(part 1 of 2)
Abdullah: Hello! How are you?
Derek: Hello! Fine, and you?
Abdullah: I’m fine and you?
Derek: Thanks.
Abdullah: Where are you from?
Derek: I’m from LA (Los Angeles).
Abdullah: The Land of Hollywood!
Derek: Well that’s right. Have you ever been to LA?
Abdullah: No, never. Why do you call yourself ‚Black Magic‘?
Derek: Oh, that’s just a nickname!
Abdullah: Oh.
Derek: Where are you from? Are you arab
Abdullah: Yes, I’m from Saudi Arabia, but I’m in Qatar now. What is your name?
Derek: My name is Derek. And what is your name?
Abdullah: My name is Abdullah.
Derek: What does Abdullah mean?
Abdullah: Abdullah means the servant of Allah and it is the job of every individual on the surface of the earth to serve God in what God demands of us. By the way, Allah is the real name of God.
Derek: How can we know what God or Allah wants from us?
Abdullah: All of this is described in the Quran and the Sunnah (the traditions and approved actions of the Prophet Muhammad, may God be satisfied with him). These are the two main sources of guidance for Islam. Can you please tell me more about yourself? How old are you?
Derek: I am 19 years old, black and I would very much like to learn more about Islam. First of all, what should a person do to become a Muslim?
Abdullah: It’s easy, brother; you just say that no one is worthy of worship except God and that Muhammad is a messenger – and you become a Muslim.
Derek: You mean Muhamad is His Apostle? But as a Christian or a non-Muslim, this sentence is not enough to make this clear to me.
Abdullah: All right. God sent Muhammad as His last prophet and messenger and revealed the Quran as the last revelation for humanity. God says that He perfected His religion and called Islam (see Quran 5: 3). Islam means peaceful submission to the will of God.
Derek: Oh.
Abdullah: Yes, and unfortunately most Christians do not know that the arrival of Prophet Muhammad was announced in their writings (see 2 Moses 18:18; 21:21; Psalms 118: 22-23; Isaiah 42: 1-13; Habakkuk 3: 3-4; Matthew 21: 42-43; John 14: 12-17; 15: 26-27; 16: 5-16). Muslim theologians have determined that the person described by Jesus (in the above verses) as coming after him is Muhammad.
Derek: OK well, but was there a need for another prophet after Jesus and another revelation according to the Bible?
Abdullah: All the prophets have come to teach their people the unity of God. Jesus was only sent as a messenger to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. (see Matt. 15:24). What happened was that all of these prophets were not particularly well received by the majority of people. For example, they began to manipulate the teachings of Moses and Jesus that God’s peace was with them. (see Quran 2:79). For this reason, God sent Muhammad with the last message (ie the Quran) to bring all people back to the faith and worship of the One God, without partners or mediators.
Derek: Isn’t the Quran similar to the Bible? I mean, what is it made of?
Abdullah: The Quran came as the last code, emphasizing the same pure, monotheistic teachings of Jesus, defending all the previous pure teachings of the monotheistic faith, and clarifying who Jesus and his mother were; shows that they were nothing more than great people.
Derek: OK How can we be sure that the Quran has remained the same since the time of Prophet Muhammad?
Abdullah: God Himself promised to save the Quran from corruption (see Quran 15: 9). Therefore, the Quran is the real and pure words of God, which were revealed in Arabic, the language of the people of Muhammad. Not a single character has been changed since then. This is very different from what happened to the other religions. For example, if you look in the Bible, you will find numerous versions. The name ´Bible´ already suggests it, because the Bible means a collection of books by different writers.
Derek: But didn’t God call it the Bible?
Abdullah: God calls the scripture that has been revealed to Jesus „Injiel“ in the Quran, the word from the Bible that comes closest to it is the gospel. The Bible was written many years after the time of Jesus, in a language that was alien to Jesus – it was Latin vulgate, a language that he had never spoken. Isn’t that strange? Interestingly, most of what was written in the New Testament is by Paul, who according to James, the brother Jesus in the Bible, had a polluted spirit because it changed and contradicted most of Jesus‘ teachings.
Derek: I think you know more about Christianity than the Pope!
Abdullah: You are wrong when you say I know more than the Pope. I simply researched the Bible with an alert mind. I think all Christians should do that.
Derek: Is there an English version of the Holy Quran?
Abdullah: There are numerous translations of the meanings of the Quran. The Quran has been revealed in Arabic, which means that Allah’s words are Arabic. The translations are the words of human beings that reflect the meaning of the Quran for the non-Arabic speaking masses.
Derek: How does the Quran define God of humanity or how does the Muslim feel God?
