CHAPTER 5: AMONG THEIR SCHOLARS: AL-HASAN BIN AYYUB EXPOSES THE INVALIDITY OF CHRISTIANITY
Al-Hasan bin Ayyub is among their scholars, a fact that makes him fully aware of their claims. He embraced Islam insightfully after having been endowed with experience concerning their books and writings. He sent a message to his brother, ‘Aly bin Ayyub explaining the reasons why he embraced Islam. He mentions the evidence that proves the invalidity of Christianity and the truthfulness of Islam. Replying to his brother’s message in which he inquired about the reason behind his embracing Islam, AL-Hasan bin Ayyub said, “And I want to tell you that I began to doubt Christianity, and found it repugnant to believe in it more than twenty years ago. This was because I understood that they did not really believe in the Oneness of Allah, the Exalted and Ever Majestic, and I felt repelled by the three hypostases, in addition to other things included in the Christian creed. I found that they provided insufficient explanations that failed to prove their claims. And whenever I studied it thoroughly and went deeply into it, I found its faults and felt disinclined to accept it. On other hand, when I think about Islam, which Allah has bestowed upon me, I find its principles firm and well-established; its branches direct and its legislation fair.
The origin of that is not controversial for anyone who knows Allah, the Exalted and Ever Majestic, either from among you or from any other nation. It is the belief in Allah, the Living, Self-Subsisting, the One Who hears and sees all things, the One and only, the Sovereign, the Holy, the Generous, the Just, the God of Abraham (Ibrahim, peace be upon him), Ishmael (Isma’il, peace be upon him), Isaac (Ishaq, peace be upon him), Jacob (Ya’qub, peace be upon him), Al-Asbat (the twelve sons of Ya’qub), Jesus (Isa, peace be upon him), Moses (Musa, peace be upon him), and ell Prophets and creatures. He has no beginning and no end. He has neither a rival nor an equal. He has taken neither a wife nor a son. He has created all things.
Then we believe that Muhammad is His servant and messenger. It is He Who has sent His Messenger with guidance and with the religion of truth, to make it superior over all religions even though the polytheists hate it. We also believe in Musa, ‘Isa, and all the prophets with no distinction between them. As well as this, we believe in the Torah, the Gospel, the Psalms, and the Qur’an as well as all the books that Allah, the Exalted, has ever revealed to His prophets.
Allah, the Almighty says,
which means, “And surely, the Hour is coming, there is no doubt about it, and certainly, Allah will resurrect those who are in the graves.” (Al-Hajj, 22: 7)
He, the Almighty also says,
which means, “Verily, the Abrar (pious and righteous) will be in delight (Paradise); and verily, the Fujjar (the wicked, disbelievers, sinners and evil-doers) will be in the blazing Fire (Hell), in which they will enter, and taste its burning flame on the Day of Recompense.” (Al-‘lnfitar, 82:13-15)
When I examined the claims of the Christians, I found that the Jacobite church had announced that Maryam (Mary) has begotten god – Exalted be He above whatever the talkers of vanities say – and that He suffered pain and was crucified and died and after three days, they claim that he rose from the dead. This claim is considered to be disbelief according to al! Christian sects and others. We also found that the Milkaniyyah (Christian sect) deviated from this statement and turned to another one. For, they say that Christ is one person and two natures. Each of them has a certain will. Divine nature has a will, like the Father and the Son, and human nature has a will like that of Ibrahim and Dawud. They misled those who believe in their words to the extent that they, by their alleged choice, have differentiated between divine and human natures. Then they returned to the Jacobite church saying that: Maryam has begotten a god and that Christ is a name that unites between both the divine nature and the human one. Besides this, they claim that only the body of Christ died, but god, which they claim Maryam has begotten, did not die except by the essence of human nature within Him. So, how could He be dead who did not die? And what is the difference between both sayings, except that of their natures? They acknowledged that Maryam has begotten god, and that the begotten god, who is Christ that unites between two essences, the divine and the human, has died. So, do then the begetting, death, and all other acts that the Christians talk about, happen to Christ excluding these two essences? And how could any rational person consider it to be correct to worship a god that is begotten from a human woman, died and suffered from pain and epidemics? I say: among the things that clarify their contradiction is their claim that Christ, which is the divine entity and the human entity, is one person and one hypostasis, despite their claim that He has two essences of two natures and two wills, yet they claim that there is one hypostasis for the two essences. They also claim that He is one person and that the Lord of the worlds is one god, one Essence and three hypostases. They prove three hypostases for one essence and only one hypostasis for two unified essences, although the hypostases’ will is only one. Still, they claim that there are two wills and two natures for the human entity and the divine entity.
