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God vs. Allah

God vs. Allah

By Abdullah Al Araby
Both Christians and Muslims share belief in a sovereign deity; one, heavenly, spiritual, the creator of heaven and earth and the judge of all mankind. Christians call Him "God" and Muslims call Him "Allah" . One may thus presume that God and Allah are the same and that Allah is another name for God. A careful examination of the matter, however, will prove that it is not exactly so.

Muslims in the West have been using the tactic of claiming that they worship the same god as the Christians in order to gain legitimacy and acceptance. They have been using the name "God" in place of "Allah" in many translations of the Quran.

Nothing new under the sun! This reminds us of what happened 14 centuries ago. When Mohammed started preaching his new religion in Mecca he was conciliatory and appeasing to Christians. He told them: "We believe in What has been sent down to us and sent down to you, our God is the same as your God" Surah 29:45. Compare this with what happened later, in Medina, after Mohammed gained strength. Allah then tells him to "Fight People of the Book (Christians and Jews) who do not accept the religion of the truth (Islam) until they pay tribute by hand, being inferior " Surah 9:29

Before Islam came into existence, pagan Arabs used to worship some 360 pagan gods. Allah was one of them and was viewed as the highest god of all. The name Allah, which was adopted by Islam was later used to mean God, by Christians in the Middle East, in countries which were conquered by the Muslims. Christians may have done so out of fear ,and because it sounded similar to the Old Testament name "Elohim". However, the attributes of "God" and "Allah" are quite different. God of the Bible is loving and personal, Allah on the other hand is fearful and non-personal.

The "God" of Christianity

Christianity believes in a one triune God, while Islam rejects this concept as blasphemous.

    "They do blaspheme who say God is one of three in a Trinity, for there is no god except One God" Surah 5:76

The reason behind Islam's rejection of the concept of the triune God is a misunderstanding of the real meaning behind it. It seems that Islam's understanding of the Trinity was derived from a Christian heresy which existed in Arabia at the time of Mohammed. This heresy believed in a trinity consisting of God the Father, God the Mother (the virgin Mary) and God the Son (Jesus). The Quran says:

    "And behold! God will say: O Jesus the son of Mary didst thou say unto men, worship me and my mother as gods in derogation of God? He (Jesus) will say: Glory to thee, never could I say what I had no right (to say)" Surah 5:119

Christians, in fact, believe in One god who has made Himself manifest in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus declared this doctrine when He instructed His disciples, saying:

    "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" Matthew 28:19

The Father

Islam doesn't know the loving Fatherhood of God. That intimate relationship with God is foreign to Islam and condemned by the Quran"

    "(Both) the Jews and the Christians say, "We are sons of God and His beloved. Say: why then doth He punish you for your sins? Nay, you are but men of the men He has created" Surah 5:20

On the other hand, the concept of God being our heavenly Father is at the core of the Christian faith. Jesus taught His disciples to pray saying:
    "Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name ..." Matthew 6:9

The relationship between Jesus the Son and God the Father is exhibited on the Cross. We see Jesus addressing God as the Father:

    "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do" Luke 23:34

    "Father into thy hands I commend my spirit" Luke 23:46

The New Testament is full of references to God as the Father of all believers

    "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God....Behold, now are we the sons of God " 1 John 3:1&2

The Son

Islam cannot accept the Sonship of Jesus to God

    "O people of the book! Commit no excess in your religion: nor say of God aught but truth, Christ Jesus the son of Mary was (no more than) an apostle of God, and His word, which He bestowed on Mary, and a spirit proceeding from Him. So believe in God and His apostles. Say not "Trinity" : desist! It will be better for you. For God is One God. Glory be to Him:(Far exalted is He) above having a son" Surah 4:171

Nor would Islam accept the deity of Jesus

    "In blasphemy indeed are those that say that God is Christ the son of Mary. Say: who then hath the least power against God if His will were to destroy Christ the son of Mary, his mother, and all-every one that is on the earth? For to God belongeth the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and all that is in between. For God hath power over all things" Surah 5:19

The God of Islam possesses all power over all things including the power to erase sin if He so desired and when He so desired. This is completely different from the God of Christianity who is just and merciful, and who must work within the plan of salvation, that will have to satisfy both His mercy and justice. The plan can not be carried out without the sacrifice of Jesus, the Son of God, on the cross, in our behalf, in order to pay the penalty of our transgression.

