ISLAM and CHRISTIANITY

Islam means surrender or submission (to Allah).

 

Muhammad, whose name means the “Exalted One,” lived some 1,400 years ago and, according to tradition, received revelations from the angel Gabriel (Djibriel), which were recorded in the Quran.

Muhammad grew up in Mecca (in present-day Saudi Arabia). His preaching was not accepted there and he had to flee to Medina. Later he took Mecca by force.

Mecca has become the center of the religion. Every year, a quarter of a million pilgrims flock to the Ka’ba, the house of Allah (the black block, right in the square), the point to which believers bow during prayers. Mecca has become the center of the religion. 

_{The grave of Muhammad
is located in Medina.}

_{In Jerusalem, Muhammad would
have had ascended to heaven}

During Muhammad’s lifetime, Islam spread over almost the entire peninsula of present-day Saudi Arabia. After his death, things moved very quickly and the Islamic empire reached the south of France and India.

Islam recognizes Jesus as a prophet as well as many other prophets from the Jewish Bible, but claims Muhammad as the last and greatest prophet who brought everything to completion.

Islam has the Bible as its root, but the Islamists claim that these books were not purely preserved by the Jews and Christians and that Muhammad received the pure revelations, as stated, from the angel Gabriel that were written down and formed the Quran. Twenty years after Muhammad’s death the caliph Oethman ibn Affan wrote the official version of the Quaran.

The five pillars central to the faith are:

1. The testimony (shahada) that there is no god but Allah with Muhammad as his prophet

2. The ritual prayer (salat), five times a day facing the Ka’ba, consisting of set actions, such as bowing and reciting prescribed texts

3. The religious tax (zakat), intended for purposes established in the Quran

4. Fasting (sawm) from sunrise to sunset during the month of Ramadan, accompanied by almsgiving

5. The pilgrimage (hadj) to Mecca, once in a lifetime, for those who are able to do so.

Islam relies on the Quran and the Hadith, the latter of which is a lore of sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad.

 

Muhammad versus Jezus

This is written for Christians or seekers, not so much for Muslims.
For our Muslim friends, I would recommend this website with testimonies.

Muhammad is the fulfillment after Moses and Jesus?

Jesus came because no one succeeded in keeping all the laws and commandments and no one could find the way back to God. Man can partially obey, but that does not really change his inner being. We need liberation and an essential inner change, a new birth, so that God can come and live inside us and change us from the inside out, something that neither we nor the law will ever be able to do. Because Jesus fulfilled the law and took on our guilt and punishment, He became the way back to God. Therefore, when we accept Him, through that new birth, we become children of God, incorporated into God’s household, instead of being His servants only.
According to Islam, Muhammad is the completion of everything, God’s last word. But after Jesus and this great deliverance, why would God switch back again with Muhammad to the law that turned out not to work? And why would He take away our childhood again, withdraw from our inner being and become a God at a distance to us again and make us only servants again instead of His children?

 

The differences between Muhammad and Jesus

Many differences can be pointed out, contradictions even. The greatest is experienced in the statement that Jesus is the Son of God. On the mosque in Jerusalem, the place where Jesus will return as King, it says under the dome, “Allah has no son.”
According to the Quran, having a son means having had sex with a woman, but Jesus is the Word of God, says the Bible (and the Quran in sura 3:45), the creative power of God, the visible side of God, so a different kind of son than in our biological thinking.

MUHAMMAD		JESUS
Muhammad is born normally.		Jesus was born of a virgin (also according to the Quran: sura 19:19-22).
Muhammad was not free of sins (sura 47:19, 48:2, 12).		Jesus never sinned (sura 19:19, Hebrews 4:15, 1 John 3:5, 1 Peter 2:22).
Muhammad hoped that Allah would be merciful to him.		Jesus himself brought grace: “grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17)
He did not testify in the Quran to know God, and he received the revelations from an angel.		“I and the Father are one”, Jesus said, and “No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 10:30 and 14:6)
Muhammad used violence and also preached violence (e.g., in sura 8:12 and 9:5 and many others).		Jesus never used violence but preached: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44)
Muhammad did not speak of forgiving others.		Jesus said: “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:14-15)
He took many wives, even more than he allowed his followers.		He did not take a wife because all believers together will form his bride (Revelation 19:7)
The Quran does not tell us that God confirmed Muhammad with signs, as He did with Moses and many other prophets.		Jesus did many miracles: “… how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil” (Acts 10:38 and also confirmed by the Quran in sura 3:49b).