Nevertheless, they consider both entities to be one person and one hypostasis, which is contradictory. For, whether they refer to the hypostasis as the attribute, the person, the entity unified with the attribute or whatever else they claim, it shows that the people who made that claim did not imagine it, instead, they were far astray and ignorant. The prophet’s sayings are true, therefore neither Christ nor any of the other prophets said anything that corresponds to their claims regarding the trinity, the hypostases, which are matters that contradict both divine law and reason.
He said: rational minds should scold them and reprove them for worshiping a god that was given birth to by Maryam, who was a human being. Then he lived on earth for thirty years and submitted to human laws, such as the need for nutrition, education, and susceptibility to health and illness, fear and security, learning and teaching, etc. It is not feasible to claim that there was any reason to be divine during this period. Besides, you can not find any justification to prove that he did not submit to human characteristics, including their needs, necessities, worries, ordeals and behaviour. After that long period, he made known that matter concerning god, prophecies, and those miraculous stunning signs which were done through the Power of god. Other prophets had the like of them or even greater miracles than his. He spent three years less doing this. Then, they say, he died from restraint, assault, defamation, crucifixion and murder. Is it acceptable for rational persons to believe such claims about a god whose servants harmed as you say they did?
Al-Hasan added: what is really odd is that you believe that the eternal God was unified with Christ becoming one thing and that he never separated after that union. Then he stayed that way in his mother’s womb for nine months, became a new born baby who fed on milk, then a young boy who eats food until he became a man in his thirtieth year. And until that time, he did not show any sign of being Divine. Furthermore, there was no difference between him and any other human being. There was no light shining from him, no tranquillity appearing on him, no angels surrounding him with acclamation, and never was he seen as superior to any of the other prophets. When Allah spoke to Musa from the bush, all that was around it was radiant with light. Besides, when He talked to him from Mount Sinai, the fire flared at the mountain and the glaring light struck his face in a way that he used to put on a veil when sitting with the Israelites after that, because they could not look at his face. Then, when Musa’ was close to Allah, the Exalted and Ever Majestic, he asked Him saying:
which means, “O my Lord! Show me (Yourself), that I may look upon You.’ Allah said, ‘You cannot see Me, but look upon the mountain if it stands still in its place then you shall see Me.’ So, when his Lord appeared to the mountain, He made it collapse to dust, and Musa (Moses) fell down unconscious. Then when he recovered his senses…” (Al-A’raf, 7: 143)
He asked for His Forgiveness, and Allah forgave him. The Glory of Allah became dear to a group of the prophets and they saw gatherings of angels around His glory.
Moreover, Al-Hasan said: if Christ was the original creator or if he was the object unified with him, why did not the mountains quake in his hands, or why were the rivers and seas net controlled by his will? And why did he not show dazzling signs and miracles that are loftier and more sublime than those of the other prophets such as walking on the air, resting on the winds, doing without food and drink, burning whoever comes close to him of the devils and jinn, and preventing harm of humans and whatever they claimed they had done to his body in order to let them knew that he is their creator or the embodiment of the creator!
He added: You say that the Son is called the Son of God and His Word because, as you claim, he was born to the Father and came out of Him. But we did not comment on that claim, for, your divine law says that the Holy Spirit also comes out of the Father. If what you say is true, then the Holy Spirit is also a Son because it comes out of god. If not, what is the difference between the Son and the Holy Spirit?
He said: we also did not understand your claim that the Son was incarnated in the Holy Spirit, and that the Holy Spirit led him to the earth in order to put him to the test of the devil. So, what is the Son’s need of the Holy Spirit to arrange for him and change him, while you claim that they are a pair? And did you not know that the changer, preceding, and arranger is the real doer, while the one preceded, arranged, and changed is the object. Thus, the Son is inferior to the Holy Spirit, not the like of it because the eternal does not separate from another eternal thing while they are alike.
According to the law of your religion, you say: we believe in the Lord Christ who is known to have been born from Maryam, who was after that hurt and crucified during the reign of Pontius Pilates the governor, and who was buried and resurrected on the third day. Is this not an acknowledgment of what you are saying? Then, how can those who are endued with understanding believe in such a claim? If you are saying that the crucified and killed person is god, therefore, you are claiming that Maryam has begotten god. And if you are saying that he is a human being, then Maryam has begotten a human being, which nullifies your divine law. Thus, both sayings contradict your religion.
