In case people have not noticed Christmas is upon us, particularly here in this Muslim majority country I am in – which makes no sense at all to me. I have the great honor of being invited to the Staff Christmas Celebration at Penang Lexis Suites. And wait until you hear this!!! I have volunteered to see in the Christmas choir. For some obscure reasons I know the second and third verses of almost every Christmas carol in the known lexicon. I cannot sing, however, as my YouTube Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer attests. At this moment it has received 506 views. I have never been able to sing. This is the truth as I remember it. In my youth I sang in the Protestant church choir. The choirmaster insisted that I mouth the words as my voice was a distraction ruining the harmony. It is that bad.
Reluctantly I turn my eyes upon Christmas. In an extremely timely fashion Yaqueen Institute faced the issue of Jesus, in the Islamic and Christian faiths. As usual an excellent article, beginning in this fashion. .
“Christians do not care much when Muslims tell them that the prophets of the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) are also prophets of Islam. They care a great deal when they find out that Jesus عليه السلام, their special savior, is a revered prophet in the Qur’an. Many Christian converts to Islam claim that they have kept the best moral qualities of the Christian Jesus, popular with Sufis as the prophet of peace, grace, love and self-denial, while augmenting and reinforcing these with the example of the last and greatest of God’s messengers, our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Only Islam made them feel complete as believers. They describe it as the most natural conclusion to their journey.”
There is a trace of humor as the article continues.
Some Muslims sport slogans such as ‘I love Jesus and follow him because I am a Muslim. And he was too!’ Or: ‘Every Friday is Good Friday.’ Christians feel offended by: ‘You have the Cross—but we have Jesus.”
The Introduction informs informs readers of its intentions.
“In modern post-Christian cultures, which form the majority of western societies, Jesus عليه السلام is typically the emblem of all that is good and right, a cultural receptacle for investing in and reflecting the best of the west. There is little regard for his historical message and actual teaching. He becomes the leader of every movement, whether conservative or progressive, which can vaguely invoke his insignia. In this setting, Muslim da‘wah work must encourage scrupulously fair readings of the scriptures of rival but related faiths. And, simultaneously, Muslims should write comparative biographies of Jesus عليه السلام and of Muhammad ﷺ —to compare and contrast their styles of leadership.”
I have read THE monumental biography Martin Lings’ Muhammed (Peace Be Upon Him) – From the Earliest Sources. I have not read, nor even heard of, a biography of Jesus.
The article is lengthy, extremely well researched, intelligently presented. From the concluding paragraph:
“Nonetheless, Muslims must believe in all the prophets عليهم السلام. We make no distinction between the prophets in terms of their mission as divinely commissioned messengers (Qur’an 2:136; 285). God preferred or elevated some prophets above others but their ranking is not given in the Qur’an. Those who received scripture, to whom God spoke directly or befriended, are naturally ranked higher. Qur’an 2:253 singles out Jesus عليه السلام for an eminently favorable position among the messengers. Some authentic hadith affirm that Muhammad ﷺ was unquestionably the greatest messenger.
“Follow the messengers—those who ask you for no payment and are, moreover, themselves guided (to Islam)” (Qur’an 36:20-21). This refers to three prophets specified in context but the advice is generally applicable as the Qur’an proclaims in its concluding homily after relating the story of Joseph عليه السلام (Qur’an 12:111).
The author does an excellent job of using rational thinking to expose rhetoric.
“The Arabian Prophet was an ascetic who lived in voluntary holy poverty even after he became the uncrowned emperor of Arabia. There is extra reinforcement in Jesus’ moral example but all his moral qualities are found abundantly in the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, the prophet who Jesus عليه السلام endorsed as his successor if not superior, just as John (Yahya) عليه السلام endorsed Jesus as the one whose sandals he was unfit to untie. Jesus predicted the coming of Muhammad ﷺ under the name of Ahmad. Strenuous Christian missionary effort among Muslims is totally misguided in claiming there is a hunger for Jesus’s message when, in fact, such missions have remained, until recently, an abject failure, a waste of time and spiritual resources. Their current success is for dubious reasons which may be explored on another occasion. In modern post-Christian cultures, which form the majority of western societies, Jesus عليه السلام is typically the emblem of all that is good and right, a cultural receptacle for investing in and reflecting the best of the west. There is little regard for his historical message and actual teaching. He becomes the leader of every movement, whether conservative or progressive, which can vaguely invoke his insignia.”
Undertaking to read this tome in its entirety is a mighty task but should you decide to take it on, here is the link. https://yaqeeninstitute.org.my/read/paper/finding-and-following-jesus-the-muslim-claim-to-the-messiah
It is important to relive the stress of the season. Humor is the best stress reducer. Again I am relying upon Andy Borowitz for humor to cheer you during these pre Christmas days. By the way if you want to get it directly into your very own Inbox you can subscribe to The Borowitz Report. Then you will not have to rely upon me.
CHICAGO (The Borowitz Report)—In what the company called a “slight modification in policy,” on Thursday one of the nation’s largest health insurers announced that it would require surgical patients to begin operating on themselves prior to their hospital admissions.“Many of the preliminary procedures currently done in the operating room consume valuable time,” a company spokesman said. “Performing these procedures at home is an innovative way for patients to play an active role in their own healthcare.” The spokesman said that, after numbing him or herself with a favorite beverage, the patient will be expected to make the first incision. “We recognize that operating on yourself can seem daunting at first,” the spokesman said. “That’s why we’re posting tutorials on YouTube.
The very best, as far as I’m concerned is posting instructions for that first incision on YouTube.
Me: Medical people. You can use my YouTube channel if you like.
Them: Okay. How do we find it?
Me: If you can not find it then no one should be not be in a position of power (over anything or anybody)
The photographs that follow are ones taken in Jeddah in July 2023. I went back to Jeddah for a few days at the end of April. A couple of photos from that visit and two or three reels on YouTube, One is funny. I caught my abaya in the door of my room. It became a major catastrophe. It is called Return of the Abbaya. Also the Rules is hysterically funny. Originally sent it to a man you are going to hear a lot about in the upcoming days and weeks.
