Post by Admin on Sept 20, 2017 21:08:18 GMT
One common charge against the Qur’an is that it confuses the doctrine of Trinity. Critics claim that the alleged author, Prophet Muhammad, sal Allahu ‘alayhi wasallam, believed the Trinity to consist of Allah, Jesus and Mary, as opposed to the modern Christian concept of the Trinity, the father, son and holy ghost. In the attempt to prove their argument, they quote the following passages from the Qur’an:
“Do not say three! Indeed, Allah is one!” [1]
And;
And when Allah will say: O Jesus, son of Mary! Did you say to mankind “Take me and my mother as two gods besides Allah”? He will say, Glory to you! I would not have said what I had no right to say. If I had said it, you would have known it. You know what is in my mind though I do not know what is in yours. You are the Knower of the Unseen. [2]
The first thing we should notice about these passages is that they appear in two separate chapters with two entirely different contexts. The passage “Do not say three” refers to the Trinity and Allah’s oneness, whereas the passage Did you say to mankind “Take me and my mother as two gods besides Allah”? alludes to the worship of Jesus and Mary. Nothing is ever said in this context, or any other, about Mary being part of the Trinity. There are other similar passages that mention Jesus, Mary and the worship of other humans. For example, the following passage:
“They take their priests and anchorites as lords apart from Allah, and (also) the Messiah, son of Mary. Yet they were not commanded but to worship One God. There is no god but He. Exalted is He from what they associate (with Him).” [3]
The critics of the Qur’an conveniently choose to ignore such passages as they surely would expose their deliberate attempts to cast aspersions on the Qur’an and the integrity of Prophet Muhammad, sal Allahu ‘alayhi wasallam. The fact of the matter is, not only does the Qur’an successfully refute the doctrine of the Trinity, it exposes the various types of polytheism and differing beliefs that exist between the Christian sects of past and present. It is as Allah said in His Qur’an:
“They [the Christians] have divided their religion into sects” [4]
With the revelation of the Qur’an, Islam came to correct and revive the original message. The message that had been previously revealed to all of God’s Prophets. The most fundamental tenet being that of tawheed, i.e. Allah’s Oneness. Allah, therefore, sent the last and final Prophet to mankind, Prophet Muhammad – Sal Allahu ‘alayhi wasallam, with the guidance and the religion of truth that it may become manifest, truth prevailing over falsehood, and surely falsehood will perish.
Such falsehoods, in this case, is the worship of anything other than Allah. should that be worship of the Trinity how it is understood by Christian orthodoxy or heterodoxy, the worship of humans – such as Jesus, Mary, kings or priests, the worship of angels and jinn, or the worship of idols. The take home message throughout the Qur’an is that Allah is one, and only He is deserving of our worship.
The given context of the Qur’an where Jesus is questioned “Did you ever say unto people worship me or my mother as gods besides Allah?” The Qur’an is clearly condemning taking Jesus or Mary to be divinities here and further shows that the true message as taught by Jesus was “Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord”. Therefore, the Qur’an is merely correcting the Christians, orthodox or heterodox, in the very areas where they have become misguided, and these aspects happen to be the worship of Jesus and Mary. It is at this point most Christians have a problem with the Qur’an as the worship of Mary is mentioned. It is a matter they try and sweep under the rug whilst knowing well the issue exists
The worship of Mary, or “Mariolatry” or even “Mariology” as protestant Christians call it, was not only just a practice existent of an historical cult of Christians that existed approximately three-hundred years before the birth of Prophet Muhammad, sal Allahu ‘alayhi wasallam, but is still existent within sects of Christendom to this very day. In present day Christianity, many Christians erect shrines in their churches and homes which contain pictures and statues of Mary. It is a daily practice to light candles and offer prayers to Mary. She is prayed to venerated as the mother of god, believed to be the second Eve by whose means we have received blessing and life, a source of intercession and divine grace and forgiveness. The Roman church makes regular practice of praying to her. The creed in the bodily assumption of Mary also proves their veneration and worship of Mary. There is much documentation to prove that the worship of Mary was practiced by early Christians and much more to prove that the practice is still alive in Roman Catholic churches today.
