This letter is an open invitation to the Muslim believer. My hope is that one can explain those things listed below. There are many issues that we do not have the time deal with at this time. Hopefully we can cover more issues at a later time.

The Islamic Holy Book is called the Qur'an. In the Qur'an, it states that Jesus of Nazareth was a great Prophet of God. The Qur'an also states that Mohammad was a great Prophet of God.

The statement has been made by Muslim scholars and laymen of the Muslim community that the Holy Bible is a corrupt book. They claim that the original book was "reinvented" to accommodate a theological stance that was/is not the original stance in the original "untainted" Holy Book.

The Qur'an claims that Jesus was not crucified; that it "appeared" to be. Muslim scholars claim that Jesus escaped to India, was married and fathered children.

The first item we should discuss is the Holy Bible. Is the Holy Bible corrupt as the Muslim scholars claim?

Sura 3 verses 93 and 94

93 All food was lawful To the Children of Israel, Except what Israel Made unlawful for itself, Before the Law (of Moses) Was revealed. Say: "Bring ye the Law And study it, If ye be men of truth."

94 If any, after this, invent a lie and attribute it To God, they are indeed Unjust wrong-doers.

It is clear and agreed that God Almighty provided the law as clear guidance 'till today.

Sura 5 verses 47 to 50

47 It was We who revealed The Law (to Moses): therein Was guidance and light. By its standard have been judged The Jews, by the Prophets Who bowed (as in Islam) To God's Will, by the Rabbis And the Doctors of Law: For to them was entrusted The protection of God's Book, And they were witnesses thereto: Therefore fear not men, But fear Me, and sell not My Signs for a miserable price. If any do fail to judge By (the light of) what God Hath revealed, they are (No better than) Unbelievers.

48 We ordained therein for them: "Life for life, eye for eye, Nose for nose, ear for ear, Tooth for tooth, and wounds Equal for equal." But if Any one remits the retaliation By way of charity, it is An act of atonement for himself. And if any fail to judge By (the light of) what God Hath revealed, they are (No better than) wrong-doers.

49 And in their footsteps We sent Jesus the son Of Mary, confirming The Law that had come Before him: We sent him The Gospel: therein Was guidance and light, And confirmation of the Law That had come before him: A guidance and an admonition To those who fear God.

50 Let the People of the Gospel Judge by what God hath revealed Therein. If any do fail To judge by (the light of) What God hath revealed, They are (no better than) Those who rebel.

These verses clearly spell out exactly what every Muslim should believe and do according to the Qur'an. Remember the Qur'an is for Muslims. That is: that every person must be prepared to test, to judge and to confirm the teachings of his faith and his books against the Torah (Old Testament) and the Injil (New Testament), the Bible as today.

This truth applies to every person regardless of his faith but even more so, it applies to Muslims because it is written in the Qur'an for Muslims. The words in Sura 5:69 confirm this fact even further.

Sura 5:69 If only they had stood fast By the Law, the Gospel, And all the revelation that was sent To them from their Lord, They would have enjoyed Happiness from every side. There is from among them A party on the right course: But many of them Follow a course that is evil.

Exactly what does this say? If a Christian does not stand fast in the teachings of the Gospel, the law and the revelations of the Bible, he fails as one of the 'People of the Book'. Is this a correct understanding on what is being said in the Qur'an? I feel that one can derive at no other conclusion then that their books (The Bible) must still be in existence, as they indeed are. According to the Qur'an, Muslims specifically are charged to stand fast by what is revealed in the Bible, as will be proven by the following verses from the Qur`an.

Sura 2 verse 53

53 And remember We gave Moses the Scripture and the Criterion (Between right and wrong): there was A chance for you to be guided aright.

Sura 32 verse 23

23 We did indeed aforetime Give the Book to Moses: Be not then in doubt Of its reaching (thee): And we made it A guide to the Children Of Israel. TAKE NOTE: Be not in doubt of its, (i.e. the Bible) reaching thee - (i.e. the Muslims)

Sura 16 verse 43

43 And before thee also The apostles We sent Were but men, to whom We granted inspiration: if ye Realise this not, ask of those Who possess the Message.

Sura 10 verse 94 and 95

94 If thou wert in doubt As to what We have revealed Unto thee, then ask those Who have been reading The Book from before thee: The Truth hath indeed come To thee from thy Lord: So be in no wise Of those in doubt.

