If thou wert in doubt as to what We have
revealed unto thee, then ask those who have been reading the Book from before
thee.... (Surah, 10, Yunus, verse 94)
Ahmadiyya Muslim Claims
Examined in the Light of the
Bible
Rev. Andrew Abraham
**************************************************************
1. INTRODUCTION
2. HAS THE BIBLE BEEN
CHANGED?
3. IS ONLY PART OF THE
BIBLE TRUSTWORTHY?
4. IS MUHAMMAD FORETOLD IN
THE BIBLE?
DEUTERONOMY 18:14-20,
33:1-2
SONG OF SONGS 1:5, 2:7,
4:9,
ISAIAH 4:1-3, 5:26-29,
8:16, 9:6-7, 19:21-25, 62:2
DANIEL 2:34-35
HABAKKUK 3:3
MATTHEW 21:33-45,
LUKE 24:49
JOHN 1:25
5. DID THE JEWS CHANGE THE
TORAH?
6. HAS THE BIBLE BEEN
ABROGATED?
7. IS HELL NOT ETERNAL?
8. WHY DID JESUS DIE ON THE
CROSS AND ROSE AGAIN?
9. CONCLUSION
**************************************************************
1. INTRODUCTION
According to tradition
Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) is quoted as having prophesied
that his followers will be divided into 73 sects (Arabic, firac).
Every one of them would go to hell, except the one professed by him and his
companions. (Mishkat, book 1, ch vi. pt.2). 'The number has, however, far exceeded
the Prophets predictions for the sects of Islam, even exceeding in number and
variety those of the Christian religion.' (Dictionary of Islam, by T. P.
Hughes, Asia Publishing House, London, 1998, p. 567) The Ahmadiyya
sects are one of those who try to convince all the others that they are
practising Islam most accurately. In doing so they have been
declared non-Muslims by the Islamic government of
2. HAS THE BIBLE BEEN
CHANGED?
Muslims and Christians
believe in the infallibility of the original Biblical manuscripts. But
many adherents of Islam think that today's Bible has undergone substantial
changes with regard to its early manuscripts and their translated versions.
However, the Quran does not support this claim
unanimously! In fact it makes it clear that the Bible, known as the Torah
and the Gospel, was found reliable in Muhammads (p.b.u.h) time, the sixth century. To prove that the
twentieth century Bible is still authentic it only has to be compared with a
copy from the sixth century. The following verses are all taken from the Quran translated by the late Maulawi
Sher Ali, (14th edition, 1989) published under the
auspices of Hadrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad, the fourth successor of the promised Messiah.
Because of a lack of space it has not always been possible to print the whole
verse. In any case, the reader is encouraged to look up the references and
their context in either the Quran or the Bible.
All food was lawful to
the children of
And how will they make
thee their judge when they have with them the Torah, wherein is Allah's
judgement? Yet in spite of that they turn their backs...
And let the People of
the Gospel judge according to what Allah has revealed therein, and whoso judges
not by what Allah has revealed, these it is who are the rebellious...
And if they (the Jews
and the Christians) had observed the Torah and the Gospel and what has been now
sent down to them from their Lord, they would surely have eaten of good things
from above them and from under their feet...
Say, " People of
the Book, you stand on nothing until you observe the Torah and the Gospel an
what has now been sent down to you from your Lord..." (Surah
5, Al -Ma'ida, verses 44,48,67,69)
The verses above attest to
the fact that the Bible was unchanged in the time of Muhammad (p.b.u.h.). If that were not the case then surely the Jews
would not have been commanded in the present tense to "bring their book
and read from it". Neither would they and the Christians have been
told to "observe the Torah and the Gospel" and to "judge
according to what Allah has revealed therein."
Say, "then bring a
Book from Allah which is a better guide than these two Books, (Quran and Torah) that I may follow it, if you are
truthful." (Surah 28, Al-Qasas,
verse 50)
3. IS ONLY PART OF THE
BIBLE TRUSTWORTHY?
In his commentary on Surah 5, Al-Ma'ida, verse 48 the
late Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II notes that the words: "...refer to the
prophecies contained in the Torah and the Gospel about the Holy Prophet of
Islam." However, the context does not allow for such an interpretation.
Verse 43 speaks about Jews who asked Muhammad (p.b.u.h)
to judge between them (the Jews only, not between him and the Jews). The
prophet is asked that if he judges, he should judge between them with
justice. If the matter was connected with the prophecies in the Torah and the
Gospel that allegedly speak of Muhammad (p.b.u.h),
then for certain the Jews would not have asked him to judge whether that is
true or not! Naturally, they would have called for an independent third party
to give its verdict on the case. The only logical explanation is that they
wanted to test the prophet about some things that concerned their law. Jesus
was put on trial in the same way and he too told them to study their book, the
Torah (Mark
This interpretation is
further supported by the fact that the prophet of Islam is asked in verse 49 to
judge between them "...by what Allah has revealed..." This is the
same phrase that was applied in the preceding verse to the whole Gospel
but here it used about the whole Quran! The
continuation of verse 49 confirms this view: "...For each of you we
prescribed a clear spiritual law and a manifest way in secular matters..."
