Muslim view of sex has never really got the stage of taboo or shame. In fact it is seen as a natural desire of the man and woman which would be related to the natural desire of the human for food (though not the same). Islam in this sense recognises the human nature and even recommends avenues to fulfil this desire in an Islamically acceptable fashion, namely within marriage. Marriage is recommended and celibacy is frowned upon and the woman’s desire for sexual satisfaction is acknowledged too.
In fact Muslim writings concerning sex are very analytical and scientific whilst in the past (as well as now) Christian writings have always seemed to be underpinned by suspicion, shame and even eroticism when it comes to sex. Even to this day the Catholic Church is vigorously opposed to contraception as sex thus becomes a thing of pleasure rather than procreation whilst the Muslim does not generally object to contraception as sexual relations are seen through a scientific fashion and the sensual enjoyment of sex is recognised along with it being the mode for reproduction. In fact, upon reflection, I saw the Islamic method of dealing with issues of this type as progressive, modern and scientific (whilst being enveloped with a removal of any negative taboo). This Islamic mindset is deemed a positive one for sex education.
Having set the context we realise that the idea of sex within Paradise for the Muslim is not something of taboo but merely linked to the view that in paradise everybody (man and woman) has their desires fulfilled (both physical and spiritual desires) and sexual urges are included in the physical desires.
Knowing this the critic should factor this into his/her work, if this is done diligently without an agenda-based motivation we would see that the idea of sexual pleasure in the Islamic paradise is not such a big deal and those who do make it into an issue are lacking contextual knowledge and in many cases argue a straw man as they fail to realise that the Muslim paradise includes spiritual pleasure and this pleasure is viewed as the greater form of pleasure.
"In the presence of God"
Going back to the Christian repulsion towards sexual satisfaction “in the presence of God” in paradise one only needs to remind the Christian of their belief concerning Jesus, the Christian believes him to be God. Now, when Jesus was on earth his mother was married to Joseph and he was beset by married people, therefore conjugal relations (sex within marriage) clearly were taking place in the proximity of Jesus. As the Christian believes Jesus to be God then the Christian critics seem hypocritical and even Biblically illiterate when making such an attack against the Islamic view of paradise.
To make the point even more vivid it is hinted that prostitution (illegal sexual relations) was taking place in the locality of Jesus [4]; the question to the Christian is, if the Bible hints at illegal sexual satisfaction taking place in the area of Jesus (who the Christian believes to be God) then how can the Christian critics object to sex in paradise for the Muslim. It really is a case of hypocrisy and ignorance of their ideologies. Of course if that illustration was not sufficient for the critic of a Christian background then how about the belief that the Holy Spirit (who is also thought to be God by Christians) resides in Christians; do Christians not have sex? Certainly they do therefore according to their beliefs we realise they must believe that this sexual satisfaction takes place in the presence of their god. Thankfully there are only a small group of Christians who make such hypocritical and ignorant attacks against Islamic ideas on paradise.
Biblical view
Before moving onto the second group’s argumentation we can look to the Bible and realise there is not much definitive description concerning paradise and thus leaving it open to debate within Christendom whether the body will be physical or not but there is a description of John’s view of paradise in Revelation 22:2, remarkably it seems to fit in line with the Muslim view that paradise will have a physical element to it:
down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations
Though this is not definitive but the fruit being yielded does support the argument that there will be food in the Christian view of paradise, however it is important to note that the Christian view of paradise is not fully understood as the Bible does not really expand upon it thus leaving it open to speculation. So, pardon the pun, this is some food for thought for the critics who come from a Christian background.
It is also worth noting that though there is food in the Muslim paradise (and the Christian view of paradise hints at the same through the Biblical reference cited) we should realise that both the Christian and Muslim beliefs about paradise teach us that there will be no thirst or hunger in paradise therefore the food/drink is something solely for pleasure rather than out of hunger/thirst. As we are discussing the critics who happen to be motivated by evangelising their Christian beliefs to the Muslims we can bring a Bible passage into play. The real motivation behind the Christian critic in attacking the Muslim view of paradise is all down to the fact that Muslims do not view Jesus as God but rather as a Prophet; surely this belief of Muslims should not mean that they get a raw deal! A Biblical passage to encourage the Muslim to take the unfair critique from theologically motivated groups with a mature and patient approach:
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. [3]
These words are attributed to Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew. They do resonate in the hearts of the Muslims who have been unfortunate enough to witness some of the sinister misrepresentations of the Muslim faith by so-called Christians on the internet. I am glad to say that the majority of Christians that I know of do not go down the route of attacking Islam in a wicked manner just because it holds a different teaching to the Trinitarian Christian view.
