Responses to "Islamic Information"

 

You Were Born Without Sin

( Would God Blame You For Someone Else's Mistake? )


I am sure you must have heard it said that we were born in sin - and perhaps you even believe that. But let's think about that for a moment. Would the Just God blame you for a sin you never committed? Would He hold you responsible for what someone else did? Definitely not! God's book teaches that you are responsible for only your own actions. You cannot sin until you do something wrong. And you certainly could not have done wrong before you were even born.

That is not entirely true. For example, Muhammad tells us:

I said, "O Allah's Apostle! Why should a doer (people) try to do good deeds?' The Prophet said, "Everybody will find easy to do such deeds as will lead him to his destined place for which he has been created.' (Sahih Bukhari, Volume 9, Book 93, Number 641)

In other words, we are predestined to go to heaven or hell and there is nothing that we can do about it! Is this better than being blamed for a sin that I never committed?

Yet we often meet people who say that we are somehow born in sin. Could that possibly be true? They say that the first human being, Adam, sinned, and through him sin entered the world; and now sin corrupts everything, including every newborn baby. Can you follow that logic?

Apparently Muhammad followed that logic! According to Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 55, Number 641:

Narrated Said bin Al-Musaiyab:

Abu Huraira said, "I heard Allah's Apostle saying, 'There is none born among the off-spring of Adam, but Satan touches it. A child therefore, cries loudly at the time of birth because of the touch of Satan, except Mary and her child." Then Abu Huraira recited: "And I seek refuge with You for her and for her offspring from the outcast Satan" (3.36)

Shabir Ally continues to ask:

Can you believe that human beings are condemned before they do anything? Which judge would condemn people for crimes they never committed? A just judge cannot do that except by mistake. But what about God? Would He make such a mistake?

The Qur'an says:

Many are the Jinns and men we have made for Hell. (Sura 7:179)

So, according to the Qur'an, some of us were actually created to burn in Hell! Can you believe that?

We cannot imagine such false ideas about God. He is Just. He holds you responsible for what you do, and He does not blame you I am sure you must have heard it said that we were born in sin - and perhaps you even believe that.

Then why, according to the Qur'an, are some of us created for Hell? That does not sound fair to me!

To make matters worse, the Qur'an tells us:

Those whom Allah wills to guide, He opens their breast to Islam; Those whom He wills to leave straying, - he makes their breast close and constricted, as if they had to climb up to the skies: thus does Allah lay abomination on those who refuse to believe. (Sura 6:125)

So, according to the Qur'an, God not only made some of us for Hell, He actually closes our "breasts" to the "truth"! Some of us simply cannot win!

But let's think about that for a moment. Would the Just God blame you for a sin you never committed? Would He hold you responsible for what someone else did? Definitely not! God's book teaches that you are responsible for only your own actions. You cannot sin until you do something wrong. And you certainly could not have done wrong before you were even born.

Why are we not permitted to return to the Garden of Eden? Think about it for a moment. Adam and Eve committed the sin, according to your argument, so why are we not permitted to return to, and live in, the Garden of Eden? Is it just, according to your argument, for God to punish us in this way for Adam and Eve's sin? Also, God said that Adam and Eve would die after they disobeyed Him (Sura 7:25). Why, according to the Qur'an, must we die for their sins?

Yet we often meet people who say that we are somehow born in sin. Could that possibly be true? They say that the first human being, Adam, sinned, and through him sin entered the world; and now sin corrupts everything, including every newborn baby. Can you follow that logic?

Once again, Muhammad essentially said as much as recorded in Sahih Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 55, Number 641.

Can you believe that human beings are condemned before they do anything? Which judge would condemn people for crimes they never committed? A just judge cannot do that except by mistake. But what about God? Would He make such a mistake? We cannot imagine such false ideas about God. He is Just. He holds you responsible for what you do, and He does not blame you for what the first human being did.

Once again, the Qur'an says:

Many are the Jinns and men we have made for Hell. (Sura 7:179)

But even after you do wrong, God is always willing to forgive. He is full of loving kindness, and He loves to forgive. He is willing to forgive anyone who turns to Him and seeks forgiveness. This means that if you did something wrong you can still turn back to God and He will forgive you, if you sincerely decide to give up that sin. Isn't this refreshing to know? Isn't it wonderful to know that even if we lived a whole life of sin but we decide now to change our lives and obey God He would forgive us this minute? And that's just between us and God. We don't need any confession box, and we don't need anyone to suffer for our sins. Can we resist the loving kindness that God is offering us?