And a great difference, of course, is that Jesus sacrificed Himself to bear our guilt and punishment and that of the whole world, that He thus made possible an intimate relationship with God, that He conquered death for us and is going to come back to judge and reign forever as the Prince of Peace. That He is coming back to judge is also said by the Quran, and according to the Hadithh He is coming back to Mecca. 

The reliability of the scriptures

The Muslims claim that in the Book of the Jews and Christians many things are distorted.
By the way, the statement that the text of the Bible would no longer be pure is nowhere mentioned in the Quran, quite the contrary. The Quran says that the Word of God cannot be changed (sura 6:34 and 115) and the Quran says that the books of Moses (Musa) and of Jesus (Isa) are the Word of God (sura 5:44, 46, 48, sura 3:3), so any Muslim who says that the Bible has been changed is saying that the Quran is lying.

The books of the Bible, as Muhammad knew them, still have exactly the same content today. This is evident from the Dead Sea Scrolls found in the last century, which were written many centuries before Muhammad. There are no differences between those books and today’s Bible. God watches over His Word, as the Quran also says.

The trinity of God

The Quran says that by this trinity Christians mean God, Mary and Jesus (sura 5:116). But in reality, it is God who reveals Himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This may sound very mysterious, but we also consist of three parts: spirit, soul and body; each part has its personality and will, but with us they are not always one…. And in nature you also see such things, for example, water manifesting itself in three forms: as liquid, steam or ice.

Jesus’ death on the cross

According to the Quran, Jesus did not die on the cross.
Five centuries before Muhammad, the New Testament was the same as today and in this New Testament much was and is written about the cross.

And the main reason Jesus came to the world was to sacrifice himself as a “scapegoat,” to die for mankind in order to take away guilt and sin’s burden and, through this atonement, to bring man back into an intimate relationship with God. This is the core message of the Gospel and predicted centuries before Jesus’ coming. Jesus is recognized as a prophet by the Quran, but his true person and his true mission have remained unknown in the Quran.

 

 

Here you can see the film of Jesus online and here for children. 

 

Some differences between Islam and Christianity:

 

ISLAM		CHRISTIANITY
The world must be conquered.		“My kingdom is not of this world”, Jesus said (John 18:36)
Apostates must be killed.		“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” (Luke 19:10)
Adulterers should be stoned.		“If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7)
The battle is against the unbelievers.		“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12)
Muslims are allowed to retaliate if they are wronged by infidels.		“Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.’ But ‘If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.” (Romans 12:19-20)
Muslims have no assurance of ending up in paradise if they are not martyrs.		“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” (John 5:24)
Perhaps Allah is merciful.		“From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:16-17)
The Muslim does not know God as Father.		“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:26)
Pray 5 times a day.		“Pray continually”, so stay in continuous contact (1 Thessalonians 5:16)
Muhammad’s followers have no power over diseases and evil spirits.		And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons … they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.’ (Mark 16:17-18)

There is also a very different image of heaven, paradise. For Muslims, paradise is a pleasure garden with beautiful eternally fiery virgins. For Christians, it is being together eternally close to Jesus, to God, with all the glory that comes with it, of course.

The best way to compare the Bible and the Qur’an is to read them for yourself. You can read the Bible here, and the Quran here.

  

What does the Quran say about Jesus?