The second argument of the critic
The second group are those who attack the Muslim view of Heaven solely based on sexual enticement alone, they tend to be people who claim Muslim men are motivated by sex alone and question why “sexual reward” must be offered in order for the Muslim to behave. It is important to correct this group (they usually consist of secularists) as reward is not merely limited to men but includes women too. This critic misses the other rewards of paradise and directs his focus solely on the sexual pleasure within paradise. Well, the question to the critic would be why not have a variety of physical rewards in Heaven?
Muslims and Christians are commanded by their respective faiths to avoid sexual sin (even looking lustfully at a member of the opposite sex); would it not be Just of God to reward those that complied with His orders with something better? This view of paradise by the Muslim does in fact help the Muslim to comply; knowing that there is something better in the hereafter if they avoid the sin in this life. It must be stressed that this is not the reason behind the Muslim avoidance of sin but the reason is due to his/her spiritual nature and closeness to God.
Not to pick on Christianity but to merely use it as an example to put against Islam, within Christendom there has been a number of high profile cases of Christian leaders falling to sexual sin (i.e. Ted Haggard, Jimmy Swaggert etc) whilst, to date, instances of such a nature are unheard of when it concerns high profile Muslim leaders. Now we compare the two, Christianity lacks a clear idea of a “reward” of physical pleasure in paradise while Islam does posses this idea very clearly. Couple this with the fact that sexual sin is not such a widespread problem in the Muslim world as opposed to the Christian world and ask the question which one seems to inspire their respective followers to avoid the sin? Thus the Islamic view of paradise does have an apparent wisdom behind it.
The Islamic belief is that Allah is Just so if an individual who is not appealing to the member of the opposite sex (through no fault of his/her own) has something of comfort from his/her beliefs concerning paradise. Why cannot this person be of the belief that in Paradise he/she will get a spouse who is greater than anything this world can offer, this view surely offers emotional and psychological comfort to the individual. I think this belief is even more relevant in this Hollywood/Pop culture of ours in the West where beauty, wealth and attraction to the opposite sex are seen as the be-all and end-all; yet we know many will never reach the lifestyle that the Western (pop/Hollywood) culture sets for us as the benchmark. Surely, psychologically and emotionally, the Islamic belief is a fine remedy and also curtails the individual’s desire to enter the realms of unregulated materialism thus aiding his/her spiritual growth as materialism is a hindrance to spirituality. It seems to me that the Islamic system has got a system that is workable and of benefit to the individual both psychologically, emotionally and spiritually. This is food for thought.
Summary
The critic generally misses the fuller picture of the Muslim Paradise and blows the sexual element out of perspective and takes it out of context. The critic fails to mention that the Muslim paradise contains spiritual ecstasy and this is the main feature of the Muslim paradise and the physical ecstasy (be it food, drink, accommodation, sexual relations) is second to the spiritual element. Critics also focus entirely on the sexual element of the physical whilst the Muslim paradise contains a whole spectrum of physical delights for the inhabitants.
Theologically motivated critics abhor the idea that physical pleasure should be “in the presence of God” but fail to give a reason why God would not allow physical pleasure in Heaven especially considering that He can view us in this life partaking in physical pleasure. This type of critic also falls into hypocrisy as the Christian Bible shows that physical pleasure (including sexual pleasure) took place in the locality of Jesus and the Christians believe that Jesus is God therefore we realise that the Muslim idea of paradise containing physical delight “in the presence of God” is not something for the Christians to argue against.
