Are Christians polytheists?
Question:
Christians do not admit to polytheism when they consider the trinity all in one. Allah in the Quran expresses his severe displeasure with association with Him.
How are the Christians then condemed to hell for this mistake or perhaps they are punished according to their deeds and Allah may have mercy upon them eventually?
Allah tells us the Christians are closest to us in worship.
Answer:
Allow me to address your question in a few points:
1. Christians do commit shirk in their perception of Jesus (pbuh) however they cannot be called Mushrik simply because they do not appreciate that what they are doing is Shirk. The Qur’an does say that this kind of belief is Shirk but has never called Christians Mushrik (just as there are many Muslims who have aspects of Shirk in their beliefs and practices but cannot be called Mushrik).
2. The Hell is a place for arrogant people (39:60). The crux of the criteria for going to Hell is arrogance. Accordingly anyone who arrogantly (i.e. knowingly) adopts false beliefs and does evil things is in fact fulfilling the criteria for going to Hell.
3. Anyone who is honestly following a belief and is honestly convinced that the belief is correct and is not arrogant enough to block his mind from any opportunity to see his faults, based on what we learn from the Qur’an, with the grace and the mercy of the Almighty should be safe in the hereafter, even if his beliefs are not entirely correct.
In fact your question has been answered in the Qur’an very clearly. At the end of the Sura of al-Ma’idah the Almighty narrates a dialogue that will take place between Himself and Jesus (pbuh) in the hereafter. The dialogue is about those followers of Jesus (pbuh) who committed Shirk. In a very subtle and respectful way Jesus (pbuh) asks for Mercy of the Almighty for those among his followers who deserve it. In answering to this the Almighty says:
قَالَ اللَّهُ هَاذَا يَوْمُ يَنفَعُ الصَّادِقِينَ صِدْقُهُمْ لهَمْ جَنَّاتٌ تجَرِى مِن تحَتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا رَّضىَِ اللَّهُ عَنهْمْ وَ رَضُواْ عَنْهُ ذَالِكَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيم
God will say: “This is the day when honesty (truthfulness) of the honest (truthful) will be of benefit to them. For them shall be orchards below which canals are running; they shall dwell therein forever. This is the great success. (5:119)
You wrote: "Allah tells us the Christians are closest to us in worship."
If you are referring to the verse 5:82, this is not what the verse says. What the verse says is that the Nasara (who were a special group of Christians at the time in Arabia) compared to the Jews and the polytheists in Arabia at the time of the Prophet (pbuh), had more affection towards Muslims in that era.
-------------------
February 2013
Christians do not admit to polytheism when they consider the trinity all in one. Allah in the Quran expresses his severe displeasure with association with Him.
How are the Christians then condemed to hell for this mistake or perhaps they are punished according to their deeds and Allah may have mercy upon them eventually?
Allah tells us the Christians are closest to us in worship.
Answer:
Allow me to address your question in a few points:
1. Christians do commit shirk in their perception of Jesus (pbuh) however they cannot be called Mushrik simply because they do not appreciate that what they are doing is Shirk. The Qur’an does say that this kind of belief is Shirk but has never called Christians Mushrik (just as there are many Muslims who have aspects of Shirk in their beliefs and practices but cannot be called Mushrik).
2. The Hell is a place for arrogant people (39:60). The crux of the criteria for going to Hell is arrogance. Accordingly anyone who arrogantly (i.e. knowingly) adopts false beliefs and does evil things is in fact fulfilling the criteria for going to Hell.
3. Anyone who is honestly following a belief and is honestly convinced that the belief is correct and is not arrogant enough to block his mind from any opportunity to see his faults, based on what we learn from the Qur’an, with the grace and the mercy of the Almighty should be safe in the hereafter, even if his beliefs are not entirely correct.
In fact your question has been answered in the Qur’an very clearly. At the end of the Sura of al-Ma’idah the Almighty narrates a dialogue that will take place between Himself and Jesus (pbuh) in the hereafter. The dialogue is about those followers of Jesus (pbuh) who committed Shirk. In a very subtle and respectful way Jesus (pbuh) asks for Mercy of the Almighty for those among his followers who deserve it. In answering to this the Almighty says:
قَالَ اللَّهُ هَاذَا يَوْمُ يَنفَعُ الصَّادِقِينَ صِدْقُهُمْ لهَمْ جَنَّاتٌ تجَرِى مِن تحَتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا رَّضىَِ اللَّهُ عَنهْمْ وَ رَضُواْ عَنْهُ ذَالِكَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيم
God will say: “This is the day when honesty (truthfulness) of the honest (truthful) will be of benefit to them. For them shall be orchards below which canals are running; they shall dwell therein forever. This is the great success. (5:119)
You wrote: "Allah tells us the Christians are closest to us in worship."
If you are referring to the verse 5:82, this is not what the verse says. What the verse says is that the Nasara (who were a special group of Christians at the time in Arabia) compared to the Jews and the polytheists in Arabia at the time of the Prophet (pbuh), had more affection towards Muslims in that era.
-------------------
February 2013
