A Look of Faith at the Qur’an

1. The principal points of Agreement between the Qur’an and the Gospels

The main point of agreement between the Bible and Qur’an is the revelation of the Unique God, the Creator of the Universe. Moreover, the main testimony of the Qur’an in favor of the Gospels is the confirmation that Jesus is truly the Messiah. Had the Qur’an not attested this fundamental evangelical truth, it would neither have been sincere, nor truthful. It is this testimony in particular which confounded the Jews, raising their hatred against Muhammad, especially since the Qur’an is a confirmation of the Evangelical message in its totality. And yet, the Gospels are banned by the Jews, Atheists and Pagans.

Had the Qur’an affirmed that Jesus was not the Messiah, the Jews would not have fought Muhammad, and this would have justified their waiting for a Zionist Messiah, known in the Gospels as the Antichrist. We will discuss this subject by talking about the Messiah.
The main points of agreement between the Qur’an and Gospels are the following:

1. The Messiah
2. The Virgin Mary
3. The Heavenly Table
4. The (Holy) Spirit

1.1. The Messiah

The first and great Truth revealed by the Qur’an to the Arabs is the existence of the one God.

The second fundamental truth is that Jesus is truly the Messiah sent by God and announced by the prophets of the Old Testament. As already mentioned, it is the revelation of this truth by the Qur’an that irritated the Jews and led them not to support the Qur’an. Because, in acknowledging the Qur’an, they would have had to give up the awaiting of a Zionist Messiah.
Here are the Qur’anic verses which confirm that Jesus is the Messiah, the Prophet of God, the Word of God, and the Spirit of God:

“Remember when the Angels said: ‘O Mary, God gives you glad tidings of a Word from Him. His name is the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary…’” (Qur’an III; The Family of Imran,45)

“They (the Jews) declared: ‘It is we who killed the Christ, Jesus son of Mary, the Prophet of God…’” (Qur’an IV; Women,157)

“The Messiah Jesus, Son of Mary is indeed the Prophet of God, and His Word, which He cast into Mary, and a Spirit from Him.” (Qur’an IV; Women,171)

“Who can do anything against God’s will should He wish to extirpate the Christ son of Mary, his mother…” (Qur’an V; The Table,17)

If the Jews had accepted Jesus’ Messianism, they would have stopped waiting for a Zionist messiah and consequently, would have had to renounce Zionism and the State of Israel - which incarnates the ideals of Zionism. The Jews rejected Jesus as Messiah in the past, and still do so because He condemned the establishment of a political entity in the name of Judaism. St John reports in his Gospel that Jesus, seeing the crowds rushing towards him to proclaim Him as king of Israel, escaped to the mountain all alone (John 6,14-15). Jesus also taught, that God’s Kingdom is within man (Luke 17,20-21), not in the outside political world, as the Jews and so many others still believe today.

Twelve centuries before Jesus, Gideon, a military leader, he too, declined the kingship offered to him by the Jews:

“The men of Israel said to Gideon, ‘Rule over us, you and your sons and your grandson, because you have rescued us from the power of Midian.’ But Gideon answered them, ‘It is not I who shall rule over you, nor my son; God must be your lord’.” (Judges 8,22-23)

Following this, the Prophet Samuel had announced God’s rejection of an Israeli kingdom (1 Samuel 8). But the Jews, for a long time, had aspired for a Zionist empire through the intervention of an Israeli Kingdom in Palestine. They ignored God’s commandments and His Will, proclaimed by the Prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 8,1-19).

In refusing the establishment of an Israeli kingdom, the Messiah reveals the spiritual, nonpolitical purpose of the Jewish religion and all religion. This does not exclude the exercise of political activity by believers. To the contrary, it is preferable for believers to take the reins of power in order to institute social and moral reforms for society. But to politicize the spiritual in creating, in the name of religion, a new State, as some Jews, Christians and Muslims want, is contrary to the plan of God. For God is for believers, and the State is for all, believers and non-believers, as the Qur’an says:

“There is no compulsion in religion.” (Qur’an II; The Cow,256)

Such a Revelation should be written in gold.

