Sin is taken lightly by Muslims because they believe that man was born good.  Committing a few mistakes were not really a big deal because Allah will forgive them by the good works they have done in their life.This idea of heaven and hell is very narrow because they believe that every person has two angels recording their good and bad deeds. Going to heaven or hell is the ultimate decision of Allah after they die, by weighing their good deeds and bad deeds. If the good deeds outweigh the bad deeds then the person will go to heaven; but if the bad deeds outweigh the good, that person will go to hell.

Still, they do not have any assurance of their salvation while they are still alive. Even Muhammad, their prophet had no assurance of his salvation. Here are some Qur’an scripture that supports these arguments:

• Sahil International Version -40:9 Say, “I am not something original among the messengers, nor do I know what will be done with me or with you. I only follow that which is revealed to and I am not but a clear warner.”

• Sahil International Version-2:105 Neither those who dislikes from the People of the Scripture nor the polytheists wish that any good should be sent down to you from the Lord. But Allah selects for His mercy whom He wills, and Allah is the possessor of great bounty.*

Lately, Muslims adopted some concepts of the Catholic theology of Purgatory with the hope that God will show His mercy towards Muslims and let Muslims enter heaven if they do their best to please Him. There is also a belief that all those Muslims who are not given permission to enter paradise will go to special place where they will finish their punishment and can come back to paradise. But human works can never be enough to please a Holy God. Even if we did, it would never be enough to earn the right to heaven. Where would Muslim find the answer of salvation? Jesus is the answer to the question. God took upon Himself flesh and became a human being that we by faith, might enter into God’s promise. He died for our sins and rose from the dead. God initiates the process of salvation and He is the one who provides the assurance.

Sharing the Good News to Muslims is a very challenging process. It needs a lot of prayers and interpersonal relationships. Every person who is trying to witness a Muslim should learn a few Islamic terms. Learning these terms will give you some advantage and will ease up the relationship you want to establish. It is imperative as a Missionary to Muslims that he or she learned about the culture and language of the county or country. Islam has its own culture.**

Concrete Response

I grow up in a Roman Catholic family. I attended a private school of the Catholics when I was in high school. We have subject about religion. Religion has been taught by nuns. They have to teach us about the prayers; Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be and I believe. We have to pray the rosary every Wednesday and attend mass every Sunday, the saints and Catholic Holidays. As I grow more mature until I finish college and looking for a job, I find myself spiritually empty. I enjoyed worldly pleasures like parties, travel but not for spiritual up lifting but for pleasure. In our house, it is only my mother who prays every evening and I have to go with her in the altar with carve saints and pray the holy rosary and novenas. With all these activities, I find myself spiritually empty. After college I work in university teaching midwifery students and this university is located in the middle of Muslim City. I find the students very different from the way they dress, values and culture. They do not want to work hard in accomplishing their assignments and requirements. I have difficulty adjusting to them. Because of this, I am so burdened that I seek help in facing the dilemma. One of the professors of the university is a Christian and it so happen that I share the burden to her. She shared the word of God to me and how I can be saved. At first I was hesitant to have a bible study with her because I do not know about this. In Catholics we do not do bible study. Nobody did any bible study in our house. But after several invitations, I gladly attended the bible studies until I received Jesus Christ as my personal savior and Lord. The first person that I shared the gospel was my mom who has gone with the Lord already. With this experience, I can relate with the Muslims who have not been exposed to the Christian teaching. They feel suspicious and they do not establish rapport readily. That is why they need to be reached.

Reflection

This is my first class in learning about Jesus in the Qur’an. I cannot believe that Jesus is being taken lightly in the Qur’an-a prophet taken up to heaven without dying on the cross and no resurrection. How did it happen when the Bible had been circulated 150BC? The Qur’an needs further scrutiny because it does not give spiritual upliftment to a person who is reading it. It gives an impression that you should fear to follow Allah and do good works so that you can work out your way to heaven or hell. I feel sad because it does not give assurance of eternal life.  Also sin is just an ordinary word for them. They can kill human life a still assured of heaven. How can that be? Allah should not be revered because    he favors the good and evil. From what I learned from the Bible, a God should tolerate sin, instead  He has to give grace and mercy to sinners. As to the formed questions in the book, there are some that are repetitive, specially about Muhammed- If he is a prophet, sinner, assurance of heaven and others. Reading the lesson from one chapter jumping to another is bothersome and confusing to me. I suggest that on the first few chapters, we have to learn first about Muslims, Islam and their culture, then the Qur’an, Hadith and Sira . After that we can discuss about sin, salvation, hell, heaven, evangelism and the Bible.

Action

With this course, me and my husband were encouraged to buy additional books to share to our friends and love ones who have Muslim friends.