“Islam in Christ’s Eyes” A study of the origins of Islam and the Christian response by Wissam Youssif Lesson Eleven- “The Sacred Scriptures of Islam” part four Spring Quarter - 2018
I. Introduction
A. Today we are completing our study of the three sacred documents
that make up the Trilogy- the Quran, Sira (Muhammad’s
biography) and Hadith (His Traditions).
B. All Muslims accept the authority of the Quran, Sira and Hadith in
their entirety.
C. However, not all Muslims follow them literally.
C.1. Those who do follow them word for word tend to be the
more violent wing of the religion.
C.2. Those who do not follow the Quran literally are those who
do not practice the violent teachings of Islam that were
written during Muhammad’s time in Medina.
D. Last week we examined some of the contents of the Hadith which
reveal Muhammad’s beheading of 600 Jews and the extreme
violence against kafirs. D.1. The Hadith also reveals the execution of entire Arabic
tribes who wanted to leave Islam after the death of
Muhammad.
D.2. And it also gives graphic details about rape, slavery and
violence against women.
E. Suppose you show all these hadiths to someone who says they
are Muslim, what do you think their reaction will be?
E.1. They will most likely say, “Well, some of those hadiths are
not acceptable” meaning they are not true.
E.2. If they do respond that way, they may be practicing,
“taqiyya.”
E.3. This is sacred deception and it is allowed in Islam to
Muslims according to the Quran 3:28.
E.4. Therefore, he or she has committed no sin if they do not tell
you the truth when answering a question that may put Islam
in a bad light.
F. The hadiths we have quoted all come from the authoritative
collections of Islam. F.1. When Bukhari made his collection, he threw out 99% of
those he found.
F.2. Those were the unsure ones.
F.3. The 1% he included are 100% Islamic doctrine.
G. The Hadith is the total collection of the authoritative traditions of
Muhammad for all of Islam.
H. As Christians, it is imperative that we know and remember these
statistics that come from Islam’s own documents.
I. This information will be the strongest evidence against this
religion when discussing it with a Muslim.
J. Badru Kateregga, an Islamic scholar said, “As Muslims, our
knowledge of Islam would be incomplete and shaky if we did not
study and follow the Hadith.”
K. If a Muslim says he embraces the Hadith, we must be able to
show him all that he is embracing.
II. Review
A. What is the Sira? The biography of Muhammad.
B. What is the Hadith? It is the authoritative collection of events and
sayings from the life of Muhammad and his closest companions. C. The Sira and the Hadith comprise the Sunna which is the basis
for the pattern of life of all Muslims.
D. One of the questions that we Christians have about Islam is:
“Who are the violent members of this religion and who are the
peaceful members of Islam?”
E. How do we know who is who among Muslims?
III. Sunnis Versus Shiites
A. True or false: there are denominations within Islam just as there
are denominations within the world of “Christianity?” yes
B. There are two major groups of Muslims: Sunnis and Shiites.
C. How were they created?
D. After the death of Muhammad, a power struggle broke out as to
who would lead the movement.
D.1. The man who was chosen was Abu Bakr who was a Sunni
which meant he followed the traditions of Muhammad but was
not a blood relative.
D.2. He was the first Caliph and was a cross between being a
pope and a king of Islam. D.3. After the death of Abu Bakr, then Uthman was chosen to be
the second Caliph of Islam.
D.4. He was the one who compiled the Quran but he too was not
a blood relative of Muhammad.
E. Not everyone within the Islamic community was pleased with
these choices for Caliphs.
E.1. Many believed that the successors to Muhammad should be
members of his family.
E.2. This faction came to be known as the “Shiites.”
E.3. Therefore, Muhammad’s cousin, Ali, became the fourth
Caliph.
E.4. This started a blood feud within Islam and continues to this
day.
E.5. Wars within Islam usually occur between Sunnis and
Shiites.
F. In 661 A.D., the Caliph Ali, a Shiite was assasinated and a Sunni
assumed leadership of Islam. Ali’s Son, Hussein, continued to
claim leadership but he too was killed by the Sunnis in 680 A.D.