95 Nor be of those who reject The Signs of God, Or thou shalt be of those Who perish.

These verses from the Qur`an admonished and asked Muhammad and every Muslim since, to accept and trust what the scriptures revealed before Muhammad's time - that is the Bible and not to doubt them. Would it be correct and agreed that according to the Qur'an; that this should be applied to the Holy Bible during this time? In other words the Bible prior to the writing of the Qur'an?

According to Sura 10:94,95 the command is clear to accept and not to doubt the EARLIER Scriptures - The Holy Bible. God demands of Muhammad and every Muslim not only to consult these scriptures when they are in doubt, but goes one step further in Sura 4:82 and that is to check the Qur`an for discrepancy against what was revealed previously, namely the Bible. Also to confirm what was revealed to Muhammad.

Sura 4 verse 82

82 Do they not consider The Qur'an (with care)? Had it been from other Than God, they would surely Have found therein Much discrepancy.

The question that arises now is; where is it written in the Qur'an that the Holy Bible is corrupt? Do those that make this claim realize that the Qur'an was nearly six hundred years AFTER Jesus Christ? There is absolutely no claim in the Qur'an that the Bible is corrupt, untrue or unacceptable at this time. On the contrary, there are numerous times that the Qur'an commands one to obey, respect and use the teachings of the Bible.

    What the Qur'an is stating is that the "teachings' that the Jewish and Christian leaders were teaching were corrupt.  In other words the Bible was not the culprit of corruption.  Some teachers were teaching corrupted ideas. They were taking the teachings from the Bible and teaching SOME things incorrect.  This does not mean that the Bible is corrupt.

If one investigates the authenticity of the Bible, one realizes that there are hundreds and hundreds of manuscripts that date back further than the time of Jesus' birth. ALL were written well before Muhammad was even born.

If we have authentic manuscripts that date back before Jesus' birth; AND we have authentic manuscripts of the New testament that are dated three hundred - four hundred years before the Qur'an, we then should investigate the following: Is the Holy Bible of today the same as it was prior to the time of Muhammad? This is very easy to do; considering that these manuscripts have been studied by Christians and skeptics alike. It is a fact that the Holy Bible of today is 99.5% identical with the manuscripts.

When one sees that the Holy Bible of today is "only" 99.5% accurate, a red flag goes up. This should not be the case. The .5% discrepancies all fall into grammatical errors. None of the errors alter any Christian doctrine.

My question to the Muslim believer is this: If the Bible is the same now as it was BEFORE Mohammad AND Mohammad said that it is the Book of God. How can you reject the Bible?

Another argument that has been used by the Muslim scholars is that you don't find in the Gospel (Injil) a single book that Jesus wrote Himself. Can one really use such argument to reject the Bible? If one does, one must reject the Qur`an as well because although the Qur`an was revealed to Muhammad, it was not written by himself. It was compiled by Zaid-ibn-Tabet after Muhammad's death. (Al- Hadis, vol.3, p707)

If we compare Sura 5:47-50 with Sura 4:82 only one conclusion can be made. Muhammad wanted the authenticity of the Qur`an compared against the Bible. If one does not come to this conclusion, one must then ask WHAT will Sura 4:82 have much discrepancy with, if the Qur`an is from another source other than God? In other words Muhammad was prepared and wanted the Qur`an to be tested, and considered as a revelation from God against the Bible. His rejection of idolatry and his many confirmations that the revelation by previous Prophets (The Bible) was indeed from God, became Muhammad's standard guideline and condition against which the Qur`an must be tested and confirmed for authenticity. Muhammad foresaw that someone else would compile his revelations one day and he wanted the Qur`an to be confirmed by earlier revelations.

I can think of at least two reasons why Muhammad accepted the Torah, the Zabur and the Injil- the Bible- as authoritative and as a guideline by which to test and check the authority of the Qur`an, besides the fact that he was assured that these scriptures are from God and can never be altered. (Sura 6:34 and Sura 10:64 )

The first reason is because Muhammad was the first one who led the Arabic nation from idol worship into the belief of one god. Muhammad is the one who removed all the idols from the Ka`aba and he didn't want his nation and followers to go back into idol worshipping.

The second reason why Muhammad accepted the Bible as God's Word is that when he led his followers from idolatry, he realized that it was his responsibility by God's grace to teach his people how to worship the One and only true God.