4. IS MUHAMMAD FORETOLD
IN THE BIBLE?
But what
about the prophecies in the Torah and the Gospel that supposedly were fulfilled
by Muhammad (p.b.u.h)? Again a closer look at the context will show
that they can not be interpreted that way. Let us look at the verses under
consideration in detail. The quotes are all taken from the N.I.V. translation of
the Bible:
DEUTERONOMY 18:14-20
The nations you will
dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you,
the Lord your God has not permitted you to do so. The Lord your God will raise
up for you a prophet like me (Moses) from among your own brothers.
You must listen to him. For this is what you asked of the Lord your God
at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said,
"Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God nor see this great fire
anymore, or we will die. The Lord said to me: "What they say is good. I
will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will
put my words in his mouth and he will tell them everything I command him.
If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name,
I myself will call him to account. But a prophet who presumes to speak
in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who
speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death."
Because Ishmael was Isaac's
half-brother, Muslims interpret the words "from among your own
brothers" to mean "from among the descendants of Ishmael. They
conclude that since Muhammad (p.b.u.h) was a
descendant of the Ishmaelites this prophecy must
speak about him. The preceding chapter shows clearly that this is not the case.
By defining the very words on which the Muslim argument is built we will see
that they refer to a brother Israelite not to a brother Ishmaelite:
Be sure to appoint over
you the king the Lord your God chooses. He must be from among your own
brothers. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not a brother
Israelite. (Deuteronomy 17:15)
Even though this verse
refers to a different incident, nevertheless the words under question are used
again. It is a normal exegetic procedure to define a phrase according to how it
is used in the close context, especially so if it is explained there. When it
comes to a choice between accepting the interpretation of men or the Bible the
latter must naturally be given preference. This interpretation is the only one
that can be accepted in the light of Deuteronomy 18:14. There Moses tells his
brothers, the Israelites, not to follow the detestable practices of the nations
in regard to having contact with the supernatural world. At that time
everybody else, including the Ishmaelites, belonged
to those nations! Therefore, if verse 15 would refer to a prophet coming
from the Ishmaelites, this surely would have been
clearly stated! The verses 20-22 (they mention the criteria for "a"
not "the" true prophet) which follow after Deuteronomy
The God of Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus.
You handed him over to be killed; this is how God fulfilled what he had
foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer. Repent,
then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out...and that he may
send the Christ, who has been appointed for you-even Jesus. He must
remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he
promised long ago through his holy prophets. For Moses said, "The Lord
your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own
people; you must listen to everything he tells you." When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you...
John
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."
If the above explained
words "...a prophet like me..." are not examined in relation to their
neighbouring verses, as explained above, they give raise to all kinds of
speculations. Some Muslims say Muhammad (p.b.u.h.)
was like Moses because, unlike Jesus, they both had a father and a mother, both
where born in a natural way, both married and had
children, etc. What they fail to conclude is that many prophets can be
paralleled to Moses in some things but not in others. One could just as well
say Jesus was the promised prophet because, like Moses but unlike Muhammad (p.b.u.h.), he was saved from death as a baby (Exodus
1:17, 2:2-10, Matthew 2:16), transfigured (Exodus 34:29, Matthew 187:1-7),
and preached about sacrifice being the way to get forgiveness of sins
(Leviticus 4, Matthew 26:28, Hebrews 9:22). Jesus called himself a Jewish
prophet (Luke 4:16-24); he too spoke in God's name (John 17:8) and performed
many miraculous signs (See also Luke 8:48-55) In contrast to him, there is
no sign recorded of Muhammad (p.b.u.h) in the Holy Quran that would be accepted as such by his enemies. (See Surah 13, Al-Ra'd, verses 28,32 see also 17,91-97; 29,51-53)
The phrase, "...I will
put my words in his mouth..." (verse 18), is used
when other prophets are mentioned, such as Jeremiah (1:9) or Balaam (Numbers
-His general name "Elohim" (Hebrew) occurs 2555 times in the Bible. It is
translated "God" in English and "Allah" in Arabic.
-His descriptive name
"Adonai" (Hebrew) is used 340 times and is
translated "Lord" in English and "Rabb"
in Arabic.
-His specific, personal
name is "Yahweh" or "Jehovah", depending on which
transliteration is used for "YHWH" (Hebrew). It's
occurrence is with 6823 times by far the most. The literal English rendering is
"I am". When Jesus told the Jews that he was the great "I
am" the Jews wanted to stone him for blasphemy (John
DEUTERONOMY 33:1-2
This is the blessing
that Moses the man of God pronounced on the Israelites before his death. He said:
"The Lord came from Sinai and dawned over them from Seir,
he shone forth from
Bashir Ahmad claims that verse two speaks
about three different manifestations of God's glory. The first one took place
on
SONG OF SONGS 1:5
Dark am I, but lovely, o
daughters of
The Ahmadiyyan
attempts to find predictions about the prophet of Islam in the book Song of
Solomon would be amusing if the matter was not so serious! Many interpretations
have been given in regard to this book. Nevertheless, Bashir
Ahmad is absolutely sure that it "clearly applies to the Holy Prophet of
Islam." What can be said for certain is that in ancient
SONG OF SONGS 2:7
Do not arouse or awaken
love until it so desires.
