Many in my family have tried their best to understand why I
chose to become a Muslim. I will attempt in this article to explain my decision
to anyone who is curious about the large number of converts ( often referred to
as reverts by fellow Muslims ), who have chosen to embrace Islam.
Before going specifically into Islam, I would first like to
talk about Jesus Christ ( peace be upon him ) and the important role he plays in
the lives of many ( if not most ) Westerners. I was raised in the Catholic
Faith, in French Louisiana. While Christ is not the focal point in the lives of
most in the West, his presence is normally not very far away. His presence can
be felt in many homes weather it be a statue on a bedside table, a crucifix in
the family room, or a set of rosary beads hanging from the rear view mirror in a
car ( allowing the driver to be reminded of the peaceful nature of Christ, in
order to keep his anger under control as he sits in a bumper to bumper traffic
jam ). In typical Catholic households Christ is not only a source of spiritual
inspiration and peace rather he is actually the vocal point of prayer. He and
the Virgin Mary ( peace be upon her ) are often prayed to in order to make bad
situations better, and to protect families from bad times during the bliss of
good times.
It may seem to the average Christian that to shed such
practices is the ultimate betrayal of Christ and his message. If this is the
case it may also come as a shock to many Christians that love for Christ and the
Virgin Mother, does not disappear when one becomes a Muslim. In some cases the
love may appear with embracing Islam when it was not present before becoming a
Muslim ( as would be the case with a Jewish or Hindu revert ). This love is
obligatory on all Muslims. If a person holds hatred towards Christ then such a
person can not be a Muslim, as Allah Almighty makes it clear in His book ( the
Holy Quran ) that Jesus Christ is indeed a Messenger sent by Allah Almighty to
deliver a divine revelation ( the Gospel ). This can be seen in the following
verse of the Holy Quran: O People of the Book! Commit no
excesses in your religion: “Nor say of Allah aught but the truth. Christ Jesus
the son of Mary was (no more than) a messenger of Allah, and His Word, which He
bestowed on Mary, and a spirit proceeding from Him: so believe in Allah and His
messengers.” -Sura 4, Aya 171. The Quran also affirms the Virgin birth this can
be seen in Surah 19, Verses 16-21 in the following conversation between the
Angel Gabriel (pbuh) and Mary (pbuh): “And mention Marium in the Book when she
drew aside from her family to an eastern place; So she took a veil (to screen
herself) from them; then We sent to her Our spirit, and there appeared to her a
well-made man. She said: Surely I fly for refuge from you to the Beneficent
Allah, if you are one guarding (against evil). He said: I am only a messenger of
your Lord: That I will give you a pure boy. She said: When shall I have a boy
and no mortal has yet touched me, nor have I been unchaste? He said: Even so;
your Lord says: It is easy to Me: and that We may make him a sign to men and a
mercy from Us, and it is a matter which has been decreed. “
The reality is becoming a Muslim would
only make a Christian much more Christ-like. Muslims strive to be as much like
Prophet Muhammad ( pbuh ) as possible and live life and worship Allah Almighty
the way he did. The Islamic view is that Prophet Muhammad is teaching the
religion of the Prophet Abraham ( pbuh ) which is pure Monotheism. Prophet
Muhammad was sent to correct many of the deviations that occurred in the line of
the Abrahamic faiths ( such deviations only occurred in the absence of the
respective Messenger ). In striving to live life like Prophet Muhammad, Muslims
are in fact striving to live life as all the Prophets and Messengers did. A
non-bias observation of the life of Prophet Jesus will show that Christ observed
many practices of the Prophet Abraham which most Christians today have thrown
away and dismissed as not necessary. This is primarily due to false Christian
view that Paul was an apostle of Prophet Jesus. In accepting Paul as an apostle,
it means accepting his works and decrees as if they came from Christ himself.
Only one other person ( other than himself ) recognized Paul as an apostle, this
person was Luke ( Paul’s personal secretary ). This can hardly be taken
seriously as an accurate source of authentic Christianity as it existed in the
time of Prophet Jesus.
