- The Glorious Eternal Word of God - Kalimat Allah -

In Islam, several books are considered sacred - the Qur'an and collections of traditions (hadith). For Muslims the Qur'an is of prime importance. Some consider it to be the revelation of an eternal book with God in heaven (Kalaam Allah).

Islamic scholars say that the words of the Qur'an were delivered to mankind by the prophet Muhammad. The Qur'an claims that its words did not originate with Muhammad but that they were the revealed words of God (Kalimaat Allah).

Sura.13:39 "... with Him* is the mother of the book." (* i.e. Allah)
Sura.43:4 "... the mother of the book is before us ..."

The Qur'an contains much information also found in the book called the Bible which predates the Qur'an by more than 500 years.

For example the Qur'an agrees with the Bible as follows:-

The world was created in six days.

Sura 50:38 "And verily We created the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them, in six Days,"
(See also Suras 7: 54, 32:4, 50:38.)

Only the Lord Jesus was born of a virgin:

Surah 19:20-22 "She said: How can I have a son when no mortal hath touched me ... ? He said: ... Thy Lord saith: It is easy for Me ... and it is a thing ordained ... And she conceived him, ..."

The Qur'an speaks more highly of the Lord Jesus than it does of any one else.

According to the Qur'an the Lord Jesus is not dead but went up to heaven.

Surah 4:158 "Allah took him up unto Himself ..."

In the Qur'an he alone is called the Messiah^a (Al Masih).

Surah 3:45 "...whose name is the Messiah ..."
Surah 4:171 "...The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary ..."

He only is identified as word of God (Kalimat Allah)

Surah 3:45 "...O Mary! Lo! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a word from Him,...".  
Surah 4:171 "... His word which He conveyed unto Mary, ..."  

As God is eternal, so His Word is eternal.

What is meant by the title "Word of God"? The Bible explains in detail.

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The Arabic word "Kalimat"^b means the same as the Greek^c word "Logos", translated "Word" in the Bible in John chapter one, verses one and fourteen.

John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

The eternal Word became a human being:-

John 1:14 "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, ... full of grace and truth."

It is just as reasonable to believe that God's eternal Word became a man as it is to believe that the word of God became a book (the Qur'an).^d

But, why did God's Word become a man?

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What is God like? Is He good. Is He just? Does He care about us? How can we know? We can know God through His Eternal Word - the Messiah - Jesus the Christ.

John 1:18 "No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten Son ... he depicts* him."

*That is he showed us by his life what God is like.

Understanding Jesus the Christ's personality makes it possible for us to know God's personality.

Jesus the Christ's personality portrays God's characteristics like a father's characteristics are seen in a son, only totally so - "full of grace and truth".^e

Jesus the Christ is The Glorious Eternal Word of God, God's revelation of Himself to man, to bring man back into fellowship with God.

2 Corinthians 5:19 "... God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself ..."

No one should ignore Jesus the Christ because Almighty God said "...whoever will not take my words to heart, which he shall speak in my name, I will penalize him." (Deuteronomy 18:19).

The Bible is the only authentic record of Jesus the Christ's teaching.

Please do write to us for our free correspondence course:-
"Understanding the Bible"

NOTES:-

a	"The Messiah" (Al Masih) means the same as "the Christ".  Jesus the Christ is given the title Messiah in Surah 3:45, 4:157, 171, 172, 5:17, 72, 75, 9:30 and 31.
b	Arabic - kalima (pl. kalimaat) word; speech address; utterance, remark, saying; aphorism; treatise ... kalimatullah or kalimat allah: the word of God, the Holy Scriptures ... kalaam: talking, speaking speech; words, word, saying. tariqatulkalam or tariqa al-kalam: manner of speaking ilmul kalam: scholastic theology [Hans Wehr, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic (edited by Milton Cowan)]
c	The Bible is in two parts. That written before Jesus the Christ was born, the Jew's scriptures, is called the Old Testament and was written mainly in Hebrew - the language of the Jews. The part written afterwards is called the New Testament and was written in the international language of the time - Greek.
d	The orthodox Muslim view that the Qur'an is eternal is stated by the Sunni Iman Abu Hanifa (Born 80AH. 698AD) as follows: :"The Qur'an ... is inseparable from God ... the word of God is fixed in the essence of God, and he who says that the word of God is created is an infidel"  [Kitab al-Wasiyah]
e	John 1:14 "...(and we discerned his glory, glory discerned like that of an only begotten son compared to a Father) full of grace and truth."

Quranic references are taken from:-

"The Meaning of the Glorious Qur'an", translated by Marmaduke Pickthall, Taj Company, Karachi.
^NOTE: Verse reference numbering in other publications might differ a little.