"One God for All" By Dil R. Banu
Reviewed by Jann McClary
Muslim Link Contributing Writer
When most of us get a knock on the door and we ascertain that the person on the other side is carting a small arsenal of religious literature, we usually pretend not to be home until they go away. Not so with Sister Dil R. Banu, author of “One God for All.” This former educator from Maryland welcomed these frequent unannounced Christian missionaries into her home for the chance to discuss religion and share with them the beauty and universal message of Islam. When the talk turned to who is God, the missionaries got an education, and the results of these enlightening conversations, and one man’s nationally televised comment about Islam, became the basis of this book.
“I began to read the Bible extensively”, she explained, “to be able to talk intelligently with them. And I saw that what they said about ‘Isa (alayhi salaam) is actually not in their book…How could I really tell my devoted Christian friends [that] what they believe in ‘Isa’s name to be absolutely true and is their only way to heaven, he never taught them?”
Sister Dil, having taught for almost 25 years in prestigious schools in her native Bangladesh, is an avid reader and developed the habit of making detailed notes or synopses from what she read or discussed on her favorite subject, religion. Her parents were religious, but as for her passion for religion, Sister Dil says, “I’m not sure where it came from: Allaah gave it to me. I’ve always been inquisitive about other religions.” She had amassed an impressive collection of detailed and supposedly authoritative books, treatises, missives and monographs all purporting to speak the truth from a Christian perspective about who God really is. She had long wanted to share, in her own writings, information about the truth and reality of Allaah and the singular message of all of His prophets, but she was ultimately spurred into action by what took place at the 2001 inauguration of one George W. Bush.
On January 20, 2001, following Bush’s inauguration the Christian evangelist Rev. Franklin Graham, son of his more famous father, Billy Graham, was invited to give a prayer, after which he boldly volunteered his opinion on national television by declaring “The god of Islam is not the same God of the Christians or the Judeo-Christian faith. It is a different god, and I believe Islam is a very evil and wicked religion.” Well. Once Sister Dil got over her initial shock and horror and collected her thoughts, she realized that this event, this person, and this comment were exactly what Allaah had prepared to rouse her to write about: That Allaah subhana wa ta’ala, Who is one God having no partners, is the one God for all of mankind, and that ‘Isa’s true status and mission is as a righteous human servant of Allaah who conveyed His message to the Jewish people.
“When Rev. Franklin Graham made his slanderous comment against the “God of the Muslims” and their religion of Islam…it also worked as a jump-start for me”, she admitted. “It gave me very good cause to establish my case for ‘Isa (alayhis salaam) while telling his people through him what kind of God the Muslims really worship from the descriptions in both the Bible and the Qur’an.” And so Sister Dil began to write directly to Mr. Graham, in a series of twelve letters, addressing first the false idea of Islam having a “different” God, then methodically and succinctly affirming the Oneness of Allaah, and finally negating the Christians’ claims of the divinity of ‘Isa (alayhis salaam) using verses from their own Bible and verses from the Qur’an for all points.
And even though there is no different God in Islam, Sister Dil chose to use the word “God” to refer to Allaah throughout most of her book because it is primarily aimed at the Christian reader who is not so familiar or friendly with the name Allaah. It shows how even Arab Christians use the name Allaah as being synonymous with the word “God”, but she makes it clear that Allaah is the proper name, having no gender or plural, whereas “God” is merely a title.
To bring home the point of the Oneness of Allaah across all time and all nations her book references the Hindu Upanishads, which are among the most ancient of spiritual texts, and even then it declares “The Lord of the universe is One…He directs all actions, He knows all. No epithet is applicable to Him.” (Shetash-water Upanishad, 6:11). And in a section of the Hindu Vedas, “The Supreme Being manifests the manifest…He is Lord. He is Omnipresent. He is worthy of all praises. He is the Object of all respect. He is rich. He is the Greatest. He is the Creator of everything and has the knowledge of everything.” (Rigveda, 2:1:3) Compare these verses with Surat-ul Ikhlaas and the similarities are undeniably striking.
Further, her book points out from the Christian Bible in Deuteronomy 4:35, “Unto thee it was showed, that thou mightest know that the Lord He is God; there is none else beside Him.” And in 1 Chronicles 29:11-12, “Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power and the glory and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and the earth is Thine; Thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and Thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come of Thee, and Thou reignest over all; and in Thine hand is power and might, and in Thine hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.”
