<\/p>\n
Abdullah<\/b>:\u00a0 Hello there!\u00a0 How are you man?<\/p>\n
Derek<\/b>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Hello! Well, how are you?<\/p>\n
Abdullah<\/b>:\u00a0 I\u2019m fine and you?<\/p>\n
Derek<\/b>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m fine, thanks.<\/p>\n
Abdullah<\/b>:\u00a0 Where are you from?<\/p>\n
Derek<\/b>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m from L.A. (Los Angeles).<\/p>\n
Abdullah<\/b>:\u00a0 The land of Hollywood!<\/p>\n
Derek<\/b>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Well, that\u2019s right.\u00a0 Have you ever been to L.A?<\/p>\n
Abdullah<\/b>:\u00a0 No, never. Why are you calling yourself \u2018Black Magic\u2019?<\/p>\n
Derek<\/b>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s just a nickname, man!<\/p>\n
Abdullah<\/b>:\u00a0 I see.<\/p>\n
Derek<\/b>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Where are you from? \u00a0Are you an Arab?<\/p>\n
Abdullah<\/b>:\u00a0 Yes, I am from Saudi Arabia but I\u2019m in Qatar now.\u00a0 What is your name?<\/p>\n
Derek<\/b>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 My name is Derek.\u00a0 What\u2019s your name?<\/p>\n
Abdullah<\/b>:\u00a0 My name is Abdullah.<\/p>\n
Derek<\/b>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What does Abdullah mean?<\/p>\n
Abdullah<\/b>:\u00a0 Abdullah means the servant of Allah and it is the function of each individual on the face of the earth to serve God according to what God wants from us.\u00a0 By the way, Allah is the proper name of God.<\/p>\n
Derek<\/b>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 How do we know what God or Allah wants from us?<\/p>\n
Abdullah<\/b>:\u00a0 All of this is outlined in the Quran and the Sunnah (traditions and approved actions of Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him).\u00a0 These are the two major sources of guidance in Islam.\u00a0 Could you please tell me more about yourself?\u00a0 How old are you?<\/p>\n
Derek<\/b>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I am 19 years old, black and very much interested in knowing more about Islam. First of all, what should a person do or believe in, to become a Muslim?<\/p>\n
Abdullah<\/b>:\u00a0 Very easy brother, you just say that there is no one worthy of worship but God and Muhammad is His Messenger, and you become Muslim.<\/p>\n
Derek<\/b>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You mean Muhammad is his apostle?\u00a0 But as a Christian or non-Muslim, this sentence is not enough to make it clear to me.<\/p>\n
Abdullah<\/b>:\u00a0 O.K. God sent Muhammad, as His last Prophet and Messenger and revealed the Quran to him as the final revelation to mankind.\u00a0 God said that He perfected His religion and called it Islam (see Quran 5:3).\u00a0 Islam means peaceful submission to the Will of God.<\/p>\n
Derek<\/b>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I see.<\/p>\n
Abdullah<\/b>:\u00a0 Yes, and unfortunately, most Christians don\u2019t know or they deny that the coming of Prophet Muhammad, is foretold in their scriptures (See Deuteronomy 18:18; 21:21; Psalms 118: 22-23; Isaiah 42:1-13; Habakuk 3:3-4; Matthew 21:42-43; John 14:12-17, 15:26,27; 16:5-16).\u00a0 Muslim theologians have stated that the person who is described by Jesus\u00a0 to come after him (in the above verses) is Muhammad.<\/p>\n
Derek<\/b>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O.K.\u00a0 Fine, but why was there a need for another Prophet after Jesus and another revelation after the Bible?<\/p>\n
Abdullah<\/b>:\u00a0 All of the Prophets came to teach their peoples the Oneness of God.\u00a0 In the case of Jesus\u00a0 he was only sent as Messenger to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (see Matt. 15:24).\u00a0 What happened was that all of these Prophets were not well received by the majority of the people.\u00a0 For instance, they started tampering with the teachings of Moses and Jesus, may God exalt their mention (see Quran 2:79).\u00a0 That is why God sent Muhammad, with the last Message, (i.e., the Quran), to bring all of mankind back to the belief in and worship of One God, without partners or intermediaries.<\/p>\n
Derek<\/b>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Is the Quran similar to the Bible?\u00a0 I mean, what is it composed of?<\/p>\n
