CHAPTER 1: SECTION TWO: REFUTING THE CLAIMS OF THE CHRISTIANS
One: The Unsoundness of the Christians’ Argumentation in Which they Refer to Reports about the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him):
The argumentation of the Christians in which they refer to reports about the Prophet (peace be upon him) as well as the way in which they seek arguments in the verses of the Qur’an, are invalid; for the Qur’an is a piea against them and not for them. In addition, the Books revealed to the early Prophets and which they used in their plea are, in fact, against them and their claims, even if Muhammad had not been sent. However the undeniable truth is that the book with which Muhammad (peace be upon him) came is in accordance with all the words and teachings of the previous Prophets (peace be upon them all) as regards annulling their false religious beliefs such as: trinity, unification, etc. Reason contradicts such claims as well.
We further assert that neither the message with which the Prophet (peace be upon him) was sent along with that of all the other Prophets prove any of their claims, nor does reason. On the contrary, the message of Muhammad (peace be upon him) and those of the Prophets, obviously and plainly state the invalidity of their proofs, and, furthermore, it presents clear proofs exposing the corruption of Christian beliefs.
It is not acceptable from anyone who does not believe in Muhammad (peace be upon him), and nor even in a single word of that with which he was sent, to use his (i.e., Muhammad’s) words and traditions in his plea. Using the words of those who are not Prophets is, to some extent, understandable, for some of their words may assert their claims while some others may not. However, the sayings of the Prophets should be taken as a whole, and should be entirely accepted or left. It is not acceptable to believe in some of them and deny the rest as that contradicts their belief.
Similarly, using verses of the Qur’an by Christians to prove a certain point of view can never be acceptable, for they select what they think proves their point and abandons that which annuls their point.
On the contrary, Muslims can use traditions and the words of the Prophets as well as their Books with which they were sent in their argument with Christians and Jews; for Muslims believe in and accept the prophethood and truthfulness of the messages of Musa (Moses), ‘Isa (Jesus), Dawud (David), Sulaiman (Solomon) and all other Prophets (peace be upon them all). According to the Islamic creed, a Muslim must believe in all the Books revealed by Allah and in every Prophet or Messenger sent by Him. This is one of the bases of Islam. Furthermore, if a Muslim disbelieves in any of the Prophets sent by Allah or the Books revealed by Him, he will be considered a disbeliever. Any Muslim who dares even to despise one of the Prophets is considered a disbeliever and his blood is lawful according to Islamic law (i.e., that is the legal penalty for despising the Prophets;) as Allah, the Almighty states,
which means, ‘The Messenger (Muhammad) believes in what has been sent down to him from his Lord, and (so do) the believers. Each one believes in Allah, His Angels, His Books, and His Messengers. They say, ‘We make no distinction between one another of His Messengers’ – and they say, ‘We hear, and we obey. (We seek) Your Forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the return (of all).'” (Al-Baqarah, 2:285)
In addition, the belief of the people of the book cannot be completed without belying some of that which Allah, the Almighty revealed. Whereas, should one word from he, who said he was a messenger from Allah be belied, seeking argument in his other words will be invalid. Thus, the Christians’ plea using Muhammad’s words is refuted.
In other words, he who says, “1 am the Messenger of Allah,” is either a truthful person, and consequently, he is telling the truth about what he conveys from Allah, or he is a liar concerning this statement and consequently, whatever he conveys will be considered false. Thus, if Christians admit the Prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him) and confess that he is telling the truth in what he conveyed from Allah, i.e., the Qur’an and wisdom (Sunnah), then it will be obligatory for them to believe in all he has conveyed, just as they should believe in all that has been received from the other Messengers of Allah.
On the other hand, if they deny or doubt his truthfulness in even one word of his message, they will be denying his Prophethood, and consequently, belying whatever he has said. Thus, their plea using his message, traditions and the Book he has been sent with is neither acceptable nor understandable. However, if Muhammad is truthful concerning what he conveys from Allah, they will have to accept his message as a whole. They know that his message contradicts their current religion (i.e. the distorted Gospel and Torah). So, if they confess that he is a true Messenger, this will imply that their religion and beliefs are void and have been totally corrupted.
On the other hand, if they deny any of his words this means that they disbelieve in his message, the Qur’an and his prophethood. Thus, to them, he is a liar and so they cannot refer to his sayings, traditions, words or the book he has been sent with in their arguments.
By: Sheikhul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyah
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