Followers

Friday, January 1, 2010

Allah, the Bible, Christians and Muslims.

I am happy that today in Malaysia, Christians and Muslims can share the word Allah. But ...

Sigh ......

It is sad, unfortunate and bad for UNITY that we had to go through the courts to get a go-ahead to use the term “Allah” in the Bible. This is because the real issue is not about language or semantics, it is about TRUST.

Because we Christians and Muslims cannot be truthful to ourselves and each other and hide what is in our hearts, we pretend to debate and argue using the legal framework instead of using our religiosity and good hearts to come to a working relationship – and we call ourselves the followers of Christ, followers of Muhammad?

We fail to frame important questions like “How would Jesus deal with this issue?” or ‘What would Muhammad do in a similar situation?”

The verdict be it “for or against” is a lose-lose situation.


Today, a segment ( I think it’s a large one) of Muslims will see this as “ The Christians has won!” and will likely take prejudiced and narrow-minded counter actions ( Even Rockybru an open minded Muslim is not happy – rockybru). The Christians on the other hand will perceive the verdict as the triumph of truth over evil. But in actual fact it is a triumph of insecurity over trust in God, ourselves and fellow mankind.

Christians must know better. This is just a triumph in a legal sense, but is it a moral one? Do you remember the trial that Jesus had to go thru before his cruxifixion? Who was trying to use a legal avenue? Christ or his enemies?

As a morally oriented religion, Christians must seek a moral victory and winning of the hearts. Did the Christians win the hearts of the Muslims with this verdict? Are the Muslims feeling closer to the Christians because today we can share the word Allah?

I have written an extensive article on the subject showing that the Quran is okay with using the tern Allah in the Bible. Why then is a segment of Muslims dead against it? Below is the conclusion, it may shed some light. To read the entire article, click here.

I call likeminded Muslims and Christians who know in their hearts what the real issues are, come forward and make good the situation – and provide a platform of TRUST – a win-win solution.
Share what is said behind each other's back, things our own people and leaders do or say behind closed doors.

We need whistle blowers on both sides.

Come forward and tell the truth about our own fellow faithful's mistakes, wrong deeds and intentions. We are interested in Truth. If any Muslims say an untruth -not in line with the Quran or something that is not good for all, Muslims must come forward and whistleblow. Similarly within Christianity (and Hinduism, Buddhism, etc.).

So we can learn to deal with such issues in more Christlike manner, more like Muhammad and be better Christians, be better Muslims and be a true child of God.

The Conclusion

It is clear that it is not just permissible to use the term Allah to refer to God in the Bible, it is exactly what the Quran wants us to do. Is it not an irony?

I would like to thank my Christian brothers and sisters in their effort to make Allah the universal name of God and wanting the name to be the preferred reference to God in the Bible.But, you must not stop there.You must also strive hard to ensure that not just the Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia Bibles use the term Allah but all the other translations in the world regardless if they are in Japanese, English, Russian or Hindi uses the same term.

Malaysian Christians can lead the world of Christianity to make Allah the universal name for God with the solid support of their Muslim brothers and sisters. Anything that can bring us closer together must be supported. A shared universal name to call our God Allah seems most appropriate beginning.Failing to do so will create mistrust because the correct term for God in Malay is Tuhan.The Muslims will question your consistency and sincerity.

Because the real issue here is Trust. Not the technicality of the term Allah, Tuhan, Elohim, Elah etc.

This is where we need to focus.There are three levels of trust missing.

Firstly we do not trust each other. The Muslims perceive the inconsistency of Christians wanting to use the term Allah in the Malay bible and not the other translations as a plot to convert Malay Muslims to Christianity. And, the Christians perceive the Muslims rejection to the usage of the term as another strategy to block the spread of the Christian faith to Muslims in Malaysia. This feeling is deep in the Christians' psyche as they find it as unfair the lopsided law on conversion in Malaysia (Check what the Quran say about this at 83:1-3 and 5:8).

