I am a new Muslim and what I wanted to ask is what do you say when Christians tell me that the only way to heaven is through Jesus Christ? Sometimes I just stay quiet because I don't know how to respond; at other times I say that we only believe Jesus to be a Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam). Any suggestions that I could use?

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

The Christians, in the past and present, have been saying that the only way to enter Heaven is through Jesus .

So, when the Christians of Najran (a city in Saudi Arabia) and Jews of al-Madeenah al-Munawwarah (the Radiant City – the city of the Prophet) debated each other in front of Allah's Messenger and each party claimed that only Christians/Jews will be the inhabitants of Paradise, Allah, The Great and Almighty, has sent down the following verses, censuring and scolding them:

Allah Says (what means): {And they say, "None will enter Paradise except one who is a Jew or a Christian." That is [merely] their wishful thinking, Say, "Produce your proof, if you should be truthful."} [Quran 2:111]

Then, He stated that everyone who surrenders to Allah's Will, acts sincerely in accordance with His Orders and has a true belief will enter Paradise. He, The Great and Almighty, Says (what means): {Yes [on the contrary], whoever submits his face in Islam to Allah while being a doer of good will have his reward with his Lord. And no fear will there be concerning them, nor will they grieve.} [Quran 2:112]

Thus, dear brother, you become acquainted with the fact that the Christians'/Jews' allegation of being the only people who will enter Paradise is false and void. At the same time, such an allegation is a form of wishes and dreams that are baseless and ungrounded from the Sharee'ah / intellectual point of view.

Anyway, the only upright way that Allah, The Great and Almighty, accepts is to believe in all Messengers and Prophets without any distinction between one or another.

In this vein, Allah Says (what means): {Say, "We have believed in Allah and in what was revealed to us and what was revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the Descendants, and in what was given to Moses and Jesus and to the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and we are Muslims [submitting] to Him."} [Quran 3:84]

Finally, we advise our brother, the inquirer, to avoid such a discussion and argument with non-Muslims till you become versed in Islamic knowledge, capable to produce irrefutable evidence and cogency so that you can make their suspicions and doubts ineffective, and null and void.

We ask Allah to help all of us to be steadfast on the Straight Path.

For more benefit on the false notion of Trinity, please refer to Fatwa 30506.

Allah knows best.