Posted on 12/23/2014 7:31:26 AM PST by SeekAndFind
A commonly heard claim is that Jews, Christians and Muslims all believe in “the same God.” These are comforting words and of great assistance to those wishing to engage in interfaith dialogues and tri-faith ventures. But is this true? To answer that question, let’s look at what is said and taught about Jews and Christians by Allah, the god of Islam, and Muhammad, Allah’s prophet. We’ll start with the Koran.
The Koran
Muslims believe the Koran is the infallible, timeless and perfect word of Allah. So what does Allah say in the Koran about Jews and Christians?
To set the stage, Allah states that the only religion acceptable to him is Islam (e.g., 3:19 and 3:85). And Allah states that Islam is to be made superior over all other religions, even if the non-Muslims don’t like it (e.g., 9:33, 48:28, and 61:9).
Allah states that he is angry with the Jews, and the Christians are misguided in their beliefs (1:7). In fact, Allah curses the Jews and Christians (9:30). He states that the Jews and Christians are among the worst of creatures who “will abide in the fire of Hell” (98:6), while Muslims are the best of creatures (3:110 and 98:7). He forbids Muslims from being friends with Jews and Christians (5:51). Instead, Allah commands Muslims to fight the Jews and Christians until those Jews and Christians pay the jizyah (protection tax), with willing submission and feeling themselves subdued (9:29).
Allah specifically states that the Jews are among the worst enemies of Islam (5:82).
Allah states that Christianity is a false religion. Allah says that Jesus was not crucified, but it only appeared so (4:157-158). Allah states that he took Jesus bodily into paradise and made one of Jesus’ disciples look like Jesus; it was that disciple who was crucified. So Muslims who know their religion look at a crucifix or a painting of the Crucifixion and see an imposter hanging on the cross. And of course, if there was no Crucifixion, there was no Resurrection. So Islam teaches that Christianity is based on a fraud.
Allah also states that those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God commit the one unforgiveable sin in Islam, Shirk (e.g., 4:48 and 4:116). In fact, Allah curses Christians specifically for this belief (9:30) and says that those who so believe will go to Hell (e.g., 3:151 and 5:72-73).
Muhammad
Islam teaches that Muhammad spoke for Allah (4:80), and Allah commands Muslims to obey Muhammad (59:7). And Muhammad is considered the timeless standard by which Muslims should conduct themselves (33:21). So what did Muhammad have to say?
He said Jews and Christians are worth only half as much as a Muslim,[1]and he gave the following advice about what to do when meeting Jews and Christians:
Do not greet the Jews and the Christians before they greet you and when you meet any one of them on the roads force him to go to the narrowest part of it.[2]
Muhammad said that the Jews were grave robbers,[3] and he said,
The Hour will not be established until you fight against the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say, ‘O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him.[4]
Muhammad said that on the Day of Resurrection, mountains of sins would be removed from the backs of Muslims and put onto the Jews and Christians.[5] Muhammad even said that Jews and Christians would take the place of Muslims in Hell.[6]
And on his death bed Muhammad said:
I will expel the Jews and Christians from the Arabian Peninsula and will not leave any but Muslims.[7]
These are timeless commands and statements from Allah and Muhammad, and Muslims are not allowed to disagree with them (33:36).
So if Allah is God and the Koran consists of statements and commands from Allah, if Muhammad spoke for Allah, and if Jews, Christians and Muslims all believe in that same God, then Jews and Christians believe in and worship a God who hates and curses them, orders Muslims to fight them, and condemns them to Hell simply because they are not Muslims.
Either we are talking about a pagan god of multiple, compartmentalized personalities, or the claim that Jews, Christians and Muslims all believe in the same God is theological nonsense.
Notes:
[1] Muhammad bin Yazeed ibn Majah Al-Qazwini, Sunan Ibn Majah, trans. Nasiruddin al-Khattab, Vol. 3 (Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Darussalam, 2007), No. 2644, p. 521.
[2] Abu’l Hussain ‘Asakir-ud-Din Muslim bin Hajjaj al-Qushayri al-Naisaburi, Sahih Muslim, trans. Abdul Hamid Siddiqi, Vol. 6 (New Delhi: Adam Publishers and Distributors, 2008), No. 2167, p. 439.