This was the final break between Sunnis and Shiites. G. Question: Every Muslim believes they are obligated to kill you
kafirs. True or false? False
H. Sunnis and Shiites disagree on how the Quran should be
interpreted in the way they treat kafirs like you.
H.1. Both Sunnis and Shiites believe in the same Quran.
H.2. However, they disagree on whether they should fight the
world until it is converted to Islam.
I. The Sunnis take the Quran literally but the Shiites do not.
I.1. Sunnis say, “Yes, we should fight all kafirs until they
submit because the Quran is clear. And when the world is
conquered, we will once again install a Caliph to rule the
world like early Islam did. We follow the Quran of
Medina.”
I.2. The Sunnis follow the Quran literally.
I.3. The Islamic State, the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and most militant
terror cells are comprised of Sunnis.
I.4. As a group they are the “Wahhabis.”
I.5. They fight against kafirs but they are also violent against
Shiites. J. The Shiites do not take the Quran literally.
J.1. They would say, “No. It is not for us to fight and convert
the world to Islam.”
J.2. They follow the Quran of Mecca.
K. Guess which Islamic nations tend to be more peaceful? The
Shiite nations.
L. We must understand that not all Sunnis and not all Shiites are the
same.
L.1. Not all Sunnis are murderers of kafirs.
L.2. Neither are all Shiites peaceful.
L.3. Hezbollah is a Lebanese terrorist organization and they are
Shiites.
M. However, nearly all of radical Islam comes from the Sunnis
because they take the Quran literally and focus on the
Muhammad of Medina.
M.1. 90% of Islam is Sunni.
M.2. They believe they are the true followers of Muhammad.
N. The more peace loving Muslims do not take the Quran literally
where it says that kafirs must be killed. O. The hard truth is this: If a Muslim takes the Quran at face value,
he will be violent towards kafirs or he will approve of those who
are.
P. However, if a Christian takes the Bible literally, it will teach him
to turn the other cheek, do unto others, and do good to those who
persecute you.
Q. Do you take the Bible literally?
R. Radical Islam wants to win the battle with a sword.
S. Radical Christians want to win the battle with the Sword of the
Spirit, which is the Word of God. Ephesians 6:17
T. Christ called us to pick a cross and follow Him. Not an assault
rifle.
U. Jesus conquered sin and death hanging from nails. This is the
message the world needs to hear and experience.
V. The love of Christ will conquer all.
W. Why do Christians need to know all these things about Muslims
and their doctrine?
W.1. If we are going to reach them for Christ, we must be
knowledgeable about Islamic doctrine. W.2. We must know their sacred writings and where the
weaknesses are.
IV. Conclusion
A. What have you learned about the sacred Scriptures of Islam?
B. First, the sacred Scriptures of Islam includes the Quran, the
Hadith and Sira.
C. Second, the Quran was written by just one man over 23 years and
it has many, many contradictions.
D. Third, the Quran was not compiled by Muhammad but rather by
his followers many years after his death.
D.1. The only place the Quran existed after the death of the
prophet was in the memories of his disciples.
D.2. His words were not recorded during his lifetime and later
led to many variations in what Muslims claim to be the real
Quran.
D.3. When the Caliph Uthman discovered this, he tried to collect
all versions that differed from his and burned them.
E. Fourth, the Sa’na manuscript is a real problem for Islamic
scholars. E.1. It is an ancient version of the Quran and it differs from the
Uthman manuscript which is the basis for Islam’s holiest
book.
E.2. This destroys the claim of Muslims that the Quran
remained unchanged since the Uthman manuscript was
assembled.
F. Fifth, we have learned that there are two versions of the Quran
within the Quran.
F.1. There is the Quran of Mecca which was peaceful towards
other religions.
F.2. There is also the Quran of Medina that instructed Muslims
to persecute and kill all non-Muslims unless they converted
to Islam.
F.3. When confronted with these contradictions within their
own holy book, Muslims say that they abrogate the
Scriptures and always obey the one that was written last.
