Letter to our christian brothers and sisters

CHRISTIANS BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
Respectfully .
Today what is available on mainstream media is biased and sensational with a purpose. If a student wants to write on Islam or speak on it then such information is useless. Therefore I want to write few facts about Islam the second biggest faith on this earth. And the latest among 3 Abrahamic faiths.
I am a Muslim and interested in promoting awareness of commonality between the two great faiths of Christianity and Islam. Islam is the only non-Christian religion that respects and loves Jesus. Outside of Christianity its divine book is the only book that tells its followers to believe in the miracles of Jesus— including his virgin birth, which even many modern day Christians don’t believe. There is even a chapter named “Mary” (chapter 19 in the Quran) to confirm and explain.
This in itself is a major proof that the Quran was not the writing of Muhammad, since otherwise he would have mentioned the name of his own wife, or daughter or mother. The Quran ordains Muslims to “not discriminate among the messengers of Allah.” Therefore we put Jesus on same page and with the same respect as Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh). No Muslim is a Muslim if he doesn’t respect and love Jesus.
There are some who say that Jesus and God in the Quran are different than Jesus and God in the Bible. The best way to test this assertion requires, minimally, reading both the Quran and the Bible. I have studied both the Quran and the Bible found that what Jesus himself said in his earthly ministry is written in the Quran and accepted and followed by Muslims. That is why the Quran calls itself the criterion, meaning what is in the Bible, if also present in it, is true! So please read the Quran and learn about Islam from the references below to find the commonalities between our two great faiths yourself.
The Quran (the last and final testament) has major prophets and stories mentioned in both the OT and NT. Moses is mentioned most—135 times. Jesus is mentioned 25 times, Abraham 74 times, and Jacob 18 times, while the prophet Muhammad (the last and final prophet) is mentioned 5 times. This confirms Islam to be religion of inclusion. Islam glorifies all previous prophets from the same one God. Similarly Muhammad is mentioned over 20 times in the OT and NT.

Nowadays in our small world there may always be someone who would ask you questions on Islam for school, or due to inter-religious marriage, or you may need authentic information from a renowned Islamic scholar for your interfaith dialogue. So here is a short article written by an Australian Member of Parliament:

Big Lesson for Christians and Muslims:*

Robin Scott Member of Parliament in Victoria, Australia

, shared this on his Facebook page:

*Jesus and Muslims are more alike than different*.

*Muslims follow Jesus in actions and love him in their hearts*

*Please read that which I have discovered – Robin*

1. Jesus taught that there is only One God and Only God should be worshipped as taught in Deut 6:4, Mark 12:29.

Muslims also believe this as taught in the Qur’an verse 4:171.

2. Jesus didn’t eat pork as taught in Leviticus 11:7, and neither do Muslims as taught in the Qur’an verse 6:145.

3. Jesus greeted with the words “as salaamualaikum” (Peace be with you) in John 20:21. Muslims also greet each other this way.

4. Jesus always said “God Willing” (inshallah), Muslims say this too before doing anything as taught in the Qur’an verses 18:23-24.

5. Jesus washed his face, hands, and feet before praying. The Muslims do the same.

6. Jesus and other prophets of the Bible offered prayer with their head to the ground (see Matthew 26:39). Muslims do too as taught in the Qur’an verse 3:43.

7. Jesus had a beard and wore a throbe. It is Sunnah for Muslim men to do the same.

8. Jesus followed the law and believed in all the prophets, (see Matthew 5:17). Muslims do too as taught in the Qur’an verses 3:84 and 2:285.

9. Jesus’ mother Maryam dressed modestly by fully covering her body and wearing a headscarf (hijab) as found in 1 Timothy 2:9, Genesis 24:64-65, and Corinthians 11:6. Muslim women modestly dress the same as taught in the Qur’an verse 33:59.

10. Jesus and other prophets of the Bible fasted up to 40 days (see Exodus 34:28, Daniel 10:2-6, Kings 19:8, and Matthew 4:1).s Muslims do so also during the month of Ramadan. Muslims are required to fast the full obligatory 30 days (see Qur’an 2:183), and others take it a step further by fasting an additional 6 days to increase their rewards.