Abdullah: God is the one and only God, and the creator of everything. He does not father and was not fathered. He is different in every way than His creation. He is the all-knowing, the most powerful, the most merciful, the indomitable and the king of kings.
Derek: But it’s kind of hard for me to imagine God as His creatures.
Abdullah: You are absolutely right that it is difficult for you, because human beings have limited abilities. That is why God has given revelations to His prophets and messengers to explain to us who He is. So if you want to know who God is, just read the Quran.
Derek: Christians believe that Jesus was sent for the salvation of mankind. If this is not true, then the whole foundation of Christianity is wrong, isn’t it? What do you think?
Abdullah: That is correct. Today’s Christians follow Paul and what he taught. And they tend to follow their priests instead of what Jesus said.
Derek: Can you explain salvation by crucifying Jesus?
Abdullah: In Christianity, the doctrine of original sin is the reason that there must be redemption through the crucifixion of Jesus. However, this doctrine was introduced by Paul and it contradicts the Old Testament considerably (see Ezekiel 18:20, Jeremiah 31:30, Exodus 24:16). This doctrine is an attempt to escape responsibility for righteousness, believing that someone else’s punishment can free us from the burden of sins (see Ephesians 1: 7, Romans 4:25, 10: 9, Corinthians 15: 21). In the Quran, every soul is responsible for its own actions, be it good or bad (see Quran 74:38, 41:46, 3:25, 6: 154).
Derek: What about the crucifixion itself?
Abdullah: The Bible says that Jesus cried out loud on the cross, pleading with God for help. „My god, my god, why did you leave me?“ (Matt. 27:46) Does that sound like Jesus to you ??
Derek: No. Then what about Jesus‘ appearance before his disciples after the crucifixion?
Abdullah: Jesus neither died on the cross nor was he raised again. If he had been reawakened, he would have appeared to his disciples in a spiritual body. As shown in Luke 24: 36-43, he met with them in his physical body after the event of his supposed crucifixion. The Quran says that Jesus was not crucified, but someone else who looked like him (see Quran 4: 156-158).
Derek: Then how did the story of the crucifixion get into the Bible?
Abdullah: Again Paul was responsible for this. (see Timothy 2: 8 and Romans 5:10).
Derek: Hmm … deep in my heart I believe that God can never look like His creation and that He doesn’t do what they do. What I believe is that God is the Perfect One, who is very different from everything we see or touch. In other words, the writer can never look like his book.
Abdullah: You are right. There is nothing comparable to God (see Quran 112: 4). The prophets came with a very clear message that only God alone is worthy of worship, without any partners or mediators. But Paul took beliefs from idolaters and practices from the Romans and mixed them with the teachings of Jesus. So Paul was the main responsible for raising Jesus to the rank of God (see Acts 9:20) and to God.
Derek: Yeah. I remember now. The first commandment is: „Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is One Lord.“
Abdullah: That is correct. That is in Mark 12:29. The Quran confirms that God is One (which means): “Say:“ He is Allah, One (God). “ (Quran 112: 1)
Derek: What you say makes sense. It is just incredible! Do you think that Christians have followed the wrong path for almost 2000 years?
(part 2 of 2)
Abdullah: Yes, especially their misunderstanding about who Jesus was.
Derek: Oh my god! I have been deceived! Really, I feel cheated on a religious level. I was fooled because I was just blindly following the religion I was born in and didn’t take care to examine it thoroughly. But deep down there is always something that keeps me from accepting Islam, even though Islam is clearly the True Religion.
Abdullah: Your last remark shows that you are a Muslim and not a Christian and if you really love God and His Messenger Jesus you will follow Islam and Prophet Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be with him. Break that barrier inside you and return to your ancestors‘ path. You are free now because you are looking for the truth, and our great prophet Jesus told us to look for the truth and the truth will set us free. So you will be a free man as soon as you accept her. Be strong enough to have no hesitation in accepting Islam as the truth and you will enjoy the true freedom and joy that you have never felt before.
Derek: Honestly, I’m concerned about the negative way Islam is portrayed in the media. It is a blemish to be Muslim in the West and I am not sure that I am ready to live with this blemish.
Abdullah: This is precisely the reason why I tell people what true
Islam is like.
Derek: What is real Islam?
Abdullah: True Islam is conveyed in the Quran and shown through the example of the Prophet Muhammad. Indeed, it is not fair to measure a religion by the actions of some of its followers alone, because there are good and bad representatives in every religion. The correct course of action is to evaluate a religion based on the documented revelation of God and the Prophet who brought it.
Derek: Yes, I agree with you. But still I worry about how my family and friends will react when they learn that I am a Muslim.