The belief in Jesus as the Messiah is the summit of the Evangelical teaching:

“Nobody is able to say, ‘Jesus is the Lord’ (which is to say that he is the Messiah), except in the Holy Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12,3)

“Whoever believes that Jesus is the Messiah is a child of God.” (1 John 5,1)

Jesus Himself had said to the Jews who plotted against Him:

“Yes, if you do not believe that I am He (the Messiah), you will die in your sins.” (John 8,24)

We need to underline another Qur’anic verse testifying that Jesus is the awaited Messiah:

“They make taken their rabbis (the Jews) and monks (the Christians) as Lords instead of God - and also the Christ son of Mary. They were commanded to worship but one God - there is no God but He!” (Qur’an IX; Repentance,31)

This verse which testifies that Jesus, the “son of Mary” is the Messiah, is often misinterpreted by some as a negation of the Messiah’s divinity. This is not the Qur’an’s intention, which presents itself as a confirmation of the Evangelical Inspiration (Qur’an IV; Women,47). And yet, the Gospels reveal the divinity incarnate in the person of Jesus. (See Chapter: “The litigation points”, paragraph 3: “The Divinity of the Messiah”). We must therefore not take as Lord and God the Son of Mary INSTEAD of God, but AS God incarnate announced by the Biblical prophecies. Otherwise we would be worshiping two gods, independent from one another: God as one part, and the Messiah as another, when “they were ordered to serve only one God”. Notice that the words “Lords” is plural, indicating polytheism. This subtlety is not perceived by all the interpreters of the Qur’an, who did not bother to interpret by “the best of arguments”, as prescribed by Qur’an in chapter XXIX; The Spider,46).

Moreover, the Evangelical Inspiration warns us against the apparition of the false Zionist messiah called the Antichrist by St John:

“You were told that the Antichrist must come… The man who denies that Jesus is the Christ… he is Antichrist” (1 John 2,18-22).

We know that the Jews deny that Jesus is the Messiah, the Zionists in particular.

What can we conclude from these Evangelical words? We draw two conclusions:

1. Muhammad, in acknowledging Jesus as the Messiah is inspired by the Holy Spirit and “is born of God”.
2. All those who deny that Jesus is the Messiah, ie the Jews who both reject Him and who await another messiah, form the entity of the Antichrist. In other words, the modern State of Israel incarnates the powers of the Antichrist.

The Evangelical Inspiration reveals that Jesus Himself will annihilate the Antichrist when this latter will appear. According to St Paul, the Messiah’s Advent will be preceded by the apparition of “the Rebel”, “the Enemy”, who the Messiah Jesus will annihilate by the magnificence of his coming (2 Thessalonians 2,3-12). The Rebel announced by St Paul is the impious and racist behavior of the Zionists. God is universal, non-racist. “The Lost One”, the “Son of Perdition” and “the Enemy” whom St Paul speaks of, are Zionists who “act in a way that cannot please God and make them the enemies of the whole human race”, as Paul explained (1 Thessalonians 2,15).

In the past, the Zionist Jews worked secretly under the Roman Empire to found the State of Israel. They were prevented by the Romans. At present, the apparition of this State allows them to operate openly and with greater power than before, and to exert their influence. Today, this antichrist power is armed with allies who claim to be Jesus’ disciples. This is the seduction and treason of the end of times predicted by the Gospels (Matthew 24).

The Prophet Muhammad in his “Noble Discussions”, spoke of the apparition of this force of impiety in saying that the Antichrist will have three letters “K.F.R.” inscribed on its forehead. These letters in Arabic, form the word “Kufr”, and mean impiety or blasphemy. He even specified that this force of evil emanates from the Jews. In the Evangelical Inspiration, we find the same blasphemies inscribed on the head of the Apocalyptic “Beast”:

1. This beast was given “to mouth its boast and blasphemies.” (Revelation 13,5)
2. “I saw… a scarlet Beast… and had blasphemous titles written all over it… on her forehead was written a name, a CRYPTIC NAME.” (Revelation 17,1-5) See the text: “The Key of the Apocalypse”

The Prophet Muhammad, confirming St Paul, has equally stressed in his “Noble Discussions” that, at the Antichrist’s apparition, Jesus and his elect will rise up to fight him and destroy him. Jesus’ disciples today, according to the intention and inspiration of the divine prophecies, are not the traditional Christians who collaborate with and support Israel. This culpable “christian” support to Israel was also prophesied, because according to the Gospel, the seducer Antichrist will succeed in seducing Jesus’ false disciples (Matthew 24). Nowadays, true believers are those who thirst for Justice, those who bear the yoke of Zionism’s iniquity, those resistant to Israel and international Zionism.

