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B.A.S.I.C. NEWSLETTERS - September 2005

www.lutheranmissions.org

B.A.S.I.C. NEWSLETTER #57

Two things are essential when Christians think about the relationship of the gospel to Islam. One is a thorough knowledge of the gospel. The other is a fair and accurate understanding of the teaching of Islam.

The New Testament places the unconditional love of God at the heart of the good news about Jesus. Does an examination of the Qur'an reveal a similar teaching? This short article sets out one aspect of this question: the use of two verbs for 'love' in relation to Allah.

The two Arabic verbs are habba and wadda. Habba means 'to love, like; to wish, want, or like to do something'. This verb appears in its active form some 40 times with Allah as subject and with a variety of human objects.

We read that Allah loves (habba) the 'good-doers' (2:195; 3:134, 148; 5:93), the 'just' (5:42; 49:9; 60:8), and the 'god-fearing' (9:4,7). Allah does not love the 'evildoers'(3:57, 140; 42: 40), the 'proud and boastful' (4:36; 31:18; 57:23), and the 'workersofcorruption' (5:64;28:77). Two striking occurrences of habba are that Allah does not love the 'prodigal' (musrifun, 6:141; 7:31), and that Allah 'loves those who fight in his way' (61:4). In all there are 22 statements about those whom Allah does not love, and 18 about those whom Allah loves.

The second verb for love in the Qur'an is wadda (to love, like, be fond; to want, wish). Forms of this verb appear in relation to Allah in just three verses. On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will assign love (wudd) to 'those who believe and do deeds of righteousness' (19:96). The prophet Shuaib (sometimes understood to be Moses' father-in law, Jethro) is portrayed as describing his Lord as 'loving' (wadood) in 11:90; and the same term is used to describe Allah's character in 85:14. In these two verses wadood is associated with forgiveness and mercy. Vivienne Stacey gives the meaning of wadood here as 'the affection with which the master responds to the loyalty of a faithful servant'.

One scholar who studied these two verbs in the context of the overall theology of the Qur'an was Muhammad Daud Rahbur. As he wrote his PhD dissertation later published as God of Justice---he concluded that in the Qur'an, Allah loves only people who are perfectly pious'. Since it would be presumptuous for any human to claim perfect piety, Rahbar reasoned, the question as to whether Allah actually loves any human is left open. He found an echo of this ambivalence in the fact that human love for Allah is mentioned only rarely in the Qur'an.

Rahbar was led by a series of deep theological reflections to find the demonstration of divine love in human history in 'a man who loved, who lived humbly like the poorest, who was perfectly innocent and sinless, who was tortured and humiliated in literally the worst manner, and who declared his continued transparent love for those who had inflicted the worst of injuries on him',

The Apostle Paul wanted the daily lives of people to be illuminated by the full extent of God's love (Eph. 3:18,19). He and other New Testament writers found the objects of divine love to include the powerless, the ungodly, sinful humans, God's enemies, the spiritually dead, and people deserving punishment (Rom. 5:6-10; Eph. 2:3-5). They identified the supreme demonstration of divine love with an event in history: God's sending His Beloved into the world. At this time God dealt decisively with human sin through Jesus' voluntary act of laying down his life for humanity (Jn 3:16, 10:11-18, 15:13; Rom. 5:8, 8:32; Gal 2:20; Eph 5:1-2; I John 3:16, 4:8-10). The good news message, and our motivation for mission, are based firmly on that love of God (2 Cor. 5:14).

When considering the Islamic concept of God in a classic study nearly a century ago, Samuel Zwemer noted that the Qur'an contains only a few expressions of human love for Allah (four verses using forms of habba, none of which is a command). He couldn't help remarking on the contrast between this and 'the abundant and plain teaching of the Old and New Testament regarding the love which God requires of man and which flows out from God to man'.

But the proof must surely come in the reading; and a reading of the verses about habba and wadda makes it clear that there is no Qur'anic concept of the unconditional love of God. So haven't we got something wonderful to share?

