Christianity

Christianity is a religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, as described in the New Testament. Its adherents, known as Christians, believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and savior of all people, whose coming as the Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament.

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Word . Christianity . Scholars . Qur'an . God (Allah)

What would our response be to a Christian scholar who accuses the Quran of not being the original word of God?

Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 5 years ago

Quran has challenged all those who claimed what this person is claiming, to bring like Quran. ( Say: If the human beings and the Jinn join together to bring like this Quran, they will never bring like Quran even if all of them support each other.( Sura 17, Verse88).

If Quran is not the original word of God, then it should be possible for the enemies of Quran to produce like Quran. When they failed to do that, it means that Quran is the word of God.

After failing to bring like Quran which is from 114 chapters , Quran challenged the enemies to bring just ten chapters like Quran.( Or they say: He (Prophet Muhammad) fabricated it (Quran). Say: Then you bring ten fabricated chapters like its chapters, and seek help from whom you want apart from Allah, if you are truthful. (Sura 11, verse 13).

They again failed to face this challenge, which proved that Quran is not from any human source but from God.

Quran challenged them again to bring just one chapter like Quran.

(And if you are in doubt about what we revealed (Quran) on Our servant (Muhammad), then bring one chapter like Quran's chapters, and call all your partners and supporters besides Allah if you are truthful). (Sura 2, verse 23)

All these challenges were since over 1400 years, against all the enemies of Quran, but not a single response has come from them. This fact itself stands as a living evidence that Quran is The True Word of God and all claims of the enemies are false.

We put this fact in front of all enemies of Islam and ask them to produce even one chapter like Quran if their claims are right.

Last note for the person who claims to be a Christian yet accuses Quran, to deal with enemies of Jesus and his mother Mary who accuse Mary with false allegations with out any evidence. They are in fact doing wrong and misleading themselves and others. He is in fact doing the same by accusing Quran, The True and Original word of God.

We also invite him to read what the great scientists stated about Quranic verses including scientific facts which were impossible to be known before 1400 years but mentioned in Quran. Many books were written in this subject. Just search for: scientific miracles in Quran. You read and think between you and God and decide whether you really want to follow the Truth?

Wassalam.

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Christianity . God (Allah) . Prophet Jesus

A Christian said that Ruhallah means Spirit of God and, as Jesus is the only one called by that name, that means Jesus is God as spirits are not created but pre-exist. How does one respond to that?

Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answered 5 years ago

According to Islamic theology, every being that is not Allah is a created being that is not eternal or infinitely pre-existing. This includes angels and spirits and other non-visible or non-human beings. In fact, in this regard, one can say it is the main difference between Islamic and Christian theology.

According to Shi'i theology, there is a phase of existence that was "before" the material world (for instance, where the light of the Prophet (S) was created), however that phase was also created and everyone and everything in it was also created.

(Not sure if that answer helps!)

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Christianity

Is it permissible to enter a church just for educational purposes or for tourism?

Entering non Muslim places of worship should not give impression of support or acceptance of the non Islamic worship or faith.

If no such impression of support or acceptance is involved, then entering non Muslim places of worship for tourism or education is permissible. Muslim should not make his education place in non Muslim places of worship as far as he can.

WAssalam.

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Mosque . Christianity . Cathedral . Ottoman Empire

Is it allowed in Islam to convert a church to a mosque after winning a war as was done after the Ottomans won the war in Constantinople and turned Aya Sophia cathedral into a mosque?

During the government of the Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) and Ameerul Mo'mineen (AS), they did not convert any church into Mosque. It is left to the people of the area whether they want to remain Christians, so, church will remain as a church for them, but if they opt to be Muslims willingly and want to use the place as a Mosque, they are free to do that.

Islam does not confiscate the religious places of other communities.

Wassalam.

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Parents . Christianity . Conversion to Islam

For my birthday, my parents have given me a bracelet with the cross for Christianity. They don’t know that I have become a Muslim. What do I do if I cannot take it off without them noticing it?

You should try your best not to embarrass your parents and try to be more kind to them as you are a Muslim, more than before.

You can wear that bracelet in front of them but not in public as it might give a wrong message to others.

Wassalam.

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Marriage . Christianity . Children

If a Muslim man marries a Christian woman in the church according to the Christian faith, then produces a child with that woman, is the child considered legitimate?

Seyed Ali Shobayri, Seyed Ali Shobayri is of mixed Iranian and Scottish descent who found the path of the Ahlul Bayt (a) by his own research. He holds a BA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University through the... Answer updated 5 years ago

Bismillah,

Asalamu Alaykom,

A Muslim man should conduct an Islamic marriage contract with a woman. Scholars differ as to whether someone can marry a Christian woman permanently. All allow temporary marriage and some scholars say that both temporary and permanent are allowed.

If however a Muslim man was ignorant and he for example read a marriage contract such as a civil one instead of Islamic (while he thought that this counts as marriage) then some scholars would say that the marriage wouldn’t be fornication.

This therefore could make the child one of shubha where they aren’t deemed as illegitimate.

If he found out his mistake though, then he must do an Islamic marriage as soon as possible.

Rgearding a Christian marriage contract, this should be asked from one's Marja and it should be stated whether the person was ignorant or not.

May Allah grant you success

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Christianity

Is it permissible for a Muslim to design a website and logo for a church?

Muslim is not allowed to take any part in propagating wrong ideas.

Wassalam.

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Baptism . Christianity . Prophet Jesus

Is it permissible to give a ride to a Christian friend for him to attend a baptism rite? Is this rite from Nabi Isa (as)?

