By Roger Marshall*
Jesus said that one of the signs of His return and of the end of the world would be a proliferation of false prophets (Matthew 24:4-11). The apostle John reiterated this fact when he wrote, “ Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh [i.e. Jesus Christ is God incarnate; cf. St. John 1: 1-3, 14] is of God. And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh [i.e. the claim that Jesus Christ is not God incarnate] is not of God: and is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.” (1 John 4: 1-3).
The religion of Islam which had its birth around AD 622 is just one of the many religious systems which denies that Jesus Christ is God incarnate. Today Islam is the world’s fastest growing religions. Many Muslims sight the phenomenal growth rate as “proof” that Islam is the true religion. However, Jesus said that a great following is not ultimate proof that a movement is on the right road. In his own words he said: “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, ad broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and MANY there be which go in thereat. Because strait is the gate and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and FEW there be that find it” (Matt 7: 13-14)
While some of us may know and work either for or with Muslims, who we may find and know to be pleasant people, we shall see that many of these fine people are unfortunately trapped in an extremely antichrist religious system.
The Historical Background
To the Muslim God is “Allah” the most great. According to Dr. Robert Morey in his book Allah: The Moon-god of Pre-Islamic Arabia the word “Allah” comes from the compound Arabic word, al-ilah which means “the god”, and was a reference to the moon god of pre- Islamic Arabia. In those days Allah had three daughters: Al-lat, Al-uzza and Manat. The symbol of the crescent moon which is very important to Islam is a throw back to moon worship of the pre-Islamic Arabians.
Muhammad the prophet of Islam was born in A.D. 570 in Mecca. He was a member of the Quraysh tribe. Their favourite god, out of the 360 gods worshipped by the Arabs, was al-illah (Allah) the moon god.
His prophethood began when he began to teach his fellow tribesmen that they were only to worship Allah and not his three daughters or any other god. This led to hostile resistance from the Meccans. After realising that the Meccans would not convert by peaceful persuasion Muhammad decided to use force beginning with attacks on rich caravans and later a failed attack on the city of Mecca. After his second battle at Mecca a 10year peace treaty was signed between Muhammad and the Meccans. It was during this period that Muhammad committed himself and his followers to spreading Islam not by violence but by peaceful persuasion. This period is reflected in Sura 2:56. However, within one year Muhammad broke the treaty and with an army of thousands of followers he forced Mecca to surrender to his leadership. Those who resisted Islam were slain, those who renounced their former religions were spared and became instant Muslims (cf. Sura 9:5). Thus Islam(“sub-mission to Allah” was born.
Islamic Duties (a.k.a. The Five Pillars of Islam)
i. Kalima or Shahada- The creed of faith, which states, “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his Prophet/Apostle/Messenger.
ii. Salat-Daily prayers at sun rise, at noon, at mid afternoon, after sunset, and before retiring at night. Also included is Friday Public Service.
iii. The fast of Ramadan- A time of abstinence from food, drink, sex, smoking and other pleasures from sun rise to sunset for one month.
iv. Zakat- Almsgiving.
v. Hajj- The pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in one’s lifetime.
vi. Jihad- Holy War. This is a sixth religious obligation which is almost invariably associated with the five pillars of Islam.
The Quran/Koran
The Quran itself claims that it is a continuation of the Bible and it will not
Contradict it (Sura 2: 136). However, this claim does not stand up to close
scrutiny as the following examples show.
The Bible says that God created the world in six day (Gen 1: 1-131, Ex 20:11). The Quran on the other hand says that God created the world in EIGHT days (Sura 41: 9,10,12) cf Sura 32: 4.
The Bible says that all three sons of Noah went into the ark with him and were saved from the flood (Gen. 7: 13). The Quran says that one of the sons refused to go into the ark and was drowned in the flood (Sura 11: 41-43).
The Bible says that the ark came to rest on Mountains of Ararat (Gen 8: 3-4). The Quran says the ark came to rest on Mont Judi (Sura 11: 44)
The Bible says Abraham lived and worshipped in Hebron (Gen 13: 18). The Quran says that he lived in Mecca (Sura 14: 35-37).
The Bible says that it was Isaac whom God instructed Abraham to offer up to him in sacrifice (Gen 22: 1-2) The Quran says that it was Ishmael (Sura 37: 100-112).
The Bible says that it was Potiphar who bought Joseph down in Egypt (Gen 39: 1) The Quran says that it was a man by the name of Aziz who bought him (Sura 12: 21).
The Bible says that it was Pharoah’s daughter who adopted Moses as her son (Ex 2: 5-10). The Quran says that it was Pharoah’s wife who adopted Moses (Sura 28: 8-9).
The Bible says that Jesus was born in a stable (Luke 2: 1-20) The Quran says that he was born under a palm tree (Sura 19: 16,22-27).
The Bible says that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God (Luke1: 30-31, 34-35) John 3: 16). The Quran says that God doesn’t have a son (Sura 9: 30). Of course we know by know that Jesus could never be the son of Allah, because Allah is not God!
The Bible says that Jesus was crucified (Matt 27: 33-37), Mk 15: 22-25), Luke 23: 33-34), John 19: 13-19). The Quran says that he as not crucified (Sura 4: 157).
The Bible teaches the doctrine of the Trinity Matt 28: 19, 2 Pet 1:17. Heb 1:5-8, John 8: 54-58), John 10: 30-33, Acts 5: 1-4. 1 Tim 2:5). The Quran says there is no Trinity (Sura 4: 171).
From these few quotes it is very clear that the Quran is not true in its claim that it will not contradict the Bible.
Self Contradictions
The Quran also contradicts itself in many instances. Two examples are as follows:
Sura 2:56 it says that Islam should not be enforced upon people. Yet in Sura 9: 5, 29 it says that Islam should be enforced upon people by violence.
Sura 4: 157 says that Jesus was not crucified, neither did he die but just ascended into heaven to Allah (Sura 4: 158). However in Sura 19: 27-34 it says that Jesus did die and that he was also resurrected from the dead!
The Quran even contradicts science. In Sura 18: 86 it says that a man by the name of Zul-qarnain was allowed by Allah to discover where the sun sets. He followed it until he found that it sets in a muddy/murky spring.
Thus from these few comparisons we see that the Quran is not true in its claim that it does not contradict God’s word the Bible. We have also seen that Allah cannot be equated with the God of the Bible; therefore Muhammad could not have been the prophet of God.
References
Islam Unveiled, The Islamic Invasion, and Allah: The Moon-god of Pre-Islamic Arabia by Dr. Robert Morey, Islam Revealed by Dr.Anis Shorrosh, An English Interpretation of The Holy Quran by Abdullah Yusuf Ali.
*Roger Marshall is executive director of Project PROBE Ministries a Barbadian Christian apologetics organisation.
2006