Secondly, we do not trust ourselves. The Muslims lack confidence of fellow Muslims and feel that by just using the term Allah, their faith towards Islam can be shaken. The Christians lack confidence that being Christ like is enough to attract others to the faith.

Yet the deepest rot is the lack of trust in Allah or God or Tuhan or any other names you want to call upon Him! Both Muslims and Christians fail to trust that Allah will be with those who are true and love those who trust Him. If we do so, we have nothing to fear and nothing to grieve. Failing to trust Him, we become weak, insecure and misguided.

"There are many Lamps, only one Light" Rumi

Anas Zubedy

Related articles

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/48112-headline-court-says-yes-to-allah-for-christians

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/48190-allah-for-all




http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/48127-umno-man-says-allah-judgment-will-stir-racial-tension-




http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/bahasa/48196-kalimah-allah-ngo-mahu-majlis-raja-raja-campur-tangan

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

Excellent Article.

Although I'm not Malaysian, I would say what has transpired here applies worldwide as you correctly indicated.

At end of day, you can apply any label to God, or Allah, or Elah or the Power that Be, each person understands what God means to each individual's faith and belief, it's not the term but the meaning, that's the most important.

People fight over terms rather than essence of their faith. Then really one begs the question: are you a true believer or just following your collective ego what's right or wrong according to you vs the real teachings of your faith.

Anonymous said...

GOD (or in Arabic: ALLAH) is the GOD for everyone. Isn't it?

But why do some (or rather, most) of Malaysian Muslims insist that we have a special GOD called ALLAH; while the Malaysian Non-Muslims' GOD can be anything(or have other names) but ALLAH?

Are we trying to violate our shahadah - that there is no GOD but ALLAH?

-A student of science, life and religion-

Anonymous said...

Correct me if I am wrong.

I was given to understand that there are 99 names for God in the Qur'an.

And there are many names for God in the Bible too.

As believers of the Only One God, no one should be denied calling God by all His names. I don't think God forbids us calling His rightful names.

Anonymous said...

And yeah, imagine if this (the Christians want to call Allah) were to happen back at Muhammad's time. (Well it might have anyway) Then it was only meant that they have obeyed the Messenger as what the Quran has explained in 29:46 (....say, "We believe in what was revealed to us and in what was revealed to you, and our god and your god is one and the same; to Him we are submitters.")

-A student of science, life and religion-

Auntie Dot said...

I guess this is what happens when each of us inherit our religion, it becomes a religion by chance, not by choice. And we pass the religion down as we “propagate forth”, ergo basically, religion have become hereditary. If everyone learn their own book of revelation by themselves, and not rely on authorities to do it for us, I’m sure we would have all figured how at some point that basically, all religion came from one source, God, the same god we pray to albeit in different methods.

2:136 “Say, ‘We believe in God and in what was revealed to us and in what was revealed to Abraham, Ishmael Isaac Jacob and the patriarchs, and in what was given to Moses and Jesus, and in what was given to all the prophets from their lord, we make no distinction among any of them; we submit to God”

The problem with religion today, is that they are corrupted with politics. A setback to democracy, whereby in Malaysia, “democracy” means victory to the majority and whoever who propagate forth, will become majority and withhold power. Unfortunately, the majority has lack of empathy towards the minorities. Instead of religion, coming from the same source, be the power to unite humans, with the corruption of politics, it becomes the factor that segregates the Malaysians. It is like we humans need to exclusify ourselves in order to have a sense of belonging, when sadly, we all do not belong to anybody or anything except God. We are ONE, but our practices in religion have failed to make us recognize that. That is why we pick on little things like, who gets to decide who can call God by what name because power is a tempting thing to abuse.

The Qur’an mentions in Surah Isra Chapter 17 Verse 110:
Say: “Call upon Allah, or Call upon Rahman; By whatever name ye call Upon Him, (it is well): For to Him belong The Most Beautiful Names

Who else to sue next? The Sikh’s Tribune? That would be ironic because, in the guru grath sahib of the sikh scriptures the word of Allah is used throughout! I’m sure they will engage Karpal Singh and if they’re unlucky, they’d get sued right down to their G strings!!

