This is a great tragedy for Muslims.
Contradiction in the Quran
Will this be accepted by them or not?
The Quran says that God accepts the good deeds of a believer:
"And whoever does good deeds while being a believer, no denial will there be for his effort, and surely We will record it for him." (Qur'an 21:94, Arberry)
The Quran places Jews and Christians in this group:
"Indeed, those who believed and those who were Jews or Christians or Sabeans—those [among them] who believed in Allah and the Last Day and did righteousness—will have their reward with their Lord, and no fear will there be concerning them, nor will they grieve." (Qur'an 2:62)
"Indeed, those who have believed [in the Oneness of Allah and His Messenger Muhammad SAW and all that was revealed to him from Allah], and those who are Jews and the Sabians and the Christians—whoever believed in Allah and the Last Day and did righteousness—no fear will there be concerning them, nor will they grieve." (Qur'an 5:69)
These passages seem quite clear: Jews and Christians do not need to become Muslims to be saved. They only need to believe that God exists, that there will be a Day when He will resurrect and judge humanity ("the Last Day"), and to do what is right.
Yet this directly contradicts other statements which say that Islam is the only religion accepted and even speaks against embracing the faiths of Judaism and Christianity!
"And they say, 'None will enter Paradise except one who is a Jew or a Christian.' These are their wishful thinking. Say, [O Muhammad], 'Produce your proof, if you should be truthful.' Yes, [on the contrary], whoever submits his face in Islam to Allah while being a doer of good will have his reward with his Lord. And no fear will there be concerning them, nor will they grieve..." [See Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Vol.1, Page 154]. "The Jews say the Christians follow nothing [true]; and the Christians say the Jews follow nothing [true]; though both recite the Scripture. Thus the polytheists speak the same as they do. But Allah will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that over which they used to differ." (Qur'an 2:111-113)
"Indeed, the religion in the sight of Allah is Islam. And those who were given the Scripture did not differ except after knowledge had come to them—out of jealous animosity between themselves. And whoever disbelieves in the verses of Allah, then indeed, Allah is swift in [taking] account." (Qur'an 3:19)
"Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was one inclining toward truth, a Muslim [submitting to Allah]. And he was not of the polytheists." (Qur'an 3:67)
"So is it other than the religion of Allah they desire, while to Him have submitted [all] those within the heavens and earth, willingly or by compulsion, and to Him they will be returned? Say, 'We have believed in Allah and in what was revealed to us and what was revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the Descendants [Al-Asbat], and in what was given to Moses and Jesus and to the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and to Him we have submitted [in Islam].' And whoever desires other than Islam as religion—never will it be accepted from him, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers." (Qur'an 3:83-85)
"...This day those who disbelieve have despaired of [defeating] your religion; so fear them not, but fear Me. This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion..." (Qur'an 5:3)
Moreover, the Quran says that Jews and Christians are condemned for believing in the divinity of God's messengers like Jesus and Ezra:
"They have certainly disbelieved who say, 'Allah is the Messiah, the son of Mary.' But the Messiah said, 'O Children of Israel, worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.' Indeed, he who associates others with Allah—Allah has forbidden him Paradise, and his refuge is the Fire. And there are not for the wrongdoers any helpers. They have certainly disbelieved who say, 'Allah is the third of three.' And there is no god except one God. And if they do not desist from what they are saying, there will surely afflict the disbelievers among them a painful punishment." (Qur'an 5:72-73)
"The Jews say, 'Ezra is the son of Allah'; and the Christians say, 'The Messiah is the son of Allah.' That is their statement from their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved [before them]. May Allah destroy them; how are they deluded?" (Qur'an 9:30)
Given the above, how can the Quran promise Jews and Christians a reward from their Lord for believing and doing good while they are not Muslims and hold to the divinity of specific messengers?
To avoid this problem, some Muslims interpret the word "Islam" not as the religion itself, but as a reference to submission, which is its literal meaning. By this understanding, anyone who submits to God is a Muslim, whose path is essentially Islam even if they call themselves Jews or Christians.
The main issue with this claim is that this is not how the Quran defines Islam—as merely general submission—but as a religion distinct from Judaism and Christianity, as Q. 2:111 and 3:67 show. It is even specifically introduced as a religion in Q. 3:19 and 83-85.
