The text, translated into English, of the Arabic inscriptions on the interior of the Dome of the Rock, the Muslim structure which stands on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem (built, by the way, on top of a destroyed Christian church):
On the inner octagonal arcade:
- S In the name of God, the Merciful the Compassionate. There is no god but God. He is One. He has
- no associate. Unto Him belongeth sovereignity and unto Him belongeth praise. He quickeneth and He giveth death; and He has
- Power over all things. Muhammad is the servant of God and His Messenger.
- SE Lo! God and His angels shower blessings on the Prophet.
- O ye who believe! Ask blessings on him and salute him with a worthy salutation. The blessing of God be on him and peace be
- on him, and may God have mercy. O People of the Book! Do not exaggerate in your religion
- E nor utter aught concerning God save the truth. The Messiah, Jesus son of
- Mary, was only a Messenger of God, and His Word which He conveyed unto Mary, and a spirit
- from Him. So believe in God and His messengers, and say not 'Three' - Cease! (it is)
- NE better for you! - God is only One God. Far be it removed from His transcendent majesty that He should have a son. His is all that is
- in the heavens and all that is in the earth. And God is
- sufficient as Defender. The Messiah will never scorn to be a
- N servant unto God, nor will the favoured angels. Whoso scorneth
- His service and is proud, all such will He assemble unto Him.
- Oh God, bless Your Messenger and Your servant Jesus
- NW son of Mary. Peace be on him the day he was born, and the day he dies,
- and the day he shall be raised alive! Such was Jesus, son of Mary, (this is) a statement of
- the truth concerning which they doubt. It befitteth not (the Majesty of) God that He should take unto Himself a son. Glory be to Him!
- W When He decreeth a thing, He saith unto it only: Be! and it is.
- Lo! God is my Lord and your Lord. So serve Him. That is the right path. God (Himself) is witness that there is no God
- save Him. And the angels and the men of learning (too are witness). Maintaining His creation in justice, there is no God save Him,
- SW the Almighty, the Wise. Lo! religion with God (is) Islam. Those who (formerly) received the Book
- differed only after knowledge came unto them, through transgression among themselves. Whoso
- disbelieveth the revelations of God (will find that) lo! God is swift at reckoning!
- S In the name of God, the Merciful the Compassionate. There is no god but God. He is One. He has no
- associate. Say: He is God, the One! God, the eternally Besought of all! He begetteth not nor was begotten. And there
- is none comparable unto Him. Muhammad is the Messenger of God, the blessing of God be on him.
- SW In the name of God, the Merciful the Compassionate. There is no god but God.
- He is One. He has no associate. Muhammad is the Messenger of God.
- Lo! God and His angels shower blessings on the Prophet.
- W O ye who believe! Ask blessings on him and salute him with a
- worthy salutation. In the name of God, the Merciful
- the Compassionate. There is no god but God. He is One. Praise be to
- NW God, Who hath not taken unto Himself a son, and Who hath
- no partner in the Sovereignty, nor hath He any protecting friend
- through dependence. And magnify Him with all magnificence. Muhammad is the Messenger of
- N God, the blessing of God be on him and the angels and His prophets, and peace be
- on him, and may God have mercy. In the name of God, the Merciful
- the Compassionate. There is no god but God. He is One. He has no associate.
- NE Unto Him belongeth sovereignty and unto Him belongeth praise. He quickeneth. And He giveth death; and He has
- Power over all things. Muhammad is the Messenger of God, the blessing of God be
- on him. May He accept his intercession on the Day of Judgment on behalf of his people.
- E In the name of God, the Merciful the Compassionate. There is no god but God. He is One.
- He has no associate. Muhammad is the Messenger of God, the blessing of God be
- on him. The dome was built by servant of God ‘Abd
- SE [Allah the Imam al-Ma'mun, Commander] of the Faithful, in the year two and seventy. May God accept from him and be content
- with him. Amen, Lord of the worlds, praise be to God.
"Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son." - 1 John 2:22Just a thought...
"'Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place' (whoever reads, let him understand), 'then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.'" - Matthew 24:15-16
David,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for this posting. It would be very helpful for Orthodox and non-Orthodox Christians alike, to be more acquainted with Islam. Perhaps you could post more regularly on this subject, since the Orthodox have had quite a few "encounters" over the centuries with Islam, more than most other Christians.
I took a tour in the Dome while over in Israel. The guide wouldn't allow my husband and me to hold hands. That was when I first heard about Jihad, from the Jewish tour guide, who had accepted Christ as his Messiah.
After reading Nostra Aetate written by Pope Paul VI some time ago, I became convinced that RCism had really gone off track. How can anyone say that the Muslims adore the same God as Christians?
OTOH, just take a glance over at Seth's blog, "Contend Earnestly," and there you will find that even some folks who call themselves Calvinists believe that the Muslims worship the God of Abraham. Now, I do think he is deviating quite a bit from the majority of Calvinists. He posts quite a bit on befriending Muslims in order to be a witness to Christ.
However, at times I think he crosses the boundaries.
Speaking of which, is there any material written by the Orthodox on evangelizing Muslims? Fr. Daniel from Russia (remember him?), was killed back in Nov. "09for his witness to the Muslim people.
I attended a presentation by an Orthodox priest from Indonesia back in Fall "09. He went into depth about the difficulty of Christians living within a Muslim culture. He was raised in a Muslim home and came to Christ in his later teenage yrs., and suffered ill treatment from his family. He knew the Quran by chapter and verse and quoted it like Christians quote the Bible. Just wish I could remember his name.
Here's another thought: it even contradicts Judaism. Proverbs, in particular. It misses out on similarities between Genesis and John's Gospel. Etc.
ReplyDeletePriest in Russia, Danilo Sisojev was preaching to Muslims and various unbelievers living there, and was killed.
ReplyDeleteIn Serbia there are examples of Muslims having visions of St Vasily of Ostrog, coming to his monastery and becoming Christians.
In Kosovo great number of Orthodox Churches has been burned by Albanian Muslims supported by NATO.
Many of them 700+ years old.
Monk named Hariton from monastery Crna Reka was beheaded by Albanian Muslim.
Also great Serbian director Emir Kusturica was Muslim and when he realized that his "brothers" are going into Jihad against Serbs he became Christian. In fact he returned to Christianity since, all Muslims in Bosnia are Serbs who were forcibly converted to Islam during Ottoman rule. Turks and "Bosnians" hate him.