Transcript File - Christ Centered Lessons

ISLAM:
From God or Man?
1
the ‘holy books’ of Islam
The “Quran” (Koran)
Islamic Bible
-collection of revelations supposedly
given by Allah to Muhammad through
the angel Gabriel) and preserved as the
Islamic scripture.
-Absolute, infallible, and eternal to
Muslims
2
the ‘holy books’ of Islam
The ‘hadith’
- a set of books that are a record of the things
Muhammad said and did
- Note: The ‘hadith” is a point of division in the Muslim
world
+ The Sunni Muslims accept it all
+ The Shiite Muslims accept most
(they reject those recorded by Muhammad’s second wife)

Note: The hadith is significant because it establishes
principles of activity that can be (are) practiced today
3
Islamic Law
The “Sharia”
- All aspects of a Muslim's life are governed by Sharia.
Sharia law comes from a combination of sources
including the Qur'an (the Muslim holy book), the Hadith
(sayings and conduct of the prophet Muhammad) and
fatwas (the rulings of Islamic scholars).
4
Women and Islam

One of the most debasing traits of the
Mohammedan religion is its degradation of
womanhood. Women were looked upon merely
as the slaves or playthings of men. Modern
Turkey has remedied this condition, and in 1930
gave women the right to be electors and to be
elected at municipal elections. But outside
Turkey, women are held in small respect in the
Mohammedan world.
 The life of women in Islam cannot be understood
apart from reflecting on the Qur’an first, and then
hadiths (traditions), fatwahs and laws that have
been created due to the influence of the Qur’an.
5
Did Muhammad believe that women are inferior to men?
The Qu’ran equates one man’s
testimony with that of two women
(see Qu’ran 2:282)
Did Muhammad believe that women are inferior to men?
The Quran says that it takes the witness of two women to equal the
witness of one man:
Get witnesses out of your own men. And if there are not two men (available),
then a man and two women, such as you agree for witnesses, so that if one of
them (two women) errs, the other can remind her.
-SURAH 2:282
Muhammad explained the reason for this teaching this way:
The Prophet said, "Isn't the witness of a woman equal to half of that of a man?"
The women said, "Yes." He said, "This is because of the deficiency of a
woman's mind."
Women also received a smaller share of inheritance than men.
Allah commands you as regards your children's (inheritance): to the male, a
portion equal to that of two females.
-SURAH 4:11
7
From the Qu’ran
The subordinate position of women in society:
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Sura 2:228 states, "Women have such honorable rights as
obligations, but their men have a degree above them."
“The women ought also to behave towards their husbands in like
manner as their husbands should behave toward them, according to
what is just; but the men ought to have a superiority over them. God
is mighty and wise."
The superiority is expressed in another fashion toward their wives.
"Men are the managers of the affairs of women for that God has
preferred in bounty one of them over another, and for that they have
expended of their property. Righteous women are therefore
obedient, guarding the secret for God’s guarding. And those you
fear may be rebellious admonish; banish them to their couches, and
beat them. If they then obey you, look not for any way against them."
(Sura 4:34)
Moreover, the Qur’an declares that God "created for you, of
yourselves, spouses, that you might repose in them." (Sura 30:20)
8
From the Qur'an…
Muhammad’s attitude toward his wives is rather
interesting. He regarded his wives as "mothers"
of the believing. (Sura 33:6)
 But the prophet’s wives needed to be an
example in their lifestyle. Allah is supposed to
have said to the wives through Muhammad that
if they desire adornments in this life, then
Muhammad could divorce them. They were
given the choice of living with Muhammad on his
terms or being divorced. If his wives should
commit a "flagrant indecency, for her the
chastisement shall be doubled." (Sura 33:30)

