The Religion Of Islam
It was five hundred and eighty-nine years after Christ was declared to be the Son of God, by the resurrection from the dead, and about five hundred and fifty miles from Jerusalem in the city of Medina, Arabia, that the religion of Islam, which denied the deity of Jesus, was born. Mohammed, the founder, was and is regarded as a false prophet by those who believe with all their hearts that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, while to the two hundred forty-nine million five hundred thirty thousand Moslems, he is the prophet of God. The responsibility imposed upon Christians to "believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world," (I John 4:1) is ample reason for devoting the time and energy required in this effort.
In addition to the duty of testing doctrines to determine its source, the consideration of the large number of souls whose eternal destiny is involved, points up the need of the study. The world's religious population has 605,427,000 so-called Christians; 351,355,000 Confucianists; 260,500,000 Hindus; 249,530,000 Mohammedans; plus a number of other bodies of lesser numbers. Twenty thousand of these Mohammedans are in North America. More and more members of the church of the Lord are being brought into contact with Moslems and other religious groups by reason of the program of exchange students and increase foreign travel, etc.
It is not enough for one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God, to merely point out that the New Testament is superior to the Koran and that Jesus is of greater dignity, nobler stature and higher authority than Mohammed. These things are highly gratifying but do not meet the requirements of the case. It must be shown that Jesus was not only a great teacher, and of most exemplary character, nor will it suffice to rest the case after proving that he was a prophet of God, but the fact that he is the Son of God must be set forth and established.
IF JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD: MOHAMMED IS A FALSE PROPHET FOR IN THE KORAN THE DEITY OF JESUS IS DENIED. "This Jesus the son of Mary; the word of truth, concerning whom they doubt. It is not meet for God, that he should have any son; God forbid!" (Al Koran Chapt. 9) Now if what Mohammed denied is proved to be a fact, Mohammed's claim to be a prophet of God falls to the ground; he is shown to be a false prophet. Out of his own mouth he condemns himself in these words, "Who is more unjust than he who imagineth a lie concerning God? They shall be set before the Lord at the day of judgment, and the witness shall say, these are they who devise lies against their Lord. Shall not the curse of God fall on the unjust; who turn men aside from the way of God.." (Al Koran Chap. 11) The task of the Christian is to show that Jesus is the Son of God. This being accomplished, it follows that Mohammed has "imagined a lie concerning God" and by his own declaration is under the curse of God.
The additional fact that Mohammed recognized Jesus as a prophet of God needs to be noted. This declaration of Mohammed that Jesus was a prophet of God is recorded in a number of passages in the Koran; the one in chapter four will suffice. In that place he wrote, "Verily we have revealed our will unto thee, as we have revealed in unto Noah and the prophets who succeeded him; and as we revealed it unto Abraham, and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes, and unto Jesus, and Job, and Joshua and Aaron and Solomon...." (Al Koran Chapt. 4) Note that, in the Koran, Mohammed positively declares that God revealed his will unto Jesus. By this endorsement of Jesus and other Bible characters as prophets of God, Mohammed sought to elevate himself in the eyes of the people to a position of authority on par with Noah, Abraham, Jesus, etc. He represents God as declaring it to him. It follows that if Jesus is not a prophet of God, then Mohammed has misrepresented, he has spoken a lie. He is a lying prophet. On the other hand, if Jesus is truly a prophet of God, then Mohammed is a false prophet for Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, and if he is a prophet of God, his claim is true and Mohammed's denial of the deity of Jesus is a lie. These are the only two possibilities to consider and in either case Mohammed does not pass the test and must be classified among the "many false prophets" who are "gone out into the world."
The argument briefly expressed is
1. Mohammed claimed to be a prophet of God. (Al Koran Chapt. 4)
2. Mohammed claimed that God declared unto him that Jesus was a prophet of God. (Al Koran Chapt.4)
3. Mohammed denied that Jesus was the Son of God. (Al Koran Chapt. 4)
4. Jesus claimed to be the Son of God. (Matt. 16:16, 17)
5. It is clear that Jesus' claims and Mohammed's denial of the claim cannot both be true. This makes Mohammed a false prophet, for if Jesus' claim is false then Mohammed's revelation that he was a prophet of God is false; on the other hand if Jesus' claim to be the Son of God is true, then Mohammed's denial of the deity of Jesus is false. Mohammed's own "revelations" reveal him to be a false prophet and from his own mouth his sentence proceeds, "Shall not the curse of God fall on the unjust; who turn men aside from the way of God...."
The claim to Deity made for himself by Jesus the prophet of God will be considered further in other articles. The conflict between the claims made by Jesus, who is by Mohammed acknowledged to be a prophet of God, and the claims made by Mohammed, a self-styled prophet, will be vomited up. Moslems need to heed the admonition of the Old Testament prophet of God, "How long go ye limping between the two sides? If (Jesus be the prophet of God) follow him: but if (Mohammed), then follow him."