Muslims Know Who Their God Is
In addition to the Five Pillars of Islam, which are the core practices of Islam, there are the Six Articles of Faith, sometimes referred to as the Six Pillars of Faith. The Six Articles of Faith are: Belief in God, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and divine decree. The Six Pillars of Faith are put into practice in the Five Pillars of Islam.
The Muslims, unlike the Samaritans and the Athenians, find their doctrine of Allah explicitly codified in the Quran. The Muslim god, Allah, is not the same as Christianity’s God.
Islam rejects the Trinity:
Say not “Trinity”: Desist: it will be better for you: for Allah is one Allah (4:171 Quran or chapter or Surah 4 and verse 171).
Christianity is Trinitarian. Jesus commissioned the church to make disciples “in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” (Mt 28:19-20). Jesus taught both the oneness of God’s essence and the threeness of the Persons in the Trinity in the baptismal formula: “Baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” (Mt 28:19). The one deity of the Trinity is seen in the singular “name” because God is one in substance or essence. But then Jesus followed up saying baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,” or the three persons of the Trinity. See this post for a fuller explanation of the Trinity (click to open).
Islam rejects the God of Love
Evangelical scholar turned Roman Catholic, Frank Beckwith, attempts to answer “Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?”
Now on to the big question: Do Muslims and Christians worship the same God? ... First, what does it mean for two terms to refer to the same thing? Take, for example, the names “Muhammad Ali” and “Cassius Clay.” Although they are different terms, they refer to the same thing, for each has identical properties ... So, the fact that Christians may call God “Yahweh” and Muslims call God “Allah” makes no difference if both “Gods” have identical properties.[14]
William Lane Craig shows that Christianity’s God does not have the same properties or nature as Allah: “The God of the Bible is an all-loving God, whose love is universal, impartial, and unconditional, while the God of Islam is not all-loving, but loves only Muslims and whose love is therefore selective, partial, and conditional.”[15]
Here are a number of quotes from the Quran limiting God’s love to only Muslims:
“Allah loves those who are constantly repentant and those who clean themselves” (Qur’an 2:222)
“Allah loves the righteous [who fear Him]” (Qur’an 09:04)
Who are “the righteous” that Allah loves?
“[The] righteousness is one who believes in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets and gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy ... Those are the ones who have been true, and it is those who are the righteous” (Qur’an 2:177)
“Allah loves the doers of good” (Qur’an 3:134)
“Allah loves those who rely [upon Him]” (Qur’an 3:159)
“Allah loves those who act justly” (Qur’an 5:42)
“And Allah loves the patient” (Qur’an 3:146)
“Allah loves those who fight in His cause” (Qur’an 61:4)
The God of Christianity loves the world of sinners (Jo 3:16; 1 Jo 2:2; 4:10). The God of Christianity commands believers, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Mt 5:44). Allah commands Muslims to kill their enemies: “When you meet the unbelievers on the battlefield, strike off their heads; and when you have laid them low, bind your captive firmly” (Qur’an 47:4).
Hamas was obeying their god, Allah, on October 7 when they massacred 1200 men, women, and children, including 46 Americans. The Hadith contains the sayings of Muhammad not included in the Qur’an. In Habith 1.2.25, Muhammad sanctioned what Islamic terrorists are practicing today: I have been ordered by Allah to fight against the people until they testify that none has the right to be worshiped but Allah and that Muhammad is Allah’s Messenger. . . .[O]nly then will they save their lives and property from me.
Many Muslims reject Islamic terrorism. They are embarrassed and shamed by 9/11 and October 7. Nevertheless, Islam has a history of violence.
D. A. Carson, in an article on Just War, chronicled some of Islam’s violent history: The former Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, was not brought down by proto-democrats but by Muslim fundamentalists. President Anwar el-Sadat of Egypt was assassinated in 1981 by members of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad group .... Before the First Crusade began, Palestine had been the scene of savage conflict between the Turkish Seljuks (Sunni Muslim) and the Arab Fatimid Dynasty (Shiite Muslim), with massacres committed by both sides. Still earlier, the Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim [Shiite], from 996 to 1021 in the Christian calendar, persecuted both Jews and Christians with appalling violence.[16]
·Islam rejects Jesus as God:
In blasphemy indeed are those that say that Allah is Christ the son of Mary (Qur’an 5:72). They do blaspheme who say: “Allah is Christ the son of Mary” (Qur’an 5:17).
Jesus clearly affirmed his deity: “I and my Father are one” (Jo 10:30). Charles Ryrie explains the significance of “one” in John 10:30:
The neuter form of “one” rules out the meaning that He and the Father were one person. It means that they are in perfect unity in natures and actions, a fact that could only be true if He were as much Deity as the Father. The people who heard this claim understood it that way, for they immediately tried to stone Him for blasphemy because He made Himself out to be God (v. 33).[17]
This post on the deity of Christ (click to open) elaborates on the deity of Christ.
Islam rejects the death of Christ:
That they said (in boast), “We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah”;-but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them ... for of a surety they killed him not (Qur’an 4:157).
