The Unity Of God

There are many reasons to believe that many of the other religious scriptures (other than the Qur’an) do contain within their pages truths originating from the one and only true God. To a Muslim, the great prophets (like Abraham, Moses, and Jesus) in Christianity and Judaism, are of course true prophets of Allah mentioned in the Qur’an. In Islam, these religions too are sometimes respectfully referred to as “religions from the sky”. Further to the 25 God’s Messengers (Rasul) mentioned by name, the Qur’an also made reference to the fact that there had been great many prophets (Nabi) whose names are not mentioned. So, Muslim scholars are always open to the possibility that God’s truths could well have found their way into numerous scriptures of religions other than Islam, Christianity and Judaism.

Such being the case, it should not be at all surprising to a Muslim that the idea of Unity of God might well be found in many religious scriptures of the world. But is that really the case? Well, let us examine scriptures of some of the world’s major (other than Islam) religions :

Judaism

As exclaimed by Moses (pbuh): “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” Deuteronomy 6:4.

“I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from Me there is no God.”

Isaiah 45:5.

“You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.”

Exodus 20:3-5

Christianity

Jesus Christ (pbuh) said the following in the Bible:

“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”

John 17:3

“How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?”

John 5:44

“The most important commandments,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, is one Lord’”

Mark 12:29

As described by Paul in his Letter to Timothy:

“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”

1 Timothy 1:17

Hinduism

“Ekam evadvitiyam“

(He (God) is One only without a second.)

Chandogya Upanishad 6:2:1

Meaning in English: “Sages (learned Priests) call one God by many names.“

Rigveda 1:164:46

“Ma cid anyad vi sansata sakhayo ma rishanyata“

(O friends, do not worship anybody but Him, the Divine One. Praise Him alone.)

Rigveda 8:1:1

“Ekam Brahm, dvitiya naste neh na naste kinchan“

(There is only one God, not the second; not at all, not at all, not in the least bit.)

Brahma Sutra of Hinduism

Sikhism

“Ek Onkar, Sat Naam, Karta Purakh, Nirbhau Nirvair, Akal Murat, Ajuni, Saibham, Gurprasad”

(There exists but one God, who is called The True, The Creator, Free from fear and hate, Immortal, Not begotten, Self-Existent, Great and Compassionate.)

Granth Sahib, Mulmantra Pg.1

Meaning in English: “There is only the One Supreme Lord God; there is no other at all.”

Granth Sahib, Pg. 45

Meaning in English: “God is merciful and infinite. The One and Only is all-pervading.”

Granth Sahib, Pg. 710

Clearly, the above verses from religious scriptures of Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism, without a doubt, affirmed the truth of the unity of God in the strongest of terms. It is very important to also note that, like the relevant verses of the Qur’an, many of the above verses are in the form of a statement that a father would use to remind his child not to fall for something dangerous, knowing fully well the child might just still fall for it! The child for example, might later fall for drugs taking, assuring his father: don’t worry dad, I only take it because it helps me, trust me!

So, with such amazing similarity on the concept of ‘Unity of God’ between all the above mentioned major world’s religions, what then seems to be the difference between them? From a Muslim’s point of view, the difference is in the ‘implementation’ of the concept in one’s daily ‘religious life’ and in fact also ‘normal life’. It could be that a certain scripture may state a certain principle ‘from the sky’, but then falls short in defining the daily life (including religious life) consequents of such principle. Worse still, things become ‘neutralised’ when other parts of the same scripture state principles in direct contradiction to the one ‘from the sky’.

Muslims also believe the Qur’an to be the only surviving verbatim (word for word) Word of God, no more no less words. As such, there is no vagueness or contradiction in it, especially with regard to important matters of basic belief in God. In Islam, the concept of ‘Unity of God’ is very basic and central to the belief in God, to the point, getting it even ‘very slightly wrong’ would render one’s ‘belief’ or ‘faith’ in God and religion, impotent, and in fact almost completely meaningless. Understandably so, for what use is submission and worship when it is directed to the wrong god? The great importance of the doctrine of the Unity of God in Islam is well reflected in the fact that in addition to being a constant reminder throughout the Qur’an, a whole chapter of the Qur’an is dedicated to it – an extremely brief (mere four short verses!) surah (chapter) number 112, also known as Al-Ikhlas, meaning ‘Sincerity or Purity’:

Say: He is Allah, the One and only. Allah, the Eternal, Absolute. He begets not, nor is He begotten. And there is none like unto Him.

