Ben Abrahamson published a note. Isa (as) in Judaism, Muhammad (saw) in Judaism, Torah and Talmud

Question: Assalamualaikum. I would like to know and learn a few things about Judaism. For the past few months I have started to study and do research about Islam, Judaism and Christianity to understand better about the historical events and the connections that involved over this past thousand years.

 

1. Do you mind to explain a bit about Isa (as) in Judaism and Jesus in Christianity, what is the position for Isa (as) in Judaism, and how to relate it with Jesus as Christians believe in.

2. Second, what is the position for Muhammad (saw) in Judaism.

3. Third, about Torah and Talmud, what is the relation between it.

 

 sorry if my question offended you, I do not mean so.

 

Answer: wa aleikum salaam wa rahmatullah

 

The historical events of the last two thousand years would take a little time to explain (smile).

 

1) Jesus (pbuh) in Judaism

 

According to Jewish law, a person is declared a Prophet by means of the great court in Jerusalem. Since that court was destroyed by the Romans two thousand years ago, Judaism has given no opinion on Jesus (pbuh) or the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh), only on the movements that were founded in their name.

 

In addition there is the problem of knowing exactly what Jesus (pbuh) taught. In the Torah, Deuteronomy 18:13-22, the Children of Israel are given instructions how to recognize a Prophet:

 

1) Must be like Moses (pbuh), morally upright, without sin

2) Must teach the same teachings as Moses (pbuh)

3) If he speaks about the future, his words must be true.

 

Judaism's main source of teachings about Jesus (pbuh) come from the Church. Most Christians teach that God has a son (sure Allah SWT is above that), the Torah is invalid, the law of Moses (pbuh) no longer needs to be kept, and the Children of Israel have been replaced by the Christians.

 

These teachings violate the second rule above. The Torah says that its teachings are eternal and that the Law of Moses (pbuh) will never pass away, so Jews cannot accept the "Jesus" of the Church.

 

"Jesus" as taught by the Qur'an is more acceptable to Jewish views, but I have never heard a Rabbi discuss this issue in depth.

 

There is the additional issue of the claim that Jesus (pbuh) was the Messiah. In Judaism the expectation is that the Messiah will be like King David (pbuh). He will rule Israel and bring peace to the world, which hasn't happened yet. Christianity says that this will happen when Jesus (pbuh) comes a second time, so we will soon see.

 

2) Muhammed (pbuh) in Judaism

 

We are taught the prophecy is not limited to the Jewish people. There were many Prophets who were not Jewish, some were Arabic. The Torah says "And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; He shined forth from mount Paran, and He came with ten thousands of saints (Prophets): from His right hand went a fiery law for them (sharia/covenant)." (Deuteronomy 33:2)

 

The Qur'an explains it in a most perfect way: "To each among you have we prescribed a Shariah (law) and Minhaj (custom). If Allah had so willed, He could have made you a single Ummah (people), but (His plan is) to test you in what He hath given you: so strive as in a race in all virtues. The goal of you all is to Allah; it is He that will show you the truth about the matters in which ye differ;" (Al Maeda 48)

 

Thus we are taught that prophets were sent, and covenants were made with the nations of the world. These prophets were sent with a Divine Message, and each covenant is important and binding on its people, not unlike how the Torah is the law and guide for the Jewish people.

 

Thus from a Jewish point of view, Muhammed (pbuh) could be a Prophet. But again the biggest problem is the teachings of the followers of the Prophet (pbuh). Most Muslims claim the Torah has been corrupted, and is no longer valid. They claim that the Shari'ah of Musa (pbuh) has been abolished. For a Jew who follows the Torah with all his heart, he cannot accept these claims because the Torah itself says that it is eternal. This causes distance between Muslims and Jews, even though Jews believe that proper Jews and Muslims belong to the same religion.

 

Universal religion

 

I think the problem goes back to Roman Imperialism. With Constantine, there was a tendency to believe that Imperial and military power depended on religious uniformity. This was expressly declared at the council of Nicea in 325CE. Any time a dictator wanted to consolidate his power, he demanded that every person conform to the same form of worship. Judaism has no tradition imposing one form of worship upon all humanity. Judaism does not recognize "thought crimes" or punishment for wrong beliefs, only wrong actions. The dictators, however, demanded religious uniformity and declared all diverse religious views as unfounded, heretical and against the Empire. In order to demand universal uniformity, it was necessary to abrogate all previous beliefs.

 

Judaism cannot accept the abrogation of Torah. The Torah was given with great signs and wonders, thunder and the raising up of Mount Sina (Surat Al-Baqara 2.63) . Yet it is claimed that it has been canceled, albeit quietly. So quietly, in facet that there is nowhere in the New Testament, the Qur'an or the Ahaddith that clearly says the Covenant (Shari'ah) of Torah has been abrogated.  The opposite is true, the Torah is confirmed and upheld in the Qur'an and Ahaddith even while the Prophet (pbuh) was alive. (Surat Al-Maeda 5.43, Abu-Dawud 38.4434). So one could question if this is a true teaching or an innovation. To accept the alternative, that the Torah is still valid and binding, and still recognize Christianity or Islam is to accept multi-covenantism. Judaism accepts multi-covenantism, yet it also teaches there is a fundamental universal basic religion incumbent upon all mankind. Rabbi Benamozegh taught that if Christianity and Islam would really understand Jewish teaching, they would understand we are really all part of the same religion, under different covenants.

 

If either Christianity or Islam would officially re-evaluate claims of the abrogation of the Torah, which we are commanded to keep "as long as there is a heaven and earth", and present their case before the Great Sanhedrin in Jerusalem, Judaism's official stance of silence on Isa (as) and Muhammad (saw) could be re-evaluated. Until then, we see that Christianity and Islam are indeed playing a role in bringing monotheism and scripture to the world. Because of this we can assume that their founders are indeed Messengers of Allah SWT in some way, but we cannot say how. We are told that in the end of days, the Prophet Elijah (pbuh) will come and explain all our questions. The Qur'an too, says in a most perfect way: "The goal of you all is to Allah; it is He that will show you the truth about the matters in which ye differ;" (Al Maeda 48)

 

3) Torah and Talmud

 

The Qur'an says in a most perfect way: And remember We gave Moses the Scripture and the Criterion (Between right and wrong): There was a chance for you to be guided aright. (Surat Al Baqara 2,53)

 

We believe that when Moses (pbuh) received the Torah that he was not just given a bunch of words and then left to figure them out. We believe that Moses (pbuh) was given the understanding (criterion) how to apply the teachings of the Torah in all future situations. The written words are called "the Written Torah" and the proper understanding of those words is called "the Oral Torah". This is what the Qur'an calls "Scripture" and the "Criterion".

 

Over time, this understanding was passed down from Moses (pbuh) to Aaron (pbuh), to Joshua (pbuh), to the Prophets, to the elders, even until the spiritual leaders of today. Difficult cases were brought before the Prophets and other leaders, and they applied what they had learned and about 2000 years ago their decisions were written down. The collection of these legal cases, as well as stories and other teachings, were bound together in a set of books that we call today the Talmud (which means "learning").

 

The Talmud is not divinely inspired, but it contains examples of the divine Torah as it was applied and explained by spiritual leaders who had inherited the proper understanding of the Torah. It is believed by Jews, that study of these works, together with pure intention and and a humble heart, will allow a person to reconstruct in his or her mind the proper understanding of the words of Torah.