Here the Israelites are
allegedly told "not to meddle with the Promised Prophet." But verses
six, "His left arm is under my head..." and eight, "Look
here he comes..." make it again clear that verse seven is spoken
by the female beloved! In any case his enemies did not arouse Muhammad's
love, as professedly mentioned in the verse, but his hate!
SONG OF SONGS 4:9
You have stolen my
heart, my sister, my bride...
This time the argument is
built on the phrase "my sister and bride". The Ahmadiyyas
say, "Sister indicates that the promised prophet would be an Ismaelite, one of the brethren of the Israelites; and
"spouse" indicates that the message of the promised prophet will not
be confined to his own people, as were the messages of all the Israelite
prophets."
The truth is that we find
an inspired conversation between the lover (male, see
SONG OF SONGS 5:16
His mouth is sweetness
itself; he is altogether lovely. This is my lover; this is my friend...
Until now Bashir Ahmad has interpreted the female beloved to be
Muhammad (p.b.u.h.). This time he wants to make us
believe that the male lover too is a picture of Muhammad because the Hebrew
word for "altogether lovely" is "Mahammaddim".
The plural ending "im", also known as the
royal plural, is allegedly given to pay the respect that is due to him. Dr.
Alex Luc, an eminent Hebrew scholar at the well known Columbia Biblical
Seminary in U.S.A has this to say about the argument:
"The word under
consideration is plural. So is the word 'sweetness' in that verse. The word is
not to be labelled as royal plural like 'elohim
(God); rather, it is common for abstract nouns or adjectives to be in a Hebrew
plural form, e.g., 'adulterous' in Hosea 1:2 is plural, so is a 'faithful' man
in Proverbs 28:20 and 'understanding' in Isaiah 27:11. Even allowing the way
the Muslims are turning a non-prophetic text into a prophetic one, they will
face the great challenge to see the Hebrew word Mahammaddiim
as Muhammad, a term usually used in a negative context, representing
something destroyed and punished because of God's wrath on his people."
(See Isaiah 64:11; Hosea 9:16; Lamentations 2:4)
It can not be said that
the same word used in two different languages also has the same meaning. The word "bank" for
example has different significations in English. However none of them can be
compared to one of the meanings given in the German language. There the word
"bank" can also be used to describe a bench to sit upon. Usually only
what comes before or after a word will determine what it is intended to
communicate. Song of Songs 5:10-16 describes the man's beauty in poetic terms.
The words "altogether lovely" in verse 16 are used to summarize
verses 10-15. He who still thinks verse 16 applies to Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) will have to explain verse one of the same
chapter. It refers to the one who is called "altogether lovely" in
verse 16 and describes him as someone who has drunk wine! This, according to
Islam, is considered to be a great sin!
ISAIAH 4:1-3, 9:6-7,
In order to make Isaiah's
prophecies fit Muhammad (p.b.u.h.), Bashir Ahmad said, "The use in them of such names as
ISAIAH 5:26-29
He lifts up a banner for
the distant nations...Here they come...Their arrows are sharp...they seize
their prey.
In chapter five, verse 26
God is described as one who "lifts up a banner for the distant
nations" to come and to be used as a means of punishment for the
disobedient Israelites (verse 13). This prophecy was fulfilled in
ISAIAH 8:16
Bind up the testimony
and seal up the law among my disciples.
The context makes it clear
that the word "law" can also mean "teaching" or
"instruction". The legal document containing Isaiah's teaching about
Assyria's invasion was tied and sealed and then given to the prophet's
followers, who were to preserve it until the time of its fulfillment,
when God would authenticate it by the events of history (see Jeremiah
32:12-14,44)." Therefore, Bashir Ahmad is wrong
in saying that verse 16 means "the Mosaic Law would become superseded and
a new Law (the Quran) would become established in its
place."
HABAKKUK 3:3
God came from Teman, the Holy One from
B. Ahmad notes: "The
Holy One to appear from the
MATTHEW 21:33-45
Listen to another
parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard... Then he rented the
vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. When the harvest time
approached, he sent his servant to the tenants to collect his fruit. The tenants
seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third...Last
of all, he sent his son to them. "They will respect my son," he
said. But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, "This is
the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance." So they
took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore,
when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?
"He will bring those wretches to a wretched end," they replied,
"and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his
share of the crop at harvest time." Jesus said to them, "Have you
never read in the Scriptures: 'The stone the builders rejected has become
the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvellous in our eyes?'
Therefore I tell you that the
In his interpretation of
this parable Bashir Ahmad admits that Jesus was
killed! Son means Jesus who appeared after a long line of Prophets. The son was
dishonoured and slain by the husbandmen." What he fails to realize is that Jesus is
called the last after a long line of Prophets. Therefore, when Jesus quoted the
Scripture about the stone which the builders rejected that has become the
capstone, he can not refer to Muhammad (p.b.u.h.).
He rather explains the meaning of the parable and identifies himself to be the
"stone", spoken of in the parable as "the son" (see
Acts
LUKE 24:49
"I am going to send
you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been
clothed with power from on high."