Abdullah<\/b>:\u00a0 The Quran came as the last code emphasizing the same pure monotheistic teachings of Jesus\u00a0 defending all the previous pure teachings of monotheistic beliefs and clarifying who Jesus\u00a0 was and who his mother was, showing that they were no more than great people.<\/p>\n
Derek<\/b>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O.K then, how can we be sure that the Quran has remained the same since the time of Prophet Muhammad, ?<\/p>\n
Abdullah<\/b>:\u00a0 God Himself has guaranteed that He would guard the Quran and keep it free from corruption (see Quran 15:9).\u00a0 Hence, the real and pure words of God are found in the Quran which was revealed in Arabic, the language of the people of Muhammad. Since then, not an iota has changed.\u00a0 This is unlike what has happened in the other religions.\u00a0 For example, if you look at the Bible you find a lot of versions; the name Bible itself is indicative of those changes because Bible means a collection of books from different writers.<\/p>\n
Derek<\/b>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But didn\u2019t God call it the Bible?<\/p>\n
Abdullah<\/b>:\u00a0 God calls the Scripture revealed to Jesus \u201cInjeel<\/i>\u201d in the Quran, for which the closest name in the Bible would be the word Gospel.\u00a0 The Bible was written many years after the time of Jesus\u00a0\u00a0 in a language that was alien to Jesus — it was Latin Vulgate, a language that he never spoke.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t this strange?\u00a0 Interestingly, most of what was written in the New Testament was authored by Paul, who, according to James, the brother of Jesus in the Bible, had a polluted mind because he changed and contradicted most of the teachings of Jesus .<\/p>\n
Derek<\/b>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I think you know more about Christianity than the Pope does!<\/p>\n
Abdullah<\/b>:\u00a0 You are wrong by saying that I know more than the Pope. I have simply investigated the Bible with an inquiring mind, which is something that all Christians should do.<\/p>\n
Derek<\/b>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Is there any English version of the Holy Quran?<\/p>\n
Abdullah<\/b>:\u00a0 There are many translations of the meanings of the Quran.\u00a0 The Quran was revealed in Arabic, which means that the words of Allah are in Arabic.\u00a0 The translations are the words of human beings relating to the meanings of the Quran to the non-Arabic speaking masses.<\/p>\n
Derek<\/b>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 How does the Quran define God to mankind or how does the Muslim perceive God?<\/p>\n
Abdullah<\/b>:\u00a0 God is the One and Only True God, and the Creator of all.\u00a0 He does not beget nor is He begotten.\u00a0 He is unlike His creation in every respect.\u00a0 He is the All-Knowing, The Powerful, The Merciful, The Irresistible, and The King of kings.<\/p>\n
Derek<\/b>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But it is somehow difficult for me to perceive God as being the same as His creatures.<\/p>\n
Abdullah<\/b>:\u00a0 You are absolutely right to have difficulty perceiving this, because human beings have a limited capacity.\u00a0 This is why God sent revelations to His Prophets and Messengers to tell us who He is.\u00a0 So if you want to know who God is, just read the Quran.<\/p>\n
Derek<\/b>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Christians believe that Jesus was sent for the salvation of all mankind. If this is not true, then the foundation of Christianity is faulty.\u00a0 Right? What do you think?<\/p>\n
Abdullah<\/b>:\u00a0 That\u2019s correct.\u00a0 The Christians of today are following what Paul taught and also tend to follow what the priests tell them to do instead of following what Jesus\u00a0 said.<\/p>\n
Derek<\/b>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Kindly explain the concept of salvation through the crucifixion of Jesus.<\/p>\n
Abdullah<\/b>:\u00a0 In Christianity, the Doctrine of Original Sin is the reason that there is a need for salvation through Jesus\u2019 crucifixion.\u00a0 However, this doctrine was invented by Paul and it is strongly negated in the Old Testament (see Ezekiel 18:20, Jeremiah 31:30, Deut. 24:16).\u00a0 This doctrine is an attempt to escape the responsibility of righteousness with the belief that punishment is given to someone else to release us from our burden of sins (see Ephesians 1:7, Romans 4:25, 10:9,Corinthians 15:21). In the Quran, every soul is responsible for its own deeds, good or bad (see Quran 74:38, 41:46, 3:25, 6:154).<\/p>\n
