Muhammad - A new apostle - Just a warner

This is a continuation of a multi-post article. You can read the first post here and the previous post here. This is also part of a larger series called "The Koran from a Christian perspective." You can find other posts in this series here.

The Koran teaches that, before God sends judgment upon any people, He first sends His warners to speak to them in their own language so that they might understand and respond. The Koran claims that Muhammad is just such a warner; sent to speak to an Arabic speaking people.

"And We have sent no Messenger [Apostle] save with the tongue [speech] of his people, that he might make all clear [speak plainly] to them." (Koran 14:4)

"No madness [djinn-possessed] is in their comrade; he [his office] is naught but a plain warner." (Koran 7:183)

"Truly it is the revelation [this book] of the Lord of all Being, brought down by the Faithful Spirit upon thy heart, that thou mayest be one of the warners, in a clear, Arabic tongue." (Koran 26:192-195)

Moreover, the Koran also makes it clear that not only was Muhammad sent to a people of a specific language but also to a people of a specific geographical region; not to the Greeks, not to the Romans, but to the Arabs).

"I have only been commanded to serve [worship] the Lord of this territory [land] which He has made sacred [sanctified]; to Him belongs everything. And I have been commanded to be of those that surrender [to God (a Muslim)], and to recite the Koran." (Koran 27:93-94)

God chose the the Arabs because they were a central people; a people in full view of the rest of the world. The plan of God was to speak to the Arabs that the rest of the world might see and follow their example.

"Say: 'To God belong the East and the West; He guides whomsoever He will to a straight [right] path.' Thus We appointed [made] you a midmost nation [central people] that you might be witnesses to the people [mankind], and that the Messenger [apostle] might be a witness to you." (Koran 2:136-137)

Given  this narrative, there are a few things that we must consider. First, for as many times that Muhammad said that he was just a "plain warner," (Koran 22;48) it is evident that the Koran made him out to be much more than that. The Koran calls him, "the Seal of the Prophets" (Koran 33:40) and one on whom God "has sent down the Salvation [the illumination] upon His servant, that he may be a warner to all beings [creatures]." (Koran 25:1) Not just for Arabic speaking people but all people. Muhammad was not a mere warner; rather he claimed to be much more.

Secondly, while Muhammad was sent to an Arabic speaking people, we know that Jesus was sent for all mankind; bringing salvation and the Gospel to the entire world. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

Thirdly, we must wonder that, today, there are more Muslims that do not speak Arabic than do. It is curious to me that so many people are turning to an apostle and a message that were not sent to them but to a specific people in a specific tongue. The Koran makes it plain that Muhammad was a witness to the Arabic speaking people and that they, not Muhammad, would be the witness to the world.

Finally, it makes me wonder why the Muslim people left their faith in God, their faith that God could change the world by changing them, and made it their aim to change the world through conquest and violence. If the words of the Koran are true, and the plan of God is certain, then God's plan to transform the Arabic world as a witness to the world around them should be sufficient without resorting to conquest to make converts. Islam has come a long way from the humble days of such a "plain warner."

More to come...
David Robison