Merry Christmas from the Learned Scholars of Islam

I found at New Media Journal, a reference to a Yahoo News article about the Ulama's Christmas greeting. The text of the greeting is reproduced below, followed by a quote from a statement about the sanctity of innocent lives. After quoting the documents, I will dissect them and expose the deceptions therein contained.

A Muslim Message of Thanks and of Christmas and New Year Greetings, December 2007

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

May God bless Muhammad and his kin and bless Abraham and his kin

Al-Salaamu Aleikum; Peace be upon you; Pax Vobiscum

Peace be upon Jesus Christ who says: Peace is upon me the day I was born, the day I die, and the day I am resurrected (Chapter of Mary; the Holy Qur’an; 19:34).

During these joyful holidays we write to you, our Christian neighbors all over the world, to express our thanks for the beautiful and gracious responses that we Muslims have been receiving from the very first day we issued our invitation to come together to ‘A Common Word’ based on ‘Love of God and Love of Neighbor’ (see www.acommonword.com for the document and the responses).

We thank you and wish you all a joyous and peaceful Christmas Holiday Season commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, may peace be upon him.

We Muslims bear witness that: There is no god but God, without associate, and that Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger, and that Jesus is His Servant, His Messenger, His Word cast to Mary, and a Spirit from Him …. (Sahih Bukhari, Kitab Ahadith al-Anbiya’).

We pray, during these blessed days, which have coincided with the Muslim feast of the Hajj or Pilgrimage, which commemorates the faith of the Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him), that the New Year may bring healing and peace to our suffering world. God’s refusal to let Abraham (peace be upon him) sacrifice his son—granting him instead a ram—is to this day a Divine warrant and a most powerful social lesson for all the followers of the Abrahamic faiths, to ever do their utmost to save, uphold and treasure every single human life and especially the life of every single child. Indeed, it is worthy of note that this year Muslim scholars issued a historic declaration affirming the sanctity of human life—of every human life—as an essential and foundational teaching in Islam upon which all Muslim scholars are in unanimous agreement (see details at www.duaatalislam.com). May the coming year be one in which the sanctity and dignity of human life is upheld by all. May it be a year of humble repentance before God, and mutual forgiveness within and between communities.

Praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds.

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The Statement of Muslim Scholars on the Sanctity of Human Life and on the Prohibition of
Declaring a Believer an Apostate in Light of the Current State of Affairs in Iraq

The sanctity of human life: God has forbidden the killing of innocents whether
they be Muslim, Christian, or otherwise. All who take life without legitimate
justification commit a major crime and an atrocity before God.

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• May God bless Muhammad and his kin and bless Abraham and his kin.

"Abraham and his kin" includes the Jews, of whom Allah said "They are the worst of creatures." ; do the Ulama sincerely bless those whom Moe has cursed or are they unaware of 9:30?

• Al-Salaamu Aleikum; Peace be upon you; Pax Vobiscum

This greeting contravenes Moe's explicit command concerning greeting Kufar.

Sahih Muslim Book 026, Number 5389:

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: Do not greet the Jews and the Christians before they greet you and when you meet any one of them on the roads force him to go to the narrowest part of it.

• Peace be upon Jesus Christ who says: Peace is upon me the day I was born, the day I die, and the day I am resurrected (Chapter of Mary; the Holy Qur’an; 19:34) [Ref. preceding ayeh 33.]

1. PBUH: why? PBU Moe is explained.
   • 33:56. "Allâh sends His Salât (Graces, Honours, Blessings, Mercy, etc.) on the Prophet (Muhammad ) and also His angels too (ask Allâh to bless and forgive him). O you who believe! Send your Salât on (ask Allâh to bless) him (Muhammad ), and (you should) greet (salute) him with the Islâmic way of greeting (salutation i.e. As­Salâmu 'Alaikum)" .[TheCommand to Say Salah upon the Propht] Clearly, Moe had some doubt concerning his own salvation and was seeking reinforcement, knowing that he was a sinner. Is there any doubt about Jesus Christ's eternal destination?
2. On what day did Jesus die? 4:157. And because of their saying (in boast), "We killed Messiah 'Iesa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary), the Messenger of Allâh," - but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but the resemblance of 'Iesa (Jesus) was put over another man (and they killed that man), and those who differ therein are full of doubts. They have no (certain) knowledge, they follow nothing but conjecture. For surely; they killed him not [i.e. 'Iesa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary) ]:
   
   4:158. But Allâh raised him ['Iesa (Jesus)] up (with his body and soul) unto Himself (and he is in the heavens). And Allâh is Ever All ­Powerful All Wise.

• uphold and treasure every single human life and especially the life of every single child. Indeed, it is worthy of note that this year Muslim scholars issued a historic declaration affirming the sanctity of human life—of every human life—as an essential and foundational teaching in Islam upon which all Muslim scholars are in unanimous agreement

Is that so? Every human life is sacred to Islam, especially the children? In Sahih Muslim, Muslim Book 019, Number 4294, we read: "do not kill the children". But in Book 019, Number 4321 we read: "It is reported on the authority of Sa'b b. Jaththama that the Prophet of Allah (may peace be upon him), when asked about the women and children of the polytheists being killed during the night raid, said: They are from them."

What is the reason for the injunction and for the exception, if life is sacred? In Sahih Bukhari Volume 5, Book 59, Number 512 we read: "Then the inhabitants of Khaibar came out running on the roads. The Prophet had their warriors killed, their offspring and woman taken as captives." Does that give you a hint? What did they do with captives? See 8:67 & 47:4. What happened to Safiya? What happened to the adolescent boys of the Banu Qurayzah tribe? But all human life is sacred, particularly the children, right?

If all human life is sacred to Islam, why did Moe say: "I have been ordered to fight the people till they say: 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah.' And if they say so, pray like our prayers, face our Qibla and slaughter as we slaughter, then their blood and property will be sacred to us and we will not interfere with them except legally and their reckoning will be with Allah." Clearly, our lives ain't sacred to Muslims until we submit to Islam!!

• The sanctity of human life: God has forbidden the killing of innocents whether
  they be Muslim, Christian, or otherwise. All who take life without legitimate
  justification commit a major crime and an atrocity before God.

Who is innocent? 5:33 establishes the punishment for making mischief against Allah: 5:33. "The recompense of those who wage war against Allâh and His Messenger and do mischief in the land is only that they shall be killed or crucified or their hands and their feet be cut off on the opposite sides, or be exiled from the land. That is their disgrace in this world, and a great torment is theirs in the Hereafter. " Who incurs that penalty? Ibn Kathir lets the cat out of the bag in his tafsir of this ayeh: "Wage war' mentioned here means, oppose and contradict, and it includes disbelief, blocking roads and spreading fear in the fairways. Mischief in the land refers to various types of evil. " You are subject to the penalties imposed by 5:33 for disbelief!!! If you do not believe in and obey Allah and his Messenger, you ain't innocent. Whenever a Muslim's lips are moving, his pen is writing or his fingers are on a keyboard, look out for the weasel words!!!