If Jesus was Muslim as Muslims claim, then why did he convert water into wine in one case, and said that wine is his blood in another since wine and alcohol are prohibited in Islam?
The answer to this question is quite simple. We need to keep in mind that not all Christians drink wine or alcohol. The Christian Mormons don't drink it nor use it in their church. I once asked a Mormon missionary, why then is wine mentioned in the Bible and Jesus said that his blood was wine? He said that wine is grape juice and not an alcoholic one. People misunderstood it. He also added that Alcohol including wine was scientifically proven to cause serious mental illness and damages.
Why would the "Real Holy Bible" allow for us to drink something that causes lots of mental damages for us? especially after knowing the fact that in Hebrew grape juice was often referred to as wine.
So being a Muslim, I would say that Jesus peace be upon him converted water into grape juice as one of his miracles that Allah Almighty granted for him, and said that his blood is like grape juice.
A continuation to my answer from sister Jacqueline S. Waheed; may Allah Almighty always be pleased with her:
The fact that Jesus was Muslim is hardly based on Muslims' claim, Bible itself confirms
it. [See e.g. Verses John 13:10, Matthew 26:39, Mark 3:31-35, Matthew 7:21-23] to name
few. Beside that from Adam to Muhammed [saw] the religion of Allaah [God] has always been
Islaam with the same message. However, in order to answer this question we must first
explore the meaning of the word "Wine." Looking at the dictionary one can learn
that the word "Wine" has following meanings.
wine (wºn) n. 1.a. A beverage made of the fermented juice of any of various kinds of
grapes, usually containing from 10 to 15 percent alcohol by volume. b. A beverage made of
the fermented juice of any of various other fruits or plants. 2. Something that
intoxicates or exhilarates. 3. Color. The color of red wine. --wine v. wined, win·ing,
wines. --tr. 1. To provide or entertain with wine. --intr. To drink wine. [Middle English,
from Old English wºn, from Latin vºnum.]
Let us keep this fact in mind that the word [wine] does not automatically carry
connotations [in dictionary] of an intoxicant drink, it is more obviously used for juice.
Looking into the issue further we see that word [alcohol] means:
al·co·hol (²l"k.-hôl", -h¼l") n. 1. Abbr. al., alc. A colorless,
volatile, flammable liquid, C2H5OH, synthesized or obtained by fermentation of sugars and
starches and widely used, either pure or denatured, as a solvent and in drugs, cleaning
solutions, explosives, and intoxicating beverages. Also called ethanol, ethyl alcohol,
grain alcohol. 2. Intoxicating liquor containing alcohol. 3. Any of a series of hydroxyl
compounds, the simplest of which are derived from saturated hydrocarbons, have the general
formula CnH2n+1OH, and include ethanol and methanol. [Medieval Latin, fine metallic
powder, especially of antimony, from Arabic al-ku¡l : al, the + ku¡l, powder of
antimony.]
However, we learn by virtue of [word history] that:
WORD HISTORY: The al- in alcohol may alert some readers to the fact that this is a word of
Arabic descent, as is the case with algebra and alkali-al being the Arabic definite
article corresponding to the in English. The origin of -cohol is less obvious, however.
Its Arabic ancestor was ku¡l, a fine powder most often made from antimony and used by
women to darken their eyelids; in fact, ku¡l has given us the word kohl for such a
preparation. Muslim Scientists and Chemists came to use al-ku¡l to mean "any fine
powder produced in a number of ways, including the process of heating a substance to a
gaseous state and then recooling it." The English word alcohol, derived through
Medieval Latin from Arabic, is first recorded in 1543 in this sense. Muslim Scientists and
Chemists also used al-ku¡l to refer to other substances such as essences that were
obtained by distillation, a sense first found for English alcohol in 1672. One of these
distilled essences, known as "alcohol of wine," is the constituent of fermented
liquors that causes intoxication. This essence took over the term alcohol for itself,
whence it has come to refer to the liquor that contains this essence as well as to a class
of chemical compounds such as methanol.
Since Bible does not prove and/or indicates that alleged wine was intoxicant, neither
Noble Qur'aan supports biblical account. It is therefore safe to say that it is
inconceivable for a great Prophet Jesus to act in such contradictory fashion to turn water
into intoxicant [wine] as we know it by proven record that intoxicants [alcoholic
beverages] are responsible of social and moral bankruptcy of western world [in form of
drunk driving accidental deaths, rape, incest, murder, suicide and more].
In Noble Qur'aan [Allaah "swt'] says:
Noble Qur'aan 2:219 "They ask you
(O Muhammad SAW) concerning alcoholic drink and gambling.[] Say: "In them is a great
sin, and (some) benefit for men, but the sin of them is greater than their benefit."
And they ask you what they ought to spend. Say: "That which is beyond your
needs." Thus Allâh makes clear to you His Laws in order that you may give
thought."
Noble Qur'aan 5:90 "O you who
believe! Intoxicants (all kinds of alcoholic drinks), gambling, AlAnsâb[], and
AlAzlâm (arrows for seeking luck or decision) are an abomination of Shaitân's (Satan)
handiwork. So avoid (strictly all) that (abomination) in order that you may be
successful."
The above two verses from Noble Qur'aan are self-explanatory and are evident that Islaam
is NOT against and/or has forbidden anything by name it has certainly permitted or forbid
an act and/or product [whether natural or man made] by its characteristics. It is
important to remind us that what Allaah has forbidden is what intoxicates, not a
substance. We have several Hadiths, in addition to the Qur'anic orders, which make it
clear that any drink that intoxicates is forbidden. The Prophet Muhammed [saw]explains
that when taking only a large amount of a particular drink produces intoxication, then it
is forbidden even to have a sip of it.
We cannot properly understand the wisdom behind a particular point of detail in Islaam
unless we understand the nature of this system, its basic principles and its guarantees.
Moreover, details of the Islaamic system should not be implemented in isolation to the
rest of the system. We cannot simply take one legal provision or one principle of Islaam
and try to implement it in a social setup, which is not Islaamic.
Back to Ask me any question section.
What is the place of Jesus, Jews and Christians in Islam?