The Resurrection of Christ: Part 1
Dr. Rafat Amari
Not an empty religious claim
Despite the fact that the temple of Jerusalem did not exist in the 7th century AD, the claim of Mohammed about his night trip to the non existent temple of Jerusalem, was accepted first by Abu Baker, who defended Mohammed on these unrealistic and unhistorical claims. We read about how Abu Baker supported Mohammad's claim: (Many Muslims backslid and pulled away from Islam, because of Mohammed's trip. People went to Abu Baker and asked him, “Why do you still have fellowship with your friend when he claims this past night he came to Bayt Al Makdis, which was Solomon’s Temple, and prayed in it before returning to Mecca.” When Abu Baker answered, “Do you disbelieve him?” they said, “Yes. He is now in the mosque telling people about it.” Then Abu Baker said, “By the name of Allah, I swear if Mohammed had said such thing, he is truthful. Why do you marvel at this? By the name of Allah, I swear that he tells me when the information comes to him from heaven to earth at a definite hour of the night or day, and I believe him.” Then Abu Baker approached the apostle of Allah and said to him: “Oh prophet of Allah , did you tell those people that you visited Bayt Al Makdis this past night?” When Mohammed replied, “Yes.” Abu Baker said, “Oh prophet of Allah, describe Bayt Al Makdis’s building to me because I have visited it,” to which Mohammed replied, “ the building of Bayt Al Makdis was portrayed before me until I looked into it.” So Mohammed described Solomon’s Temple to Abu Baker who replied, “That is correct and true, I testify that you are the apostle of Allah.” Every time Mohammed described a portion of the building, Abu Baker would say, “Well said, I believe you are the apostle of Allah.” When Mohammed finished describing the building, he said to Abu Baker, “ And you, Abu Baker, are the Saddik,” which means the one who believes. From that time forward, Mohammed called him Al Saddik. [i])
What would Abu Baker gain by supporting Mohammed's false claim, which led the rest of his companions to trust Mohammed?
The answer may lie in the prestige it gave Abu Baker. When he claimed to have visited Solomon’s Temple at Jerusalem, and described the building, though we know that the temple had been destroyed in 70 A.D., as a good and loyal follower, he collaborated Mohammed and the lie he told. Abu Baker, through this trickery, was confirmed as a leader behind Mohammed, and gained the title of Sadik (the truthful one), and making him the first indisputable believer behind his master. He gained his position only by adopting the same falsehoods used by his master, convincing and deceiving the naive and simple followers who did not question anything Mohammed claimed. His followers were superstitious, not willing to think or question or search for what was historically and logically true.
When we compare the evidence of the resurrection of Christ with the claims of founders of religions, we see that truth was not left obscure and hidden. The founders of most religions claim to have seen visions and had experiences in secret, without anyone testifying to the veracity of what they claimed. Mohammed became, in the eyes of his followers, the greatest prophet in history by claiming he mounted the baraq, or winged camel, to visit a non-existent temple to preach to all the prophets gathered there. This incident and Abu Baker’s confirmation was the rationale for elevating Mohammed over the other prophets in the eyes of Muslims.
When we compare Mohammed's claims with the evidence of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, we see how God makes the truth clear to the true seeker. The resurrection of Christ did not need to be “helped” by inventing falsehood and collaborating with false witnesses.
After the death of Christ the disciples hid themselves in a room. Peter had already denied Jesus three times during the trial, swearing that he never knew Him. Then the event of the resurrection of Christ from the dead occurred. It transformed the disciples into strong witnesses, ready to die for the fact of the resurrection. Why? This is because the risen Jesus appeared to them on the third day after His death, and ate with them. In the Gospel accounts, they independently testified to what they saw. They did not have to take someone else’s word for it. They met Jesus personally such as Paul met Him on the road to Damascus.
Copyright 2006 by Dr. Rafat Amari. All Rights Reserved.