Bashir Ahmad comments on this verse
"...it appears that after Jesus there was to be another. And who is he
except the Holy Prophet?" In reality Jesus is referring to the coming of
the Holy Spirit upon them. This was promised by the Father in Joel 2:28-29 and
fulfilled in Acts 2:4. A look at the parallel passage in Acts 1:4-5 confirms
this view:
...he gave them this
command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father
promised, which you have heard me speak about...in a few days you will be
baptised with the Holy Spirit."
They left
JOHN 1:25
..." you are not
the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?"
The second head of the Ahmadiyya community, Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmood Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih II (hereafter referred to as Bashir
Ahmad) believes this verse to be a sign that Jesus is not the prophet who was
to come since it speaks about three different persons. However, John
5. DID THE JEWS CHANGE
THE TORAH?
History shows that whenever
God revealed Himself, most of his people fell into disobedience after a period
of time. So it was with the Jews. In spite of this sad fact there were always,
up to this very day, faithful Jews who remain true to the book God gave them:
And of the people of
Moses there is a party that exhorts people to truth and does justice therewith.
(Surah 7, Al-A'raf, verse
160)
God's word is truth and
good Jews surely would never have changed the meaning or even the words of
their Holy Book! Let us now examine what bad Jews did to the Torah:
And, surely, among them
is a section who twist their tongues while
reciting the Book: that you may think it to be part of the Book, while it
is not part of the Book. And they say "It is from Allah"; while it is
not from Allah; and they utter a lie against Allah knowingly. (Surah 3, Al'Imran, verse 79)
In the verse quoted above
the Jews are reading parts of their Book wrongly while the written words
remain unchanged.
So, because of their
breaking their covenant, We have cursed them, and have
hardened their hearts. They pervert the words from their proper places and have
forgotten a good part of that with which they were exhorted. And thou wilt not
cease to discover treachery on their part, except in a few of them. So
pardon them and turn away from them. Surely, Allah loves those who do good. (Surah 5, Al-Ma'ida, verse 14)
Bashir Ahmad comments, "The words, 'They pervert the words from their proper places, may mean:
(1) they tamper with the text of the Book; or (2) they distort the true meaning
of the text." The second possibility, that only the meaning was distorted,
not the text itself, will have to be given preference in the light of the wider
context which clearly shows that:
-The unchanged Torah was
with the Jews of Muhammad's (p.b.u.h) time. (Surah
5, Al-Ma'ida, verses 44,67)
-It was referred to by
the Prophet in matters of dispute. (Surah 3, Al'Imran, verse 94). In Surah 2,
Al-Baqara, verse 76, Surah
4, Al-Nisa, verse 47, and Surah
5, Al Ma'ida, verse 42, the Jews are accused of
changing what Muhammmad (p.b.u.h)
said. After checking all these references it becomes clear that the Torah
remained unchanged!
6. HAS THE BIBLE BEEN
ABROGATED?
Most of the Islamic
scholars agree that either the Quran abrogates
certain revelations within the Quran only, or, in addition to that also parts of the Sunna. Other scholars hold the view that the Sunna can abrogate the Quran as
well as the Sunna. Only a few, among them the Ahmadiyyas, teach that the Quran
actually abolishes the Bible. This minority is wrong for two main reasons:
In Surah
5, Al-Ma'ida, verse 49 the Quran
is spoken of as "fulfilling that which was revealed before it in the
Book, and as a guardian over it." The Arabic meaning of the word
"guardian" (Muhaimin) can also be rendered
"one who safeguards", "watches over", "preserves"
and "upholds". This clearly contradicts the view that the revelations
given to the prophet of Islam allegedly abrogated the Bible! If this was the
case there would be no possibility to fulfil the Torah and the Gospel or even
to be a guardian over them in such a determined way. Christianity has got
its roots firmly established in the Jewish teachings of the Old Testament and
agrees in principal with the following areas: God reveals his plans for the
redemption of the whole world in the Jewish Scriptures also known as Torah and Zabur by Muslims. There we learn that a sovereign Creator
chooses people, families, tribes, and eventually the Jewish nation out of which
the Messiah was to come, to bless the whole world. In no case the selection
took place according to their goodness alone, but most importantly because they
respond to God's love by faith, a simple trust that what he said he would do.
Consider Abraham:
"He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." (quote from Gen 15:6) Understand, then, that those who
believe are children of Abraham. The Scripture foresaw that God would justify
the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham:
"All nations will be blessed through you." (quote
from Genesis 12:3,
The law was not given to
the Jews so that they could become God's chosen people by keeping its
commandments. Rather it was to enable them to express their gratitude towards
God for the fact that they were already chosen. The law taught them
about God's perfect and holy standards and at the same time created an awareness
of their own sinfulness. The moral part of it, mainly expressed in the
10 commandments of Exodus, chapter 20, kept them away from descending into the
detestable practices of the surrounding nations. The ceremonial part of the
law, the regulations regarding sacrifices, offerings, washings and food also
separated the Jews from all the other nations of idol worshippers. Most
importantly it reminded them that salvation was not based firstly on what human
beings do but on God's ultimate provision in terms of the animals to be
sacrificed in a unique, divinely ordained way. The writings of the prophets
also contained in the Old Testament make it clear that the ceremonial law
was only a shadow (Hebrews 9:1-10) of things to come:
You have no desire for
an offering or I would give it; you have no delight in burned offerings. The
offerings of God are a broken spirit; a broken and sorrowing heart, O God, you
will not put from you. (Psalms 51:16-17, see also 1 Samuel 15:22, Hosea 6:6, Isa,
The prophet Isaiah
announced that sacrifices and offerings for sins pointed to the coming Messiah,
the redeemer.