To summarise, in Islam, any and all worships must be directed to Allah alone, without any ‘intercessor’ or ‘partner’ alongside Him. As is well known, Muslims love and revere the last and final Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w), but by his own teaching, would never ‘worship’ him as god. Doing so would amount to shirk (assigning partner to Allah) which is the biggest sin against God. Nothing and no one in the whole universe can benefit, aid or protect us without Allah’s will. The message to always remember is: “Worship only the Creator, not His creations.”

Humaira'

Baru-baru ini,seorang pendakwah terkenal dari Amerika Syarikat,Syeikh Yusuf Estes (gambar) telah mengadakan “roadshow” ceramah di Malaysia.Dalam kunjungannya kali ini,beliau telah menyampaikan ceramah di USM Pulau Pinang,dan juga sempat menyampaikan sedikit tazkirah sebelum solat Jumaat baru-baru ini di Masjid Jamek,Jalan Duta,KL.Kunjungi laman web beliau yang terbaru,www.whatislam.com untuk maklumat lanjut tentang perjalanan beliau sebagai seorang pendakwah yang mana sebelumnya merupakan seorang ‘minister’ Kristian yang alim.



Antara yang menarik perhatian saya di dalam ceramah beliau kali ini ialah beliau berkongsi pendapatnya bahawa Saidatina Aisyah r.a sebenarnya tidak berkahwin pada umur enam tahun.Apa yang berlaku ialah bapa Saidatina Aisyah iaitu Saidina Abu Bakar r.a mempelawa kepada Nabi untuk memperisterikan Saidatina Aisyah dan pelawaan itu berlaku sebanyak dua kali.Turutnya,perkahwinan ini berlangsung hanya ketika Saidatina Aisyah berumur sekitar sembilan tahun.Nabi menerima pelawaan kali kedua kerana pada umur itu,perempuan Arab kebiasaannya sudah mencapai akil baligh.

Dan seperti yang kita sedia maklum,ekstremis agama lain menggunakan situasi ini untuk menjatuhkan maruah dan peribadi Rasulullah S.A.W.Dan berikut adalah hujah balas yang boleh kita gunakan untuk menangkis segala tohmahan mereka ini.

Mengikut sirah,pelbagai cara digunakan oleh Musyrikin Mekah ketika itu untuk menjatuhkan Nabi,termasuklah mengatakan Nabi sudah gila dan cubaan membunuh Nabi.Tetapi,mereka tidak pula menjatuhkan Nabi dengan menuduh Nabi gila seks kerana berkahwin dengan 12 orang isteri,dan fidofilia kerana berkahwin dengan budak.

Cuba tanyakan mereka kembali.Di negara-negara Barat yang kononnya bertamadun,berapa umur purata mereka yang melakukan seks?Dan sekarang ada yang berumur 9 tahun pun sudah melakukan seks.Kenapa ini tidak pula mereka ’highlight’kan?Kenapa Nabi juga yang disasarkan?Kalau anda masih ingat,ibu yang termuda di dunia telah direkodkan di Amerika Utara (tak ingat Mexico atau USA),yang mana majoritinya bukan Islam.Kenapa ia tidak berlaku di Jazirah Arab yang mana kahwin awal ini menjadi kebiasaan?

Buka kembali kitab Bible.Suruh mereka cari dan jawabkan pada umur berapa Joseph the Carpenter dan Virgin Mary berkahwin?Joseph berkahwin pada umur 90 tahun dan Virgin Mary berumur 12 atau 14 tahun.Mungkin mereka kata tidak sama seperti kes Nabi dan Aisyah tetapi kita lihat balik,’proportion’nya tetap sama.


P/S:Humaira’ bermaksud ‘kemerah-merahan’.Ia adalah panggilan Nabi terhadap Saidatina Aisyah r.a.