From Jihad to Dhimmitude" by Bat Ye'or or The two regions of the world the true Muslim considers are the 'dar al-Islam' or domain of Islam or submission to Allah or the 'dar al-harb' the domain of war where the Muslim will try to bring in all others to submission. This view of the world by the Muslim should be understood by us.

In the great public relations campaign among religions in America, some leaders tell us that we all worship the same God. Christians may be fooled, but Muslims are not. They do not believe that both of our paths reach the same God. It is important to know the meaning of two Arabic words frequently used in the Koran. The first one is "Kaffara,' which is the root verb of the word "Koffar" (i.e., the infidels or those "who do not believe in Islam"), although the Arabic text uses the word "Kuffar," and the translator mentions it as "unbelievers." This is a misleading translation. The translator does not want Westerners to understand that the Koran describes them as infidels, simply because they are not Muslims.

The second word is "Mushrekeen," meaning those who do not worship Allah or those who worship more than one god. This includes Christians and pagans. The Koran is written in Arabic. the English translation for Westerners has been diluted, changing many of the Koran's meanings to fit with the Western mentality. The Koran uses these words listed above to describe Christians and non-Christians, anyone other than Muslims.

2. The infidels and rejecters of faith are those who do not obey God (Allah) and his messenger Mohammed. "Say: obey God and His Apostle 'Mohammed"; but if they turn back, God loveth not those ('Koffar') who reject Faith" (Sura 3:32) meaning Christians do not obey Allah or his messenger Mohammed.

3. The believers (only those who are Muslims, because the only religion before God is Islam, as stated in point 1) cannot have unbelievers (Christians and Jews) as friends or helpers. "Let not the believers take for friends or helpers ('Koffar') unbelievers rather than believers; if any do that, in nothing will there be help from Allah..." (Sura 3:28). Other translations state that unbelievers (non-Muslims) do not belong to God.

4. Allah ordered Mohammed and his followers to fight with the ("Koffar") unbelievers of Islam. "Fight those ('Koffar') who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day...nor acknowledge the religion of truth (Islam), (even if they are) of the people of the book (Christians and Jews)..." (Sura 9:29).

5. The non-Muslims are non-clean. They are not allowed to come near Mecca and the Sacred Mosque: "O ye who believe! Truly the Pagans 'Mushrekeen' (non-Muslims) are unclean; so let them not, after this year of theirs, approach the Sacred Mosque..." (Sura 9:28). Today no Christian can visit Mecca. Saudi Arabia made a highway detour around Mecca for Christians if they have to pass by Mecca to go to other destinations. Osama Bin Laden started his war against America, because unbelievers (Christians) went to Saudi Arabia, thus defiling the holy land of the prophet Mohammed.

6. The Koran stated very clearly that "Koffar" are those who say that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and those who believe in the Trinity. In Sura 5:72, we read: "They do blaspheme ('Kaffara') who say: 'Allah is Christ the son of Mary'...Whoever joins other gods with Allah--Allah will forbid him the garden, and the fire will be his abode. There will for the wrong doers be no one to help."

7. We read also in Sura 5:73 'They do blaspheme ('Kaffara') who say: Allah is one of three in the Trinity: for there is no god except One God. If they desist not from their word (of blasphemy), verily a grievous penalty will befall the blasphemers 'Koffar' among them."

The Koran regards Christians as people who disbelieve and who worship more than one god ("Kaffara" and "Mushrekeen") although in other suras, Mohammed tried to say nice things about Christians to woo them to his side by calling them the 'people of the book." He even told them "Our Allah and your Allah is one" (Sura 29:46).

When Mohammed was not able to form his own brand of religion, he rejected the people of the book. When he moved from Mecca to Medina, his attitude changed. This extreme contradiction presents a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde-type contrast in these two sections of the Koran.

As unbelievers, Christians were targets by Mohammed and his followers. That is why in Sura 8:39, Mohammed asked his followers to kill and attack them wherever they find them.

In the end Mohammed himself rode in more than 20 campaigns to kill non-Muslims, as Islam conquered by the sword and by the physical enslavement of non-Muslims throughout North Africa and much of Europe.