 |
CONGRUITIES AND INCONGRUITIES BETWEEN THE BIBLE AND THE QUR'AN |
 |
« And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.» (Luke 2/9)
« So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. »(Matthew 13/49-50)
The word 'Angel', 'Malak' in Hebrew, has passed into the western languages through Greek 'Angelos' meaning 'Messenger'. These are invisible creatures. In addition to their devotional acts to their Creator, they fulfill the duty of carrying messages. They are sacred creatures whose number is unknown. No prayer is addressed to them. « And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. »(Revelation 20/10)
Archangel Michael
« And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.» (Jude 1/9)
« The concept of 'archangel' which does not exist in the Old Testament we find in the New Testament. Michael, the power of good, and Satan, the power of evil, fought against each other resulting in the defeat of Satan. : And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him».(Revelation 12/7-9)
Archangel Gabriel
« And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.» (Luke 1/26,27)
« Gabriel who had announced the advent of Jesus Christ had visited the old father Zacharias to announce the birth of John. And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.» (Luke 1/19)
SATAN IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
Satan may manifest itself either in the garb of men or angels.
The fallen angels.
« And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.» (Revelation 12/9)
« Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:» (Matthew 25/41)
Some of the angels have rebelled against God and turned out to be devils. The said angels representing evil are called 'devils' in Christianity. The majority of scholars are of the opinion that they constitute one third of all the angels. The ancestor of the devils had caused Christ to wander in the desert for 40 days showing him all the richness of the creation which he promised to give him provided he adored him. « And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.» (Luke 4/5-8)
Devils in human garb
« But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.» (Matthew 16/23)
Jesus Christ had called Peter,'Satan' when he offended him. Peter had redressed his ways. Satan, then, assumed the attribute of someone, man or angel, who acted against the law of the Creator. « But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?» (Acts 5/3)
DEVILS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
« And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. »(Revelation 16/13)
« And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor Walk »(Revelation 9/20)
The fallen angels had succeeded in deviating men from the true path and induced them to adore themselves. « Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. »(James 2/19)
EXORCISM
« As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil. And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel.»(Matthew 9/32-33)
« And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter. And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed. »(Mark 7/29-30)
Jesus Christ healed individuals possessed by evil spirits. « And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him.» (Mark 1/25,26)
ANGELS, SATAN AND JINNS IN THE QUR'AN