Examining Buddhism from an Islamic Perspective

Buddhism was founded by Siddharata Gautama who was called Buddha which means the scholar. He lived from 560 BC to 480 BC. He was raised near the borders of Nepal as a prince and enjoyed a great deal of luxury. He got married when he was 19. When he became 26, he abandoned his wife and became detached from all the luxuries to live a harsh and difficult life. In doing so, he worked on disciplining himself. After his death, his followed gathered in a large convention in 483 BC. They attempted to remove differences among them and record the teachings of Buddha. They delegated this responsibility to three monks.

1. Kashyapa – dealt with intellectual issues.
2. Popali – dealt with self discipline.
3. Ananda – recorded the sayings of Buddha.

In the beginning, Buddha was objecting and opposing Hinduism. His teachings call attention to humans. He preaches a detachment from luxury., calling for love, forgiveness and good deeds.

After the death of Buddha, Buddhism became an idolatrous religion. Its follower exaggerated the belief in Buddha until they gave him the status of god.

The Buddhists believe that Buddha is the son of Allah and he is the salvation to humanity from its problems and its pain. They believe that he will carry their sins for them. They believe that Buddha was born as a result of the Holy Spirit coming to the virgin Maya. There are many similarities between the Buddhist belief in Buddha and the Christian belief in Jesus (AS).

Buddhists believe that Buddha was made known as the son of god as soon as he was born. They believe that when he was a baby he said to his mother that he is the greatest of all mankind. They say that once Buddha entered the temple and the idol prostrated to him. They believe that he will come back to this world to restore peace and blessings in it. They believe that Buddha is the only great creature who is eternal. According to them, he is the one who will hold people accountable. They believed that Buddha established a religious kingdom on earth. Some researchers say that Buddha denied and rejected faith in god.but he used to believe in reincarnation. According to Buddha all people are equal.

1. Buddhists must abide by 8 elements to discipline themselves and overcome their desires.
2. Straight forwardness. 
3. To rid oneself of lust and desire before doing anything
4. Good thinking
5. Enlightenment
6. Correct and straight forward belief, i.e. doing only the things you feel comfortable with
7. Compatibility and congruence among the tongue, the behavior and the heart. 
8. Correct life based upon abandoning desires. Life must be based on knowledge and truth

According to them sins are caused by three things.

1. Indulgence in desires
2. Bad intentions
3. Lack of thinking and understanding

Buddhists are divided into two groups, i.e. the religious and the civil. The religious adhere to all

teachings of Buddha whereas the civil are selective in what they take and leave of his teachings. 

There are two sects of Buddhists. Those in the north i.e. China, Nepal, Tibet, Japan and Sumatra believe in Buddha as a god. While those in the south, i.e. Burma, Sri Lanka and Thailand.believe that Buddha was a teacher who reached a higher level of charity and purity.

There are three sections in the book of Buddhism 

Collection of laws written by Buddha

The sermons Buddha made

The Basis and foundation of their religion.

Buddhism is a very old with some similarities and borrowing from Hinduism and Confucianism. It is widespread in Asia, with some 6 million followers. One of their largest temple is in Nepal.It is  based on religious philosophy which was adopted as a religious code.

Examining Confucianism from an Islamic Perspective

Confucius was the founder of Confucianism. He was a philosopher and was born in 551 BC. Confucius did not claim to be a prophet. His followers think he was guided by godly power and inspiration. He traveled to many places. He was appointed a judge, a ruler and a prime minister. Then he began to study and isolate himself. He was humorous and searched for political appointments. He was a good speaker as well as being a musician.

Confucius wrote five books which are respected in Confucianism. In it he described the worship of god as being the essence of the religion. He believed that the earth has a god who is worshiped by majority of Chinese. The sun, the moon, the clouds, the plants and the mountains all each have gods. The angels are treated as holy as well. They also worship the spirits of the father and forefathers. They do not believe in heavens and hell, neither do they believe in the resurrection. They believe that the corpses disintegrate in the ground. A student once asked Confucius about death. He replied that they have not studied life yet, so how can be talk about death. They believe that recompense only happens only in this life. Good happens as a result of good and bad happens as a result of bad. They believe that natural disasters occurs as a result of people's sins. 

In terms of manners and morals Confucianism emphasizes the conscience that leads a person to submit to social norms and traditions. They emphasize the obedience to the parents, to the rulers and younger brother to older brother. They emphasize sincerity between friends and using kind words when talking to people. The ruler must respect the people who are worthy of respect; show kindness to relatives; treat his ministers and employees with kindness and take care of the public interest.

Although they have a class system, movement among classes is possible if people have the qualifications.

Confucianism is widespread in China. In 1949, it was removed from playing a political and religious role but it remains in the heart of the Chinese people. Its teachings are widespread in the Chinese social system. It is also active in Korea and Japan. Muslims have not really reached out to them to give them the message of Islam.

Examining Hinduism from an Islamic Perspective

The Eastern religious have similarities among them in terms of their beliefs and practices. They also have common features with Judaism, Christianity and even Islam. Of these common features is the concept of accountability and the concept of the importance of religions in the life of people. They also have differences which separate the religious traditions of the east from Abrahamic religions. One such concept is polytheism. In Eastern religions we find a god for almost every aspect of their lives. Another concept is belief in the reincarnation of the soul where it returns and lives again in the body of some other creature depending of the destiny of the person whose soul is lost. Through this process the soul experiences enjoyment or punishment. Islam was accepted by a large part of the Eastern world because they were convinced of its truth. So it flourished in India, China and other areas.. The Quran says:

“There is no one single nation but it has received a Warner”

We do not know if the origin of Eastern religions is in the from of messengers that were sent to them or whether it was innovated by the people.. Regardless, we believe that these religions are false and we do not treat these people like we treat the People of the Book.

Hinduism is a major Eastern religion found in India. It evolved through a long period of history from 15^th century BC. It contains spiritual and behavior instructions. for its followers The Hindus believe in a variety of gods. It is not known how Hinduism started. The authors of its holy texts are not well known. It was reformed and rewritten several centuries before Christ. It has very many books. A book the have is called Veda which is a Sanskrit word mean which means wisdom and knowledge. The Veda shows the levels of how to develop a sophisticated mental ability. It contains supplications which lead to the belief of mixing between the Creator and the created. It also contains supplications for the priests. There is also Samarveda which are hymns that are sung during the prayers. There is the TharwaVeda which is used to repel sorcery and satanic elements. There is the Laws of Manu which was written in third century before Christ.  There are many other books like the Mahabharata, Ramayana, etc.

Although they are polytheists, to them monotheism means that when they worship a particular god, they totally devote themselves to it. They believe that every matter that has a beneficial aspect or harmful aspect, has a god for the benefit and a god for the harm. Thus, they have a multitude of gods. In the 9^th century before Christ, their leaders and priests combined all gods into one god through which they claimed that the entire world came out from. They call him Bhrama. They also believe in Vishnu who guards and protects as well as Shiva who destroys. They believe that whoever worships one of these gods, it is as if he had worshiped all three and thus worshiped the one god. This is a form of trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva that they believe in.

They treat the cow, monkey, elephant and snake as holy, although the cow is more holy than other animals. They are not allowed to harm or slaughter it. When the cow dies it is buried in a religious ceremony. 

They believe that their god came and inhabited a human called Krishna. They believe in Krishna in a similar way that Christians believe in Christ. Some Muslim scholars think that the concept of trinity in Christianity may be taken from Hinduism.

Hinduism implements an ancient class system in Hindu society. The divide people into four categories:

• The Brahmin, they believe, were created by god from his own mouth. In society they are the teachers, judges and priests. They are most superior..
• The Kashatrya, they believe, that god created them from his arms. In society that are the warriors.
• The Vish , they believe, were created from god’s thigh. They are farmers and traders and financially support religious institutions.
• The Shuder are the lowest class which they believe were created from god’s feet. Their duty is to serve the other classes.

Hindus agree to submit to the class system due to religious motivation. A man from a class other than the lowest class can marry from a higher class or a lower class but not the lowest class. A man in the lowest class can only marry within his own class. A Brahmin is considered to be the best. They have the right to take as much wealth as they please from people from other classes specially those of the lowest class. They are not supposed to pay taxes. They are not supposed to be killed even if they kill. The most severe punishment for them if they kill is to have their head shaved. Even a 10 year old Brahmin is more valued in society than a 100 year old Shuder. There are very severe punishments for the Shuder. If they teach a Brhamin the Shuder will be forced to drink boiling oil. Many people from Shuder found their dignity in Islam and accepted it.

The Hindus believe in karma i.e. that this world is based on justice and there will be justice in this life or the hereafter. They take this life as a period of trial as well as a place for recompense. They also believe in reincarnation. They believe that when a person dies, only the body gets decomposed. The soul comes out and goes to get into another body. The determination of the type of the second body is based on how the person in the first body lived. They believe in the unity of the universe in that the Creator is confused and mixed with his creation. They believe that the entire universe is a manifestation of god.

The burn the corpses because they believe this allows the soul to escape and rise from the body to reach the highest level in the shortest period of time. According to them burning gives freedom to the soul from the frame of the body. They believe that the soul either rises to the highest place that of the angels or goes to people or to be reincarnated or goes to the hellfire. There is a hellfire for each sin. 

When the husband dies, his wife is not allowed to be married again. She lives in misery, is tortured and humiliation. Many wives choose to burn with their husband's corpse. They used to allow child marriages even when the children are crawling. If the boy dies, the girl was not allowed to marry again. In modern Indian law child marriages are forbidden.

The Hindus control the government institutions in India. Muslims live as minorities. There is a lot of differences between Hindus and Muslims which has led to a lot of animosity between them. This led to the creation of Pakistan in 1947 for the Muslims. Muslim minority still live with Hindus in India.

The Efforts of Evangelism and Orientalism in the Muslim World

Evangelism is an imperialist, political and religious movement that began to appear as a result of the failure of the Crusades in the Muslim world. Its objective is to spread Christianity in the world, in particular in the Muslim world. It also serves political objectives which included control of those countries where they convert people. The factors that helped them include widespread poverty and ignorance specially in the Muslim World. Western influence in these countries due to colonialism also is a big factor. The Evangelists established churches, schools, hospitals, charitable organizations and institutions which are considered Western but were practically aiding in evangelizing the host populations. The weakness in Muslim political leadership has allowed these movements to work in their hosts countries freely, or even being facilitated by Muslim government due to some political gain.

