Islam

The Crucifixtion

Muslims believe that Jesus was a prophet of Allah, but did NOT die. The Quran says this:

“And their saying: Surely we have killed Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah; but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not:- Nay, Allah raised him up unto Himself; and Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise.” – Quran 4:157

Depending on the interpretation of this verse, Muslims have varied opinions on what happened. The majority believe that Jesus was raised to heaven alive by Allah, and that the crucifixion did not even happen. Some believe that it happened, but before Jesus died, he went to heaven. Others believe that another person was crucified in Jesus’ place. The crucifixion is arguably the best documented historical event before the Middle Ages. To completely deny it happened is absurd. For a detailed look at the evidence for Jesus, see my article on Proving the Existence of Jesus.

By ignoring the crucifixion of Jesus, Muslims no longer have to explain salvation and the deity of Christ. This seems rather convenient.

Jihad

The term “jihad” is an Islamic term that can be defined as the religious duty to fight the unbelievers of Allah. In the Quran, “jihad” is often translated into English as “fight in the way of Allah.” Here are some examples:

“And fight in the way of Allah with those who fight with you, and do not exceed the limits, surely Allah does not love those who exceed the limits. And kill them wherever you find them, and drive them out from whence they drive you out, and persecution is severer than slaughter, and do not fight with them at the Sacred Mosque until they fight with you in it, but if they do fight you, then slay them; such is the recompense of the unbelievers.” – Quran 2:190-191

“And fight in the way of Allah, and know that Allah is Hearing, Knowing.” – Quran 2:244

“How many of the prophets fought, and with them large banks of godly men? But they never lost heart if they met with disaster in Allah’s way, nor did they weaken (in will) nor give in. And Allah loves those who are firm and steadfast” – Quran 3:146

“Fight those who do not believe in Allah, nor in the latter day, nor do they prohibit with Allah and His Apostle have prohibited, nor follow the religion of truth, out of those who have been give the Book, until they pay the tax in acknowledgment of superiority and they are in a state of subjection.” – Quran 9:29

Some followers of Islam have taken this “jihad” to mean war, violence, and terrorism. Others believe that it is referring to self-defense only. There is much debate on the meaning of jihad, but it doesn’t matter who is correct. This debate itself shows a fundamental problem with Islam.

The Hadith

The Hadith is a set of books that Muslims believe which are secondary to the Quran. There are a lot of books in the Hadith, but the six main ones are the Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sunan al-Sughra, Sunan Abu Dawood, Jami al-Tirmidhi, and Sunan ibn Majah. The Hadith is a biography of Muhammed’s life. Originally, it was passed down orally by Muslims. The first known written copies appeared in the 9th century. The Hadith in Islam is similar to the Apocrypha in Christianity. Because these books are secondary, they are not necessarily true. Muslims use these to help clarify questionable areas in the Quran. However, even the Hadith has problems:

“He made his camel kneel down in the mosque, tied its foreleg and then said: Who amongst you is Muhammad? At the time the Prophet was sitting amongst us (his companions) leaning on his arm. We replied, this white man reclining on his arm. – Sahih Bukhari, Book 3, Number 63

“I came and behold, Allah’s Apostle was staying on a Mashroba (attic room) and a black slave of Allah’s Apostle was at the top if its stairs.” – Sahih Bukhari, Book 91, Number 368

The first verse says that Muhammad is white, while the second states that he is a black slave. This is quite a contradiction.

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