Islam for Christians

Examining the Islamic tradition that Muhammad sent letters to foreign leaders in 628, focusing on those sent to Christians and potential problems with the historicity of the letters.

1.

Nũn. By the pen and what everyone writes!

2.

By the grace of your Lord, you 'O Prophet' are not insane.

3.

You will certainly have a never-ending reward.

4.

And you are truly 'a man' of outstanding character.

5.

Soon you and the pagans will see,

6.

which of you is mad.

7.

Surely your Lord 'alone' knows best who has strayed from His Way and who is 'rightly' guided.

8.

So do not give in to the deniers.

9.

They wish you would compromise so they would yield 'to you'.

10.

And do not obey the despicable, vain oath-taker,

11.

slanderer, gossip-monger,

12.

withholder of good, transgressor, evildoer,

13.

brute, and- on top of all that- an illegitimate child.

14.

Now, 'simply' because he has been blessed with 'abundant' wealth and children,

15.

whenever Our revelations are recited to him, he says, 'Ancient fables!'

16.

We will soon mark his snout.1

17.

Indeed, We have tested those 'Meccans' as We tested the owners of the garden- when they swore they would surely harvest 'all' its fruit in the early morning,

18.

leaving no thought for Allah's Will.1

19.

Then it was struck by a torment from your Lord while they slept,

20.

so it was reduced to ashes.

21.

Then by daybreak they called out to each other,

22.

'saying,' 'Go early to your harvest, if you want to pick 'all' the fruit.'

23.

So they went off, whispering to one another,

24.

'Do not let any poor person enter your garden today.'

25.

And they proceeded early, totally fixated on their purpose.

26.

But when they saw it 'devastated', they cried, 'We must have lost 'our' way!

27.

In fact, we have been deprived 'of our livelihood'.'

28.

The most sensible of them said, 'Did I not urge you to say, 'Allah willing.'?'

29.

They replied, 'Glory be to our Lord! We have truly been wrongdoers.'

30.

Then they turned on each other, throwing blame.

31.

They said, 'Woe to us! We have certainly been transgressors.

32.

We trust our Lord will give us a better garden than this, 'for' we are indeed turning to our Lord with hope.'1

33.

That is the 'way of Our' punishment 'in this world'. But the punishment of the Hereafter is certainly far worse, if only they knew.1

34.

Indeed, the righteous will have the Gardens of Bliss with their Lord.

35.

Should We then treat those who have submitted like the wicked?

36.

What is the matter with you? How do you judge?

37.

Or do you have a scripture, in which you read

38.

that you will have whatever you choose?

39.

Or do you have oaths binding on Us until the Day of Judgment that you will have whatever you decide?

40.

Ask them 'O Prophet' which of them can guarantee all that.

41.

Or do they have associate-gods 'supporting this claim'? Then let them bring forth their associate-gods, if what they say is true.

42.

'Beware of' the Day the Shin 'of Allah' will be bared,1 and the wicked will be asked to prostrate, but they will not be able to do so,

43.

with eyes downcast, totally covered with disgrace. For they were 'always' called to prostrate 'in the world' when they were fully capable 'but they chose not to'.

44.

So leave to Me 'O Prophet' those who reject this message. We will gradually draw them to destruction in ways they cannot comprehend.

45.

I 'only' delay their end for a while, but My planning is flawless.

46.

Or are you asking them for a reward 'for the message' so that they are overburdened by debt?

47.

Or do they have access to 'the Record in' the unseen, so they copy it 'for all to see'?

48.

So be patient with your Lord's decree, and do not be like 'Jonah,' the Man of the Whale, who cried out 'to Allah', in total distress.1

49.

Had he not been shown grace by his Lord, he would have certainly been cast onto the open 'shore', still blameworthy.

50.

Then his Lord chose him, making him one of the righteous.

51.

The disbelievers would almost cut you down with their eyes when they hear 'you recite' the Reminder,1 and say, 'He is certainly a madman.'

52.

But it is simply a reminder to the whole world.

Examining Chapter 4 of Paul's letter to the Galatians and how closely relevant it is to the Christian understanding of Islam. Paul unwittingly predicted something like Islam. And to make the coincidence ever more stunning, this would come from Ishmael's people -- the Arabs.

Narrated Ibn `Umar:

The Prophet said, "The keys of the unseen are five and none knows them but Allah: (1) None knows (the sex) what is in the womb, but Allah: (2) None knows what will happen tomorrow, but Allah; (3) None knows when it will rain, but Allah; (4) None knows where he will die, but Allah (knows that); (5) and none knows when the Hour will be established, but Allah."

Going through the details of the The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah and examining what it means for the future... which will be coming very soon. This treaty will unleash many of the strengths of the new religion, but first the Muslims must move past some painful parts of this moment.

1

The Inevitable Hour!

2

What is the Inevitable Hour?

3

And what will make you realize what the Inevitable Hour is?

4

˹Both˺ Thamûd and ’Ȃd denied the Striking Disaster.

5

As for Thamûd, they were destroyed by an overwhelming blast.

6

And as for ’Ȃd, they were destroyed by a furious, bitter wind

7

which God unleashed on them non-stop for seven nights and eight days, so that you would have seen its people lying dead like trunks of uprooted palm trees.

8

Do you see any of them left alive?

9

Also, Pharaoh and those before him, and ˹the people of˺ the overturned cities ˹of Lot˺ indulged in sin,

10

each disobeying their Lord’s messenger, so He seized them with a crushing grip.

11

Indeed, when the floodwater had overflowed, We carried you in the floating Ark ˹with Noah˺,

12

so that We may make this a reminder to you, and that attentive ears may grasp it.