Raymond Lowe was the first person to start evangelizing after the failure of the Crusades. He learnt Arabic, traveled to Jordan, Palestine, Syria and Lebanon to debate with Muslim scholars. Another important figure in this movement is Samuel Zwinmer. He headed the evangelizing mission to Bahrain and the Middle East. He was the chief editor of the Muslim World magazine which was published in English and started in 1911. It continues to be published until now from Hartford. He entered Bahrain in 1890 and by 1894 he was fully supported by American churches. The first missionary work he did was under the cover of health. He established hospitals in Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman. There is an institute established in his name in the US for evangelizing the Muslims. When he faced a lot of failure in evangelizing the Muslim world he announced the Jerusalem Conference of Evangelizing in 1935. He said to his followers “the missionary work that you have been recruited to do by the Christian countries in the Muslim countries, was not really to bring Muslims to Christianity for they do not deserve this guidance and this honor. But your mission is to bring the Muslim out of his Islamic religion in order to be detached completely from God so that he has no connection with morality which is considered the basis on which nations depend."

The evangelizing mission has been holding conventions including the convention held in Cairo in 1906, which was called by Zwimmer. He gathered Protestant missionaries to think of ways to spread the Bible among the Muslims. There were 62 participants in this convention and Zwimeer was the chair. In 1910, a similar conference was held in Scotland. 159 evangelical organizations of the world attended it . In 1911 a conference was held in Lucknow, India. At the end they distributed a document on the one side which it said “in memory of Lucknow 1911”. On the other side it said “To the one to whom that the Muslim world prostrates five times a day with humbleness and not with compassion, to the Muslim world and the Muslim communities, guide them to salvation through Jesus, the Messiah”, After that several conferences were held in Jerusalem. In 1974, a convention was held in Lausanne,  Switzerland.

The most alarming convention was held in Colorado in 1978 called the North American Compendium for Evangelizing Muslims in which 150 participants attended for two weeks. In it studies on the effects and results of evangelizing projects in the Muslim world were presented as well as suggestions on how to distribute and bring the Bible closer to Muslims. It ended with strategic plan for evangelizing that remained secret and had a budget of $1 billion. 

Some of the institutions the Evangelists built in the Muslim world include the American University of Beirut, American University of Cairo, American University of Khartoum, French College in Lahore, and many such organizations established by the American, German and English. Evangelists issue publications, videos, audios to aid them in their efforts. They establish correspondence programs between Muslims and Christians. They use broadcasting, magazines, Islamic encyclopedias, publications of the Bible, concise and attractive pamphlets for free distribution for those who ask for and for those who do not ask. They have established student houses, youth hostels, clubs, old homes, libraries, camps. They visit the sick in the hospitals as well as the prisoners in jails.

The concentration of their broadcasting stations in the most in the Muslim world. According to a 1975 study, in Indonesia they had 8,919 Protestant churches. 3,897 Protestant priests, 8,504 full time Protestant missionaries, 7,250 Catholic churches, 2,630 Catholic priests and 5,693 full time Catholic missionaries. They hoped to finish the conversion of Indonesia to Christianity by 2000. According to 1978 Compendium, there are more than 50 US missionary organizations in Kuala Lumpur alone. They had 2500+ broadcasting stations using more than 64 languages in Kuala Lumpur. There are 1,0100 missionaries groups in 38 African countries and a total of 220,000 missionaries in the whole world of them 138,000 are Catholic and 82,000 are Protestants. In Africa 119,000 missionaries spend more than $2 billion a year on evangelizing the local populations. They have their own planes, ships, and other modes of transportation. 

They believe are involved in these efforts because of the traditional hostility between Islam and Christianity as they believe that Islam prevented the spread of Christianity when it spread to the three continents in the middle ages. They have a political agenda which is to weaken the Muslims by encouraging them to be distant from Islam and thus control them.. It focuses on spreading their religion through social work and calls of women’s emancipation, human rights, etc. 

It is important for Muslims to understand the objectives of this evangelizing movement. Muslims must educate themselves about their strategies and tactics so that they can neutralize their efforts. Muslims must learn from them and apply similar tactics to spread Islam throughout the world. Muslims must also replace the social services missionaries provide in their own lands with those sponsored by Islamic organizations.

Another group of people who are very dangerous to Islam are the Orientalists The "orientalist" is literally someone related to the East. It refers to the scholarship related to the understanding of the affairs, history, languages, religion, culture and way of life of Muslim societies. This scholarship helped in the Western understanding of the Muslim world. It is aimed at helping the Western imperialism in the Muslim world.

It may have first begun at the time of Islamic state in Spain, or perhaps the end of the Crusades, or maybe event during the Umayyad Dynasty in the second century of Islam. John of Damascus is considered to be the first orientalist. He wrote two books. The first was "Life of Muhammad" and the second was "The Dialogue Between a Muslim and a Christian". His efforts was aimed to enable Christians to debate with Muslims. The most prominent orientalist, Dr Edward Said of US wrote a book called "Orientalism" which was made into a documentary called "Edward Said on Orientalism". He wrote another book called "Covering Islam". He describes Orientalism as a scholarship that is not interested in understanding or coming close to the cultures of the East. Rather it generalizes all  cultures as one culture. It was intended to support the Western hegemony over the Muslim world. He uses the theory of the French sociologist Michel Fuqeux that "knowledge is power" to prove that the Western power and ability to subdue the Muslim world was due to the scholarship of Orientalism. He cites an example when French colonized Egypt they brought scientists from all walks of life to study Egypt, whereas Egypt did not have any knowledge of France. Hence the French were successful in controlling Egypt.

From a religious point of view, Orientalism attached the sources of the Islamic belief system. Their scholarship raised the doubt about the truthfulness of the Prophet (SWAS). They claimed that the hadiths were fabricated as they were made by Muslims in the first three centuries. They wished that after the Muslims give up the Sunnah they will have only the Quran to deal with which can be interpreted in many ways. This, they hoped will break the unity of the Muslims. Also, the majority of Islamic rules from the Sunnah will disappear after discrediting the hadiths. They also crated  doubt in the authenticity of the Quran and thus weakened its authority. The wanted to remove the source of Islam. They attempted to belittle the value of Islamic Jurisprudence. They stated that Islamic law derived from Roman law. They had hoped that Muslims would have to attempt to make a new law and give up the heritage of Islamic law. They belittled the importance of the Arabic language among Muslims arguing that Arabic is unable to catch up with modern thought. They encouraged local dialects to supersede Classical Arabic. They hypothesized that Islam was borrowed from Judaism and Christianity. We realize the differences between these religions. They are there because Islam is authentic while the others have changed. Their similarities are there not because of borrowing but the three religions come from one source  - Allah. The orientalists use weak and fabricated hadiths to attack Islam although they had criticized the validity of hadith themselves. They use their institutions and resources in order to evangelize the Muslims.

The strategic objective of orientalists is to prevent Westerners to fall in love with Islam after their military attempt to destroy Islam failed. They also also have financial/commercial objectives as they realize that knowledge of the East can bring them profits. They have indirect control over the resources of the Muslim world. Politically they are motivated to weaken the brotherhood among the Muslims through their work. They had to divide the Muslims in order to control them. They follow a policy of divide and conquer which they implement by encouraging nationalism. They have pitted Arabs against the non-Arabs as well as divided the Arabs into very many different nationalities. Nationalities help weaken of the Ummah. They sponsored the growth of the local dialects and cultural practices rather than the development of religious knowledge and values as well as Classical Arabic. Western governors and nowadays Western Ambassadors learn the languages, habits and practices of the Muslims before starting their missions. Orientalists were also motivated by gathering intelligence in Muslim countries and provided advice to the enemies of Islam. Some orientalists were motivated to learn for the sake of knowledge. Muslims say that the book of Thomas Arnold - "Call to Islam” - fairly depicted Islam. The French orientalist Rene accepted Islam and lived and was buried in Algeria. He wrote books in support of Islam.

The orientalist movement have published several books, some of which are valuable to Muslims. Of these is the Mujam al Mufahris which is a dictionary of the words of the holy hadiths. It includes an index of words in the 6 authentic hadith books as well as Musnad Ad Darimi and Muwatta Imam Malik. It is published in 7 volume and is very concise and useful.

In a report of one of the British ministers to his government in 1938 wrote "war thought us that Islamic Unity is the greatest danger that the British Empire must fight against."

Muslims must realize that the movement of Orientalism has resulted in the desire and effort to evangelize Muslims, destroy the credibility of Islam. Evangelism and Orientalism work in coordination. Orientalism was based mainly in Europe, but now it is based in the US. It is supported by governments, institutions, businesses and churches. It is dedicated to serve the imperialist enemies of Islam. They work for the establishment of Israel and are able to achieve trust and credibility among the Muslim world. Orientalists are appointed in key positions in the Muslim world. There are many people who are not Orientalists but speak the language of the Orientalists and work for their goals without awareness.

In order to counter the efforts of Orientalism, Muslims must learn Islamic knowledge. When a typical Muslim takes a course in Islam in university, they are taught using books by Orientalists. His teacher is probably also an Orientalist. So he gets a distorted version of Islam and his thoughts become corrupted. Thus the Muslims must equip himself by learning true Islamic knowledge deeply. A knowledgeable  Muslim will know what the Orientalists are saying and counter their arguments. It is not useful to argue about each of their claims but it is important to discredit the authority of the Orientalist, so that people do not see him with respect. Muslim scholars should read what the Orientalists are writing. They should counter that by  presenting the truth about Islam in an attractive and easy language so that people can read without confusion. The style of writing should be such that the normal people enjoy what they read. Finally,  Muslims should carry out scholarship in the Islamic sciences that the Orientalists have monopoly over. They should fill that Islamic knowledge vacuum where only the Orientalist operate. Unfortunately not many bright Muslim minds are active in these areas.

Examining Christian Groups from an Islamic Perspective

There is a lot of variety in the groups and sects of Christianity. In this post, we look at a few briefly discussing their history, beliefs, practices and interactions with the Muslims.

