Islam's Inability to Argue Against the Incarnation

Islam's Objection to Teaching Muslims What They Believe

Recently, a young man came up to me after church service and rather strongly objected to the idea that I had taught a Sunday school class, a Bible study class, on the subject of Islam, and I had taken the time to explain to people what Muslims believe.

And I had even read from the Koran to help people understand what Muslims believe. He actually accused me of emptying the cross of its power because I was saying that it is a good idea to know what people believe when you're trying to witness to them.

As an illustration of how important this really is, Muslims do not believe that the doctrine of the Incarnation is even a possibility. There is such a strong mental block in their minds against the idea that Allah could enter into his own creation, that they cannot even begin to really interact with what we believe about who Jesus Christ was.

If Jesus Christ was a man, then that's all he could be. He cannot be the God-man. You cannot have God taking on a human nature. It's just simply an impossibility from their perspective. And if you don't understand that, you're going to be constantly running up against a wall when trying to talk to them.

Zakir Naik's Argument That God Cannot Become Human

Let me give you an illustration. Here is Dr. Zakir Naik again, and he obviously is speaking to a very large audience of maybe just Muslims or Muslims and Hindus. I can't really tell which is which in this particular context, but he's speaking to a very large audience.

And someone asks, well, if God can do all things, cannot he become a man? Listen carefully to the reasoning that goes into Naik's response.

It is a common belief of all the religions that God can do everything. Then why can't he become a human being?

The brother posed the question that all the religions believe that God can do anything.

And everything.

So why can't he become a human being? Most of the religions, besides Islam, they believe in a philosophy known as anthropomorphism, that with Almighty God, he takes human forms. And the philosophy that Almighty God is so holy, he doesn't know the shortcomings of.

Human beings. How will a human being feel when he's hurt?

How will a human being feel when he's in trouble or in problem? So Almighty God has come down in this world and become a human being to set the rules.

For the human being.

On the face of it, it's a very good logic. But I tell these people that suppose I manufacture a VCR, do I have to become a VCR to know what is good or what is bad for the VCR? Since I'm the creator, I don't have to become a VCR.

I just write an instruction manual that if you want to play the VCR, video cassette recorder, put in the video cassette and press the play button. If you want to fast forward, press the FF button. If you want to stop, press the stop button.

Don't drop it from a height, it will get spoiled. Don't immerse it in water, it will get damaged. I'll write an instruction manual. Similarly, Almighty God, since he's the creator of the human beings, he does not have to become a human being to know what is good or what is bad for the human being.

What does he do? He chooses a man amongst men and he reveals the revelation. And the last and final revelation for the human beings, it is the glorious Quran, the do's and don'ts. If I agree with you for sake of argument that Almighty God can do anything and everything, so why can't he become a human being?

If I agree with you for sake of argument that God can do anything and everything, that he can even become a human being, if God becomes a human being, he chooses to be God. Because God and human beings have got different qualities...

Almighty God, he's immortal. Human beings are mortal. You can't have a person who is immortal and mortal at the same time. God has got no beginning. Human beings have been beginning. You can't have a person who has a beginning and no beginning at the same time.

Almighty God has got no end. Human beings have an end. You can't have a person who has an end and no end at the same time.

It's meaningless.

So either you can have God, or you can have man. You can't have a God and a man. It doesn't make sense. Human beings, we require to eat. Almighty God does not require to eat. Allah says in Surah An-Nam, chapter 6, verse number 14, Almighty God feeds everyone, but does not require to be fed.

We human beings require rest and sleep. Almighty God does not require rest. If I agree with you for sake of argument, Almighty God can do anything and everything. In the same argument, Almighty God can even tell a lie.

It is ungodly to tell a lie. The moment God tells a lie, he ceases to be God. If I agree with you God can do everything, God Almighty can even be unjust. But the moment God does injustice, he ceases to be God.

Allah says in the Quran, Surah Nisa, chapter number 4, verse 40, that Almighty God is never unjust in the least degree. If Almighty God wants,.

