How should Muslims discuss faith with their Christian friends, especially when it comes to sensitive topics like the Bible? In this insightful exchange, renowned American Muslim scholar Yusuf Estes offers a masterclass in Islamic manners of debate — one that prioritizes building bridges over burning them, and winning hearts over winning arguments.
Don’t Attack the Bible — Build on Common Ground
When a Muslim sister asked how to respond to her Christian friend who finds peace reading the Bible, Yusuf Estes gave an answer that surprised many. Rather than providing ammunition to discredit the Bible, he urged Muslims to recognize that much of what the Bible contains aligns with Islamic teachings. The Quran itself instructs Muslims to believe in the revelations sent before it.
“If I criticize even one or two words still there from Allah, I would be criticizing Allah’s word. A lot of what I understand today I got from the Bible, and I found clarification and confirmation in the Quran.”
Practical Wisdom for Interfaith Dialogue
- Focus on shared beliefs: Both the Bible and Quran teach that God is One — Mark 12:29 records Jesus himself declaring “The Lord our God is One Lord”
- Don’t sink their ship without offering a lifeboat: Convincing someone to abandon their faith without showing them Islam’s beauty leaves them with nothing
- Use reason, not emotion: Feeling peace while reading a book does not prove its authenticity — a Hindu may feel peace reading the Bhagavad Gita, so objective truth must be the standard
- Be patient: Guidance comes from Allah alone. Yusuf Estes’s own father was a “hard sell” but eventually took his shahada
- Encourage, don’t condemn: Share what Islam teaches on the same topics and let the truth speak for itself
The Bible’s Own Testimony to Islamic Monotheism
“Numbers 23:19 says ‘God is not a man, God is not the son of man.’ Then Luke 3:38 calls Adam ‘the Son of God.’ In Semitic languages — Arabic, Aramaic, Hebrew — there are no capital letters. So the argument about big S versus little s doesn’t hold.”
The key takeaway is profound: the best Christians are coming to Islam not despite their Bible, but because of it. When Christians sincerely pray “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” the logical conclusion is Islam — complete submission to God on His terms. Muslims are encouraged to pray for their Christian friends, share the beauty of the Quran, and trust that Allah is the One who ultimately guides hearts to the truth.
