For our adult readers we have prepared the following fact sheet to acquaint them of the subtle differences between the Nazarenes (Nasara – Arabic transliterature) and Christians.



WHO ARE THE NAZARENES AND WHO ARE THE CHRISTIANS

Mistranslation:

The Arabic word used in the Koran to define those who followed Prophet Jesus, peace upon him, is 'Nasara' meaning 'Nazarenes', and not, as generally accept and commonly translated 'Christians'. 



The Nazarenes:

Prophet Jesus was from the village of Nazareth, and called "The Nazarene". Like Jesus, his followers became known as "Nazarenes". After his ascent to the heavens at the time of his betrayal his disciples established a seat of learning at a place in the desert called Qumran.



A Sect of Judaism:

The Nazarenes did not consider themselves followers of a new religion rather they considered themselves to be reformed Jews. They also considered themselves to be "the lost sheep of Israel" of whom Jesus spoke and for whom he was sent as a guide and a prophet to shepherd the sincere Jews back to the true, original teachings of the Mosaic law which had over the years been corrupted by people seeking worldly advantages and gain and who did not fear their Creator.



A Nazarene priest was called a Rabbi.



Paul: 

How, may you ask, did the word "Christians" come to replace the word "Nazarenes"? The word "Christian" is traced directly to Paul who was a Roman citizen, and is a word derived from the Latin (Roman) word 'Christus' and the Greek word 'Christos', both of which mean 'anointed'. 



Who was Paul you might ask? Paul was not a pure bred Jew, his blood was mixed. To achieve a position of rank within the orthodox Jewish authorities it was essential that one must be of pure Jewish descent and Paul was not.



Paul was ambitious and yearned to be accepted into the elite Jewish circles so he worked zealously for a prominent Jewish rabbi for many years. Eventually, an opportunity for advancement presented itself but Paul, much to his disappointment, was passed over in favor of a pure bred, but less qualified Jew. Paul knew now that no matter how hard he worked there was no hope for self-advancement in these circles so he abandoned his position to look elsewhere.



Paul, who was also a Roman citizen, now sought employment with the Romans and was accepted. His task was to do what until now both Rome and the Jews failed to do – destroy the teachings and followers of Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him.



Qumran:

As we mentioned before, the followers of Jesus were called Nazarenes and had established their seat of worship and learning in Qumran (the place in which the Dead Sea Scrolls were found). Their leader, James, was a major disciple of Prophet Jesus and on account of his piety and just nature was called "James, the Just". James and his fellow Nazarenes or Nazarites as they were also known, followed the teachings entrusted to them by Prophet Jesus and did not deviate.



To become a Nazarene rabbi, a Nazarene was obliged to study for at least three years and pass an examination upon the completion of his studies.



Paul's Conversion:

Paul claimed his conversion on his way to Damascus. 



Paul's Agenda:

The Dead Sea Scrolls relate that some time after Paul's experience on the road to Damascus - when he claimed his conversion - he went to Qumran. However, when one analyses the events that were to follow in the coming years it is clear that Paul had his own agenda which was to impregnate the pure teachings of Jesus with those of his own and form his own religion.



Paul meets James the Just:

The Dead Sea Scrolls also narrate that initially, Paul was made welcome at Qumran but James, who had heard, first hand, the teachings of Jesus was quick to realize Paul's deviations. Soon a heated argument between the two ensued with the result that after just fifteen days after his arrival Paul left the community and therefore could by no means lay claim to the rank and title of a Nazarene rabbi.



The Warning – The Unscrupulous Liar:

In the Qumran scrolls a warning was recorded by Peter, a major disciple of Prophet Jesus, saying: "Wherefore observe with the greatest caution that you believe no teacher unless he brings from Jerusalem the testimonial of James."

It is evident Paul did not have such a testimonial. It is also worth noting that in the scrolls, the disciples refer to Paul as "The unscrupulous liar". Neither of these devoted followers of Prophet Jesus would have uttered these devastating words lightly or without reason, as they feared the wrath of their Creator.



The Birth of Christianity:

When Paul started his own innovative style of preaching he and his followers did not call themselves Nazarenes or Jews, rather they adopted a new title "Christians".



One should be aware that Prophet Jesus had been given the prophethood by his Creator and also his own Gospel which, unfortunately no longer exists. Paul was neither given the prophethood nor a gospel.



Paul's invention of the Christian religion incorporated the moral aspects taught by Prophet Jesus and this made his preaching attractive but to this he added the concept of the trinity – three gods in one, and this made his preaching so much more acceptable as the pagans of Rome and Greece who already worshipped a god who had either a son or a daughter and so forth. Paul deliberately abandoned the spiritual message of Prophet Jesus, which was that of Judaism in its purest form - the worship of One God who has no sons, daughters or partners.



