Jesus, the Son of God: Biblical meaning, Muslim Understanding ...

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St Francis Magazine Vol 7, No 3 | August 2011!which He bestowed on Maryam (Mary) and a spirit (Ruh) created byHim; so believe in Allah and His Messengers. Say not: "(God is) a trinity!"Cease! (it is) better for you. For Allah is (the only) One Ilah(God), glory be to Him (Far Exalted is He) above having a son. 26Muhammad Asad, a well-known Qur'anic commentator, saysabout the above passage: "In the verse under discussion, whichstresses the purely human nature of Jesus and refutes the belief in hisdivinity, the Qur'an points out that Jesus, like all other human beings,was 'a soul created by Him'." 27 [emphasis added]In 5:72, the Qur'an says:Surely, they have disbelieved who say: "Allah is the Messiah ['Isa (Jesus)],son of Maryam (Mary)." But the Messiah ['Isa (Jesus)] said: "OChildren of Israel! Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord." 28 Verily, whosoever sets up partners (inworship) with Allah, then Allah has forbidden Paradise to him, and theFire will be his abode. And for the Zalimun (such polytheists andwrong-doers) there are no helpers.Qur'an 9:30–31 says:Christians say: Messiah is the son of Allah. That is their saying withtheir mouths, resembling the saying of those who disbelieved aforetime(Jews). Allah's Curse be on them, how they are deluded away from thetruth! They (Jews and Christians) took their rabbis and their monks tobe their lords besides Allah (by obeying them in things which theymade lawful or unlawful according to their own desires without beingordered by Allah), and (they also took as their Lord) Messiah, son of!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!created). This wrong understanding is particularly significant in light of suggestionsmade by certain Bible translators that the term "the Son" be replaced by "theWord" in translations for Islamic peoples.26 Of course, passages from the Qur'an such as this one are in direct contradictionto the Biblical truth that proclaims Jesus as the God who has always existed, who isCreator, not created (John 1:1–3). Especially important are passages such as Colossians1:13–20 which clearly state that God's Son is the one who created all thingsand that He is in fact God.27 Asad, Muhammad, The Message of the Qur'an: Translated and Explained by MuhammadAsad, p. 137, note 181.28 References within wedges are from Asad, The Message of the Qur'an, p. 159, note88.St Francis Magazine is published by Interserve and Arab Vision!*"!
St Francis Magazine Vol 7, No 3 | August 2011!Maryam (Mary), while they (Jews and Christians) were commanded[in the Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)] to worship none butOne Ilah (God - Allah) La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to beworshipped but He). Praise and glory be to Him (far above is He) fromhaving the partners they associate (with Him).In the two preceding passages from the Qur'an, the word "partners"is a reference to "shirk", the unforgivable sin of making anyoneequal with God. According to Muhammad Asad:...some of those who claimed to be followers of Jesus lifted this expression["my Father"] from the realm of metaphor and transferred it tothe realm of positive reality with reference to Jesus alone: and thusthey gave currency to the idea that Jesus was literally 'the son of God',that is, God incarnate. 29 [emphasis added]In the above quotes from the Qur'an and its commentators, it isclear that what primarily offends Muslims about calling Jesus God'sSon is that they know it means that He shares God's attributes anddivine nature, which is exactly the correct meaning according to theBible. 30 In other words, Muslims understand well what it means forJesus to be declared the Son of God: He is God incarnate. 31It is significant that this important fact of shirk is not clearly recognizedin the writings of those who are leading the movement toremove and/or change Father-Son terminology in the Bible text forMuslims. Instead of acknowledging that Muslims' primary under-!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!29 Asad, The Message of the Qur'an, p. 79, note 60. This Qur'anic commentator makes nomention of marital relations between God and Mary at passages like this, rather the issue forhim (and other Muslims) is the Christians' claim that Jesus is God incarnate.30 As one native Arabic speaker states, "Arabs respond to 'Son of God' in the sameway that Jews did, which indicates its accuracy...'Son of God' carries the connotationof equality with God in Hebrew, Arabic, and Aramaic (sister languages with acommon ancestor)... For Muslims, the stumbling block is Christ’s deity, crucifixion,and resurrection. The sexual connotations are just a polemic against Christianity."[Pierre Houssney, February 11, 2011 comment on Trevan Wax, "Islam and Contextualization:A conversation with Colin Hansen and J.D. Greear," Kingdom Peopleblog, http://trevin wax.com/2011/02/10/islam-and-contextualization-aconversation-with-collin-hansen-j-d-greear].31 However, many Muslims are afraid to accept such a truth about Jesus since, asthe above quotes show, the Qur'an teaches them that they are committing an unforgivablesin and are destined for the eternal fires of hell if they do believe it.St Francis Magazine is published by Interserve and Arab Vision!*#!
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