Seekers of truth from the Arab Christians- accept God as your savior

20 Questions
For Our
Christian Brothers & Sisters

Recently an Arab Christian wrote to me and tried to present some kind of 'dawah' for me to return to Christianity. I did not reproduce his letter due to the many mistakes and errors in his English and in his statements against the churches here in the USA. I am only reproducing my reply to him (please pray for him to learn the truth):

Peace be unto all who seek true guidance:

Thank you friend, for your kind inquiry as to my faith and thank you for asking about Islam and my relationship with Jesus, peace be upon him. Your concern for my well being and salvation is appreciated and reciprocated. I too, care for you and for your chance to achieve true salvation. I will let you decide what that salvation is. After all, Islam does insist on letting inpiduals make up their own mind.

Although you were very judgmental and even a bit harsh in your letter, I forgive you and pray for you.

Next, we should let you know Muslims must always tell the truth. This will be mentioned again and again while discussing our beliefs. We are not allowed nor our we permitted to deceive others in the name of our religion.

Which makes me ask you, "Why have you chosen an email name that seems to imply that you are a scholar of Islam?" (You don't have to answer this one - this is more than obvious and it is not one of the 20 questions anyway)

We should also let you know that we have the do have the teachings of Islam preserved in the Arabic language in their entirety. The Quran and the teachings of Muhammad, peace be upon him, have been preserved in the memories and in the writings of truthful inpiduals for 14 centuries. There is no other compilation on this earth that can match this fabulous resource for preserving such teachings. If you have any doubts about what Islam is about or what the teachings are, simply look to the memories of over 9,000,000 inpiduals, the majority of whom are not Arab, by the way.

Now, let us come to your many misguided statements disguised (not very well) as questions.

It is not for me to judge you nor your beliefs. Only because you have initiated this dialog will I reply back to you and hope that Allah will open your heart and mind and allow you to know the truth as He is doing for thousands of others every day. I do pray for you and for me to be able to receive proper guidance from Above and as a result, be allow the Grace of Almighty God, to enter His Paradise, ameen.

Before we go further with our reply to you, it would be most appropriate to provide for you some very basic understandings about the meanings of words in Arabic:

1.) Islam: (submission to God)

Meanings of "ISLAM" As A Verb:

Surrender; Submission; Obedience; sincerity (to Allah); Peace, to Almighty God.

"Islam" comes as a Way for mankind to manifest his belief in the Almighty, by submitting and surrendering to the Will of Allah and allowing Allah's Will to be done on earth, as it is in Heaven.

Meaning of "ISLAM" As A Noun: 5 Pillars of Action; Way of Life - Taught by All Prophets (mentioned below under 'deen'); 6 Articles of Belief

6 Beliefs
Muslims must believe in the six articles of faith:

Allah; Angels; Books; Prophets; Judgment Day; Predestination

5 Actions:
The Muslim must practice the five things:

shahadah; Salat; Fasting; Charity; Pilgrimage

2.) Allah:

First of all, Islam depends heavily on the word: "Allah." Because Islam is the complete submission and obedience to Allah (God). The name Allah (God) in Islam never refers to Muhammad (pbuh) or to anyone or anything else which Allah has created, as many Christians may think; Allah is the personal name of God.

He is the one God, Who has no partner. Nothing is like Him. He is the Creator, not created, nor a part of His creation. He is All-powerful, absolutely Just.
There is no other entity in the entire universe worthy of worship besides Him. He is First, Last, and Everlasting; He was when nothing was, and will be when nothing else remains. He is the All-Knowing, and All-Merciful, the Supreme, the Sovereign. It is only He Who is capable of granting life to anything. He sent His Messengers (peace be upon them) to guide all of mankind. He sent Muhammad (pbuh) as the last Prophet and Messenger for all mankind. His book is the Holy Quran, the only authentic revealed book in the world that has been kept without change. Allah knows what is in our hearts. Belief in (Allah) God:

These are the guidelines Muslims follow in belief in Allah:

Eliminate any anthropomorphism (human qualities) from their conception of Allah. His attributes are not like human attributes, despite similar labels or appellations.

Have unwavering faith in exactly what Allah and Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) described Allah to be, no more, no less.

Eradicate any hope or desire of learning or knowing the modality of His names and attributes.

Belief totally in all the names and attributes of Allah; one cannot believe in some and disbelieve the others.

One cannot accept the names of Allah without their associated attributes, i.e. one cannot say He is Al-Hayy - 'The Living' and then say that He is without life.

Similarity in names (or meanings) does not imply similarity in what is being described (referents). As a robotic arm differs from a human arm, so the "hand" of Allah is nothing like a human hand, His speech is nothing like human speech, etc.

Certain words are ambiguous or vague in their meanings, and thus may be susceptible to misinterpretation. Only those meanings that are in accordance with what is specified by Allah and His Prophet (pbuh) are acceptable.
FACT: The word "Allah" appears 17 times on the first page of the Bible in Arabic language.

3.) Quran: (free Quran translation in English and Arabic 'click') [if link is not working, cut and paste this link: http://www.todayislam.com/downloads/noblequran.exe

Did you know? -

"Quran" means "The Recitation" It is not "In a Book" Therefore it is not considered a "Creation of Allah" but rather the actual "Speech of Allah".

Quran exists in the hearts of all the Muslims on the earth and is preserved 100% until Judgment Day - by Allah.

