Divorce and Remarriage

Posted on February 23, 2014 by Robert Sievers

The more I learn about Islam, the more incongruities I find when compared with Christianity. Of course there are items in each religion that appear similar, but so too there are many places where stark areas of divergence emerge. One such area is in the issue of divorce and remarriage. In both Christianity and Islam, divorce is viewed as a terrible occurrence, yet one that is sometimes unfortunately unavoidable. In this sense, the religions seem to be similar. But upon deeper investigation, some bizarre differences become apparent.

When God gave the law to Israel, one issue that it dealt with was that of divorce. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day were familiar with the letter of the law, but they seemed to miss the point entirely (Matthew 19:7). God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16), and Jesus was quick to inform them that divorce was a concession given because of the reality of the hard-hearted nature of humans, but that divorce was never God’s desire (Matthew 19:8). This isn’t surprising, as anyone who has been divorced or had parents who divorced knows the heartache that accompanies it.

But there are circumstances where divorce may be inevitable. Two such reasons cited are adultery (Matthew 5:32) and abandonment by an unbelieving spouse (1 Corinthians 7:15). In such cases, the victimized spouse has options. One option is to follow through with the divorce, while the other is to offer forgiveness and work toward subsequent reconciliation. This isn’t always advantageous or even feasible, but the freedom to choose the option of reconciliation is always there until a remarriage occurs.

The first four verses from Deuteronomy 24 spell out the scenario in more detail. In essence, if a man divorces his wife, and she marries another man, and that second man also divorces her, the first man should not take her back as a wife. Such a statute protects the sanctity of the second marriage and it prevented women from being tossed around as property.

Regardless, the Bible teaches that reconciliation of broken marriages can happen at any point until a remarriage occurs. This fits with God’s character, since God is all about reconciliation (Romans 5:10, 2 Corinthians 5:18). The entire Bible is about God finding a way to repair and reconstruct the broken relationship we have with Him (Colossians 1:20).

Back to the marriage scenario, once reconciliation does not occur, and a person gets remarried, that new relationship is given the same protection and standing as the first marriage, so much so that you cannot go back.

So what does Islam teach about divorce, remarriage, and reconciliation? The primary verse in the Qur’an that speaks to this is as follows:

[2.230] So if he divorces her she shall not be lawful to him afterwards until she marries another husband; then if he divorces her there is no blame on them both if they return to each other (by marriage), if they think that they can keep within the limits of Allah, and these are the limits of Allah which He makes clear for a people who know.

If a divorce is finalized according to Islamic customs, it is irrevocable and reconciliation is no longer an option. An irrevocable divorce can be accomplished by the man uttering the words “I divorce you!” three times over any period of time, whether spread out or consecutively. As this Islamic site notes,

The absolute majority of the scholars are of the opinion that if one pronounces three divorces to one’s wife at one time, they will count as three and an irrevocable divorce will be established.[i]

There is one and only one way to get remarried. This can be done if the woman gets married to another man, and then gets divorced from the second marriage. Not only must this second marriage occur, but it must be consummated. Muhammad himself spoke to this in the Hadith.

Narrated ‘Aisha:
The wife of Rifa’a Al-Qurazi came to Allah’s Apostle and said, “O Allah’s Apostle! Rifa’a divorced me irrevocably. After him I married ‘Abdur-Rahman bin Az-Zubair Al-Qurazi who proved to be impotent.” Allah’s Apostle said to her, “Perhaps you want to return to Rifa’a? Nay (you cannot return to Rifa’a) until you and ‘Abdur-Rahman consummate your marriage.” [ii]

Notice that this woman apparently wanted to go back to her first husband Rifa, but she could not do so until she and Abdur-Rahman consummated their marriage. This might be getting a little confusing, so perhaps a recap is in order.

In Christianity, a broken marriage is always open for reconciliation until a remarriage occurs. In Islam, a broken marriage is not open for reconciliation until after a remarriage occurs. In Christianity, a second marriage precludes a person from returning to their first spouse. In Islam, a second marriage is required and must be consummated so that a person would have the option to return to their first spouse.

