Christianity originated during Jesus’ ministry on the earth, which began around 30 AD. Islam originated during Muhammad’s life around 622 A.D. Today, around 2.6 billion people consider themselves Christians, while 1.5 billion consider themselves Muslim. While these two religions share some of the history in the Old Testament, they share very little else in their basic beliefs, practices, and the lifestyles of Jesus and Muhammad.
- Islam considers Muhammad to be the prophet of Allah, their God. His beliefs were recorded in the Quran and various hadiths. In the Quran, Muhammad rejected Jesus’ crucifixion, which is at the core of Christian beliefs. As St. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:14, “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.” The crucifixion is one of the most well attested historical facts in the first and second centuries. Aside from evidence from multiple authors in the New Testament, the crucifixion is attested by a Jewish historian, Josephus, a Roman historian, Tacitus, the Talmud, the apostles in the Didache, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus (among others). The vast majority of religious and secular scholars today do not deny that Jesus was crucified, but Muslims who believe in the following Quran passage do. Surah An-Nisa Ayat 157: “And [for] their saying, “Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah.” And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain.”
2. Islam considers Jesus to be a prophet, Isa, who will correct Christians of the belief in his divinity at the end of time. It also rejects the Trinity. Yet Jesus claimed to be God multiple times. As an example, when he was asked about his identity by his persecutors in Mark 14:60-62, he made references to divinity in Daniel 7 and Psalm 110. “Again the high priest asked him, ‘Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?’ And Jesus said, ‘I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.’” He also referenced the Trinity in Matthew 18:19: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
Surah An-Nisa Ayat 171: “O People of the Scripture! Do not commit excess in your religion or say about Allah except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, was but a messenger of Allah and His word which He directed to Mary and a soul [created at a command] from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers. And do not say, ‘Three’; desist — it is better for you. Indeed, Allah is but one God. Exalted is He above having a son. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And sufficient is Allah as Disposer of affairs.”
3. Islam rejects Jesus’ teachings about sin: rather than calling on believers to avoid sin as Christianity does, Islam teaches that Allah wants sin! In 1 John 2:1, Christianity teaches the following: “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” In Romans 6:12, Paul says, Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!”
Hadith Sahih Muslim 2749: “If you were not to commit sin, Allah would sweep you out of existence and He would replace [you with] those people who would commit sin and seek forgiveness from Allah, and He would have pardoned them.”
4. Jesus called on us to love our enemies (Matthew 5:24) and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44). He also said that those who live by the sword will die by the sword (Matthew 26:52). Muhammad called on Muslims to humble and tax nonbelievers – and to kill Jews and expel both Jews and Christians from the Arabian Peninsula. They further hold false beliefs about Jews’ beliefs about the prophet Ezra.
Quran 9:29: “Fight those who do not believe in Allah and the Last Day, nor consider unlawful what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden, nor follow the religion of truth from among those who were given the Scripture, until they pay the jizyah willingly while they are humbled.”
Quran 9:30: “The Jews say, ‘Ezra is the son of Allah,’ and the Christians say, ‘The Messiah is the son of Allah.’ Such are their baseless assertions, only parroting the words of earlier disbelievers. May Allah destroy (or condemn) them! How can they be deluded from the truth?”
Sahih Muslim 2922: “The last hour would not come unless the Muslims will fight against the Jews and the Muslims would kill them until the Jews would hide themselves behind a stone or a tree and a stone or a tree would say: Muslim, or the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him; but the tree Gharqad would not say, for it is the tree of the Jews.”
Sahih Muslim 1767a: “I will expel the Jews and Christians from the Arabian Peninsula and will not leave any but Muslim.”
5. Islam rejects Jesus’ teaching about marriage being between one man and one woman. Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5-6
Quran 4:3: “And if you fear that you cannot act equitably towards orphans, then marry such women as seem good to you, two and three and four; but if you fear that you will not do justice (between them), then (marry) only one or what your right hands possess; this is more proper, that you may not deviate from the right course. “
6. Muhammad ordered followers to kill dogs (with exception of hunting, farming, and livestock dogs) in Sahih Muslim 1570, 1571, and 1572. Jesus said nothing about killing dogs.
7. Jesus referred to heaven as “paradise” where men and women will have been purified and will not be given in marriage. The Quran refers to heaven as paradise as well, yet rewards men with “houris,” which are virgins who give them carnal pleasure.
Surah At-Tur 52:20: “They will recline on couches ranged in rows. And we will marry them to fair ones with wide, lovely eyes.”
Surah Al-Waqi’ah 56:35-36: “Lo! We have created them a creation, and made them virgins.”
Surah An-Naba 78:32-33: “Indeed the righteous will have salvation – Gardens, vineyards, and full-bosomed maidens of equal age.”
8. Radical Islamists often scream “Allahu Akbar” before murdering or injuring others. These words translate to “God is greater.” They sometimes kill themselves in the process of murdering others since they believe they will be rewarded by Allah with paradise for doing so. In contrast, Christians and Jews are commanded to follow the Ten Commandments, which forbids murder. Unrepentant murderers end up in hell, not heaven.
9. Muslims have the practice of “taqiyya,” which is strategic deception where people can lie about their faith if under severe threat of injury or death. The opposite is true in Christianity. In Matthew 10:33, Jesus said, “But whoever denies me before men, I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven.” In Matthew 16:25, Jesus said, “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”
10. Muhammad’s lifestyle was significantly different from Jesus’ lifestyle. Jesus is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) who committed no sins, had no sexual relations with any women, told no lies, and was brutally beaten and crucified in fulfillment of the Scriptures (e.g., Isaiah 53; Zechariah 12:10; Psalm 22). Wisdom 2:12 also spoke of Jesus’ righteousness and portended the way Jesus would be treated. “Let us lie in wait for the righteous man, because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions; he reproaches us for sins against the law, and accuses us of sins against our training.”
Sahih al-Bukhari 5068 indicates that Muhammad had nine wives at once. He had 11 wives in total, believing he had special permission from Allah to have more wives than what he permitted other Muslims. “Do as I say, but not as I do.” When he was between 50 and 53, he married Aisha when she was 6 and consummated the marriage when she was 9, according to Sahih al-Bukhari 5133. Due to Muhammad’s example, many Muslims today – especially in countries dominated by Sharia law – consider pedophilia acceptable.
Conclusion
Nabeel Qureshi wrote a book entitled, “Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus.” He was raised a devout Muslim but when he began a deep process of learning more about his religion, Jesus answered his prayers with a dream where he stood at a doorway of a banquet and saw his friend David Wood there. He wanted to enter the banquet but was told he had yet to accept the offer to join. When he woke up and called David, David pointed him to Luke 14:15-24, the Parable of the Wedding Banquet. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through the Son. Ask, seek, and you will find the truth – and the truth will set you free!
SJ Thomason is a Christian, wife, and mother of two sons. She works as a university administrator in business.