Did you know? -

Over NINE MILLION Muslims Memorized the Entire Quran. 9,000,000 + Muslims living today have memorized the entire Quran in the original Arabic language. But surprisingly over 75% of all Muslims are not Arab. In fact, the largest number of Muslims today are in Indonesia.

And did you know?
1,500,000,000 Muslims have memorized a least a few surahs (chapters)?

Did you know?
The Quran is exactly the same today in the Arabic language as it was over 1,400 years ago.

4.) Deen: A way of life; the way or path that someone follows; as in the Book of Acts of the Apostles (9:1-2) "But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men of women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem."

We would like to emphasize the word "way" or "deen" is used as a proper noun in the older versions of the Bible as it represented the name the early disciples called themselves. As the Bible reminds us in the Book of Acts (11:26) "And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch."

Just as early followers of Jesus, peace be upon him, were called "People of the Way," so are Muslims called "ahl deen" (people of the Way of Islam).

We know Jesus, peace be upon him,taught the Unity of God and ordered the following of the Commandments of the prophets before him (see: Matt. 5:17-20) ¹⁷"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. ¹⁹ Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven."

If you are in fact, a seeker of truth, then you will be very happy to read this letter and contemplate these 20 questions at the end after I reply to your letter. These are questions that I had to deal with over 13 years ago. I too, thought that I was in the right way, but did not really know a lot about the true Islam. Someone took the time and patience to over look the hostile way that I was trying to present my beliefs and went on to share with me some things that made me really begin to reconsider my position and to consider worshipping the Lord Almighty direct, and without any partners.

To answer all of your questions with a simple statement-- "No. I don't know of a single Muslim who accepted to leave the common sense of Islam for any other religion. And, No. I did not hear of a single Muslim scholar leaving Islam to go to non-belief or to any religion without any proofs or evidences."

I did, however, visit the University of Al Azhar in Cairo several years ago to obtain the proof that so many Christian scholars and priests have gone to Islam and their reasons for doing so.

As regards your false assumptions regarding my relationship with Jesus, peace be upon him, nothing could be further from the truth that what you have asserted.

There is not a single doubt in my mind that Jesus, peace be upon him, did come with the clear message of salvation. He was the promised Messiah. He did fulfill the prophecies and he did predict the coming of another prophet who would make all things clear.

The devil has clearly deceived many as to the role of Jesus, peace be upon him. This is exactly what he wants.

In fact, it is you, not I, who has turned his back on Jesus, peace be upon him. And keep in mind that on the Day of Judgment he, peace be upon him, will say to all those who worshipped him, calling him, "Lord! Lord!" He, peace be upon him, warned against false worship and false prophets:

15 "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23 Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

I will not presume (as you did) to know about your relationship with God Almighty, nor will try to put words in your mouth.

I hope that you have benefited from these clear explanations of Islam.

_________________________________

And now, I would like to ask you a few questions and if you are able to answer - Please don't get upset and start preaching to us without and proof. Then after reading please feel free to write back.

If you are unable to provide proper answers, then just throw this email away and we will understand that you are lost and give up, or better still, ask Almighty God to guide us to the truth. That is what I did, many years ago. And that is what so many others are doing right now all around the world. Won't you join us in asking God Almigty, the One who Jesus, peace be upon him, told us to worship and pray to, the One that Jesus, peace be upon him, prayed to.

~ Now here are the 20 QUESTIONS ~

1) Have you ever read your book in the original languages? Old Testamen in Hebrew? New Testament in Aramaic?

2) Have you ever read the Quran in the original language of Arabic?

3) Do you know anything about the history of the collection of the manuscripts for the Torah?

4) What about the manuscripts for Psalms, Isaiah, Job and other Old Testament scriptures?

5) To what extent have you examined or read any of the manuscripts that the New Testament is based on?

6) Have you even read the Bible all the way through in English?

7) Have youmemorized the Bible or any parts of it in the original language?

8) Are you aware of the similarities between the original texts of Bible and the Quran?

9) Are you aware of the differences between the original texts of Bible and the translations to English?

10) Are you aware there are documents signed by former ministers, priests, pastors, preachers, nuns and even bishops explaining how they came to better understand the true teachings of Jesus, peace be upon him, by studying the Quran in Arabic?

11) Are you aware many former atheists came to believe in the real God Almighty after studying the revelation of the Quran in the Arabic language?

12) Are you aware the seminary schools teach that Paul had his own doctrine, not the same as the Synoptic Gospels? It is called the "Pauline Doctrine."

13) Are you aware that over twenty million (20,000,000) people living on the earth today, have completely memorized the entire Quran in the original Arabic language?

14) Are you aware of the many scientifice vidences for the proof of Almighty God's existence mentioned in the Quran from 1,400 years ago?

15) Muslims believe in the original Bible and all that it taught -- do you?

16) Muslims believe in God Almighty, that He is Perfect in every way (and we are not).

17) Muslims have to tell the truth, in everything, especially when it comes to anything about God, His Teachings and His Prophets, peace be upon them.

18) Do you want to do "God's Will on earth?"

19) Have you ever asked God to guide you to do His Will instead of the human will?

20) Do you love the Lord - or do you love what He created instead?

We will be happy to post your replies on our website and offer more opportunities for you to see the truth of this life and why we were created, provided of course, that your replies follow logical thought and provide evidences for your statements.

Thank you again for asking about my faith, may Allah guide you, as He has guided me and thousands of others, ameen.

Yours In Truth,

Yusuf