F.4. The new Medina Quran abrogated the old Meccan Quran. F.5. Islam is a dualistic religion that tells its follows to listen to
and leaven with dignity the kafirs but it also tells them to
cut off their head and even their fingertips.
F.6. We must be able to point out these contradictions to those
who are Muslims.
G. Sixth, the Sira and the Hadith form the Sunna.
G.1. The reveal the life of Muhammad not found in the Quran.
G.2. The Hadith governs the life of the average Muslim more
than the Quran.
G.3. The Hadith sanctions rape, slavery and even murder of
kafirs.
H. Seventh, there are two denominations in Islam: Sunnis and
Shiites.
H.1. Sunnis take the Quran literally and are typically more
violent.
H.2. Shiites do not take the Quran literally and are typically less
violent. H.3. We are called to carry a cross, do unto others, turn the other
cheek and return kindness when wronged rather than
vengeance if we take the Word of God literally.
I. Why do we Christians need to know these things?
I.1. If you are going to converse with a Muslim, you must be
knowledgeable of his faith.
I.2. You must know his sacred writings and where the
weaknesses are.
V. The man who wrote the book “Islam in Christ’s Eyes” is named
“Wissam Youssif.”
A. I want you to hear the story of how he came to faith in Christ.
B. He was born in Bagdad, Iraq in 1979 to a Muslim Sunni family.
B.1. The leader of his nation was Saddam Hussein.
B.2. At first, Saddam was not a Muslim.
B.3. Rather, he was a socialist military dictator. Nothing more.
C. In fact, when Saddam became president, he executed many of the
leaders of the Shiite Muslim community.
C.1. After the first Gulf War, the Shiites in the southern Iraq
rebelled against him and once again, he crushed them. C.2. However, Saddam realized that he was fighting a losing
battle within his own country.
C.3. And it found it expedient to begin putting on a show of
being a Muslim.
D. He had the words “Allah-u Akbar” put on the Iraqi flag in his
own handwriting.
D.1. He then launched his “Faith Campaign” where he ordered
the Quran to be taught in all Iraqi schools, built hundreds of
new mosques all over the nation and began turning Iraq
from being mostly secular to more Islamic.
D.2. This was the Muslim world in which “Wissam Youssif”
lived.
D.3. He was raised in a world of hatred.
E. In 1996, Youssif’s younger sister died when she was only four
years old.
E.1. At the funeral for the child, his mother begged anyone to
provide her with a glimpse of hope that her innocent little
girl went to heaven. E.2. No one could until one man who was knowledgeable of the
Quran said that the child would be judged from the very
first breath she took when she was born until the last one
she took when she died.
E.3. Again, the child was four years old when she died.
E.4. When he heard that man’s answer, Youssif asked, “What
kind of God is that?”
E.5. He said, “I started to feel bitter toward the only God that I
knew.”
F. A few months later, Youssif’s favorite uncle got cancer.
F.1. Each time he would go and visit him, Youssif noticed that
his uncle looked sad and would cry often.
F.2. Why? Because due to the disease, he lost control of his
bodily functions and could not stay ritually clean as a
Muslim.
F.3. He had always practiced the Salat faithfully praying five
times a day. F.4. However, due to the cancer, his uncle was constantly
soiling himself and believed God would no longer have
anything to do with him.
F.5. When Youssif saw that, he said, “That’s it between me and
God. I rejected Islam and became an atheist. I only wore
the mask of Islam.”
G. However, he found no solace in atheism.
G.1. Instead, he discovered a deep sense of emptiness.
G.2. He tried filling it with American movies and reading books
written in English he bought at flea markets.
G.3. He started listening to short wave radio and heard
broadcasts like the Voice of America.
H. In the movie “Mission Impossible” Tom Cruise read from the
Bible and it made Youssif curious about reading it too.
H.1. He went to a flea market and bought his first Bible but
didn’t realize it was only the Gospel of John.
H.2. He didn’t know it was not the whole Bible.
H.3. Immediately, Youssif was intrigued by it.
