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GROUP NAME: Islam (Arabic word for "surrender to God"). Followers of Islam are called Muslims (those who surrender).
FOUNDER:Muhammad
Born: 570 (A.D.)
Died: 632 (A.D.)
MEMBERS: By some estimates there is approximately 1 to 1.8 billion Muslims.
SACRED WRITINGS: The muslims hold to the Quran as their main, holy book. But in the Quran they are told to follow all of Allah's revelations with the Quran taught was the Bible too (Sura 4:135; 10:93,94). The Bible today they claim is not the same as Muhammad's day. The basic reason for saying this is the realization that if they followed what the Bible taught, they would no longer be Muslim.
MUSLIM VIEWS
GOD: Muslims hold to Monotheism. Their view of Allah is different then that of the Christian God. So for certain pastors to pray and give the indication that he's praying to the same God that we find in Christianity and Islam is very misleading.
Allah is viewed as for lack of a better term "Extremely Sovereign" to the point of fatalism. One quote is:
"Even if a person desires to choose God's guidance he cannot do so without the prior choice of God in favor of his free choice." (Abdiyah Akbar Abdul-Haqq, 'Sharing Your Faith with a Muslim', Bloomington, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 1980, pg. 159)
Below is a shortened list of differences between the god of Islam and the God of Christianity taken from Ron Rhodes' book "THe 10 Things You Need To Know About Islam"
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God of Islam |
God of Christianity |
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A radical Unity (Sura 4:171) |
Is a Trinity (Matt. 28:19) |
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Wholly Transcendent (Sura 4:171) |
Transcendent and Immanent (Deut. 4:39; Isaiah 57:15) |
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loves only those who love and obey him |
loves all people, including all sinners (Luke 15:11-24) |
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reveals only his laws and not himself |
has revealed Himself from the beginning (Isaiah 65:1) |
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has no objective basis for forgiving people (Sura 39:7; 23:102-103) |
Forgives on the objective basis of Jesus Christ's death on the cross (Romans 3:23-26) |
THE TRINITY: Muslims believe that this doctrine of Christianity is false, and anathema to any who holds to it.
JESUS CHRIST: Muslims believe that Jesus was a prophet, they greatly respect Him but no higher and in some cases less then Muhammad.
They do not consider Him God or equal with God.
They also have many reasons to try and explain away the crucifixition. Some are the Roman guards arrested the wrong Jesus. Other say it was Judas who was crucified. Allah made Judas look like Jesus.
HOLY SPIRIT: They do not consider the Holy Spirit to be God, but the Angel Gabriel:
So as you can see the Holy spirit can be non other than the angel Jibreel, the Holy spirit brings down the revelation which strengthens and guides the believers, the angel Jibreel brings down the revelation which strengthens and guides the believers! Hence the Holy Spirit is Jibreel and Jibreel is the Holy spirit!
So in conclusion the Holy Spirit in Islam is not God, nor a semi-God, the Holy Spirit in Islam is non other than the angel Jibreel." (Sami Zaatari)
VIRGIN BIRTH: The Quran claims to hold to the virgin birth, but there are many differences surrounding the details of Mary, the birth and Jesus. One being that the Quran claims that Mary and therefore Jesus were from the tribe of Levi, while the Bible states she was from the tribe of Judah, giving Jesus the title "The son of David"
SALVATION: The basics of the teaching of the Muslims for salvation is living a good life. One must of course believe Allah is the only true God and Muhammad is his prophet. In Sura 23 it claims that a person's hope of salvation can be based on pleasing Allah with good works. They try to mimick Muhammad, thinking because he was so close to Allah that means they will be too. Muslim salvation provides no assurance, and when one dies and falls into a deep sleep. Once they are resurrected, then Allah will decide where they go.
One reason why a certain group feels it is necessary to commit acts causing death is because Martyrs who die in the service of Allah enter Paradise immediately.
HEAVEN: The Muslim heaven is a wonderful place. It contains:
Wonderful Mansions
Rivers
Thrones
Wonderful Food
satisfaction
joy
peace
HELL: Hell is reserved for people who did more bad then good. It is a place of unexplainable suffering, with black smoke and scalding winds (Lewis Hopfe, 'Religions of the World')
SIN: Muslims do not hold to the doctrine of Original Sin. In fact one follower could write:
"There is no single act which has warped the human will" (Badru Kateregga).
Ron Rhodes in his book mentioned earlier "10 Things You Need To Know About Islam" could state: "Muslims also believe people are able, in their own strength, to free themselves from bondage to sin and choose to follow the path of Allah. Accordingly, an atonement for sin is unnecessary. ... they see no need for the sacrificial death of a Saviour (Jesus Christ)
INSPIRATION/AUTHORITY OF SCRIPTURE: The Muslim holds no real respect for the Bible, their goal being to try and disprove it.
THE RAPTURE: N/A
THE SECOND COMING: The Quran is not very specific about any second coming but Muslim tradition has some teachings laid out about the return of the Mahdi. Some but not all Muslims claim that he will return with Jesus and rid the world of wickedness and error and convert all to Islam. Some of the points that the Sunni and Shia Muslims agree on about him are:
1. He will be a descendant of Muhammad through the line of Fatimah.
2. He will have the name Muhammad
3. Depending on the interpretation he will rule 7, 9 or or 19 years.
4. When he returns a black standard will be raised in Khurasan.
5. His appearing will be along with the appearing of the Dajjal in the east (the Anti-Christ).
Shi'a Muslims believe that Mahdi will be the twelfth and last Imam (spiritual leader, you can google this or check back on this site as articles appear about the 12th Imam and the earlier ones). They believe his name is "Muhammad al-Mahdi" and was born in 868 A.D. and has been in hiding until Allah decrees his return. (He was put in hiding by Allah at the age of 5). They claim that he will fight the Dajjal and win.
Some signs of the coming of Mahdi (according to Moojan Momen) are:
1. The red and white death. Red being the sword and white the plague.
2. Figures will appear: The Dajjal, Yamani, Sufyani and the Pure Soul (an-Nafs az-Zakiyya) will be assisinated.
3. Sun will rise from west, a star from east, as bright as the moon.
4. Arabs will throw out authority of foreigners and take over their land.
5. A call from a caller will be heard from heaven.
6. Syria will host a great conflict until it is destroyed.
7. Death and fear will affect the people of Baghdad and Iraq. Fire will come from the sky and redness will cover it.
Note: Some Sunni have rejected the notion of the Mahdi.
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