CHRİSTİANİTY

A9 TV; 3 October 2011

Allah entrusts them (Christians) to us. They are under the protection of Muslims. Allah will hold Muslims responsible for this. When the Najrani Christians arrived, our Prophet (pbuh) spread his robe out for them to sit on and showed them enormous love and respect. Allah has placed special provisions regarding them in the Qur’an. We can marry the People of the Book. Their women can marry Muslim, Christian or Jewish men, the women of the People of the Book. And Muslims must treat them kindly and respect them. In other words, a person shows how thoughtful and respectful he is toward his wife. Because she is the mother of his children. How can a person disrespect her? Impossible. Therefore, her going to church cannot disturb a Muslim. Everyone has freedom of ideas and belief. So I condemn all oppression, of course. I say it is wrong and the work of the dajjal. I regard it as important for everyone, Christian or Jew or holding whatever beliefs, not to interfere in other people’s faith.

A9 TV; 7 November 2011

 (An answer to the question “Is there any objection to taking Christians and Jews as friends?”)

For instance, if I say, “I believe in the Trinity,” may Allah forbid. That is what the Qur’an forbids. I can love them as people. Of course I can be friends in human terms. How else can you tell people about Islam and the Qur’an? This is a very foolish idea. Allah has created him as a Christian. Why should I be his enemy? Why should I hate him? Of course I must love him. The same with the Jews. They are from the line of the prophets. Why should I hate them? I pray for their happiness, and for them to be Muslims. Why should I hate them?

A9 TV; 7 November 2011

(About the argument over not adopting Christians and Jews as friends)

Allah tells us not to be friends with the idolaters. You must not be friends with immoral people. Or people with no faith. In other words, there are immoral Christians and immoral Jews. As there are immoral Muslims. Will you take them as friends? Take the immoral man who rapes his own daughter. Will you be his friend? What will you do? You will stay away from him. Christians and Jews may also be immoral. That applies in all societies. That is what the argument is all about. It does not mean we should not be friends with innocent Christians who cause no trouble for anyone. Because that would conflict with verses. Because Allah tells us in verses that we can marry them. And marriage means that you have taken someone as a friend. You share the same pillow. You call her, “My love” and “my darling.” You embrace her. She is now your wife. The verse says you can marry Jews and Christians. How can someone tell his wife he is not her friend when he marries her? One must consider the meaning of the verse. One must consider what the verse means. The verse tells one not to go along with their false actions and beliefs. But Almighty Allah does not say, “Behave with hostility toward an innocent Christian or Jew who minds his own business.” Because Allah tells us not to be friends with the idolaters. But they never mention them, for some reason. What are the idolaters? All kinds of immoral or bigoted types who ascribe equals to Allah. Can you be friends with a sinner? No, you will stand against him. If he is immoral and cruel and oppressive, you will stay away from him. It is like that. 

You should interpret verses with verses. You do not know how to interpret verses with verses. So are you denying other verses? Look, Allah says you will find those who say they are Christians to be closer to you. Would you deny that? Allah says we can marry Christians and Jews. Would you deny that? The Qur’an refers to those Christians who behave wrongly. To those who attack Islam and the Qur’an, not to Christians who mind their own business. You do not look to see what the verse says next. Have you read the next part of it? No. They reject the other verses. They pick and choose. They say, “I agree with this part of the verse, but not the other part.” How many times have I made this clear? Why did our Prophet (pbuh) take a Christian wife? Was he her enemy? Did he marry her because he was her enemy? Why did our Prophet (pbuh) marry a Jewish woman? Because he was her enemy? Maria is our mother. We respect her memory. She was a Christian. She was a Christian when our Prophet (pbuh) married her. Do you know better than our Prophet (pbuh)? Do you know better than Allah (may Allah forbid!)? There is a verse that reads, “do not approach the prayer when you are drunk.” Now these people concentrate only on the first part, or only on the second. If you take away the reference to alcohol, it says you should not pray at all. You have to take the verse as a whole, in context. You must interpret verses with other verses. But they do not consider other verses.

(Response to the question: “Why do you not say that it is Christians and Jews who inflict pain on Muslims?” 

