What’s the difference? Islam

January 28, 2023

Islam

Allah is one
and Christ was just a prophet

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How Mohammed became a prophet

Mohammed, born in Mecca in 570 AD, came from a prominent family. Both of his parents had died by the time he was six years old. Being raised by several different family members, it is believed he was exposed to Monophysites (believe that Christ had only a divine nature) and Nestorians (believe that the Incarnate Christ was divine and human, in one person, but deny that Jesus was both fully God and fully man), as well as Jewish doctrine where he was exposed to the Talmud. As a result, it is unlikely that he got his teachings from anyone who truly understood the Bible. At the age of 40, he received his first revelation.

On July 16, 622, Mohammed was forced to flee to Yathrib – due to death threats.

He died in 632.

The teachings of Islam

~ the Qur’an is the sacred scriptures, which includes 114 surahs/chapters
~ while the ideas are all credited to God (Allah), Mohammed dictated parts of the Qur’an, and the rest came from writings of disciples
~ much of the Qur’an jumps from one time and place to another
~ Muslims claim that it is copied from an original in Arabic, which is in heaven
~ The sunnah: became a base for traditions built on Mohammed’s conduct, and were gathered into one body of work called the Hadith which supplements the Qur’an in the same way the Talmud supplements the Hebrew Bible in Judaism
~ the Shariah: a combination of legal interpretations of the Qur’an and the Sunnah; Shariah means “law” and it lays down a strict and comprehensive guide of life and conduct for Muslims

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The six doctrines

~ God: There is only one true God and his name is Allah – all-knowing, all-seeing, all-powerful
~ Angels: the chief angel is Gabriel, who is said to have appeared to Mohammad; a fallen angel named Shaitan (from the Hebrew “Satan”), as well as the followers of Shaitan – the jinns (demons)
~ Scripture: Muslims believe in the four God-inspired books: the Torah of Moses, the Zabur (Psalms of David), the Injil (Gospel), and the Qur’an. The Qur’an is Allah’s final word, as they believe the Jews and Christians corrupted the Scriptures*
~ Mohammed: The Qur’an lists 28 prophets of Allah, these include Adam, Noah, Abraham, David, Jonah, Jesus, and Muhammed – the greatest prophet
~ The end times: on the “last day”, the dead will be resurrected; Allah will be the judge, and each person will be sent to heaven (a place of sensual pleasure) or hell (for those that oppose Allah and his prophet Muhammed)
~ Predestination: God/Allah has determined what he pleases and no one can change what he has decreed. Kismet: the doctrine of fate – from this comes the most common Islamic phrase “If it is God’s will.”

The five pillars of faith

~ Statement of belief: To become a Muslim, a person must publicly repeat the Shahadah: “There is no god but Allah and Muhammed is the prophet of Allah”
~ Prayer: Muslims pray five times a day – at daybreak, noon, midafternoon, after sunset, and early evening. They must kneel and bow in the redescribed manner in the direction of the holy city, Mecca
~ Alms: Muslim law today requires a person to give one-fortieth of his profit (2.5%), which goes to widows, orphans, the sick, and other unfortunates
~ Ramadan: The ninth month of the Islamic year is called Ramadan and is the highest of Muslim holy seasons; believers are required to fast for the entire month – food, drink and smoking and sexual pleasures are forbidden, but only during daylight hours. No unworthy act is permitted, otherwise the fasting is worthless
~ Pilgrimage to Mecca: called the Hajj, the pilgrimage must be performed at least once in a Muslim’s lifetime. If it is too difficult or dangerous for the believer, a substitute may take his or her place

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How the Qur’an differs from the Bible

~ The Muslim proudly traces his ancestry to Ishmael, Abraham’s son. Their belief about the nature of God, the resurrection of the body and judgement are roughly similar to Christians.
~ For Muslims, God is one, period. The Qur’an explicity attacks the Christian teaching on the Trinity. Many Muslims are taught that Christians are really tri-thiests who believe in God the Father, Mary the mother and Jesus the son. (This is a complete misrepresentation of what Biblical Christians believe and what the Bible teaches.)
~ Allah is transcendent/all-powerful, according to Muslims: Of the 99 names ascribed to God in Islam, “Father” is omitted to avoid the idea of Father and Son, which is in stark contrast to the Bible and to Jesus’ own teaching.