Paul Exposed by his own words:

To promote and attract people to Christianity and of course to himself, Paul openly admits in the Bible, 1 Corinthians, 9-20-25. 'I made myself a Jew to the Jews …I made myself all things to all men … That is how I run intent on winning; that is how I fight, not beating the air.' His own words endorse Peter and James' statement that Paul was indeed "The Unscrupulous Liar" who would do or say anything to attract followers.



Opposition to Paul's Teachings:

In the Bible, chapter Galations, it is recorded that the Nazarenes journeyed to where Paul preached to disclaim his authority and contradict his teachings. Many listened to the Nazarenes and in Galations 1 verses 6-9 the angered Paul declares to his congregation, 'I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel – which is no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ….. As we had already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you gospel other than what you accepted from me, let him be eternally condemned!'  or, in another edition of the Bible, 'If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you have received, let him be accursed!' 



The New Testament versus the Authenticity of the Holy Koran:

Examine the New Testament of the Bible – the book of the Christians. You will find it is, for the most part, the work and actions of Paul and his followers. No mention is made of the Gospel given to Prophet Jesus.



Until recently, the fact that the first books in the New Testament section of the Bible, i.e. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were not written by the actual disciples of Prophet Jesus, remained unknown to the man-in-the-street, the books were in fact written by people who just bore the same names of his disciples and neither knew nor met him. However, with the advancement of technology Biblical scholars now openly acknowledge the fact that these gospels cannot be attributed to the disciples of Jesus. 



The Arabic Koran given to Prophet Muhammad, praise and peace be upon him, is the unaltered, unchanged, unchangeable Word of the Creator who tells us in the Koran, 'It is We who sent down the Koran, and We watch over it.' (Ch.15:9) And Allah does not lie. The Arabic Koran will never be subject to tampering.



How do we know the Arabic Koran is the same as it was when it was first written down? The first copies of the Koran ever to be written down still exist and at the time of the Prophet's death, thousands and thousands knew the entire Koran by heart and ever since its revelation it has been meticulously transmitted from one generation to the next.



The Final Onslaught to the Teachings of Prophet Jesus:

Approximately three hundred years had now passed and Constantine, who was now Emperor of Rome faced many problems. Constantine, was shrewd, he observed that those who claimed to follow the teachings of Jesus were excellent, law abiding citizens. Within their society there was love and care for one another and they were always prepared to lend a helping hand wherever needed. The only objection to them was that they refused to offer sacrifices to the gods of Rome, and because of this many, under previous emperors, had been put to death.



It was to Constantine's political advantage to adopt and befriend those who claimed to follow Jesus and claimed he had converted to their religion. His observation convinced him that these law-abiding citizens had already started to succeed and influence a sector of the Roman society and this was a most desirable factor to stabilize his crumbling empire.



However, there was a problem. There were two groups claiming that they followed Jesus with very different doctrines. One group was lead by a man called Arius who worshipped one God and taught that Jesus was His Prophet. The other group who called themselves Christians claimed that God was three gods in one – which was very similar to the pagan religions of Rome and also Greece.



Before his conversion, Constantine had been a sun worshipping pagan and the Roman sun worshipers celebrated the day of its birth on 25th December.

Constantine thought he could unite both the followers of Jesus and the followers of Paul into one religion and called for a gathering of both parties to meet at a place called Nicea to resolve their doctrinal differences.



Orders were sent to all the leading religious authorities to attend the Conference of Nicea – they were instructed to bring their books with them to support their claims.



The head of the followers of Prophet Jesus was a man called Arius. Arius argued, "If the Father (meaning God) begot the son, then he (Jesus) who was begotten had a beginning in existence and from this it follows there was a time when the son did not exist." In other words Arius argued Jesus was the creation of God and not a god-head. God had always existed whereas Jesus had not, Jesus was created. (Ref. The Story of Christianity, by Drs. Collins and Price)



Needless to say Arius who was very knowledgeable refused to accept Paul's doctrine of three gods in one – the Trinity.



Constantine, who for obvious reasons, favored the theory of three gods in one, realized that the followers of Prophet Jesus and the Christians would never agree. One evening he ordered the clergy to leave their books on the table and said he – who had just emerged from paganism - would ask God to determine which books were to be followed. Each of the participants of the conference were escorted to their rooms and not allowed the leave it and were told to pray. The following day when Arius returned to the conference table he found all his books and those of his companions were missing, they had been taken and destroyed – and only the books of Paul and his adherents remained.