Would a genuine Christian, a real Jew inflict pain on people? Those who inflict suffering are the atheists, Darwinists and materialists. The fools avoid  drawing attention to atheists because they know that they can not cope with darwinism and materialism. That is our task. Why would a genuine Christian persecute? They are pure, innocent people. A genuine Christian is compassionate, he does not persecute. Those who engage in these acts are atheists and materialists and Darwinists. Consequently, those atheists and materialists in the UK and the USA are our concern. We must set them as our targets. You shift the target. In the End Times, Hazrat Mahdi (as) will  cooperate with genuine, devout Christians  and struggle against irreligion. This is told by our Prophet (saas) and by Bediuzzaman Said Nursi in the Risale-i Nur Collection.

“Today all good things have been made lawful for you. And the food of those given the Book is also lawful for you. “

How would you eat the food of the person you call to be cursed? That means that Allah creates some sort of closeness with them, and that He wants us to consider them as friends and to have a humane affection for them. He wants us to approach their food with a sense of security and eat them insha’Allah. 

" Today all good things have been made halal for you. And the food of those given the Book is also halal for you "

Notice that we call the Christian, the Jew and make them eat, right? We eat together, set tables. How would you eat your food at the same table with your foe? It is obvious that we invite them to our homes and dine with them together. They eat our food and trust us. That means that we show them affection and friendship. they trust us and eat our food. We call them with affection. Similarly we go their homes. Would you go to the home of a person you consider to be a foe? You go and trust in his cleanliness and food. According to your mindset, he may poison you, now that you think he is irreligious. Allah asks us to eat their food. This means that we are friends with them in this world. 

There is an unconscious hostility against Christians and Jews. In their own eyes, they will prevent us from allying with Christians and Jews and thus unbelievers will prevail over the Earth. They are very unintelligent. If Christians, Jews, Muslims ally in the Oneness of Allah, Allah will make the world adopt His unity. The rest is easy. The prevalence of Islam over the world is a matter of an instant. The matter is to make them cite “La Ilaha Illallah”. The number of people who cite “La Ilaha Illallah” in the world right now is one in a thousandth, says His Highness Muhamed Rashid Erol. If Jews, Christians and Muslims, who are few in number, unite for the sake of La Ilaha Illallah, they will form a great power. There is a verse in the Qur’an. Allah wants us to call them to the word “La Ilaha Illallah”. Allah does not ask us to make war  with the People of the Book. 

Surat al-Maida, 82

" You will find the people most affectionate to those who have faith are those who say, “We are Christians.” 

Allah also wants us to like Christians with a humane love. The most close to Muslims in terms of love are Christians. 

That is because some of them are priests and monks and because they are not arrogant

 "… some of them are priests and monks.. " Notice that Allah wants us to approach priests and monks with affection and love " because they are not arrogant.” Allah states that they are not arrogant and that we can have affection for them.

Surat Al-‘Ankabut, 46

Only argue with the People of the Book in the kindest way – except in the case of those of them who do wrong – saying, “We have faith in what has been sent down to us and what was sent down to you. Our God and your God are one and we submit to Him.”

We understand from this verse that the People of the Book believe in Allah and love Him. It is said, “the kindest way.” Not kind way but “the kindest way.” Do not struggle by means other than the best style. There is no assault, no insult, no hatred, no rage, no bad manners. Allah wants us to struggle with compassion and love. “We have faith in what has been sent down to us and what was sent down to you;" We have faith in the Gospel, in the Torah and the Qur’an and have faith in the just parts of the Qur’an. " Our God and your God are one." We will say, we believe in the same Allah. We believe in the same Allah with each Christian who advocates the Oneness of Allah. We also believe in the same Allah with Jews. In another verse Allah asks us to call them to the Oneness of Allah. 

  

http://www.harunyahya.com/en/works/116196/Highlights_from_Mr__Adnan_Oktars_interview_on_7_June_2012   

When a Christian embraces Islam he assumes that he will abandon Prophet Jesus (as) and Hazrat Maryam (as). He thinks that he is abandoning everything good related in the Gospel. The fact is that by embracing Islam, he also embraces everything good in the Gospel, and in addition to this, he leaves everything corrupted in it. He attains perfection by adopting those beautiful things that he had not known before. He does not abandon anything from Chrisitianty, he simply becomes a real Chrisitan. He becomes a Christian following Prophet Muhammad (saas). A genuine Muslim. In other words, it is unbecoming for him to fear that he will no longer be a Christian. The entire issue is being a follower of our Prophet (saas), he in no way abandons the Gospel. That is to say, it is unbecoming to fear that he will cease to be a Christian. We do not ask them to abandon the Gospel. He can take every part of the Gospel that is right and live by it in the best form. We are also doing the same.   