This whole mess that ended up in court….it’s nothing to do with religion…it’s pure corrupted politics. Like male cats pissing on trees, desperately marking their territories….So what makes us differ from animals, if we behave like them?

Kongsi Alam said...

God in Arabic is Rabb. Allah is the name of God.

While all of us can try to be clever and play on the words, it remains that the direct translation of God into Bahasa is Tuhan and equally the direct translation of God into Arabic is Rabb.

I agree with the Author that the Christians if they are sincere, truthful and without an iota of deceit in their heart will find a way to use the term Allah in all their publications and sermons regardless of language or denominations.

samaritan said...

Hi Anas,
Human’s factors took into account, provided they agree on the following scriptures of a perfect love. In due course I will get you posted on the:-
"How Did the Name Become a Mystery"?
(1Corinthians 13:4-5) Love is long-suffering and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, does not get puffed up, does not behave indecently, does not look for its own interests, does not become provoked. It does not keep account of the injury.

Agape.

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry Kongsi but i think 'Rabb' means Tuan or Lord, Sustainer, Cherisher, Master. Of course GOD is also our Master and all of the above.

Allāh : al- , the + 'ilāh , god
= The GOD.

A quick google search and i found this:

http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/M_four_term/t4_rabb.htm

-A student of science, life and religion-

Wilfred Yeo said...

Very well written Bro. The beginning of a revival in this land.

samaritan said...

Hi Anas as promise,

[Part1of2]
Unraveling the Mystery of the Greatest Name

It is of interest that both the Muslim Koran and the Christian Bible refer to the greatest name. This discussion explains the meaning and importance of the greatest name. It also shows how that name affects all mankind and our future here on earth.
MILLIONS of men and women have lived and died on this earth. In most cases their names have died with them, and their remembrance has been forgotten. But some great names—such as Avicenna, Edison, Pasteur, Beethoven, Gandhi, and Newton—live on. These names are connected with the achievements, discoveries, and inventions of the ones who bore them.
However, there is a name greater than all others. All past and present wonders in the entire universe are related to it. Why, mankind’s hope for a long and happy life is associated with this name!
Many have wanted to come to know this name. They have searched for it and asked about it, but they have not found it. For them it has remained a mystery. In fact, no man can discover this name unless the Owner of it reveals it to him. Happily, the mystery of this peerless name has been unraveled. God himself has done this so that those who believe in him would know about him. He revealed his name to Adam, then to Abraham, to Moses, and to His other faithful servants of old.

In Search of the Greatest Name

The Koran tells of someone “who was deeply versed in the Scriptures.” (27:40) In explaining this verse, a commentary known as Tafsīr Jalālayn says: “Asaf the son of Barkhiyā was a righteous man. He knew God’s greatest name, and whenever he called on it, he was answered.” This reminds us of the Bible writer Asaph, who said at Psalm 83:18: “That people may know that you, whose name is Jehovah, you alone are the Most High over all the earth.”
At Koran 17:2, we read: “We gave Moses the Scriptures and made them a guide for the Israelites.” In those Scriptures, Moses addresses God, saying: “Suppose I am now come to the sons of Israel and I do say to them, ‘The God of your forefathers has sent me to you,’ and they do say to me, ‘What is his name?’ What shall I say to them?” God answered Moses by saying: “This is what you are to say to the sons of Israel, ‘Jehovah the God of your forefathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name to time indefinite.”—Exodus 3:13, 15.
In ancient times, the Israelites knew this great name of God. It was even used as a component of their own names. Just as one now finds the name Abdullah, which means “Servant of God,” the people of ancient Israel had the name Obadiah, meaning “Servant of Jehovah.” The mother of the prophet Moses was named Jochebed, which possibly means “Jehovah Is Glory.” The name John means “Jehovah Has Been Gracious.” And the name of the prophet Elijah means “My God Is Jehovah.”
The prophets knew this great name and used it with deep respect. It is found more than 7,000 times in the Holy Scriptures. Jesus Christ, the son of Mary, highlighted it when he said in his prayer to God: “I have made your name manifest to the men you gave me . . . I have made your name known to them and will make it known, in order that the love with which you loved me may be in them.” (John 17:6, 26) In his famous commentary on the Koran, Bayḍāwī comments on Koran 2:87, saying that Jesus used to “revive dead persons by God’s greatest name.”
What, then, happened to make that name a mystery? What does that name have to do with the future of each one of us?

samaritan said...