Arius and his companions left the conference immediately only to be murdered by Constantine’s men as they returned home.



The conference continued and soon after the Christian creed was devised. The creed was a complete contradiction to the teachings of Prophet Jesus and endorsed the teachings of Paul.



This creed, the Nicene creed, is the creed recited in churches each Sunday to this very day which reads:



“I believe in God the Father Almighty

Creator of the heavens and the earth

And believe in Jesus Christ His only son, our Lord

Who was crucified dead and buried

Who descended into Hell

And on the third day rose from the dead

And ascended into heaven

Where he sits on the right hand of God Almighty

From whence he will come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic church.

The communion of saints,

The resurrection of the dead

And the life everlasting.”



Constantine and the tomb of Prophet Jesus:

Over three hundred years had passed since Prophet Jesus had been taken to the heavens by his Creator, however Constantine believed, according to the teachings of Paul that Jesus had been crucified and then buried, whereas the unalterable, protected verses of the Koran deny that Jesus was crucified and tell us that he was taken up to the heavens by Gabriel. Jesus will remain in the heavens until his descent just before the end of the world. 



Constantine needed to find as many religious sites in Jerusalem as he could so that he might establish and enhance the validity of his cause with the pagans of Rome. Amongst the "holy sites" Constantine claimed to have found was that of the tomb of Jesus.



Over the site Constantine claimed to be the tomb of Prophet Jesus he erected a church. Since that time several churches have been erected on that site. Why several churches you may ask? Each church has either been destroyed by a fire or an earthquake! The tomb of Prophet Muhammad - praise and peace be upon him and upon all the prophets – has been protected by Allah and has never, ever suffer from any kind of disaster.



Footnotes:

In Bamber Gascoigne's book, "The Christians" he mentions that during his research in the Holy Land he noticed that the crucifix did not appear on any of the tombs of those who had actually followed Prophet Jesus during his life time, rather the sign used to distinguish them was that of a fish, as Prophet Jesus was known as the "Fisher of Men". 



The crucifix appears only on the tombs since the time of Paul. If the crucifixion is removed from the Christian doctrine - which is that Paul claimed Jesus was crucified for us so that we might be saved from our sins – is removed, Paul’s religion crumbles. Allah tells us in the Koran, "and for their saying, 'We killed the Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger (and Prophet) of Allah.' They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but to them, he (the crucified) had been given the look (of Prophet Jesus). Those who differ concerning him (Prophet Jesus) are surely in doubt regarding him, they have no knowledge of him, except the following of supposition, and (it is) a certainty they did not kill him." Koran Ch.4:157. 



Christians claim that to be saved one must accept and believe that Jesus died for our sins and through him alone we attain redemption. This poses a very big problem. If one can only attain redemption through the blood of Jesus and by accepting him to be your savior – what is the condition of all the prophets and righteous people who preceded him – they neither knew him, nor did they accept him as their savior!



As for the verse in the Old Testament of the Bible, in the first chapter Genesis that proclaims “God created man in His own image” – think about this. (The capitalization of the H in His is used to refer to the Creator in all religious literature). In both Aramaic and Hebrew there are no capital letters. Therefore now read the quotation as it would have been read in Aramaic or Hebrew and it takes on another light – “God, the Creator created man in his own image”, meaning God, the Creator created man with his own (individual) image, in other words God did not create man to look like Him.



It has been said that there are many people who do not got to a mosque, church or synagogue who lead better and more helpful lives that those who do which is a humanitarian approach. However, the critical issue is not that of humanitarian, rather the question of faith is the root, everyone stumbles and falls – no one is perfect, but without the correct faith there is no forgiveness in the Hereafter no matter how much good you try to do, but Allah is still just and those who worship other than Allah alone will be recompensed in this world for their good deeds, but there is no reward for them in the Hereafter.



Islam honors all the prophets of the Creator, and does not reject any of them in fact it is essential for a Muslim to accept all of them. When one compares the teachings of Prophet Muhammad, who was sent as the last Prophet and Messenger of Allah for all mankind, to that of previous prophets who were sent for their own nation, one finds them identical – all the prophets preached the same message which is that Allah, the Creator is alone and has no partner. There is no god except Allah, and Muhammad is His worshiper and Messenger. Peace and blessings be upon all the prophets.

 

We invite you to read our free book “Jesus, Al Mahdi and the Anti-Christ” which portrays the Islamic belief in the coming of Jesus just before the end of the world