    "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" John 3:16

The love of God towards sinners is against the spirit of Islam. Allah of Islam wouldn't go to the trouble of being crucified to save mankind. Islam vehemently rejects the crucifixion of Jesus.

    "That they said (in boast),"We killed Christ Jesus, the Son of Mary"....but they killed him not, nor crucified him" Surah 4:157

The Holy Spirit

Islam looks upon the Holy Spirit as a created spirit same as an angel. In many instances Islam uses the name "Holy Spirit" to mean an angel. In the story of the birth of Jesus, the Quran states that God has sent to Mary "His Spirit" (meaning the Angel Gabriel) to announce to her the news that she was chosen to be the mother of Jesus.

    "Then the (God) sent to her our Angel (in the original : our spirit), and he appeared before her as a man in all respects" Surah 19:17

The Spirit of God (as the angel Gabriel) was also the one who allegedly carried the message of the Quran to Mohammed.

"Say the Holy Spirit (The Angel Gabriel) has brought the revelation from thy Lord in truth" Surah 16:102

Because Muslims don't recognize the Holy Spirit, they cannot accept the Lordship of Jesus

    . "No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Spirit " 1 Corinthians 12:3

And because Muslims don't have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them, they don't have the assurance of salvation

    . "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God, and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ" Romans 8:16&17

The Allah of Islam

In theory Allah in the Quran has 99 names or attributes such as : Omniscient, Omnipotent, sublime, living, everlasting, holy, light, creator, powerful....etc. In reality, however, the Quran paint a picture of Allah that in many ways resembles Mohammed's own personality. Somebody suggested that Mohammed, in the Quran, was, in fact, creating a god in his (Mohammed's) own image.

Whatever Mohammed wanted, Allah wanted for him. However Mohammed reacted, Allah reacted for him. Whoever Mohammed desired, Allah desired for him. Aisha, (one of Mohammed's 13 wives) was quoted as saying to Mohammed scornfully:

    "O Allah's Apostle, I do not see but that your Lord hurries in pleasing you" Al Bukhari Vol 7:48

Here are just a few examples

  • When Abu Lahab criticized Mohammed, telling him, "Perish you, Mohammed! Did you invite us here for this? ", immediately Allah sends down Surah 111 to condemn both Abu Lahab and his wife.

      "Perish the hands of Abu Lahab Burnt soon will he be in fire of blazing flame. His wife shall carry the wood as fuel"
  • When Al Walid Ibn Almoghira and Omaya Ibn Khalaf mocked Mohammed boasting of their wealth, Allah sends down Surah 104 rebuking them

      "Woe to every (kind of) scandal-monger and backbiter who pileth up wealth and layeth it by, thinking that wealth would make last for ever . He will be sure to be thrown into the fire of the wrath of God kindled (to blaze) "
  • When Mohammed fell in love with.Zaynab, his adopted son's (Zaid) wife, God approved of her divorce from Zaid and joined her in marriage to Mohammed:

      "Then, when Zaid had dissolved (his marriage) with her we joined her in marriage to thee, in order that there might be no difficulty to the believers in marriage to wives of their adopted sons" Surah 33:37
  • When Mohammed's wives demanded higher allowances out of the booty taken from the massacred Banu Qorayza Jewish tribe, God settled it by telling the wives to.be content with their present allowance or face divorce. (see Surah 33:28 & 29)

  • When Hafsa caught Mohammed, in her bed, making love to his concubine Mariya, Mohammed tried to please angry Hafsa by promising her that he will stay away from Mariya. At this point Allah intervenes in Mohammed's behalf:

      "O Prophet why holdest thou to be forbidden that which God has made lawful to thee? Thou seekest to please thy consorts. But God is oft forgiving, most merciful" Surah 66:1

The list goes on and on. How Allah conveniently intervenes to satisfy Mohammed's sexual desires, to support Mohammed opinions, to justify Mohammed's actions and to take Mohammed side whenever he is in trouble

Next time you attend one of those "bridge building" meetings, where a panel of a Catholic priest, a Protestant minister, a Jewish rabbi and a Muslim sheik, hold hands in solidarity declaring that they all believe in the same God......It's a sham, don't believe it !.

That bridge they are building is a one way bridge, leading only towards Islam.

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Last modified June 22, 1996