The Abrahamic Covenant and Prophet Muhammad in the Bible

The following logic is what is contributing to the alarming conversion rate among Christians to Islam. Jews, Christians and Muslims have a common father, Prophet Abraham, the patriarch of monotheism. For example, Abraham married Sarah and it is through her Jewish children over generations that the following prophets came: Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon and Jesus. Abraham also married Hagar and it is through her Muslim children over generations that the following prophets came: Ishmael and Muhammad.

When Christians realize that the Bible was manipulated by biased writers to unfairly exclude Ishmael, the son of Hagar, they realize that their religion may be nothing more than the result of innocently mislead people who wrote from the time Jesus left earth in 30 AD until about 350 AD when the formation of the New Testament came to an end (1). The following analysis of biblical scriptures illustrates that Ishmael was part of God's covenant, thereby proving Islam a divine religion. God made an important promise to Abraham before any children were born to him.

(Genesis 12:2-3) And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shall be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless thee, and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

Abraham was first married to Sarah who happened to be a barren woman and bore him no children.

(Genesis 16:1). Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children
Later in the book of Genesis (16:2) we are told that Sarah gave Abraham a handmaid (Hagar) to be his wife, in the hope that she may bear a child to Abraham. Hagar did indeed bear Abraham's first child, and the Angels of God told Hagar to name him Ishmael (Gen 16:11), which means God Hears. Clearly, this is a divine child as God is intervening and sending angels down to name him; this is a clear indication that the child is divine and important. Moreover, we are told in Genesis (21:20) that, God was with the boy as he grew up. Ishmael, the firstborn child is very important. As a matter of fact, this is indeed consistent with the bible. In Hebrew traditions, the first-born son is to have double portions of honor, even inheritance and that right is not changed by the status of his mother.

For example in (Deuteronomy 21:15-17) we are reminded that a firstborn son is to be given a double share of inheritance regardless of the circumstances since the first born is the first sign of his father's strength. For the following 14 years, Ishmael was Abraham's only child. Later, Abraham's first wife Sarah bears him a son, Isaac (Gen 21:1-5). After the birth of Ishmael and before the birth of Isaac, God's promise to bless the families of the earth through Abraham's descendants was repeated:

(Genesis 17:4) As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shall be a father of many nations.

According to Jews and Christians only Isaac was the son of promise and covenant. The following verses are referenced.

(Genesis 17:21) But my covenant will I establish with Isaac.
(Genesis 21:12) For in Isaac shall thy seed be called.

An interesting thought arises, is it possible that the writer(s) of this book (Genesis) inserted such statements to favor his own clan, himself being an Israelite? When these two verses (Gen 17:21 and 21:12) are examined in context with other verses of this same book, it becomes obvious that the Ishmaelite were included in God's promise and his covenant with Abraham. God's covenant with Abraham was made before he had any children (Gen 12:2-3). It was reiterated after the birth of Ishmael and before the birth of Isaac (Gen 17:4). Moreover, Ishmael is also specifically blessed, and, hence, included in God's promise. For example, God stated:

(Genesis 21:13) Of the son of the maidservant (i.e. Ishmael) I will make a great nation because he is thy seed.

The above promise was further confirmed a few verses later:

(Genesis 21:18) Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in your hand; for I will make him a great nation.
(Genesis 21:20) God was with the boy as he grew up.

When God speaks of greatness, he does not merely refer to numbers. Greatness by God's own criterion is founded on faith, spiritual heritage and religious leadership. One may wonder at this point why there should be only one child as the heir of the divine promise? Why not both sons in view of the evidence discussed already? What type of divine justice punishes the rites of the firstborn to satisfy Sarah's ego and bless her jealously? Was Sarah dictating her desires to God, too?

(Genesis 21:10) Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.

This statement was made after Ishmael allegedly mocked Isaac on the day Isaac was weaned (Gen 21:8-9). Can one imagine Hagar and her 17 year old son Ishmael expelled to the desert because Ishmael allegedly mocked the 3 year old boy Isaac on the day of a great feast when Isaac was weaned (Gen 21:8) What did Ishmael say to the 3-year-old baby to warrant such a harsh punishment? Did he mock him in the presence of a large group of people who attended the feast? One can only wonder what he said to the lad. Moreover, it is doubtful Abraham would send his wife and son off into the desert (a virtual death sentence) at the request of his other moody wife Sarah; the story does not seem plausible.

Will be continued…………..