Are the Christians Superior or will They be at a Loss?
Brief description of the dubiety
In verse 55 of Surah Ale Imran in the Holy Quran, it has been revealed that the followers of Prophet Isa are superior to the disbelievers until the Day of Judgement. However, in another verse, Surah Ale Imran, verse 85, it has been revealed that whoever is not a follower of the Islamic faith (including the Christians), then in the hereafter they will be among those who will incur loss. In conclusion, the contents of these two verses appear to be in contradiction with one another, because it is not possible for the followers of Prophet Isa be superior to the disbelievers until the Day of Judgement, but due to them not being Muslim, to be at a loss on the Day of Judgement.
Detailed description of the dubiety
Contradictory Verses
Verse in which the superiority of the Christians until the Day of Judgement has been mentioned
In verse 55 of Surah Ale Imran, it has been revealed that: “When Allah said, ‘O Isa, I shall take your [soul], and I shall raise you up towards Myself, and I shall clear you of [the calumnies of] the faithless, and I shall set those who follow you above the faithless until the Day of Resurrection. Then to Me will be your return, and I will judge between you concerning that about which you used to differ.” Based on this verse, whoever follows Prophet Isa and accepts the Christian faith will be superior to the disbelievers until the Day of Judgement.
Verse in which it mentions the loss of the non-Muslims
In verse 85 of Surah Ale Imran, it has been revealed: “Should anyone follow a religion other than Islam, it shall never be accepted from him, and he will be among the losers in the hereafter.” This verse expresses the truth that no religion except for Islam will be accepted by Allah, and the followers of other religions, including the Christians, will be amongst the group of losers in the hereafter.
Summary
In verse 55 of Surah Ale Imran, it has been revealed that the Christians are superior to the disbelievers, but in opposition to this in verse 85 of the same Surah, it has been revealed that the only accepted religion is Islam and the followers of any other religion will be at a loss. These two texts are in contradiction with one another because it is not possible for the followers of one religion to be superior to the disbelievers, but also be recognized as losers on the Day of Judgement.
A summarized response
From the perspective of the Holy Quran, one of the teachings of Prophet Isa was the promise of prophethood of the final Messenger of Islam and his command to follow the next Prophet who comes after him. Therefore, whoever had knowledge of the Holy Prophet of Islam but did not follow him and remained a follower of the Christian faith, verse 55 of Surah Ale Imran does not include these people - because in reality, they did not follow Prophet Isa. Therefore, whoever had knowledge of the Holy Prophet during his time and did not accept Islam were not from the followers of Prophet Isa and thus they will be among the losers. Therefore, there is no contradiction present between verse 55 of Surah Ale Imran and verse 85 of the same Surah.
A detailed response
Premises
1. To follow a religion means to follow all of the commands of that religion
Every religion is comprised of numerous teachings, and every follower of a religion must follow all of these commands. If a person accepts some of a religion’s teachings but does not accept some other parts of it, or does not obey the rulings, then he cannot be considered a true follower of that religion. Christianity is not an exception to this rule. Thus, the followers of Prophet Isa must follow him in all of the teachings, so that they can be recognized as a true follower of the religion.
2. Glad tidings of the appearance of a Prophet named Ahmad is from the teachings of Prophet Isa
Numerous instances in the Holy Quran mention the teachings of Christianity and Prophet Isa. One of these instances is in verse 6 of Surah al-Saff. In this verse, it has been revealed: “And when Isa, son of Mary said, ‘O Children of Israel! Indeed I am the apostle of Allah to you, to confirm what is before me of the Torah, and to give the good news of an apostle who will come after me, whose name is Ahmad.’ But when he brought them manifest proofs, they said, ‘This is plain magic.’” With due attention to this verse, it is clear that from the viewpoint of the Holy Quran, Prophet Isa introduced the Prophet after himself as the Holy Prophet of Islam, and the same way that he considered himself a follower of the preceding Prophet, i.e. Prophet Musa, there was no difference between himself and the succeeding Prophet, and he also wanted his followers to follow the Prophet that came after him.
