Tag: Isa Ibn Maryam

Remembering 9/11

On By Mona SabahIn Uncategorized
Remembering 9/11

If we believe that God is Sovereign and that God has ordered and ordained things from eternity past, then it is safe to say that He ordered and planned for me to speak at the First Baptist Church in Wainwright Oklahoma today. It is very humbling to think that the Lord of the Universe, Creator God would deign to see it fit that I would go out and share my testimony about Him to a tiny, teeny little town in Oklahoma.

That’s exactly what took place today.

I got to drive 2.5 hours there and 2.5 hours back. Honestly, I was not relishing the thought of the long drive and then speaking all day. However, I have a very sweet and faithful church family that prays for me (and for my attitude). Their prayers helped to sustain me and so I set off with my daughter to Wainwright. On the way, we saw a beautiful sunrise and God’s creative handiwork. I was reminded of His lovingkindness towards us.

Sunrise over Oklahoma

At the church, I got to meet such sweet women who want to be obedient to Scripture and to learn how to share the Gospel with others. I was truly blessed and reminded of the family of God who worship Him together in Spirit and Truth (John 4:24). I also had to opportunity to share what God has done for me. I have written about September 11 many times on my blog (see this post and this one). However, 9/11 is a very tangible part of my testimony. It was these jarring events that shook up the United States 20 years ago that helped to shape my testimony of God’s saving grace upon me. Instead of fearing September 11 (and yes, the terrorist attacks were designed to instill fear), the day marked the beginning of the Lord waking me up to how He was orchestrating my life.

September 11 shook me up on a very personal level because while I was born a Muslim, I did not truly understand Islam. I had never read the Quran until that time or even prayed five times a day. It was these events that prompted me to learn more about my beliefs and to find out why the terrorists did what they did and why the Muslim world was relatively silent about condemning the perpetrators of that crime.

When I read the Quran, I learned about Isa Ibn Maryam (Isa = Iesous (Greek) = Jesus) in Surah 19. As I read about Him and found myself curious about His special place in the Quran. Why was He so special as to be born of a virgin? Why did He do so many miracles? Why was He the one to come back on Judgment Day? Why, why, why? All these questions and confusion.

I was not able to answer any of these questions because no one had shared the Gospel of Good News about Christ. It wasn’t until several years after 9/11 that the Gospel was shared with me and my husband. The moment the words of the Gospel hit our ears, we believed. As I share during my testimony, we walked into an office as dead people and through the miracle of God, we walked out new creations in Christ.

There are a lot of things happening around the world right now. Islam is at the forefront again with Afghan refugees coming to the United States. We can either react to this news with fear or we can welcome it as yet another opportunity from the Lord for fulfilling the Great Commission He gave to His children in Matthew 28:18-20 “18And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Will you go even if it means getting out of your comfort zone? Will you go to a tiny town where no one really famous lives? Will you go to your next door neighbor?

Will you GO?

A Former Muslim’s View of the Cross

On By Mona SabahIn Bible, Jesus Christ, LOVE, Muslim, Testimony6 Comments
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I had the honor of doing a podcast yesterday for Anna Clement from  Mission OKC . It’s called “A Former Muslim’s View of the Cross.” It’s a part of my testimony, but focuses on how the Cross of Christ is viewed by Muslims and what it means to me today.
A few highlights from the interview:
*Surah 4:157 says “And [for] their saying, “Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah.” And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain.”

The Bible says: For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  ~ 1 Cor 1:18

 

I thought you might want to watch the video or listen to the podcast with Easter in mind!
While you are on Anna’s site (http://thefirstthings.com/), check out her other podcasts as well.
May you celebrate the RISEN Savior who died on the cross for our sins and gave us life eternal!

He is RISEN!

Eid al Adha TODAY!