'Surely he took up our
infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was
upon him, and by his wounds we are healed..... For he was cut off from the
land of the living....He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the
rich in his death, though he had done no violence,...
After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light [of life] and be
satisfied;...' (excerpts from
Isaiah 53:4-11)
Once the Messiah had come, the
ceremonial law which had granted exclusive access to God for the Jewish
nation only would become fulfilled in him. From that time onwards the way to
the temple, symbolizing God's presence, would be granted to all nations by
faith.
'This is what Isaiah son
of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem: In the
last days the mountain of the LORD'S temple will be established as chief among
the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will
stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to
the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us
his ways, so that we may walk in his paths." The law will go out from
The identity of the Messiah
(Hebrew 'anointed one', Greek 'Christ') is the only area of disagreement
between the two faiths. While the Jews are still waiting for the one who
according to the Bible would deliver
As for the moral
aspect of the law, Jesus explained the full meaning of it. (see Matthew 5-7) These perfect commandments are still valid,
but again only as a means to show gratitude that Jesus saves from sins, not to
gain forgiveness. Those decrees can only truly be observed through the help and
forgiveness of him who ultimately fulfilled every aspect of them.
In Surah
2, Al-Baqara, verse 107 the principle of abrogation
is explained:
For whatever sign that
is abrogated or caused to be forgotten something better or the like thereof is
brought. If this verse would refer to the abrogation of the Gospel through the Quran it would mean that the teaching of the former book
would be inferior or at least similar to the latter one.
As seen above, the essence
of Christianity consists of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. (see also 1 Corinthians 15:14) Through faith in His work the
assurance of forgiveness of sin, of eternal life in God's presence through
grace (God's undeserved favour) is available to everyone! He who puts his faith
into practice by obeying what the Gospel says will benefit from all these
blessings. Surely this wonderful teaching can not be called inferior or
similar to the doctrines of the Quran! There we
read about how people may get forgiveness from God through their good works
and, if He is willing, by His mercy.
In Surah
58, Al-Mujadilah, verse 13, the believers are
commanded to give alms before a private consultation with the Messenger.
In verse 14 they are told that it is no longer necessary. To say, like Bashir Ahmad does, that the commandment was "not
obligatory but optional..." takes away the very meaning of a command of
God! It is an order which must be obeyed otherwise it turns into a
contradiction. In Surah 33, Al-Ahzab, verses 51-52 Muhammad (p.b.u.h.)
is allowed to marry and divorce an unlimited number of women. In verse
53 he is prohibited to continue to do so. In Surah
73, Al-Muzzammil, verses 3-5, the prophet of Islam is
commanded to spend about half of the night in prayer and reading of the Quran. In verse 21 of the same Surah
this is changed into what is easy for him and those who followed his
example.
7. IS HELL NOT ETERNAL?
Ahmadiyya Muslims are told to believe that
everybody will have to spend some time in hell in order to receive the
punishment for his sins. Once the sinner has been disciplined he will be
released from his misery. Even he who has never done anything good will
eventually be freed from his torment because God as the absolute Master
will show mercy to him. Inspite of the fact that the
latter point stands in contradiction to Surah 99, Al Zilzal, verse 9, which says,
And whose does an atom's
weight of evil will also see it.
Ahmadiyyas insist that there is no need for
the death of Jesus on the cross. The whole argument rests on the conviction
that hell is not eternal. It is, however, in sharp contrast to verses in the Quran which speak about hell and use words like, "lasting"
(Surah 9, Tauba, verse 68),
"final abode" (Surah 57, Al-Hadid, verse 16) "leave the wrong-doers
therein" (Surah 19, Maryam,
verse 73), "permanent abode" (Surah
40, Al Mu-min, verses 40-42), "they shall
have no helpers" (Surah 3, Al'Imran, 92).
The Hadith
too confirms this terrible tragedy:
"...hellfire is black
and dark and never has any light."
"...God says, 'They
who must dwell for ever in hellfire, will have the boiling water given
them to drink which shall burst their bowels..."
"It is agreed amongst
all orthodox Muslims that all unbelievers, without exception, will be consigned
to the fire for ever, and that they will never be free from torment."
In contrary, Ahmadiyyas believe that punishment in hell is only
temporary for remedial purposes and can even be dispensed with altogether if it
will not damage the character and productivity of man. While the latter may
be possible in individual relationships it is an impossible way of action when
many people are involved or when the one who punishes is in some official
position. In such he can not be merciful if he wants to remain just.