Finally, looking at the Muslim idea of physical delight in the Hereafter we realise that this idea provides great emotional, psychological and spiritual support in combating the superficial, materialistic ideas and teachings on life that the current Pop culture in our Western world imposes upon us.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. [3]
I do hope the critics do ponder upon these points and give the Muslim a fair deal.
May Allah help us all into Paradise. Ameen.
Note: all Bible references come from the New International Version
References
[1] What Is Islam by W.Montgomery Watt, Longman Group, Second Edition, 1979, pg230
[2] New International Version, Matthew 7:3
[3] Ibid. Matthew 5:11-12
[4] Ibid. Luke 7:36-39
Sunday, 11 October 2009
A Response to Sam Shamoun: Does John 1:19-21 mention Muhammad?
Is John1:19-21 Referring to Prophet Muhammed?
It has become a common argument from the Muslim camp to suggest to the Christian that John 1 contains a reference to Prophet Muhammed. This reference is not an explicit reference by name but an implicit reference by the title of “the Prophet” which is not referring to the Prophet Jesus (the Christ). This argument can be found in the first appendix which provides a link to the Muslim claim.
The evangelical Christian camp, however, have stepped up efforts to counter this Muslim claim. This is the reason of my writing of this short paper; the Christian camp in the form of an apologist for Christianity, Sam Shamoun, did comment on this claim and attempted a refutation on the ABN (Aramaic Broadcasting Network).
And:
http://www.institutealislam.com/prophet-muhammad-in-the-bible-by-dr.-zakir-naik/
2. Link to Shamoun’s claims which I responded to in the course of this article (video entitled: Muhammad in the Bible? John 1:19-21):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xHJ7JEQOXQ&feature=channel_page
References
[1] Volume 5, Book 59, Number 428
[2] Volume 4, Book 56, Number 777
It has become a common argument from the Muslim camp to suggest to the Christian that John 1 contains a reference to Prophet Muhammed. This reference is not an explicit reference by name but an implicit reference by the title of “the Prophet” which is not referring to the Prophet Jesus (the Christ). This argument can be found in the first appendix which provides a link to the Muslim claim.
The evangelical Christian camp, however, have stepped up efforts to counter this Muslim claim. This is the reason of my writing of this short paper; the Christian camp in the form of an apologist for Christianity, Sam Shamoun, did comment on this claim and attempted a refutation on the ABN (Aramaic Broadcasting Network).
Intellectual honesty
As a word of note to the readers; if the response by Shamoun was convincing I would not be writing this as I would have accepted Shamoun’s response in order to be intellectually honest. On the flip-side if Shamoun’s response is insufficient (which is what I feel) I would not accept it as it would be equally intellectually dishonest to do so. Also, in the way of fairness and scholarly etiquette I have appended a link to Shamoun’s response so the more interested reader can listen to it and judge my response with a more potent measuring stick, see the second appendix.
I do ask Shamoun’s Christian audience (as well as any non-Christians amongst his audience) to maintain intellectual honesty and also re-evaluate his views based on my points of contention.
Shamoun is a fine orator and puts his points across in an enthusiastic and passionate fashion. I feel his enthusiasm did get the better of him as he began to interpolate his own biased views into the Biblical text spoken of. Allow me to expand upon this.
John 1,19-21
Essentially the passage of John that Shamoun devotes much of his attention to and tries to explain away in a fashion which would exclude an intimation of the Prophet Muhammed from the text (John 1: 19-21)
It is important to quote this text for the reader’s ease of following (John 1:19-21):
1:19 now this was John's testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was.
1:20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, "I am not the Christ."
1:21 They asked him, "Then who are you? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No."
So we realise the Jewish elite question the John the Baptist, he tells them that he is not the Christ and they proceed to ask him whether he was Elijah or “the Prophet”. What we glean from this text is that the Christ, Elijah and the Prophet are three separate people and thus the Jews who were questioning John the Baptist were expecting the arrival of three distinct figures in the future; Elijah, the Christ and the Prophet. The Muslim suggests that the Prophet is Muhammed and not the Christ (Jesus), this is a reasonable suggestion in so far as “the Prophet” is distinct and independent from the Christ.