[Part2of2]
How Did the Name Become a Mystery?

Some think that “Jehovah” in Hebrew means “Allah” (God). But “Allah” corresponds to the Hebrew ’Elo•him′, the plural of majesty of the word ’eloh′ah (god). A superstition arose among the Jews that prevented them from pronouncing the divine name, Jehovah. Therefore, when they were reading the Holy Scriptures and saw the name Jehovah, it became their custom to say ’Adho•nai′, which means “Lord.” In some places, they even altered the original Hebrew text from “Jehovah” to ’Adho•nai′.
Religious leaders of Christendom followed the same course. They replaced the name Jehovah with “God” (“Allah” in Arabic) and “Lord.” That contributed to the development of the false doctrine of the Trinity, which has no basis in the Holy Scriptures. Because of this, millions mistakenly worship Jesus and the holy spirit and consider them equal to God.
Hence, leaders of Judaism and of Christendom share the blame for the widespread ignorance concerning the greatest name. But God prophesied: “I shall certainly sanctify my great name, . . . and the nations will have to know that I am Jehovah.” Yes, Jehovah will make his name known among all the nations. Why? Because he is not merely the God of the Jews or of any other individual nation or people. Jehovah is the God of all mankind.—Ezekiel 36:23; Genesis 22:18; Psalm 145:21; Malachi 1:11.
The Greatest Name and Our Future
The Holy Scriptures say: “Everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved.” (Romans 10:13) Our salvation on the day of judgment will be related to our knowing the name of God. To know his name includes knowing his attributes, works, and purposes and living in harmony with his high principles. For example, Abraham knew God’s name and called on that name. As a result, he enjoyed a good relationship with God, showed faith in him, relied on him, and obeyed him. Abraham thus became God’s friend. Likewise, knowing God’s name draws us close to him and helps us to develop a personal relationship with him, holding fast to his love.—Genesis 12:8; Psalm 9:10; Proverbs 18:10; James 2:23.
In the Bible we read: “Jehovah kept paying attention and listening. And a book of remembrance began to be written up before him for those in fear of Jehovah and for those thinking upon his name.” (Malachi 3:16) Why do we have to ‘think upon’ the greatest name? The name Jehovah literally means “He Causes to Become.” This reveals Jehovah as the One who causes himself to become the Fulfiller of promises. He always brings his purposes to realization. He is the almighty God, the only Creator, who has every fine attribute. There is no single word that can fully describe God’s divine nature. But God chose for himself the greatest name—Jehovah—and it calls to mind all his attributes, qualities, and purposes.
In the Holy Scriptures, God tells us of his purposes toward humankind. Jehovah God created man to enjoy an everlasting, happy life in Paradise. His will for mankind is that all people should make up one family, united in love and peace. The God of love will fulfill this purpose in the near future.—Matthew 24:3-14, 32-42; 1 John 4:14-21.
God explains the reasons for mankind’s suffering and shows that salvation is possible. (Revelation 21:4) At Psalm 37:10, 11, we read: “Just a little while longer, and the wicked one will be no more; and you will certainly give attention to his place, and he will not be. But the meek ones themselves will possess the earth, and they will indeed find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace.”—See also Koran 21:105.

Anonymous said...

Allahuakhbar,

Congratulation Anas.

I like to share extract from a book " Beautiful Names of Allah in the bible" by (Dr. Syed Mohammed Mohiuddin Habeebi; Syed Ahsan Habibi)

ALLAH, the Name itself witnesses with all its Glory and Majesty, that He is the Only One True God-the Creator, and the Sustainer of the worlds.

