1. Is “Allah” the same god as the God of the Bible?

2. Trinity and Tawhid (oneness).

3. The divinity of Jesus (pbuh) and the concept of Prophethood.

4. The authenticity of Holy Scriptures.

We will now briefly touch upon these four points in the same order given above.

Is “Allah” the same god as the God of the Bible?

A frequently-asked question by Christians in such meetings is if the word “Allah” refers to the same Deity mentioned in the Bible. The answer to this question is different for each side. According to Islamic teachings, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, Who sent prophets throughout history to mankind, speaks in the Bible as well as in the Qur’an. Thus, the answer is undoubtedly a “yes” for the Muslims. On the other hand, we cannot expect the Christians to accept this answer with similar enthusiasm, as this would also mean that they accept the Qur’an as the Word of God.

The Names and Attributes of Allah as they are mentioned in the Bible are very few compared to the many found in the Qur’an and the sayings of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. Despite the fact that these Attributes and Names are similar, the Christian understanding of God shifts from the God of the Old Testament that commands an “eye for an eye” to a very compassionate God presented in the New Testament. Naturally, when a Christian hears the word “God,” he or she immediately begins to think, what kind of a God figure is being referred to? Is He like that of the Old or the New Testament?

To make things more complicated, the word “Lord” is sometimes used to refer to “Jesus” in Christianity. Thus, in a Muslim-Christian Dialogue the two sides may have significant differences in the very concept of God, the first article of faith. The key to successful communication on this topic is probably to discuss the Attributes and the Names of Allah as they are presented in the Bible and the Qur’an. This should be done without confusing the issue by discussing the personality or the claimed divinity of Jesus. The similarities in the way the Creator describes Himself in both Books will surprise the parties and clearly show that it is the same Divine Being Who is speaking in both Books.

Trinity and Tawheed

Trinity is often misunderstood by Muslim populations, including some learned men of religion. Most of the time, it is portrayed as believing in three gods or in three deities. However, as is well known, Christianity is a monotheistic religion, not a polytheistic one. The confusion comes from the fact that the godhead of Trinity has three distinct characters. But, to a Christian believer, these three characters are like three different manifestations of the same Divine Being on different platforms. In one of the most-quoted verses of the Bible, Jesus says “Father and I are one.” So, to a Christian, Jesus is the manifestation of the Heavenly Deity on Earth. This may be the grounds for many other disagreements between the Muslims and Christians about the personality of Jesus, but it certainly does not make Christianity a polytheistic religion.

This is, in a way, good news for the dialogue efforts. The most important article of faith is shared by both sides, which is the fact that God is One. He is the Creator of the Heavens and Earth, Almighty, All-Knowing, Pre-Eternal, Everlasting God that we all worship.

The oneness of God is not the only tenet shared by these two major world religions. The list indeed is very long. According to most Christian denominations, God will judge us on our deeds on the Day of Judgment and He has an eternal life prepared for us. The good will be rewarded and the evil will be punished. But, we all count on His Mercy rather than on our own deeds or acts of worship for our salvation. The concept of the Hereafter and the Day of Judgment are the most central articles to both faiths after the Oneness of God.

The divinity of Jesus and the concept of prophethood

Many Muslims simply fail to understand how central the divinity of Jesus is to the Christian faith in most denominations. It is not very uncommon for Muslim speakers to start their speeches by claiming that Islam respects Jesus so much so that it considers him as one of the five major prophets of God. It is in fact a great blasphemy for a Christian to consider Jesus as less than divine. As much as Muslims disagree with it, the idea that Jesus was sent to earth by God as His beloved son and that he died on the cross as a ransom for the sins of believers are main tenets of the Christian faith and they are as central as the Trinity itself. For a Christian to accept that Jesus was indeed a man just like us, and/or he was actually not crucified is the same as abandoning the Christian faith in its most orthodox form as practiced by majority of churches.

On the other hand, the high respect paid to the institution of prophethood in Islam, both for the major and minor prophets, is not shared by the Christian scripts. The Old Testament contains many accounts of major acts of sin committed by the prophets. The life style of the prophets depicted in these stories very often does not resemble that of God’s chosen people, contrary to their counterparts in the Qur’an. Consequently, it is very difficult for a Christian individual to feel the same high respect that a Muslim feels for the prophets. Therefore, calling Jesus a prophet in an attempt to find a common ground with Christians backfires for two reasons; first anything less than divinity for Jesus is not acceptable to a Christian mind; second the institution of prophethood is not as lofty for a Christian as it is for a Muslim.

