Three Important Similarities Between Islam and Christianity
By Chris Lindley
In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Compassionate. In this paper I will seek to show three strong points of commonality between Islam and Christianity: monotheism (tawheed, توحید), belief in God’s signs (āyat, آیت), and forbidding evil and encouraging good (hidayat, ہدایت).
Introduction
Before we start, there are a couple of points I should make about this discussion. A student in my class recently told me an interesting analogy. If someone is test driving a Mercedes and they are a poor driver and end up crashing the car, do we criticize the Mercedes for this or do we criticize the driver? Likewise, if we want to discuss Islam and Christianity, do we compare the religions or do we compare how Christians and Muslims seek to live out their faith?
We must make an important decision before we begin, what exactly will we compare? Will we compare the lives of followers of Islam and Christianity or will we compare the religions themselves? So, for sake of simplicity, time, and energy, let us limit our comparison to Islam’s and Christianity’s respective highest authorities, the Noble Qur’an (القرآن الکریم), and the Honorable Injeel (انجیل شریف).
Monotheism (tawheed, توحید)
Monotheism is defined as a belief in only one supreme Creator who is the only God that exists. There can be no other. This conviction is found in the first part of Islam’s creed, “there is no god but God…” (lāʾilāha ʾilá l-Lāh, لا اِلہ اِلا اللہ). Christianity also shares a similar creed that hazrat Jesus (as) (حضرت عیسٰیؑ) said, “the LORD our God, the LORD is one.” (YHWH elohaynu YHWH eḥad, יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד) (Mark 12:29). Both faiths also believe that part of their role on the earth is to teach the world about this one God and the teachings He has revealed (such as His Signs).
If you ask any Christian or Muslim what the basic difference is between Islam and Christianity, most will say that Islam calls hazrat Isa (as) a prophet and Christianity calls him the Son of God. What do the Holy Books have to say?
According to the Noble Qur’an in an Nisaa’ 4:171,
يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ لَا تَغْلُوا فِي دِينِكُمْ وَلَا تَقُولُوا عَلَى اللَّهِ إِلَّا الْحَقَّ ۚ إِنَّمَا الْمَسِيحُ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ وَكَلِمَتُهُ أَلْقَاهَا إِلَىٰ مَرْيَمَ وَرُوحٌ مِّنْهُ ۖ فَآمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِ ۖ وَلَا تَقُولُوا ثَلَاثَةٌ ۚ انتَهُوا خَيْرًا لَّكُمْ ۚ إِنَّمَا اللَّهُ إِلَٰهٌ وَاحِدٌ ۖ سُبْحَانَهُ أَن يَكُونَ لَهُ وَلَدٌ ۘ لَّهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ ۗ وَكَفَىٰ بِاللَّهِ وَكِيلًا
O People of the Book! Commit no excesses in your religion: Nor say of Allah aught but the truth. Christ Jesus the son of Mary was (no more than) a messenger of Allah, and His Word, which He bestowed on Mary, and a spirit proceeding from Him: so believe in Allah and His messengers. Say not “Trinity” : desist: it will be better for you: for Allah is one Allah: Glory be to Him: (far exalted is He) above having a son. To Him belong all things in the heavens and on earth. And enough is Allah as a Disposer of affairs.
This passage states that hazrat Isa (as) is the Messiah (al-Maseeh, المسیح) which means anointed one or king, God’s messenger (rasūl Allah, رسول اللہ), and God’s Word (kalimat Allah, کلمتہ اللہ), and God’s Spirit (ruh Allah, روح اللہ). The Qur’an also clearly states that Allah (swt) is not the begetter (walad, ولد) of hazrat Isa (as).
According to the Honorable Injeel, hazrat Isa (as) is also called the Messiah (Matthew 1:1), God’s Word (John 1:1), God’s Spirit (Philippians 1:19), and God’s messenger (Matthew 13:57). However, it is true that there are a few instances in the Honorable Injeel where hazrat Isa (as) is called the Son of God. But what does this title mean? Unfortunately, this title has been greatly misunderstood in history. The title Son of God has been used to describe angels (farishton, فرشتوں), the Children of Israel (banī Isrāel, بنی اسرأیل), king David (as) (حضرت داوَدؑ) and others. This title as found in the Bible does not mean two things: it does not mean that hazrat Isa (as) is Allah (swt), nor does it mean that hazrat Isa (as) is God’s offspring (aulād, اولاد). The title actually intends to mean that hazrat Isa (as) is near to God (وجیھا) and God’s chosen vicegerent (ḥaleefat, خلیفتہ) in the path of hazrat Adam (as) (al-Baqara 2:30) and hazrat David (as) (Saad 38:26). It is unfortunate that as Christianity spread from Jerusalem (bayt muqaddas, بیت مقدس) to the Greek and Roman peoples that many misunderstood this title. This was because Romans and Greeks used this title differently than monotheistic Jews and Christians. According to Roman and Greek people, this title referred to myths and religious beliefs about their god, Zeus, who had offspring with a human woman. Thanks to God there are many Christians who still believe in monotheism and although this title is in the Bible, they know it is a title that Jesus is God’s chosen vicegerent, not a title of divinity or of God having offspring.
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