Thanks for lunch the other day. Let’s get together again for lunch
next time you get a chance in Richmond. I enjoyed catching up with you
after such a long period and appreciated hearing your account of your
spiritual journey. So many people are simply caught up by materialism,
life’s fast pace, etc., and fail to pursue the spiritual–you have
not!

Since our thought provoking conversation, I have done a little
research.

I understand that Islam has as many branches and sects as
Christianity. The two major ones are the Sunnis and the Shias.
They split over the issue of apostolic succession. When Islam’s founder
Muhammad died unexpectedly in A.D. 632, he had left no arrangement for a
successor. His followers divided into two camps. The Sunnis were those
who thought the leader should be elected democratically from among his
closest followers, and the Shias were those who thought the leaders
should be related to Muhammad. Perhaps 85 to 90 percent of all Muslims
would call themselves Sunnis.

My recollection from our conversation was that you are a Sunni. The
word Sunni comes from the Arabic Sunnah, which simply means
"the trodden path," or "tradition." In the Islamic
context, it means someone who follows the exemplary pattern of conduct
established by Muhammad, believed to be the model for all humankind.
Since Muhammad was just one solitary man, confined to a slice of time in
seventh century Arabia, he could not foresee the problems Islam would
face in its rapid expansion into other lands. His followers ——
who were imbued with Muhammad’s passion for law ——
had to devise new laws based on their understanding of what Muhammad
would have done, if he had remained among them. This process took almost
two hundred years and resulted in the formation of Islamic or Shariah
Law. A Sunni, then, is a person who believes that the true way of life
is to attempt to keep the laws of Islam (Shariah) derived from
the Quran and the other collected sayings of Muhammad. For this person,
paradise is the reward of those whose good deeds outweigh their bad on
the day of judgment. I believe that this is in keeping with what you
explained to me.

Muhammad, in his determination to discover and execute the will of
God, set in motion a movement that resulted in the proliferation of laws
attempting to cover every facet of life.

This idea that God would weigh our good deeds against our bad deeds
in a balance scale on the day of judgment is as ancient as Egyptian
culture and is shared with minor variations by many including those
holding to Judaism and with many who fill the pews of Churches
throughout America.

But can the law save or does it simply condemn? As you and I
discussed the case of the elderly speeder–while we admired his good
driving record, ultimately that record does nothing to erase the
infraction which brings him before the court. So too I commend your zeal
to keep the law of God as you understand it, however I ask again doesn’t
that very law ultimately condemn both of us.

One of the Christian apostles, Paul wrote "the letter [law]
kills, but the Spirit gives life" (1
Cor. 3:6). Before Christ
appeared to him, he persecuted Christians as a blasphemous Jewish sect
who did not hold to Judaism’s teaching that required complete
obedience to the written and oral laws and teachings of Moses.

Is 51 percent performance good enough to obtain salvation? What about
99.9 percent? We both know that God is holy–how could we conceive of
offering to a holy God a glass which is filled with anything other than
100 percent perfection–a commodity that we simply do not have. The
pollution of violating one of the least of the laws pollutes the entire
body.

The Christian "Gospel" or "Good News" is that
God, who is righteous and holy, gives us His righteousness through faith
in Jesus the "Messiah" or "Christ."  In other
words, God gives to us what we were incapable of providing
ourselves–100% holiness.  We could never be good enough to satisfy
God’s demand for holiness.  We cannot by obedience or even
submission attain 100% holiness.  Instead of climbing to God, He
has come down to lift us up to be with Him, and in that new found
position we are called to perform good deeds (not to attain salvation
but having been awakened spiritually that is our calling). (Ephesians
2:4)

The Christian writer James wrote: "For whoever keeps the whole
law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of
it" (James
2:10). To this could be added Paul’s words in Romans
3:20, "Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by
observing the law; rather through the law we become conscious of
sin," and in Galatians
3:24, "The law was put in charge to
lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith" (Gal.
3:24).
In Quran 7:158,  Muhammad asked
people to follow Jesus. Elsewhere in the Quran, Muhammad testified that
Jesus was among those nearest to God, held in honor in this world and
the hereafter (Quran 3:45). It is my
understanding that Muslims understand this to mean that Jesus was
sinless and all-righteous, something that the early Muslims never
claimed for Muhammad. In fact, in several Quranic passages (16:61; 40:55;
42:5, 30; 47:19; 48:1-2) we read that Muhammad was exhorted to seek
forgiveness for his faults, that not a single living creature would be
left on earth if God punished everyone for their wrongdoing, and that
one of Muhammad’s military victories served as an assurance of
forgiveness of his sins, past and future.