Abdullah: Brother, on the day of judgment no one will be able to help you, not even your father, mother or friends (see Quran 31:33). So if you believe that Islam is the true religion, then you should accept it and live a life with which you satisfy the one who created you. Be a shining torch for them. Do not delay your coming to Islam. Because if you die before you become Muslim, it is too late (see Quran 2: 132, 3: 102, 3:85). So seize the opportunity. You can only treat this pain in yourself by becoming a Muslim and when you will be able to come and do a pilgrimage (Hajj) in the future.
Derek: You are a very wise man. I have to admit that sometimes when I watch satellite TV, especially in the Hajj era, the many people with their different skin tones and races who sit peacefully side by side and pray to God, I feel a pain deep in my heart and I feel the drag to talk to someone who knows more about this wonderful religion that can unite all races in one place. Thanks to you I found this person, so please help me become a Muslim now!
Abdullah: Brother, take it step by step. The first thing to do is to join Islam by saying: I testify that there is nothing rightly worshiped except God (Allah) and I testify that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. I testify that Jesus is His Prophet and Messenger. Let us say it again: I testify that there is nothing that is rightly worshiped except God (Allah) and I testify that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. I testify that Jesus is His Prophet and Messenger.
Derek: I testify that there is nothing rightly worshiped except God (Allah) and I testify that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. I testify that Jesus is His Prophet and Messenger.
Abdullah: Did you know Jesus‘ name was not Jesus. That is a Latinized name. His real name was ´Issa. Now you’re going to say the same thing in Arabic. I will transliterate it for you: Asch’hadu an laa ilaahaa illAllah, wa asch’hadu anna Muhammadun rasuulullaah, wa acsh’hadu anna ´Issa ‚abdullaahi wa rasuuluhu.
Derek: Asch’hadu an laa ilaahaa illAllah, wa asch’hadu anna muhammadun rasuulullaah, wa asch’hadu anna ´Issa ‚abdullaahi wa rauuoluhu.
Abdullah: Brother, say God is greatest, now that you have become a Muslim. You are no longer a Christian. You are now a Muslim. If I were with you, I would hug you – my brother in Islam! How do you feel now? A burden has left you and you feel light, don’t you?
Derek: If you were with me you would see my tears flow down to my neck. You are a great brother. I feel like I’ve just been brought to life. That’s how I feel. I no longer need to listen to the words of the priests in the Church who knowingly or unwittingly mislead people. I hope to become a good servant of God.
Abdullah: You know, you escaped unbelief and replaced it with faith. You are so pure now because someone who sincerely accepts Islam has God forgiven all of his past sins. Now go to an Islamic center, there are Muslims from all over the world, and proclaim your Islam there and continue to learn from them. Also find and practice a book on prayer in Islam. That is essential. Now that we’re done, you need to take a shower to cleanse yourself of your previous wrong views. Remember to stay away from bad company and surround yourself with righteous Muslim people. Stay away from so-called Muslims who call for nationalist ideas or racist ideas that are rejected in Islam.
Derek: I will definitely do what you advised me to do. And tomorrow I’m going to the Islamic center. I thank you for showing me the truth. I will do my best to meet people who know Islam well. May God help us to show more and more people the true Word of God. There is no god but God (Allah) and Muhammad is His Messenger. Now it is difficult for me to leave you.
Abdullah: Well, brother, you won’t leave me for a long time. I will soon be with you again through my supplications. Pray for me brother.
Derek: Thank you. I love you even though I don’t know you yet. But it is enough for me to think of the day when a very nice man pecked me out of the mud of life. Please teach me another Islamic word in Arabic that I can use at the Islamic Center. .
Abdullah: As-Salaamu ‚Alaykum Warahmatullaahi Wabarakaatuh
and Astaghfirullaah.
Derek: What does that mean? Abdullah: May the peace and blessings of God be with you. This is the greeting that all Muslims use. The last word means: God forgive me. So, I have to leave you now, but certainly not for long.
Derek: Assalaamu ‚Alaykum Warahmatullaahi Wabarakaatuh and Astaghfirullaah for being away from the truth for so many years. May god bless you. You have a great place in my heart and I will never forget you. Bye and see you soon. Your brother in Islam, Derek, but from now on I’ll call myself ‚Issa.
Abdullah: OK ‚Issa. I will give you a few final words on the way. Certainly the ultimate goal of people is to get to paradise forever. This reward of paradise is too big not to have a price. The price is true faith, which is expressed through obedience to God and following the Prophet’s Sunnah. This is the way to paradise. Let us stay in touch! Assalamu Alaykum!
Derek: OK Assalaamu Alaykum Warahmatullaahi Wabarakaatuh.
Source: https://www.islamland.com/deu/articles/ein-theoretischer-dialog-zwischen-einem-muslim-und-einem-christ