[3] Muhammad bin Ismail bin Al-Mughirah Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari, trans. Muhammad Muhsin Khan, Vol. 4 (Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Darussalam, 1997), Book 60, No. 3452, p. 413.
[4] Sahih Al-Bukhari, Vol. 4, Book 56, No. 2926, p. 113.
[5] 110 Ahadith Qudsi: Sayings of the Prophet Having Allahs Statements, 3rd ed., trans. Syed Masood-ul-Hasan (Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Darussalam, 2006), No. 8, titled Superiority of the believers in the Oneness of Allah and the punishment of Jews and Christians, pp. 19-20.
[6] Sahih Muslim, Vol. 8, No. 2767R1, p. 269.
[7] Sahih Muslim, Vol. 5, No. 1767, p. 189.
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>>>Scripture tells us of many instances of people rendering worship to false idols.
Mosque minaret call to prayers 5x a day directing prayers to the Kaaba. Hopefully they can locate Allah with a good compass!
>> Since there is only one God, we must all believe in the same God
Not so. Not even close.
Yes, there IS only one GOD, Yahweh, Creator of heaven and earth.
But there are countless little-g false gods worshipped by ignorant or disobedient men.
Don’t kid yourself that those who worship false gods are “really” worshipping Yahweh without knowing it! Eternal damnation awaits those who worship false gods.
We all believe in God, and in Satan; the difference is which side we have chosen. Jews and Christians worship and support God.
John 1:18
No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
1 John 4:1
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Exodus 20 King James Version (KJV)
20 And God spake all these words, saying,
2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
great point!
I am God there is no other. At the beginning I foretell the outcome; in advance, things not yet done. I say that my plan shall stand. I accomplish my every purpose. Yes, I have spoken, I will accomplish it; I have planned it and I will do it. Listen to me you fainthearted, you who seem far from the victory of justice: I am bringing on my justice, it is not far off, my salvation shall not tarry; I will put salvation within Zion, and give my glory to Israel (Isaiah 46:12ff).
Mohammedans worship satan. Once you realize this, everything makes sense.
No.
Jeremiah 7:8-10New American Standard Bible (NASB)
8 “Behold, you are trusting in deceptive words to no avail. 9 Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery and swear falsely, and offer sacrifices to Baal and walk after other gods that you have not known, 10 then come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—that you may do all these abominations?
"Al-lah" translates to English as "the god".
The difference is the God we serve is the God of the Bible as HE wants to be known...otherwise it is “something else” being worshipped.
“though I expect that as a Texan you wouldn’t likely believe what some Arab Christian priest told you about his Faith. I mean, after all, what would he know?”
That’s an odd, condescending comment. What do you really know about Texans?
I said nothing about Greek. My information about “Al-lah” translating from Arabic to English as “the god” comes from an Iranian woman. When she speaks in English of the muslim deity, she says “the god”. Example: “I will see you tomorrow, if the god wills it”. I believe what she says, I am certain she knows more about that subject than I do.
No argument there!
Very interesting I have heard this before. Can you lay out some of the liturgy here with an interpretation? I would be very interested to see how it flows. Thanks if you can or want to.
Mohammedanism on the other hand, is a Judeo/Christian heresy and like all heresies, it is a bitter, deadly weed in Creation. The attributes of "Allah" as described by Mohammedanism are consequently false, demonic and ultimately deadly, but "Allah" is in fact the very God, Ο ΩΝ, whom we worship.
Now that was an excellent explanation in less than a paragragh. Thanks for that.
Here’s a link to You Tube for the Divine Liturgy at St. George Antiochian church in Montreal. It’s where we worship when we are in Montreal. It’s a wonderful, loving parish with a fabulous priest. In this you will hear English, Greek, French & Arabic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RXTERGu0Do
"I said nothing about Greek. My information about “Al-lah” translating from Arabic to English as “the god” comes from an Iranian woman. When she speaks in English of the muslim deity, she says “the god”. Example: “I will see you tomorrow, if the god wills it”. I believe what she says, I am certain she knows more about that subject than I do."
In Greek "Ο" means "the" "θεος" means "God", thus "the God", the same as in Arabic. The perceived problem is with the English translation, not the Arabic original. Someone reading the NT or the Septuagint in the original Greek would read, literally translated into English, "the God" (or "the god", capitals having no meaning in koine Greek).
"That’s an odd, condescending comment."
Condescending, yes; odd, in light of your comment, no.
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