Where is the common grounds regarding this matter? As mentioned above, the divinity of Jesus should not be addressed by the Muslim side at all. Neither should they insist on calling Jesus a prophet. A more productive approach for the Muslim side would perhaps be to emphasize the fact Islam recognizes Jesus as the promised Messiah and as the Word of God (Kalematullah, Qur’an: 4:171), and that he has been strengthened with the Holy Sprit (Ruh-ul Qudus, Qur’an: 2:87 and 2:253). He indeed has a very special place among the other prophets in the Qur’an.

The authenticity of Holy Scriptures

Christians have a diverse opinion as to how much and what parts of the Bible were inspired by God. The opinions on this matter extend from those who believe that each and every word in the Bible is inspired and hence binding to those who value the words of Jesus above the rest, as those are indicated in red ink in the “red lettered” Bible. Most Christians are probably of the opinion that even though the actual quotations from Jesus in the red lettered New Testament are few, the Bible is inspired by God in its entirety. Even the ones who do not agree with this statement would at least believe that the Bible is a book of good guidance as a whole. One way or another, the definitions of what is the Word of God, what is inspired, and what is from holy men who proclaimed the divine message throughout history are not profoundly important concepts to the faith of a Christian on the personal level. What matters is the fact that the Bible was written by so many authors over a period of thousands of years and that they all confirm each other. This is what it makes the Bible good guidance.

For the Muslims, however, it is simply not acceptable to found a religion on information that is doubtful in its authenticity. Religious principles can only be derived from the Holy Qur’an, every word of which is believed to have been revealed, and the examples from the life of Prophet Muhammad. Thus, Muslims again approach the Christian Scriptures on the matter of authenticity with severe criticism. In general, Christians do not see the need for a word by word authenticity in a religious Scripture for the foundations of the religion to be strong. In fact, they think that this is hardly possible as the Bible was written by 66 different authors. It is very much expected and acceptable that some parts of the book should be the words of holy men who committed themselves to spreading it to others, in the form of letters and such, mixed with the inspired words by God. Word by word revelation, as happened with Muhammad, on the other hand, is a new concept that Christians only become familiar when they talk to their Muslim friends. Therefore, the Muslim challenge to the Christian mind on this matter does not mean much more than the fact that it is another point which Muslims use to attack the foundations of Christian faith.

A more productive approach in a Muslim-Christian dialogue would be to point out the fact that the very fundamental tenets of the Christian faith are shared in the teachings of the Qur’an. The Ten Commandments revealed to Moses are laid out and detailed in the first several chapters of the Qur’an. The message of Jesus , the love and compassion that he had for others, regardless of who they were, his embracing of even the lowest in rank in the society and the giving of the glad tidings to the pious; all of these principles were also preached by Prophet Muhammad. Emphasizing the parallelism between the Bible and the Qur’an in the spirit of their teachings and not in their wording would be a much more productive approach than scrutinizing these books for authenticity in expectation that our Christian friends will have a higher respect for the Qur’an.

The selection of terminology

Furthermore, simple mistakes made in the selection of terminology can be misleading. The same word in the English language can bring quite different concepts and connotations to the minds of Muslims and Christians. Obviously the selection of the language determines the terminology. Each Biblical word in English has a long history in the minds of the people who speak this language. It is impossible not to get caught up in these connotations when Biblical terms are used to translate Qur’anic concepts into the English language. For instance, each of the words “grace,” “Lord,” and “saint” have deeply rooted meanings in the Christian tradition, which may be used as translation of Arabic words “ihsan,” “Rab,” and “wali.” However, these English and Arabic words do not overlap exactly in meaning. Islamic concepts like “rububiyah” are impossible to translate with one word. If one uses a made-up word to translate these Islamic terms, then the translation loses its religious flavor and its influencing power on the reader. On the other hand, if Biblical words are used, then it becomes impossible for the Christian mind not to get caught up in the Biblical connotations of these words. Therefore, one should not think that conveying Islamic concepts to Christians is a matter of having perfect translations. It will take many years before Islam establishes its own vocabulary in the English language amongst the native speakers of this language with well-understood meanings, as it did in many other cultures throughout the history. Considering the short history of indigenous Muslims in the West, particularly in English-speaking countries, the growth of Islamic media and their circulation is very encouraging.

