Jihad, A Muslim Pharaoh, Noah's Drowned Son... And More Series

Lesson 26, Jihadists All.

Now we finish Sura 7, and then move to sura 8, called "The Spoils", and sura 9, "The repentant".

The ending verses of chapter 7 are yet another reminder of the insecure future afforded mankind by Allah, Islam's god. Verse 179: "And indeed, we have created for hell many of the jinn and the humans." He goes on to sound a little like Jesus, by saying these people have hearts that do not understand, eyes that do not see, ears that do not hear. He then says they are like animals, only worse. Of course, he is speaking of "those who considered our verses lies."

"Whomever Allah causes to go astray, so there is no guide for him. And he will leave them in their rebellion blindly." The thing closest to hope that he says on these two pages is in verse 204: "And when the Koran is read, then listen to it and pay attention, perhaps you may receive mercy."

Perhaps.

The New Testament agrees that there are many whose heart is hard. God has prepared a place for the disobedient He saw from the foundation of the world. But God continually allows for His grace to operate. Saul of Tarsus was a part of that group for whom Jesus offered His worst sayings, including the one above that Muhammad borrowed from Isaiah and Jesus. Yet Saul received the wonderful grace of the Lord and not the fate of the Pharisee, though he was one for sure! No "perhaps" with him. Anyone who calls on Jesus' name has a glorious future. It's not about reading the Koran or even the Bible, it's about an encounter with the true God of Heaven.

Sura 8, "The Spoils", takes us back to Medina, the later years. It is a relatively short chapter, yet a very intense one. Allah is once again the warrior who is to be exalted above all. The spoils of battle (hence the title of the chapter) are to go to Allah and his messenger, Muhammad. The infidels are to be cut off, literally. Heads and fingers are to be severed to show Allah's severity against those who dare oppose Muhammad. The torment of the fire follows soon after.

Do you Muslims see some marching infidels? Engage, "do not turn your backs to them." Kill them, but "it was not you who killed them, but Allah killed them." So it's justified .

For comparison, never once did Jesus of Nazareth ask His disciples to take the life of another human being. Never will He, until His return, exercise violence. He conquers now by serving, loving, giving life. He taught His followers to love their enemies. And so many enemies they had! Ultimately Jesus died for His enemies, sealing His teaching with His blood. There is no one like Jesus.

But Muhammad, and I continue in chapter 8, curses not only the infidels but the deaf, the dumb, and "those who do not understand", perhaps the ones we would call mentally ill or cognitively delayed today. Allah saw no good in these people and that is why they were created this way. Deaf people would have heard the sound of battle and turned back, after all. In Muhammad's vision, life is war. Those unfit for war must be cursed.

Again the contrast is stark and sharp. What did Jesus do for the deaf and dumb? Compassion. Healing. Deliverance. He calls all His people to similar love. Worthless? Not to Jesus. When they are healed, they noise abroad His wonderful works. And is it not possible that Jesus would love them just to love them, not for what He could receive from them? Is not His love unconditional and freeing?

Verse 36. "Surely those who became infidels spend their money to prevent others from the way of Allah." Amen and may it be so. May we who know Jesus spend much money and time and love preventing others from this Muhammadan way. The very infidel who speaks to you now is spending his retirement time in doing just that! May God raise up many of my readers to go even farther into enemy territory to inflict a wound on the spirits who are behind this movement. And may the love of God and the compassion of Jesus Christ bring many to the truth.

Verse 39. "And engage in war with them until... the religion will be completely to Allah." You see friend, true Muslims want Islam to be universal. True Christians must want the same for their Lord. Jesus died for this world. He deserves it all. Let us continue calling out a people who will one day rule this world with Him.

In the war, verse 41, when you take the spoils, remember that one fifth belongs to Allah and the messenger Muhammad. Remember also to strike terror into the heart of the enemy. Muhammad is told to "provoke the believers to engage in war." To take no captives. To conquer the earth, and leave the hereafter for Allah. To perform jihad by emigrating and with their money and with their lives and by giving asylum to fellow-Muslims.