The Basis of the Bible Is Also "Belief in One God"

It is revealed in the Qur'an that Jesus issued the following message
to the Jews:
..."O Tribe of Israel! Worship God, my Lord and your Lord…" (Surat
al-Ma'ida, 72)
The expressions of Jesus calling to oneness of God are present even in
the gospels of the New Testament, which were exposedto distortion and
falsification. For instance, Jesus answered a teacher of law who asked
him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" as "The
most important one 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.' (Mark 12:28-30)
The following passage, again from the gospel according to Mark, shows
that Jesus prevented not just the ascriptionof divinity to him but
even praiseof him:
As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees
before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit
eternal life?" "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is
good-except God alone." (Mark 10:17-18)
In fact, this passage alone is sufficient to show that belief in the
Trinity is a violation of the New Testament. Rejecting praiseand
stressing that only God is worthy of praise Jesus openly stated that
he too was a servantof God.
In fact, Jesus is a prophet of God,sent to tell people of the oneness
of God following the corruption of the revelation brought by Moses and
that thereis no other god but him. He called upon the Jews, who had
corrupted the true religion brought by Moses, to abandon their bigoted
traditions and superstitions and to submit solely to God. This message
of Jesus to the Children of Israel is revealed thus in the Qur'an:
And when Jesus came with the Clear Signs, he said, "I have come to you
with Wisdom and to clarify for you some of the things about which you
have differed. Therefore fear God and obey me. God is my Lord and your
Lord so worship Him. This is a straight path." (Surat ash-Shura,
63-64)
"I come confirming the Torah I find already there, and to make lawful
for you some of what waspreviously forbidden to you. I have brought
you a Sign from your Lord. So fear God and obey me. God is my Lord and
your Lord so worship Him. That is a straight path." (Surat Al 'Imran,
51)
It is the duty of Muslims, Christians, Jews and everyone in the world
to abide by this divine call.

The Pressure on Those Who Denied the Trinity

One interesting point is that the various individuals and movements
which have opposedbelief in the Trinity and maintained that Jesus was
only a prophet of God were subjectedto great pressure during the
course of Christian history. Thesemonotheists fiercely opposed those
who said that Jesus was the son of God, and openly stated that this
was "ascribing partners" to God. For that reason, they were for
hundreds of years described as "heretics" and even "enemies of
Christianity," and those who supported them met with the same
reception. Yet those who believe in the oneness of God have always
been in a minority compared to the proponents of the Trinity in the
Christian world.
Even those neutrals who have researched the subject have established
that real Christianity is the monotheistic Christianity that was
suppressed throughout history. A large part of the independent Bible
researchers, which began in the 18th century in particular, concluded
that the Trinity, confession of sins and other Christian dogmas had no
place in true Christianity. In their studies of the Old and New
Testaments and other Christian sources, experts have revealed that
traditional Christianity has very different features to that of the
time of Jesus, and was shaped centuries after that time.
Christians Who Have Denied the Trinity
It is under the influence of thesesources that some Christian sects
today reject the Trinity. The Unitarian Church, for example, which
maintains churches all over the world, is one major Christian
community which rejects belief in the Trinity. Although they may hold
various different views, the members of that congregation deny that
Jesus is the son of Godand say that Christianity demands belief in a
single God. Many of them emphasize the mistaken nature of the claim
that Jesus was crucified to redeem the sins of the world.
One can find opponents of the Trinity among Christians of various
different persuasions and churches. The opponents of the Trinity are
growing in numbers, particularly in America, every day, and there is a
rapid rise in the numbers of people who are openly expressing the
truth in the Christian world. Among these, the "Worldwide Church of
God" is particularly noteworthy. Herbert W. Armstrong, the founder of
the church, maintainsthat the Trinity is a pagan doctrine which
entered Christianity from pagan cultures.
The most noteworthy point on this subject is that there is no trace of
the belief in the Trinity, portrayed as the foundation of
Christianity, anywhere in the Bible. It appears neither in the Old
Testament, the holy book of the Jews, nor in the New Testament, the
Christian sacred text. Belief in the Trinity depends on the
interpretation ofa number of statements in the Bible, and the word
itself was first used by Theophilus of Antioch at the end of the 2nd
century. This belief became fully incorporated into Christian
belieflong after that. For that reason, Bible researchers and those
opposed to the Trinity concentrate on the questions of "Should not
belief in the Trinity, described as the basis of the Christian
religion, be openly stated in the Bible?" and "If this belief were
really true, should not Jesus have openly spoken of it?" The answer
they provide is clear: No belief which does not appear openly in the
Bible and was thus unknown to the first Christians can form the basis
of Christianity. This is nothing morethan a myth which formed after
Jesus and under the influence of Greek culture. It has nothing to do
with the essence of Christianity.
This truth can be seen from a careful reading of the Bible.