Derek<\/b>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What about the crucifixion itself?<\/p>\n
Abdullah<\/b>:\u00a0 The Bible says Jesus\u00a0 cried out in a loud voice beseeching God for help on the cross: \u201cMy God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?\u201d (Matt. 27:46)<\/b> Does that sound like Jesus\u00a0 to you?<\/p>\n
Derek<\/b>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 No, then what about Jesus\u2019 appearance to his disciples after the crucifixion?<\/p>\n
Abdullah<\/b>:\u00a0 Jesus didn\u2019t die on the cross nor was he resurrected.\u00a0 If he were resurrected, then he would have come to his disciples in a spiritual body.\u00a0 As shown in Luke 24:36-43, he met them with his physical body after the event of his alleged crucifixion.\u00a0 In the Quran, it says that Jesus was not crucified, but it was someone else who was made to look like him (see Quran 4:156-158).<\/p>\n
Derek<\/b>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 How did the story of the crucifixion of Jesus get into the Bible then?<\/p>\n
Abdullah<\/b>:\u00a0 Once again, Paul was responsible (see Timothy 2:8 and Romans 5:10).<\/p>\n
Derek<\/b>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Well, I very deep in my heart, believe that God can never look like His creation nor does He do what they do.\u00a0 What I believe is that God is the Perfect One who is very much different from everything we see or touch.\u00a0 In other words, I think the writer can never look like his book.<\/p>\n
Abdullah<\/b>:\u00a0 You are right.\u00a0 There is nothing comparable to God (see Quran 112:4).\u00a0 The Prophets came with a very clear message to worship God alone, without any partners or intercessors.\u00a0 However, Paul took pagan beliefs and practices from the Romans and mixed them with the teachings of Jesus .\u00a0\u00a0 Consequently, Paul was mostly responsible for elevating Jesus\u00a0 to the status of Son of God (see Acts. 9:20) and god.<\/p>\n
Derek<\/b>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 Now I remember.\u00a0 The first Commandments is: \u201cHear, O Israel, the Lord our God is One Lord.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n
Abdullah<\/b>:\u00a0 You\u2019re right.\u00a0 That\u2019s in Mark 12:29. Moreover, the Quran confirms that God is One (which means): \u201cSay He is Allah, the One and Only (God).\u201d (Quran 112:1)<\/b><\/p>\n
Derek<\/b>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What you are saying makes perfect sense.\u00a0 This is just incredible! \u00a0You mean that for almost 2000 years what the Christians have been following is wrong?<\/p>\n
<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Abdullah:\u00a0 Hello there!\u00a0 How are you man? Derek:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Hello! Well, how are you? Abdullah:\u00a0 I\u2019m fine and you? Derek:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m fine, thanks. Abdullah:\u00a0 Where are you from? Derek:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m from L.A. (Los Angeles). Abdullah:\u00a0 The land of Hollywood! Derek:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Well, that\u2019s right.\u00a0 Have you ever been to L.A? Abdullah:\u00a0 No, never. Why are you calling […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-3901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whyislam.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3901","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whyislam.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whyislam.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whyislam.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whyislam.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3901"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/whyislam.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3901\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whyislam.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whyislam.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3901"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whyislam.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3901"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whyislam.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=3901"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}