Indeed, the Quran claims that the name Muslim was given to prophets long before Muhammad:
"And strive for Allah with the striving due to Him. He has chosen you and has not placed upon you in the religion any difficulty. [It is] the religion of your father, Abraham. Allah named you Muslims before [in former scriptures] and in this [revelation] that the Messenger may be a witness over you and you may be witnesses over the people. So establish prayer and give zakah and hold fast to Allah. He is your protector; and excellent is the protector, and excellent is the helper." (Qur'an 22:78)
This is how some early Muslim commentators explained these writings:
"(He has named you Muslims before and in this [Qur'an])"
Narrated by Imam Abdullah bin Al-Mubarak from Ibn Jurayj, from ‘Ata’ from Ibn Abbas regarding Allah’s saying...
"(He named you Muslims before)"
"This refers to Allah, exalted is He." This was also the opinion of Mujahid, `Ata', Ad-Dahhak, As-Suddi, Muqatil bin Hayyan, and Qatadah. Mujahid said: "Allah named you Muslims before, in the previous scriptures and in Adh-Dhikr [the reminder, the Quran]."
For more detail, see: [Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Abridged), Surah Al-Isra’ 39 to the end of Surah Al-Mu’minun, summarized by a group of scholars under Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri [Darussalam, Riyadh, Houston, New York, Lahore; First Edition: July 2000], Vol. 6, pp. 625-626; emphasis added]
So, the Quran teaches that even before Muhammad, the prophets and believers were called "Muslims"! In other words, their religion was not Judaism or Christianity but Islam, and that is why they were called Muslims. This also explains why Q. 3:67 calls Abraham a Muslim and shows that the Quran does not define "Islam" in merely a general sense, such that anyone who submits to God is, in fact, a Muslim regardless of whether he calls himself a Jew, Christian, Hindu, etc. For more on this, see: http://answering-islam.org/Quran/Contra/muslims_before.htm
Others may argue that the Quran is only referring to those Jews and Christians who affirm the absolute oneness of God, or the Islamic concept of tawhid, and not those who embrace the divinity of prophets such as Jesus. The problem with this claim is that these verses do not provide such a qualification, i.e., that only those Jews and Christians who believe in Islamic tawhid will receive a reward from their Lord. Furthermore, it is a matter of historical record that Orthodox Jews and Christians uphold the unity of God, despite Muslims’ dissatisfaction with those groups' doctrine of God and their criticism of such teachings as the Christian Trinity.
Moreover, the Quran warns against accepting only some prophets and books of Allah, and rejecting others:
"Then is it only a part of the Scripture that you believe in, and do you disbelieve in the rest? Then what is the recompense of those who do so among you except disgrace in worldly life; and on the Day of Resurrection they will be sent back to the severest torment. And Allah is not unaware of what you do." (Qur'an 2:85)
"Indeed, those who disbelieve in Allah and His messengers and wish to discriminate between Allah and His messengers and say, 'We believe in some and disbelieve in others,' and wish to adopt a way in between—" (Qur'an 4:150)
Historically, the Jewish religion has rejected John the Baptist, Jesus Christ, and Muhammad as messengers from God, while Christianity rejects Muhammad as a true prophet/messenger. Furthermore, Jews do not accept the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ or the Quran, just as Christians reject the Quran as revelation. So how can people remain in these religions without violating the earlier Quranic statements? And how can God promise that such people have nothing to fear but will receive a reward from Him?
Furthermore, by rejecting some prophets and books, such people have become unbelievers (kuffar). The Quran emphatically says that Allah will not accept the good deeds of unbelievers:
"It is not for the polytheists to maintain the mosques of Allah while witnessing against themselves with disbelief. For such their deeds have become worthless, and in the Fire shall they abide." (Qur'an 9:17)
"[Their situation] is like those before you: they were mightier than you in power and more abundant in wealth and children. They had their share [of enjoyment] in their portion, so you have enjoyed your share as those before you enjoyed their share; and you have engaged in vanities as they engaged in vanities. It is those whose deeds have become worthless in this world and in the Hereafter, and it is they who are the losers." (Qur'an 9:69)
"They will say, 'Did there not come to you your messengers with clear proofs?' They will say, 'Yes.' They will reply, 'Then supplicate [yourselves], but the supplication of the disbelievers is nothing but in vain.'" (Qur'an 40:50)
Again, how can one remain a Jew or Christian and have their righteous deeds accepted while rejecting some of the prophets and scriptures which the Quran says must be fully embraced and believed?
All quotations taken from the Hilali-Khan translation of the Quran.
Shalom,
Dr. Maxwell Shimba for Max Shimba Ministries
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