It is important to keep the above
mentioned things in mind when looking at the doctrine of the Holy Trinity which
Allah Almighty is opposed to as can be seen here in the Quran in the rest of the
verse quoted above addressing Prophet Jesus and his status as a Messenger of
Allah Almighty: “and say not, Three. Desist, it is better for you; Allah is only
one Allah; far be It from His glory that He should have a son, whatever is in
the heavens and whatever is in the earth is His, and Allah is sufficient for a
Protector.”
Given that the Bible as it exists today
has indeed been tampered with ( it is common knowledge that the early figures of
Christianity simply took out Gospels they disagreed with, and added only Gospels
that championed their theological views ), it is very difficult to say weather
or not Christ taught the doctrine of the Holy Trinity or if this was instead
invented and the Council of Nicaea. If Christ did speak of God the father, God
the son, and God the Holy Spirit, it seems unlikely he meant it literally. Even
in Islam some have taken sayings of certain Islamic Scholars and twisted them to
create odd sects many of which no longer exist within the realm of Islam but
instead have become separate religions ( as can been seen with the Universal
Sufis ). Perhaps the same can be said for today’s Christians. God the Father and
God the Son clearly if meant literally is utterly ridicules as it would make the
creation their own creator, such a statement is also contrary to the divine
transcendent nature of Allah Almighty that both Islam and Christianity affirm.
One could see the allegorical nature of God being referred to as the Father (
although this is contrary to the common Islamic teaching of not making
similarities between Allah Almighty and His creations ), God the Son perhaps is
similar to the Islamic concept of trying to embody the 99 names of Allah
Almighty and using these attributes to make yourself into a better person (
although considering yourself or any other person for that matter God made
flesh, is certainly un-Islamic and such a belief would defiantly take a person
outside the fold of Islam ). The Holy Spirit is something which is confirmed by
Allah Almighty in the Holy Quran: Surah 2, Verse 87 states “And most certainly
We gave Musa the Book and We sent messengers after him one after another; and We
gave Isa, the son of Marium, clear arguments and strengthened him with the holy
spirit, “. The Holy Spirit is considered by some Islamic scholars to be
Prophetic knowledge ( which these scholars considered to be the very life that
was blown into Prophet Adam ( pbuh ). Other Scholars consider it to be the
special Prophetic Quality of Christ as every Messenger had a special quality. A
couple of examples of this are the Prophet Moses ( pbuh ) who could speak
directly with God without an intercessor, and Prophet Muhammad ( pbuh ) who is
more loved by Allah Almighty than anything else in creation. The exact meaning
of the Holy Spirit is debatable but its reality from both the Islamic and
Christian perspectives is not. To address the Holy Spirit as God makes as much
sense as God the Father and God the Son, which is no sense at all.
Now getting back to Muslims attempting
to mirror the practices of Prophet Muhammad ( pbuh ), it could certainly be said
that in doing so Muslims are also mirroring the practices of Prophet Jesus (
pbuh ). I will now show here how the 5 pillars of Islam are much similar to the
way Christ worshipped God as opposed to the way most Christians practice their
religion today.
1. Shahada ( Testimony of Faith ): la
ilaha ill Allah, Muhamadur rasul Allah ( There is no God except Allah, Muhammad
is the Messenger of Allah ). One of the earliest sources of ancient Christian
wisdom is a book called the didicay ( currently in the possession of Greek
Orthodox Christians in Jerusalem *) This book was written while the family of
Christ was still living. It completely destroys the notion that Christ was God
in human form. It is said to call new converts to Christianity to worship only
Allah Almighty and nothing else, thus confirming la ilaha ill Allah. It is
common knowledge that the early Christians were living in the Arabian Peninsula
before the coming of Prophet Muhammad ( pbuh ), Muslims believe this was because
they were instructed by Prophet Jesus ( pbuh ) to await the coming of the next
Messenger (Muslims believe Christ told them the Prophet would be an Arab ). Thus
the Christian population in the Arabian Peninsula is widely believed to have
been awaiting Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Allah Almighty highlights this Prophecy
of Christ in the Holy Quran : Surah 61, verse 6 “ And when Isa son of Marium
said: O children of Israel! surely I am the messenger of Allah to you, verifying
that which is before me of the Taurat and giving the good news of an Messenger
who will come after me”. Therefore believing in Muhammadur rasul Allah is
putting faith in the Prophecy of Christ.
