Title: Christianity according to Islamic Beliefs
Description: Description from the publisher: 

Introduction:

The Father and founder of the most important religious impact on mankind was Abraham. He was sincere, humble, devoted and submissive to the One True God (Allah), commonly called the God of Abraham. He is universally known as the Father of Abraham, as he is the father of both the Israelites and Ishmaelites.

Abraham’s great contribution to religious history comprises the following:

-	He established monotheism as the rational concept of the Creator of the universe. -	He united the people of the east and the west as part of one family, through marriage with Sarah and Hagar. -	He left a legacy of prophets among the Israelites beginning with Jacob and ending with Jesus. -	He revived the town of Makkah, which was the first established centre for worship by Adam when he came down to earth. -	He rebuilt the Kaba which was the first House of worship, but was destroyed, as some scholars believed by the flood in Noah’s time -	He introduced the human family in the barren lands of Makkah; from them came the people dedicatedly practicing the Upright Way of Life, called Islam. -	He received, on behalf of the people, the Promised Land.

Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian as Judaism started with Jacob who was his grandson; and Christianity began with Paul. During his life time there was no concept of on people being the “chosen one”, nor of the other being called the “saved one”. One thing that is accepted by all the prophets is that Abraham was righteous and will go to heaven. As a matter os fact, in Christianity, he is considered to be in heaven right now. Abraham is therefore a universal model for mankind.

From the progeny of Isaac came the Israelites who were divided into twelve tribes, distinct and separate from one another. They did not only stay as tribes following the religion of their ancestors, but later became even more divided into a variation of religious beliefs including monotheism and trinity.

From the progeny of Ishmael cam Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) who established himself as the universal Messenger for the whole of mankind. He united all the people into a common life style with a common belief, known as Islam. This new faith introduced by him established the fundamental unities, i.e.

-	Unity of Nature -	Unity of Mankind -	Unity of Knowledge

As Islamic Culture was divinely revealed, there can be no change in the Fundamental Principles upon which it was built and therefore the followers of this faith have common beliefs and practices that are universal and did not change during the passage of time. Preservation of Islamic Culture was possible because the Prophet (pbuh) gave to the world a Book that was divinely revealed and was never subject to change, not even a single dot was removed from what came from the Divine. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had no human input in this Book; he was just the recipient who received it on behalf of his followers. As a result the Quran is a Revealed Book.

Being a Revealed Book, the Quran incorporates the revelations that were sent to the Messengers before Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), and Allah clearly states that all those who upheld the teachings of the Messengers in beliefs and practices will go to Paradise.

On the other hand the Israelites and Christians have many books in which they claim to be guidance from God. However, these books do not contain a uniform message or similar teachings. There are numerous variations in the concept of belief in God and the definitions of “dos” and “don’ts”. Some books are contradictory to others.

In the case of Christianity there is not a single compilation that can be attributed to Jesus, as the Book of guidance that he revealed from God. There are no texts in the language he spoke and the original Hebrew manuscripts are all destroyed. Even what is now accepted to be the teachings of Jesus is contained in four books called Gospels, with one contradicting the other in many important matters.

Had the disciples and others genuinely wanted to spread the message of Jesus they would have displayed sincerity and humility towards him while he was with them, and later on as a united body.

However, we find that the disciples even disowned him as their master in times of crisis – Peter denied ever knowing the master – and major quarrels and disunity among themselves when he was no more with them, e.g. Paul and Peter quarreled and Paul and Barnabas separated.

The distortion of the teachings of Jesus was later aggravated when Emperor Constantine decided to destroy the available Hebrew texts and promoted the four Gospels that are supposed to have the teachings of the Master.

The holy Quran, on the other hand, is a protected Book and will never become adulterated. This is because God himself undertook to protect it. He says:

We have indeed sent down the Message, and verily, We shall guard it. (15:9)

The Holy Quran does not only protect the religion of Allah on earth, but it revives the messages that were sent down to the previous messengers. This is because the Religion from Allah to mankind is one, i.e. belief in the Oneness of the Creator of the universe, and humbly submit to Him. This is so because God doesn’t contradict Himself.
Subjects: Christianity, Islam