CAN ALLAH LOVE THE SINNER? GOD GIVES UNCONDITIONAL LOVE.
The Quran clearly states that Allah does not love the sinner.
Note just a few of the many passages in the Quran addressing this topic:
· “God loves not transgressors.” (2:190)
· “He loves not creatures ungrateful or wicked.” (2:276)
· “God loves not those who do wrong.” (3:57, 140)
· “God loves not the arrogant the vainglorious.” (4:36)
Who is a sinner?
Certainly the Quran regards anyone who rejects God as a sinner. But there is another person the Quran regards as a sinner. The person who once obeyed God, but turned away.
“Say: ‘Obey God and His Apostle; but if they turn back God loves not those who reject Faith.” (3:32)
The Quran has dozens of passages like this. It is a fact, nowhere in the Quran is God ever reported to love someone who does not love Him first, nor is God´s love ever used as the primary motivation to draw someone close to Him.
In contrast, both the Torah and the Gospels record that God loves everyone regardless of their sin.
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ.” (Ephesians 2:3-5)
Note the contrast between this passage and the Quran in (2:190).
“God loves not transgressors.”
In both passages, people who have not yet turned to God are in focus. What a contrast! In the Quran, God simply does not love them. But if they turn, then God will love them.
Whereas in the Gospel, God loves them and it is because of His love that He pursues a relationship with them.
In the Prophets, God’s love for man is illustrated by His willingness to endure our sin as He waits for us to come to our senses about His character.
“Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go again and love Gomer, who is loved by her husband [Hosea], yet an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods….” (Hosea 3:1)
It is interesting that such a huge variance in the character of God’s love should exist between the two books?
Mohammed claimed He was revealing the will of God, who also sent the Prophets and Jesus. Both Moses and Jesus characterized God as loving the unrighteous and desiring to draw the unrighteous to Himself by means of His love. This is something the Quran does not do.
Take your own normal relationships as an example. Certainly your ability to love and express your love is imperfect, being that you are only human. Yet the Quran ascribes a lesser ability to love, on the part of God, than even normal human beings who have rejected Him.
Consider this: The vast majority of parents love their children unconditionally.
Even when their children do wrong, their parents still love them and express their love to them in some fashion.
There are many parents whose children have turned to gross immorality, or violence as a lifestyle. Some even turn against their parents more directly. Yet in the majority of cases, though those parents know their children have filled their lives with evil, they still love them and hope that their expressions of love will eventually turn their children back from the brink of destruction.
Nowhere in the Quran is God ever described in this manner. In fact, the opposite is true. He only loves those who obey or love Him first. The God of the Gospel loves deeply and unconditionally.
GOD GIVES UNCONDITIONAL LOVE.
The Quran and the Gospels in the Bible reflect very different views of God. God’s love is the basis for all relationships and behaviors. To imagine that God could love someone unconditionally is a concept unique to Christianity.
In the Torah, the Love of God is given as the very reason that God selected a people for Himself to save.
“Because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them…” (Deut. 4:37).
The Torah also notes that God loved His people though there was nothing special about them.
“The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because you were more in number than any people; for you [were] the fewest of all people….” (Deut. 7:7)
Even in the Gospels we see that God´s love for man is given as the primary reason He sent Isa (Jesus) as the Messiah.
“For God so loved the world He gave His One and Only Son….” (John 3:16).
Also, “This is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (I John 4:10)
These, and many other passages in the Bible portray God as loving those who don’t love Him, and working to redeem those very same people. God gives us unequalled love.
As a Muslim, you know that God is merciful, and compassionate, along with many other of descriptions of His character. It is comforting to know that God has such qualities.
That God is compassionate and merciful is not in question, rather, to whom is He compassionate and merciful, and why?
This is the key difference between the Quran and the Gospels; especially if these characteristics are qualities of God’s love.
The picture painted of God’s love by the Quran is very different from the Gospels.
To review, each section below outlines the main points the Quran gives regarding God’s Love:
The Quran: God does not love the sinner. God’s love is reserved for those who do good. God’s love is conditional, based upon our deeds. God’s people love him, but obedience is the requirement. Consequently, God’s people imitate God’s love.
The Gospel: God loves everyone, regardless of sin. God’s love is for everyone. God’s love is unconditional, being based upon His character, proven by His deeds. God seeks a personal relationship with us. Consequently, God’s people imitate God’s love.
COME TO JESUS, MEET HIM AS MESSIAH, RECOGNIZE HIS DEATH ON THE CROSS
AS GOD’S ATONEMENT, FORGIVENESS FROM ALL OF YOUR SIN.
GOD LOVES YOU UNCONDITIONALLY AND COMPLETELY.
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