THE CHRISTIAN ERROR OF THE TRINITY

The Qur'an specifically points to the positive beliefs and moral
characteristics of Christians. God has revealed that for Muslims,
Christians are "the people most affectionate to those who believe" and
"not arrogant." (Surat al-Ma'ida, 82) According toIslam, Christians
are not deniers,but are a People of the Book, together with the Jews.
In otherwords, they are faithful people who believe in God's earlier
revelations.
However, the Qur'an does point to one major error by Christians. That
is the error of the Trinity, the ascribing of divinity to Jesus.God
warns Christians in this regard in the Qur'an:
O People of the Book! Do not go to excess in your religion. Say
nothing but the truth about God. The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was
only the Messenger ofGod and His Word, which He castinto Mary, and a
Spirit from Him.So believe in God and His Messengers. Do not say:
"Three."It is better that you stop. God is only One God. He is too
Glorious to have a son! Everything in the heavens and in Earth belongs
to Him. God suffices as a Guardian. (Surat an-Nisa', 171)
Indeed, when we look at the historical facts, it can be seen that the
Trinity is a myth which entered into Christianity at a later date.
Monotheism: The Essenceof Christianity
Christianity was originally born among the Jews living in Palestine.
All of those around and who believed in Jesus were Jews and lived
according to the laws of Moses. The most fundamental feature of
Judaism was monotheism, the belief in one God.
However, Christianity began to grow rather different after the
ascension of Jesus into the presence of God and with its spread from
the Jewish world into the pagan one. Monotheistic belief, the essence
of the law of Moses, underwent a great change and Christians began
regarding Jesus as divine.
The belief in the "Trinity" emerged at the end of this process. This
concept describes, for Christians, a three-way belief in God as
"Father, Son and Holy Ghost." The Trinity is one of the fundamental
conditions of faith for traditional Christians. The belief in the
Trinity regards our Almighty Lord from a superstitious perspective and
is a mistaken concept which ascribes divinity to Jesus, sent byGod to
mankind as a prophet. Despite harboring a great many inconsistencies
and being totallyincompatible with monotheism, it occupies a central
role in the Christians' corrupted system of beliefs. Someone who does
not believe in the Trinity, and therefore that Jesus is the son ofGod,
is not regarded as a real Christian by the supporters of traditional
Christianity.

Fathwa - Ruling on fasting a day tocomplete (the fasting of) Ramadan if people differ concerning fasting it

Question
What is the ruling on fasting a day to completeRamadhaan if people
differ concerning fasting it? When should fasting be observed if this
is valid?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify
that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad,
is His slave and messenger.
Whoever misses a day of Ramadan should make up for it. Making it up
should not be on a specific day but he should make up for it before
the following Ramadan. The questionersaid: "If people differ
concerning fasting it". This means that people are differing with
regards to the beginning or end of the month. If the country does not
depend, in determining the beginning or end of the month, upon
astronomical calculationsbut rather on an actual sighting and they saw
the moon and fasted twenty nine days, then they have done what they
were ordered to do. Their fasting is correct and the doubt does not
matter.
However, if they depend upon astronomical calculations and their
fasting was less than what it should be according to the moon sighting
or completing Sha'baan, then they should fast the missed days whether
one or twodays.
Allaah Knows best.