Innovations by Paul - Lessons From History

Innovations by Paul

Then  we  have  two  very  important  points,  regarding which the Qur’an and Hadith as well as the four Gospels are unanimous, but which have been radically changed by St. Paul during  the  period  immediately  following  the  departure  of Prophet Isa (AS). These innovations have transformed what was only a reform movement among the Jews into a philosophical religion full of pagan conceptions.

(1) It is abundantly clear from Matthew 5:17-19, Luke 16:17 and Mark 13:31, that Jesus Christ had no intention whatsoever to give any new law, nor to rescind and abolish the Mosaic law, as he was sent by Almighty God only to renew and reinforce the law of the Torah, to purify his people from spiritual and moral degeneration, and to revive the authentic spirit of Deen. He was, obviously, one of the Jews and was not supposed to become the founder of a new religion and a new community. However, preaching in the name of Jesus Christ, the actual founder of Christianity, St. Paul, simply abrogated the Mosaic law (Romans   4:15).   The  historian  Michael  Hart  has  the following to say in his book “The Hundred”:

Paul, more than any other man, was responsible for the transformation of Christianity from a Jewish sect into a world religion. His  central ideas of the divinity of Christ and of justification by faith alone have remained basic to Christian thought throughout all the intervening centuries ... Indeed, the influence of Paul’s ideas has been so great that some scholars have claimed that he, rather than Jesus, should be regarded as the principal founder of the Christian religion.

(2) According to the Holy Qur’an, Prophet Isa (AS) was appointed a prophet only for the Israelites (Aal-e-Imran 3:49 & Al-Saff 61:6), and this is confirmed by his sayings which appear in the Gospels (Matthew 10:5,6 & 15:24), where he forbids his disciples from extending their evangelistic activity outside that circle. However, a controversial step was taken in this respect by St. Paul, who persuaded the small number of early followers of Prophet  Isa  (AS)  —  after  a  period  of  serious  dispute  —  to preach among the non-Jews as well. As it happened, Paul had met with little success among the Israelites, but his sweeping innovations made the new faith much more palatable for the neighboring pagan people, and thus his brand of Christianity rapidly gained popularity among these nations.

Source:Lesson from History (Book) by Dr. Israr Ahmad

Five Points of Convergence - Lessons From History

Five Points of Convergence

As  far  as  the  personality  of  Prophet  Isa  (AS)  is concerned, we find that there are at least five significant points which are common between the Holy Qur’an and the Hadith on the one hand, and the four Canonical Gospels on the other. It is indeed significant that more than half of the world’s population is in agreement regarding these points, three of which are in clear opposition to the normal physical laws of the universe. We shall discuss these points one by one.

(1) The Gospel of Matthew (1:18-24) and Luke (1:26-38) mention that Jesus Christ was conceived without a human father,  as  a  miracle  from  Almighty  God;  so  does  the  Holy Qur’an (Aal-e-Imran 3:45-47 & Maryum 19:17-21)

(2) Jesus Christ performed the most astonishing of miracles — unparalleled in the history of Prophethood with respect to their unambiguous and unmistakable nature. These miracles are described in various sections of the Gospels (see, for example, Matthew, Chapters 8 & 14) as well as in the Holy Qur’an (Aal-e-Imran 3:49 & Al-Ma’ida 5:110)

(3) Jesus Christ forcefully and incisively called upon his fellow Israelites to mend their perverted ways, to give up sinful and unethical practices, to repent with the true spirit of repentance, and to purify themselves from all spiritual and moral corruption. He severely criticized the pretentious religiosity, the emphasis on hollow but legally spotless rituals, and the servile adherence to the letter of the law with no regard to its spirit — the hallmark of the religious establishment of his time. (Matthew 23,  and  the  Holy  Qur’an  Al-Ma’ida  5:78).  As  a  result,  he became the sole target of the acrimony and malevolence from the rabbis, the priests, and the pharisees.