"Orthodox" when used to describe a religion means straight forward and in accordance with the original teachings of the religion. The followers of the Orthodox Church are concentrated in the East. They are often said to belong to the Eastern Church. They were established after the 5^th Constantine Convention in 879 AD. There are two main branches of Orthodox Christianity - the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox and the Constantine Orthodox. They differ in that the Egyptian Coptic church believes in one nature of Jesus whereas the Constantine Orthodox believe in two natures – human and divine. The Egyptian Orthodox church resisted the attempt of the Western churches to impose their authority and doctrine over them. There was so much animosity among them that it resulted in the Copts participating in the resistance against the Crusaders in alliance with the Muslims. The Egyptian Coptic Church has several directions in its ranks. There is a secular orientation in which involvement of the church in the State in modern times is considered disobedience to the teachings of their religion. There is the isolatory orientation which call for the church to only address religious affairs and isolate other aspects of life. There is the conflict orientation where Muslims and members of the church which oppose them are considered disbelievers and are to be resisted. There is the inclusive orientation which holds that the church is an inclusive establishment concerned with religious and worldly affairs and must provides solution to that. Another position assumes national responsibly to defend the country and participate with only religious affairs in some form of secularism.

The main beliefs of the Orthodox Church includes the belief in the trinity. They believe that Jesus (AS) is the Lord and the God at the same time. Greek Orthodox are an exception. They believe that Jesus (AS) has two natures and two wills. The Orthodox believe that God manifested himself in Jesus (AS) the Messiah to rid humanity from sin of Adam after him. They believe Jesus (AS) was crucified for this purpose, that he was resurrected after three days and he will be sitting on the right side of God to hold people to account. They believe that Mary was mother of God. They glorify her and treat her as holy and a saint.  They believe in the Old Testament and the New Testament. They believe in seven daily prayers which are done either individually or in a group. Their first prayer is before dawn, second on is at 9 AM, third at noon, fourth at 3 PM, fifth at sunset, sixth at sleep time and the seventh at midnight. Prayer to them is supplications in a specific form. They do not use music in their prayer services in the church. They do not have daily prayers in the Church. Fasting to them is to abstaining from food till sunset. The one who cannot fast, can fast according to his ability. Those who do not fast abstain from meat and eat only vegetables on the days of the fast. They have different levels of priesthood. Their priests practice celibacy. They believe that their religion is universal. There have been calls for the revival of Coptic language and Coptic nationalism. Some have even called for a country for the Orthodox people. 

Their religious beliefs and practices are derived from their Bible, the proceeds of the various conventions until 451 AD, Greek philosophy and various civilizations including ancient Egyptian, Indian and Greek. They are widespread in Turkey, Greece, Russia, Balkan, Mediterranean islands, Hungary, Romania and Egypt where they are 5.78% of population. Egyptian Coptic churches have been established in Libya, Algeria, Kuwait, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Syria,, Jordan, Lebanon, US, Australia, Austria, France and Kenya. 

There are various differences and similarities among the various Orthodox churches. In general, Greek and other pagan civilizations have had a great influence on the Eastern Church. There has been rivalry between them and Western churches. Due to the severe treatment they suffered from Western churches, they welcomed the Muslims due to their good treatment. This led to a large scale conversion to Islam in Egypt. Recently, the Coptic have regained strength and are very active to convert Egyptian Muslims. 

The main Western church which rivaled the Orthodox Church for a long time is the Catholic Church. It was established by St. Peter who died in 62 AD. The Catholic Church played a big role in the events in Europe. The conflict between the Church and rulers of Europe resulted in new doctrine and beliefs like the holiness of the Pope, infallibility of the Pope’s position, and also of clergy under the Pope. These changes started in the Convention of Rome in 769 AD although not all religious authorities in Catholicism are of the same opinion. The infallibility of Pope was criticized by philosophers and reformers in the West. 

The most important belief of the Catholic Church is that God is one but has three forms – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. They believe that Jesus (AS) has two natures and forms – divine and human. They believe that the Holy Spirit comes form the Father and the Son together. They believe that the form of the Son is less than the form of the Father. They believe that their forms are transitional, with the Father capable of transforming into to the Son. Although they state that the three forms are separate from each other and not confused with each other, there is a contradiction in that the Father took the form of Jesus (AS). The reason for this is that in order to relive humans from the sin committed by Adam (AS). 

They treat Mary as holy. They believe that the revelation continues and comes to the Pope. It is one of the source of spiritual knowledge and religious understanding, according to them. They believe that the cross is holy. They believe in bible: the Torah, books of prophets, New Testament, the messages of the messengers. They practice confession in which they confess their sins to the clergy once a year. The clergy then forgives them and they are supposed to become sinless. They allow the delay of baptism till puberty. Divorce is forbidden among them even in cases of adultery. They believe in the holiness of the Pope and his infallibility. They consider that after death there will be a place called the "purifier". Souls that are not completely pure will be held at that place and will be punished until they are purified and then they will go to heaven.. They believe that Allah only does good and that evil is is from human beings. They allow drinking blood and eating dead animals. Catholic monks are allowed to eat fats of swine and can shave their beards. They can do prayers and supplications every day in many different ways including individually. Their fasting is on Fridays and Saturdays. It is done by abstaining from meat. They also practice other forms of fasting. The Catholic church is distinguished by the use of the Latin language, incense, images, and special calendar. The Pope manages the Churches all over the world through his assistants centrally from Rome. He has the privilege to grant forgiveness to people who seek it.

The Catholics derive their beliefs from their distorted bible, the proceedings of various conventions and other religions like Buddhism, pagan Romans, Greek and Egyptians religions. Catholics are in majority in Italy, France, Lithuania, Croatia, Belgium, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, South America, Philippines, Poland, Hungary, Canada and South East Asia,. They live in minorities in US, Holland, and some African countries.

The Protestants are a sect within the Western Church. Their name derives from the word "protest" as they protested against the traditional Catholic Church and highlighted the importance of the use of the Bible and reason. They rejected all practices and beliefs in the Catholic Church which were in contradiction to the Bible. They believed that all Christians are equal before God, should understand the bible themselves and are accountable to it. 

The Protestant Church started in the 16th century by Martin Luther who was born in 1483 in Germany. He lived in a Christian environment. He could not complete his study in Law, so he studied religion instead. He made pilgrimage to Rome were he realized that the Catholic Church was not in line with the bible. They used to make money off the people by offering them forgiveness certificates. People were distant from the bible and relied on their clergy entirely for understanding their religion. He returned to Germany where he began to rebel against the messengers of Pope, He wrote 95 principles for opposition to the Catholic Church. 

Protestants only accept the text of the Bible (Old Testament and New Testament). They do not agree to the holiness of Pope and the authority of Church. They do not agree to the issuing certificates of forgiveness by the clergy. To them salvation is by the mercy and generosity of God which can be achieved by adhering to the bible and through evangelism. Every Christian can be described as a saint because sainthood is not in the person but granted by God. It does not believe in clergy or any intermediary between the people and God. It does not accept fasting which to them is abstaining from all food. There is no limit to prayers in their belief nor any adherence to certain form of prayers. Protestants can pray in any language. They do not use images and portraits in the church. They believe that the second coming of Jesus (AS) is conditional on the establishment of the state of Israel in Palestine. Their beliefs have been influenced by the Bible, philosophies of the East and the West, Zionism, Talmud and Islam.

They are found in Germany, Holland, Britain, Switzerland, Denmark, US and Scandinavia. There are several groups within the Protestants. The Lutheran who follow the doctrines of Martin Luther, The Reformed Church follow the teachings of Calvin who studied Law then divinity and was influenced by Martin Luther. Among the Protestants are many other groups including the Zionist Christians.. Jewish politics and doctrine has affected the Protestant church to a great extent.

The Maronite branched out of the Eastern Orthodox Church. They believe that the Messiah has two natures but one will. They are related to St. Maron and are based in Lebanon. Throughout history they have always been in disagreement with other Eastern Orthodox churches. They have loyalty of the Pope since 1182. They strongly supported of the Crusaders against the Muslims. In 1943, there was an accord in Lebanon between the Muslims and Christians in which it was agreed that the President would be a Maronite. They still use Syriac language & traditions in their Church. They adhere to the original language of Bible and are now closer to Catholic Church. The Maronite Church was started from Antakiyya but is now widespread in the mountains of Lebanon since 17^th century.

The Jesuits are a very strict branch of Catholicism. They are very antagonistic towards Islam. They are found in Portugal, Spain, France and US. They were established by a French priest in middle ages and were very active in eliminating Muslims from Spain. They are very active is social work building hospitals and schools through which they carry out evangelism. They are involved in politics and follow the Pope. They are focused in spreading Christianity in Muslim countries.

The Mormons claims to call to religion of the Messiah and to the return to the Old Testament. They believe that the Messiah came only to save the Jews from persecution and to give them control over the land. This sect was formed by Joseph Smith who was born on 23 December 1805 in Vermont. 

They believe that the holy book contains so many books, including some that have Allah’s vision for human beings and manuscripts collected from all times from the time of Adam (AS) until the time of Jesus (AS). Their scriptures include the Old Testament, the New Testament, Mormon’s Book which is sacred record from 2000 BC to 400 AD on the American continent. It narrates the story of Jesus (AS) to the American continent. It is the cornerstone for Mormon Tradition. They claim that Joseph Smith translated Mormon's Book to English by God’s help. This book came to him through an angel called Maroni. Another book is called The book of Principles and Covenants which covers contemporary vision for the Church of Jesus Christ as it was established according to the original teaching. They believe in several other books.

They believe in the Father, the Son -  Jesus (AS) and the Holy Script. They believe that people will be held accountable for their sins not the original sin of Adam (AS). They believe that all people can achieve salvation through the Messiah by following the principles from the Bible. They believe in God (Jesus), repentance, submission to the Holy Spirit, that prophethood is continuous for the salvation of humanity, that the translation of their holy book is true and accurate. They believe that the Book of Mormon is book of God. They believe that they must submit to the rulers and follow the rules. They are allowed polygamy without any limitation for well mannered men who are financially capable of supporting more than one family. These days they practice polygamy secretly. Adultery and premarital relations are prohibited among them although people can repent when they commit them. Mormons must pay 10% of their earnings to the church. They believe that the signs of resurrection are the occurrence of turmoils, return of the Bible. triumph of the Mormon Book, building of New Jerusalem and establishment of Israel for the Jews. Historians believe that Jews have a role is establishing this sect to create divisions in Christianity. The Mormon Book is almost a copy of the Talmud.