2.Salah (Worship) : Modern day
Christians do not dis-pute that Prophet Jesus ( pbuh ) prayed multiple times in
a day. However the majority of Christians today do not even have one formal
prayer a day, only the blessing of meals and a few quick prayers before going to
sleep at night. Muslims on the other hand have 5 prayers a day. This seems to be
closer to the way Christ lived in that a Muslim’s day is structured around
Prayer. Also the majority of Christians today do not prostrate before Allah
Almighty. Many historians believe prostration to have been a normal part of both
early Jewish and Christian worship ( this can still be seen today in certain
communities such as the Coptic Christians and the Karaite Jews #). Muslims
Prostrate in the Salah and also after reciting certain verses of the Holy Quran.
The prayer of a Muslim thus seems much closer to the way Christ prayed.
3. Swam ( Fasting ): The Christians of
today also do not dis-pute that Christ fasted for 40 days and nights after being
baptised. Fasting from a certain thing is still practiced by many Christians
during the Lent season leading up to Easter. The Islamic form of fasting is
mandatory during the Month of Ramadan. The fast requires a Muslim to abstain
from eating, drinking, and sexual relations from sunrise to sunset. It is a more
involved fast than that of the Christians during Lent ( as in Lent normally only
one thing that is pleasurable is abstained from ), judging from the devout
nature of Christ one can assume that the fasting during Ramadan is most likely
much closer to the spirit of fasting that Prophet Jesus ( pbuh ) practiced.
4. Zakat ( Charity ): Another area
where Christians and Muslims agree is that Christ was a big supporter of
charity. Prophet Jesus ( pbuh ) is viewed largely today by both Capitalist and
Socialist Christians as having been a champion of the poor. However in Christian
organizations today charity is only encouraged but not mandated. The mandatory
charity of Islam again seems to be much closer to the spirit of early
Christianity and the Christianity of Christ, than the Christianity we see today.
5. Hajj ( Pilgrimage ) As stated
before Islam is simply the perfection of pure monotheism as practiced by Prophet
Abraham ( pbuh ). As Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are all today considered
to be Abrahamic faiths, the Hajj is certainly in no way contradictory to the
teachings of Christ. The Hajj itself is rooted in events surrounding the Prophet
Abraham ( pbuh ). Such as the zamzam well and Hajar ( pbuh ) running back and
forth in search of water for the child Prophet Ishmael ( pbuh ), it then sprang
forth and is the site of the zamzam well today which has still not dried up, and
is frequented by pilgrams on the Hajj. The Hajj pilgrams re enact this rite by
performing sa’is . After the Hajj ends Muslims have a holiday known as Eid ul
Adha ( Greater Eid, as opposed to the lesser Eid ul Fitr which is celebrated at
the end of fasting in Ramadan ). Eid ul Adha commemorates Allah Almighty sparing
the life of Prophet Ishmael ( pbuh ) who was ordered to be killed by his own
father Prophet Abraham ( pbuh ), Allah Almighty was so pleased by Abraham’s
willingness to sacrifice his son only out of love for the Creator, that Allah
Almighty spared Ishmael and ordered Abraham to sacrifice a ram instead. Abraham
was tempted by satan to abandon Allah’s command and Abraham drove satan away by
throwing stones at him ( another act re enacted by pilgrims during the Hajj ).
The Hajj itself like all Islamic practices is rooted in the Abrahamic Prophetic
line, the line which Christ belonged to.
These 5 practices are defiantly not
contrary to the Prophet Jesus ( pbuh ) and the way he lived, rather they are
more in line with Prophet Jesus than the practices of today’s Christianity. A
Christian interested in Islam need not worry about abandoning the Prophet Jesus
by becoming Muslim, on the contrary if a Christian were to declare la ilaha ill
Allah, Muhammadur rasul Allah it would only make them more Christ-like.
Notes:
*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAOxcHk5jB0
# Jewish Prostration in Prayer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HfyxpIeL8M&feature=player_embedded
Christian Prostration in Prayer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRLFeldPG3Y&feature=player_embedded