According to the Evangelical prophecies, and those of the Prophet Muhammad’s, the State of Israel will disappear forever. Its fall will symbolize Zionism’s failure, and all the corresponding materialistic mentalities. From this happening, many will realize that Jesus is truly the Messiah, and that His Kingdom is indeed and forever established on earth, according to the announcements of the prophets.

1.2. The Virgin Mary

The Qur’an contains the most beautiful verses on the Virgin Mary. It places the Mother of the Messiah at the highest summit of human holiness:

“Remember when the angels said: ‘O Mary, God has chosen you, made you pure and chosen you above all the women of the world.’” (Qur’an III; The Family of Imran,42)

This testimony condemns the Jews who, as the Qur’an reveals, have invented terrible words of slander against Mary, (Qur’an IV; Women,155). God, in the Qur’anic Inspiration, attests what He had inspired in the Gospel about Mary:

“Of all women you are the most blessed…” (Luke 1,42)

The Qur’an equally reveals Mary’s exceptional purity, and her Immaculate Conception, as well as that of Jesus’. In the following two verses, the wife of Imran, ie Mary’s mother (the Family of Imran are Mary’s parents), prays in saying:

“‘My Lord, I pledge to You what is in my womb. It shall be dedicated to Your service. Accept this from me for it is You - You Who are All-Hearing, All-Knowing’. When she gave birth to a female, she said: ‘My Lord, I have given birth to a female… I have called her Mary. I seek refuge in You for her and her progeny (Jesus) from Satan, ever deserving to be stoned.’” (Qur’an III; The Family of Imran,35-36)

God hears the prayer of Mary’s mother and grants her vow: Mary and Jesus were the only ones safeguarded from the devil, as Muhammad reports in his “Noble Discussions”:

“No man is born without the devil reaching him from birth and he screams because of this satanic attack (tarnish of original sin), except Mary and her Son.”

This verse from the “Noble Discussions” is reported in the interpretation of “Jalalein”, from verse 35 of the Sura “The Family of Imran”; it is a Hadith related by Abu Houraira, see http://www.el-ilm.net/t1333-maryam-bint-Imran. It is also reported in a slightly modified way by Al Bokhari, see “L’authentique tradition musulmane, choix de hadiths”, Fasquelle, pg 48 (French book).
These words, accepted by the whole Muslim world, are an acknowledgement of Mary’s Immaculate Conception.

With these words, the Prophet Muhammad teaches us that every man, including the Prophets and himself, is born with this defect, except for Mary the Immaculate and, of course, her Son, the Messiah.

1.3. The Heavenly Table

The Qur’an reveals us that God has descended from Heaven a “Table”, served to nourish Jesus’ Apostles. This heavenly food is a common point between the Bible and the Qur’an, a point ignored by the greater majority of believers. It is the communion of the Messiah’s Body and Blood, the spiritual Table of God. In fact, the Qur’an reports pedagogically, in a condensed and vibrant form, the Last Easter Supper that Jesus shared with his Apostles and during which He instituted the spiritual Meal with his Body and Blood. This fact is reported by the Qur’an in a subtle manner, respecting the ignorance of the Arab world on the evangelical message:

“The disciples said: ‘O Jesus son of Mary, can your God send down upon us a Table from Heaven (spread with food)?’ He said: ‘Fear God if you are true believers’. They said: ‘We wish to eat from it so that our hearts are at peace, and we know that you have spoken the truth to us, and we be witnesses thereof (witnesses of the Table)’; said Jesus son of Mary: ‘Lord, send down upon us a Table from Heaven, and it shall be a feast day for first and last among us, and a miracle from You, and grant us Your bounty - You are the best of Providers.’ God said: ‘I shall send it down upon you. Whoso among you disbelieves hereafter, I shall torment him with a torment the like of which I shall torment no other human being.’” (Qur’an V; The Table,112-115)