Everything is completely reversed.

[i] http://www.islamhelpline.net/qa/divorce-three-talaq

[ii] http://www.usc.edu/org/cmje/religious-texts/hadith/bukhari/063-sbt.php#007.063.186

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Another Oddity, I Swear

Posted on February 11, 2014 by Robert Sievers

Throughout many cultures, taking oaths has played a big role. Even in our own day and age, you hear people say something to the effect of “I didn’t do it. I swear!” Could an investigation into taking oaths reveal something unusual about the differences between Christianity and Islam?

In the English language, the world “swear” has come to have two separate meanings. One refers to the taking of an oath. People make a verbal attempt to intensify the trustworthiness of the accompanying statement. The other definition has to do with cursing, or uttering foul or offensive language. It is not these expletives that I am referring to. Rather, when I speak of swearing, it is the first type being discussed, the sense of taking an oath to signify the strength of the associated assertion. Now that these prerequisite definitions have been clarified, I can get to the meat of the article, I swear.

In Islam, the Qur’an allows people to swear an oath. There are some admonitions, such as not to do so frivolously, as mentioned here.

[3.77] (As for) those who take a small price for the covenant of Allah and their own oaths– surely they shall have no portion in the hereafter, and Allah will not speak to them, nor will He look upon them on the day of resurrection nor will He purify them, and they shall have a painful chastisement.

Another warning given in the Hadith is not to swear by anything other than Allah.

Narrated Abdullah: The Prophet said, “Whoever has to take an oath should swear by Allah or remain silent.” (i.e. He should not swear by other than Allah.) [i]

This means that within Islam a Muslim shouldn’t swear by things in creation. For example, it would be unlawful for a Muslim to say “I swear by my children that I did such and such.” So a Muslim can swear by Allah, but not by anything considered to be of lesser value than Allah himself.

In Christianity, the subject of swearing isn’t as clear. Throughout the Old Testament, people would often swear an oath by the LORD or His name to indicate a high level of loyalty. Abraham swore in God’s name to show loyalty to nearby kings (Genesis 21:23-24), while the Israelite swore to the Gibeonites not to harm them (Joshua 9:19). When people took oaths during the times of the Old Testament, typically they were made by God or by His name. Yet in the New Testament, we are instructed not to take oaths, but to just let our words speak for themselves (James 5:12).

This difference between Christianity and Islam seems rather petty. So what is really going on here? To unravel this further, look at God Himself. In the Bible, God actually takes oaths. God makes sure that people know He is serious and that He means what He says. He swears an oath to Abraham (Genesis 22:16), to the king of Judah (Jeremiah 22:5), and to people in general (Isaiah 45:23). What is the common factor in all these oaths? In each case, God swears by Himself (Jeremiah 49:13). This makes sense, because when a person takes an oath, he does so by invoking something of greater value than himself (Hebrews 6:16). But there is nothing that is greater than God. Since He Himself is above all creation, He can be no more emphatic than by swearing by Himself (Hebrews 6:13). In that same vein, He can also swear by His name (Jeremiah 44:26) or His attributes (Amos 4:2), which define His essence and uniqueness.

What does Allah do regarding his own oaths in the Qur’an? Well, Allah swears by all manner of things, whether by the Qur’an or by the created order. Many chapters of the Qur’an, such as 36 and 38, begin by Allah swearing by the Qur’an itself. In chapter 44, verse 2 of the Qur’an, Allah says “I swear by the Book that makes manifest.” An argument could be made that swearing by your word is the same thing is swearing by yourself, but in other places, such as chapter 51, Allah swears by “wind that scatters far and wide”, “clouds”, “ships”, and “angels”. In chapter 68 Allah swears by the pen. In later chapters, Allah swears by the moon and stars. It seems curious that Allah is allowed to swear by creation, something which Muslims themselves are not allowed to do.