It seems that Muhammad was illiterate (Sura 7:157) and was not always convinced that his revelation's) were from God (Mishkat Vol.4 page 356-359) and because many people didn't believe him (Sura 21:5, Sura 44:14; Sura 16:103, Sura 37:36) and the very fact that he was assured that the Bible was indeed God's Word, he was sensitive and honest enough to request his followers to test his revelations, the Qur`an, which he knew he wouldn't compare, against the Bible (Sura 4:82,83) instead of letting his people go astray to a one god religion which may not be the One Almighty Merciful God, Creator of Heaven and Earth who was worshipped by Christians and Jews before Muhammad's time.

It seems that Muhammad did not have access to the Jewish and Christian scriptures to enable him to correct or confirm his revelations himself. This seems obvious, due to the fact that many of Muhammad's "revelation's" are at odds with the very book that he wanted his followers to use to test his revelations. The Qur`an itself was written down well after Muhammad's time. But it must have been clear to him that once he or his followers had access to the Bible, his own revelations must be tested accordingly against the Bible as no man can change the Word of God, which is stated in Sura 6:34.

Sura 6:34

Rejected were the Apostles Before thee: with patience And constancy they bore Their rejection and their wrongs Until Our aid did reach Them: there is none That can alter the Words (And Decrees) of God. Already hast thou received Some account of those Apostles.

All the revelations according to the Qur`an and the Hadith were revealed to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel. The revelations of the Bible on the other hand were given to Moses, David, (the prophets) Jesus Christ and others by Almighty God Himself. He inspired all the authors of the Bible Himself. Knowing that God spoke to Moses directly,

Sura 4:164

Of some apostles We have Already told thee the story; Of others we have not; - And to Moses God spoke direct; - and God also spoke to Jesus directly,

Sura 3:55

Behold! God said: "O Jesus! I will take thee And raise thee to Myself And clear thee (of the falsehoods) Of those who blaspheme; I will make those Who follow thee superior To those who reject faith, To the Day of Resurrection: Then shall ye all Return unto me, And I will judge Between you of the matters Wherein ye dispute.

Muhammad wanted his revelation received through the angel to be checked and verified against the Bible (Sura 4:82) so that everyone could be certain whether it was the word of God or not. To confirm this statement, we emphasize Sura 5:47-51 again:

"The Gospel: therein was guidance and light, and confirmation of the law that had come before him:" (Jesus) and then in verse 50: "If any do fail to judge by (the light of) what God hath revealed, they are (no better than) those who rebel."

In the light of these verses and Sura 4:82 and Sura 10:94

Sura 4:82

If thou art in doubt as to what We have revealed unto thee then ask those Who have been reading The Book from before thee.

Sura 10:94

And be not thou of those who deny the revelations of GOD, for then wert thou of the Losers

It seems very clear that each and every Muslim must accept and read the Bible and follow its teachings. There does not seem to be any other rational conclusion. Therefore, it seems that Muhammad put these verses in the Qur`an for sincere Muslims, asking their obedience to confirm the authenticity of the Qur`an to the extent where he said:

Sura 29:46

And dispute ye not with the People of the Book, Except with means better (Than mere disputation), unless it be with those of them who inflict wrong (and injury): But say, "We believe in the Revelation which has Come down to us and in that Which came down to you; Our God and your God is one; and it is to Him We bow.

This can imply only one thing, be obedient! Confirm what has been revealed and start worshipping the ONE ALMIGHTY GOD in the proper manner. So is one who discredits the Bible, ignoring these facts in the Qur'an? Does the Qur'an state these facts concerning the Bible? If so then one is to COME TO THE FULL KNOWLEDGE OF GOD AS REVEALED IN THE BIBLE. AS THE QUR`AN AGREES:

SURA 4:164

Of some apostles we have told thee the story OF OTHERS WE HAVE NOT...

I think we can agree that God NEVER Contradicts himself. Why does the Qur'an consistently give very high praises to the Bible and that each individual must test the claims of the Qur'an against the Bible for confirmation? God does not demand blind faith from anyone.

One can logically reach only one conclusion. You must read the Bible. In reading the Bible (as God wants you to; and the Qur'an also demands you to) you will learn the truth about eternal life. If one refuses to accept the Bible as the Word of God; this person will void all the promises that can be claimed personally and more importantly God's plan of salvation. ALL of this is void if one does not read the Bible.

Where is it written in the Qur'an that one has the authority to reject the teachings of the Bible?

Where is it written in the Qur'an that one is to find fault with the Bible?