It should also be noted that John the Baptist did not question the Jews concerning “the Prophet” and nor did he seem perplexed once questioned about “the Prophet” which suggests he (John the Baptist), like the Jews, was aware of a Prophet to come who is not Jesus (the Christ). As a note to the lay reader, Christ simple means Messiah (literally the anointed one) in Greek and does not mean God or the son of God.
The Muslims have been making this argument for numerous years now concerning this particular passage of John 1. Shamoun’s is an interesting response, superficially it may have sounded pretty convincing to much of his audience but with a little analysis we see gaping holes in his argumentation.
Shamoun is wrong
He initially (wrongly) goes onto impress upon the inquiring Jews of John 1:19-21 his own views which is not supported by the text. His view is that the inquiring Jews believe “the Prophet” to be an Israelite. This view does not have any Scriptural support from the passage quoted. Shamoun adds this to the equation, he recklessly tells us that the inquiring Jews “knew” that “the Prophet” was an Israelite as John the Baptist was an Israelite. He says this as Muhammed was an Ishmaelite and he is moved by his focus to try and remove any intimation of Muhammed from the passage. Of course being moved by such a task quite naturally leads to an underpinning bias which leads Shamoun into this reckless manipulation of his own Holy Book which yields his warped understanding of the passage.
This is a peculiar understanding which Shamoun states rather forcefully, however it is not only a peculiar understanding which lacks proof from the passage in question but it is an inconsistent view as Shamoun fails to use the same “peculiar” method of exegesis concerning the passage when it mentions the Christ.
Shamoun lacks consistency
Shamoun’s lack of consistency is highlighted by John 1:20 where if he was to use the same far-fetched reasoning and assumption without any authority he should also conclude that John the Baptist believes that the inquiring Jews believed that the Christ was to have a natural birth as John the Baptist tells them that “I am not the Christ”. The inquiring Jews would have known that John the Baptist was not born of a virgin birth but that of a normal birth; therefore Shamoun (being consistent) would conclude the Jews believed Christ to be a man born of a husband and wife. Why Shamoun lacked the consistency to judge the whole passage by his own erroneous yardstick is a mystery. Shamoun simply interpolates his own unfounded assumption into the text; the text does not teach us that “the Prophet” is an Israelite; in fact it does not teach us anything about the lineage of “the Prophet” despite Shamoun’s inconsistent assertion.
Shamoun also suggests that the Jews could have been mistaken when they mentioned “the Prophet”. He suggests that no such Prophet was expected as the inquiring Jews may have believed this erroneously. Well, Shamoun misses the other key party in the conversation; namely the Prophet John the Baptist. In this passage John the Baptist seems to know of “the Prophet” the Jews inquire about as he answers their question concerning him without any hesitation, confusion or any correction/questioning of the existence of “the Prophet” thus we realise John 1:19-21 suggests to us that “the Prophet” is real and was being expected by the Jews and they were not mistaken. Therefore we realise Shamoun’s assertions are lacking firm foundations and Scriptural support.
The facts are important
The facts remain; all we realise from John 1: 19-21 is that the Jews were awaiting three distinct individuals (the Christ, Elijah and “the Prophet”) and they did not believe “the Prophet” to be either Elijah or the Christ. We do not realise Shamoun’s interpolations as the text does not mention anything of the like.
Needless to say Shamoun moves on after his fanciful manipulation of his own text. He tries to convince us, rather erroneously, that “the Prophet” and the Christ are the same person despite the above passage (John 1:19-21) militating against him.
Shamoun uses John 1:45 incorrectly
Strangely enough he tries to use John 1:45 to state this claim. As the reader can see, John 1:45 does not help Shamoun one iota:
John 1:45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."
In fact Shamoun seems to hesitate in quoting the passage fully as the passage seems to be opposing the Christian doctrine of Jesus divinity and the miraculous birth as Jesus is described as “the son of Joseph” (not the son of God), hence it is unsurprising to me to hear a perceived shift in the intonation of Shamoun’s voice when he came to this part of the verse. Surely this passage opens up a new can of worms for Shamoun and his colleagues.