The most common interpretation, often called the “substitution theory,” [not the biblical doctrine of the substitutionary death of Christ] takes the implied object of the verb to be Jesus himself: namely, it was not Jesus who was crucified, but someone who “appeared” like him to the Jews and was killed in his place (e.g., the Sahih International rendering). This theory maintains that the Jews intended to crucify Jesus, and a historical crucifixion indeed happened, but Allah controverted the Jews by placing Jesus’ visage on another person who, subsequently, took his place on the cross. Islamic exegetes have generated a plethora of possible identities of the person who bore Jesus’ image and replaced him on the cross: a passing Jew, a Roman soldier, Judas Iscariot, Simon of Cyrene, or one of the apostles such as Tatanus, Sergius, or Peter. In short, the substitutionist reading, which is the most popular among Muslims today, is “that someone was, in fact, crucified, but it was not Jesus.”[18]
If Jesus did not die for our sins, then there is no atonement for the sins of the world. There is no resurrection. There is no Gospel as defined in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4: “I declare unto you the gospel ... Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures and that he was buried and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”
Islam rejects salvation by grace
The Qur’an provides a key text on salvation in the Qur’an: “Indeed, mankind is in [a state of] loss, except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience” (Qur’an 103:1-3). Here is the interpretation of 103:1-33: The Qur’an: “reminds us that man is at a loss unless he is among those who believe and do righteous deeds. It emphasizes the importance of faith and good deeds in achieving salvation and eternal happiness.”[19]
I watched a documentary entitled “Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet.” One non-muslim who converted to Islam was interviewed. He was a fire chief from NYC. He said, “The Qur’an puts the onus of salvation on you.”[20] This convert to Islam liked the reality that he could earn his salvation. Clearly, this text in the Qur’an and this Muslim’s testimony stand in contrast to Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourself, not of works, lest any man should boast.” There is no boasting in Christianity, only glory to God for undeserved and unmerited salvation.
Muslims in Malaysia forbid Christians from using Allah for their God
Islam is the official religion in Malaysia. Ironically, Malaysia, “since 2008, ... has banned Christians from using the word ‘Allah’ on the grounds that it was reserved for Islam only and that Christian usage of it would confuse Muslims of their faith.”[21] I contend that the evangelical use of the argument that Christians and Muslims worship the same God, i.e., that God and Allah are the same, is confusing to Christians.
Muslim Missionaries use the “same God” argument as some evangelicals. These Muslim missionaries in Malaysia initiated “Street Dakwah” campaigns, which is basically street evangelism for Islam. By the way, “Street Dakwah” is also practiced on American streets. Here is their argument: Since we both worship Allah, why don’t you become a Muslim? So why should Christians who assent to the “same God” view stop at Christianity if it is the same God (in Islam)?[22]
As we have argued in this article, along with many other evangelicals, the God of Christianity is not the same as Allah. Therefore, Muslims cannot make their claim in attempting to win Christians to Islam. Evangelicals who make similar claims are lending credence to Muslim’s evangelistic efforts.
Evangelicals who advocate that Christians and Muslims worship the same God are confusing the doctrine of God. There is the one true God, and then there are false gods. After declaring that “The Lord our God is one LORD,” (Dt 6:4) Moses warned, “You shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people who are round about you” (Dt 6:14). Those who worship the god of liberal theology, worship a false god who rejects the deity of Christ, his physical resurrection, and all of the core doctrines of God’s Word. They do not worship the God of Christianity. The Jehovah of Jehovah’s Witnesses is a false god who is not Trinity. The god of Muslims, Allah, is not the God of Christianity.
Not only does God love Muslims, but Christians love Muslims
We answer our original question: Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God? With a resounding, No! We also just as emphatically add that our “one LORD” “so loved the world [including Muslims] that he gave his only Son [who is God], that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life” (Jo 3:16). I am talking to a Muslim from Iraq. We discuss Islam and Christianity. When I explain Christianity, I elaborate on what is essential to salvation according to the Bible: the Gospel of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and that salvation is an unearned gift from God received by faith. Not only does God love Muslims, but Christians also love Muslims. We should pray for God to give us open doors to build friendships with Muslims to witness the Gospel of Jesus, which is the power of God to salvation to everyone who believes (Rom 1:16).
[14] Francis J. Beckwith, “Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?” in The Catholic Thing, December 17, 2015.
[15] William Lane Craig, “#459 Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?”Reasonable Faith, January 31, 2016.
[16] D. A. Carson, in an article on Just War, TGC.
[17] Charles Ryrie, Basic Theology. A Popular Systematic Guide to Understanding Biblical Truth (p. 286). (Function). Kindle Edition.
[18] Gregory R. Lanier, “It Was Made to Appear Like that to Them:” Islam’s Denial of Jesus’ Crucifixion, Reformed Faith and Practice, 2017.
[19] The Online Qur’an Academy
[20] “Muhammad: The Legacy of a Prophet”
[21] John Cheong “Since We Both Worship Allah, Why Don’t You Become a Muslim?” Occasional Bulletin, Special Edition, 9, 2016.
[22] Ibid.