The History provides us the evidence that the messengers of ALLAH have been sent to every nation. It was never the intention of Almighty to differentiate people on the basis of messengers and messages. The Holy Quran throws light on this fact and says that (2:213) "(All) people are a single nation; so ALLAH raised prophets as bearers of good tidings and as warners, and revealed therewith the Scripture with the truth that it might judge between mankind concerning that wherein they differed"

The spirit of all messages and mission of every messenger has always been the same–showing the right path. We know that several Prophets have been sent to various nations with messages in their own languages creating familiarity and understanding with the addressee. Such as Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, and lastly Muhammad (peace and mercy of ALLAH be upon them) were sent to accomplish this prestigious Divine mission.

Although, their languages were different in which messages were conveyed but the Name of One True God-- ALLAH found to be the same and intact, in spite of various linguistic mutation.

The common beliefs and values are identified to express the universal Truth and Religious harmony. There may be elements of diversity in religion in “non-essentials” matters. As far as “essentials” of a Religion are concerned, we find enormous unity in respect of the concept of “One God and submission to His will.”

The mission of holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was to restore the worship of the One True God-the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, as taught by all the Prophets of God, and to demonstrate and complete the laws of moral, ethical, legal, and social conduct and all other matters of significance for the humanity at large.

It is Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) who taught to the entire world the path of piety, righteousness and truth. He enlightened the world with the words of Almighty ALLAH, he the chosen one of Mighty Creator- came as a mercy for the worlds.

The well-known historians Edward Gibbon and Simon Ocklay (History of the Saracen Empire, London, 1870, p. 54) have acknowledged the concept of Unity of God and Prophet-hood of Muhammad (peace be upon him) in a very appropriate manner "I believe in One God and Mahomet the Apostle of God is the simple and invariable profession of Islam. The intellectual image of the Deity has never been degraded by any visible idol; the honours of the Prophet have never transgressed the measure of human virtue, and his living precepts have restrained the gratitude of his disciples within the bounds of reason and religion."

http://www.onlineislamicstore.com/b9364.html

Anonymous said...

My dear Anas

Another interesting talk by Ahmed Deedat " Allah in the bible"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vGQa-35Xok

Anonymous said...

4:48 (Asad) VERILY, God does not forgive the ascribing of divinity to aught beside Him, although He forgives any lesser sin [64] unto whomever He wills: for he who ascribes divinity to aught beside God has indeed contrived an awesome sin. [65] -

Anonymous said...

4:171 (Asad) O FOLLOWERS of the Gospel! Do not overstep the bounds [of truth] in your religious beliefs, [180] and do not say of God anything but the truth. The Christ Jesus, son of Mary, was but God's Apostle - [the fulfilment of] His promise which He had conveyed unto Mary - and a soul created by Him. [181] Believe, then, in God and His apostles, and do not say, "[God is] a trinity". Desist [from this assertion] for your own good. God is but One God; utterly remote is He, in His glory, from having a son: unto Him belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth; and none is as worthy of trust as God.

Anonymous said...

Maybe this article can help shed some light.....


Confident people do not get confused — Marina Mahathir

rantingsbymm.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Who ever fight for this use of word Allah don't see the big picture. For the Malays, their conclusion is simple; "they want to convert us to Christianity" by using the word Allah.

But lets look at the brighter side; maybe we can use this opportunity to bring in Christian to Islam instead. Now that they agree that Allah is the true God, the next step for them is to accept that true God have no children, its only one and not three in one (trinity what ever it is). And true God is also not some blond with Kenny G kind of hair, LOL.

And true God don't have to kill his son to forgive humanity. Because the true God is all powerful that have the ability to take or give life without condition or limitation.

Maybe this is Allah way to show the Christian the true Allah.

-Koko

Wenger J Khairy said...

I am making the rounds in the blogs openly saying my total disagreement with the use of Allah in the Bible, for the God of the Bible is not Allah.