9
From the Hadith writings…
Then he passed by the women and said, "O women! Give
alms, as I have seen that the majority of the dwellers of
Hell-fire were you (women)." They asked, "Why is it so, O
Allah's Apostle ?" He replied, "You curse frequently and are
ungrateful to your husbands. I have not seen anyone more
deficient in intelligence and religion than you. A cautious
sensible man could be led astray by some of you." The
women asked, "O Allah's Apostle! What is deficient in our
intelligence and religion?" He said, "Is not the evidence of
two women equal to the witness of one man?" They replied
in the affirmative. He said, "This is the deficiency in her
intelligence. Isn't it true that a woman can neither pray nor
fast during her menses?" The women replied in the
affirmative. He said, "This is the deficiency in her religion."
10
From the Hadith writings…
After finishing the prayer, he delivered the sermon and
ordered the people to give alms. He said, "O people! Give
alms." Then he went towards the women and said. "O
women! Give alms, for I have seen that the majority of the
dwellers of Hell-Fire were you (women)." The women
asked, "O Allah's Apostle! What is the reason for it?" He
replied, "O women! You curse frequently, and are
ungrateful to your husbands. I have not seen anyone more
deficient in intelligence and religion than you. O women,
some of you can lead a cautious wise man astray."
11
From the Bible…
Ephesians 5:22-31
22 Wives, [be in subjection] unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
23 For the husband is the head of the wife, and Christ also is the head of the
church, [being] himself the saviour of the body.
24 But as the church is subject to Christ, so [let] the wives also [be] to their
husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave
himself up for it;
26 that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the
word,
27 that he might present the church to himself a glorious [church], not having
spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
28 Even so ought husbands also to love their own wives as their own bodies.
He that loveth his own wife loveth himself:
29 for no man ever hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even
as Christ also the church;
30 because we are members of his body.
31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to
his wife; and the two shall become one flesh.
12
From the Bible…
1 Peter 3:7
7 Ye husbands, in like manner, dwell with [your wives] according to knowledge,
giving honor unto the woman, as unto the weaker vessel, as being also jointheirs of the grace of life;

A Christian husband must live with his wife according to knowledge. Being
head of the family means responsibility to look out for the good of the wife,
not that he selfishly gets his own way. He must give her the proper respect
recognizing that she is weaker physically, but not mentally or spiritually. He
must realize that his headship does not mean that the woman is inferior to
him, but rather that they are joint heirs of eternal life (Galatians 3:28).
Women have a dignity in Christianity that they did not have in the pagan
world or even in Judaism. The husband must treat her in tender loving
kindness and be concerned about her spiritual and physical welfare.
13
Mohammed, marriage,
and slaves…
• Mohammed married at 25, a woman 15
years his senior. After Mohammed was
expelled from Mecca, an admirer brought
his six-year-old daughter for Mohammed
to marry.
WOMEN & ISLAM
 Muhammad was
given a “special
revelation”
to have some 13
wives (other Muslim
men can have only 4)
 His favorite wife was
Aisha:
she was six when
they were engaged,
and nine when the
marriage was
consummated
15
Webster’s dictionary defines
pedophilia as: sexual perversion in
which children are the preferred
sexual object.
Mohammed, marriage,
and slaves…
• Muslim tradition claims that Mohammed
(for obvious reasons) did not consummate
the marriage until this young girl was nine.
He then began adding wife after wife to his
harem—all with Allah’s full consent.
While a few individuals in the Old
Testament possessed multiple wives,
God’s original plan of one-woman and
one-man did not change.
God did not condone this behavior.
Paul made this clear in his writings
(1 Corinthians 7; 1 Timothy 3:2, etc.).
What was Mohammed’s defense for
polygamy?
• “God let me do
it and revealed
it to me through
Gabriel” was
defense
enough for him!
Note the endorsement for Mohammed
in the Qu’ran
• “Prophet! We [God] have made lawful for
you the wives to whom you have granted
dowries and the slave girls whom God has
given you as booty;… This privilege is
your alone, being granted to no other
believer…. [We grant you this privilege] so
that none may blame you. You may…take
to your bed any of them you please.”
(Qu’ran 33:50-51).
This is a religion that
allows and promotes
concubinage.
“Save with their wives and slave
girls; for these are lawful for
them” (Qu’ran 70:30; see also
23:5)
Mohammed advised men who were
tempted to marry “other women… two,
three, or four of them”
(Qu’ran 4:3).
• Note that 2 is the
minimum number
Mohammed
suggested—not
one!
Muslim Marriages
The Quran permits a man to have 1, 2, 3, or 4 wives –
AND --Sharia Law also permits “mutaa” ---- “pleasure marriages --also called “temporary marriages”
According to Sharia Law, unmarried women may enter into
pleasure marriages with men (married or not) for periods as
brief as a few minutes.
23
From the Bible…
Gen. 2:18; 21-24…
18 And Jehovah God said, It is not good that the man
should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.
21 And Jehovah God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the
man, and he slept; and he took one of his ribs, and closed
up the flesh instead thereof:
22 and the rib, which Jehovah God had taken from the
man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
23 And the man said, This is now bone of my bones, and
flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she
was taken out of Man.
24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother,
and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
24
From the Bible…
Matthew 19:4-6…
4 And he answered and said, Have ye not read, that he
who made [them] from the beginning made them male and
female,
5 and said, For this cause shall a man leave his father and
mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall
become one flesh?
6 So that they are no more two, but one flesh. What
therefore God hath joined together, let not man put
asunder.
25
“Marriage is honorable
among all, and the bed
undefiled; but fornicators
and adulterers God will
judge.”
Hebrews 13:4
Divorce
27
Muslim Divorce