If, for example, a teacher in school is lax with one child, how will it affect
the rest of the class? Or let us think about the confusing implications it
would have to look at punishment as a reformatory process only that intended to
make the sufferer a better person. If even the greatest sin were immediately succeeded
by hearty repentance, there would be no mercy of God necessary in withholding
punishment; it could simply not justly be inflicted where reformation had been
already produced by other influences. There are also cases in which repentance
is less likely to be awakened by inflicting pain through punishment then by
conferring new joy and honour. In these cases the lightest penalty would be
unjust, and justice would require that the life of the sinner should be made
brighter and happier. By looking at these examples which applied the theory
that rests the justice of punishment mainly on its reformatory power, it can
easily be seen that it leads to all kinds of grotesque consequences. (For more
details see, The Atonement, by Dale, London Congregational Union of England and
Wales, 1894, pages 380-381)
The Islamic view of
punishment is self-contradictory in that it is rendered unjust. If people are
not punished first of all because they deserve it they are treated outrageously
because suffering is inflicted on them for the sake of deterrence or
improvement only. To say that they deserve it is admitting the Christian claim
of retribution, a deserved punishment for rebellion against God. The
reformatory aspect (the belief that chastisement will make the sinner better)
which is ascribed to God's punishment in Islam is further questioned by
statistics that show clearly how most ex-prisoners committed offences again
once they were released. While it is true to a certain extent that crime
figures fall if the punishment is harder and more frequent, the apparent
success comes at a high cost. The threat of punishment produces hypocrites, in
that people will obey the letter of the law but their hearts are not won for
God nor for their fellow human beings. Selfishness will
still prevail in subtle ways that prevent true, lasting peace and sincere love.
Real change in people usually occurs because they are loved and appreciated not
because they are punished. The three 'R's in bringing up children hold still
true: Rules without Relationship leads to Rebellion.
In spite of these sobering
facts Muslims hope to improve their old nature which is inclined to do bad
naturally into a nature that becomes inclined to do good.
They try to achieve this lofty goal through teaching, education, the passing on
of knowledge and through punishment. To use an example they try to change a
bicycle into a space rocket. This, of course, is an
impossibility since a bicycle naturally is made to ride on the ground
and a space rocket is designed to fly into space.
The solution found in
the teaching of the Bible is not to improve the old nature but to get a new
nature that is inclined to do good through faith in
Jesus. Salvation is
entirely a gift of God.
"But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life." (Romans 5:8-10, see also Ephesians 2:4-5)
The love of Allah in the
Quran is conditional on man's behaviour and is
therefore inferior to the love of parents who love their children without any
condition. They do
however hate the way their sons and daughters often disobey them. Out of
unconditional love for their rebellious children parents have to punish them. A
difference is made between loving them as persons but
disapproving of what they sometimes do. This is how the love of God is
portrayed in the Bible, of course in a much more perfect way then parents could
ever be capable of. Those who neglect such a great salvation, refusing to admit
guilt, also have to accept no forgiveness. Such people are characterised by
their rejection of everything that is not simply themselves. Sadly speaking,
God grants them their ultimate wish by sending them to hell. There they will
suffer everlasting punishment, destruction and exclusion. These ferocious
experiences suggest something unspeakably horrible. Jesus talks more about them
than anybody else in the Bible. (Mat 5:21-22, 27-30, 23:15,33, 10:28, 25:41,46,
7:23, 8:11-12, 22:13, 25:30, 13:30, 40-43, 49-50, 18:6-9, 24:51) Destruction
means the transformation of the destroyed into something else. If we burn a log
we get gases, heat and ashes. Annihilation, life that ceases to exist, is not
possible. If that is the case, must there not be a state of having been a human
soul? Hell was not made for man. To enter it is to be banished from humanity.
Is it not occupied by people but by the conscious 'remains' of them? What will
happen to those who have never heard of him? God is just and good. He will deal
with them according to his perfect attributes. What about the apparent
disproportion of eternal damnation and transitory sin? Rather than a
prolongation of time should we think of eternity as line? That would be a good
image, because the parts of time are successive and no two of them can
co-exist. There is no width in time, only length. Consequently, do we have to
think of eternity as a plane or even a solid? Thus the whole reality of dammed
human beings would be represented by solid figures. Once done with life would
they be living with its results forever in that sense? Why don't they get a
second chance after their death? Teachers only know too well that it is really
useless to send pupils in for certain examinations again. Finality must come
some time also regarding our relationship with Jesus. We have to admit that our
knowledge is greater about heaven than hell. Heaven is the home of humanity and
therefore contains all that is implied in a glorified human life. In most ways
hell is not parallel to heaven. We know only with utmost certainty that hell
will be the eternal dwelling place of those who rebelled against God. It will
be inhabited by those who rejected Jesus and his work on the cross. In the long
run the answer to all those who don't accept the doctrine of hell is itself a
question: What do you want God to do? To wipe out humanity's past sins and to
give everyone an opportunity of a fresh start? But he has done so at the cross!
Sadly, many refuse to be forgiven. Do you want God to leave them alone? Alas, I
am afraid that is what he does.
8. WHY DID JESUS DIE ON
THE CROSS AND RISE AGAIN?