  

http://harunyahya.com/en/Adnan_Oktarin_Sohbetlerinden_Basliklar/107557/Highlights_from_Mr._Adnan_Oktar’s_Live_Interview_on__21_February_2012   

“Interfaith dialogue”- before this phrase appeared, was there not such a concept? Our Prophet (saas) used to meet the People of the Book. Our Mother Maria was a Christian, he married her. He had Jewish and Christian concubines. So did his Companions. Did all of this happen by way of dialogue? It happened by way of the Qur’an.   

  

Cooperation with Christians is essential. Cooperation against the system of dajjal is essential. Of course, we will cooperate in line with La Ilaha IllaAllah against Darwinist, materialist and atheistic systems. Irreligion has covered  over the world,  ninety nine percent of it.   

  

http://www.harunyahya.com/en/works/114495/Highlights_from_Mr__Adnan_Oktars_interview_on_15_April_2012   

I have been talking about it for months and years. But there are excesses in both directions. “Christians will go to paradise,” someone says. What are you saying? There is no need to be a Muslim. But you are ruining people. How can you say that? If you tell a Christian he will go to paradise, you are telling him to persist in polytheism. You will ruin people. Allah says that the earth and sky will come tumbling down because of these words. That is how important it is. Is it possible for someone of good conscience to deny our Prophet (saas) as a prophet? Even a five-year-old child reading the Qur’an can see it is a true book. Why are you ruining people. Tell them, if you want to be a true follower of Jesus then you must also follow Muhammad, and they will be redeemed.  

http://harunyahya.com/en/works/47774/Highlights_from_Mr__Adnan_Oktars_interview_on_24_August_2011

(A response to a question about what the correct attitude toward Jews and Christians should be)

“You who believe! Do not take the Jews and Christians as your friends; they are the friends of one another. Any of you who takes them as friends is one of them. Allah does not guide wrongdoing people.” (5/51)

The aim behind friendship there is to follow erroneous and superstitious beliefs. Not to love people as people. Some crazy types take it in the sense of enmity. But they are spotless people, servants of Allah. Why should there be any hostility toward them? Of course we must be friends, as human beings. But there can be no friendship when it comes to belief in the Trinity. I cannot be friends with belief in the Trinity. There can be no friends with polytheism. Almighty Allah does not speak of people as individuals here. And He does not refer to their true beliefs. But there can be no friendship with superstitious belief. You cannot form an alliance with superstitious belief, or act according to it or bound by it. In that sense.

“You will find that the people most hostile to those who believe are the Jews and the idolaters.”

Now we have the continuation of the verse, “the idolaters.” Do you know who that means? The fanatics. Why do you not speak of that?

“Hostile to those who believe,” to Muslims, to the community of Hazrat Mahdi (as), to the community of Jesus the Messiah, “are the Jews and the idolaters.”

If you talk about the fanatics, the idolaters, that is fine. But why do you split the verse up? Is it referring to all Jews here? For example, a Jewish child is born, tiny and innocent with curly hair. Does the verse also refer to him then? It refers to those who are immoral, cruel, who shed blood, people with accursed characters. There are plain ignorant people among the fanatics. But there are also really wicked and immoral types. They are what this refers to. There are millions of idolaters in the Islamic world. Why not speak of them?

“As long as you do not adopt their faith.”

That is quite explicit. “The Jews and the Christians will never be pleased with you until you follow their religion. Say, ‘Allah’s guidance is the true guidance.’ If you were to follow their whims and desires, after the knowledge that has come to you, you would find no protector or helper against Allah.”

When you meet people they say, “Let us be friends.” Ask them what they want, and they say they want you to ascribe equals to Allah. You go to a bigot and say, “Let’s be friends.” And he says, “Only if you ascribe equals to Allah.” You ask what he wants, and he will say, may Allah forbid, “You must regard my sheikh as Allah.” “You must obey him even if want he says contradicts the Qur’an.” For example, they turn up with a fabricated hadith. You say, “Look, this contradicts the Qur’an.” But they say, “No it doesn’t, and if it does, then it is above the Qur’an.” Now I am saying that this really happens. You would be amazed. I can point to references. The great majority of theology teachers know this. Almighty Allah says, “this is lawful.” “No, it is unlawful,” they say. Allah says, “it is unlawful” and they say, “No, it is lawful. Look, there is superstition, he says against it.” How can you be friends with such a person? You cannot be friends. Many fanatics are hostile to me, for instance. Why? Because I do not follow their religion, the religion of bigotry, of polytheism. I say, “the Qur’an is sufficient.” I say I abide by the Sunnah of our Prophet (saas), I tell them that is enough. That is why they are hostile toward me. That is the only reason. And I prove it one by one. There are Christian bigots and Jewish ones. These people become your enemies if you do not accept their religion word for word. Freemasons are the same. In other words, unless you are irreligious and an atheist, may Allah forbid, unless you sign up to masonic principles, they are your enemy. What does an intelligent Muslim do? He attracts them toward his own faith. Only then he becomes their friend.

