According to Christians, Christianity soared during the time of Jesus since he brought the message; similarly, Islam spread due to the arrival of Muhammad. Unlike Isa, Muhammad was not born with the revelations; he gradually attained these revelations after the age of 40. During the time of the Prophet’s birth, many family members identified Muhammad as a unique individual even though he was not given the guidance from Allah at this point. At the age of 40, Muhammad received his first revelation from Allah through the angel Gabriel or “Jibraeel”. Muhammad continued to receive these revelations for many years after and the word of Islam was slowly spread throughout the Arabian Peninsula.
Muslims believe that Jesus(Isa) notified his people about the coming of the final Prophet Muhammad. Muslims believe this because of the verse of the Qur’an where Jesus tells his people of a man named Ahmad. Muhammad is the messenger that Isa is referring to. Jesus makes specific remarks about the Prophet Muhammad. This informs Muslims that Jesus knew of the True Word of God. A major division amongst Christianity and Islam is of Jesus’ status. Since Allah is eternal, He never dies. However, it is in Jesus’ destiny that he will die eventually because he is not God; he only carries the Word of God. That is one major reason why Jesus is so beloved in Islam. He was referred to as “KaleemAllah,” one who speaks on Allah’s behalf. His life was devoted to the service of the One true God. Neither he nor Mary had any divine features. All praises, blessings, and attributes of divinity are bounties are only for Allah.
Understanding Jesus in Christianity is vital to be able to assess who he is in Islam. In Christianity, Jesus is a figure who is worshipped and it is believed that he fulfilled the task that many prophecies had been predicted in the Old Testament. The remaining prophecies that had not fulfilled will be completed when Jesus returns his second time. Therefore, the central figure in Christianity is Jesus. However, in Islam, it is taught that Allah has no son; He is the only divinity in Islam. One unique similarity between Christianity, Judaism and Islam is that there is one central God and all three religions can attest to this statement. Furthermore, Jews and Christians are revered in Islam due to their unvarying belief in the One True God, albeit in different fashion.
When discussing Christianity and Islam, the most obvious name that arises is Jesus or Isa. However, one more name must be mentioned: Muhammad. While Christians do not signify Muhammad as a notable individual in history, Muslims admire him as he was the final messenger of Allah and the recipient of the Qur’an, the Holy book in Islam. Although Muhammad came after Isa, his influence is beyond anyone else’s in Islam and every Muslim must accept him as the messenger of Allah.
Christianity and Islam are two of the most influential religions in the world. While Christianity is the major religion in United States and many other countries, Islam is the fastest growing religions throughout the world and is the major religion in many countries in Asia and Africa. Followers of Christianity are referred to as Christians and follows of Islam are referred to as Muslims. An interesting feature to note is that Christianity and Islam exist in almost every nation throughout the world implying that both religions have reached every corner of our Earth. While both religions are quite influential throughout the world, many people fail to realize how comparable both religions are. Along with Judaism, Islam and Christianity have many key similarities that interest many people. Although Muslims and Christians acknowledge Jesus as a significant individual in history, both view him in different light. Christians view Jesus as undoubtedly the most influential individual in their history while Muslims are influenced by Muhammad. It is imperative to recognize the impact of Jesus and Muhammad on their respective religions.
Christianity views Jesus as God’s only begotten son. Furthermore, Christians refer to Jesus as “Messiah” or “Christ” implying that he was appointed to lead the Christians. However, Islam has an entirely different view on this perspective. In Islam, Jesus, who is also referred to as “Isa”, can be symbolized by the importance he and his mother hold, his teachings, and his return as the Messiah. Isa is characterized simply as a prophet and messenger of Allah (The God). As in Christianity, Isa was signified as a leader of the people. He was given the “Injil” or gospel to guide the people of Israel and lead his followers to Islam. Jesus was not the son of God but he was the son of Mary and he was brought to life through virgin birth. Perhaps the most revered woman in Islam with exception to Khadija, the first wife of the prophet Muhammad, is Mary or “Maryam” in Islam. In the Quran, the entire Surah 19 is devoted to her. She was persecuted by her own people because she was unmarried and gave birth to a child; it signifies the uniqueness of Mary and Isa. This birth showed the Mercy of Allah since Isa spoke as a child and notified those who were tormenting his mother that he was a gift from Allah.