H.4. Several months later he bought the entire New Testament. I. He said, “I started to fall in love with the goodness of the Bible:
the integrity that it preached, love instead of hate, peace instead
of violence and forgiveness instead of retribution.”
J. Yousiff did not know any Christians who could answer the
questions he had about the Bible.
K. While attending the University of Bagdad to become an engineer,
Yousiff saw another student who had big cross on his shirt.
K.1. He asked if the man was a Christian and he said “yes.”
K.2. Youssif began asking him questions about the Bible and he
began answering each one.
K.3. Youssif said, “I was so happy to discover that the Book that
was both beautiful and good, turned out to be true, too. I
thought everyone else would be as happy as I was. . . I was
wrong.”
L. Youssif tried to share what he had learned with his mother but she
was horrified that her son was reading the Bible and believing it.
L.1. She felt betrayed.
L.2. He felt bewildered.
L.3. Youssif’s family would not accept Christ. M. Soon he was being harassed by the religious authorities of his
neighborhood because of his interest in Christianity.
M.1. He thought, “Since I am getting persecuted, maybe the
Bible is wrong. Maybe there is no God and the Gospel is
just another man made philosophy. I renounced my
Christian faith and gave away my Bible.”
M.2. However, after a few months, Youssif realized that without
the assurances of the Bible, he lost hope and satisfaction in
life.
M.3. So, he bought another Bible and after reading it, Youssif
realized he needed to be baptized to become a Christian.
M.4. Simply by reading the Bible, this Muslim man realized he
needed to be baptized to be saved to become a Christian.
N. He began going from one church to another in Bagdad trying to
find someone who would baptize him but for the next twelve
years, he could not find anyone who would.
N.1. Youssif continued to study the Bible, downloaded Bible
software with sermons and songs from the Internet. N.2. In April of 2010, he found a free on-line Bible study and a
woman was assigned to grade his lessons.
N.3. She asked if he had any prayer requests.
N.4. He responded by answering that he wanted to be baptized
and have the courage to live the Christian life.
N.5. More about this Christian lady in a moment.
O. In 2010, he came across another free on-line Bible study guide
written by a British man who was a missionary in Latvia.
O.1. After a time of study with Youssif, the British man agreed
to come to Iraq and baptize him.
O.2. In May of 2010, in a hotel bathtub in Northern Iraq,
Wissam Youssif was baptized in Christ.
P. The woman who had graded his tests once worked as a care-giver
in a Christian man’s house in Boyertown, PA and she told him
about Youssif.
P.1. He said to her, “If Youssif ever comes to the U.S., he can
stay with me until he gets settled.”
P.2. A few weeks later, Yousiff applied for a visa and it was
granted. P.3. In April of 2011, Wissam Youssif came to America and
stayed with the Christian man in Reading, PA.
P.4. He began attending the local church of Christ and growing
in his faith.
P.5. He was frequently asked by local churches to tell his story.
P.6. Eventually he attended the Sunset School of Preaching in
Lubbock, TX.
P.7. After graduation, he moved to Dearborn, Michigan.
Q. What do you find in Dearborn? The largest population of
Muslims in America.
Q.1. The goal of Wissam Youssif is to help Jesus build the first
Arabic speaking church of Christ in America.
Q.2. His work is called “The Arab Christian Ministry” and is
receiving support from congregation of the Lord’s church
from around the country.
VI. Conclusion
A. We have spent much time in this class dissecting Islam and
pointing out it’s errors. B. I believe that it is a false religion and unless it is rejected it will
cause any Muslim to be eternally condemned.
C. And we have just heard that a Muslim can come to Christ and
begin changing the world for the better.
C.1. Muslims are just as worthy of the blood of Christ as we are.
C.2. John Bradford is credited with saying, “There but for the
grace of God, go I.”
C.3. Aren’t you glad that you weren’t born into a Muslim
country like Wissam Youssif?
C.4. “There but for the grace of God, go I.”
In our next two lessons, our focus will be “How do we reach Muslims for Christ?”