i love poetry . and there are lots of christian poets over the centuries who obviously write
about christianity , about their faith . but i couldn't find any christian poetry about islam
but i have been able to find a poem by a muslim about christianity . a poem by a chap called
Ibn Qayyim who died in 1350 a.d . now this is a really hard hitting poem actually it's called "O
Worshipers of Christ" and it's quite well known . obviously it was written in arabic and it's
a no-holds-barred kind of criticism of the heart of the matter , the muslim objection to christian
belief . and i'm going to read the poem out and so i say be aware that it is quite hard-hitting ,
this is not an ecumenical interfaith touchy-feely poem this is meant to in a sense refute
some of the claims of christianity but Ibn Qayyim was an islamic scholar as
i said who died in 1350 . he was an important theologian and a spiritual writer who belonged
to the hanbali school of which he is regarded as one of the most important thinkers . he is today
also remembered as the foremost disciple and student of the great medieval theologian Ibn Taymiyya .
and his poem as i say is called "O Worshipers of Christ" and it goes like this in english
i'm not going to recite it in arabic of course : O Worshipers of Christ , we'd like your most wise to
answer our question . if god was murdered by some people's actions then what sort of god is this .
and we wonder was he pleased by what they did to him if so then blessed are they for they must have
achieved his pleasure . but if he wasn't pleased with them then this must mean they overpowered him .
so was this present entity left without a god . an all-hearing being who can hear prayers .
and were the heavens vacated when he was placed under the earth and the dirt was above him . and
was the universe left without a god to manage it while his hands were being nailed down .
and why didn't the angels help him when they heard him cry out in pain .
and how could any wooden beam uphold a true god while he was being fastened to it .
and could any iron ever be brought to him so that it would be driven inside him and cause him pain .
and how could ever his enemies hands ever reach him so that they could whip him from behind .
and did this christ revive himself or was there another god that brought him to life . how strange
is this . a grave that enclosed a god . and even stranger is the womb that enclosed him before .
which he remained inside for nine whole months in utter darkness being fed by blood
then he emerged from the womb as a small child completely helpless and gaping to be breastfed .
thus he ate , drank and afterwards he answered the call which comes naturally . so is this really a god .
highly exalted is allah above the lies of christians they will be held accountable
for their fabrications . O Worshipers of Christ wake up . for this is what the matter is all about .
so there we go very hard hitting indeed . it makes some important points from a muslim point
of view of course . how can god be killed ? how can the creation have power over the
almighty god ? how can god die ? even the bible of course says in several places that god
is eternal and that he does not die that he is immortal the bible says that a number of times .
and what was happening to the universe ? how could the universe be left without a
god to manage it while he was being crucified to death . and these the same points , the same arguments
that you'll hear muslims making today in objection to the christian faith and
i think they're quite powerful arguments and i know the responses
but many people might feel that the responses are not always very compelling or very convincing .
but anyway , i hope you found that brief poem of interest . till next time