Jesus is talked about quite a lot in the Quran and Hadith; He is said to have been born of a virgin, to have been very holy and to have performed many miracles, including raising the dead. That He ascended to heaven, will return to judge and rule as King. Not everything that the Quran says about Him is true, but strangely enough there are no such special things about Muhammad and Jesus is in fact portrayed as the Messiah, the great prophet.

Jesus was born of a virgin (sura 3:45-49).

45. The Angels said, “O Mary, God gives you good news of a Word from Him. His name is the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, well-esteemed in this world and the next, and one of the nearest.
46. He will speak to the people from the crib, and in adulthood, and will be one of the righteous.”
47. She said, “My Lord, how can I have a child, when no man has touched me?” He said, “It will be so. God creates whatever He wills. To have anything done, He only says to it, ‘Be,’ and it is.”
48. And He will teach him the Scripture and wisdom, and the Torah and the Gospel.

Jesus was righteous (sura 6:85).

And Zechariah, and John, and Jesus, and Elias—every one of them was of the upright.
(sura 2:87).
And We gave Jesus son of Mary the clear proofs, and We supported him with the Holy Spirit.

Jesus is the Messiah (sura 3:45).

The Angels said, “O Mary, God gives you good news of a Word from Him. His name is the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, well-esteemed in this world and the next, and one of the nearest.

Jesus performed miracles such as raising the dead (sura 3:49).

A messenger to the Children of Israel: “I have come to you with a sign from your Lord. I make for you out of clay the figure of a bird; then I breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by God’s leave. And I heal the blind and the leprous, and I revive the dead, by God’s leave. And I inform you concerning what you eat, and what you store in your homes. In that is a sign for you, if you are believers.”
(sura 2:87)
And We gave Jesus son of Mary the clear proofs, and We supported him with the Holy Spirit. 

Jesus ascended to heaven (sura 3:55).

God said, “O Jesus, I am terminating your life, and raising you to Me, and clearing you of those who disbelieve. And I will make those who follow you superior to those who disbelieve, until the Day of Resurrection. Then to Me is your return; then I will judge between you regarding what you were disputing.

Jesus will judge (sura 4:159)

There is none from the People of the Scripture but will believe in him before his death, and on the Day of Resurrection he will be a witness against them.

Jesus spoke as a cradle child (sura 19:27-35).

27. Then she came to her people, carrying him. They said, “O Mary, you have done something terrible.
28. O sister of Aaron, your father was not an evil man, and your mother was not a whore.”
29. So she pointed to him. They said, “How can we speak to an infant in the crib?”
30. He said, “I am the servant of God. He has given me the Scripture, and made me a prophet.
31. And has made me blessed wherever I may be; and has enjoined on me prayer and charity, so long as I live.
32. And kind to my mother, and He did not make me a disobedient rebel.
33. So Peace is upon me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the Day I get resurrected alive.”
34. That is Jesus son of Mary—the Word of truth about which they doubt.

 

 

 

 2. The Heifer (Al-Baqarah): 256
“There shall be no compulsion in religion”

Here is an explanation from a Moroccan about IS and Islam in general.

What does the Quran say about Israel and Jerusalem?

A great struggle for Israel and Jerusalem is raging between the Jews and the Arab peoples, who, by the way, are all descended from Abraham and ultimately from Shem – all Semites (so anyone who is anti-Semitic is against all the peoples of the Middle East (except the Kurds and Persians)).
It is notable that Jerusalem is not mentioned once in the Quran. By the way, the Quran does speak out about the Jews with regard to their land:

Sura 5:20-21

20. When Moses said to his people, “O my people, remember God’s blessings upon you, when He placed prophets among you, and made you kings, and gave you what He never gave any other people.”

21. “O my people, enter the Holy Land which God has assigned for you, and do not turn back, lest you return as losers.”

Sura 17:104

After him, We said to the Children of Israel, “Inhabit the land, and when the promise of the Hereafter arrives, We will bring you all together.”

So the Arabs’ struggle against Israel goes against the Quran and very much against the Bible. So it is a struggle against God Himself. And who is going to win it?

Here and here you can find more extensive information on Islam and the Bible.