This group is supported by Israel. This group links Zion / New Jerusalem to the American land. Mormons are found in US, especially in Utah where they are 68% of the population. They also live in South America, Canada and Europe. They distribute their books free and have a TV network of 11 broadcasting centers. They publish  magazines and newspaper. In Utah they have and advanced information center.

Jehovah Witnesses are an international, universal, religious and political organization based on secrecy of its structure and its ideology. They appeared in US in second half of 19^th century. This group considers itself to be Christian as they follow the Messiah but it is known to be influenced by the Jews. Till 1931 it was called “New World Organization” and was officially acknowledged in US in 1884 with that name. It was established by Charles Russel. It was also known as “The New Students of the Bible”. Later the name was changed into Jehovah Witness derived from Yahwa which means Allah in Jewish tradition. They believe in Jehovah as God, referring to Jesus as the King of the Kingdom of God, Their holy book is the Bible which they interpret according to their own interpretation. They blindly obey their leaders and aim to establish a religious state to control the world. They are preparing people to establish the Great Jewish State. They do not acknowledge the reckoning in the Hereafter. They do not believe in the hellfire. and believe that the heaven will be in this life in their Kingdom. They frequently use the parts of the bible that encourage people to love Jews and Israel. They do not believe in the spirit and its eternal life and limit the concept of brotherhood to their own group. They fight against legal structures and practice evangelism even among different Christians.

Their headquarters is in Brooklyn, NY.  They have 158+ centers. 640,000+ members. They publish literature in all languages. They claim Christianity, support the Jews and strongly oppose Islam.

The General System of Beliefs of Present Day Christians

The belief and practices of present day Christians vary widely among its many sects. Nevertheless, in this post, we will outline their general system of beliefs which is important to know before studying specific sects in detail.

Christianity was intended to discipline the Jews and enable them follow the teaching of Musa (AS) better. Its foundation was the same as that of Islam. The Prophet (SAWS) said/: “The prophets are brothers. Their mothers are so many and their religion is one”. After the disappearance of the Gospel and the appearance of so many versions of  texts that were called “holy books”, Christianity evolved into something very different from its original teachings.

The concept of Allah as the Owner of everything was turned into the idea of the Father. Due to philosophical explanations derived from Greek philosophy, the concept of God was altered. They use the word “Maker” to describe Him which is not proper because a maker can make something already made by someone else. Using the word “Creator” is better as He creates out of nothing. They believe in Messiah who they call the only son of God. The attribute divinity to him. Some groups consider Jesus (AS) to be God himself. The Quran negates both opinions. “The have disbelieved those who say Allah is the Messiah the son of Mary”. They believe in the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Allah - the life of Allah. From this they conclude that Jesus (AS) became a part of Allah.

They consider these three gods - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit - as one god. This is the concept of trinity which they say it is monotheism. This is obviously not monotheism as they worship three gods not one.

“The have disbelieved who say Allah is the third of three and there is no god accept one God. If they do not stop what they are saying those who disbelieve will suffer from a severe punishment”.

They believe that Jesus (AS) died on the cross to give salvation to the people. They claim that this is because of Allah’s extreme love for the people. Allah decided to subject His only son to extreme pain to save people from punishment. If Allah wants to forgive people, why can’t He forgive without subjecting His only son to agony. If Allah is fair, would it be fair to put someone so pure as Jesus to pain to save the sinful and wrongdoers. Allah says this is wrong.

“And their saying that we have killed the Messiah, Jesus the son of Marry, the messenger of Allah. Nay, they did not kill him and they did not crucify him but it was made to seem so to them. Those who dispute in him are doubtful in him. They do not have knowledge except for a conjecture and doubt. They have not killed him for certain. But Allah raised him up to Him. Allah is Exalted, the Wise”

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Their belief in the reckoning in Hereafter is that Jesus (AS) will sit on the right side of Allah. The human part of him will enable him to judge people for belief in him on Judgement Day. They take the cross as their symbol. It is sanctified and considered holy by a lot of them.. They consider it as a sign of love for Jesus (AS) and a sign of following him. If they truly loved Jesus (AS) they would have hated the cross because the cross was used to harm Jesus (AS). They consider Mary to be the mother of God. Some groups dedicate their worship to her.

In terms of religion they consider Christianity to be a universal religion not limited to the Children of Israel as it was intended. This is in difference to what Jesus (AS) taught. In the Bible he has been reported to have said “Do not go to the nations and do not enter  the cities of the Samarieen. Rather you go with this guidance to the stray sheep to the Children of Israel.”

They consider their Holy book to include the Old Testament (Torah, the chapters of the Prophets and  historical material) and the New Testament consisting of the four bibles (Mark, Luke, Matthew and John) and letters to the messengers. They believe that the New Testament cancels the Old Testament. They say that the words of Bible are the words of God. Christians do not circumcise like Muslims and Jews.

Their is no agreement on the specific forms of their prayers. They use any type of  words and statement that suit them. There is lot of variation in this among their many groups. Now many groups use music and dancing in their prayer services. The format and period of fasting varies from group to group. Generally they only fast from products which have animal derivatives. They baptize their children by putting water on them in the name of the trinity to erase the original sin. This is against Islamic belief that child is born sinless.

Some of their groups confess the sins to the clergy who then provide forgiveness to them. In 1215 AD, it became necessary confess one's sins to the clergy at least once a year in some sect. There are different frequencies of confession in different churches. In the Eastern Church marriage is allowed only once. Polygamy is not allow although it was initially allowed in Christianity. It is permissible for a priest to sanctify the marriage. Divorce not accepted except in case of adultery among them. When separation occurs due to divorce or death, marriage can occur. There is great variation in Christianity regarding marriage.

The present day Christianity has been influences by a wide range of beliefs, doctrine and practices of other religions and philosophies, including Judaism, Greek philosophy, Hinduism, Buddhism and ancient pagan religions. It is believed that the concept of the three main Hindu gods - Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva influenced the development of the concept of the trinity. These transformations in Christianity resulted in it losing its essence and spirit. Thus, Christianity today is very different from the original religion that Jesus preached.

Today Christians make up of 60% of the world population. They are found all over the world. Christianity was spread through the intense efforts of missionaries and evangelists. Among the Muslim scholars, Ahmed Deedat and Dr Zakir Naik were able to expose the flaws in Christianity and debate successfully with Christian scholars. Their videos and books are very helpful is understanding the weakness of Christianity.

Muslims believe that the People of the Book are polytheists and disbelievers. The Quran says

"Those who disbelieve from the People of the Book and the pagans are in the fire of hell eternally dwelling in it. Such people are the worst of creation”

In Islam, we are supposed to treat the Christians according to the Book of Allah in this world. We should deal with them with kindness, righteousness and fairness. It is permissible for Muslims to eat their food if it is halal. In theory, Muslim men are allowed to marry their women if it is safe to produce children from them which will be practicing Muslims and that they would not influence the faith of the Muslim husband. This is not possible these days. Also Muslims are supposed to treat them with kindness and keep their promises with them as long as they are not fighting the Muslims with respect to their religion and are not driving the Muslims from their homes. If they live in Muslim lands they are the people of covenant. They have the same rights of the Muslims and they owe the same responsibilities and duties as the Muslims.

The History of Distortion and Deviation in Christianity

The disciples and messengers that Jesus (AS) had prepared to take the Truth to the other places were persecuted and executed one by one. This caused the his followers to suffer in great turmoil. It seemed that Christianity might diminish and be extinguished.

At that time, a Jewish man named Chaul, who was very well educated in philosophy and civilizations and who had participated in the persecution of the followers of Jesus (AS) unexpectedly converted to be a follower of Jesus (AS). He claimed to have seen Jesus (AS) from his way from Damascus appearing to him in the sky. He claimed that Jesus (AS) reprimanded him for persecuting his followers and commanded him to spread his teachings to the people. Some Christians were happy about Chaul's acceptance of Christianity but some did not believe him. Barnabas one of the disciples who defended him and introduced him to the rest of the disciples. Chaul was able to achieve a high rank among the disciples. He named himself Paul or “Boulous”. The disciples started to spread the message of their faith in the neighboring lands. They established churches in Alexandria, Rome, Athens and many places in Europe and the Middle East.

The deviation in Christianity started in between the year 51-55 AD when the first convention was held which brought surviving disciples together in their first meeting. This was the Convention of Orchaleem which was held under the leadership of Jacob the son of Joseph the Carpenter who was killed by stoning in the year 62 AD. This convention was held to discuss the issue of exempting the non-Jews from the responsibility and obligation of following  the teaching of Musa (AS). It mandated the teaching of Musa (AS) on everyone. It agreed on the prohibition of adultery, the consumption of ritually unslaughtered animal meat and the meat of animals that were slaughtered for the idols. Unfortunately, eating pigs meat, dealing in usury and drinking wine were introduced in Christianity,  although they were forbidden by the religion that Jesus practiced.

Paul and Barnabas returned to Antakiya but they differed and separated because of the announcement of Paul to abrogate all the teachings of Torah. He claimed that the Torah was a curse and they needed to get rid of it. He claimed that the Messiah came to change an old era for a new one. As a result of his philosophy and the influence of Greek philosophy of that time, he had borrowed the idea of the connection between God and His creation on earth. He introduced the idea of son of God and the Holy Spirit. He also introduced the concept of salvation through crucifixion. According to this he claimed that Jesus will rise to heavens and will sit on the right hand of God and will judge humanity on the Day of Resurrection based on their accepting him as divine. Paul visited Europe and Asia. Finally he was killed in Rome in 65 AD.

Initially there was a lot of resistance to Paul’s ideas. Nevertheless, the seeds of trinity and idolatry were sown in Christianity. The rest of the disciples and messengers of Jesus were killed by the idolaters. 

