Islam in Christ's Eyes

“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.

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