Concluding remarks

Sincere efforts of dialogue should always start by learning the other party’s fundamentals of faith and what is most dear to them. Christian-Muslim dialogues, in our opinion, can be much more productive if the four points discussed above are carefully addressed during these meetings. First, Muslims should be very sensitive when discussing the personality of Jesus, who is not just a prophet to Christians, but everything that Christianity is built on. It should be clearly spelled out that calling Jesus a prophet is literally attacking the very foundations of Christianity and it should be avoided. Furthermore, the Trinity is a concept that is misunderstood by Muslims. It is in fact true, as often pointed out by Muslims, that Christian clergymen have difficulty explaining the concept of Trinity to themselves. But, this does not mean that the subject of Trinity, particularly the divinity of Jesus is a trivial matter to the followers of the faith. On the contrary, it is something very important and something taken to heart without question by the Christians. It is an issue of faith rather than reasoning. Therefore, Muslims should not try to explain this point with logic. There is nothing to be gained on this point in terms of finding a common ground with Christians and it will be a deal breaker if insisted upon.

The Christian side can also do their homework by paying attention particularly to the concepts of prophethood, and the Attributes and Names of God in Islam. As they study Islam, it will become clear that a prophet has a much loftier place in the mind of a Muslim than it ever has to a Christian. Also, the Attributes of Allah mentioned in the Qur’an are not different than those in the Bible, but only there is more information about who God is in the Qur’an than there is in the Bible. The faith that Muslims have in the prophets of the Old Testament and the second coming of J esus are two more crucial points that Christians can quickly discover to their surprise. Dwelling on these points first before the problematic ones listed above may be a good starting point for successful dialogue.

Islam, Judaism, and Christianity have much in common. For example, they are monotheistic and have their roots in the Abrahamic tradition. Islam is closer to Christianity, for Muslims recognize Christianity as being based upon Divine Revelation, whereas Jews do not accord this status to either religion. Ironically, while Jesus is the common link between Islam and Christianity, nearly all doctrinal differences between the two religions center around his nature. Therefore, we shall start with this topic.

What Do Muslims Think about Jesus?

Reputable scholars of Christianity continue to portray Islam and Muslims as enemies of Jesus. However, nothing could be further from the truth. It is often a surprising experience for Christians to learn that Muslims hold a deep love and respect for Jesus and Mary. In fact, a Muslim cannot be considered a true believer if he or she rejects Jesus (Qur’an, 2:136). One of Qur’an’s chapters is named Mary (Surat Maryam). The Qur’an praises Jesus and his family, and Muslims consider Jesus one of the five great Prophets, among hundreds of thousands of others.(1) In an authentic Tradition, Prophet Muhammad says: I am the nearest of all people to Jesus, son of Mary, in this life and the Hereafter.(2)

The Qur’an acknowledges the virgin birth (19:18-24), reports the miracles Jesus performed by God’s will (5:110), and praises his sincere followers not only at his time but also at the time of Prophet Muhammad. We give two examples below:

Behold! the angels said: Mary, Allah gives you glad tidings of a Word from Him. His name will be Christ Jesus, son of Mary, held in honor in this world and the Hereafter, and of (the company of) those nearest to Allah. (3:45)

In their wake, We followed them up with (others of) Our messengers: We sent after them Jesus, son of Mary, bestowed on him the Gospel, and ordained in the hearts of his followers Compassion and Mercy. But the monasticism which they invented for themselves, We did not prescribe for them. (We commanded) only the seeking for the Good Pleasure of Allah, but that they did not foster as they should have done. Yet We bestowed on those among them who believed their (due) reward. But many of them are rebellious transgressors. (57:27)

At the root of all doctrinal differences lies the perspective on God and the relationship between God and humanity. The Qur’an leaves no room for subjective interpretation, for God is as He describes Himself: eternal and infinite, with absolute knowledge of everything, and able to do anything. We cannot imagine any form for Him, or define Him in any limited fashion.

Based on this, any anthropomorphic characterization of God or assignation to Him of any shortcomings or partners contradicts what Islam teaches.

Jesus As a Prophet

Muslims believe that Jesus was a genuine Prophet sent by God for the Jews.3 God created Jesus without a temporal father (4:171). But this does not make Jesus the son of God. Rather, it is a sign of God’s ultimate power. If such a birth made one a son of God, clearly Adam deserved it more, since he was created without a father or a mother.

The Qur’an relates that Jesus performed miracles. This does not make him a son of God, for all the religious texts report that other Prophets performed miracles. Muslims believe that if Jesus ever used the phrase son of God, he did so metaphorically, as is explicit in several places in Gospels.4 Consequently, Muslims do not believe that God sacrificed His only son so that humanity would be forgiven.

What Do Muslims Think of the Trinity?