(4) The message and proclamation of Jesus Christ attracted the attention of the population both in and around Jerusalem, but it was accepted only by a very minute section of the Jews,   of   which   even   fewer   became   his   dedicated companions. The number of these close comrades, according to the Gospels, was twelve, although the matter of their names is controversial.

(5) Jesus Christ was raised up alive from the earth, and he will reappear some time before the end of the world. This has been mentioned in Matthew 28:6,7; Mark 16:19; Luke 24:51, John 20:17. Ascension and reappearance of Prophet Isa (AS) has also been alluded to in the Holy Qur’an (Al-Nisa 4:157, 158 and Al-Zukhruf 43:61), but these hints are explained more explicitly in the Hadith.

Source:Lesson from History (Book) by Dr. Israr Ahmad

A B C Of Christianity - Lessons From History

A B C Of Christianity

According to the Qur’an, there has been only one true religion throughout human history, i.e., Islam; all other systems of belief and worship, as they exist today, are nothing but corrupted and distorted replicas of the originally pure and simple teachings of the various messengers of God. Most versions of these teachings have been perverted beyond recognition, and the historical continuity and doctrinal similarity of only two of them — Judaism and Christianity — can at present be linked with Islam. 

Among these three major faiths, as mentioned earlier, only the followers of Judaism and Islam can be described as Ummahs: Jews or the Israelites as the previous Muslim Ummah, and the followers of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) as the present and final Muslim Ummah. According to the prophecies as they appear in the Hadith literature, the ultimate conflict of the future is going to take place between the Jews and the Muslims, although a very significant initial role will be played by the Christian nations. In order to correctly interpret and fully comprehend   these   prophecies,   it   is   imperative   for   us   to understand the nature and history of Christian faith.

A set of three doctrines is common to the followers of most of the Christian denomination, viz., the Trinity, Crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and Atonement. The most basic creed of modern Christianity is, of course, the belief that God is one, in three persons, and in one substance: God the father, God the son, and God the Holy Spirit are not three gods, but one God. The Holy Qur’an  emphatically  rejects  and  condemns  this  polytheistic view.

O People of the Book, do not be fanatical in your faith, and say nothing but the truth about God. The Messiah who is Isa, son of Maryum, was only a messenger of God, and a command of His which He sent to Maryum, as a mercy from Him. So believe in God and His messengers, and do not say “Three.” For God is only one God. (Al-Nisa 4:171)

They are surely infidels who say: “God is the Messiah, son of Maryum.” …Disbelievers are they surely who say: “God is the third of the Trinity”; but there is no god other than God the One. (Al-Ma’ida 5:72,73)

The  Holy  Qur’an  also  repudiates  their  belief  that Prophet Isa (AS) was humiliated and executed on the cross, and thus indirectly refutes the theory of Atonement — the belief that the  great  sacrifice  from  the  so-called  “Son  of  God”  was necessary to remove the burden of the Original Sin from the shoulders of humanity. According to the Qur’an:

And (the Jews were punished, among other things, because) of saying, “We killed the Messiah, Isa, son of Maryum.” — who was  a  Messenger  of  God  —  but  they  neither  killed  nor crucified him, though it so appeared to them. They have no knowledge about it, other than conjecture, and surely they did not kill him. (Al-Nisa 4:157)

Although  the  myth  of  the  Crucifixion  of  Prophet Isa (AS) is narrated in all the four Gospels, there is absolutely no substance whatsoever in them for the doctrine of Trinity or that of the Divine Sonship of Jesus. The earliest evidence of the last two doctrines first appeared in the writings of St. Paul, and these were adopted as official beliefs of Christianity only after extensive debate, and following a long-standing controversy which included, at times, violent episodes between Unitarians and  Trinitarians.  These  dogmas  were  confirmed  as  official beliefs  of  the  Church,  after  much  deliberation,  during  the Council of Nicaea in 325 C.E., almost three centuries after the departure of Prophet Isa (AS).

Source:Lesson from History (Book) by Dr. Israr Ahmad