William Montgomery Watt, although blaming the Meccans for allegedly confusing the Trinity, believes that those who worshipped Mary were a group of ‘Arab Christians.[5] Another Christian writer, Phillip Schaff, acknowledges an early sect of 4th Century Christians called the Collyridians which practised Mariolatry and was refuted by an early Church authority, namely Epiphanius.[6] W. St. Clair Tisdall declares “It is only too true that many ignorant “Christians” in Muhammad’s time worshipped Mary (as some still do), asking her to intercede with her Son for them…” [7] Perhaps the earliest and most overwhelming piece of historical evidence of early Christianity engaged in the worship of Mary comes from a fragment of an early manuscript, a scrap of papyrus, [8] dated to be as early as 250 AD. It contains a prayer that is still commonly used within the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches today. Frederica Mathewes-Green, an expert on Mariology, documents and translates ancient prayers from the Latin and Greek language that the early Christians directed at Mary. One of the prayers is as follows:
“Under thy compassion, we take refuge, Theotokos [Birthgiver-of-God]; do not disregard our prayers in the midst of tribulation, but deliver us from danger, O Only Pure, Only Blessed One.”[9]
It was such prayers that the early Christian church fathers, and the many protestants in Christendom today, condemn as polytheism.
Even we can see from further academic and Christian documentation that Mary is indeed worshipped by many Christians, past and present. The Encyclopedia Britannica tells us:
“Mary, the mother of Jesus, has been an object of veneration in the Christian Church since the apostolic age… It should be noted there has been various attempts to connect Christian devotion to Mary with the cult of female deities… Many protestant churches have most vigorously criticised the “Mariolatry” they claimed to find in Roman Catholicism” [10]
We read from Catholic sources:
“Mary’s eminent position in the Catholic pantheon was slow to develop…Mary’s status in the church began to develop after she was declared theotokos [i.e. the mother of God]…
the early church fathers debated for a long time before endowing Mary with this title…It was only after the Council of Ephesus that the liturgical feasts were held in Mary’s honour, though the earliest prayer to Mary, the Sun Tuum Praesidium dates from 250 AD.” [11]
also;
“The rosary is a set of prayers often recited by Christians who venerate Mary, the blessed virgin. A string of beads also called a rosary, is used as an aide-memoir for the correct order of prayers…Catholic homes, schools and institutions display the image of the blessed virgin and often create small shrine-like altars in veneration of her. No Catholic church is without a statue to Mary…The principal Marian shrines attract huge numbers of pilgrims, millions visiting every year the sites of Lourdes in France, Guadalupe in Mexico, Fatima in Portugal, Walsingham in England and the House of Loreto in Italy.” [12]
There is no shortage of documentation to prove that the Qur’an is correct about the worship of Mary. Even Answering Islam’s [13] Sam Shamoun cannot help but admit:
“The early Church was horrified by the very idea of a Christian worshipping Mary or in any way rendering to her the adoration (Greek: latria) due to God alone. Such horror should be the reaction of any Catholic today when faced with a similar problem. An examination of the Collyridian heresy will serve as a reminder for us today the Catholic Church’s strenuous teaching that we should honour and venerate Mary, but never adore her (or any other creature). The Collyridians were known for their excessive Marian devotion which developed into the outright idolatry of “Mary worship.” This aberration grew out of the Church’s rightful veneration of Mary as ever-virgin, Mother of God, and powerful heavenly intercessor, but it crossed the line of orthodoxy when certain Christians began to worship Mary as divine.” [14]
From the given documentation, we can clearly see that God, Jesus and Mary are worshipped in many Christian churches around the world. We also see that the Qur’an gives no hint of Mary as being part of a Trinity but only alludes to her being worshipped as a goddess. It is, therefore, nothing but a deceptive attempt to distort the message of the Qur’an on the part of Christian critics whose only wish it is to mislead others about the very message of Islam, being its most focal point; Allah’s message of tawheed, there is no god but Allah and Muhammad, sal Allahu ‘alayhi wasallam, being the Messenger of Allah.
[1] The Qur’an, Surat an-Nisaa, 4, passage 171
[2] The Qur’an, Surat ul-Maa’idah, 5, passage 116
[3] The Qur’an, Surat at-Tawbah, 9, passage 31
[4] The Qur’an, Surat, 21, passage 93
[5] See Muhammad at Mecca, 1953, p. 26-45 and p 23-29
[6] Philip Schaff, History of the Christian church, Vol 4, Ch 3 and vol.3, Ch 7.
[7] A Manual of the Leading Muhammadan Objections to Christianity. W. St. Clair Tisdall, 1904, p 147
[8] Photos of this manuscript fragment can be see within the following quoted work
[9] Frederica Mathewes-Green, The Lost Gospel of Mary: The Mother of Jesus in Three Ancient Texts.