Sister Dil could have stopped right there and rested her case, but she wanted to make Mr. Graham aware, in case he was not so, that all of the messengers of Allaah, and she mentions many by name from the Bible; Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Yusuf, Moses, David, Soloman, (alayhimus salaam) all submitted themselves willingly to Allaah’s commands and lived in complete obedience to Him alone. Just like ‘Isa (alayhis salaam). Just like Muhammad (sallaahu alayhi wa sallam). Her intent was not just to refute Mr. Graham, but as she clarifies, “…to tell him and his people that Muslims all over the world still worship the same God of all His messengers, including both ‘Isa and Muhammad (alayhimus salaam), but it was they, the Christians, who deviated from it”.
Part of this deviation comes from a misunderstanding, whether intentional or not, of several key terms one finds in the Bible: Holy Ghost, Holy Spirit, Son of God, Son of Man, Christ, Messiah, and Word. With each of these the book shows how they were either misread, misappropriated or mistranslated, and then how they are expressed and understood in the Qur’an. Likewise, the book makes an in-depth investigation into the supposed words of ‘Isa (alayhis salaam) from both the Bible and from what Allaah ‘azza wa jal says about him in the Qur’an. It couldn’t be made more clear in both scriptures that ‘Isa (alayhis salaam) proclaimed himself as no more than a man sent with a mission to declare that Allaah is One God and that He alone is to be worshipped.
Rounding out her educating Mr. Graham about “the God of the Muslims” is her clarification of Isa’s (alaihis salaam) revealing that his “comforter” was not the Holy Ghost, but another “comforter” to come after him: Muhammad ibn Adbullah (sallaahu alayhi wa sallam). And Isa goes on to describe him in Biblical verses from the Gospel of John. All of this points to the fact that ‘Isa (alayhis salaam) was very aware that he was not the end of Allaah’s message to mankind, but that he was one more link in the long chain of prophets who all worshipped the same God. ‘Isa knew that Muhammad (sallaahu alayhi wa sallam) would be sent to the whole of humanity to reinstate and revive Abraham’s (alayhis salaam) legacy of “hanifa”, true monotheism. The different god that Mr. Graham so arrogantly proclaimed is only due to his own misunderstanding.
One of the many assets of “One God for All” is that it proves its case using the Christians’ own book and it does so clearly without having to engage in mental gymnastics and inventive interpolations. Then its point is further elucidated and validated by verses from the Qur’an. Sister Dil uses techniques of contrast and comparison between the two scriptures, similar to the well-known da’ee Ahmed Deedat (rahimullaah), whom she regards as her teacher. She admits, “I consider myself a da’ee, yes, but writing is more convenient. I think people appreciate a commoner like me who wrote this book for the commoners of the western world.”
Another laudable feature is the respectful and gentle, yet confident manner in which she writes. She is neither argumentative nor arrogant, neither confrontational nor condescending. Using phrases like “I would like to draw your attention”, “kindly remember”, “please have a look”, her writing exemplifies Allaah subhana wa ta’ala’s injunction to “Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching, and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious…” (Surat-ul Nahl; 125).
While the initial writing of “One God for All” was accomplished in about eight months (just a few days before the events of 9/11), much of it posted to her website nonebutonegod.com, there were years when the writing went unattended. “After that, I began to edit and re-write and kept doing it for a year or so with an intention to submit it to Amana Publications, but they found the contents of my book truly controversial.” Finally, in 2014 she felt brave enough to approach Author House Publications, which ultimately took on the task of publishing her manuscript. Despite the length of time it took to see her efforts come to fruition, Sister Dil says she encountered very little fitnah, with the exception of some initial discouragement from another sister. She credits the successful publication of this work “to my Rabb, the All-Mighty and the All-Knowing, who knew the desire of my heart and helped me to fulfill it with His love, mercy and constant care and guidance.”
This is an excellent, well-researched book by one who claims to be a “commoner”, and yet it is a wonderful blue print for aspiring da’ees. For Muslims who want to learn how to more effectively interact with non-Muslims, for those of us who have Christian family members, and for those who want to be able to speak with knowledge about both the Qur’an and the Bible, it is a must-read and highly recommended book for the libraries of all of us who seek more knowledge.
“One God for All”, Author House Publications,(2014), pp. 189. Available from bookstore.authorhouse.com; barnesandnoble.com; and amazon.com
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