Al-Hasan said: as for your claim regarding the sun saying that it is one of three meanings and drawing a similarity between this and the three hypostases, is unacceptable and false. Sunlight is not limited by the sun’s limitation. Besides, the heat of the sun is not limited to its limitation, for if the sun’s limitation is a rounded body that is luminous, heated and ever rotating amid the orbits, it is not feasible for its light and heat to be limited to such attributes. Furthermore, we cannot say that the sun’s light or heat is a rounded body that is luminous, heated and ever rotating amid the orbits. If its light or heat was a true sun coming from a true sun that comes out of the essence of the sun as the Christian law says that a very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance [essence] with the Father, then he will be of a perfect alike and a pair, this is contradictory, for, it is not similar to him and it can be likened to any thing and your claim is invalid.
He also said: we noticed how you mention that Christ descended from heaven and invalidated both death and sins with his ascension. This statement is very strange. Even stranger than that are those who accept it without thinking about it or who did not denounce the existence of a religion that believes in this clearly impossible saying. It contradicts both what is known by reason and what is witnessed by human sight. Strangely enough, some of those call people to such a religion which is an even more impossible matter. If sin was invalidated with his ascension, then those who killed him are not sinners, for after his coming there would be neither sinners nor sins.
Besides, those who killed his disciples or burned his books were nor sinners. Moreover, since Christ’s coming, up to the present time, any one who kills, steals, fornicates, drinks alcoholic drinks, lies and commits the forbidden grievous sins is not a sinner.
Whoever denies that, should check the hymn that is read after every communion, which says, “O Our Lord who has conquered with his pain the severity of death.”
And the one said on the second Friday after Easter, “We have pride in the cross which invalidated death and we are safe and secure because of it.” In some hymns it is said, “With the prayers of our Lord Jesus Christ, death was invalidated and the devil’s sedition were stopped and long gone.” So, what is the sin that was invalidated and what seduction of the devil that was stopped? What sins or forbidden matters that used to exist before his coming, were changed after his ascension?
If you accept that clearly impossible saying, which is not hidden from children, then you accept what is even more impossible. Your bible belies this saying, for Christ says in it, “Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, have not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name have done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Mt: 7:22-23) This contradicts what your scholars said. This is also like saying, “I shall gather people on the Day of Resurrection on my right and left sides.”
And, “Then shall he also say unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was hungry, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not… And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” (Matt: 25:41-46)
“Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Matt: 25:34)
Is there any reason for gathering into Hell other than committing sins? Similarly, those who shall enter heaven were doing good deeds and their success comes from god. Thus, whoever says that sin was invalidated is opposing Christ’s saying and is among the liars.
He also says: O people who are endued with understanding and knowledge, who claim that Christ is a god and a divine entity, and who make him the creator and god of all creation, what is your proof to this and what is your pretext behind it?
Did the books of prophecies ever mention that about him? Did he mention that about himself? Did any of his students say that? Did any of those who reported from him, who are considered the pillars and foundation of your religion, after whom you took your laws and traditions say that, at the hands of whom the Gospel was written and explained? It is rather clear in the Gospel, within all its speeches and commandments, that there are countless instances of the fact that he is a servant like you, and a created being like all human beings. He was sent by his Lord and yours and was the first one to execute what you were commanded. His story was related by his disciples and his students explained this to whoever asked about it.
Their words demonstrate that he is a man sent by Allah, the Exalted and Ever-Majestic, who possesses power and merit. But you interpret this to mean that this description pointed at his human nature. If what you said were true, he would have said he was a god just as he said he was a servant. But he never said, claimed or called for this. And it was neither mentioned in the books of the prophets before him nor in the books of his students nor was it reported from them. Its validity is neither proven by the words of Jibril (Gabriel, peace be upon him) to Maryam (Mary, may Allah be pleased with her), nor is it proven by the saying of Zakariya (Zechariah, peace be upon him). You say, “We deduced his godhood from his ability to bring the dead to life, heal those who were born blind and the lepers, walk on water, ascend to heaven, convert water into wine and increase paucity. It is necessary to contemplate the one capable of doing all these wonders and to render him the lord and god. Otherwise, what would be the difference?”
In the Book of Kings, it is mentioned that llyas (Elias, peace be upon him) brought the widow’s son back to life and so did Al-Yasa’ (Eiisha, peace be upon him) with the Jewess’s son. Ezekiel also brought many people back life. None of them was a god simply because of bringing the dead to life.
