Jesus said that he is the way and that no one can come to God except
through him. What do Muslims say about that?
Muslims believe that Jesus, on whom be
peace, was indeed the way. This means that he showed the way by which
people should approach God. He expected that people should follow him and
imitate him. His early followers were called followers of the way because,
obviously, they followed Jesus, and Jesus was the way (see Acts 9:2;
18:25; 19:9; 19:23; 22:4; 24:14; 24:22). They were also called Christians,
which means 'imitators of Christ' (see Acts 11 :26). This shows that the
early followers of Jesus copied and imitated him.
Jesus had said that his true followers will hold on to his teachings, then
they will know the truth, and the truth will set them free (see John
8:31-32). God did reveal His truth in these last times. And true followers
of Jesus will readily accept that truth, for they will find it in
agreement with the unadulterated teachings of Jesus. In these last times
God has sent a messenger and declared that anyone who claims to love Him
must follow His messenger, on whom be peace. God directs His messenger as
follows:
Say! If you love Allah then follow me. Allah will love you and forgive
your sins. Surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful (Qur'an 3:31).
Now this messenger, Muhammad, on whom be peace, has brought God's final
message for all of humankind. If we love God we must follow him. He
brought the truth which Jesus said his true followers will recognize. The
truth sets people free from unreasonable doctrines and dogmas.
Confusion arises in the minds of some who imagine that Jesus is the only
way for peoples of all times and all places. Clearly, the Old Testament
prophets directed people to Yahweh, the only God. They showed therefore
the way to Yahweh. In fact, people were calling on the name of Yahweh
since the time of Adam (see Genesis 4:1).
Jesus was the way for his time; now Muhammad is the way. We believe in
both of them, and we worship the one God whom they both worshipped. These
men showed us the way to worship God. Jesus, for example, fell on his
knees and worshipped God (see Luke 22:4 1). He also fell on his face and
worshipped God (see Matthew 26:39). Muhammad too adopted similar postures
of humility in worshipping God. Likewise is the practice of the true
imitators of Jesus and Muhammad, peace be upon both of them.
Finally, we should recall that Jesus is the way, not the destination. He
spoke of one who is greater than himself (see John 14:28). And he said
that, that one alone is the only true God (see John 17:3).
God has sent numerous prophets and messengers. Each in his time was the
way to God. No one can approach God in a way contrary to the way of God's
messenger. This is why God said that He will call to account anyone who
does not listen to His prophet who will speak in His name (see Deuteronomy
18:19). |