What is this Table (spread) coming down from Heaven? It is important to know its true nature, since the Apostles committed themselves “to be witnesses” to it. Moreover, this testimony is to last up till the last believer on Earth, since Jesus reclaims this Table from God in order that It be “a feast for the first of us and the last of us”. Then, God made It descend, threatening unbelievers with the harshest of punishments.

Some interpreters see in this Table a material food made up of fish or meat. They confound between the material miracle of the multiplication of bread and fish made by Jesus in the Gospel (John 6), and the miracle of the Spiritual Meal: the Heavenly Table which “came down from Heaven”, as the Qur’an specifies.

The Gospel reports in chapter 6 of St John, of the Messiah’s words on this spiritual Meal of vital importance. He said that “His Flesh and His Blood” are a spiritual food and beverage which gives “Eternal Life” to believers. Many of His disciples, in hearing these words, found them “intolerable” and no longer followed Him (John 6,48-66). Still today, many of the “believers” refuse these words and ask themselves “how can this man give us his flesh to eat!” (John 6,52)

The Jews, after centuries of preparation, were not able to understand Jesus. Many acclaimed Christians, still today, do not grasp the profound meaning of His words. How then, do we explain this spiritual Meal, this Table, to the Arabs of the Arabian Peninsula who knew nothing of the Bible? The Qur’an thus had to present the biblical message by innuendo and parables in order to arouse amongst the truth-loving Arabs, a holy curiosity leading to the search for the deep meaning of this message in the Gospels. There they will find the fullness of light concerning the mystery of the Qur’anic Table which descends from Heaven. As we have said, many find this fact hard to believe; it is a matter of “believe it or not! Take it or leave it”. To each one his or her responsibility.

Some interpreters claim that this Table has still not been sent by God. This does not correspond to the Qur’anic words: “God said: ‘I am sending one to you’”. God therefore brought it down to the Apostles in the past, even threatening unbelievers with unparalleled suffering. Additionally, Jesus asks God for This, in order that the “the first and the last” of the believers bear witness to it. The first Apostles had therefore already participated in it. It must endure up till the end of times in order that the last believers bear witness to It on Earth.

The Messiah gave the Apostles this “Table”, which came down from Heaven. It is this “Bread of Life that comes down from Heaven” (John 6,32-36). Jesus gave this Bread from Heaven one year after He had spoken of It. This happened during the Last Easter Supper He had with his Apostles when taking the bread, gave it to them saying:

“‘Take it and eat’, He said, ‘this is my Body’. Then he took a cup, and when He had given thanks He handed it to them saying, ‘Drink from this, all of you, for this is my Blood, the Blood of the New Covenant, poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’.” (Matthew 26,26-29)

It is from henceforth that the Apostles, and the believers after them, understood how the Messiah gave Himself to them as food and drink. The Meal, the served Table, which the living Messiah offers to “the first and to the last” believers is the Holy Spirit. It dwells in the hearts of believers through this Bread which they eat, and this Wine which they drink, which contain the Body, the Blood, and the Soul of the Messiah, eternally living.

This Heavenly Beverage is the same as mentioned in the Qur’an from the Sura, “Those who Shortchange”: those who drink of this rare Wine are the pure ones, God’s chosen ones, whereas those who refuse to drink it are the damned. In fact, the Qur’an reveals:

“The righteous are in bliss. Upon couches, watching. On their faces you would discern the radiance of bliss. They are given to drink from a nectar, sealed, whose seal is musk - for this let contenders contend - and whose mixture is from Tasnim, a fountain, from which those nearest to God shall drink. Sinners (those who refuse to drink it) would once laugh at the faithful (in this sealed wine) …” (Qur’an LXXXIII; Those who Shortchange,22-29)

The Qur’an, by offering believers this mysterious “sealed Wine”, in a poetic and harmonious way, testifies in favor of Jesus’ words in John’s Gospel about the “sealed bread”, it too, a food sealed by God, which comes down from Heaven, namely Jesus Himself, “for on Him the Father, God Himself, has set His Seal” (John 6,27). This Heavenly Food is found in the Bread and the Wine, which is generously served on God’s Heavenly Table, and which descends from Heaven.