As for healing the lepers, it is recorded in the Book of Kings that a man from the Roman superiors became a leper, so he left his town and set out for Al-Yasa’ (Elisha, peace be upon him) to cure him from his leprosy. It is recorded in the Book that the man stood for days at the door of Elisha without being granted permission to enter. It was said to Elisha, “A man called An-Nu’man is standing at your door. He is one of the Roman superiors and he is a leper. He came to you to cure him from his illness. He will enter, if you grant him permission.” But he did not grant him permission. Instead, he said to a man from among his friends, “Go out to that man and tell him to dip himself seven times into the Jordan River.” The messenger conveyed the order of Elisha to An-Nu’man, He did so, whereupon he was cured. He returned to his country but he was followed by Elisha’s servant, who made him believe that Elisha wanted money from him. The man was happy with that and gave the servant money and jewellery. When the servant returned, he hid and concealed the new wealth. Then he went to Elisha, stood before him and said, “I followed An-Nu’man and made him believe that I am such and such a person. Then I took from him such and such money which I hid in such and such a place.” He said, “Because of what you have done, you and your progeny will be afflicted with that with which he was afflicted.” Whereupon, the servant became a leper, while standing before him. Thus, Elisha was able to cure the leper as well as make a sound person become a leper, which is greater than what Christ (peace be upon him) did. But Elisha was not considered a god because of having done so.
As for your saying that Christ walked on water, it is related in the Book of Kings that Elias (peace be upon him) once passed by the Jordan River accompanied by his student Elisha. He took his turban; hit the Jordan River with it, whereupon the water turned into land for him, whereon he walked along with Elisha. Then, he ascended to heaven mounting a horse of light, while Elisha watched. He gave his turban to Elisha. When Elisha returned to the Jordan River, he hit its water, whereupon it became land for him, whereon he returned walking. None of them was considered to be a god; in addition, Elias was not a god just because he ascended to heaven.
As for your saying that Christ converted water into wine, it is related in the Book of Kings that Elisha once halted at an Israeli woman’s house. She hosted him and was good to him. When he was leaving, the woman said, “O Prophet of Allah! There is a debt on my husband that overburdens him. If you see that it is suitable to invoke Allah to pay our debt, please do so.”
Elisha said to her, “Collect all the vessels you have and borrow from your neighbours all you can borrow of their vessels.” She did. Then, he ordered her to fill them all with water, and said, “Leave it overnight.” After that, he left. On the morning of the next day, the woman found that all the water had turned into oil. They sold the oil and paid their debt.
Turning the water into oil is harder than turning it into wine, but Elisha was not considered a god because of having done so. As for your saying that Christ (peace be upon him) increased that which was little, thus many people ate a great deal from a very few loaves, it is related in the Book of Kings that Elias halted at a widow’s house, at a time when draught prevailed and the country was barren. Many people died because of being harmed and lack of food. They were in severe distress. Elias said to the woman, “Do you have any food?” She said, “By God! I do not have anything except a handful of flour in a jar, which I wanted to bake for a child of mine. We are certain that we are going to die because of the drought from which people are suffering.”
He said to her, “Bring it and do not worry.” She brought the food to him and so he blessed it. That food remained with her for three and a half years, from which she, her family and her neighbours ate, until God eased the hardship on people. Through doing so, Elias did more than Christ did, because he increased a small amount and maintained it, but Christ increased a small amount for a certain time only. Elias was not considered a god because of that. If you say that these prophets have no power to do such deeds, which are all done by the Leave and Power of Allah, the Exalted and Ever-Majestic, as He is the One to cause them to happen at their hands,’ you will be telling the truth. We also say to you that Christ is no different in this; he has no power concerning the wonders, which happened at his hands. Allah is the One Who caused them to occur at the hands of Christ. Then, what is the difference between Christ and all the other prophets?
If you say that whenever any of the prophets wanted Allah to cause a miracle to happen through them, he used to beseech and invoke Him. By doing so, he was admitting Allah’s Godhood and his total submission to him. The way Christ behaved is the same as that of the other prophets in this respect. He used to invoke Allah, beseech Him and totally submit to Him. An example of this is related in the Bible about the incident when Christ wanted to bring a man called AI-‘Azir, so he said, “O my Father, I invoke You in the same manner with which I invoked you before and you used to answer me. I invite you to let those people know.” Also, the Christians claim that he said while hanging on the cross, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matt: 27:46) He also said, “O my Father! Forgive them for they know not what they do.”
Furthermore, Christ said in the book of Matthew, “O My Father, 1 praise you.” He also said, “O my Father, if it be your will, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.” (Matt, 26:39) And he said, “I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.” (John, 14:28) He also said, “I cannot make or contemplate anything except by the Name of My Lord.” And concerning himself, he said, ‘The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.” (Matt, 10:24) He also said, “Verily! God begets not nor was He begotten, He eats not nor does He drink, He sleeps not nor could He be seen by His creatures. None can see him except the dead.”
