Muslims do not just fail to see direct claims to divinity made by Jesus, but they also seem to ignore the full import of Jesus’ words. They gloss over them quickly, perhaps out of fear that what they see will contradict what they have been taught. And the Bible most certainly does that.
While there is no comparing the Bible with the Quran, to try and bridge that gap for Muslims, we will do a face off between some of the words that they believe were spoken by their god, Allah, with statements made by Jesus and others about His divinity.
This is the very first chapter of the Quran:
Surah 1 Al Fatihah (Pickthall)
1 In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
2 Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds,
3 The Beneficent, the Merciful.
4 Master of the Day of Judgment,
5 Thee (alone) we worship; Thee (alone) we ask for help.
6 Show us the straight path,
7 The path of those whom Thou hast favoured; Not the (path) of those who earn Thine anger nor of those who go astray.
We will break up this short chapter into the individual ayat (verses) and compare them to what Jesus says about Himself.
Since Muslims believe that Allah wrote the words of the Quran, we will read it that way. In the first verse, Allah says,
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. (Surah 1:1)
More than 6 centuries prior, Jesus had come to the Jews of the 1st century and used the Divine Name of the God of Israel, YHWH, or I Am, for Himself. For example:
“I assure you: Before Abraham was, I am.” John 8:58.
But Jesus also had no problems claiming divine attributes for Himself.
He claimed omnipresence:
"Again, I assure you: If two of you on earth agree about any matter that you pray for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there among them.” Matthew 18:19-20
Jesus also claimed omnipotence and omniscience and taught that the key to receiving answers to prayer is to pray in His name:
“Whatever you ask in My name, I will do it so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” John 14:13
“If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.” John 14:14
“If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.” John 14:14
Jesus also said access to the Father comes through Him alone and in His name:
“Whoever welcomes one little child such as this in My name welcomes Me. And whoever welcomes Me does not welcome Me, but Him who sent Me.” Mark 9:37
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6
Not only did He have no problems with miracles being performed in His name, He expected them:
“Don’t stop him,” said Jesus, “because there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name who can soon afterward speak evil of Me.” Mark 9:39
Jesus taught that the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity Who is God Himself, would be sent in His name:
“But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit—the Father will send Him in My name—will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.” John 14:26
And the Apostle Paul explains how there is no name that is higher than Jesus’ and how all will one day bow down to worship the King in perfect unity with the Father (italics mine):
“For this reason God highly exalted Him
and gave Him the name
that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee will bow—
of those who are in heaven and on earth
and under the earth—
and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11
and gave Him the name
that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee will bow—
of those who are in heaven and on earth
and under the earth—
and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11
Allah then says:
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds (Surah 1:2)
But John the beloved says of Jesus, the Word of God,
“In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.
All things were created through Him,
and apart from Him not one thing was created
that has been created.” John 1:1-3
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.
All things were created through Him,
and apart from Him not one thing was created
that has been created.” John 1:1-3
The Father says,
"In the beginning, Lord,
You established the earth,
and the heavens are the works of Your hands…“ Hebrews 1:10
You established the earth,
and the heavens are the works of Your hands…“ Hebrews 1:10
And Jesus says He has power in heaven and on earth.
“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” Matthew 28:18
Next, Allah claims he is…
The Beneficent, the Merciful. (Surah 1:3)
But Jesus says,
“I am the good shepherd. I know My own sheep, and they know Me, as the Father knows Me, and I know the Father. I lay down My life for the sheep.” John 10:14-15
While Allah says he is merciful, he never does anything to prove it.
Jesus, on the other hand, not only spoke about His mercy,
“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10
but He also demonstrated it:
“But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!” Romans 5:8
Allah's next claim is that he is…
Master of the Day of Judgment (Surah 1:4)
But, speaking 600 years earlier, Jesus had already declared that it was He Who would be the Judge over all:
“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world…
Then He will also say to those on the left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels!” Matthew 25:31-33, 41
“For just as the Father has life in Himself, so also He has granted to the Son to have life in Himself.
And He has granted Him the right to pass judgment, because He is the Son of Man.
Do not be amazed at this, because a time is coming when all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come out—those who have done good things, to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked things, to the resurrection of judgment.” John 5:26-29
Next, Allah says…
Thee (alone) we worship; Thee (alone) we ask for help. (Surah 1:5)
But again, Jesus had already said that all would have to honor Him in the same way that they honor the Father:
“… so that all people will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.” John 5:23
Why? For a very simple reason:
“The Father and I are one.” John 10:30
Allah then says in his Quran,
Show us the straight path, (Surah 1:6)
The path of those whom Thou hast favoured; Not the (path) of those who earn Thine anger nor of those who go astray. (Surah 1:7)
But, as we have already shown, Jesus said,
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6
No one means no one, whether Jew or Gentile, Christian or Muslim, Buddhist or Hindu.
Jesus says He is the only way.
Jesus claims divine powers for Himself which He continues to exercise today as He hears and answers the prayers of believers: omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence.
Could He have been any clearer?
Could He have been any clearer?
Jesus is God!
For a post about the odd speaking style employed by Allah in Surah 1. click the link below:
Praise Be to Me?
For other passages where Jesus does says, "I Am YHWH," click on the following link:
Where Does Jesus Say, "I Am YHWH (God)" in the Bible?
The 99 Names of... Jesus? Part 1
Jesus is the First and the Last (DSS, P98)
Where Does Jesus Say, "I Am God. Worship Me?"
Where Does Jesus Say, "I Am Not God. Stop Worshiping Me?"
Comments