Recall what Jesus says in the chapter of the (served) Table:

“Lord, send down upon us a Table from Heaven (spread with food), and it shall be a feast day for first and last among us, and a miracle from You…” (Qur’an V; The Table,114)

This means that the Table which descended, was not for the Apostles only; it continues to descend every day and everywhere, to be a feast “for the first and the last”, therefore for believers of all places up to the last believer, up till the Day of Resurrection, and It will witness eternally before God in favor of those who have witnessed for It on earth.

The Table served and this Holy Wine sealed with musk which descend from Heaven, are intended to separate humanity in two: on one side God’s elect, those who feed themselves from this Table, and on the other, the damned who refuse to feed themselves from It, and mock those who believe in It.

Finally, it is necessary to point out a fact of the utmost importance: namely that the Holy Qur’an incites the believers, let contenders contend for this mysterious Beverage which comes down from Heaven (Qur’an LXXXIII; Those who Shortchange,26). This is totally different from the alcoholic drinks in the world below. That all those who refuse this Holy Wine, arm themselves with Wisdom. Let those who mock the believers who rush to it as “contenders”, pull themselves together before it is too late for them.

1.4. The Spirit

The Islamic world has but a vague notion of the “Spirit”. This word often comes up in the Qur’an without its essence being clarified. So, believers wonder what exactly this word means. We read in the Sura XVII; The Night Journey,85:

“They ask you about the Spirit. Say: ‘The Spirit belongs to the realm of My Lord, and of knowledge you have been granted but little (in the Qur’an)’.”

It is for divine wisdom that the Qur’an hides from Muslims what the Spirit is. God wants that His Qur’anic Revelation be an open door and passage towards the Bible, to the Gospels in particular, because He wants the Qur’an to be a witness confirming the veracity of the Biblical Revelation, as explained before.

In the Qur’an, the question of the Spirit is similar to that of the “Table”, which God descended from Heaven onto the Apostles. The believer can understand its meaning only by resorting to the Bible. In fact, the Qur’an itself incites the believer to consult the Bible and the people of the Bible. We read in the Sura of “Jonah”:

“If you (Muhammad) are in doubt concerning what We revealed to you, ask those who have read the Book (the Bible) before you. Truth has come to you from your Lord so do not be among those who doubt.” (Qur’an X; Jonah,94)

Thus, the Qur’an appears as a passage towards the Bible. Here, believers find the clarifications of what has been partly revealed in the Qur’an. In fact, the latter clearly declares that it offers the Arabs, ignorant at the time, save a part of the knowledge, or even “little knowledge”, whose supplement is found in the Bible:

“Knowledge you have been granted but little” (Qur’an XVII; The Night Journey,85)

Those who denigrate the Bible make up “those who doubt” (Qur’an X; Jonah,94). But the believer who wants to open up to the ensemble of Divine Revelation, will find in the Biblical Revelation the answer about the significance of the word “Spirit”: it is the Holy Spirit of God, God Himself who sent His Eternal Spirit to the prophets from the time of Abraham, then became incarnate in the womb of the Virgin Mary as God revealed in the Bible and the Qur’an.

In fact, the Gospel reports:

“… Mary said to the Angel, ‘but how can this come about, since I have no knowledge of man?’ The Angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God.’” (Luke 1,34-35)

Similarly, we read in the Qur’an:

“The Christ Jesus son of Mary is indeed the Prophet of God and His Word which He cast into Mary and a Spirit from Him.” (Qur’an IV; Women,171)

Moreover, when the Prophet Muhammad’s messengers went before the Negus to explain to him the Prophet’s teachings, Jaafar-Ibn-Abi-Taleb answers that Jesus is “the Servant of God, His Messenger, His Spirit, and His Word cast in the Virgin Mary”.