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THE JEWISH SHEMA & MUSLIM SHAHADA:
1. TORAH: LAW OF MOSES & THE SHEMA
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)
The primary teaching is contained in Deuteronomy 6:4. The emphasis of the Shema is the Oneness of God. This verse establishes that the Jewish faith is monotheistic.
The word echad means “one” in English. Another word for “one” is yachid which means only or one and only one. Basically yachid denotes absolute singularity. But echad is a compound-unity noun.
DEFINITION: A compound-unity noun = A noun, which demonstrates oneness or unity while containing several entities at the same time.
Deut 6:4 is the first part of the Shema, more than any other that is used by Muslims to affirm the fact that God is one and is often used to contradict the concept of plurality in the Godhead. But is it a valid use of this verse?
POINTS TO PONDER:
I) The Shema is addressed to the nation of Israel: “Hear O Israel,….. “
ii) Moses included ” And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”
iii) Moses did not add his name to the Shema to acknowledge himself as a Prophet and or Messenger.
iv) Moses used the Hebrew word” Echad”
There is a Hebrew word that does mean an absolute unity and that is yachid, the emphasis being on the meaning of “only.”
If Moses intended to teach God’s absolute oneness as over against a compound unity, this would have been a far more appropriate word.
2. INJEEL – GOSPEL OF JESUS & THE SHEMA in New Testament
(Mark 12:29-30; and Luke 10:27)
Jesus quoted Deut 6:4 in Mk 12:29
When a scribe asked Jesus which of all the commandments of God was the “first” or most important, Jesus quoted the Shema word-for-word:
Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?” Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.
Mark 12:28-30 NKJV
POINTS TO PONDER:
I) The Shema is addressed to the nation of Israel: “Hear O Israel,….. “
ii) Jesus included:” And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”
iii) Jesus did not add his name to the Shema to acknowledge himself as a Prophet and or Messenger.
iv) Jesus Christ recognized this as the first and greatest commandment (Mark 12:30), teaching that obedience to it fulfilled one’s duty to the entire law.
3. THE QURAN & THE SHAHDA
The Shahada is an Islamic creed, first of the Five Pillars of Islam, declaring belief in the oneness (tawhid) of God.
THE SHAHADA according to Sunni Muslims is composed of two parts.
“La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadur rasoolu Allah,” in Arabic.
In English it means:
“There is no true god (deity) but God (Allah), and Muhammad is the Messenger (Prophet) of God.”
The two parts are not found together in one verse in the Quran but in two separate verses, juxtaposed.
QURAN References juxtaposed
1st Part: “there is no god but Allah”
(Surah 4:171; 37:35; 47:19)
2nd Part: “Muhammad is the messenger of Allah” (Surah 63:1) has been added to the first part:
POINTS TO PONDER:
According to Surah 4:48, to associate anything or anyone with God is known as ‘shirk’, a blasphemy, which God does not forgive.
Allah forgiveth not that partners should be set up with Him; but He forgiveth anything else, to whom He plea
The Qur’an was to have been a confirmation of what came before it in the Torah (Law of Moses) and the Injeel (Gospel of Jesus) Surah. 3:3
The SHEMA and SHAHADA are very different and can never be brought together or made similar.
The difference between the Shema and the Shahada, in the words of the infamous late Ahmed Deedat, is “Chalk and cheese they are poles apart”.
REFERENCES:
1. Stanley Rosenyhal: One God… Or three: Exploring the Tri-Unity of God in the Old Testament – The Spearhead Press 1978
2. Stanley Rosenyhal: God is One-A Biblical View of the Trinity https://1stloveministry.com/
STANLEY ROSENTHAL, is a converted Jewish Christian.
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