5 Fundamental Differences Between Islam & Christianity

TOP FIVE (5) DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ISLAM & CHRISTIANITY

 1. The nature of God
The belief that there is only One God is existent in both Islam and Christianity, however Islam is a more strict monotheistic religion because it does not believe in the concept of the Trinity.
The Trinity is the Christian doctrine that deals with and describes the nature of God. The doctrine asserts the following:

There is one and only one God.
God eternally exists in three distinct persons.
The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God.
The Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Father, the Father is not the Spirit, etc.

Islam believes that there is only one God — Without a Son and without His other counterpart, the Holy Spirit.  The 112th chapter of the Quran is an excellent explanation of who and what God is in Islam.

  Say: He is Allah, the One and Only! 
  Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; 
  He begetteth not nor is He begotten. 
  And there is none like unto Him.

The God that Christians believe in is the same God that Muslims believe in.  Where the two groups differ is the understanding of His nature.  As Jesus said in the Holy Bible:

“Here, O Israel:  The Lord our God is one Lord.” [Mark 12:29]

2. The nature of Prophets & Messengers
The second similarity between Islam and Christianity is also a point of difference if further examined.  The nature of Prophet Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) is one glaring difference between the two faiths.  Islam views Jesus as one of the most noble Prophets and Messengers of God.  The Quran tells us about his mother, Virgin Mary, and her miraculous virgin birth.  The Quran tells us of the different miracles Jesus (PBUH) did as well.  Modern day Christianity has elevated Jesus to a higher standing than this however, by making him divine and part of the “Three-Person, One Being” God.
Islam also teaches that other prophets were great men, who were near perfect.  They were free of any major sin.  Modern day Bible tells us that Prophet Noah was a drunk (Genesis 9:20-25), Prophet Lot committed incest with his daughters (Genesis 19:30-38), and that Prophet/King David committed adultery and ordered the woman’s husband to be killed (Samuel 11:2-17).  The Quran teaches us that these men were noble, respectable, and would never be able to commit acts as evil as these.  The Quran does not contain these stories of the prophets, and my personal theory is that Jesus did not preach these stories either, but that through the history of Christianity, they were added/modified.
3. The nature of Angels & the world of the unseen
Although the Bible does not clarify whether Angels have free will or not, Christianity teaches that Lucifer (Known as “Iblis” in Islam) was a “good Angel gone bad”.  The nature of Angels that one would expect is that they are good, without question, and obedient to the command of their Lord.  The Christian story of the “Fallen Angel” (Lucifer) plays a role in the need of a human sacrifice (Jesus) that the Church later implemented.  In Islam, however, Angels are created for one purpose, to worship, praise, and obey.  They do not have “free will”, as we know it, to choose if they want to obey.  They simply fulfill the purpose of their creation without question.

Islam teaches that Iblis (Lucifer) was a Jinn (Demon) who was an extremely loyal servant to God.  He was such a noble Jinn that he ascended through the ranks in Paradise to be among the Angels.  Upon creation of mankind, God commanded all the Angels to bow down to Adam and Iblis refused out of pride and arrogance.  Iblis thought he was better than Adam.  This rebellion against God’s command lead Iblis (Satan/Lucifer) to be cast from Heaven and vow to try to take as many humans with him to the Hellfire by tempting them with desires.
So although both Islam and Christianity believe in the unseen world around us, the concept and the nature of Angels is very much different.
4. The validity of the Sacred / Holy Text
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) received revelations through Angel Gabriel over a 23 year span, from the time he was 40 until his death.  Today, there are millions of Muslims who have memorized the Quran from cover to cover.  The companions of Muhammad (PBUH), similarly memorized the revolutions as they came down.  Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) also insured that all of the revelations were written down as well, however they were not in a book form.  A number of years after the Prophet (PBUH) died, one of his companions decided that all of the writings of the Quran that were floating around should be compiled into one book, and that is how the first Quran was written in full.  Muhammad (PBUH) and his companions lived in Arabia and spoke Arabic.  The Quran was revealed and written in Arabic.  Today, the Qurans that every Muslim has in his/her home is exactly the same as the first one written, over 1400 years ago, shortly after the death of the Prophet (PBUH).  We can be confident in the authenticity of the Quran based on the fact that it was passed down through generations from the time of Muhammad (PBUH) to today, through the memorization.  The beauty of this Holy Book is that if you gathered one Hafiz (Memorizers of the Quran) from every country in the world and ask them to recite the Quran from their memory, they would be reciting the exact same thing.  Word by word.  Sound by sound.  There is not one Arabic Quran in the world that is different than the rest.
The Bible as we know it today was not compiled until 300-400 years after the death of Prophet Jesus (PBUH).  The early Christians relied on the Torah and the hundreds of other books they chose from.  The church had to choose which of those hundreds of books were inspired and which were not.  Much debate happened in Christianity until the Council of Nicea where some of the key figures of Christianity came together and decided the books that were to be included in the Bible and decided the future of Christianity.  The Bible has since been translated and rewritten hundreds of times.  We do not have the original books in their original language.
5. The way to Heaven and Hell
The fifth difference between Islam and Christianity is the concept of accountability verses faith when it comes to the hereafter.  Islam teaches that being Muslim is not enough for salvation.  Muslims have to be obedient to God and his Messenger.  They have to do good deeds with sincerity.  On the Day of Judgment, every deed, good and bad, will be examined and placed on a scale.  If the scale of good deeds outweigh the scale of the bad deeds, you will be granted Paradise, by the mercy of Allah.
The Bible sends out a mixed message when it comes to this topic.  There are parts of the Bible that lean more towards accountability; meaning that once we die, Christian or not, your deeds is what will be examined.  The other parts of the Bible lead the reader to believe that accepting Jesus as “your Lord and Savior” is enough for salvation.  This leads many Christians to feel like they can do whatever they please, and as long as they have accepted Christ as their savior and lord, they will be saved.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [John 3:16]

A lot of people say that “as long as you believe in God, you can believe through whichever religion”… However as indicated above, there are fundamental differences and contradictions between the two religions.  If both of these religions were revealed at the same time, then the argument that you can pick whichever you want would make more sense.  The religions were revealed at different times, however, so once you accept that both are from God, it does not make sense to continue following the earlier revelation, and ignore the latter one.  If you accept that Islam is from the same God that gave us Christianity, then the logical thing is to accept that God wanted to make some “corrections” that people changed about his earlier religion.  For all of the sincere Christians reading this, I urge you to learn more about Islam.  Read the Quran and ask yourself if it sounds like it is the word of God.  If you believe that it is, then you must accept that at it’s time, Christianity was correct and accurate.  Over time, people changed it, added the trinity, changed the Bible, changed the nature of God, etc.  After seeing this, God sent down his final Prophet and Messenger, Muhammad (PBUH) to “correct” the beliefs that were rising among people regarding the religion of God.