Yet the bigger issue is what Allah swears by. In Christianity, nothing is higher than God. So when He takes an oath, He does so by swearing by Himself. In Islam, nothing is higher than Allah. Yet Allah swears by all kinds of created objects. Why is this? Why does the God of Bible swear only by Himself, yet Allah swears by the created order?

[i] http://www.searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=48&translator=1&start=0&number=844#844

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The Complexity of the Trinity

Posted on January 29, 2014 by Robert Sievers

After approximately forty articles, perhaps I have been remiss in not writing about one of the most contentious doctrinal issues dividing Christianity and Islam, the Trinity. Muslims often mention that the word “Trinity” never appears in the Bible, and I had discussed that in a much earlier article, but have not yet attacked this issue head on. It is long past time to do so.

In Islam, Allah is indivisible, and his oneness is upheld as paramount. This concept is straightforward and easy to grasp, that Allah has no partners, is indivisible, and is one. Of course the concept of the Trinity is flatly denied. There are a few verses in the Qur’an that directly refute the concept of the Trinity. Perhaps one of the best known is as follows:

[4.171] O followers of the Book! do not exceed the limits in your religion, and do not speak (lies) against Allah, but (speak) the truth; the Messiah, Isa son of Marium is only an apostle of Allah and His Word which He communicated to Marium and a spirit from Him; believe therefore in Allah and His apostles, and say not, Three. Desist, it is better for you; Allah is only one God; far be It from His glory that He should have a son, whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth is His, and Allah is sufficient for a Protector.

Of course, in Christianity, we believe God to be one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This idea of God as three-in-one seems baffling at first, but Jesus clearly taught about the nature of God in ways that astonished His listeners. The Jews were outraged at His words, because they knew exactly what Jesus meant when He referred to Himself as God’s own Son (John 5:18). Jesus responded in no uncertain terms that He and the Father were connected in a unique way that was much more integrated than His listeners could imagine (John 5:19, John 17:21). Still other passages talk about the Holy Spirit as eternal (Hebrews 9:14), omnipresent, (Psalm 139:7-8), and communicating not on His own, but somehow being interconnected with the Father and Son in enigmatic ways as well (John 16:13). There are many other passages in the Bible illustrating the deity of the Spirit such as Acts 5:3-4, and great treatises on the systematic theology of the Trinity are written elsewhere. Here we will take a more uncommon approach to the issue.

Is there a way to slice through these apologetic arguments? Indeed there is. Arguing over the concept of the Trinity is fruitless. While Christians believe in one and only one God, Muslims aren’t convinced when the concept of His Triune nature surfaces. This shouldn’t be surprising, since trying to comprehend the nature of God in a logical and systematic fashion by using human reasoning only is absurd. When Paul preached, he recognized that the mystery of God’s saving work transcended mere human reasoning (Galatians 1:11). More to the point, the Bible clues us into the fact that understanding deep spiritual truths about who God is requires the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 2:14).

“But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”

Accepting the truth of the Triune nature of God without the indwelling of the Spirit is impossible. Yet as humans we feel we can present strictly logical methods to prove the case, and it will be accepted through rational means. It is imperative to get past this misconception. Christian theologians have spent two millennia trying to correctly and accurately explain how God can be Father, Son, and Holy Spirit simultaneously. Why would we expect a quick description or analogy to unveil the Triune nature of God to our Muslim friends unless the Holy Spirit is active and working?

Recently, when I visited a local mosque, I was asked about the Trinity. I was asked to consider the fact that in Islam God is very understandable. I was informed that Allah’s nature and makeup are simple and straightforward to comprehend. I couldn’t agree more.

In Islam, the description of Allah is easily grasped by basic logic alone. In Christianity, the description of God defies normal human explanation. In Islam, Allah’s makeup is simple and makes sense to the human mind. In Christianity, God’s makeup is complex and enigmatic, and it requires contemplation and spiritual wisdom to even fathom who He is. If God is a simple creature and thus easy to understand, then Islam has it right. If God is an incredibly complex entity and beyond normal human thought patterns, then Christianity has it right.

Each one of us must ask himself what kind of God we worship.

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