13

At last, when the Trumpet will be blown with one blast,

14

and the earth and mountains will be lifted up and crushed with one blow,

15

on that Day the Inevitable Event will have come to pass.

16

The sky will then be so torn that it will be frail,

17

with the angels on its sides. On that Day eight ˹mighty angels˺ will bear the Throne of your Lord above them.

18

You will then be presented ˹ before Him for judgment˺, and none of your secrets will stay hidden.

19

As for those given their records in their right hand, they will cry ˹happily˺, “Here ˹everyone˺! Read my record!

20

I surely knew I would face my reckoning.”

21

They will be in a life of bliss,

22

in an elevated Garden,

23

whose fruit will hang within reach.

24

˹They will be told,˺ “Eat and drink joyfully for what you did in the days gone by.”

25

And as for those given their record in their left hand, they will cry ˹bitterly˺, “I wish I had not been given my record,

26

nor known anything of my reckoning!

27

I wish death was the end!

28

My wealth has not benefited me!

29

My authority has been stripped from me.”

30

˹It will be said,˺ “Seize and shackle them,

31

then burn them in Hell,

32

then tie them up with chains seventy arms long.

33

For they never had faith in God, the Greatest,

34

nor encouraged the feeding of the poor.

35

So this Day they will have no close friend here,

36

nor any food except ˹oozing˺ pus,

37

which none will eat except the evildoers.”

38

Now, I do swear by whatever you see,

39

and whatever you cannot see!

40

Indeed, this ˹Quran˺ is the recitation of a noble Messenger.

41

It is not the prose of a poet ˹as you claim˺, ˹yet˺ you hardly have any faith.

42

Nor is it the mumbling of a fortune-teller, ˹yet˺ you are hardly mindful.

43

˹It is˺ a revelation from the Lord of all worlds.

44

Had the Messenger made up something in Our Name,

45

We would have certainly seized him by his right hand,

46

then severed his aorta,

47

and none of you could have shielded him ˹from Us˺!

48

Indeed, this ˹Quran˺ is a reminder to those mindful ˹of God˺.

49

And We certainly know that some of you will persist in denial,

50

and it will surely be a source of regret for the disbelievers.

51

And indeed, this ˹Quran˺ is the absolute truth.

52

So glorify the Name of your Lord, the Greatest.

A look at the more Quranic sounding passages of James and the overlap between Muslim and Christian teachings that the document presents. There are limits, however, so we will also go over the Book of James as an inherently Christian document.

The evil eye... what it meant then, and what it means now.

The lead up to the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. Muhammad brings his followers to the borders of Mecca, demanding to make a pilgrimage to the Kaaba.

70:1 A challenger has demanded a punishment bound to come

70:2 for the disbelievers—to be averted by none—

70:3 from Allah, Lord of pathways of ˹heavenly˺ ascent,

70:4 ˹through which˺ the angels and the ˹holy˺ spirit will ascend to Him on a Day fifty thousand years in length.

70:5 So endure ˹this denial, O Prophet,˺ with beautiful patience.

70:6 They truly see this ˹Day˺ as impossible,

70:7 but We see it as inevitable.

70:8 On that Day the sky will be like molten brass

70:9 and the mountains like ˹tufts of˺ wool.

70:10 And no close friend will ask ˹about˺ their friends,

70:11 ˹although˺ they will be made to see each other. The wicked will wish to ransom themselves from the punishment of that Day by their children,

70:12 their spouses, their siblings,

70:13 their clan that sheltered them,

70:14 and everyone on earth altogether, just to save themselves.

70:15 But no! There will certainly be a raging Flame

70:16 ripping off scalps.

70:17 It will summon whoever turned their backs ˹on Allah˺ and turned away ˹from the truth˺,

70:18 and gathered and hoarded ˹wealth˺.

70:19 Indeed, humankind was created impatient:

70:20 distressed when touched with evil,

70:21 and withholding when touched with good—

70:22 except those who pray,

70:23 consistently performing their prayers;

70:24 and who give the rightful share of their wealth

70:25 to the beggar and the poor;

70:26 and who ˹firmly˺ believe in the Day of Judgment;

70:27 and those who fear the punishment of their Lord—

70:28 ˹knowing that˺ none should feel secure from their Lord’s punishment—

70:29 and those who guard their chastity

70:30 except with their wives or those ˹bondwomen˺ in their possession, for then they are free from blame,

70:31 but whoever seeks beyond that are the transgressors.

70:32 ˹The faithful are˺ also those who are true to their trusts and covenants;

70:33 and who are honest in their testimony;

70:34 and who are ˹properly˺ observant of their prayers.

70:35 These will be in Gardens, held in honour.

70:36 So what is the matter with the disbelievers that they rush ˹head-long˺ towards you ˹O Prophet˺,

70:37 from the right and the left, in groups ˹to mock you˺?

70:38 Does every one of them expect to be admitted into a Garden of Bliss?

70:39 But no! Indeed, they ˹already˺ know what We created them from.

70:40 So, I do swear by the Lord of ˹all˺ the points of sunrise and sunset that We are truly capable

70:41 of replacing them with ˹others˺ better than them, and We cannot be prevented ˹from doing so˺.

70:42 So let them indulge ˹in falsehood˺ and amuse ˹themselves˺ until they face their Day, which they have been threatened with—

70:43 the Day they will come forth from the graves swiftly, as if racing to an idol ˹for a blessing˺,

70:44 with eyes downcast, utterly covered with disgrace. That is the Day they have ˹always˺ been warned of.