A Muslim man can divorce his wife in a matter of
minutes.

“Muslims have taken to divorcing their wives by mail, over the
phone and even through mobile phone text messages.”

The WSJ recently reported than many Muslim wives were not
answering their cell phones if they felt the call could be from their
husband

The man repeats the word "Talaq" (divorce) three times
and leaves.

The divorce rate is slightly lower than that of the United
States

#1 reason for divorce?

Living with in-laws and other relatives
28
From the Bible…

Matthew 19:7-10
7 They say unto him, Why then did Moses command to
give a bill of divorcement, and to put [her] away?
8 He saith unto them, Moses for your hardness of heart
suffered you to put away your wives: but from the
beginning it hath not been so.
9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife,
except for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth
adultery: and he that marrieth her when she is put away
committeth adultery.
10 The disciples say unto him, If the case of the man is so
with his wife, it is not expedient to marry.
29
Everywhere Sharia law
supersedes national laws
Muslim men are permitted four
wives…and slaves.
Slavery occurred both with men and women.
During Mohammed’s life massive slave trading
routes were established into northern Africa as
Muslims took unsuspecting caravans captive.
External public pressure caused
slavery to be declared illegal in
Saudi Arabia in 1965, and the Sudan
in 1991… however the practice
continues in northern Africa
(and is quietly practiced in many
places in the middle east).
“Do not force your slave girls into
prostitution in order that you may
enrich yourselves…”
Qu’ran 24:33
“… if they [slave
girls] wish to
preserve their
chastity.”
Mohammed continues:
“If anyone [i.e., any slave owner]
compels them [forces chastitychoosing slave girls to be
prostitutes], God will be forgiving and
merciful to them” Qu’ran 24:33.
How did Mohammed
get to this point
regarding women and
how has it persisted?
When Mohammed was still alive and looting
caravans he made promises of women and girls
to the men who fought with him.
This resulted in the conversion of many.
Some of the men began to complain that if they
were killed while robbing they would not get to
enjoy the promised sex. Unashamed,
Mohammed made a claim that is still recited by
millions today—they would receive virgins in
heaven.
Mohammed turned
heaven into a brothel.
Loyal Muslim men who
paid the price of
martyrdom would find a
host of virgins—called
houris—who would
forever satisfy their
sexual cravings
(Qu’ran 38:51; 44:54;
55:55-74; 56:22,34-36).
So how do you get around an
obvious problem…
The Qu’ran describes the houris
as “a rare creation…we have
made them ever virgins” (Surah
56:34-36).
How Do Muslims Dress?

