Question:

The Qur’an said that Jesus never called himself Ibn (son of) Allah, and that there were Christians that believed he was Abd Allah (servant of God), not Ibn Allah, like Ashab al Kahf, or Ashabal Ukhdud. Is there proof of these types of Christians?

And the Quran also says that Christians worshipped Mary, is there any proof of that?

Answer:

1) Unitarians: Unitarians are the most ancient Christian denomination and still some of its adherents exist in the UK and USA. They adhere to strict monotheism and maintain that Jesus was a great man and a prophet of God, but not God himself. The largest Unitarian denomination worldwide today is also the oldest surviving Unitarian denomination; the Unitarian Church of Transylvania (in Romania, which is in union with the Unitarian Church in Hungary).

2)  Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches pay a special homage and veneration to Mary. They refer to Mary as ‘the Mother of God’ (Theotokos). They not only believe that she is the mediatrix (a female mediator) of all graces, but they also believe in Mariolatry, a term used since the Reformation to mean the worship of Mary. Thus, recitation of the rosary has been among the most popular expressions of Marian devotion.

The internet encyclopaedia of Encarta explains the history of the divinity of Mary as follows:

“As early as the 2nd century, Christians venerated Mary by calling her Mother of God, a title that primarily stresses the divinity of Jesus. During the controversies of the 4th century concerning the divine and human natures of Jesus, the Greek title theotókos (Mother of God) came to be used for Mary in devotional and theological writing. Nestorius, patriarch of Constantinople (present-day İstanbul), contested this usage, insisting that Mary was mother of Christ, not of God. In 431, the Council of Ephesus condemned Nestorianism and solemnly affirmed that Mary is to be called theotókos, a title that has been used since that time in the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches.”

It is nearly impossible to find a Catholic or Eastern Orthodox Church wherein it is not filled with carved or molten images and/or statues of Jesus and Mary. Most of these images and statues are placed in the prominent places of the Prayer Halls of the churches for veneration and worship. The majority of the congregation will kneel, worship, venerate and pray before these images as an inherited tradition. They refer to Jesus as their God and to the Virgin Mary asthe ‘Mother of God’! Many devoted Catholics also have statues of Mary in their homes for her veneration.

The Protestants, however, who separated from the Church of Rome in the 16th century, do not believe in the divinity of Mary.

Answered by: Sheikh Mansour Leghaei

Question:

Can you please mention some Ayat from the Holy Quran which reject the claim of the deity of Jesus?

Answer:

The following are explicit statements from the Final Testament, i.e. the holy Quran; about Jesus son of Mary (may the peace and mercy of God be upon him):

1. “O people of the Scripture! Do not exceed the limits in your religion, nor say of Allah aught but the truth. The Messiah, son of Mary was (no more than) a Messenger of Allah and His Word, which He bestowed on Mary, and a spirit from Allah. So believe in Allah and His Messengers. Say not three (Trinity). Cease! It is better for you. For Allah is One God, glory be to Him above having a son. To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth.” [4:171]

2. “Verily, the likeness of Jesus before Allah is the likeness of Adam. He created him from dust, then said to him: “Be”- and he was.” [3:59]

3. “The Messiah, son of Mary, was no more than a Messenger; many were the Messengers that passed away before him. His mother was righteous. They both used to eat food. Look how We make the proofs clear to them; yet look how they are deluded away (from the truth).” [5:75]

4. “The Christians say: Messiah is the son of Allah. That is their saying with their mouths, resembling the saying of those who disbelieved aforetime.” [9:31]

5. “Surely they have disbelieved who say: God is Messiah, son of Mary. But Messiah said: O Children of Israel! Worship my Lord and your Lord.” [5:72]

6. “Such is Jesus, son of Mary. (This is) the statement of truth, about which they dispute.” [Chapter of Mary 19:34]

Answered by: Sheikh Mansour Leghaei

Question:

When and how did the dogma of the Trinity emerge?

Answer:

Nay. Historically, the original Christians of the first three centuries did not know of the Trinity.

Some early Christian sects who did exist before the Roman Catholic, such as the Ebionite and Essences in the first century, were Unitarians and knew no Trinity and did not worship Jesus. It is unanimously accepted that the Nicean Conference in 325 AD called by the order of the Roman Emperor, Constantine the Great, over a controversy about the personality of Jesus, led eventually to the acceptance of Trinity.   The Trinity dogma however, first referred to by St. Augustine (415CE), came about much later than the Council of Nicea, and was accepted as the Athanasian Creed in the fifth century.   

Trinitarian Christians Verses Unitarians

In 318 C.E. a controversy over the matter of the nature of Jesus blew up between church men from Alexandria- Arius the deacon, and Alexander his bishop. In order to safeguard the unity of his kingdom, the Emperor Constantine stepped into the fray and called for the first ecumenical council in church history in order to settle the matter once and for all.

