TEACHINGS OF CHRIST 

            When Jesus Christ was vested with prophethood by God, the moral and religious condition of the Israelites was far from being satisfactory. polytheistic belief and practices had taken hold of them. They believed that Ezra was the son of God. Faisehood, hypocrisy and deceit had become part of their life. Their religious scholars were greedy of money. Trading in religion was a general phenomenon. It was a normal practice to render lawful what was unlawful and vice versa.  They did not desist from killing their virtuous people for performing the duty of enjoining good and forbidding evil. These were the conditions when God sent Jesus Christ to gather the lost sheep of Israel. 

            What were the teachings of Jesus? It is not difficult for a Muslim to decide this in the presence of the Qur’an. According to the faith of a Muslim, all the Prophets from Adam to Muhammad preached the same religion of truth. Their  system of laws differed according to varying conditions of life, but the fundamental message was the same, namely, that people should worship one God, follow their Prophet so that on the Day of Judgment they may not have to repent. This was the message propagated by Jesus Christ among his people. The Qur’an says: 

            “When Jesus came with clear signs, he said: ‘Now have I come to you with Wisdom, and in order to make clear to you some of the (points) on which ye dispute: therefore, fear God and obey me” (xliii. 63). 

            Although in its present form the authority of the Bible cannot be relied upon, but even so, it supports the standpoint of the Qur’an as stated in the above verse. Let us test this claim by quoting a few references from the Bible. First of all we begin with the belief in the unit of God. 

Unity of God 

            “Here, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord. And thou shalt love the lord thy God with all thime heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might” (Deuteronomy, vi, 4-5). 

            “Among the gods there is  none like unto thee: O Lord; neither are there any works  like unto thy works. 

            “All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before Thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name. 

            “For thou art  great and doest wonderful things: thou art  God alone” (Psalms, 1xxxvi, 8-10). 

            “And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? 

            “And Jesus answered him, The first of all commandments is,  Hear O Israel;  The Lord our God is one Lord: 

            “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength:  this is  the first commandment. 

            “And the second is like, namely  this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. 

            “And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but He” (St. Mark, xii, 28-32).

Faith in the Hereafter 

            The Yaum al Din (Day of Retribution) called by the Qur’an has been described here as the Day of Judgment. 

            “Be ye afraid of the sword: for wrath bringeth the punishment of the sword, that ye may know there is a  judgment” (job, xix, 29). 

            “But the Lord shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment. 

            “And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness” (Psalms, ix, 7-8). 

            “The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. 

            “So that a man shall say, Verily there is  a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth” (Psalms, lviii, 10-11). 

            “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even  to that same time: and that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. 

            “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and  everlasting contempt. 

            “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever” (xii, 1-3). 

            “And I will come near to you to judgement; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers and against those that oopress the hireling in his  wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right,  and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts” (Malachi, iii, 5). 

            “… for we shall stand before the judgment seat of Christ” (Romans, xiv, 10). 

            “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to god” (Romans, xiv, 12). 

            Everyone who is not prejudiced can see that the fundamental tenets of Christ and other Prophets (in spite of the vagueness created by the Gospel-writers) closely correspond with the basic beliefs of Islam. It seems as if they are two tunes arising from the same musical instrument and two pictures drawn up by the same artist. The Qur’an has uttered the truth when it says: “Mankind were one single nation,” and “But the People of the Book, after the clear Signs came to them, did not differ except through selfish contumacy” (ii. 213). 

Some Prohibitions

Adultery 

            “Ye  have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 

            “But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. 

            “And if they right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that  thy whole body should be cast into hell” (Matthew, v, 27-29). 

Prohibition against Amassing Wealth 

            “Now w Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. 

            “And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful for he was very rich. 

            “And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said: How hardly they that have riches shall enter into the kingdom of God!. 

            “For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God” (Luke, xviii, 22-25). 

About Dancing and Adultery 

            “Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying” (Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, xiii, 13).

Flesh and Wine 

            “It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing where by thy brother stumbleth…” (Romans, xiv, 21). 

Commandments about Women 

            “In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array. 

            “But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works. 

            “Let the women learn in silence with all subjection” (First Epistle of Paul to Timothy, ii, 9-11). 

            It is not intended to quote long excerpts. These few examples are enough to give an idea to the unprejudiced Christians as to how mercilessly these teachings of Christ are being trampled under foot in their society. Not only this, the Christian society is actually proud of its ways which are a flagrant violation of the teachings of their master. Not content with this, the Christians are trying to change the social set-up of the Muslims so that they may accept those filthy and profane ways of social living which are contrary to the above commandments.