I am a Bible believing Christian for that matter.

You mentioned it is a technical difference that God in the Bible is referred to as Eloheim. Actually there is nothing technical - it is a fundamental difference.

The Semitic language, from which Hebrew and Arabic is derived makes a clear distinction between singular and plural. Like in Arabic I believe walad means 1 son, and waladun means 2 sons. Similarly, Eloi is to refer to God in the singular, example when the Lord Jesus Christ, when he was about to die on the cross referred to the Father as Eloi.

In the Bible, when God is referred to as Eloheim to clearly distinguish the Trinity nature of God. Islam does not accept this, hence the the term used is Allah . The analagous term in Hebrew is Elah, which is not used alone. It is treated as an adjective, for example Elah Israel, or God of Israel.

Christians do not pray to Allah. The High Court is wrong to rule on this matter. Make it back to where it was. Tuhan is appropriate when referring to God and preserve the other Names of God as when it appears in accordance to the original Hebrew or Greek manuscripts.

It has 0 to do with trust.

The issue is down to the sanctity of the faith and keeping ones faith separate and distinct. As it greatly affects Muslims, do not think that me as a Christian is happy with it.

Bottom line is - Christians do not and cannot pray to Allah. Period.

puakaalam7 said...

BODO PUNYA ANAS!!..

JESUS MIGHT HAVE BEEN CRUCIFY HIMSELF..BUT ISA DOES NOT..ALLAH HAS REPLACED HIM WITH YAHUZA.SO..THEY CRUCIFY YAHUZA NOT ISA..BY ADMITTING JESUS HAVE BEEN CRUCIFY..YOU YOURSELVES HAVE TARNISH ISLAM..INSAF LE OI!!

Anonymous said...

My dear Wenger J Khairy

Many are confused between the teaching of Jesus and Paul or Saul the Murderer.

The Anti-Christ Paul
Abdullah Smith


The New Testament gives us a choice; either we follow Jesus Christ, or the anti-Christ Paul of Tarsus: Each one demands his followers to accept his teachings:

Be ye followers of me… that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered [them] to you. (1 Corinthians 11:1)

“If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed” (John 8:31)

Amazing, the former preached against the teachings of Jesus, and the latter, (Jesus) teaches that salvation is only attained by following him. According to Deuteronomy 24:16, Ezekiel 18:20-21, and Micah 6:7-8, a man is responsible for his own sin. Jesus rejected the Pauline doctrine of “vicarious atonement”. Compare the two passages below:

And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. (Hebrews 9:22)

Jesus was teaching his disciples in the outer court of the Temple and one of them said unto him: Master, it is said by the priests that without shedding of blood there is no remission. Can then the blood offering of the law take away sin? And Jesus answered: No blood offering, of beast or bird, or man, can take away sin, for how can the conscience be purged from sin by the shedding of innocent blood? Nay, it will increase the condemnation. (Gospel of the Nazorenes, Lection 33, verses 1-2)

Jesus was circumcised, Paul rejected circumcision:

This [is] my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant. (Genesis 17:14)

When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. (Genesis 21:4)

And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof. (Exodus 12:48)

On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived. (Luke 2:21)

"The Christianity which the nations claim to follow is the religion of Paul, who is admittedly the chief and almost the only theologian that the Church recognizes. Because of his betrayal of the Master's teachings, the vision of true Christianity has been so dimmed that men have been able to defend war and a host of other evils, such as flesh eating and slavery, on the authority of the Bible." (Christ or Paul? Rev. V.A. Holmes-Gore)

"Let the reader contrast the true Christian standard with that of Paul and he will see the terrible betrayal of all that the Master taught.... For the surest way to betray a great Teacher is to misrepresent his message.... That is what Paul and his followers did, and because the Church has followed Paul in his error it has failed lamentably to redeem the world.... The teachings given by the blessed Master Christ, which the disciples John and Peter and James, the brother of the Master, tried in vain to defend and preserve intact were as utterly opposed to the Pauline Gospel as the light is opposed to the darkness." (ibid, Rev. V.A. Holmes Gore)
The Christian missionaries today are preaching the Gospel of Paul, and rejecting the Gospel of Jesus. Paul emphasized that salvation is attained through “faith and grace” which is blatantly opposite of what Jesus taught.