God is willing to forgive us but He forgives us on His terms, not on our terms. God is a God of love, but He is also a God of justice. God is perfect and sinless - we are most definitely not perfect and sinless! God is all good and does not tolerate sin. We are all (each and every one of us including me) under God's wrath and judgement for our sins. God's justice demands that we pay for our sins and the penalty for these sins is death (both physical and spiritual) and eternal separation from God - and each and every one of us (including me) deserves this punishment.

However, God is also a God of love. In spite of all of our sins, He wants to restore mankind to the original sinless condition of Adam and Eve. The good news is that someone paid for our sins nearly 2000 years ago. He was born pure and sinless, yet He took all of our sins to the cross. The suffering and death of the pure, innocent, and sinless Jesus, paid the terrible price for our sins - a price that we deserve to pay. All that we need to do is to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and live according to His word, and God will forgive us of our sins and shortcomings and welcome us into His Kingdom.

I cannot resist God's love and I have great peace in my heart knowing that, if I die today, I will spend eternity with my Lord and Savior. I cannot do anything (fasting, praying, charity, pilgrimages) to erase even the smallest sin in my life. An All Perfect and Pure God is not impressed by anything that I can do or say and I cannot save myself from His righteous judgement. I am assured of salvation through accepting Jesus because He paid the debt for my sins.

God wants us to know about His love. He wants us to know that He is Just. He wants us to know the truth about Him so that when we turn to Him we know to Whom we are turning. But there is so much misinformation about God. Where can we get correct information about Him? In His book! That's so obvious, isn't it? God told us about Himself in His book. We owe it to ourselves to see what God has to say about Himself. Shouldn't you be reading God's book? Here's God's message to you in His book:

The Qur'an is God's final book which He revealed for the guidance of all humankind.

O mankind! Now has a proof from your Lord come unto you, and We have sent down unto you a clear light; as for those who believe in Allah and hold fast unto Him, them will He cause to enter into His mercy and grace, and will guide them unto Him by a straight road. (Qur'an 4:174-5)

The Qur'an is God's final book which He revealed for the guidance of all humankind.

I humbly ask that all of you (Muslim and non Muslim) think about what you believe. On what foundations do you base your faith? Do you believe that a book is true simply because it says that it is true, or that a man is a "Prophet" because he makes the claim to Prophethood? With my eternal destiny at stake, I need proof! I base my faith on the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah and the fulfillment of these by Jesus. I believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins, for Mr. Ally's sins, and for your sins. I do not place my eternal salvation on blind faith. The 300 prophecies in the Old Testament, everyone of which was fulfilled by Jesus, gives me a firm and rational foundation for my beliefs.

On the other hand, if I were to accept the Qur'an as God's word, I would be forced to believe that Jesus did not die on the cross. For this to be true, I would have to believe that all of the predictions of God's prophets were wrong. I would also be required to accept that the testimonies of the Apostles and disciples of Jesus were false, and that the history written by the non-Christian historians of the era such as Tacitus, Porphyry, Celsus, Josephus, Suetonius, and Pliny were also incorrect. The historical evidence, along with archaeological evidence prevents my rational mind from rejecting the truth of the Bible.

Why do I reject the Qur'an and the teachings of Muhammad? When I look at Muhammad, I see a man who simply walked out of a cave and claimed to be a Prophet. However, Muhammad (unlike Jesus) was not prophesied in the earlier scriptures, he performed no miracles, he gave no prophecies (at least none that came true), and contradicted the teachings of most of the Prophets before him. I also see a man who often conveniently "received" revelations which allowed him to have his way with money (Sura 58:12), women (Sura 66:3-5), and power (Sura 5:33).

I pray that everyone, Muslim and Christian, will objectively look at the evidence. Please read the Bible and honestly compare its message and messenger to that of Muhammad and the Qur'an.

May God open our hearts and minds to the truth,

Andrew Vargo

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