The Christians suffered from the hands of the Jews who had religious authority and from the hands of Romans who had political authority and control, The Christians of the Palestine & Egypt were more severely persecuted. They were sawn, burned and crucified alive. Of these remarkable persecutions was the persecution of Nirone in 64 AD, that of Demtianos in 90 AD in which John wrote his Bible in the Greek language, that of Trajon in 106 in which he ordered the execution of Christians and burning of Christian books, that of Decladianos in 284 was most barbaric. He insisted that he will not stop killing Christians until their blood reach the knees of his horse and he achieved this objective. He destroyed Churches and burned Christian books. As a result, the Egyptian Coptic Christians chose 29 August year 284 AD as the beginning of their calendar to commemorate their victims.

Only later on, the Romans started to have a dialogue with Christians and accepted them. They used their alliance with them for political reasons to extend their empire in the East. More churches were built for them by the Romans.

This period in Christian history is characterized by great loss of lives. It was then that the Bible was lost, the Torah was ignored and the concept of the prophet-hood of Jesus (AS) dissipated. Jesus's (AS) disciples and messengers were killed and the religion became known as "Christianity"

Celibacy, monks and nuns appeared in Christianity due to the efforts of St. Paul and St. Antion in Egypt in 241-356 AD. Small monasteries began to be built in the south of Egypt. Schools of religious Christianity began to be influenced by Greek/Egyptian philosophy in Alexandria.

The golden age of Christianity according to Christian sources began with the coming of power of Constantine when he became the Emperor of the Roman Empire in 312 AD. In that era, efforts were made to unite all Christians on one doctrine. Constantine hired Christians, he built churches and took the cross as a symbol to his empire in addition to its idolatry significance. Many people converted to Christianity and this led to the appearance of many versions of the Bible. It is said that more than 50 versions were in circulation.

Emperor Constantine divided the empire among his three children. One controlled the East. The other the West. The third the central part of the empire. Each son followed a strategy to support his position by following the religious dogma which was found in his lands. Two of the sons were killed. The son who ruled the empire of the East - who was named Constantios - combined all the empires under his control. In 361 AD he died. In 382 the first convention of Constantine was held. It was decided to accept the dogma which said that the Holy Spirit is divine, alive and is the Spirit of God. and that Jesus (AS) has both divinity and humanity. A decision was made to persecute people who opposed this dogma. 

The Papal position in Rome was established as a result of the division of the Church in Eastern and Western. In the Western Church in Rome, the government was separated from religion. The beginning of treating images and portraits of Jesus (AS) and Mary as sacred was as a result of the convention of 787 AD. The decision was made to hang the portraits and images of Jesus (AS) and Mary in the churches, homes and roads so that looking at them will make people think of them. 

In 869 AD the Patriarch of Constantine raised the issue of the nature of the Holy Spirit. He stated it came only from God. The Patriarch of Rome claimed that it came from both God and Jesus (AS). The fourth convention of Constantine in 869 AD was held to decide this matter. It was declared and concluded that Holy Spirit comes from both God and Jesus (AS). It was decided that all Christians must be affiliated under the authority of the Pope of Rome and that anyone who wants to know anything about Christian doctrine has to ask him directly. This led to the separation of the Western Church under the Pope in Rome and the Eastern or Orthodox Church under Patriarch of Constantine. The administrative division between the two churches occurred in 1054 AD. This has led to a lot of conflict between them.

The Origins of Christianity from an Islamic Perspective

According to Muslim scholars, the word "Nazarenes" is a better word to describe present day Christians. The word "Christianity" implies that there is an adherence to the teachings of Jesus Christ in the beliefs and practices of the people. This is not true. Muslim scholars discouraged the use of the word "Christianity" to describe the distorted teachings of Jesus (AS). They also discouraged the use of the term "Christians" to describe the followers of this distorted teaching of Jesus (AS)..We call Christians, "Nasara" or Nazarenes and their religion we call the religion of the Nazarenes.

Nazarene puts the religion into the right context because it was intended to be local. Nazarene localizes it to Nazreth, the town of its origin. Only Islam is the global religion for all mankind. The Prophet (SWAS) said:  “Every prophet used to be sent to his own local people and I was sent to the whole mankind”. In the Quran, Prophet Jesus (AS) is reported to have said: “And I have come as a messenger to the Children of Israel”.

Jesus (AS) was sent to complete the message of Musa (AS) by calling the Bani Israel to return to the pure monotheism, righteousness, love and compassion. His message was resisted strongly by the Jews. It was revealed by Allah to Jesus son of Mary after people of Israel went astray from the teachings of Musa (AS) and divided into so many sects. 

Jesus (AS) was born to his mother Mary who was a daughter of Imran – a great man in the Bani Israel. Before Mary's mother became pregnant vowed to devote her  newborn baby to serve Allah in the masjid. When she realized that the baby was a girl she was somewhat disappointed. Nevertheless, Prophet Zackaria (AS) who was married to the sister of Mary’s mother, adopted and took care of her in the masjid. Mary was a good worshiper of Allah. Allah describes the prayer of Mary – a prayer that included ruku, sujood and standing position like we have in Islamic prayer. It was also a congregational prayer.

“O Mary, submit to your lord, and prostrate and bow among those who bow”

Mary became pregnant without a husband. This became a great test to the people. It was a cause of the people who lacked belief in Allah’s miracle to grow astray. The first group accused Mary of sin. These are the Jews. The other group thought that Jesus was the son of Allah. These are the Christians.

Jesus (AS) was born in Bethlehem in Palestine. Allah made him speak in the cradle to testify of the purity of his mother of the accusations. Allah gave him miracles to proof his prophet-hood. He made a clay bird and after blowing into it it became alive. He was able to cure illnesses and raise the dead. Also he was able to tell people what they were eating and saving in their homes. Another miracle was the descending of a table came from heaven to be a feast for him and his disciples.

Jews did not tolerate his teachings of pure tauheed and corrections in their practices. They reached the Roman King of Palestine – Balatis and encouraged him to issue an order that Jesus (AS) should be killed. Jesus (AS) and his disciples when into hiding. One of the disciples told on him. When the people reached Jesus (AS) and his disciples, Allah raised Jesus to the heavens and made the one who told on him to look like Jesus (AS). The Romans mistook him for Jesus (AS) and crucified him instead.

We believe that Jesus (AS) will come back before the day of Resurrection to follow the Islamic teaching, to kill the pig and break the cross and die a normal death. He selected a number of disciples and 70 messengers who he taught and sent them to neighboring villages to spread the message of Truth.

A Study of Jewish Groups from Muslim Sources

The Orthodox Jews are a rigid traditionalist sect which believes in following the tenets of medieval Judaism to the letter. They can often be distinguished by their beards, vintage black European suits, shawls, robes and clannish nature. They often live in tight-knit communities with a leader who commands near-total obedience. Their women cover their hair out of religious obligation.

The Conservative Jews have a tendency to be mid-way between orthodoxy and liberalism. They accept the importance of the Law and accept Rabbinic authority, but they are less strict in its application. Rituals are important to them but can be modified.

Reformed Jews have developed as a result of the concepts of modernism and post-modernism movements in recent Western cultures. They are influenced by liberalism and are open to accept new ideas. The importance of rituals is down-played. They do not emphasize the "Return to Israel" and the re-institution of the old Jewish Law. This form of Judaism is popular among secularized Jews. Reformed Jews acknowledge ways and lifestyles that are not accepted by Orthodox and Conservative Jews due to relativism. Women can be rabbis in Reformed Judaism. Not so in other groups.

Two separate movements in Judaism arose in Europe that promote a mystical type of Judaism. The first arose in Muslim Spain in the 13th century called Kabbalah. It teaches that union with God can occur with meditation and contemplation. The second called Hasidim arose in Eastern Europe in the 18th century. It holds that enthusiastic prayer results in communion with God. Both these tendencies are alive and well in today's Jews.

There is a group of Jews that the other Jews do not accept. They are called Jews for Jesus. They acknowledge Jesus and his divinity. Other Jews believe that this is a Christian group made in order to destroy Judaism from within. Mainstream Jews do not accept the coming of the Messiah in the form of Jesus. The utmost that they can acknowledge of that Jesus was a great man – neither was he a prophet nor divine according to them.

Zionism is a political, racist, discriminatory, extremist ans fascist movement started in the modern times to establish a Jewish state in Palestine. It is named after Mount Zion in Jerusalem where it is reported that Dawud (AS) built his palace after he moved from Hebron in 11th century BC. Thus Zion represents the Kingdom of David. Theodore Hertzel was the founder of Zionism. He was a journalist who was originally from Hungary. He was born in 1860 and graduated from Austria in Law. The main goal of Zionism was to lead Jews to control the world beginning with the control of Palestine. Hertzel attempted to negotiate with Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid over Palestine but failed. He established the First Zionist Congress 1897. According to Zionism all Jews of the world are members of one citizenship – Israeli. They believe that the Jews are a pure race that must lead and control other races. Their main source of planning and strategy is the Protocols of the Leaders of the Zion. Terrorism is the most important means that they used to achieve their goals.

The Zionist formed an organization called B'nai Brith. Membership to this organization is limited to Jews. It has spread throughout the world. In 1865 it worked hard to have a presence in Palestine. In 1888, they had built the first temple in Palestine. In 1894, they established the first village in Palestine near Jerusalem called Motzah. This became the nucleus of the Jewish state afterwards. The most important personality in this organization was Sigmund Freud. He joined in 1895 and was a regular member. In 1913, this organization started Anti-Defamation League to stand up to the defamation of the Jewish people. The apparent goals is to help the world, non-profit hospitals, human rights, etc. It provides resistance and prevention of antisemitism. It organizes cultural and religious exchange between Jewish students through Hillel Foundation. Its real objectives are to bring Israelis and Jewish students together, establish a Jewish state in Palestine, financially support the migration to Israel and provide all necessary support to Israel from all part of the world. They were instrumental in the declaration that the Jews were not responsible for the blood of Jesus to avoid conflict with Christians. They believe that the utmost loyalty of Jews is to Israel, regardless where they live. 