http://www.answering-christianity.com/abdullah_smith/anti_christ_paul_1.htm

Tun Faisal Ismail bin Aziz said...

may be we shd share our faith, tht would be better - the nmost accurate translation of God in Bible is `Tuhan' - Tuhan can be exist in any form of supernatural being or whatever objects - cd be Father God, Jesus, Holy Ghost, Kuan yin, Buddha, zeus, aphrodite, sun, stone, tree - but they re not Allah. Jesus might be God to some, but Jesus cant be Allah. I dont think we would mind if the Churche wants to translate it to Anas Zubedy, tht is a good name for God also. Allah is One and Only One. So why do u want to have a deviated translation from the Bible?

Anonymous said...

My dear Tun Faisal

Using your opinion that God in the Bible is Tuhan not Allah, please help to translate the following statements:

As exclaimed by Moses (pbuh): “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” Deuteronomy 6:4.


“I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from Me there is no God.”

Isaiah 45:5.


“You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.”

Exodus 20:3-5

Jesus Christ (pbuh) said the following in the Bible:


“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”

John 17:3


“How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?”

John 5:44


“The most important commandments,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, is one Lord’”

Anonymous said...

You say potayto, I say potahto, you say tomayto, I say tomahto, you say Allah, I say Jesus. Truck, lorry? elevator, lift? In the end, you can call a piece of shit a rose, but it still smells like a piece of shit.

That said I don't understand the fixation of the followers of Jesus Christ to insist on calling their Christian God Allah. It absolutely makes no sense. It's not even a matter of free speech, as literally translated God in BM would mean Tuhan, and not Allah.

Also, what is up with this word Alamak? That's using Allah's name in vain isn't it? The government should sue the Malays for insulting Islam by inventing this word. We should all hold rallies to protest the use of this word in the Malay language. Judas!!

Anyway, what I'm getting at is that practiced correctly, religion is a personal matter. Nothing to do with the court of law or with judges or thinly veiled UMNO-backed Malay NGOS. Of course, that is if it's praticed correctly. If religion is practiced incorrectly, maka....you have things like whipping a gal for drinking beer and political parties talking about religion. Like who died and made Hishammudin grand mullah of Islamic affairs?

So, Christians, stop insisting on using Allah because it is obviously not only misleading but WRONG (not in an ethical or moral kinda way but in the look it up in the dictionary and you won't find it in there kinda way). And Muslims, seriously, you guys gotta get laid more often.

Anonymous said...

God is that man standing above you in the operation table when you are 50 and having to operate your heart for a triple bypass, and chances are his name won't be Allah or Jesus, but rather Dr. Quek See Fatt. So I think we should all petition for The Herald to name their Christian God as See Fatt, cuz, you know, naming the Christian God as Allah distresses too many people, like my dad insisting I call him Linda.

WNA said...

ALL,
My best friends are people who practise faiths different from mine. No problem with that. Living in Malaysia or elsewhere (and I have lived away from Malaysia for several years) means having friends of different faiths and respecting the different faiths – and these are not the issues in this blog or related to the court's decision. Anas and/or who ever can share whatever story about friendship of people of different faiths. So, what..?! The story has little bearing or depth to the real issues. At the end of the day, everyone has to be VERY CLEAR that for Muslims (who truly understand Islam or Non-Muslims who truly understand Islam), there is ONLY ONE GOD and that ONE GOD IS ALLAH, and ALLAH can be referred to using any of HIS 99 HOLY NAMES. 99 Holy Names do NOT EQUATE to 99 Gods, or 3 Gods rolled into 1 (trinity) or whatever. ONE and ONLY ONE! God = Tuhan vs. God = ALLAH are fundamentally different. The fundamental belief or essence of belief for each is different. God = Tuhan is general, non-specific and a "loose" or a relaxed way of looking at whom you pray or totally submit yourself to. God = ALLAH is specific in terms of whom you pray and totally submit yourself to. It is specific because it touches on the Islamic tenets. Muslims believe, follow and practise the Islamic tenets. Non-Muslims do not believe, follow and practise (or even know) the Islamic tenets. To some, God = 3 Tuhan (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) all rolled into 1. Fine with that..and please respect that belief. To some others, God = ALLAH, the ALMIGHTY (i.e. He who does not have a child or children, or have parents, or have a spouse - like humans that He created) and as such, God = Tuhan CANNOT be equated or interchanged with God = ALLAH. By the way, "He" does NOT mean that ALLAH, the Almighty is male – like human males! I am no Imam but I am NOT CONFUSED, and I am confident in my belief. Get that right, people!

Anonymous said...

Truth and trust my friend is the cry of many and yet the game for few....So what is the truth and where is the trust as you have pointed out is so......true....

Orang Dewan Bahasa & Pustaka kenapa senyap je? Awak kan expert dan custodian bahasa MELAYU

Keturunan Jebat

Jules dailies said...

Thank you for the brilliant article.

If you ask me, as a born Christian, the Muslim can have the word "ALLAH" to themselves.

But who gets to decide who should and shouldnt use it?. If you happened to go to Sabah and Sarawak, the Christian there have had been using the word Allah in BM translate bible years ago. All hymns and prayers.

Who died and when to see Allah and then come back alive and tells everyone that the word is ONLY for Muslim??

Is ok for 2 journalist to walk in a church and take holy communion and flaunt in local religious daily in pretext to investigate muslim being converted in mass.
Is ok for them to protest in Ipoh church on Sunday after getting text msg from a lady saying that the church is cnverting muslim which turned out to be holy communion for standard 3 kids. Imgine the horror the kids have to go thru seeing a mob in front of the church.

What happen to do these journalist and the lady who sent this sms? Quiet. You know why cause it involved Muslims.

To the Herald editor, I say stop this issue now and give the muslim back their patent ALLAH word!. We may have lost this battle but as a religion consist of much forgiveness and kind , we have won because we stood firm and being controlof emotions and not going on riot just cause some thieves have step into our boundries.

To the small no of fanatic Malaysian Muslim, I am really sad for you as you abuse and use your ALLAH's name in vain.
And yeah.. you need to get laid.

Anonymous said...

WNA thank you.

No laws can stop anyone from calling Almighty Creator Allah but Allah is not the God in the bible.

Do you believe the Almighty Creator rest on the seven day?

Do you want your friends and families to believe the Almighty Creator has son or sons?

Do you want your generation to believe the Jesus is God or Son of God?

Do you want the Christian continue to confused everyone in this world to believe in Trinity?

Enough is enough, we don't want any human being to be cheated by the Christian to disobey Jesus ( peace be upon him) and to disobey Muhammad ( peace be upon him)

Where in the bible that Jesus teach about Trinity?

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." (NIV, Mark 12:28-31).

Allah don't rest on Sunday or don't sleep or fight like the God in the bible.

Who is Allah?

2:255 (Y. Ali) Allah. There is no god but He,-the Living, the Self-subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him nor sleep. His are all things in the heavens and on earth. Who is there can intercede in His presence except as He permitteth? He knoweth what (appeareth to His creatures as) before or after or behind them. Nor shall they compass aught of His knowledge except as He willeth. His Throne doth extend over the heavens and the earth, and He feeleth no fatigue in guarding and preserving them for He is the Most High, the Supreme (in glory).
2:256 (Y. Ali) Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error: whoever rejects evil and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all things.


112:1 (Y. Ali) Say: He is Allah, the One and Only;
112:2 (Y. Ali) Allah, the Eternal, Absolute;
112:3 (Y. Ali) He begetteth not, nor is He begotten;
112:4 (Y. Ali) And there is none like unto Him.

So God in the bible is not Allah, because the God in the bible rest, sleep and fight