The Children Of God: All Of Us Or None – OpEd

“Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it’s thinking of yourself less.” —   C.S. Lewis

“Now Moses was a very humble man, more so than any other human being on earth.” (Torah Numbers 12:3) The Torah calls Prophet Moses both a man and a human being in this one verse because Moses was both a humble person and also a humble leader. Lord Acton, (d.1902) wrote in a letter to a British Bishop: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. 

William Pitt, British Prime Minister from 1766 to 1778, said something similar in a speech to the UK House of Lords in 1770: “Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it”. 

Both statements apply to military and political power; and also to economic and religious power, as the Torah says: “when “Jeshurun (Jeshurun means the upright one, Israel’s king) grew fat they kicked; filled with food, they became heavy and sleek. They abandoned the God who made them and rejected the Rock (God) their Savior.  (Torah Deuteronomy 32:15)

Prophet Moses is the central human character in the Torah’s five Books of Moses. “We gave Musa (Moses) the Scripture, that they (the Hebrews) may be guided.” (Sura 23:49)

Prophet Abraham is the central human character in the Torah Book of Genesis. “The scriptures of Abraham and Moses.” (Sura 87:19)  

King David is the central human figure in the Books of (Prophet) Samuel and Psalms. Your Lord knows all who dwell in the heavens and the earth. “We exalted some Prophets over others, and We gave the Psalms to David.” (Sura 17:55) 

Messiah Jesus is the central human figure in all four Gospels in the Christian New Testament “We sent, following in their footsteps, Jesus, the son of Mary, confirming that which came before him in the Torah; and We gave him the Gospel, in which was guidance and light confirming that which preceded it of the Torah as guidance and instruction for the righteous.” (Sura 5:46) 

Also “He sent down upon you, (Muhammad), the (Qur’an) Book in truth, confirming what was before it. He (Allah) revealed the Torah and the Gospel before as guidance for the people. and He (now) revealed the Qur’an.” (Sura 3:3-4)

So why is very little of Prophet Muhammad’s human biography included in the Qur’an?

Because the Gospels turned Messiah Jesus into a Son of God instead of being a son of Man. In the Qur’an, Jesus is referred to in ninety three verses in fifteen surahs. Jesus is mentioned by name twenty-five times in the Qur’an as “son of Mary” or “Messiah Jesus, son of Mary”. Islam agrees with Christianity that Jesus was born to virgin Mary, was sinless, performed miracles, and was superior to other prophets. 

Yet, Islam also teaches that Jesus was no more than a human prophet. Thus the Qur’an denies the central teachings of Christianity by denying Jesus’ divinity, crucifixion, and resurrection.

“We believe in Allah, and the revelation given to us, and to Abraham, Isma’il, Isaac, Jacob, and the (12) Tribes, and that given to Moses and Jesus, and that given to (all) prophets from their Lord: We make no difference between one and another of them…” (2:136)

“In their footsteps (the Prophets of the Hebrew Bible) We sent Jesus the son of Mary, confirming the (Torah) Law that had come before him: We sent him the Gospel: therein was guidance and light, and confirmation of the (Torah) Law that had come before him (Messiah Jesus): a guidance and an admonition to those who fear Allah. (5:46)

“And remember, Jesus, the son of Mary, said: “O Children of Israel! I am the messenger of Allah (sent) to you, confirming the (Torah) Law (which came) before me, and giving Glad Tidings of a Messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad.” But when he came to them with Clear Signs, they said, “this is evident sorcery!” (61:6)

“O People of the Book (Christians and Jews) commit no excesses in your religion: Nor say of Allah aught but the truth. Messiah Jesus the son of Mary was (only) a messenger of Allah, and His Word, which He bestowed on Mary, and a spirit proceeding from Him: so believe in Allah and His messengers. Say not “Trinity”: desist: it will be better for you: for Allah is one Allah: Glory be to Him above having a son. To Him (Allah) belong all things in the heavens and on earth.” (4:171)

“You ˹pagans˺ can no longer say, “Scriptures were only revealed to two groups before us (Jews and Christians) and we were unaware of their teachings. Nor can you say, “If only the Scriptures had been revealed to us (in Arabic), we would have been better guided than they. Now there has come to you from your Lord a clear proof, guide and mercy (Our’an).” (Sura 6:156-7)

He (Allah) ordained for you of religion what He enjoined upon Noah, and that which We have revealed to you, (Muhammad), and what We enjoined upon Abraham and Moses and Jesus – to establish the religion and not be divided therein. Difficult for those who associate others with Allah is that to which you invite them. Allah chooses for Himself whom He wills and guides to Himself whoever turns back [to Him]. (Sura 42:13)

The Sages of the Talmud point out that God said to Noah and his children as they exit the ark: ‘Behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you.’ (Genesis 9:9) The children of Noah were commanded with seven commandments: [to establish] laws, to prohibit cursing God, idolatry, illicit sexuality, bloodshed, robbery, and eating flesh from a living animal. The prohibition against theft includes kidnapping, cheating an employee or an employer, and a variety of similar acts. (Sanhedrin 56a and Genesis Rabbah 34:8).

The prohibition against idolatry refers specifically to idolatrous worship, and not to beliefs. In later generations, Jews had to determine whether the prevailing religious cultures in which they lived were idolatrous. Since Islam is strictly monotheistic, Muslims have always been considered Noahides. 

Since the later Middle Ages, Jews acknowledged that the Christian doctrine of the Trinity was not the same as idolatry, and they were also recognized as Noahides.