Radical Truth: Islam
A. Men can marry up to four wives
Sura 4:3 – If ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans, Marry women of your choice, Two or three or four;
Polygamy has always played a pivotal role in Islamic society. According to Islamic scholars, the roots of polygamy were noble. Muhammad is said to have had a deep concern for both orphans and widows. As men went into battle and were killed, Muhammad sought for a way to care for their widows and thus was given a revelation that men may marry up to four wives, if he could provide for their needs.
But as many have demonstrated, polygamy creates a unique set of problems for marriages. In the early 20th century, the Islamic jurist Kasim Ameen noted that, "Polygamy produces jealousies, hatred, intrigues and crimes innumerable."[1] Modern authors today echo those same sentiments. Nonie Darwish, a former Muslim woman and daughter of a shahid (martyr), notes that, "no law on earth will make a woman trust a man who has three other wives. Polygamy, thus, does not come for free. It has consequences to the health and happiness of the Muslim family."[2]
In Matthew 25 Jesus tells the parable of the sheep and the goats. With the sheep on his right side, the Son of Man tells them "Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me." Likewise with the goats on his left, he tells them "Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me."
Jesus is not suggesting we are saved by our good works. Indeed, the rest of scripture affirms that we are saved on the basis of faith alone in Christ alone. But those who are truly saved will be known by the good works that springs forth from the salvation they have found. Good works are the evidence of those who are truly saved.
How does Allah separate the sheep from the goats in Islam?
To hear groups like the Council of American-Islamic Relations or the Islamic Society of North America, Islam holds women in high regard. Indeed, Souad Saleh, a female professor at Al-Ahzar University in Cairo and a vocal proponent of women's rights in Egypt, recently stated, "Islam is pure and simple, and it holds women in high esteem."[1] For example, she says, "Muslim women were the first to be granted the right to inherit property and conduct their own private business affairs. This was so at an age when the women of Europe and Asia were not allowed to own property, inherit wealth and in some instances were treated as chattel."[2] When addressing the issue of women being mistreated by their husbands, she states, "guardianship over women ... does not give male members of the family license to oppress their female counterparts. Islam enjoins men to protect, love and care for their women folk."[3]
Another scholar has noted that Islam abolished the horrible practice of female infanticide prevalent among the pagan Arabs. Muhammad gave clear directions leading to the restriction of polygamy, restrained the unlimited rights by men over their wives, and gave woman both spiritual and material equality with man.[4]
A recent Gallup survey polled a significant percentage of Muslims worldwide. The findings are highlighted in the book Who Speaks for Islam, edited by John Esposito and Dalia Mogahed.
Introduction
Muslim apologists are quick to point to doctrines in Christianity that seem difficult to understand, and at the same time wax eloquent regarding the simplicity and complete coherence of Islamic doctrine. The trinity, for example, is incoherent according to Islam: how can three be one? Islam is not fraught with such difficulties because it teaches the absolute one-ness of God. So the comparison goes.
But Muslims must also account for certain claims of a theological nature that simply do not comport with logic or reality. In this first of a series of articles, we will look at three doctrines and ask the following three questions of Muslims. We will provide a response to each question and ask the Muslim reader to consider both the question and the response. How would you, the Muslim reader, answer the following questions:
- Is sin pre-ordained (predestination) or does each person have a free will to sin or not?
- Is the Qur'an the eternal and unchanged word of God?
- Is Muhammad a prophet of God in a long line of biblical prophets?
Doctrine #1: Sin - Pre-ordained or free will?
Calvinism vs. Armenianism. We have our own dispute in Christianity between predestination (election) and free will. But this argument is always given in the context of our salvation: Is God's grace irresistible and thus our salvation has always been predetermined, or is God's grace a matter of personal choice and we have the free will to accept or reject it?
Never in this debate is the issue that the sins we will commit have all been preordained!
In Islam there seems to be some confusion in this matter.
Man as Vicegerent
Islamic theology teaches that Allah created earth for man and man for earth. From the beginning of creation it was Allah's plan to send to earth a 'vicegerent' - an earthly representative of God, exercising delegated power over the earth on God's behalf. This idea comes from Sura 2:30, which reads,
Behold, thy Lord said to the angels: "I will create a vicegerent on earth." They said, "Wilt thou place therein one who will make mischeif therein and shed blood? - whilst we do celebrate thy praises and glorify thy holy name?" He said, "I know what ye know not." - A. Yusuf Ali
Many Islamic websites proclaim this idea that Allah created man specifically with the purpose that man would be Allah's earthly representative. For example, at the website visit-islam.com we find the following statement.
When Allah created Adam and made him His vicegerent on earth, the angels who are innocent and do not commit sins, submitted to Allah that as man was inclined to quarrel and shed blood on earth, the vicegerency might be granted to them as they glorified Him and remained engaged in worshipping Him all the time. Allah replied the angels that they did not know the matters of the world. He then tested Adam and the angels by asking them certain questions relating to the world. As Adam was made of dust and had a natural interest in the world, he answered Allah's questions correctly whereas the angels lacking this natural interest in the things of the world failed. Thus Allah established that in spite of all weaknesses man alone was most suitable for managing the world. In fact, his natural weaknesses themselves qualified him for this position. If the world were run by angels, most gifts of God put into it, which were discovered and developed by man due to his interest and need, would have remained unknown and unused.
If Allah's plan all along was to populate the earth with men (mankind) to act as representatives on his behalf, then we need to examine the process that preceded man's appearance on earth. How did mankind end up on earth and what process occurred to bring this about?
This is part 3 of a series. Click on the links to view part 1 and part 2.
Another verse commonly cited by Muslim scholars and apologists is Deuteronomy 18:18. (Here is one such article posted on Islam 101 written by well-known Muslim apologist Zakir Naik.) Use of this particular verse by Muslims comes with a unique set of challenges for Islam. Islamic scholars make the claim that the Bible has become corrupted (see my article on corruption of scripture here). Wherever the Bible and Qur'an agree, Muslims accept those portions of the Bible as intact and uncorrupt, but wherever they disagree, Muslims accept the Qur'an and reject the Bible. Since Deuteronomy 18:18 is used as a proof-text of a prophecy of Muhammad, they claim this portion of scripture is original and uncorrupt. This is a huge problem which I will address shortly.
As I mentioned in part 1 of this series, Muslim apologists use every imaginable tactic they can devise in an attempt to find verses in the Bible which, purportedly, speak about Muhammad as a coming prophet. They must find these verses because Muslims believe the Qur'an to be the infallible, absolute word of God. The Qur'an says:
"And remember, Jesus, son of Mary, said: "O children of Israel! I am the messenger of Allah sent to you, confirming the law which came before me, and giving glad tidings of a Messenger to come after me, whose name shall be called Ahmad." - Sura 61:6
Here we find Jesus himself making a prediction of a man whose name is Ahmad, the same root word from which Muhammad derives his name. In part 1 we looked at a verse in the Old Testament: Song of Solomon 5:16. Here we will examine a claim from the New Testament.