Did you visit Muhammad’s grave in Medina? Where does the Quran teach
that Jesus’ grave is located? Doesn’t it teach that Jesus Christ is
alive in heaven with God? In the Quran (2:253; 3:45-49;
4:158-176, 5:46-48; 19:33; 89:22-30) Jesus was
called the Messiah; He was born of a virgin; He was among the righteous
ones —— those nearest to God; He received
strength from the Holy Spirit; He could give sight to the blind, cure
lepers, and raise the dead; He prophesied His own death and
resurrection; He was called a Word from God and a Spirit from God; and
finally, He is coming back with thousands of angels to judge the world.
All these characterizations add up to a powerful picture of a Christ who
was more than a prophet, and —— on Quranic
terms alone. In John
1:1-14, Jesus is portrayed as the eternal Word of
God. According to the Scriptures the purpose of God for Him in becoming
a man was to carry out the will of God in accomplishing the salvation of
lost humankind, who could not be saved by the law, either Islamic or
Mosaic.

The Quran bears surprising witness to Jesus. It affirms His virgin
birth, His ability to heal and raise the dead, that He is both a word
from God and a spirit from God, that He is the Messiah, an all-righteous
one (sinless), among those nearest to God, that He is alive in heaven
now and will return to judge the earth (Quran 3:45,
49; 4:158; 89:22). In a careful reading of Quranic references
(3:83-84; 5:46-47; 10:37, 64, 94;
46:12), it appears that Muhammad
affirmed his belief in what was revealed to Moses and Jesus. He taught
that God confirms and guards all previous scripture, that Christians are
to stand fast on their own books of the Law and the Gospel, and that
none could change the Word of God.

Finally, the Muslim is told that if he has doubts he should ask the
Jews and Christians, who were reading the Holy Books before he was. We
discussed the issue of the nature of God. God is one. Could it be that
within that inseparable one, that distinct aspects of God appear in ways
that are inconceivable to us–for as God is far greater than us we
could not possible understand fully his nature.

As for the Shias, the Shias felt the leader should come from
Muhammad’s family while the Sunnis thought he should be someone of noted
piety elected by and from Muhammad’s closest companions. The Sunnis won
with the first three successors; then the Shias, or party of Ali,
assumed the leadership. But Ali was martyred, as were his only two sons.
Down through the centuries, the Shias usually lost out in these power
struggles. This led to their taking on the nature of a protest movement
against the corrupt Sunni leaders. Inevitably, to justify their separate
minority identity, they developed theological doctrines that radically
differed from those of the Sunnis on at least two major points: the idea
of martyrdom and the idea of divine light indwelling their leaders.

Martyrdom for the cause of the people is memorialized in the Shia
calendar year during their lunar month of Muharram. Of the three martyrs
mentioned above —— Ali (Muhammad’s cousin
and son-in-law) and Ali’s two sons, Hasan and Husayn (Muhammad’s
grandsons) —— that of Husayn is celebrated
annually. The first ten days of the month of Muharram are dedicated to
"passion plays" that retell the story of Husayn’s betrayal and
courageous stand, facing overwhelming odds, against the ruling house of
Mecca (the Umayyids). On the tenth day, it is common for parades of
self-flagellating men to beat themselves until the blood flows,
lamenting the failure of the people to come to the defense of their
beloved leader. Shias believe that the shed blood of their slain leader
atones for their sins.

Shias believe that there was "divine light" indwelling
Muhammad, Ali, Husayn, the early "Imams," and currently, the
present leading Ayatullah, whoever that may be. (In Sunni Islam, an Imam
is a leader of the prayers at the mosque. It could be anyone. In Shia
Islam, the Imam is a big word. It refers to the succession of the
spiritual leaders of the community.) Depending on which branch of Shia
Islam one is talking about, that line of succession terminated with the
disappearance of either the fifth, the seventh, or the twelfth Imam.
These lines came to an end centuries ago. Each was indwelt by divine
light. This light was then passed on to a lesser order of clerics called
"Ayatullahs." This word means "Sign or Miracle of
God." (eg., the late Ayatullah Khomeini). It was Jesus who first
said, "I am the light of the world" (John
8:12). Behind this
is the idea of pure light coming through a sinless servant of God. It
seems that the problem for Shias is that they are forced by their own
set of assumptions to attribute sinlessness to their present-day
Ayatullahs. But not even Muhammad claimed this attribute for himself.
The Quran exhorts Muhammad (and others, too) to seek forgiveness of his
sins (Q. 40:53-55; 42:5; 47:19). The
universality of sin is mentioned in Quran 16:61. The Quran also says
that whatever misfortune happens to a Muslim happens because of his sin
(Q. 42:30). It further says that even when victory comes it occurs so
that God may forgive one’s sins (Q. 48:1, 2). From these verses, we see
that no one is sinless but God alone or capable of being the "Light
of the World."