Why does God not simply
forgive man when he committed sin? This is probably the most important question
of all. If we can understand why Jesus had to die, it will be easier for us to
believe that He did so. There are two main reasons for his death on the cross:
A) To restore God's
honour
The Old Testament, known as
the Torah by Muslims, tells the wonderful story of how God created Adam and Eve
and later the Israelites to be his people. We learn how he loved them like a
father loves his children. Time and time again, however, we read with great
sadness how his chosen ones break his commandments, how they become guilty of
lawlessness. Even more disturbing is the fact that their rebellion is only a
fruit of a conscious rejection of the Almighty God. His own people spit in his
face and bring shame upon him before the very nations they were supposed
to be witnessing of his honour and glory. To make matters even worse, they
were not ashamed of themselves:
'Therefore the showers have
been withheld, and no spring rains have fallen. Yet you have the brazen look of
a prostitute; you refuse to blush with shame. Have you not just called
to me (God): 'My Father, my friend from my youth, will you always be angry? Will your wrath continue for ever?' This is how
you talk, but you do all the evil you can.' (Jeremiah 3:3-5)
The people of old did as
they pleased because they had lost a sense of shame. While their
mechanical, outward ritual acts may still have been in place they were not
concerned about God's honour at all. Repentance, the turning round from
one's evil ways, was later expressed in terms of recognition of shame and
disgrace. (Jer. 31:19) Likewise, our disloyalty to
God, our resistance against his work among us is known and is
exceedingly shameful. We too deserve to be punished ever so severely. Since
God is pure, completely removed from all evil, man's sin has cut off,
effectively killed, the relationship between the two. The warning given to Adam
and Eve became a frightening reality:
And the LORD God commanded
the man, 'You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat
from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will
surely die.' (Gen 2:16-17)
'For the wages of sin is
death,...'(Rom
Only through death God's
honour will be restored. Consequently God introduced an elaborate sacrificial system to the
Israelites through Moses. Shame could be removed by getting forgiveness for
sins, but only if an animal would die in their place.
'...without the
shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.' (Heb 9:22)
This all important truth is
also reflected in 'Qisas' the Islamic law of retaliation.
(Surah 2, Al Baqarah,
verses 178-179) It consists in doing to the person who has committed a crime
the very same thing they have done. The life of someone who is wilfully killed
demands the murderer's life in retaliation. However, the next of kin can accept
a financial compensation instead. According to Surah
5, Al Maida, verse 45, retaliation for inflicted wounds is also necessary. A nose for a nose and so on. If a member of the body which
is to be cut off in revenge is defective, a compensation
will be accepted.
From God's perfect
perspective animal and all other sacrifices are defective. They can not take
away sins but were only serving as a cover and a shadow of Jesus, the
Messiah, the perfect sacrifice to come (Heb 10:1-18). He, being without sin,
by taking our shame upon himself through his death on the cross, restored
the honour of God in a most profound and just way:
'Moreover, the Father
judges no-one, but has entrusted all judgement to the Son, that all may
honour the Son just as they honour the Father. He who does not honour
the Son does not honour the Father, who sent him. I (Jesus) tell you the
truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life
and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.' (John
5:22-24)
'Your attitude should be
the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not
consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself
nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became
obedient to death - even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him
to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at
the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the
earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of
God the Father.' (Phil 2:5-11)
God raised Jesus from the
dead confirming his authority, loyalty blessedness and blamelessness. Those
who deny the cross refuse to accept God's generosity, his blessing. They
dishonour the giver.
B) To meet the
demands of God's justice and love
The Bible (Leviticus
According to the son of
the founder of the movement it is fitting to define God's attributes in human
terms. He says: "Unless we are convinced that the attributes of God
manifest themselves in a manner which excludes all possibility of chance or
coincidence, how can we believe that those attributes exist at all? This doubt is resolved in Islam
alone, for it constantly produces men who are manifestations of the attributes
of God..."
Sin has to be treated
seriously because God is just (Deuteronomy 32:4, Surah
95, Al-Tin, verse 9). He punishes every wrong doer and awards the one who does
right. However, God will not judge according to our good or bad works alone
(Romans
That is why God revealed
Himself in Jesus and died on the cross for our sins. In Jesus God met the
requirements of His justice and of His love! After paying the penalty for
sin through His death, Jesus rose again. Consequently the death and
resurrection of Jesus are of the utmost importance for Christians! The
following illustration will help to better understand this profound matter:
There was once a king who
possessed a huge kingdom over which he also ruled as a just judge. He wrote
down laws which had to be kept by everyone so that order and justice would be
maintained. One day his very own son, whom he loved so dearly, committed a
terrible crime. The law made it very clear that a perpetrator, such as his
child had become would have to face a fine of £ 100,000,000,000. The
king's son was not able to pay that large amount of money. However, the just
judge could not change the law simply because the sinner was his own son, otherwise he would not have been impartial anymore. He
decided that his child too was guilty, but when he pronounced the judgement,
out of love, he offered to pay the fine on behalf of his son. In that way he
could meet the demands of his justice but also of his love for the disobedient
child. The son sorrowfully repented of his crime and humbly accepted his
father's offer. This incident changed him so completely that he decided to love
and serve his father forever. By doing this he could certainly never pay back
the £100,000,000,000. No, he changed his way of life to express his great
thankfulness towards his just and loving father.