To address Shamoun thoroughly and to do his points justice I would state that Moses and other Prophets writing about Jesus in the Law (Torah) does not mean the Christ is “the Prophet”. This was a confusing argument which Shamoun presented and the more discerning amongst the audience would have felt the same in my view. Also, as a worrying point of contention for Shamoun and other Christian apologists; Philip seems to be claiming that Moses wrote about Jesus “the son of Joseph”, thus Philip is not only denying the miraculous birth of Jesus but is intimating that Moses wrote about somebody (a Prophet to come) who was to have a natural birth, this could not have been Jesus so the question remains, who is this person? This passage, ironically cited by Shamoun to support his views, does not aid Shamoun at all but further compounds the confusion and leads to a multitude of important questions.
Shamoun and John 5:39-40
Shamoun fluently moves onto John 5: 39-40 and tries to build his argument upon this passage. This passage does not shed any further light on the matter, the readers can judge for themselves:
5:39 You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me,
5:40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
Thus we realise this passage (John 5:39-40) does not support Shamoun’s assertion that “the Prophet” and the Christ are the same person. Shamoun, after much positing of irrelevant or impotent “evidences”, moves onto his main Biblical citation which he believes supports his views that “the Prophet” is the Christ. Shamoun brings forth the Biblical reference of John 6:14-15:
6:14 After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, "Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world."
6:15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.
Shamoun does not prove anything
Again, this reference does not prove Shamoun’s belief that “the Prophet” and the Christ was the same person. All this reference teaches us is that a group of people saw Jesus performing a “miraculous sign” and then they believed him to be “the Prophet”. There is no mention of the people calling him the Christ as well in this passage and nor is there any mention of the people exclaiming the two are the same person. Suffice it to say Shamoun interpolates his own understanding and imposes it upon the people of this passage without any authority or logical reasoning whatsoever. Even if we go with the view that Jesus is “the Prophet” then the question of who was the Christ arises.
We of course now know that Jesus was the Christ so could not have been “the Prophet” as these two were two distinct people (as gleaned from John 1:19-21). So it is more reasonable to view these people as being mistaken when pronouncing Jesus to be “the Prophet” (other people were mistaken concerning the identity of Jesus in Matthew 16:13-14, which is discussed later) as this would erroneously mean that Jesus was not the Christ unless one adopts Shamoun’s position which requires interpolating an unsubstantiated belief (the belief that the Christ and “the Prophet” are the same person) into the text. That would mean that the Biblical text is prevented from speaking for itself and Shamoun would act as an intermediary between the Bible and the reader.
In fact the context of this passage is that Jesus feeds the five thousand through food multiplication (this is the “miraculous sign” which they observed) the people saw this and then concluded that Jesus was “the Prophet”. Now, we realise from this that the sign of food multiplication is linked to “the Prophet”. If we look at the life of Mohammed we realise he too performed similar miracles of multiplying both food and water and feeding a great number of people due to the miracles [1, 2]. So this strengthens the Muslim claim that “the Prophet” is Mohammad.
What about Jesus?
One, naturally, may ask “what about Jesus”? Well, the context concerning Jesus was that there was much discussion and confusion concerning his identity, even John the Baptist did not know who Jesus was and questioned him. Those who knew of Jesus did not even know who he was so it of no surprise that some people (John 6:14-15) viewed him to be “the Prophet” initially as if we cross reference this with Matthew 16: 13-14 we realise there were many conflicting ideas concerning the identity of Jesus, quite simply people did not know who he was:
Matthew 16:13-14:
13: When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
14: They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
Using Shamoun’s method we would simply combine all these titles and proclaim Jesus to be John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah and other prophets all in one despite all these being separate entities just like “the Prophet” and the Christ are separate entities. Rather than using an exaggerated form of Shamoun’s methodology we can simply use the Scripture and logic and realise Jesus was the Christ and therefore was not John, Elijah, Jeremiah or any other prophet. So going back to Shamoun’s point we now know that Jesus is the Christ therefore the people of John 6:14 who claim Jesus to be “the Prophet” are incorrect as the two are not the same person according to the Bible. So Shamoun has a dilemma; either accept the Bible and realise the Christ is not “the Prophet” or manipulate the Bible in order for it to suit his own purposes.