The Jews have also formed secret societies like the Free Masons, Rotary Club and Lions all over the world. Secrecy is the first principle in these organizations. They remove all distinction of religion of their members. Apparently, their loyalty is to humanity. They are very dangerous and effective in their operation. The recruit the most influential people in politics and social life to be their members. Not all members are treated the same. Only those who have proven their loyalty and have reached a high level are informed of the organizations' real objectives. One of their objectives is to control the resources of the world. International Islamic organizations have warned the Muslims about joinning such organizations.

Traditional Muslim literature also mention other Jewish groups in history.

There was a group called the Farisioon. They were like the present day Orthodox Jews although there might be a difference in the doctrine and practices from the past and now. Their rabbis believed in celibacy and they continued their practices through adoption. They believed in resurrection, in the angels and in the hereafter.

Another group was known as As Sadaqiyoon which means the truthful. It was a form of calling them with what they are not. They denied resurrection, accounting, heaven and hell, Talmud, angels and the Messiah.

A group was called Al Mutassiboon, i.e. the strict. They were close to the orthodox group but were characterized by intolerance. In 1AD,  they started a revolution in which they killed large number of Romans and all who cooperated with them. They were called blood thirsty or murderers.

A group were called Al Kataba, i.e. the writers. They learned the Jewish tradition through writing and copying. They used preaching to spread their ideology. They were called the wise and the masters. A person from them was called the father. They became the richest group of the Jewish people.

A group was called Al Qaraoon, i.e. the reciters. They are a minority in the Jews. They appeared as a result of the diminishing of the Orthodox group. They only accept the Old Testament as Jewish Scripture. They give themselves the freedom to interpret the Torah.

A group was called As Samirioon, i.e. Connected to As Samiri (the person who started calf worship). They were made up of people who entered into Judaism from other than Bani Israel. They lived in the mountains. They accepted the prophet-hood of Musa, Haroon and Joshua but no one after them. They accepted the prophet-hood of someone named Alfan who lived 100 years before Jesus.

A group was called As Sabaiyya, based on Abdullah Ibn Sabaa who appeared at the time of Caliph Uthman. He claimed to be Muslim. He started political dissent among the Muslims. He was a narrator of false hadiths. He was the leader of political turmoils and dissent in Islam.

Jews of downama (downama means "return "in Turkish) is a group of Jews organized by a Jewish person name Mordacain. He was originally from Spain and lived in Turkey from 1626-1675. He established an organization in 1648, and claimed to be Messiah of the Bani Israel. When he became a danger to society he was apprehended by the Ottoman government. Muslim scholars debated with him and they declared him as a heretic. When he was about to be executed he claimed to be a Muslim and named himself Mohammad Effendi. He instructed his followers to publicly adopt Islam but secretly stay Jew. He requested the government to allow him to preach to the Jews. He was granted this request and he used this to denounce Islam. After 10 years the government realized he was a liar and exiled him to Albania where he died.

These Jews believe Mordacai was a Messiah for Bani Israel, his body was taken up in heavens and came back in the form of an angel who dresses in robe and turban. They do not offer prayers, they do fast, the do not wash from sexual impurity. Occasionally they appear in some Islamic festivities. They are not allowed to marry Muslims. They have more then 20 festivals in the year. They have their own attire. They do not initiate greeting others by themselves. They are very strong and widespread in Turkey. They have control over the media, economics and politics. They helped in the demolition of Islamic Caliphate and secularization of Turkey.

Examining Judaism from an Islamic Perspective

Judaism is called "Al Yahudiyya" in Arabic. There is no authentic evidence as to decisively decide as to how this name was derived.  Muslim scholars say that it might be derived from the following:

• "Al Hawd"  which means repentance. This is from Musa (AS) statement in the Quran: “We have repented to You”.
• "Tahweed" which means prolonging the sound and chanting. The rabbis used to chant when they recited their book to their people in order to convince them that what they were reciting to the people was from the book. The Quran says: “They change their tongues with the book in order for you to think that it is from the book, but it is not from the book”
• Judah or "Yahuda" who was the brother of Prophet Yusuf (AS). He was the elder son of Yaqoub (AS). The use of this word is not accurate to describe all Jews as the word refers to the children of Judah and not that of his father, Yaqoub (AS).
• "Muhawada"  which means appointment and refers to Allah's meeting with Musa (AS)  for 40 days.

Jews claim to be followers of Musa (AS). The word Jew is not used as a complement in the Quran. The word was not used during the time of Musa (AS). In his time they used the terms Bani Israeel (Children of Israel) and Qawm Musa (People of Musa).

Who are the Jews today?

Today, most people look at Jewishness as a cultural connection to the Israeli people more than a religion and a belief system. There are some Jews who no longer believe in the religious principles and practices but consider themselves as Semitic, ethnic and cultural group that connects with one another to protect and preserve their common heritage and Jewish identity.

Most important  elements of the Jewish religion is the Torah.  In Hebrew the word means“Law”. There are 5 sections /chapters in the Torah. Jews think that Musa (AS) wrote it with his own hand. In the Christian tradition, the Torah includes all the books that are collected together in the Old Testament. These books that describe the prophets of Bani Israel and the history of their judges and kings whether the author is known or unknown. Muslims believe that Torah was the original book written on the tablets that was given to Musa (AS) by Allah. Muslims used to refer to Torah as the books of old times which is not limited to the Torah – included revelations to other prophets of Bani Israel. From the Islamic perspective, the Torah is no longer available in its original and true form. It was distorted in two ways:

• .      Verbal wording of the Torah. The actual words of Allah were replaced by that of humans. “Woe on them who write the books with their own hands and say this is from Allah. In order to exchange a little price for it.”"Do you hope for them to believe you after a party of them used to hear the words of Allah and distorted it after they understood it while they know”
•         Contextually through re-interpretation. The rabbis used to hear the true Torah and changed the words and when they taught it to the people they used to substitute another other meaning. " A party of them would cause their tongues to pronounce differently the words for you to think that it is from Allah, but it is not from Allah and they say of Allah a lie and they know.”

People who looked into the 5 sections of Torah found a great deal of discrepancies confirming that it is not in its authentic form.

The Torah was lost in some part of the Jewish history.  This is not subject to debate among Jews themselves, As Muslims we believe that The Torah was not removed completely but some of it was distorted. There are still some rules in it which are from the authentic Torah e.g. the punishment of stoning of the adulterer and taking the life of a murderer. Nevertheless, the Jews have even ignored these rules. This explains the verses of the Quran to the Jews to apply their book. If the applied their book they would have found agreement with the Prophet (SWAS) and became Muslim. As Musa (AS) said to them:

“And I am giving you a glad tiding of a messenger who will come after me and his name is Ahmed”

The modern Torah contains many distortions and elements of falsehood. These include:

• Calling Ezra the son of Allah.
• Yaqoub (AS) wrestling with Allah.
• Lut (AS) drinking liquor and committing adultery with his daughters.
• David being casted away and disliked by Allah.
• David committed adultery.
• “We have no responsibility towards what we do to the gentiles”
• Allah said: “I shall make the man in my form – in the like of me”
• After Allah created the 7 heavens and earth in 6 days, Allah became tired and rested on the 7^th day. The Quran says: “We certainly created the heavens and the earth wand what is between them in 6 days and We did not become tired” 
• The Torah implies that Allah lacks knowledge about the future. When Allah created man and the evil of man spread on the earth, Allah became sad and regretted His action. This is referred to in Arabic as attributing "Al Badaa" to Allah, i.e. Allah does not know the future before it happens. 

As Muslims, we realize that the above teachings cannot be the authentic word of Allah.

Another major element of Judaism is the Talmud which means “order”. It is a work of jurisprudence of the rabbis. It is considered to be the rules/interpretations/explanations of the Torah. It is composed of two main sections. Some of the derived principles of the Talmud are not true, These include:

• Jews are more beloved to Allah than angels. 
• Jews are made from Allah. 
• One who harms Jews will be harming Allah. 
• A gentile is to be put in a position where his life is to be wasted if he harms a Jew. 
• If it was not for the Jews on Earth, blessings would be removed from it and the sun would be partitioned. 
• Jews are better than the rest of the humanity. 
• The difference of the Jews and gentiles is like man and animal.  
• Gentiles are enemies of Allah. 
• Jews are the chosen people of Allah. 
• They are the children of Allah. 
• They are Allah’s beloved. 
• Allah does not accept worship of anyone except if he is a Jew. 
• Allah gave Jews human form as an honor. The rest are created in Satanic form.

The Debt of Existence -- وجود کا قرض -- دَيْنُ الوجود -- La Dette de l'Existence

 
Unpacking the Concept of "Deen" in an Age of Relativism

In the modern West, "religion" has become a remarkably elastic term. It is often treated as a private hobby, a cultural vestige, or even a metaphor for intense passion—as in the colloquialism, "football is his religion." However, when we pivot to the Islamic framework, the term Deen carries a weight that is far more tectonic. It isn't just a category of belief; it is a fundamental statement of our ontological status.

To understand why Muslims approach faith with such distinctive gravity, we must look beyond the English translation and into the linguistic and spiritual heart of the word Deen.

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The Linguistic Ledger: Religion as a Debt

The word Deen is derived from the Arabic root d-y-n (dana/udeenu), which is the exact same root for the word Dayn—meaning a financial debt or an obligation.

This is no linguistic coincidence. From an Islamic perspective, our very existence is a loan from the Creator. Our "religion" is the transaction of repaying that debt through worship, gratitude, and conduct. This is why the Day of Judgment is referred to in the Quran as Youm ad-Deen: the Day of Recompense. It is the day the "accounts" are settled.

In this light, Islam is described using three powerful descriptors:

• Deen Allah: The religion belonging to God—the original, primordial path.

• Deen al-Haq: The religion of Truth—the final, authentic, and preserved message.

• Deen al-Qayyim: The religion of differentiation—the objective standard by which all other systems of belief are measured.

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From Dogma to Doubt: The Western Evolution

The Western concept of religion has undergone a radical metamorphosis. Before the Enlightenment, the West was caught between the autocracy of the Church and the whims of monarchs. The "Dark Ages" eventually gave way to a movement characterized by skepticism, empiricism, and the elevation of human reason above revelation.