Christ ate, drank, and was seen by people even though they were alive, and he stayed with them for thirty-three years.
I say that Christians acknowledge most of the quotations from the books mentioned by that man, but some of them contradict him. One of them contradicted him in his quotation, “Nor the servant above his lord.” (Matt, 10:24) and said that Christ said this to his disciples. He also mentioned that he does not know the wording, “God begets not nor was He begotten, He eats not nor does He drink.”
Al-Hasan bin Ayyub added that Christ said in the book of John, “When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me.” (John, 8:28) In another place he said, “From God I was sent as a teacher.”
This illustrates that he is a messenger, who was sent by Allah and that his behaviour with Allah is the same as that of the other prophets.
You say that forgiveness belongs to Allah, the Exalted and Ever-Majestic, and that Christ said to one of the Children of Isra’il, “Stand up, I have forgiven you,” while Allah is the only one who forgives sins.
We say, Allah said to Moses in the Fifth Book of the Torah, “Set out with your nation whom you took from Egypt and I will send with you an angel to forgive you.”
If you claim that Christ is a god because he forgave the crippled man, then the angel will be a god too because he forgave the sins of the Children of Isra’il, otherwise what is the difference?
If you say that Christ said in the Bible, “Whoever sees me has seen my Father, me and my Father are one and the same,” it is just like saying, “Your acceptance to my command is an acceptance to Allah’s Command.” Similarly, a messenger may say, “I and the man who sent me are the same,” and an agent may say, “I and the one who entrusted me are the same,” for the agent performs his tasks instead of him, does whatever he sent him for, talks with his argumentation and demands his rights. This is similar to Christ’s saying, “Whoever sees me has seen my Father.” He means, “Whoever sees the miracles I perform has seen the miracles of my father.”
The Christians distorted the books of Allah and named His original eternal attribute, which is His Knowledge, a son and also a word. They also called His original eternal attribute, which is His Life, a holy spirit. Calling these attributes oy such names is not found in the speech of the prophets or anyone else, it was not known that any of the prophets or the ordinary people called the Knowledge of Allah, which is dependent on Him, His son. s Moreover no one ever called His knowledge, which is dependent on Him, His son. But the word ‘son’ refers to the one begotten through the known form of begetting. It also indicates the one who is the reason behind his existence. For example, the literal meaning of the Arabic phrase ‘Ibnus-SabiI’ (the wayfarer) is ‘the son of the road.’ This is because he has come from the road, so he is considered as its son.
Similarly, some birds are called ‘children of water,’ as they come from the direction of water. It is also said, “Seek to be from the people of the hereafter not from the people of this world.” Any son belongs to his father, loves him and is affiliated to him. So, the above saying means: be with those who affiliate with and love the hereafter. This meaning is found in the books with the people of the Scripture as regards the righteous, who are loved and raised by Allah. They also mentioned that Christ said, “My Father and Yours, my Lord and yours.” Also, in the Torah, Allah says to Jacob, “You are my eldest son.”
If these statements are true and contain true meanings, they mean those who truly love Allah and are loved, chosen and forgiven by Him. This was the understood meaning of all the prophets (peace be upon them) and of those whom they addressed. Such claims are unclear, thus many of their followers interpreted falsely. The monotheistic religion of the Qur’an prohibits referring to Allah by the name of son or child, as a way of prohibiting what may lead to committing the sin of polytheism. It also forbids prostrating to anyone or anything other than Allah, even if it is as a kind of greeting. Similarly, it forbids performing prayer at sunrise or sunset, so as not to resemble those who worship the sun and the moon. These prohibitions close all the ways, which may cause attributing a son to Allah, and indeed Islam is the most complete religion. Other such matters are prohibited in Islam, such as drinking a small amount of intoxicants because it leads one into the habit of drinking. Allah says about His forbidden matters,
which means, “Say (O Muhammad): “(But) the things that my Lord has indeed forbidden are Al-Fawahish (great evil sins, every kind of unlawful sexual intercourse, etc.) whether committed openly or secretly, sins (of all kinds), unrighteous oppression, joining partners (in worship) with Allah for which He has given no authority, and saying things about Allah of which you have no knowledge.” (Al-A’raf, 7: 33)
All the religions of the prophets agree on the prohibitions of Allah except for prohibiting the good lawful things as a kind of punishment, which came in the law of the Torah but not in that of the Qur’an. Allah has made all the good things lawful for the nation of Muhammad and has prohibited evil things for them. He has perfected their monotheism in every possible way and closed all the doors to polytheism. All the prophets agree on monotheism and on the unlawfulness of associating a partner with or attributing a son to Allah.
This is the truth.
By: Sheikhul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyah
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