Not only does Matthew 16:13-14 highlight the uncertainty of who Jesus was but it also shows a good number of people did not believe Jesus to be God which is an issue for the Trinitarian Church but is not the focus of this article. Just to further highlight the lack of knowledge concerning who Jesus was we can look to no less than John the Baptist who does not know who Jesus really was (Matthew 11: 1-2):
11:1 After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee.
11:2 When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples 3to ask him, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?"
This passage further highlights the lack of knowledge concerning Jesus and the potential to misidentify Jesus. As a side note, it further militates against the Trinitarian form of Christianity as John the Baptist (a Prophet) does not recognise Jesus as God.
Shamoun should rethink his views
However, going back to Shamoun’s assertions; surely it would be more logical for Shamoun to free himself from the shackles of bias (and conflicting ideas) and accept either he does not have a full understanding of the text or accept that “the Prophet” is not Jesus but somebody else. If he accepts the issue requires further contemplation and research then that would be admirable as we are all human beings and have huge gaps in our knowledge and of course only God is the All-Knower. Shamoun does not lose much ground, to his Muslim counterparts either, if he accepts what the Biblical text indicates namely; “the Prophet” was being expected by the Jews and was not Jesus (the Christ) but somebody else. I say Shamoun does not lose much ground to the Muslims in this discussion as Shamoun could quite easily counter and say there is no Biblical proof from this passage that it refers to the Prophet Muhammed and he could go further and say for all the average reader knows is that it could refer to Joseph Smith, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad or other figures believed to be prophets by their respective followers. The neutrals could point to the fact that the passage was contained within the Gospel of John which scholars view to be the most theologically evolved and thus the least reliable of the four Gospels and they too could argue that the passage is not proof of another Prophet to come yet alone Muhammed.
So Shamoun has room to manoeuvre if he is willing to free himself of his own bias and desire to manipulate the Scripture in order to realise this bias. Shamoun must always remember he is not an intermediary between his audience and the Bible as the audience are well capable of reading and deciding for themselves without the view of Shamoun, otherwise it stops becoming the Bible but becomes Shamoun’s handbook they are reading into.
Summary
Shamoun has no Biblical foundations for his view that “the Prophet” and the Christ is the same person. John 1: 19-21 clearly indicates that the two people are separate thus rendering Shamoun into the realms of textual acrobatics and interpolations in order to oppose the ideas presented by John 1:19-21. We also realise that there was much confusion as to who Jesus actually was and a miracle of multiplying food and feeding a multitude of people is a key factor in identifying who “the Prophet” was highlighted in John 6:14-15. We note biblical evidence (John 1:19-21) highlights that the Christ is not “the Prophet” and there is no Biblical evidence to show the two are the same despite Shamoun’s assertions.
We also see Philip appearing not to believe in Jesus as God but as a human who was “the son of Joseph” (John 1:45), this passage re-opens the Unitarian arguments. As a side note, many Muslims would state that Muhammed performed a miracle of feeding the multitude and this is a key identifying feature of “the Prophet”, thus their claims are in fact strengthened by this analysis.
The question still remains; who is “the Prophet”?
Of course the reader is left to go away and independently decide who “the Prophet. was It is not for myself, Shamoun or anybody else for that matter to decide for the reader we can merely put the facts out rather than opinion; that is what I have attempted to do in the course of this paper. I do feel Shamoun lent heavily on supposition and interpolating his own views into Biblical text but if anybody feels I have inadequately dealt with this subject or made a mistake then do contact me and let me know.
Thank you
Search for the Truth and the Truth shall set you free.
Note: All Bible references were taken from the New International Version of the Bible
Appendices
1. Link to the Muslim argument suggesting Muhammed is referred to in the Gospel of John:
And:
http://www.institutealislam.com/prophet-muhammad-in-the-bible-by-dr.-zakir-naik/
2. Link to Shamoun’s claims which I responded to in the course of this article (video entitled: Muhammad in the Bible? John 1:19-21):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xHJ7JEQOXQ&feature=channel_page
References
[1] Volume 5, Book 59, Number 428
[2] Volume 4, Book 56, Number 777
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