Why did our Prophet (saas) marry a Christian woman? It would appear to be diametrically opposed to these verses, to their logic. Our Prophet (saas) also married a Jewish woman. Allah says, “You can marry Jewish and Christian women.” There is a verse about that. Why do you not read those verses? ”You will find the people most affectionate to those who believe are those who say, ‘We are Christians’,” says Allah in a verse from the Qur’an. Why do you ignore that? They do not analyze or read the verses as a whole. They just read one.

There is a verse that says, “Do not approach the prayer when you are drunk.” It would be very wrong to read this as an injunction as “do not approach the prayer”. “Do not approach the prayer when you are drunk”. You have to take the two parts together. Almighty Allah says we can eat food prepared by Christians. How can you eat with someone who is not your friend? How can you marry people who are not your friends? Being friends as individuals is one thing, and being friends with their face is something very different. You can be friends as people, with their body and soul. You can be friends with those of their beliefs that are true and right, but you do not agree to their erroneous beliefs. And you cannot be friends when you do not agree with them. Rejecting that means not being friends, insha’Allah. If you do not act along those lines, then you are not friends. How can one be friends with polytheism? For example, one’s father is good in all respects. But he drinks like a fish and acts in a disgraceful manner. How can one be friends with that aspect of him? But you can be friends with all the other aspects, insha’Allah.

 “Today all good things have been made lawful for you. And the food of those given the Book is also lawful for you and your food is lawful for them. So are chaste women from among the believers and chaste women of those given the Book before you, once you have given them their dowries in marriage, not in fornication or taking them as lovers. But as for anyone who rejects faith, his actions will come to nothing and in the hereafter he will be among the losers.” (Surat al-Ma’ida, 5)

I ask these ignorant people. What is this verse about? What business has someone you regard as an enemy, as accursed and not your friend, got in your home? You can you eat in their home? But the verse tells us to eat with them. Allah recommends it. But if they are enemies, why let them into your homes? Why it with them if you are not their friend? It means you are friends in personal terms. But you do not share their beliefs, insha’Allah. How can you marry them? But Allah says you can marry them. I can marry a Christian woman, for instance, or a Jewish woman. There is a verse about that. Since you regard these people as accursed, one should be their enemies, not their friends. How can you marry them? Why did our Prophet (saas) get married. Why did he take a Jewish wife? Why did he take a Christian wife? Why does Allah set this out so explicitly in the verse? It means that we can be their friends in human terms. You just do not subscribe to their beliefs. That is what the verse is saying. There is nothing incomprehensible about it.

What do the bigots want? Lack of affection, lack of compassion, disrespect and bad behavior. Do you think we will go along with that? You are describing the way of the antichrist. We follow the way of the Mahdi. We are followers of Hazrat Mahdi (as), insha’Allah.

You show your father deep love and respect, even if he ascribes equals to Allah. You respect your brothers who ascribe equals to Allah. They talk foolishly and say the most outrageous things about the Qur’an and the faith. But you still kiss your father’s hands and feet, because that is where the money comes from, your own self-interest. We will explain to them the truth of those matters where they go wrong gradually, insha’Allah.

Prophets have lovely voices. The Messenger of Allah (saas) had a lovely voice. That beloved ancestor of mine, our Prophet (saas), had a very high quality and mellifluous voice. People who listened to him used to melt away, masha’Allah. The Prophet David (as) and the Prophet Solomon (as) had splendid voices. Those places have remained thus genetically, since they are the lands of the prophets, masha’Allah.

The bigot mindset, may Allah forbid, seems really hellish to me. What a strange world they have. However did they build it? Why did they want such a world? It is amazing how they felt the need for such a loveless, polluted and rotten world. It is a trick of satan’s. Wherever there is anything filthy they adopt it as their own. I listen to them talk, and whatever is filthy, they talk about that. Surely religious matters are beyond that.

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