This shift eventually led to the Post-Modern era, where the concept of absolute truth was largely discarded in favor of relativism. In this worldview:

1. Subjectivity Reigns: Each individual has the right to interpret religious texts according to their own whims.

2. Moral Relativity: No single system has the right to dictate "right" or "wrong."

3. Institutional Adaptation: We see traditional dogmas shifting to accommodate modern social trends, leading to the blessing of practices that were once universally regarded as contrary to scripture.

For a Muslim, this relativism is a negation of the very nature of Deen. If "truth" is whatever you want it to be, then the "debt" to the Creator is effectively canceled by human ego.

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The Proper Approach: Studying the "Other"

How, then, should a Muslim engage with other belief systems? Is it a "comparative" study? Not exactly. From an Islamic standpoint, if Islam is the Haq (Truth), then anything fundamentally contradicting it is viewed as a deviation.

A Muslim studies other religions not to "find" missing truths, but for several specific, strategic reasons:

• To Increase Conviction: Contrast is a powerful teacher. One appreciates the crystalline clarity of Tawhid (Monotheism) most profoundly when seeing the contradictions and complexities of man-made or altered dogmas.

• To Enhance Dawah: To invite others to the Truth, one must understand the specific misconceptions or theological hurdles they face.

• To Defend the Ummah: In an age of aggressive evangelism—often masked as social work or medical aid—Muslims must be aware of the arguments used to target the vulnerable within our community.

"Do not ask the People of the Book about anything. Verily they cannot guide you as they have themselves gone astray... Verily if Musa (Moses) was alive, he would have no recourse except to follow me." — The Prophet (SWAS)

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A Note of Caution for the Seeker

Studying other religions is not a task for the ungrounded. Just as one would not study toxicology without a firm grasp of medicine, a Muslim should first master the "required knowledge"—the Fard ‘Ayn—that allows them to fulfill their duties to Allah.

We do not look into other religions to "benefit" or "improve" our own practices. Islam is complete; it requires no external "patches." Instead, we approach this field with a firm foundation in our own tradition and a clear intention: to recognize the beauty of the Truth by understanding the nature of what lies outside it.

وجود کا قرض: اضافیت پسندی کے دور میں "دین" کے تصور کی تفہیم

جدید مغرب میں "مذہب" (Religion) ایک نہایت لچکدار اصطلاح بن چکی ہے۔ اسے اکثر ایک نجی مشغلے، ایک ثقافتی باقیات، یا یہاں تک کہ کسی شدید جنون کے استعارے کے طور پر دیکھا جاتا ہے—جیسے کہ عام طور پر کہا جاتا ہے کہ "فٹ بال اس کا مذہب ہے"۔ تاہم، جب ہم اسلامی تناظر میں لفظ "دین" کا جائزہ لیتے ہیں، تو اس کا وزن کہیں زیادہ گہرا اور ہمہ گیر محسوس ہوتا ہے۔ یہ محض عقائد کا ایک مجموعہ نہیں، بلکہ ہماری وجودی حیثیت کا ایک بنیادی اعلان ہے۔

اس بات کو سمجھنے کے لیے کہ مسلمان ایمان کو اس قدر اہمیت کیوں دیتے ہیں، ہمیں انگریزی ترجمے سے ہٹ کر لفظ "دین" کے لسانی اور روحانی مرکز تک پہنچنا ہوگا۔

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لسانی ترازُو: مذہب بطورِ قرض

لفظ "دین" عربی کے مادے "د-ی-ن" (دان/یدین) سے نکلا ہے، اور یہی وہ مادہ ہے جس سے لفظ "دَین" (قرض یا واجب الادا رقم) ماخوذ ہے۔

یہ کوئی لسانی اتفاق نہیں ہے۔ اسلامی نقطہ نظر سے، ہمارا وجود ہی درحقیقت خالق کی طرف سے دیا گیا ایک قرض ہے۔ ہمارا "دین" اس قرض کی ادائیگی کا وہ معاملہ ہے جو عبادت، شکر گزاری اور حسنِ عمل کے ذریعے سرانجام پاتا ہے۔ یہی وجہ ہے کہ قرآن میں روزِ قیامت کو "یوم الدین" کہا گیا ہے، یعنی جزا و سزا اور حساب کا دن۔ یہ وہ دن ہے جب تمام "حسابات" برابر کیے جائیں گے۔

اسی روشنی میں، اسلام کے لیے تین طاقتور اصطلاحات استعمال کی گئی ہیں:

• دین اللہ: وہ دین جو اللہ کا ہے—یعنی وہ اصلی اور ازلی راستہ۔

• دینِ حق: سچائی کا دین—وہ حتمی اور محفوظ پیغام جو آج بھی اپنی اصلی حالت میں موجود ہے۔

• دینِ قیم: وہ دین جو معیار ہے—یعنی وہ ٹھوس بنیاد جس پر دوسرے تمام نظریات اور مذاہب کو پرکھا جاتا ہے۔

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عقیدے سے تشکیک تک: مغربی تصور کا ارتقاء

مغرب میں مذہب کا تصور ایک انقلابی تبدیلی سے گزرا ہے۔ تنویری دور (Enlightenment) سے پہلے مغرب چرچ کے استبداد اور بادشاہوں کی آمریت کے درمیان پھنسا ہوا تھا۔ "تاریک ادوار" کے خاتمے کے بعد ایک ایسی تحریک ابھری جس کی بنیاد تشکیک، مشاہدات اور انسانی عقل کو وحی پر فوقیت دینے پر تھی۔

یہ تبدیلی بالآخر مابعد جدیدیت (Post-Modernism) کے دور پر منتج ہوئی، جہاں "حتمی سچائی" کے تصور کو رد کر کے "اضافیت پسندی" (Relativism) کو اپنا لیا گیا۔ اس عالمی نقطہ نظر کے مطابق:

1. داخلیت کا غلبہ: ہر فرد کو یہ حق حاصل ہے کہ وہ مذہبی نصوص کی تشریح اپنی خواہش اور سمجھ کے مطابق کرے۔

2. اخلاقی اضافیت: کسی بھی نظام کو یہ حق حاصل نہیں کہ وہ "صحیح" یا "غلط" کا حتمی فیصلہ کرے۔

3. تبدیلی و ترمیم: قدیم عقائد کو جدید سماجی رجحانات کے مطابق ڈھال لیا گیا ہے، جس کے نتیجے میں ان چیزوں کو بھی مذہبی جواز فراہم کر دیا گیا ہے جنہیں کبھی صریحاً غلط سمجھا جاتا تھا۔

ایک مسلمان کے لیے یہ اضافیت پسندی درحقیقت "دین" کی نفی ہے۔ اگر "سچائی" وہی ہے جو آپ چاہیں، تو پھر خالق کا وہ "قرض" انسانی انا کے سامنے بے معنی ہو کر رہ جاتا ہے۔

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صحیح طریقہ کار: دوسرے مذاہب کا مطالعہ

ایک مسلمان کو دوسرے مذاہب اور نظریات کے ساتھ کس طرح پیش آنا چاہیے؟ کیا یہ محض ایک "تقابلی" مطالعہ ہے؟ حقیقت یہ ہے کہ اسلامی نقطہ نظر سے اگر اسلام ہی "حق" ہے، تو اس کے خلاف ہر نظریہ ایک انحراف ہے۔

ایک مسلمان دوسرے مذاہب کا مطالعہ اس لیے نہیں کرتا کہ وہ وہاں سے کوئی "نامکمل سچائی" تلاش کرے، بلکہ اس کے کچھ مخصوص اور تزویراتی مقاصد ہوتے ہیں:

• ایمان میں پختگی (Conviction): تضاد ہی سچی پہچان کرواتا ہے۔ انسان توحید کی شفافیت کی قدر تبھی زیادہ بہتر طریقے سے کرتا ہے جب وہ انسانی ہاتھوں سے بدلے ہوئے عقائد کے تضادات اور پیچیدگیوں کو دیکھتا ہے۔

• دعوتِ حق: دوسروں کو حق کی طرف بلانے کے لیے ان کی غلط فہمیوں اور مذہبی رکاوٹوں کو سمجھنا ضروری ہے۔

• دفاعِ امت: اس دور میں جہاں مشنری ادارے سماجی خدمات یا تعلیم کے لبادے میں مسلمانوں کے عقائد کو نشانہ بنا رہے ہیں، ایک مسلمان کے لیے ان کے استدلال کی کمزوریوں سے واقف ہونا ضروری ہے۔

"اہلِ کتاب سے کسی چیز کے بارے میں مت پوچھو، وہ تمہاری رہنمائی نہیں کر سکتے کیونکہ وہ خود گمراہ ہو چکے ہیں... خدا کی قسم! اگر موسیٰ (علیہ السلام) بھی آج زندہ ہوتے تو انہیں میری پیروی کے سوا کوئی چارہ نہ ہوتا۔" — نبی کریم ﷺ

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طالبِ علم کے لیے ایک ضروری تنبیہ

دوسرے مذاہب کا مطالعہ ہر کسی کا کام نہیں ہے۔ جس طرح ایک انسان طب کی بنیاد سمجھے بغیر زہریلی ادویات کا مطالعہ نہیں کرتا، اسی طرح ایک مسلمان کو پہلے اپنا "فرضِ عین" علم حاصل کرنا چاہیے تاکہ وہ اللہ کے حقوق ادا کر سکے۔

ہم دوسرے مذاہب میں اپنے عمل کو "بہتر" بنانے کے لیے کچھ تلاش نہیں کرتے۔ اسلام ایک مکمل ضابطہ حیات ہے؛ اسے کسی بیرونی "پیوند" کی ضرورت نہیں ہے۔ اس کے بجائے، ہم اپنی بنیادوں کو مضبوط رکھتے ہوئے اس نیت سے مطالعہ کرتے ہیں کہ حق کی خوبصورتی کو پہچان سکیں اور باطل کی حقیقت سے آگاہ ہو سکیں۔

دَيْنُ الوجود: تفكيك مفهوم "الدين" في عصر النسبية

في الغرب الحديث، أصبح مصطلح "الدين" (Religion) مفهوماً مطاطياً للغاية؛ إذ غالباً ما يُعامل كنشاط شخصي عابر، أو موروث ثقافي، أو حتى استعارة للتعبير عن شغف جارف—كما يقال في الأمثال الشعبية: "كرة القدم هي دينه". ومع ذلك، حين ننتقل إلى الإطار الإسلامي، نجد أن مصطلح "الدين" يحمل وزناً أعمق بكثير؛ فهو ليس مجرد تصنيف للمعتقدات، بل هو إعلان جوهري عن حقيقة وجودنا ومكانتنا الوجودية.

