Understanding Islam
The foundation of Islamic beliefs is the conviction that God (Allah) is absolutely one and that humans are called to submit to His will as revealed to his prophet Mohammad and record in the Qur’an.
Note that a follower of Islam is a Muslim. Islam is the reglion and a Muslim is a person.
Muslims will state that they believe in Jesus and the God of the Bible. However, what they believe about God and Jesus, is NOT the SAME as what Christians believe. Their God and Jesus is every different. Muslims do not believe that Jesus is the son God, and they do not believe in the Trinity. They also believe that the current Bible we have has been corrupted and changed from the original Bible.
The following are key points to understand about Islam.
Islamic main False Doctrine:
Jesus was not the Son of God and he was not crucified.
This contradicts the Christian path to salvation which is through the blood of Jesus, the Son of God, as atonement for our sins.
What Muslims Believe About God (Allah)
• They do believe in the God of Abraham, but not with the same characteristics as Christians. They do not believe in the Trinity.
O People of the Book! Do not go to extremes regarding your faith; say nothing about Allah except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, was no more than a messenger of Allah and the fulfilment of His Word through Mary and a spirit ˹created by a command˺ from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers and do not say, “Trinity.” Stop!—for your own good. Allah is only One God. Glory be to Him! He is far above having a son! To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And Allah is sufficient as a Trustee of Affairs. (Surah An‑Nisa - 4:171)
• “There is no god but God (and) Muhammad is the messenger of God.”
• The only way to approach God is as a salve, not as a child of God.
What Muslims Believe About Jesus
• They do NOT believe in the Holy Trinity, hence Jesus is NOT the Son of God.
That is Jesus, son of Mary. ˹And this is˺ a word of truth, about which they dispute. It is not for Allah to take a son! Glory be to Him. When He decrees a matter, He simply tells it, “Be!” And it is! (Surah Maryam - 19:34-35)
• They believe that Jesus was JUST a man and a prophet.
Jesus declared, “I am truly a servant of Allah. He has destined me to be given the Scripture and to be a prophet. (Surah Maryam - 19:30)
• They do believe that Jesus was born to Mary of a virgin birth.
• They believe that Jesus was one of God’s four great prophets. Noah, Abraham, Jesus & Muhammad
• They do NOT believe that Jesus was crucified. Hence, Jesus did not die for our sins. One of this disciples was made to look like him and was crucified in his place.
• They do believe that Jesus ascended into Heaven (however, he was NOT crucified).
• They believe that Jesus was return to Earth at the end of times, but as a human to prove the Christians wrong. He will marry then die and be buried next to Muhammad.
What Muslims Believe About Heaven & Salvation
• They believe to get Heaven you have to profess that Muhammad is a prophet of God.
• They believe you receive salvation based on you works.
• They believe that men will be given virgins in heaven.
Muslims will state they love Jesus more than Christians and believe in the same God that we do. When you look at the details, they show that Islam and Christianity contradict each other in their core foundational doctrines. So, either Christianity if false or Islam is false. However, they both cannot be true.
How to refute a Muslim about Christianity and Jesus
• They believe that Jesus was NOT crucified.
“We killed the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the messenger of Allah.” But they neither killed nor crucified him—it was only made to appear so.1 Even those who argue for this ˹crucifixion˺ are in doubt. They have no knowledge whatsoever—only making assumptions. They certainly did not kill him. (Surah 4:157)
• When told that the Bible states that Jesus was crucified, a Muslim will state that the Bible was corrupted.
• However the Qur’an states that the word of God cannot be corrupted.
The Word of your Lord is perfect in truthfulness and justice; no one can change His words. He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing (Surah 6:115)
The Qur’an states that the Bible is not and cannot be corrputed, and Muslim stated that is has been. So, what proof do Muslims have that the Bible was corrupted regarding Jesus? We do have the full manuscripts of the Bible from before the time of Muhammad and can clearly see that they are not corrupted or changed compared to modern Bibles.
The Islam Holy books is the Qur’an.
Unlike the Bible, the Qur’an is a single book that has a single source (Muhammad.) Note that the Qur’an is not in any type of chronological order. The chapters (called surahs) are in order of longest to shortest.
Muslim’s believe that Muhammad was verbally given the Qur’an in a cave by the angel Gabriel.
They claim that the modern Qur’an is unchanged from what was spoken to Muhammad. However that claim is not factually correct.
• Originally the message given to Mohammad was only spread by verbal memorization. Of course, verbal memorization will not be 100% acturate.
○ Different parts/verses of the Qur’an where memorized by different persons.
○ The people who memorized parts/verses of the Qur’an were dying and being killed in battles. Therefore parts of the Qur’an were lost.
○ After the Battle of al‑Yamama in 632 AD, the Qur’an was written down. However, there were different versions of it written down.
• From 650-656AD Uthman collects the different versions of the Qur’an, standardized the text and destroys the non-standard ones.
• The Qur’an has been canonized three times.
• 97% of Muslims today use the Huff Qur’an from 1924 printing of it. (Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and much of the Muslim world)
• The remaining Muslims today use the Warsh Qur’an. (North and West Africa, including Morocco and Algeria)
Alongside the Qur’an, Muslims rely on the Hadith and the Sunnah, two closely connected yet distinct sources of guidance.
• Hadith refers to the recorded sayings, actions, and approvals of Prophet Muhammad. These narrations were collected and authenticated by scholars and serve as a source of Islamic law and guidance.
• Sunnah encompasses the entire way of life of the Prophet, including his actions, habits, and teachings. It is broader than Hadith and represents the practical example set by the Prophet.
The Islam eschatology is almost a complete oppsite mirror of Christian eschatology (the end time of the world.)
Key Players in eschatology - Notice how they are complete reverse of each other. Scary isn’t!!! Any questions about where the antichrist will come from.
| Cristianity | Christian Role | - | Islam | Islamic Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AntiChrist | Establishs rule on the Temple Mount | - | Moahdi | Establishs rule on the Temple Mount |
| Reigns for 7 years | - | Reigns for 7 years | ||
| Rides on a white horse | - | Rides on a white horse | ||
| - | Kill all who do not convert to Islam | |||
| False Prophet | Religious leader to aid the Antichrist | - | Jesus (false) | Aids the Moahdi |
| - | Returns to Earth to prove Christians are wrong and state he is not son of God | |||
| - | Dies and is buried next to Muhammad | |||
| Jesus | The Son of God | - | Antichrist | Claims to be the Son of God |
Here is some addtional Information on Islam.