Baptism is an old practice came from ancient cultures including Hinduism and idol worshipers. It is claimed among Christians that Prophet John baptized Prophet Jesus but there is no authentic evidence available. We do not have any evidence that any prophet was ever baptized.

Islam does not allow acts which have no evidence.

You should not take any part in any worshiping practice which has no authentic evidence.

Wassalam.

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Surah . Christianity . Qur'an

I am a Christian who wants to read the Qur'an. Instead of just reading the first Surah and working through to the last one, would you recommend a different order of reading that would be more appropriate?

What is beneficial for one person may be different from what is beneficial from another. However, my own thought is that it may be good to start from the middle of the Qur'an (really you could just open it to the middle and see what catches your eye). The reason for this is that the earlier surahs contain more passages related to the historical situation of the Muslim community at the time, and the later surahs contain more metaphorical language.

If you have a particular interest in the story of Jesus or the Virgin Mary in the Qur'an, you could also start with Surah Maryam (Surah 19) and Surah Al-i Imran (Surah 3), although you should keep in mind that these surahs cover other topics as well.

You could also consider starting with the following surahs:
* Surah Yusuf (12), which contains the Qur'anic treatment of the story of Joseph and is strongly focused on that narrative.
* Surah al-Qasas (28), which discusses Moses and Pharaoh
* Surah al-Kahf (18), which tells of the seven sleepers of the cave

These might be good choices to start with because they are strongly narrative-focused and there is shared material between the Christian and Islamic traditions, although there are some differences in the Qur'anic treatment of these narratives.

In any case, the most important thing is to have a good translation. I have been very impressed by _The Study Qur'an_, ed. S. H. Nasr. It is the best translation I have seen, and also has excellent footnotes. It is a bit heavy due to the essays in it, but one should not be intimidated because the actual text of the Qur'an is not that long.

Happy reading! If you have specific questions on specific verses, you could ask here.

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Christianity

Is it permissible to transport holy water to a Christian church?

I get the feeling you may be working in delivery or taxi services. If someone is paying you to deliver something, as long as it is not clearly illegal/forbidden and is not UN-holy water (such as cyanide to the unsuspecting or bottles of cocaine), then just deliver their package.

Unless you are living in an area with few Christians, it seems unlikely that Christians will usually ask a Muslim to do them a favour and transport holy water to a church, as most people keep their religious practices within their own circles. But if they really want you to do this, make the best choice. I am sure they can get the idea that, as a Muslim, you aren't advocating their beliefs and are just lending a helping hand. The Prophet (S) was not hostile to Christians or churches.

As for whether the water is holy or not after being prayed over, who knows. I would say that Muslims often treat certain items as holy - for instance, things from holy cities, tabaruk from majlis, gifts from pious individuals or scholars - even if there isn't any formal scriptural basis for this. In many countries, Muslims recite Qur'an over water and consider it to be helpful in spiritual healing. Perhaps the items are somehow blessed and perhaps they are not. The idea of blessing food and water through praying over it is found in many cultures and seems to be deeply rooted in the human psyche. There are certainly worse things to be transporting about, anyway, than water which someone has been praying over. God knows best.

Christianity

Is it permissible to transport holy water to a Christian church?

Muslims should always help in any good work and avoid helping in wrong. Allah (SWT) says in Quran (And help and co-operate in good and piousness, and never help in sins and wronging others) (Sura 5, Verse 2).

We should not help in wrong worship because it is based on injustice and it ignores the Truth sent by Allah (SWT) on His last Prophet Muhammad (SAWA).

What you named it as Holy Water, can you prove that it is Holy? How it became Holy? By whom?

We have to be accurate in naming things and not blindly follow others.

Wassalam.

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Prophet Jesus . Christianity . Prophet Muhammad

In Sura 4:157 it states that Jesus was not crucified. How do we know that the Prophet Mohammed made that statement? And doesn't this statement discount the validity of Christianity as a bona fide religion?

The first part of this question is really a question about the authenticity of the Qur'anic text: is it all as the Prophet Muhammad stated, or could anything have been added to it over the centuries?

Since, from the time of the Prophet, the Qur'an was heavily memorized and was transmitted by multiple transmitters, and was compiled early in Islamic history, it is unlikely that anything was added to it, as it would not have been accepted by the people. There was also a lot of strictness in copying the Qur'an. (This is in contrast to other historical manuscripts, which may easily have had interpolations) It is virtually impossible to find anyone who seriously argues that anything was added to the Qur'an after the time of the Prophet Muhammad.

For more information on the compilation of the Qur'an, you could consult Qur'anic Sciences by Abbas and Masuma Jaffer.

(From an Islamic theological perspective, the entire Qur'an is the word of God not specifically the Prophet, so technically this verse is seen as the word of God not the word of the Prophet; for the Prophet's style of speech, one could consult the hadith.)

As for Christianity itself... Certainly Christianity IS a world religion that is acknowledged as an existing religion in the Qur'an. There have been many interpretations of Christianity and ways that it is lived, and there were a number of sects in and around the Arabian Peninsula.

The Qur'an praises some aspects of Christianity and acknowledges it a religion of God, while at the same time it criticizes some beliefs or gives a different viewpoint. This is one of those differences and clearly it is a major theological difference, but it doesn't mean that Christianity as a whole has no truth or merit to it.

While the Qur'an teaches that all prophets before the time of Islam, including Jesus, taught the same message, it does not say that every religion that emerged was absolutely correct or identical. Even just considering Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, there are obviously major differences between them! Rather, the position of the Qur'an is that some people deviated from the teachings of their prophets or introduced incorrect beliefs or practices, and this is why there is variance in religions.