ولفهم السبب الذي يجعل المسلمين يقاربون الإيمان بهذه الجدية الاستثنائية، يجب أن ننظر إلى ما وراء الترجمة الإنجليزية، لننفذ إلى القلب اللغوي والروحي لكلمة "دين".

تُشتق كلمة "دين" من الجذر العربي (د ي ن)، وهو نفس الجذر الذي اشتق منه لفظ "الدَّيْن"—بمعنى الالتزام المالي أو القرض الواجب الوفاء.

وهذه ليست مجرد مصادفة لغوية؛ فمن المنظور الإسلامي، وجودنا في حد ذاته هو "قرض" من الخالق. و"ديننا" هو المعاملة القائمة على وفاء هذا القرض من خلال العبادة والشكر والعمل الصالح. ولهذا السبب، يُشار إلى يوم القيامة في القرآن الكريم بـ "يوم الدين": أي يوم الجزاء والحساب، اليوم الذي تُسوى فيه "الحسابات".

وفي هذا الضوء، يُوصف الإسلام بثلاثة أوصاف قوية:

• دين الله: الدين الذي شرعه الخالق—المنهج الأصيل والفطري.

• دين الحق: الدين القائم على الحقيقة المطلقة—الرسالة الخاتمة، الأصيلة والمحفوظة.

• الدين القيم: دين التمييز والمعيار—الأساس الموضوعي الذي تُقاس به جميع النحل والمعتقدات الأخرى.

مرَّ المفهوم الغربي للدين بتحولات جذرية؛ فقبل عصر التنوير، كان الغرب يترنح بين استبداد الكنيسة وأهواء الملوك. ثم أفسحت "العصور المظلمة" الطريق لحركة اتسمت بالشك، والاعتماد على المنهج التجريبي، وتقديم العقل البشري على الوحي.

أدى هذا التحول في النهاية إلى "عصر ما بعد الحداثة"، حيث تم التخلي عن مفهوم الحقيقة المطلقة لصالح "النسبية". وفي هذه الرؤية الكونية:

1. سيادة الذاتية: لكل فرد الحق في تفسير النصوص الدينية وفقاً لأهوائه وفهمه الخاص.

2. النسبية الأخلاقية: لا يملك أي نظام ديني الحق في إملاء "الصح" و"الخطأ".

3. التكيف المؤسسي: رأينا العقائد التقليدية تتغير لتلائم النزعات الاجتماعية الحديثة، مما أدى إلى إقرار ممارسات كانت تُعتبر يوماً ما مخالفة صريحة للنصوص.

بالنسبة للمسلم، هذه النسبية هي نفي لجوهر "الدين"؛ فإذا كانت "الحقيقة" هي ما تشتهيه أنت، فإن "الدَّيْن" للخالق يسقط أمام "الأنا" البشرية.

كيف ينبغي للمسلم إذن أن يتعامل مع الأديان الأخرى؟ هل هي دراسة "مقارنة"؟ ليس تماماً. من وجهة النظر الإسلامية، إذا كان الإسلام هو "الحق"، فإن كل ما يناقضه يُعد انحرافاً.

المسلم لا يدرس الأديان الأخرى بحثاً عن حقائق "مفقودة"، بل لأهداف محددة وتأصيلية:

• زيادة اليقين: فالتضاد يظهر الحُسن؛ إذ يدرك المرء صفاء التوحيد ونقاءه حين يرى التناقضات والتعقيدات في العقائد البشرية أو المحرفة.

• تحسين الدعوة: لدعوة الآخرين إلى الحق، يجب فهم الشبهات أو العقبات اللاهوتية التي يواجهونها.

• الدفاع عن الأمة: في عصر يتسم بالتبشير الهجومي—الذي غالباً ما يتستر خلف العمل الاجتماعي أو الطبي—يجب أن يكون المسلم على دراية بالهشاشة والتناقض في حججهم لحماية مجتمعه.

"لا تسألوا أهل الكتاب عن شيء، فإنهم لن يهدوكم وقد ضلوا... والله لو كان موسى حياً بين أظهركم ما حَلَّ له إلا أن يتبعني" — النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم

إن دراسة الأديان الأخرى ليست مهمةً للمبتدئ أو غير الراسخ؛ فكما لا يدرس المرء علم السموم دون إتقان الطب، يجب على المسلم أولاً أن يتقن "العلم الضروري" (فرض العين) الذي يجعله مؤدياً لحقوق الله.

نحن لا ننظر في الأديان الأخرى لـ "تحسين" ممارساتنا أو "تطويرها"؛ فالإسلام كامل لا يحتاج إلى "ترقيع" خارجي. بل نقبل على هذا العلم ونحن راسخون في تراثنا، وبنية واضحة: إدراك جمال الحق من خلال فهم طبيعة ما يقع خارجه.

La Dette de l'Existence : Décrypter le concept de « Dîn » à l'ère du relativisme

Dans l'Occident moderne, le mot « religion » est devenu un terme remarquablement élastique. Il est souvent traité comme un passe-temps privé, un vestige culturel, ou même une métaphore pour une passion intense — comme dans l'expression familière : « le football est sa religion ». Cependant, lorsque nous pivotons vers le cadre islamique, le terme Dîn porte un poids bien plus tectonique. Il ne s'agit pas seulement d'une catégorie de croyance ; c'est une déclaration fondamentale sur notre statut ontologique.

Pour comprendre pourquoi les musulmans abordent la foi avec une gravité aussi distinctive, nous devons regarder au-delà de la traduction simpliste et plonger au cœur linguistique et spirituel du mot Dîn.

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Le registre linguistique : La religion comme une dette

Le mot Dîn dérive de la racine arabe d-y-n (dana/udeenu), qui est exactement la même racine que celle du mot Dayn — signifiant une dette financière ou une obligation.

Ce n'est pas une coïncidence linguistique. D'un point de vue islamique, notre existence même est un prêt du Créateur. Notre « religion » est la transaction consistant à rembourser cette dette par l'adoration, la gratitude et le comportement. C'est pourquoi le Jour du Jugement est désigné dans le Coran comme Yawm ad-Dîn : le Jour de la Rétribution. C'est le jour où les « comptes » sont réglés.

Sous cet angle, l'Islam est décrit à l'aide de trois qualificatifs puissants :

• Dîn Allah : La religion appartenant à Dieu — la voie originelle et primordiale.

• Dîn al-Haq : La religion de la Vérité — le message final, authentique et préservé.

• Dîn al-Qayyim : La religion de la distinction (ou de la droiture) — la norme objective par laquelle tous les autres systèmes de croyance sont mesurés.

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Du dogme au doute : L'évolution occidentale

Le concept occidental de religion a subi une métamorphose radicale. Avant le Siècle des Lumières, l'Occident était pris entre l'autocratie de l'Église et les caprices des monarques. Les « Âges Sombres » ont finalement cédé la place à un mouvement caractérisé par le scepticisme, l'empirisme et l'élévation de la raison humaine au-dessus de la révélation.

Ce changement a finalement conduit à l'ère postmoderne, où le concept de vérité absolue a été largement écarté au profit du relativisme. Dans cette vision du monde :

1. La subjectivité règne : Chaque individu a le droit d'interpréter les textes religieux selon ses propres envies.

2. Relativité morale : Aucun système unique n'a le droit de dicter le « bien » ou le « mal ».

3. Adaptation institutionnelle : Nous voyons les dogmes traditionnels s'ajuster pour accommoder les tendances sociales modernes, menant à la validation de pratiques autrefois universellement considérées comme contraires aux Écritures.

Pour un musulman, ce relativisme est une négation de la nature même du Dîn. Si la « vérité » est ce que vous voulez qu'elle soit, alors la « dette » envers le Créateur est effectivement annulée par l'ego humain.

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L'approche appropriée : Étudier « l'Autre »

Comment, dès lors, un musulman doit-il s'engager vis-à-vis des autres systèmes de croyance ? S'agit-il d'une étude « comparative » ? Pas exactement. Du point de vue islamique, si l'Islam est le Haq (la Vérité), alors tout ce qui le contredit fondamentalement est perçu comme une déviation.

Un musulman n'étudie pas les autres religions pour « trouver » des vérités manquantes, mais pour plusieurs raisons stratégiques précises :

• Accroître la conviction : Le contraste est un puissant enseignant. On apprécie la clarté cristalline du Tawhid (monothéisme) de manière plus profonde lorsqu'on observe les contradictions et les complexités des dogmes fabriqués ou altérés par l'homme.

• Améliorer la Dawah : Pour inviter les autres à la Vérité, il faut comprendre les malentendus spécifiques ou les obstacles théologiques auxquels ils font face.

• Défendre l'Ummah : À une époque d'évangélisation agressive — souvent masquée par le travail social ou l'aide médicale — les musulmans doivent être conscients des arguments utilisés pour cibler les plus vulnérables au sein de notre communauté.

« N'interrogez les gens du Livre sur rien. En vérité, ils ne peuvent vous guider car ils se sont eux-mêmes égarés... En vérité, si Moussa (Moïse) était vivant, il n'aurait d'autre recours que de me suivre. » — Le Prophète (prière et salut sur lui)

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Une note de mise en garde pour le chercheur

L'étude des autres religions n'est pas une tâche pour ceux qui manquent de fondations. Tout comme on n'étudierait pas la toxicologie sans une solide maîtrise de la médecine, un musulman doit d'abord maîtriser les « connaissances obligatoires » — le Fard ‘Ayn — qui lui permettent de remplir ses devoirs envers Allah.

Nous ne nous penchons pas sur les autres religions pour « bénéficier » ou « améliorer » nos propres pratiques. L'Islam est complet ; il n'a besoin d'aucun « patch » extérieur. Au lieu de cela, nous abordons ce domaine avec une base ferme dans notre propre tradition et une intention claire : reconnaître la beauté de la Vérité en comprenant la nature de ce qui se trouve en dehors d'elle.