quran_logo.gif (1909 bytes)

If Jesus was Muslim as Muslims claim, then why did he convert water into wine in one case, and said that wine is his blood in another since wine and alcohol are prohibited in Islam?

The answer to this question is quite simple.  We need to keep in mind that not all Christians drink wine or alcohol.  The Christian Mormons don't drink it nor use it in their church.  I once asked a Mormon missionary, why then is wine mentioned in the Bible and Jesus said that his blood was wine?  He said that wine is grape juice and not an alcoholic one. People misunderstood it.  He also added that Alcohol including wine was scientifically proven to cause serious mental illness and damages.

Why would the "Real Holy Bible" allow for us to drink something that causes lots of mental damages for us? especially after knowing the fact that in Hebrew grape juice was often referred to as wine.

So being a Muslim, I would say that Jesus peace be upon him converted water into grape juice as one of his miracles that Allah Almighty granted for him, and said that his blood is like grape juice.

 

A continuation to my answer from sister Jacqueline S. Waheed; may Allah Almighty always be pleased with her:

The fact that Jesus was Muslim is hardly based on Muslims' claim, Bible itself confirms it. [See e.g. Verses John 13:10, Matthew 26:39, Mark 3:31-35, Matthew 7:21-23] to name few. Beside that from Adam to Muhammed [saw] the religion of Allaah [God] has always been Islaam with the same message. However, in order to answer this question we must first explore the meaning of the word "Wine." Looking at the dictionary one can learn that the word "Wine" has following meanings.

wine (wºn) n. 1.a. A beverage made of the fermented juice of any of various kinds of grapes, usually containing from 10 to 15 percent alcohol by volume. b. A beverage made of the fermented juice of any of various other fruits or plants. 2. Something that intoxicates or exhilarates. 3. Color. The color of red wine. --wine v. wined, win·ing, wines. --tr. 1. To provide or entertain with wine. --intr. To drink wine. [Middle English, from Old English wºn, from Latin vºnum.]

Let us keep this fact in mind that the word [wine] does not automatically carry connotations [in dictionary] of an intoxicant drink, it is more obviously used for juice. Looking into the issue further we see that word [alcohol] means:

al·co·hol (²l"k.-hôl", -h¼l") n. 1. Abbr. al., alc. A colorless, volatile, flammable liquid, C2H5OH, synthesized or obtained by fermentation of sugars and starches and widely used, either pure or denatured, as a solvent and in drugs, cleaning solutions, explosives, and intoxicating beverages. Also called ethanol, ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol. 2. Intoxicating liquor containing alcohol. 3. Any of a series of hydroxyl compounds, the simplest of which are derived from saturated hydrocarbons, have the general formula CnH2n+1OH, and include ethanol and methanol. [Medieval Latin, fine metallic powder, especially of antimony, from Arabic al-ku¡l : al, the + ku¡l, powder of antimony.]

However, we learn by virtue of [word history] that:

WORD HISTORY: The al- in alcohol may alert some readers to the fact that this is a word of Arabic descent, as is the case with algebra and alkali-al being the Arabic definite article corresponding to the in English. The origin of -cohol is less obvious, however. Its Arabic ancestor was ku¡l, a fine powder most often made from antimony and used by women to darken their eyelids; in fact, ku¡l has given us the word kohl for such a preparation. Muslim Scientists and Chemists came to use al-ku¡l to mean "any fine powder produced in a number of ways, including the process of heating a substance to a gaseous state and then recooling it." The English word alcohol, derived through Medieval Latin from Arabic, is first recorded in 1543 in this sense. Muslim Scientists and Chemists also used al-ku¡l to refer to other substances such as essences that were obtained by distillation, a sense first found for English alcohol in 1672. One of these distilled essences, known as "alcohol of wine," is the constituent of fermented liquors that causes intoxication. This essence took over the term alcohol for itself, whence it has come to refer to the liquor that contains this essence as well as to a class of chemical compounds such as methanol.

Since Bible does not prove and/or indicates that alleged wine was intoxicant, neither Noble Qur'aan supports biblical account. It is therefore safe to say that it is inconceivable for a great Prophet Jesus to act in such contradictory fashion to turn water into intoxicant [wine] as we know it by proven record that intoxicants [alcoholic beverages] are responsible of social and moral bankruptcy of western world [in form of drunk driving accidental deaths, rape, incest, murder, suicide and more].

In Noble Qur'aan [Allaah "swt'] says:

Noble Qur'aan 2:219 "They ask you (O Muhammad SAW) concerning alcoholic drink and gambling.[] Say: "In them is a great sin, and (some) benefit for men, but the sin of them is greater than their benefit." And they ask you what they ought to spend. Say: "That which is beyond your needs." Thus Allâh makes clear to you His Laws in order that you may give thought."

Noble Qur'aan 5:90 "O you who believe! Intoxicants (all kinds of alcoholic drinks), gambling, Al­Ansâb[], and Al­Azlâm (arrows for seeking luck or decision) are an abomination of Shaitân's (Satan) handiwork. So avoid (strictly all) that (abomination) in order that you may be successful."

The above two verses from Noble Qur'aan are self-explanatory and are evident that Islaam is NOT against and/or has forbidden anything by name it has certainly permitted or forbid an act and/or product [whether natural or man made] by its characteristics. It is important to remind us that what Allaah has forbidden is what intoxicates, not a substance. We have several Hadiths, in addition to the Qur'anic orders, which make it clear that any drink that intoxicates is forbidden. The Prophet Muhammed [saw]explains that when taking only a large amount of a particular drink produces intoxication, then it is forbidden even to have a sip of it.

We cannot properly understand the wisdom behind a particular point of detail in Islaam unless we understand the nature of this system, its basic principles and its guarantees. Moreover, details of the Islaamic system should not be implemented in isolation to the rest of the system. We cannot simply take one legal provision or one principle of Islaam and try to implement it in a social setup, which is not Islaamic.

 

 

 

 

 

Back to Ask me any question section.

What is the place of Jesus, Jews and Christians in Islam?


Please email me at   Osama Abdallah

Back to either www.aol40.com  or  www.answering-christianity.com

Both sites are exactly the same

Purpose of this site.

You are visitor number:    since 4/13/1999.

Chat with other visitors    

Download Arabic Songs