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A Gift from Heaven: My Journey from Christianity to Islam Ali Al-Sheikh — Dar Al-Sadiqeen The main factors that divert a person from submitting to and accepting the truth. In this study, I will address the beliefs and ideas that I previously believed in, as Christians believe in them, in order to examine their validity and whether they conform to or contradict reason. I will also discuss some Islamic beliefs and the questions and objections I used to have toward Islam. I have tried, as much as possible, to avoid emotional bias so that this study may be objective, aiming to uncover certain facts for the dear reader… and God is the grantor of success. (16) Chapter One The Holy Bible — The Old Testament — The New Testament — Jesus and His Life in the New Testament — The Crucifixion and Resurrection — Redemption and Original Sin — Who is Christ in the New Testament? — The Holy Trinity — The Law — Conclusion (18) The Holy Bible The Holy Bible — as Christians believe — is a collection of books inspired by God, dealing with the creation of the world, the history of God’s dealings with His people, prophecies about what will happen until the end, and religious and moral guidance suitable for all humanity in every age. The Bible contains all forms of writing: prose, poetry, history, stories, wisdom, literature, teaching, philosophy, parables, and warnings (1). The number of inspired writers of the Bible is forty, coming from all social classes: among them were shepherds, fishermen, tax collectors, commanders, prophets, politicians, and kings… The writing of the Bible took about 1,600 years, and all of these writers were from the Jewish nation except Luke, the author of the Gospel named after him (1). (1) Dictionary of the Bible, p. 762 (19) It is thought that he was a Gentile from Antioch. The original manuscripts of the Bible no longer exist; what remains are copies derived from those originals. Christians also believe that the Bible — as the foundation and source of Christian faith — is free from error and contains everything related to faith and spiritual life, and that it is the Word of God and the rule for faith and practical life for all humanity (1). The Bible is divided into two testaments: 1 — The Old Testament 2 — The New Testament We will examine each separately. Since Christians believe that the Old Testament prepared for the New Testament and that the New Testament completes it, it is considered more important, so we will discuss it in greater detail. (1) Introduction to the Bible (20) The Old Testament Most of the Old Testament was written in Hebrew, with some chapters in Aramaic, a language similar to Hebrew. The Old Testament we have today is based on the Masoretic Text, prepared by a group of Jewish scholars in Tiberias between the 6th and 12th centuries CE (1). The Old Testament consists of 39 books, or 43–44 according to the Church, by adding books or parts called the Deuterocanonical… The Jews divided the books into three sections: 1 — The Torah (the Law) 2 — The Prophets (former and latter) 3 — The Writings This classification was established at a gathering of teachers of the Law from various regions in Palestine around 90 BCE (1). (1) Dictionary of the Bible, p. 763 (21) The Order of the Books A — The Torah (the Law): the five books of Moses (peace be upon him): 1 — Genesis 2 — Exodus 3 — Leviticus 4 — Numbers 5 — Deuteronomy The remaining books: Joshua — Judges — Ruth — 1 Samuel — 2 Samuel — 1 Kings — 2 Kings — 1 Chronicles — 2 Chronicles — Ezra — Nehemiah — Esther — Job — Psalms — Proverbs — Ecclesiastes — Song of Songs — Isaiah — Jeremiah — Lamentations — Ezekiel — Daniel — Hosea — Joel — Amos — Obadiah — Jonah — Micah — Nahum — Habakkuk — Zephaniah — Haggai — Zechariah — Malachi In Hebrew copies these books appear in a different order (1). (1) Al-Huda ila Din al-Mustafa, p. 7 (24) Deuterocanonical Books Tobit — Judith — Baruch — 1 Maccabees The Church considers the Old Testament books to have been written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and t
herefore accepts them as sacred scripture, although there is a difference between the Jewish canon and the one accepted by the Church. This difference goes back to disagreements among Jewish theologians themselves. Some stated that divine inspiration ceased after the later prophets such as Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, while other groups (like the Essenes of Qumran and diaspora Jews) held that revelation continued. The Church adopted this continuity based on the testimony of Christ (peace be upon him) and the apostles. It also relies on the Septuagint translation — the Greek translation of the Old Testament produced in Alexandria — and considers it authoritative (1). (25) Church authorities’ belief that the Old Testament is a revealed divine book is based on Christ and the apostles quoting it, which they saw as evidence of its divine inspiration (2). From this introduction it is clear that the books of the Old Testament emerged gradually over about fifteen centuries to form the collection we have today, and that Christians see it as preparation and prophecy of the coming of Jesus Christ (peace be upon him), citing many prophecies they believe were fulfilled in him. In fact, I am not aiming here to study the Old Testament and its history in full detail. God willing, a separate study on the Bible in both its testaments will be presented, examining the Old Testament more extensively. However, it is necessary here to point out some issues that caught my attention during my study, including: