I Want to Witness, But What Do I Say to:  Muslims?

           One way to witness to Muslim is to use the Camel Method.   It is difficult to win a Muslim to Christ because if the convert to Christianity, then their whole family will disown them and consider them �dead.�  They could even be killed for their faith in Christ.  They have to surrender ALL and make the decision to fear God more than their family.  If you do win a Muslim to Christ, make sure that you and other Christians become his/her �new family.�  (Matt. 12:50).  They need to be properly discipled and have a network of friends and spiritual family support.      It is so much easier to understand the nature of Islam and the Qur'an if you know the Biographical History of Muhammad   and Muhammad's 22 Women

            Before you try to witness to a Muslim, pray and bind the spirit of Islam, the antichrist spirit; the lies of the enemy and the �God of this world that is blinding their eyes to salvation.�   And pray for the eyes of their heart to be enlightened.  Loose the love, the truth and the power of God upon them. Only God can change someone�s heart.  Pray for the Holy Spirit to touch their heart as only He can do.   Telling them your testimony of how you came to know Jesus as your Savior can be effective. The following are three questions that Muslims often ask and the truth to say.  

Four Things About Every Muslim:

1.) A Muslim can never know God.  He believes God is too vast & awesome, but read John 17:3

2.) A Muslim can never know that he is saved. Salvation is by works? Then how many are enough?

3.) Most Muslims do not know very much about Islam.   They are taught the basics as children, but more than � the Muslims don�t read Arabic.

4.) Most Muslim reject Christianity for two basic reasons:   They do not understand the truth about Islam & the real teachings of Christianity.  Muslims who do understand, see poor examples.

Three Questions Muslims Ask:                  Truth to Say:

1.     Has the Bible

Been Changed?

 

(No, the Bible has not been changed. The reason why Muslims believe that the Bible was changed by Christians and Jews is because the Qur'an does not say what the Bible says and so one of them has to be wrong. Allah claims to have written both the Bible and the Qur'an and says, �He is the guardian of His own word including the Torah and the Gospel.�   Allah and his Qur'an are not very good guardians if the Bible has been changed.)

Truth to Say:   The Qur'an was supposed to be a confirmation of the Bible.  So, how can the Qur'an confirm a book that has been changed?  The Qur'an says in Sura 6:115: �Perfected are the Words of your Lord in truth and justice and none can change his Words.�  The Qur'an states that the Bible is God�s Word.         The Torah, the Gospels, the Psalms and the writings of the Prophets are recognized as Scripture. Sura 2:91 says: �It (the Koran) is the truth corroborating their (the Christians and Jews) own Scripture.�  Sura 3:2-3 says: �He has revealed to you the Book (Qur'an) with the truth confirming the Scriptures that have come before it, for He (Allah) has already revealed the Torah and the Gospel for the guidance of men and the distinction between right and wrong.�  Sura 21:105 says, �We wrote in the Psalms after the Torah was revealed.�    The Qur'an commands Muslims, Christians and Jews to read and obey the Bible.   Sura 5:58  �people of the Book, you will attain nothing until you observe the Torah and the Gospel and that which is revealed to you by your Lord.�  

         No, but the Koran has been Changed�

The early versions of the Qur'an were in conflict with each other and some of the original verses of the Qur'an were lost.  For e.g., one Sura originally had 200 verses in the days of Ayesha. But by the time Uthman standardized the text of the Qur'an, it had only 73 verses!  A total of 127 verses had been lost, and they never have been recovered. The Shiite Muslims claim that Uthman left out 25 % of the original verses in the Qur'an for political reasons.  Also a follower of Mohammed named Abdollah Sarh would make suggestions to Mohammed about rephrasing, adding to, or subtracting from the Suras.  Mohammed often did as Sarh suggested!  Later Sarh was killed.   In the abrogation process, verses which are contradictory to Muslim faith and practice were removed such as the �satanic verses� in which Mohammed approved of the worship of the three goddesses, the daughters of Allah.  Before Mohammed died he did not compile a complete manuscript of the Qur'an. When he died there existed no singular codex of the sacred text.

  2. Why Does the Bible Say that Jesus Was Crucified?

 

The Qur'an denies that He was crucified.  Sura 4:157 says:  �The Jews have said, �verily we have slain Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, the Apostle of Allah;  yet they slew him not, neither did they crucify him, but he was represented by one in his likeness�They did not really kill him; but Allah took him up to himself.�

 

Truth to Say:  First of all, no one took the life of Jesus.  He gave His life willingly to save man from sin.  John 10:18 �No one takes it (my life) from Me, but I lay it down on my own accord.  I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.�   The crucifixion did not just happen.  It was prophesied for thousands of years.  For e.g.:  Isaiah 53: 3-7  and 1 Peter 1:10-11:  Concerning this salvation, the prophets�predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.            Jesus knew that He would die for the sins of the world.  Matthew 16:21 ��Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem an suffer many things at the hands of elders, chief priests and teachers of the Law and that He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.�       The sacrifice of blood is God�s way of paying for sin.  Hebrews 9:22 �In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.�  God is the only one �good� enough to pay for men�s sins.   Jesus had no sin and so His blood was perfectly clean to be shed on the cross for the sins of mankind. Matthew 1:22-23  �All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: �The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel which means, �God with us.� No good work will bring you into a right relationship with God.  Only through receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior will you be saved from going to hell. 

  3. Why Does the Bible Say Jesus is the Son of God? 

 

Jesus was born to a human mother named Mary whom the Bible says was "overshadowed" by the Holy Spirit, which resulted in her pregnancy while still a virgin. Note that this doesn't mean that Mary and God had a physical union like a male-female relationship. Jesus is not the sexually propagated son of God.   Why?  Because God is a Spirit. It says in John 4:23 to worship the Father in spirit and in truth.  Matt 1:18 says Mary was found to be pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.  She was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit.   When Jesus left heaven and humbled Himself to come to earth to be born and live as a human, He came to show us the Father and to shed His blood and die on the cross for our sins so that we could be reconciled to God.  On earth, Jesus was submitted to His Father, so in this sense it was a figurative special relationship, similar to a �Father- Son� relationship.  But Jesus is God just like God is God and the Holy Spirit is God. When He was on earth, Jesus was fully God and fully man. The Almighty God is one God in three different personalities.  For e.g.: it�s like ice, water and steam.  God is three in One.  When He was on earth, Jesus was fully God and fully man.    The Bible Says that there is only ONE God:  1 Corinthians 8:5-6  �There is no God, but one.  For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth, yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came.�                           

Jesus' Followers said Jesus was the Son of God

After Jesus rebuked the wind and the waves and they became still in Matt. 14:33, the disciples said: "Truly, You are the Son of God."     In Matt. 16:16, By God's revelation Peter said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God."  In John 1:49 after Jesus gave a word of knowledge, telling Nathanael only something that he and God knew,  Nathanael said, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God."  So they all saw Jesus as the form of God who took on the appearance as a man.   The Bible says that Jesus is the Son of God because God said Jesus is His Son.  Matthew 3:17 says �And suddenly a voice came from heaven saying, �This is My beloved Son, in whom I Am well pleased.�  The Greek word for Son here is:  Huios which means:    1. son of man.  After God said it, then this term was used by Jesus Christ himself, to personalize His Messiah ship and to designate himself as the Head of the human family, the man, the one who both furnished the pattern of the perfect man and acted on behalf of all mankind.  2.  It was also used to describe Adam and 3. also used to describe those who are born again.  Note  that the other Greek word for Son is Teknon was not used.  Teknon means:  offspring, child, or male child

 It says in Act 10:38:  �How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil.�  In Matt.28:19  Jesus Christ affirmed the trinity: �Make disciples baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.� 

 

 

Here are several differences

          Jesus Christ

between Jesus and Mohammed that will help you witness:

Mohammed

Forgave sins

Did not forgive sins

Is Omniscient (all knowing)

Knows little

Did miracles

Did no healings or miracles

Has all authority

Has temporal authority

He rose from the dead

He just died

He claimed He was God

He claimed he was a prophet, a messenger of God

                                Five Pillars of Islam: 

Deception:

Truth to Say to Muslims:

1st Pillar:  The �Shahada� or profession of faith to which every Muslim must witness:  �There is no God but Allah, & Mohammed is the messenger of God.�

  The Bible says in Acts 1:8 � �But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses�� Acts 4:33  �with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.�

2nd Pillar:   The �Salah�- daily ritual prayer.  Dedicated Muslims stop 5 times every day and repeat a total of 17 prayer rounds.

 

Matt. 6:7 says:  �and when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do.  For they think that they will be heard for their many words.�  1 Thes. 5:17 says to: �Pray without ceasing.�  We stay connected to God through abiding in the Lord, like the vine & the branch.

3rd Pillar�  The Payment of Zakat  

A tax for the poor which is 2.5% of their income plus fasting one meal at Festival of Eid.  Many Muslims seek to avoid this task.

Christians tithe � which means they give 10% of their income to God.   Malachi 3:10: says, �Bring all the tithes into the store- house� (God�s church).   They give so much more than 2 � percent of their income to God.

4th Pillar  The �Sawn� of fasting 

in the month of Ramadan. There is no eating, smoking, or sex during daylight unless you are ill, traveling, nursing or pregnant. The purpose of the fast is to contribute to a mastery or world concerns and fosters compassion for the poor.

 

In Isaiah 58:6: �Is this not the fast that I have chosen:  To loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free and that you break every yoke?� Matt. 6: 16-18 �moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to be fasting, but pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.�

5th Pillar  - The �Haij� or pilgrimage.  Once a year many Muslims travel to Mecca in remembrance of Abraham�s sacrifice of Ishmael (not Isaac).  The journey is to be made by every Muslim at least once in his/her lifetime if he can afford it. 

The truth is Abraham never actually sacrificed Isaac.  He almost did, but God stopped him. The truth is Ishmael (who was Sarah's handmaiden Hagar's son) was sent away when he was 13 when Isaac was a little boy.  Isaac came from Abraham and miraculously from Sarah's womb. He was the "promised son" that God told him would come forth and fulfill God's covenant with him.  Heb. 11:13 �These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.�   Since the Lord dwells in our heart, there is no better place to travel than to our local churches to praise and worship Him.

Knowing the Biographical History of Mohammed helps you understand Islam so much more, especially when you read about Mohammed's 22 Women 

           I believe that one of the best ways to witness to Muslims is to cast doubt on their own beliefs.   One of the best ways to do this is to ask questions about their faith in a gracious respectful manner. Do not ridicule or tear down their Qur'an, Mohammed or their customs or beliefs because you will only drive a wedge between you and them and then they will not listen.  In other words, do not tell a Muslim something and make them mad.  Ask them a question and make them think.  The most effective way for a Muslim to be saved is if they supernaturally experience a miracle healing or hear a word of knowledge through a prophetic word that causes their heart to receive Jesus as Lord.

You can use their lack of knowledge in witnessing to them.  What you can do is act like you are wanting to know more about Islam, but that you are confused about some things that you have heard from another Muslim friend � and was wondering if they could help answer some questions that you have.

If you approach them with this attitude, you can really plant some seeds and maybe even win a Muslim to the Lord.   The point is to build doubt into their hearts about Mohammed or the validity of Islam.  Do not attack their religion in your tone of voice.  Just act like you are innocently confused about what you have heard from your Muslim friend and would like to understand.

One Way to Cast Doubt is through this Dialogue:

Say To the Muslim:  �You say that Jesus was a prophet, Right?   (And they will always answer, �Yes, He was a prophet.�)

Then say:  �Well prophets tell the truth, right?   Don�t they always say the truth?�      (They should say, �Yes.�)

Then say:  �Jesus Christ says in John 14:6 that I Am the Way, the Truth and the Life and no man can comes to the Father, but through Me.  So what do you think that means?�

This usually catches them off guard.  You should repeat John 14:6 it again slowly and if possible, several times again so that they will remember it. 

          I have used this technique before and this is really convicting to Muslims.  They do not know what to think.  They are hard to convert, but this really messes up their theology

 

Act like You Want to Know More about Islam & Ask Questions:

        You can use a Muslim's  lack of knowledge about their own religion to witness to them.  What you can do is act like you are wanting to know more about Islam, but that you are confused about some things, that you have read or  heard from someone else, and was wondering if they could help answer some questions that you have.  If you approach them with this attitude, you can really plant some seeds and maybe even win a Muslim to the Lord.   The point is to build doubt into their hearts about Mohammed or the validity of Islam.  Do not attack their religion in your tone of voice.  Just act like you are innocently confused about what you have heard and would like to understand.

1.  I�m confused, if the God of the Bible is the same god of the Qur'an  Someone told me that in the Qur'an, Paradise or heaven is where sensual pleasures are fulfilled.  There are Sexual Nymphs and �bashful virgins whom neither man nor Jinnee will have touched before.�  It sounds like Paradise in the Koran will be like a sex orgy!  Do you think that God is really like that?  The Bible in Revelation 4:8 it says that Heaven is a place of holiness and purity. The angels surround the throne of God saying, �Holy, holy, holy!�

 2.  I�m confused, if the God of the Bible is the same as the god of the Qur'an, then how can my sins be forgiven if I become a Muslim?  I read in the Qur'an that if one is killed in the name of Allah or fighting for Allah that his sins are forgiven.  Do you mean to tell me that the only way my sins are forgiven is if I kill someone to further the cause of Islam for Allah?

3.   I�m confused, one Muslim told me that good works cancel out the sins that Muslims commit.  So how many works, as a Muslim, would I have to do?  How do your know for sure that you are going to heaven or Paradise ?

4.       Many say that Mohammed was a prophet.  Prophets in the Bible were holy men of God.  Many of them were not even married.  If they were, it was to only one wife.  If Mohammed was such a holy man of God, a prophet, then why did he marry a girl that was only 7 years old?  And why did he have so many wives?

5.  Why does it say in the Qur'an to only pray five times a day?  In I Thessalonians 5:17  the Bible says to �pray without ceasing.�

6.   I�m confused because a Muslim told me that Muslims do tithe. It is called Zakat.   Does Zakat stand for 2 �?    I heard a  Muslim say they give 2 � % to the poor.  But I�m confused, how can that small amount be a tithe?  A tithe is 10% of your income.  That is what the Christians give to their church.  Why do the Muslims give so little?

7.  Why are Muslims all stuck in the 7th century?    Why do they wear clothes that are so outdated?  They wear these hot-looking robes in the summer and cannot show their faces.  Why are the women so afraid of being seen?   

8.  I�m confused about Ramadan � that fasting thing that they do.  When we Christians fast, we do not eat for 21 days or 40 days during the day nor at night.   It seems like Muslims get to cheat because they get to eat at night when the sun goes down!!!        

9.      I�m confused, I heard my friend Muslim say that Allah created the world, then why when I asked in how many days did I get an answer that consisted of six different time periods?   The God of the Bible created the world in 6 days and rested on the 7th day.

10.  In the Qur'an, I read about the Flood, but why was it was placed in the time of Moses, which is in the Bible 45 chapters ahead in the future?  Also:  Why does it say that �Mary� is the sister of Moses and Aaron.  In the Bible in Exodus 15:20 it says that is Miriam is Moses� sister.   Mary was the mother of Jesus.

11.  I�m confused, many Muslims say that the God of the Bible is the same god of the Qur'an.  Then why is the symbol for the religion of Islam a crescent moon and the symbol for the religion of Christianity a cross? 

12.    In the Koran it says the God of Abraham, Ishmael and Jacob�.but that doesn�t make sense, because in the Bible, Ishmael is not Jacob�s father.  Isaac is Jacob�s father.  So why does it say the �God of Abraham, Ishmael and Jacob?� 

13.     The Muslims and Palestinians fight with the Israelites and say that they are �God�s chosen people.�  It seems like a sibling rivalry arguing over whom God has chosen and Whom God loves the most.  Do they not understand that if they choose to put their faith in Jesus Christ, (as billions around the world have done), then they are chosen by God?  When a person accepts Christ, then He is chosen to serve God.  Since we are in the New Testament now, and God has poured out His Spirit upon the Jews AND the Gentiles (everyone else), so the ones that are �chosen� are the ones who choose to believe in Jesus Christ as God�s Son and trust in Him alone for eternal life.  1 John 2:23 says:  �No one who denies the Son even has the Father.�

           Jews at least believe in the Son of God whom they refer to as �The Messiah.� And these are called Messianic Jews.  Other Jews erroneously believe that the Messiah (Jesus Christ) did not come 2,000 years ago, but will come in the future.  But at least they do believe that God has a Son called �the Messiah� who will come and save the world from its sins.  But if the Muslims claim they are the sons of Ishmael, then why do not believe that Jesus Christ is God�s Son?   John 14:21 Jesus said, �Whoever loves Me will be loved by My Father and I will love him and will reveal Myself to him� vs. 23 �If a person loves Me he will keep My Word; and My Father will love him and We will come to him and make Our home with him.�

14. Has the Koran been changed?    I heard that there were some satanic verses that were taken out that Muhammad had written saying that his family could worship the three goddesses, the daughters of Allah.

 15.  Did Mohammed write this prayer in the front of the Qur'an because he himself was looking for the straight path and was not sure which path was the straight one? 

�The Exordium� from in the opening of the Qur'an is written as:

In the name of God the compassionate the merciful

Praise be to God Lord of the Universe,

The compassionate, the Merciful,

Sovereign of the Day of Judgment!

You alone we worship,

And to You alone we turn for help.

Guide us in the straight path,

The path of those whom you have favored,

Not of  those who have incurred your wrath,

Nor of those who have gone astray.

  So they pray, �guide us in the straight path�.�    In this prayer they seem to be searching for �the straight path.�

      This is interesting because it says in the Bible says in Luke 3:4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet (Isaiah 40:3)  �A voice of one crying in the wilderness:  �Prepare the way of the Lord; make His beaten paths straight. Every valley shall be filled up and every mountain (or erroneous thought) and hill shall be leveled; and the crooked places (lies) made straight.  And all mankind shall see the salvation of God through sending Jesus Christ (the deliverance from eternal death.)

Biographical History of Mohammad - Read this and it will all make sense

Mohammed's 22 Women

  Would you like to Receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Have Eternal Life in Heaven?  Then Pray this Salvation Prayer:  �Heavenly Father, I believe You love me and that Your Son Jesus Christ died for me on the cross for my sins and rose from the dead.  Jesus, I repent for all of my sins. I repent for all the wrong things I have done.  I repent for believing those lies and now I believe the truth.  Now I ask You, Jesus,  to come into my heart and be my Lord and Savior. I want to live for You.  Holy Spirit, come fill me with Your power.  Thank You for loving and forgiving me, for saving me from hell, and giving me eternal life in heaven.  In Jesus� name I pray, Amen.�

 

Bibliography:    All this information I learned in a seminar given by a missionary to Northern Iraq a few months after 9-11-2001.  He  has worked with Muslims there for many years. He knows the Qur'an inside and out.  For his own protection and for security reasons, he did not want his name to be identified.        In return he made us promise that we would get this information out there to help Christians know how to witness to Muslims so that they can become born-again.  May the rewards for the number of Muslims saved from these web pages go to him...and may God receive all the glory.