[10] The Encyclopaedia Britannica, volume 11, p. 560-563
[11] The Complete Illustrated History of Catholicism & The Catholic Saints, p.136
[12] The chapter of The Cult of Mary, The Complete Illustrated History of Catholicism & The Catholic Saints, p. 480
[13] Answering Islam is a Christian based website with its primary focus on attacking Islam. Much of their material, if not all, has been refuted by a number of Muslim writers
[14] www.answering-islam.org/Shamoun/quran_trinity.htm
“Do not say three! Indeed, Allah is one!” [1]
And;
And when Allah will say: O Jesus, son of Mary! Did you say to mankind “Take me and my mother as two gods besides Allah”? He will say, Glory to you! I would not have said what I had no right to say. If I had said it, you would have known it. You know what is in my mind though I do not know what is in yours. You are the Knower of the Unseen. [2]
The first thing we should notice about these passages is that they appear in two separate chapters with two entirely different contexts. The passage “Do not say three” refers to the Trinity and Allah’s oneness, whereas the passage Did you say to mankind “Take me and my mother as two gods besides Allah”? alludes to the worship of Jesus and Mary. Nothing is ever said in this context, or any other, about Mary being part of the Trinity. There are other similar passages that mention Jesus, Mary and the worship of other humans. For example, the following passage:
“They take their priests and anchorites as lords apart from Allah, and (also) the Messiah, son of Mary. Yet they were not commanded but to worship One God. There is no god but He. Exalted is He from what they associate (with Him).” [3]
The critics of the Qur’an conveniently choose to ignore such passages as they surely would expose their deliberate attempts to cast aspersions on the Qur’an and the integrity of Prophet Muhammad, sal Allahu ‘alayhi wasallam. The fact of the matter is, not only does the Qur’an successfully refute the doctrine of the Trinity, it exposes the various types of polytheism and differing beliefs that exist between the Christian sects of past and present. It is as Allah said in His Qur’an:
“They [the Christians] have divided their religion into sects” [4]
With the revelation of the Qur’an, Islam came to correct and revive the original message. The message that had been previously revealed to all of God’s Prophets. The most fundamental tenet being that of tawheed, i.e. Allah’s Oneness. Allah, therefore, sent the last and final Prophet to mankind, Prophet Muhammad – Sal Allahu ‘alayhi wasallam, with the guidance and the religion of truth that it may become manifest, truth prevailing over falsehood, and surely falsehood will perish.
Such falsehoods, in this case, is the worship of anything other than Allah. should that be worship of the Trinity how it is understood by Christian orthodoxy or heterodoxy, the worship of humans – such as Jesus, Mary, kings or priests, the worship of angels and jinn, or the worship of idols. The take home message throughout the Qur’an is that Allah is one, and only He is deserving of our worship.
The given context of the Qur’an where Jesus is questioned “Did you ever say unto people worship me or my mother as gods besides Allah?” The Qur’an is clearly condemning taking Jesus or Mary to be divinities here and further shows that the true message as taught by Jesus was “Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord”. Therefore, the Qur’an is merely correcting the Christians, orthodox or heterodox, in the very areas where they have become misguided, and these aspects happen to be the worship of Jesus and Mary. It is at this point most Christians have a problem with the Qur’an as the worship of Mary is mentioned. It is a matter they try and sweep under the rug whilst knowing well the issue exists
The worship of Mary, or “Mariolatry” or even “Mariology” as protestant Christians call it, was not only just a practice existent of an historical cult of Christians that existed approximately three-hundred years before the birth of Prophet Muhammad, sal Allahu ‘alayhi wasallam, but is still existent within sects of Christendom to this very day. In present day Christianity, many Christians erect shrines in their churches and homes which contain pictures and statues of Mary. It is a daily practice to light candles and offer prayers to Mary. She is prayed to venerated as the mother of god, believed to be the second Eve by whose means we have received blessing and life, a source of intercession and divine grace and forgiveness. The Roman church makes regular practice of praying to her. The creed in the bodily assumption of Mary also proves their veneration and worship of Mary. There is much documentation to prove that the worship of Mary was practiced by early Christians and much more to prove that the practice is still alive in Roman Catholic churches today.
William Montgomery Watt, although blaming the Meccans for allegedly confusing the Trinity, believes that those who worshipped Mary were a group of ‘Arab Christians.[5] Another Christian writer, Phillip Schaff, acknowledges an early sect of 4th Century Christians called the Collyridians which practised Mariolatry and was refuted by an early Church authority, namely Epiphanius.[6] W. St. Clair Tisdall declares “It is only too true that many ignorant “Christians” in Muhammad’s time worshipped Mary (as some still do), asking her to intercede with her Son for them…” [7] Perhaps the earliest and most overwhelming piece of historical evidence of early Christianity engaged in the worship of Mary comes from a fragment of an early manuscript, a scrap of papyrus, [8] dated to be as early as 250 AD. It contains a prayer that is still commonly used within the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches today. Frederica Mathewes-Green, an expert on Mariology, documents and translates ancient prayers from the Latin and Greek language that the early Christians directed at Mary. One of the prayers is as follows:
“Under thy compassion, we take refuge, Theotokos [Birthgiver-of-God]; do not disregard our prayers in the midst of tribulation, but deliver us from danger, O Only Pure, Only Blessed One.”[9]
It was such prayers that the early Christian church fathers, and the many protestants in Christendom today, condemn as polytheism.