According to Encarta Encyclopaedia, of the 1800 bishops in the Rome Empire, 318 attended the Council in 325 C.E. in Nicea (now Iznik, Turkey). The irony is that Christ’s deity was ratified despite the objections of most of the Christian bishops who had been gathered there from all over the world.  Nevertheless, the Emperor concluded the council with a faith that he dictated in the Council. The Nicean Creed according to Catholic Encyclopaedia reads:

“We believe in one God; the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible; and our Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten of the Father, that is, of the substance of the Father, God of God, light of light, true God of true God, begotten no make, of the same substance with the Father.”

Although the Creed was signed, the matter was still far from settled. Arius and the new bishop of Alexandria, a man called Athanasius, began arguing over the matter. By the end of the 4^th century, under the leadership of Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory of Nazianzus (the Cappadocian Fathers), the doctrine of the Trinity at the council of Chalcedon took substantially the form it has maintained ever since.

Since then, brutal punishments, violent persecution ,and being labeled as heretics was the only destiny of the Unitarians. All their books were burnt and by 600 A.D., they had basically ceased to exit.

Today some critical Christian theologians such as John Hick in his book ‘The Myth of God Incarnate’ find the roots of the Trinity in ancient pagan religions. Hick finds amazing similarities between the Buddhist doctrine of Trikaya (the three body doctrine) and the Trinity. Similarly, there are many similarities between the Trinity and the Hindu doctrine of Trimurti (Sanskrit: Three Forms) consisting a triad of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. It is due to these similarities that some historians assumed that Jesus must have spent some time in India during his missing years! There is however, no historical proof for this assumption. Moreover, the claim of the adaptation of a pagan doctrine by a Messenger of God i.e. Jesus (a.s), is the most irrational proposition.

Answered by: Sheikh Mansour Leghaei

Question:

What do we know about the Disciples of Jesus? Does Islam say anything about the disloyalty of the Disciples of Jesus, as found in the Bible?

Answer:

‘Disciples’ were those who chose to follow Prophet Jesus and to listen to his teachings. They are also called ‘Apostles’. According to the Bible they called him ‘Rabbi’ or ‘Teacher’. Historically we know very little about Jesus’ disciples. The Gospel of Matthew and Luke have mentioned their names (Chapter 6). The Twelve Disciples were followers of Jesus whom he had chosen to become his core group, the people he talked things over with and depended on.

Ironically however, the Bible records that one of his disciples named Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver!  Similarly, according to the Gospel of Mark prior to the so-called crucifixion of Jesus all his disciples forsook him and fled. (Mark 14:50)

Disciples in the Quran:

The disciples of Prophet Jesus are mentioned five times in the Quran and their faith has been always praised. The holy Quran states with reference to their sincerity and submission to Allah:

“Then when Jesus came to know of their (Jews) disbelief, he said: Who will be my helpers in Allah’s Cause? Al-Hawariyyun (the disciples) said: We are the helpers of Allah; we believe in Allah, and bear witness that we are Muslims.”  [3:52]

According to a narration from Imam Redha (a.s), the name ‘al-Hawariyyun’ (literally means whitening) is given to them for they used to cleanse themselves from sins and struggle in cleansing others by teaching and preaching. (al-Bahrani, al-Borhan vol. 2: p.40)

Islamic literature does not confirm the betrayal of Jesus by any of his disciples. Nay, an authentic Hadith indicates that one of his disciples, following the request of Jesus, offered himself to be killed instead (Ibid p.41).

Sheikh Mansour Leghaei

Question:

Can you briefly explain what the crucifixion of Jesus is, aswell as the atonement (according to Christianity), and why these two concepts are so important to Christianity?

Answer:

Crucifixion is an ancient method of execution, in which the victim was tied or nailed to a large wooden cross (Latin: crux) and left to hang there until dead. Thus, crucifixion does not necessarily guarantee the death of a victim. It could also be a means of severe torturing.

The mainstream Christians today strongly believe in the crucifixion of Jesus. The standard account of what historically is claimed to have happened during the crucifixion of Jesus in today’s Christianity, is based on the accounts in the four canonical gospels, although their authors are generally regarded as anonymous. In these accounts, Jesus was crucified, died on the cross, and buried outside of Jerusalem during the thirty third year of his life. Then he arose from the dead and he was raised up to heaven.

The crucifixion of Jesus is not a mere historical event in today’s Christianity. It is of fundamental importance to the theology of most contemporary Christians. As a result the cross has become the primary symbol of Christianity. ‘Atonement’; the dogma of reconciliation between God and humans by the redemptive life and death of Jesus, lies under the cross of Jesus.  To them, Jesus died on the cross so that the sins of those who believe in him can be forgiven and thus they can gain salvation. They regard the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus with the conviction that all took place ‘according to the scriptures’. (1 Cor. 15:3-5)

According to the teachings of Paul (not Prophet Jesus) without crucifixion, resurrection of Jesus becomes irrelevant and without resurrection, Christianity itself is rendered meaningless. Paul in his first letter to Corinthians claims: “But if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching amounts to nothing and your faith is futile.” (1 Cor 15:14)

Sheikh Mansour Leghaei

Question:

How do Christians usually use the Bible to prove the idea that Jesus is God, and is it possible for us to disprove this idea using the Bible? If you can provide quotes from the Bible, that would be great!

