The Message (2/2)

Muslim not "Mohammedan"

Since Jesus' religion, and that of all of the earlier prophets, was the religion of submission to God, known in Arabic as Islam his true followers should be called submitters to God, known in Arabic as Muslims. In Islam, prayer is considered an act of worship. Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was reported to have said, "Supplication is an act of worship.”[1] Consequently, Muslims do not accept being called Mohammedans, as followers of Christ are called Christians and followers of Buddha are called Buddhists.

Christians worship Christ and Buddhists worship Buddha. The term Mohammedans implies that Muslims worship Muhammad (Peace be upon him), which is not the case at all. In the Qur'an, God chose the name Muslim for all who truly follow the prophets. The name Muslim in Arabic means "one who submits to the will of God."

"… It is He who named you Muslims both before and in this (scripture, the Qur'an)." [Qur'an, Surah Al-Hajj (22):78]

Consequently, the essence of Jesus' message was that man should worship God alone. He should not be worshipped through his creation in any way. Consequently, His image cannot be painted, carved or drawn. He is beyond human comprehension.

Images

Jesus did not condone the pagan practice of making images of God. He upheld the prohibition mentioned in the Torah, Exodus 20 verse 4: ''You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth." Consequently, the use of religious images, called icons,[2] was firmly opposed by the early generation of Christian scholars. However, in time, the Greek and Roman tradition of image-making and portraying God in human form eventually won out. The prohibition is to prevent the eventual deterioration of worship of God into the worship of His creation. Once a human being makes a picture in his or her mind of God, the person is, in fact, trying to make God like His creation, because the human mind can only picture the things which it has seen, and God cannot be seen in this life.

Christians with a tradition of worshipping through images often question how God can be worshipped without visualizing Him. God should be worshipped based on the knowledge of His attributes which He revealed in authentic scripture. For example, Allah describes Himself in the Qur'an as being All-Merciful, so His worshippers should reflect on God's many mercies and give thanks to God for them. They should also contemplate on the nature of His mercy to .them and show mercy to other human beings.

Likewise, Allah refers to Himself as being Oft-Forgiving, so His worshippers should tum to Him in repentance and not give up hope when they commit sins. They should also appreciate God's forgiveness by being forgiving to other human beings.

Prophesy

Part of Prophet Jesus' message was to inform his followers of the prophet who would come after him. As John the Baptist heralded the coming of Jesus Christ, Jesus in turn heralded the coming of the last of the prophets of God, Muhammad. In the Qur'an, Chapter as-Saff (61):6, God quotes Jesus' prophesy about Muhammad (Peace be upon him).

"(Remember) when Jesus, son of Mary, said, 'O Children of Israel, I am the Messenger of Allah sent to you, confirming the Torah before me, and giving glad tidings of a Messenger coming after me, whose name will be Ahmad. " [3]

There are also some references in the Gospels which seem to refer to the coming of Prophet Muhammad-may God's peace and blessings be on all the prophets. In the Gospel according to John 14: 16, Jesus is quoted as saying, "And I will pray the Father and he will give you another Counselor,[4] to be with you forever:”

Christian laymen usually interpret the "Counselor" mentioned in John 14: 16 as the Holy Spirit.[5] However, the phrase "another Counselor" implies that it will be someone else like Jesus and not the Holy Spirit,[6] especially considering John 16:7, in which Jesus is reported to have said, "Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away for if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to YOU; but if I go, I will send him to you." The term "Counselor" could not be referring to the Holy Spirit here, because-according to the Gospels-the Holy Spirit was already present in the world prior to Jesus' birth,[7] as well as during his ministry.[8] This verse implies that the "Counselor" had not already come.

Jesus' declaration that the prophet-counselor "will be with you forever," could be interpreted to mean that there would be no need for additional prophets to succeed this Counselor. He would be the last of the Prophets of God, whose message would be preserved until the end of the world.[9]

Jesus' foretelling the coming of Muhammad - may God's peace be upon both of them - confirmed the prophesies about Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) in the Torah. In Deuteronomy 18: 18 & 19, it is written that the Lord said to Moses, "I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brethren [10] ... and I will put mv words in his mouth [11], and he shall speak to them all that I command him, (19) And whoever will not give heed to my words which he shall speak in my" name[12], I myself will require it of him." In Isaiah 42, Isaiah prophesies about a chosen "Servant of the Lord" whose prophetic mission would be to all mankind, unlike the Hebrew prophets whose missions were limited to Israel. "I behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him, he will bring forth justice to the nations... (4) He will not fail or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth,' and the coastlands wait for his law... Let the desert and its cities lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar inhabits.” This particular servant of the Lord is the only one identified with Kedar,[13] the Arabs. [14]