Where is it written in the Qur'an that one should reject the Bible?

I have not found any text in the Qur'an that even suggest or imply the action of rejecting the Bible, its teachings or to find fault with the Bible. According to the Qur'an; is it important to read the Bible? Absolutely:

Sura 4:150-151

150 Those who deny God And His apostles, and (those Who) wish to separate God from His apostles, Saying: "We believe in some But reject others": And (those who) wish To take a course midway,-

151 They are in truth (Equally) Unbelievers; And We have prepared For Unbelievers a humiliating Punishment.

Please notice that the word "apostle" is plural (Apostles). Then one can conclude that; IF one does learn about the Revelations and teachings of the ApostleS, then he/she is voluntarily separating his/her self from God and one would also be rejecting God. This is stated very clear and concise in Sura 40:70-72. God commands us to learn what God has said through the apostles.

Sura 40:70-72

70 Those who reject the Book And the (revelations) with which We sent Our apostles: But soon shall they know, -

71 When the yokes (shall be) Round their necks, And the chains; They shall be dragged along -

72 In the boiling fetid fluid; Then in the Fire Shall they be burned;

Notice again that the word "apostle" is plural "Apostles". This Plurality is throughout the Qur'an in reference to the apostles.

One can conclude then that if one rejects the Bible; then in fact one is also rejecting the Qur'an as a whole. Please keep in mind that God does not contradict himself. There is not any verse in the Qur'an or the Hadith that teaches, suggest, or implies for anyone to reject the Bible. In fact there are many blessings that await one who accepts the Bible. Such as:

Sura 2:4-5

4 And who believe in the Revelation Sent to thee, And sent before thy time, And (in their hearts) Have the assurance of the Hereafter.

5 They are on (true) guidance, From their Lord, and it is These who will prosper.

Please note "and sent before thy time" - which simply means before Muhammad's time. In Sura 2:4-5 we are assured that those who fear God have the assurance of Eternal Life. This is true, but the confirmation of the promise as well as how to obtain it lies in the text of the Bible. This seems obvious, does it not? Only those who are prepared to read and study the Bible and accept it when they understand it, like so many people of every nation, tribe and language, and be obedient to it, will gain Eternal life with God in the hereafter.

Sura 3:55

55 Behold! God said: "O Jesus! I will take thee And raise thee to Myself And clear thee (of the falsehoods) Of those who blaspheme; I will make those Who follow thee superior To those who reject faith, To the Day of Resurrection: Then shall ye all Return unto me, And I will judge Between you of the matters Wherein ye dispute.

According to Sura 3:55 those who follow the teachings of Jesus Christ are superior to others and they will return to God with Jesus after the day of resurrection. If a Muslim rejects the Bible and rejects salvation then how can one expect to have eternal life? Eternal life can't be obtained via the Muslim faith. This is obvious and verified in the Qur'an. In order to follow the teachings of Jesus one has to read the Bible as it is only to be found in the Bible. How are you going to follow Jesus` teachings or have the assurance of eternal life if you don't study the Bible? This is to say if you do want to be one of those who are called superior and being raised to God with Jesus.

This is a key word in God's salvation plan for Muslims as well as - everyone else. Through Jesus Christ, God in His Mercy did everything to save us from hell and eternal punishment. Although God provided us this salvation plan, the decision is ours to accept it. It is interesting in the Qur'an to note that GOD HIMSELF calls only the followers of Jesus superior (Sura 3:55). Of no one else did Allah utter such words.

"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)

"My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine sounding arguments." (Col. 2:2-4)

The reason for this is very simple and by now obvious. Jesus is AL-MASIH (The Messiah).

2 Corinthians 5:17-21"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, Who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men's sin against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us - we implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God."

John 6:35-40"Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you don't believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of Him who sent me. And this is the will of Him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that He has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I shall raise him up at the last day."

John 3:3-21"Jesus replied, "With all the earnestness I posess I tell you this: Unless you are born again, you can never get into the Kingdom of God."

"Born again!" exclaimed Nicodemus. "What do you mean? How can an old man go back into his mother's womb and be born again?"

Jesus replied, "What I am telling you so earnestly is this: Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. Men can only produce human life, but the Holy Spirit gives new life from heaven; so don't be surprised at my statement that you must be born again! Just as you can hear the wind but can't tell where it comes from or where it will go next, so it is with the Spirit. We do not know on whom he will next bestow this life from heaven."