Answer:

Christians do quote various passages, mostly ambiguous, from the Bible to enforce belief in the deity of Jesus. In fact, they base the dogma of Trinity more on the Bible than anything else. To them, to understand the divine nature of God is beyond the human limited perspective and hence we can only know “what He has revealed to us about His nature through the Bible”.

First of all, you must note that logically proving the deity of Jesus from the Bible falls into the fallacy of ‘begging the question’. Begging the question or circle reasoning is a fallacy in which the premises include the claim that the conclusion is true or assume that the conclusion is true. Imagine you go for a job interview and the interviewer asks for a reference. You mention a name and if he asks how he would know if he is trustworthy, you say: Oh I vouch for him!

Christians –quoting from the Bible- claim that Jesus is the only begotten son of God. John in his Gospel says: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son…” [John 3:16]

The above quotation is one of the Biblical sources of Christians’ claim for divinity of Jesus.

Let’s read the Bible and see whether Jesus was the only begotten son of God:

1. David; a begotten son of God:

Psalms of Prophet David (or as Christians refer to him; King David) is one of the books of the Old Testament. Although the Psalms are the product of various authors, Peter and John (Acts 4:25) ascribe the second Psalm to David. In the second Psalm we read: “I will declare the decree: the Lord has said unto me, you my Son; this day have I begotten you.” [Psalms 2:7]

2. Israel; the begotten son of God:

Israel was another name for Prophet Jacob. In the book of Exodus we read: “And you shall say unto Pharaoh, thus said the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn.” [Ex. 4:22]

3. Adam was the son of God:

Luke mentioning the lineage of Jesus says: “Jesus being …the son of Joseph, the son of Heli, …which was the son of Adam, who was the son of God.” [KJV]

As you can see, according to the Bible, Jesus was not the only begotten son of God. The expression of son of God, if I were to justify it, at best would mean the one who is spiritually and passionately close to God and is chosen by Him; the Almighty. In this sense, all the Prophets are the sons of God. Any one who has studied the Bible knows that Jesus in many instances spoke in figures of speech. Then if these quotations about his `sonship` are correct, why couldn’t he have said it as a figure of speech?!

The holy Quran, however, has abandoned the usage of this expression not to leave any room for misinterpretation.

Sheikh Mansour Leghaei

Question:

I am interested to know how the Holy Quran refers to Christians in the Holy Quran? What name or names does it use?

Answer:

The names by which the disciples were known among themselves were ‘brethren’, ‘the faithful’, ‘elect’, ‘saints’ and ‘believers’.

The title ‘Christian’ for the followers of the teachings of Jesus is historically a Greek-given name not a God-given name. In Greek, the adjectival ending -ianos denoted the adherents of an individual or party. So, adherents to Christ were called Christianos which is developed in English to Christians. The name ‘Christian’ was first given by the Greeks or Romans, probably in reproach, to the followers of Jesus.

There is no record of any disciple calling another believer a Christian or of Jesus applying that designation to himself. Luke in Acts [11:19-30] writes that “the disciples were called Christians,” not that  “the disciples called themselves Christians.” According to the Acts (11:26) the title of ‘Christian’ was first used at Antioch for the disciples. When disciples under the persecution of the Jews sought refuge in Antioch which was a Greek city, they were named in reproach by pagan Greeks as ‘Christians’ meaning those who believe in the one who claimed to be the Christ. In the early stages of Christianity to be called ‘Christian’ would most probably equal execution.

Although this title initially carried some negative sense, over time Christians accepted it, as to them it would be an honour for them to be related to Christ (the Messiah; al-Maseeh in Arabic). Hence, the title was universally accepted.

On the other hand, the Jews who did not believe Jesus was the Messiah scorned the followers and the disciples of Jesus as “the sect of the Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5) meaning the followers of the one who was merely born in Nazareth.

The only God-given title for the followers of the teachings of Jesus is given by Allah in the holy Quran. The holy Quran has never referred to the followers of Jesus as Christians (Al-Maseehiyoun in Arabic) or Nazarenes.  The term used in the Quran for his followers is ‘Nasara’ meaning the helpers, the singular of which is ‘Nasrani’ meaning ‘the helper’.  Just like the term used for those believers in Madina who supported Prophet Muhammad and hence were called ‘the helpers’. The reason as to why the holy Quran is calling the adherents of Jesus ‘the Helpers’ stems from a conversation between Jesus and his disciples. According to the Quran when Jesus began his mission he asked his disciples who would be helping him in the cause of God. The holy Quran states:

“O you who believe! Be you helpers (in the Cause) of Allah as said Jesus, son of Mary, to the disciples: Who are my helpers (in the Cause) of Allah? The disciples said: We are Allah’s helpers.” [61:14]

Therefore, contrary to the name given to the followers of Jesus by the Romans or the Jews, the Quranic title for them is a God-given name and designates their devotion to Allah.

Another title used frequently in the Quran for both the Christians and the Jews, is the appellation of ‘People of the Book’ which is a very honourable title confirming that they historically belonged to the community of the faithful people who originally had a divine Scripture.

Sheikh Mansour Leghaei