He can forget.

But to forget is ungodly. Allah says in Surah Taha, chapter 21, verse 52, that Allah subhana wa ta 'ala never forgets. The moment Almighty God forgets, he ceases to be God. If Almighty God wants, he can make a mistake.

But to make a mistake is ungodly. Allah says in Surah Taha, chapter 21, verse 52, that Almighty God never makes a mistake. The moment God makes a mistake, he ceases to be God. Nowhere in the Quran it is mentioned that God can do everything.

What Allah says in the Quran, Surah Fatir, chapter 35, verse 1,.

Is,.

That verily Allah has power over all things. It is mentioned in several places. In Surah Baqarah, chapter number 2, verse 106. In Surah Baqarah, chapter number 2, verse 109. In Surah Baqarah, chapter number 2, verse number 284.

In Surah Al-Imran, chapter number 3, verse 29. In Surah Nahl, chapter 16, verse 77. In Surah Fatir, chapter 35, verse number 1, Allah says, For verily, Allah has power over all things. Allah says in Surah Buruj, chapter number 85, verse number 16, that Allah is the doer of all the intents.

Whatever he intents, he can do. But Almighty God will never intend telling a lie. He will never intend making a mistake. He will never intend becoming a human being. He will only intend things which are godly.

Hope that answers the question.

Why This Does Not Answer the Christian Doctrine of the God-Man

Now clearly you can see that Dr. Naik really didn't answer the question. The argument is not that God had to become a man to know what man was like or to set rules for man or something like that. That's a complete canard.

The question was whether God is prohibited by some kind of necessity from entering into his own creation. Notice the second part of his argument assumes that God would cease being God and become solely human.

Nothing in this addresses the Christian viewpoint of God remaining God while taking on human nature, being the God-man. 100 God, 100 man. Not in a mixture, not 50 -50. He's not addressing anything that would be relevant to the Christian doctrine of the Incarnation.

The closest he gets to an argument is saying it doesn't make sense. That was all he really presented. It's painfully obvious that Naik, along with D-Dot and almost all Islamic apologists, has no meaningful insight into the Christian doctrine of the Trinity or into the Incarnation.

Isaiah, John, and Paul on the Incarnation

But what does the Word of God say about these things? When we look at the Old Testament, we are reminded of the prophetic word of Isaiah 9 -6. For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us, and the government will rest on his shoulders, and his name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

Now we may note, of course, that a child will be born to us. This is the normal language used for the birth of a human child. A son, however, will be given to us. Then notice the description of this one as the Mighty God.

Now lest someone think that, well, that's not just, that's just the Mighty God, that's not the Almighty God. Look at this from Isaiah 10 -21, where the exact same phraseology, the exact same Hebrew word, the phrase El Gabor, is used of Jehovah God within one chapter of Isaiah 9 -6.

It is very difficult for anyone to argue that in point of fact the term has a different meaning within one chapter of its use in Isaiah 9 -6 and in Isaiah 10 -21. Surely one of the most beautiful passages in all the Scripture that addresses the incarnations, John 1 -14, and the word became flesh.

Ha-lagas sarx, again it's ha, flesh. It didn't just appear flesh, but became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw his glory. Glory is of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. Menaganus, the unique one, the one who is described in just a few verses as making the Father known.

He tabernacled, dwelt amongst us. He became flesh. He didn't cease being the lagas. He became flesh. This is the incarnation. And, of course, it is our heart's desire that the Muslim people would come to understand the tremendous truths enunciated by the Apostle Paul in these words, the Carmen Christi of Philippians 2, who although he eternally existed in the very form of God, speaking of Jesus, he did not consider that equality he had with God the Father something to be held on to at all costs.

But instead he made himself nothing by taking on the very form of a slave by being made in human likeness. Notice when it says he made himself nothing, he did not cease being God, but he makes himself of no reputation by taking on the very form of a slave.

It is that taking on of the human nature that is the very essence of the incarnation. That is the truth that we desire to communicate to our Muslim friends.