"What do you mean?" Nicodemus asked.

Jesus replied, "You, a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don't understand these things? I am telling you what I know and have seen - and yet you won't believe me. But if you don't even believe me when I tell you about such things as these that happen here among men, how can you possible believe if I tell you what is going on in heaven? For only I, the Messiah( alMasih), have come to earth and will return to heaven again. And as Moses in the wilderness lifted up the bronze image of a serpent on a pole, even so I must be lifted up upon a pole, so that anyone who believes in me will have eternal life.

"For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son so that anyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.

"There is no eternal doom awaiting those who trust him to save them. But those who don't trust him have already been tried and condemned for not believing in the only Son of God. Their sentence is based on this fact: that the Light from heaven came into the world, but they loved the darkness more than the Light, for their deeds were evil. They hated the heavenly Light because they wanted to sin in the darkness. They stayed away from that Light for fear their sins would be exposed and they would be punished. But those doing right come gladly to the Light to let everyone see that they are doing what God wants them to."

John 11:25-26"Jesus told her, "I am the one who raises the dead and gives them life again. Anyone who believes in me, even though he dies like anyone else, shall live again. He is given eternal life for believing in me and shall never perish. Do you believe this, Martha?"

Other Qur`anic verses that emphasize or relate to the same subject:- Sura 3:93-94; Sura 4:136:, 150-152,163-169; Sura 5:52,71-73; Sura 10:64; Sura 21:7; Sura 29:46.

It is very convincing that the Qur'an speaks highly of the Holy Bible. The question now is; do you accept the Bible? If not then how much more evidence does one need to be convinced?

As proven above; the Bible is the same now as it was before and during Muhammad's time. Yet, why is the Muslim believer under the impression that Jesus is a Great Prophet only?

The first point that should be considered is what attributes can be associated with a true prophet of God. One attribute is the fact that a true prophet of God is never wrong, mistaken nor does a prophet of God lie.

    If we agree that a prophet of God can not lie then there now is a major problem.  Either Jesus is a liar or Mohammad is a liar.  For Jesus to be a liar then all of his claims are false.  Jesus claimed that "I and the Father are one", "If you've seen me, then you've seen the Father".  Jesus claimed on several occasions that he was the Son of God and Jesus forgave Sins and allowed worship.  A mere Prophet would never allow this to occur.  Contrary to popular myth,  Jesus claimed on several occasions that he was in fact THE SON OF GOD.  Yet if Jesus is a liar then Mohammad is a liar also.  This is due to the fact that Mohammad is quoted as saying that Jesus was a Great Prophet.  For Jesus to be a great Prophet would require him to not lie.  By the fact that Mohammad called Jesus a great Prophet would make Mohammad a liar.  Please keep in mind;  according to Mohammad, Jesus is a person who speaks the truth and does not lie.

   If Jesus was not lying and in fact was/is the Messiah as he claimed; then Mohammad would still be considered a liar.  This is due to the fact that Mohammad stated that Jesus was JUST a great Prophet of God.  So either way, Mohammad was incorrect and this proves that he was a false Prophet.

   Jesus claimed to be much more than a prophet.  The resurrection of Jesus Christ is proof of this.  The question now becomes; what is Mohammad?  If Mohammad was "incorrect" about who and what Jesus was, then Mohammad could not possibly be a prophet of God.  This is due to the fact that Prophets of God do not lie.

   If Mohammad is incorrect concerning Jesus Christ, then what else is Mohammad incorrect about?  It is proven that Mohammad is no Prophet.  Mohammad performed no miracles, nor was he raised from the dead or "caught up" into heaven.

   I feel that I have proven that the Bible is in fact the word of God.  The Bible of today is identical to the Bible before and during Mohammad's life.  I have proven that the Qur'an places the Bible as the highest book; THE Word of God, which should be the test to determine if the Qur'an is in fact truthful.  Nowhere in the Qur'an is it stated that the Bible is corrupt.  The corruption was in some false teachings that were incorrect.  It is very easy to prove that Jesus did in fact stake claim to being the Messiah.  In making this claim one is left with the obvious reality that Mohammad was in fact NOT a Prophet of God.

   God has a plan of salvation.  It is only through Jesus Christ.  The only way to know of this plan of salvation and eternal life is through reading the Bible.  Jesus said "no man comes to the father, but through me".  Please make this most important decision and choose eternal life.

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