Loving in the West, oppressive in the east

~ In the west, Islam is projected as a religion of love, tolerance and justice.
~ In the east, Islam is a political religion
~ Religious leaders of Islamic countries believe that if Islam is to be practiced correctly, all of society must submit to Islamic Law (Shariah)
~ Historically, in countries where Islam has gained political power, people of all rival religions are wiped out or permitted to exist as “lower-class” or second class citizens.
~ political Islam slowly squeezes non-Muslim people and crushes dissent
~ Christian persecution is part of the determination to force people to submit to Allah
~ Not all Islamic countries are as strict as others
~ Muslims in the west enjoy all the freedoms and benefits of the western world, having the same protected legal status as a minority religious group, civil liberties are secure,

Black Muslims are American in origin

~ the Black Muslim movement is a distinctly American adaptation of Islam
~ Timothy Drew taught that blacks were originally from Morocco and that they had been enslaved by the “Caucasian Devil”. He called for the overthrow of the tyranny of the White culture. When he died in 1919, Wallace Fard Mohammad claimed to be Drew reincarnated and formed the Nation of Islam in Detroit in 1930. [internet searches say the Drew died in 1929, so the 1919 death could be a typo]
~ in the 1950’s and 1960’s Malcolm X became a popular recruiter for the Nation of Islam. He challenged the leadership and was assassinated in 1965.
~ In 1975, when Wallace D. Mohammad took over, he relaxed the strict discipline and harsh rhetoric, changing the groups name to the American Muslim Mission, leading to several breakaway groups
~ Louis Farrakhan – resurrected the Nation of Islam in 1978 and reclaimed the heritage and principles of Black separatism, becoming one of the most influential Black Muslim community leaders, however his racist tirades are considered “un-Islamic” by orthodox Muslims.

~ the key point is that Islam is a religion of self-reliance and self-effort, whether in the east or west.

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The major differences

~ Muslims believe there is no God but Allah, Christians believe God is revealed in Scripture as Father, Son and Holy Spirit
~ Muslims believe Jesus was only a man, a prophet below Mohammed in importance and did not die for us; Christians believe Christ is the Son of God
~ Muslims believe that humans are born with hearts that are clean slates; Christians believe we are born corrupted by sin, spiritually dead apart from God’s grace and that no one does good apart from faith
~ Muslims say that Allah does not love those who have done wrong and each person must earn his or her way into salvation; Christians believe that God sent his son to die for our sins, according to the Bible

*they believe the Jews and Christians corrupted the Scriptures: this very well may be true, but not the way they believe. Translating the Bible into English, and into other languages, some words were changed. The Catholics, believing they had the authority, also changed parts and took parts out and put stuff in.

source: So What’s The Difference by Fritz Ridenour

…I personally don’t believe in religion, not as it has been defined in society. All it is, is a tool to divide us. I grew up a Baptist and went to a Christian school. To this day I have questions, but I still believe – and I keep looking for answers. Having faith that God is in control and believing that He sent His son to die for our sins is all that is needed to be saved. One doesn’t need to pray on the rosary, live a life of celibacy, or not eat certain foods to be saved. Jesus paid it all!

Doing God’s work, as he calls each of us – individually – to do is important. We each have our own task and shouldn’t be judged because we’re not doing what someone else thinks we should be doing. Only God knows us and what He has called us to do. At the same time, it is faith that will save us, it is that faith that empowers us to do God’s will.

hope you have a great day!
thanks for stopping by!!