Mansoor Tirmizi wrote:
Respected Scholar of Islam
Salaam Alaikum
1. Is it
mentioned in the bible that Prophet Jesus (AS) called himself as God?
2. What is
the difference between Bible and Gospel? What do we call "Torah" and
"Injeel" in English respectively?
3. Some
people say that Barnabas never wrote anything. Bible of Barnabas was written by
someone else using his name. Is it true?
4. Why fish
are not properly sacrificed? Don't they have blood in them?
Please help me understand Islam.
Wassalam
Answer: May Allah bless you and increase your knowledge. Here
are, one by one, the answers of your questions:
Answer of Q. 1:
See what you can infer from
the following:
So Jesus said, “When you have
lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do
nothing on my own authority but speak thus as the Father taught me.” (John 8:
28)
“that
you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”
(John 10: 38)
“I tell you this now, before
it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he.”
(John 13: 19)
Answer of Q. 2:
Bible means Book. It consists
of two parts: Old Testament, and New Testament.
The Old Testament consists of
many books that give long history of the Jews. The first few books contain
Moses’ (A) history and his sayings. Some of these seem like excerpts from the
original Torah that was given to Moses (A) and has since been lost.
The New Testament consists of
four books (called Gospels) written by four different disciples of Jesus (A),
and letters written by later people including Paul. The Gospels contain some
excerpts from “Injeel” given to Jesus (A). The Gospels themselves are nothing,
but narration of the life of Jesus (A) by his disciples in their own words,
quite often contradicting each other.
Answer of Q. 3:
Those who say that the Gospel
of Barnabas was not written by him should, first, prove the authenticity of the
authorship and contents of other gospels. In fact, modern researches have
proved that the real authors of all the books are not known; the names of the
authors are there just to distinguish between the books. (See Introductions,
before the start of each book, in Oxford Annotated Bible, revised standard
version, Oxford University Press, New York, 1962)
Answer of Q. 4:
First of all, we should
understand that the Qur’anic injunctions regarding slaughter are for the land
animals and birds. Second, the Qur’anic injunctions, in general, define
generality; but Sunnah defines special cases. Third, the Qur’an has, in
general, decreed sea food halal to consume, without putting any slaughter
condition. Fourth, The Messenger of Allah has decreed to eat fish and locusts
without slaughtering. (For detailed discussion on this topic, please, see
Maulana Maududi’s Rasayl wa Masayl, Part 2, Islamic
Publications,
Allah knows best.
Wassalam
Dr. Syed Hasanuddin Ahmad