The king in the illustration
symbolises God, the kingdom is the world. The laws are the Holy Scriptures, the
king's son is all mankind and the terrible crime committed by him is sin. The
sum of £100,000,000,000 stands for the punishment of sin, which is a invincible separation from the Holy God. The king who took
his son's place and paid the fine on behalf of him illustrates what God has
done for all mankind in Jesus. He paid the punishment for sin by dying on our
behalf at the cross. Finally, the complete change that took place in the life
of the son is a picture of the new life of a Christian. By faith, through a
prayer of forgiveness he accepts what Jesus Christ had done for him. He
believes that Jesus took upon him the punishment for men's sin. Only out of
thankfulness he starts to love and serve God, not because he thinks he could
ever earn a place in heaven by doing good. Whatever the newly born Christian now does will be motivated by
love for the One who saved him from a terrible punishment.
A Muslim enquirer recently
asked: 'The Bible states that God sacrificed his Son, but yet we also read that
Jesus was resurrected back to life and is sitting on the right hand of God.
When you sacrifice something, you do not take it back 3 days latter, is this
not a contradiction?'
The reason why Jesus the
perfect sacrifice was raised to live again on the third day is found in the
word 'perfect.' Animal sacrifices were imperfect, they just pointed to the
perfect one. That is the reason why they had to be offered again and again.
That is also the reason why they were not raised to life again. However, Christ
being the perfect, sinless sacrifice only had to die once. Since he paid the
punishment for sin, namely death by his own death, the latter no longer became
a reality! That is precisely why God raised Jesus to live again. This profound
truth is expressed in 1 Corinthians 15:54-57:
'When the perishable has
been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the
saying that is written will come true: 'Death has been swallowed up in
victory.' 'Where, O death, is your victory? Where,
O death, is your sting?' The sting of death is sin,
and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God!
He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.'
Jesus defeats the death that
came as a result of sin! He as the firstfruit has
been raised to life therefore. Those who believe in his perfect sacrifice
will follow his example once they die physically. The following verses, again
quoted from 1 Corinthians 15 confirm this good news:
'But Christ has indeed
been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those
who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man,
the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam
all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.' (Verses 20-22)
Here are some more verses
that speak about the same truth:
'Jesus was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.' (Romans 4:25)
'For we know that since
Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has
mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the
life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count
yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let
sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer
the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer
yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer
the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall
not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. What
then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!
Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves,
you are slaves to the one whom you obey - whether you are slaves to sin, which
leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? (Romans
6:9-16)
Wow! What a message! That
Christ was raised to life again after he died sacrificially for us is not a
contradiction. Since death for him was no more, there is nothing that could be
a contradiction to his being raised to life!
The destiny for us who are
living in the time of the New Testament is dependent on our relationship to
Jesus. The New Testament makes it clear that salvation is by faith through
Christ alone:
'That in the time to
come he might make clear the full wealth of his grace in his mercy to us in
Christ Jesus: Because by grace you have salvation through faith; and that not
of yourselves: it is given by God: Not by works, so that no man may take glory
to himself. For by his act we were given existence in Christ Jesus to do
those good works which God before made ready for us so that we might do them.'
(Ephesians 2:7-10)
'Being conscious that a
man does not get righteousness by the works of the law, but through faith in
Jesus Christ, we had faith in Christ Jesus, so that we might get
righteousness (right standing
before God) by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the law:
because by the works of the law will no flesh get righteousness.' (Galatians
2:16)
Salvation by faith in
Jesus is believing with the intellect
that the Bible is right about our sinful condition, about who Jesus is and
about what he did on the cross for us. Passages that speak about judgement
according to works have to be read in the light of what true faith means. This
is confirmed when their immediate context is considered. (e.g. Joh 5:28-29,
compare with verses 23-24, Mat
1.
Out of thankfulness followers of Jesus do what he
tells them: To love God and man. This is the essence and test of true
obedience. They desire to follow the moral law set out in the Old Testament
and summarized in what is known as ‘the 10 commandments.’ (Exo
20:1-17)
2.
Genuine faith in Jesus produces a desire to become
more like him, to do what is right and just.
3.
Saving faith creates the awareness that this
new obedience can only come through faith in Christ. It does not come
from focusing on the law, the desperate attempt to meet its demands. Instead it
comes from continually fixing one’s eyes on Jesus and his work, by
remaining connected to him through being in his presence with one’s
thoughts.
4.
Lastly, Biblical faith generates a constant
abiding in and reliance on Jesus by faith. In this way only the Holy
Spirit of God supplies the power for a changed life and lasting fruit. (Rom
9. CONCLUSION
Having examined the
Ahmadiyyan claims one by one it has become clear that the Bible has neither
been changed nor abrogated. Moreover, Muhammad is not foretold as a Prophet of
God in its pages. Jesus is indeed the only way to heaven and we can agree with
great confidence with the hymn writer who penned the words: "My hope is
built on nothing less than Jesus and his righteousness."
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Bibliography:
"Christians
ask Muslims", by Gerhard Nehls, 1983, Life
Challenge, Southafrica. "Islam,
Beliefs and Teachings", by Ghulam Sarwar, 1984, Muslim Educational Trust,