Even we can see from further academic and Christian documentation that Mary is indeed worshipped by many Christians, past and present. The Encyclopedia Britannica tells us:
“Mary, the mother of Jesus, has been an object of veneration in the Christian Church since the apostolic age… It should be noted there has been various attempts to connect Christian devotion to Mary with the cult of female deities… Many protestant churches have most vigorously criticised the “Mariolatry” they claimed to find in Roman Catholicism” [10]
We read from Catholic sources:
“Mary’s eminent position in the Catholic pantheon was slow to develop…Mary’s status in the church began to develop after she was declared theotokos [i.e. the mother of God]…
the early church fathers debated for a long time before endowing Mary with this title…It was only after the Council of Ephesus that the liturgical feasts were held in Mary’s honour, though the earliest prayer to Mary, the Sun Tuum Praesidium dates from 250 AD.” [11]
also;
“The rosary is a set of prayers often recited by Christians who venerate Mary, the blessed virgin. A string of beads also called a rosary, is used as an aide-memoir for the correct order of prayers…Catholic homes, schools and institutions display the image of the blessed virgin and often create small shrine-like altars in veneration of her. No Catholic church is without a statue to Mary…The principal Marian shrines attract huge numbers of pilgrims, millions visiting every year the sites of Lourdes in France, Guadalupe in Mexico, Fatima in Portugal, Walsingham in England and the House of Loreto in Italy.” [12]
There is no shortage of documentation to prove that the Qur’an is correct about the worship of Mary. Even Answering Islam’s [13] Sam Shamoun cannot help but admit:
“The early Church was horrified by the very idea of a Christian worshipping Mary or in any way rendering to her the adoration (Greek: latria) due to God alone. Such horror should be the reaction of any Catholic today when faced with a similar problem. An examination of the Collyridian heresy will serve as a reminder for us today the Catholic Church’s strenuous teaching that we should honour and venerate Mary, but never adore her (or any other creature). The Collyridians were known for their excessive Marian devotion which developed into the outright idolatry of “Mary worship.” This aberration grew out of the Church’s rightful veneration of Mary as ever-virgin, Mother of God, and powerful heavenly intercessor, but it crossed the line of orthodoxy when certain Christians began to worship Mary as divine.” [14]
From the given documentation, we can clearly see that God, Jesus and Mary are worshipped in many Christian churches around the world. We also see that the Qur’an gives no hint of Mary as being part of a Trinity but only alludes to her being worshipped as a goddess. It is, therefore, nothing but a deceptive attempt to distort the message of the Qur’an on the part of Christian critics whose only wish it is to mislead others about the very message of Islam, being its most focal point; Allah’s message of tawheed, there is no god but Allah and Muhammad, sal Allahu ‘alayhi wasallam, being the Messenger of Allah.
[1] The Qur’an, Surat an-Nisaa, 4, passage 171
[2] The Qur’an, Surat ul-Maa’idah, 5, passage 116
[3] The Qur’an, Surat at-Tawbah, 9, passage 31
[4] The Qur’an, Surat, 21, passage 93
[5] See Muhammad at Mecca, 1953, p. 26-45 and p 23-29
[6] Philip Schaff, History of the Christian church, Vol 4, Ch 3 and vol.3, Ch 7.
[7] A Manual of the Leading Muhammadan Objections to Christianity. W. St. Clair Tisdall, 1904, p 147
[8] Photos of this manuscript fragment can be see within the following quoted work
[9] Frederica Mathewes-Green, The Lost Gospel of Mary: The Mother of Jesus in Three Ancient Texts.
[10] The Encyclopaedia Britannica, volume 11, p. 560-563
[11] The Complete Illustrated History of Catholicism & The Catholic Saints, p.136
[12] The chapter of The Cult of Mary, The Complete Illustrated History of Catholicism & The Catholic Saints, p. 480
[13] Answering Islam is a Christian based website with its primary focus on attacking Islam. Much of their material, if not all, has been refuted by a number of Muslim writers
[14] www.answering-islam.org/Shamoun/quran_trinity.htm