Girls/women
- “Muslim women should wear a dress which
covers their body in a proper manner,
avoiding high jumpers, decollete and
transparent materials which show parts of
their body.”
- They should not try to resemble men in dress
and coiffure and avoid all that is characteristic
of glamour girls.
- Further, when they celebrate the service of
worship, they should cover their head.
- Their gowns should never be higher than the
middle of the tibia, preferably down to the
ankles
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WHY?
41
Many “Pagans” were converted to
Islam on the promise of sexual
fulfillment.
As a result Muslim men did not
want their own wives and
daughters to become objects of so
much increased sexual desire. So
Muslim men began covering and
even hiding their women. These
concerns were then made law by
Mohammed in the Qu’ran.
"O Prophet! Say to your wives
and your daughters and the
women of the faithful to draw
their outergarments (jilbabs)
close around themselves;
that is better that they will be
recognized and not annoyed.
And God is ever Forgiving,
Gentle."Qur'an
Surah/Chapter Al-Ahzab
Ayah/Verse 59
"And say to the faithful women to
lower their gazes, and to guard their
private parts, and not to display their
beauty except what is apparent of it,
and to extend their headcoverings
(khimars) to cover their bosoms
(jaybs),”
Qu’ran Surah
Nur Chapter:
The Light. Verse
31
Hijab
45
burqa or chadari or chaddor
46
Does this sound like equality?
 The Qu'ran requires
women to remain veiled
(33:59) and to remain
strictly segregated from
male society.
 A woman is to be seen
“as Satan” when a man
is sexually tempted.
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The widespread practice of
“circumcising” females in the
Muslim faith is done to prevent
women from feeling pleasure.
This is affirmed in a hadith by
Mohammed himself.
It is also one of the first
practices legalized by
Sharia Law.
Women
Many differences within the Muslim world based on culture &
tribal background.
“Under Muslim law:
- Muslim women have the right to inherit, to buy and sell,
to control their own property.
- The woman is responsible for rearing her children,
but she may work or obtain education if she wishes.
- Her earnings are her own to do with as she chooses,
as it is the duty of the Muslim man to provide all the
necessities for his family.
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Women
 As far as religious obligations, a woman is to
be considered not much different than a man in
regards to her responsibilities towards Allah.
- She must perform the five daily prayers.
- She must fast during the holy month of
Ramadan
- She must feed the poor or give alms and
she must perform pilgrimage to the “Holy
Ka'ba in Mecca”
50
Conclusion
The contrast between how women are viewed in
Christianity versus the Islamic religion are
dramatic.
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On the Treatment of Women
Islam Teaches...
Men have authority over women. (Koran 2:228)
In the home:
•"Men have authority over women because Allah has
made the one superior to the others, and because they
spend their wealth to maintain them." (Koran 4:34)
•"Mothers shall suckle their children two years
completely, for such as desire to fulfill the suckling....But
if the couple desire by mutual consent and consultation
to wean, then it is no fault in them." (Koran 2:233)
•Women who disobey their husband will go to hell.
(Koran 66:10).
•"Thou mayest decline for the present whom thou wilt of
them, and thou mayest take to thy bed her whom thou
wilt, and whomsoever thou shalt long for of those thou
shalt have before neglected; and this shall not be a
crime in thee. Thus will it be easier to give them the
desire of their eyes... and to satisfy them with what thou
shalt accord to each of them." (Koran 33:51)
In society:
•Women do not have equal right to their inheritance
(Koran 4:11-12) Women receive half of the male share
for an equivalent degree of kinship.
Women who disobey should be beaten:
•"Good women are obedient.... As for those from whom
you fear disobedience, admonish them and send them
to beds apart and beat them. Then if they obey you,
take no further action against them." (Koran 4:34)
Christianity Teaches...
Spiritually, there is neither male nor female in Christ
Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)
In the home, Scripture outlines the divinely established
order:
•Husbands are responsible to lead their family in a
Godly fashion. (1 Timothy 3:4, 5, 12; Titus 1:6)
•The husband is to love his wife: "Husbands, love your
wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave
himself up for her... So husbands ought also to love their
own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own
wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh,
but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does
the church..." (Ephesians 5:28, 29; cp. Colossians 3:19;
1 Peter 3:7)
•Wives are exhorted to submit to their husband as they
do to the Lord: "Wives, submit yourselves to your own
husbands, as it is fit in the Lord." (Colossians 3:18; cp. 1
Corinthians 11:3, 8, 9; Ephesians 5:22-24, 33; 1 Timothy
2:11, 12; Titus 2:3-5; 1 Peter 3:1, 2, 5, 6). As is fitting
in the Lord means in accordance with God's will, or to
be pleasing to God. God has ordained for the husband
to be the head of the house and the wife to be in
subjection to her husband (Ephesians 5:21-28). This in
no way implies inferiority of women to men.
A woman who knows her husband loves her - having
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her best interests in mind - has no problem submitting to
him.