This is it. My last post for this class. I just wanted to say how much I liked this class. It has inspired me to be a better Muslim, be ore submissive to God, and just be a better person overall. The class room discussions were the best part of the class. I liked how everybody communicated in the class. I might not have participated that much, but it was still interesting to see what everybody had to say. It’s cool to learn about my own religion as the main priority compared to in high school, where we would focus on European and the Western topics. In addition, the discussions still helped me learn about other religions as well. This was a good experience.
Before the reader begins the study of the Quran, he must bear in mind the fact that it is a unique book; the Quran does not contain information, ideas and arguments about specific themes arranged in a literary order. This is why a stranger to the Quran, on his first encounter with it, is puzzled when he does not find the enunciation of its theme, or a division into chapters and sections, or a separate treatment for different topics and separate instructions for different aspects of life, arranged in a serial order. Here, rather, is something with which he has not been familiar before and which does not conform to his conception of a book.
The Quran is not a book on “religion” in the sense this word is generally understood. That is why when a reader approaches the Quran with the common notions of a book in mind, he is puzzled by its style and manner of presentation. He finds that in many places the background has not been mentioned and the circumstances under which a particular passage was revealed have not been stated. And the casual reader is therefore unable to benefit fully from the most precious treasures contained in the Quran, though occasionally he may succeed in discovering a few gems here and there. But only those people who are not acquainted with these distinctive features of the Quran become victims of such doubts.
I just wanted to talk about how much I liked M.A.S. Abdl Haleem’s translation. Most of the translations of the Qur’an are very choppy; translating the Arabic text as prose. However, this edition is very good for English speakers because it allows one to follow the stories and the arguments therein. Therefore, instead of it being difficult to comprehend due to lingustic difficulties for English speaker, it is an excellent read allowing one to understand the meanings with better understanding. I would recommend this book as a strarting point for non-Muslims as an intorduction to the Qur’an and Islam in English.
Growing up as a Muslim, I was taught that I could not eat pork whatsoever. So many times when I would eat something, I would check the ingredients to see if it contained any gelatin because a lot of times it would be the pork kind (although some companies do make gelatin with beef). However, there would be those occasions when somebody in my family would actually buy something that had pork gelatin in it, like jello. I wondered though, since it was an accident, would it be alright to eat it anyway? We are told not to waste any food, so I wondered if it would apply here? It is not like we are eating pork ribs or something.
I would like toIknow where/how in the Quran it is indicated that all Muslims will be in hell temporarily and then go to heaven?
Will the non-practising muslims, who generally believe in Allah(some simply because they are muslims by birth), but do not follow the Quran/repent sins also go to heaven? Why then is it said that one must pray, fast, etc to reach heaven, if it is already confirmed?
I have heard many other Muslims affirming this, and was wondering where this belief has come from. It seems so similar to the concept of salvation in Christianity.
I’m a Palestinian Muslim, and as one might guess, I pay attention the ongoing war that is the Palestinian-Israeli(Zionist) conflict. Lots of times, you will hear about Palestinians dying in suicide bombs, fighting for their country, Islam, and what they believe in. In Islam, if you die fighting for Allah, you are granted an entrance into Paradise. But this got me thinking, how about some of them who die because they see no other way out in their lives or are unsatisfied with it. Allah only knows what we are thinking and going in our minds, but this is an interesting topic. What is some of these “suicide bombers” are dying for other reasons instead of Islam and Palestine? Do they still get an entrance into Heaven? Was there intention suicidal mentally or was it out of faith?