In its simplest terms, the Trinity means that God is the union of three divine persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Christian Church accepts this as a divine mystery that cannot be fully comprehended. Muslims acknowledge that a lack of knowledge on something’s nature does not imply its non-existence. For example, they believe in angels, God, and Heaven and Hell, yet know little or nothing about such things’ nature. However, the Trinity is not one of those concepts.

First of all, the Qur’an and Prophetic traditions reject the existence of any deities other than God. Sometimes the Trinity is explicitly mentioned, as in:

O People of the Book! Commit no excesses in your religion: Nor say of Allah aught but the truth. Christ Jesus the son of Mary was (only) a messenger of Allah, and His Word, which He bestowed on Mary, and a spirit proceeding from Him. Believe in Allah and His messengers, and say not: Trinity. Desist, it will be better for you, for Allah is One. Glory be to Him, (far exalted is He) above having a son. To Him belong all things in the Heavens and on the Earth. And enough is Allah as a Disposer of affairs. (4:171)

They do blaspheme who say: Allah is one of three in a Trinity, for there is no god except One Allah. If they desist not from their word (of blasphemy), a grievous penalty will befall the blasphemers among them. (5:73)

Some Christians say that they do not worship three gods, that Christianity is monotheistic, and that people who say they are worshiping three gods do not understand the Trinity. However, Muslims feels that even if they do not understand the Trinity (but how many Christians understand it, assuming it is a divine mystery?), it is clear to them that God, speaking in the Qur’an, understands it and rejects it for reasons discussed above.

If there were several gods, none of them could be omnipotent, which contradicts the Islamic concept of God. Those who live on the Earth cannot be accepted as God, for they have needs: food, sleep, fulfillment of desires, and so on. In the Qur’an, God invites humanity to reflect upon the universe and thereby realize that God has no needs. The harmony and perfection of creation is enough evidence for His power and oneness. In fact, one can ask the following questions: Where is the evidence of the Trinity? If the concept of Trinity were so crucial to faith, why do the four canonical Gospels not refer to it? Why did Jesus not explicitly detail this issue in his teachings? Such questions make the Muslims doubt its veracity.

Do Muslims Believe in Earlier Scriptures?

Muslims are required to believe in all Prophets sent by God, and all Scriptures revealed to them in their originally revealed form (2:136).

The phrase in their originally revealed form is critical, for if it is ignored the Islamic viewpoint might be misinterpreted. Muslims believe that essentials of pure faith do not change, although laws that Prophets are sent with might be subject to change.5 Thus statements in earlier Scriptures that are at variance with Islam indicate human interference in those scriptures. The Qur’an refers to the Gospel of Jesus and Torah of Moses, but those are believed to be different from the Gospels and Torah as we now know them. This does not mean that Muslims reject the current Scriptures altogether; rather, Muslims use the Qur’an and the authentic Prophetic Traditions as criteria to see what is correct in other religious texts.

How Do Muslims Know That the Qur’an Has Not Been Altered?

The Qur’an was written and preserved immediately after it was revealed. The pieces were assembled shortly after the Prophet’s death, and with incredible sensitivity on the collectors’ part, and checked against by those who had memorized it fully. This careful process resulted in the Qur’an that eventually belonged to Caliph Uthman, who died 34 years after the Prophet, and which is preserved in Istanbul’s Topkapi Palace. There is no difference between it and the Qur’an that Muslims read today. There is no other version of the Qur’an in existence. If anyone can find such a thing, we would be interested in seeing it.

Do Muslims Believe in the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is mentioned in several Qur’anic verses.6 However, this does not refer to the Christian idea of Holy Spirit, but rather to the Angel Gabriel.

Will Christians Go to Hell?

Although this is a frequently asked question, it is hard to find a satisfactory answer. The reason is twofold. No one, not even the Prophet, can say that someone is going to Hell or Heaven unless God informs him on the issue. Also, there is a difference of opinion among Muslim scholars. The opinion we present here is the one that most fits the Qur’an and the essence of Islam.

People who are exposed to pure faith in an undistorted way, have a fairly good idea that it may well be true but do not search further and reject it out of arrogance or stubbornness, and then die in such a state will go to Hell. Those who have pure faith or are ignorant (i.e., they have not been exposed to pure belief) and have no practical means to search for more knowledge eventually will go to Heaven. These two groups are outlined fairly well in the Qur’an. As for those in the middle, meaning most believers in other faiths or in no faith at all, Muslims are told to leave the judgment to God, Who will judge them according to their specific conditions and render a final and absolutely just decision.

What about Original Sin and Salvation?