An exception taught by the Quran is Jesus. In the Quran, we read that
he is "among the righteous ones," that is, sinless (Q.
3:46). Could it be that Jesus is "the holy Son of God" (Matt. 1:20,
21; Luke
1:32); that He was indeed sinless (2
Cor. 5:21);
that in Jesus is true spiritual life and this life is the true light of
men (John
1:4); and, finally, that Jesus Himself claimed to be the Light
of the world (John 8:12) and it is in His light that we see light
(John
1:9)?  Will you continue to struggle to climb through good
deeds hoping that this will somehow erase your faults.  I implore
you to accept the benevolence of God who offers to give to you His
righteousness through his faithful Servant, the Righteous One, Jesus the
Messiah.

# # #

(For More on Islam Click Here)

Contact:

Thomas H. Roberts, Esq.
Thomas H. Roberts & Associates, P.C.
Virginia Civil Rights Attorneys
105 S. 1st Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219
804) 783-2000
804) 783-2105

Endnotes:

(Excerpts from
Translation of the Holy Quran by Maulana Muhammad Ali)

Section 20: Divine Favours on Israelites:
7:158. Say: O
mankind, surely I am the Messenger of Allah to you all, of Him, Whose is
the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. There is no god but He; He
gives life and causes death. So believe in Allah and His Messenger, the Ummi
Prophet who believes in Allah and His words, and follow him so that you
may be guided aright.

40:55. So be patient;
surely the promise of Allah is true; and ask protection for thy sin and
celebrate the praise of thy Lord in the evening and the morning.

2:253. We have made
some of these messengers to excel others. Among them are they to whom
Allah spoke, and some of them He exalted by (many) degrees of rank. And
We gave clear arguments to Jesus son of Mary, and strengthened him with
the Holy Spirit. And if Allah had pleased, those after them would not
have fought one with another after clear arguments had come to them, but
they disagreed; so some of them believed and some of them denied. And if
Allah had pleased they would not have fought one with another, but Allah
does what He intends.

Section 23: Previous Revelation
Bears out Qur’’anic Statements:
163. Surely We have revealed to
thee as We revealed to Noah and the prophets after him, and We revealed
to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes, and Jesus and
Job and Jonah and Aaron and Solomon, and We gave to David a scripture.

Section 24:
Prophethood of Jesus:
172. The Messiah disdains not to
be a servant of Allah, nor do the angels who are near to Him. And
whoever disdains His service and is proud, He will gather them all
together to Himself.

89:22.And
thy Lord comes with the angels, ranks on ranks;

23.And hell is made to appear that
day. On that day man will be mindful, and of what use will being mindful
be then?

24.He will say : O would that I
had sent before for (this) my life!

25.But none can punish as He will
punish on that day.

26.And none can bind as He will
bind on that day.

27.O soul that art at rest,

28.Return to thy Lord,
well-pleased, well-pleasing,

29.So enter among My servants,

30.And enter My Garden!

3:83. Seek they then
other than Allah’’s religion? And to Him submits whoever is in the
heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly, and to Him they will be
returned.

5:46. And We
sent after them in their footsteps Jesus, son of Mary, verifying that
which was before him of the Torah; and We gave him the Gospel containing
guidance and light, and verifying that which was before it of the Torah,
and a guidance and an admonition for the dutiful.

46:12. And before it
was the Book of Moses, a guide and a mercy. And this is a Book verifying
(it) in the Arabic language, that it may warn those who do wrong, and as
good news for the doers of god.

	Eph 2:4	But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
	Eph 2:5	Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
	Eph 2:6	And hath raised [us] up together, and made [us] sit together in heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus:
	Eph 2:7	That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in [his] kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
	Eph 2:8	For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:
	Eph 2:9	Not of works, lest any man should boast.
	Eph 2:10	For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.