Concept of God in Islam and Christianity

Concept of God in Islam and Christianity

  People have a different belief about their origin.it is this difference that forms the basis of their cultural and religious beliefs. Islam and Christianity are the prevailing religion in the community. Both have a supernatural being that

forms the base of their faith. For Christian, they call their God Yahwe, while Muslims God is known as Allah.in both cases, they believe in a one God who created the universe and who is a source of their blessings. This paper will contrast and compare the concept of God in both Islam and Christianity.

Yahwe is a God who represents his will and expectation of his believers through the bible.due to this Christians believe that the bible of the old and new testament in its original language, which was Hebrew, greek and Arabic, is Gods words to his people without any error (Peters,2005). For this reason, all Christians are expected to live up to the teachings of the bible, since they represent God’s expectations of his believers. In previous research, it is clear that Christianity has always been called people of the book through history. It is because their cultural and religious beliefs are based on the teachings of the bible,

In the same way, Allah uses the Quaran to represent his will and expectations for his people, Isams believe that the Quran is the holy words of God. Muslims believe that the Quran was God’s final revelation to humanity, a work of divine guidance revealed to Mohammed through the angel Gabriel for 23 years (Sardar,1991). Muslims believe that once a Quran has started being recited, blessings are showered to all those quoting the book, and also, there is a presence of angels. In recent research, it revealed that most Muslim believe that Quaran is their light and guidance in their life. It is because Muslims think that once you recite, he or she does not count among the headless in the community. Also, they believe that it helps in healing psychological, physical, and spiritual illnesses..

In Christianity, Gods are believed to be in three forms that are God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Christians believe that God came to meet them in three-fold figures (Sardar,1991). The first fold figure was when God created the universe, and here he appeared as our father. The other character is Jesus, who is termed as the son of God.christians, feel that there was a clear representation of God’s power in Jesus. Hence it was God in an incarnated figure of Jesus because, in john 8:58, Jesus referred to God as “I am.” The last fold figure is the holy spirit, whose primary purpose is to intercessor or is a helper in the power of a new life.

While in the Islamic religion, there is no other form of there God representation to them. They believe that there is no different God equal to Allah, and his teaching is final (Sardar,1991).In learning from Quaran that revealed that he one and only God, the absolute God, he was not born, never was he begotten. Nobody is equal to him.in this teaching from the Quran book. It reveals that Allah has always been in the same form and has never shown himself in any other different way.

The Islam religion believes that Allah was the creator of the universe and everything in it. The Quran(7:54) states that Allah created earth and heaven, and all that is between it in six days. It is clear that according to the Quran, Allah created everything in this universe. They also acknowledge that Allah continues to bless them with children and new species on earth with his never-ending creation process.

Regardless of the difference in their names, both Yahweh and Allah are seen as the creator of this universe. Christians believe that Yahweh was the creator of the universe and everything in it (Sardar,1991). From the bible, it is evident that God created everything on this universe within six days, and he rested on the seventh day of creation.it is clear that in Christianity, God was the one who created the world and life itself. Christianity also acknowledges that his work of nature is a continuous process because they always pray for him to give them children. It shows that they believe that he is the only one who Can create children and give them to his believers.

On the other hand, Yahweh is a God who has created a close relationship with his followers and believers and reveals himself (Peters,2005). In the bible, their many instances where God has revealed himself. One of the cases is his revelation to Moses in a burning bush.we also find another example of his announcement in Jesus. It shows that Yahwe as a loving God and who has more interest in our struggles that he does not feel that much holy to reveal himself to his faithful.

Unlike Yahwe, Allah is portrayed as a very distant and a God who is described too holy to have personal relationships with man. Allah is distant remote and a God who reveals his will but has never shown himself (Peters,2005). It is evident because, in the revelation of the Quran to Mohamad, Allah never revealed himself, but he used angel Gabriel to convey his message to Mohamad. The Muslim believes that Allah concealed himself to test their faith in a God they can’t see.

Yahwe is a God who sent prophets to reveal his will and used those teaching from his prophets as the basis of his religion. Yahwe uses the teaching of Jesus of Nazareth to form the basis of his intention and expectation on his people.

Allah also used Mohamed as his prophet, which he sent angel Gabriel to reveal his teaching of the Koran to him. For 23 years, Mohamed was receiving the teaching of Allah from his Angel orally. These became the basis of the Islamic religion since most of

the people use it for spiritual mentorship.

In conclusion, after comparing the Allah of the Qur’an and the Yahweh of the Bible, it should be clear that they can not be referring to a similar God. Either Allah is the true God, or the Christian Yahweh is the true God, or neither is true. It is because of how contradictory both of them are. Hence, they both cannot be accurate. One thing should be certain, though, the God of Muhammad cannot be the Father of Jesus.the father of Jesus emphasized forgiveness, but for God of Mohammed, his power is more important than all other attributes.

Refferences

Peters, F. E. (2005). The Monotheists: Jews, Christians, and Muslims in Conflict and Competition, Volume II: The Words and Will of God (Vol. 2). Princeton University Press.

Sardar, Z. (1991). The ethical connection: Christian‐Muslim relations in the postmodern age. Islam and Christian‐Muslim Relations, 2(1), 56-76.