On By Mona SabahIn Jesus Christ, Testimony1 Comment

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image from RRB Result

Muslims all over the world look to Saudi Arabia to determine the shape of the moon to indicate the start of Eid festival. The Saudi High Judicial Council (HJC) announced August 22 that the new moon will be in a crescent, (they then calculate the date of Eid to be 10 days after) indicating the festival of Eid. The Islamic religious calendar is based upon a Lunar calendar and there is significance in the crescent moon. This is why you see the crescent moon for many of the Islamic nations’ flags and on top of mosques.

Eid al Adha (or Eid ul Adha – same thing) is translated as the “Greater Eid” or “Bakr Eid.” It is the Festival of the Sacrifice. I wrote about the rituals last year in this blog titled “Eid al Adha, 9/11, & God’s Sacrifice on Mount Moriah.” Every year, millions of Muslims sacrifice a goat or a lamb to commemorate Abraham’s sacrifice of his son. Muslims believe it was Ishmael who was offered on the altar, while the Jewish and Christian Scriptures state it was Isaac. Nevertheless, Abraham’s obedience to God is the commemoration on this day.

According to Hanifah (stricter rules of Islam), the offering for every Muslim is mandatory. According to other Hadiths (traditions), however, it is called “Sunnah” or a good thing to do. Either way, the Hadith says:

“Messenger of Allah (pbuh) is reported to have said :
‘Whoever can afford to offer a sacrifice but does not do so, let him not approach our place for prayer.’ (Reported by Ahmad and Ibn Maajah; classed as saheeh by al-Haakim from the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah.  ‘All those people who have the nisab (payable amount) of zakah should offer a sacrifice. The time for offering a sacrifice begins after the `Eid Al-Adha prayer.’ According to a Hadith, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have said, “Whosoever offered a sacrifice before the `Eid prayer, he or she just slaughtered an animal for meat, but whosoever made sacrifice after the `Eid Al-Adha prayer, he or she has offered a sacrifice.” (Al-Bukhari, Sahih, Hadith no. 902).”

So if you are called to sacrifice a goat or a lamb, how do you fulfill this as a Muslim? In this technologically advanced world, this has become much easier!  There are advertisements that allow a Muslim to pay for a lamb, a goat or even a cow (can share this sacrifice with up to 7 people) all around the world. Here’s an example of an ad:

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EXAMPLE of an ad for “Qurbani” or Sacrifice for sale

The problem with this is that the sacrifice needs to fulfill certain age requirements (more than 6 months old, but less than five years old, have none of the four defects mentioned by Muhammad, etc.). So how would you know that your sacrifice being chosen thousands of miles away meets the requirements? The answer is: You don’t.

When the Jewish people would offer sacrifice to the Lord, they had the understanding that the sacrifice was for atonement of sins – they were sinful and had to pay the penalty for sin. God allowed them to have a system of sacrifice that was offered on their behalf. Only one obscure Muslim Hadith mentions that you need to be present as you slaughter your sacrifice so that “Allah may forgive you as the first drop of blood comes out.” It is not certain what is being forgiven here – your latest sin, killing the animal or all your sins. The way most of my family looked at this was that it was simply one of the checklists that you need to do as a Muslim.

When I was a Muslim, I did not completely understand why we sacrificed a lamb (see post to explain that ritual) other than remembering Abraham’s obedience. I didn’t know what that lamb’s blood would do for me and what it meant for me, other than being obedient to Allah. There was no connection for me as to atonement or someone else taking on my sins. As far as I knew, I ALONE was responsible for doing good deeds to tip my scales towards the good on Judgment Day. It wasn’t until I met Christ Jesus and understood him shedding His blood willingly on the cross for my sins. I understood that day that only ONE is sinless (the Quran says also that only Jesus – Isa Ibn Maryam was sinless!). In the Bible, 1 Peter 1:18-20 says:

18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was known before the foundation of the world, but was revealed in the last times for your sake.…

As Muslims celebrate today and this weekend with parties and festivals, I want to ask Believers to pray for them to know the TRUE Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the sinless and spotless lamb of God. May every knee bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Amen.