The true followers of Prophet Isa are the followers of the Messenger of Islam
Just as it was explained in the second premise, Prophet Isa gives a promise about the appearance of another Prophet, whose name is ‘Ahmad’, and who will come to them with clear signs. In conclusion, the followers of Prophet Isa are obligated to follow the Holy Prophet of Islam; otherwise, they have transgressed the command of their Prophet and will not have superiority to the disbelievers.
The verse succeeding verse 6 of Surah al-Saff points to the people who disobeyed the command of Prophet Isa and opposed the new Prophet. Verse 7 says: “Who is a greater wrongdoer than him who fabricates falsehoods against Allah, while he is being summoned to Islam? And Allah does not guide the wrongdoing lot.” This verse explains that someone who fabricates falsehoods against Allah and does not accept Islam are in the category of the oppressors, and further to this, no one will be more oppressive than them. This group of people who does not follow the religion of Islam are not the true followers of Christianity, and they will not have any superiority to the disbelievers, in fact they will be considered to be one of them and one of the losers on the Day of Judgement.
According to the logic of the Holy Quran, the true followers of Prophet Isa will follow the final Messenger and will be among those who will be delivered, just as they saw the glad tidings of the appearance of the Holy Prophet in the Bible. In verse 157 of Surah al-Araaf, it has been revealed: “…those who follow the Apostle, the untaught Prophet, whose mention they find written with them in the Torah and the Evangel, who bids them to do what is right and forbids them from what is wrong, makes lawful to them all of the good things and forbids them from all of the vicious things, and relieves them of their burdens, and the shackles that were upon them - those who believe in him, honour him, help him, and follow the light that has been sent down with him, they are the felicitous.’” Based on this verse, firstly, the promise of the Prophetic mission of a new Prophet is both from the teachings of the religion of Prophet Musa, which has been indicated in the Torah, and also in the teachings of the religion of Prophet Isa, which has been mentioned in the Bible. Secondly, anyone from the Christian and Jewish faiths who has faith in the Holy Prophet, not only will they not be among the losers on the Day of Judgement, but they will also be among those who are saved.
Superiority of the Christians to the disbelievers only includes the true followers of the religion of Prophet Isa
Verse 55 of Surah Ale Imran explains that the superiority of the true followers of Prophet Isa to the disbelievers will only last until the Day of Judgement.
“When Allah said, ‘O Isa, I shall take your [soul], and I shall raise you up towards Myself, and I shall clear you of [the calumnies of] the faithless, and I shall set those who follow you above the faithless until the Day of Resurrection. Then to Me will be your return, where I will judge between you concerning that about which you used to differ.’” It is not understood from this verse that everyone who considers themselves to be followers of Prophet Isa, and those who have given themselves the title of the followers of Prophet Isa – that they will be superior to the disbelievers until the Day of Judgement, because perhaps someone may consider themselves to be a follower, but in reality, they are not.
According to the logic of the Holy Quran, just as it was clarified, that whoever had knowledge of the final Messenger, but did not follow him and remained with the religion of Prophet Isa is not truly a follower of Prophet Isa; on the contrary, they are considered as the opposers of this Prophet. Therefore, this verse does not include the Christians who did not accept Islam, and in conclusion, verse 55 of Surah Ale Imran, and verse 85 of the same Surah are not in contradiction to one another.
Common example
The guide of a certain group who has been working for years in order to form and guide his group, no longer has the ability to guide now due to illness. He chooses someone as the future guide so that the work of the group goes ahead well and along the route of his own principles. He says: “Whoever follows the commands of the next guide has followed me and adheres to the ideals of this group.” During the time of the new guide, due to a change in conditions, some of the previous guide’s commands became nullified and various new commands replace those. In this instance, the only people who are the true followers of the first guide are those who act upon the new commands and consider the previous commands as nullified. However, if someone, using the excuse that he is following the previous guide, defies the new rules and acts upon the old commands, then they are not the followers of the first guide nor are they the followers of the present guide, because by acting upon the old rules, they have transgressed the new guide. Likewise, by transgressing the new guide, they have also not respected the command of the previous guide; and as a result, they did not adhere to the ideals of their group.