One fundamental disagreement between Islam and Christianity is Adams original sin. Christianity declares that Adam sinned by disobeying Gods order and that this sin is inherited by all of Adams children. In other words, humanity is born sinful, as everyone is a child of Adam. Gods justice requires a price to be paid for every sin, and only the shedding of blood can wipe out this sin. Since the original sin was infinite in nature, an infinite recompense was necessary. For this reason, God allowed Jesus Christ, His son, to have his holy, sinless blood shed. His suffering and dying on the Cross paid for humanity’s sins. Only those who accept Jesus Christ as their redeemer can be saved in the Hereafter. According to Islam, Adam and Eve were created and put into the Garden. After this, God told them to enjoy the Garden but not to eat a certain fruit. Satan deceived them, and they disobeyed God by eating the fruit. As a result, God ordered them to leave the Garden and descend to the Earth, where they and their children would live and die (7:24-25). In the Quranic perspective, both Adam and Eve share this sin. Islam does not recognize Original Sin or the need for a savior to redeem an inherently sinful humanity. It regards children as pure and sinless at birth, says that sin is not inherited, and that no one is responsible for someone else’s sin (53:38). God is just and holds every person responsible for what they do. Even after people sin, God forgives those who sincerely turn to Him and seek forgiveness. Thus He did not curse Adam or Eve, for they sincerely sought”and received”forgiveness from God.

Was Jesus Crucified?

The crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ represent the heart of Christianity. Everything a Christian believes in and hopes for is based on Jesus death on the Cross for unworthy sinners. His resurrection is the Divine vindication of the fact that Jesus did not die for any crime he had committed, but died in the place of sinners needing redemption and justification before an infinitely holy and just God. (Cf. 1 Corinthians 15:12-19; Romans 4:25, 5:8-11) Islam rejects these events, for the Quran gives very direct and clear information about what happened to Jesus: That they said (in boast), We killed Christ Jesus, son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah; but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them. Those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow. They killed him not. Nay, Allah raised him up unto Himself; and Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise. (4:157-58) Some Muslim scholars think that Quran 4:159 refers to Jesus return before the Day of Judgment. This belief is supported by several authentic Traditions. Thus, although Christians and Muslims disagree on Jesus mission, they agree that he will return before the Day of Judgment.

Dealing with the Differences

Faced with many things in common and serious doctrinal differences, how do Christians and Muslims deal with those differences? The Quran commands Muslims to avoid counterproductive debate and, whenever a controversial topic arises, to discuss it according to the highest ethics of civilized debate: And do not dispute with the followers of the Book except by what is best, except those of them who act unjustly, and say: We believe in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you, and our Allah and your Allah is One, and to Him do we submit (29:46). Though it would be naive to assume that Christians and Muslims do not disagree on certain issues, it would be equally foolish to portray their relationship with each other as composed of conflict. Is there any religion whose followers have no form of virtue? Clearly there is not. And, especially in the case of Christianity and Islam, both parties have a lot to learn from each other. Christian civilization was built upon an Islamic heritage, yet even most respectable Christian scholars are unwilling to admit this freely. This is also true of those Muslims who wanted to stay away from Christian civilization, because the Christians have gone astray. Thanks to advances in mass communication, Christians and Muslims now realize that the other was not that bad. Shortly, we will realize that the other is not so different from us, hence not bad at all. Today, thanks to the Internet, we can increase our knowledge of the other rather easily. For example, the entire Quran can be read online at http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/Quran/, while the Bible can be read online at http://bible. gospelcom.net/. To reach this point, Christians and Muslims living in Americas democratic and highly heterogeneous society have a tremendous responsibility to serve as role models for people in less tolerant and more prejudicial countries, where the vision of the other remains entrenched. We have to carry out this task in the most efficient way, by continuously seeking for opportunities to learn about each other. Even if we can afford to live without getting to know the other, our children cannot

Footnotes:

1. Bukhari, Prophets, 652. See http://db.islam.org:81/ hadith/ssearch.htm. The other great Prophets are Abraham, Noah, Moses, and Muhammad.
2. Ibid. The authentic Traditions of Prophet Muhammad represent the second source of religion, immediately after the Quran.
3. The Gospels also state that Jesus was sent for the Jews: For example: He answered, I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel (Matthew 15:24).
4. For example: Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12); …and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one (John 11:52).
5. That is, believing in a monotheistic God, His Prophets, the Scriptures revealed to them, His Angels, the Hereafter, and that both good and evil are decreed by God.
6. For example: We gave Moses the book and followed him up with a succession of Messengers. We gave Jesus son of Mary clear (Signs) and strengthened him with the holy spirit (2:87).