11. Jesus taught to say “Peace to this house” when entering it (see Luke 10:5), and to also greet the people in the house with “peace be unto you”. Muslims do exactly what Jesus did and taught. When we enter our homes and the homes of others we say “Bismillah” and also greet with “as salaamu alaikum” (peace be upon you) as taught in the Qur’an verse 24:61.

12. Jesus was circumcised. Circumcision is 1 of the 5 fitrah in Islam, so Muslim men are required to be circumcised. According to the Bible in Luke 2:21, Jesus was eight days old when he was circumcised. In the Torah, Allah/God stated to the Prophet Abraham that it is an “Everlasting covenant” (see Genesis 17:13). In the Qur’an verse 16:123 Muslims are required to follow the religion of Abraham. The Prophet Muhammad said, “The Prophet Abraham circumcised himself when he was eighty years old.”

13. Jesus spoke aramaic and called God ”Elah”, which is pronounced the same as “Allah”. Aramaic is an ancient, Biblical language. It is one of the Semitic languages that also include Hebrew, Arabic, Ethiopic and the ancient Assyrian and Babylonian language of Akkadian.

The Aramaic Elah” and the Arabic “Allah” are the same.

The Aramaic “Elah” is derived from the Arabic “Allah”, and it means “GOD”. “Allah” in Arabic also means”GOD”, the Supreme GOD Almighty. You can easily see the similarity in their pronunciation so this concludes that the God of Jesus is also the God of the Muslims, of all mankind, and all that exists.

*(Do share to promote religious understanding & peace in the world)*

Other references about Islam:


1) The Quran,which contains the SAME original text in Arabic for all sects, all places and all times is the same text revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. It is the same text in museums and on book shelves everywhere, and the same text memorized by millions the world over. Only the Arabic text is called the Quran, while the translation is not. Every Muslim (regardless of his mother tongue) daily recites the Arabic Quran in his prayers. The Quran challenges its readers to analyze and prove it wrong, and even tells how to do it. “If it was from other than God then you would find contradictions in it”. For your convenience the link below has the original Arabic text, English translation and explanation with background. The translation and explanation are by world renowned Islamic scholar Syed Mawdudi..
Some first time readers of the Quran say there are repetitions and the topic changes from one focus to other within one chapter etc. The
Quran is a unique book revealed in the changing circumstances of the people helping them, advising them, guiding them, resolving their confusion etc., and those expecting it to be like any regular book are recommended to read this
introduction to Quran before reading the Quran itself to help understand its message.

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2) The book compiled of sayings of Prophet Muhammad is called collections of Hadith and here is the link.

3) Biography of Prophet Muhammad,written by a Christian Englishman. Click Here To Download The Link.

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4) Towards Understanding Islam …a book by Syed Mawdudi in PDF format. Mawdudi was greatest Islamic scholar in 20th century.

Click Here For The Books:-

*Understanding Islam.

*Islamic Religion.

 

5) Pastor of first Unitarian church in Denver speaks about Islam: First Unitarian Society of Denver, “What I Love About Islam” Part 2

An American pastor and theology professor for 40 years comes on a Muslim TV show (TheDeenShow.com) in an interview where both Christianity and Islam are discussed, especially the commonalities between two faiths. FORTY YEAR CHRISTIAN MINISTER COLLEGE PROFESSOR ACCEPTS ISLAM

6) For successful Christian-Muslim dialogue read the book written by Dr.Jerald Dirks, a Methodist Deacon and Harvard-educated theologian, The Cross and the Crescent available on PDF link:

Click Here For The PDF.

7) For live questions on Islam/Muhammad/Quran/Muslims please visit GainPeace.com

But please first read the links and then contact them, because you should have a background against which you are asking question. While some folks just go to anti-Islam websites to pose a question, this approach has a few problems. First you start with the bias of the site and don’t value the reply as you are looking for more questions to prove Islam wrong, not to learn it. Second these sites are old and Muslim scholars have already posted responses. The best approach is to read the Quran and other references impartially and then ask questions. Due to your unique background your question will be unique and perhaps difficult to answer!
Sincerely
Muhammad Khan
mjkhan@muslimsyourneighbors.com