Similarities Between Christianity And Islam
Christianity and Islam are indisputably two of the world’s most popular religions.
Through an analysis of both religions’ origins and beliefs, their similarities and differences become strikingly clear. Though both can be originally traced back to a belief in the same God of Abraham, Christianity’s emphasis on Jesus as the Messiah versus Islam’s emphasis on Muhammad as the final prophet lead followers of each religion to entirely different perceptions of the divinity of God.
1. Origin
Along with Judaism, Christianity and Islam comprise the world’s three Abrahamic religions. The term ‘Abrahamic’ denotes their recognition of Abraham as the first prophet. Thus, the first similarity between Christianity and Islam is that both are historically …show more content…
The religion of Islam originated in the desert valley of Mecca (modern-day Saudi Arabia) around 600 C.E. (“Religion”). “Islam” literally translates to “submission to God.” According to the Religious Literacy Project performed by the Harvard Divinity School, “Fundamental to Islamic belief is the concept of one God, who, throughout history, has sent many prophets and messengers to peoples of every culture and nation so that they may guide them to live in accordance with God’s will” (“Islam”). The God of Islam, Allah, is described by Muslims as “the One, the Unique, and all-powerful creator of a perfect, ordered universe” (Barnes). To understand Allah, Muslims look to the guidance of Muhammad, who they consider God’s final prophet. According to Muslims, Muhammad “freed the divine message from human error and offered it, purified, to all people” (Molloy 415). In Islam, Muhammad was responsible for cleansing God’s message to mankind from the corruption of erroneous Jewish and Christian beliefs. Followers of Islam depend on the revelations of Muhammad for religious guidance, but “as with [ . . .] Jesus, Muhammad was not the actual writer of the holy book that bears the founder’s stamp” (Gwynne 75). Listening to Muhammad’s revelations, his followers memorized and later recorded them in writing. This means that like Christianity, Islam begin through oral tradition (74-5). The text that holds the collection of Muhammad’s recitations is called the Qur’an, which is the sacred text of Islam—regarded by Muslims as the “verbatim word of God” (“Islam”). The antagonists of Islam are the Jinn, which are beings created with free will, living on earth in a world parallel to mankind.” In Islamic belief, the Jinn are able to interact with humans in whichever way they desire, in accordance with their free will. Often, however, the Jinn appear to humans with the intention of tempting
Through an analysis of both religions’ origins and beliefs, their similarities and differences become strikingly clear. Though both can be originally traced back to a belief in the same God of Abraham, Christianity’s emphasis on Jesus as the Messiah versus Islam’s emphasis on Muhammad as the final prophet lead followers of each religion to entirely different perceptions of the divinity of God.
1. Origin
Along with Judaism, Christianity and Islam comprise the world’s three Abrahamic religions. The term ‘Abrahamic’ denotes their recognition of Abraham as the first prophet. Thus, the first similarity between Christianity and Islam is that both are historically …show more content…
The religion of Islam originated in the desert valley of Mecca (modern-day Saudi Arabia) around 600 C.E. (“Religion”). “Islam” literally translates to “submission to God.” According to the Religious Literacy Project performed by the Harvard Divinity School, “Fundamental to Islamic belief is the concept of one God, who, throughout history, has sent many prophets and messengers to peoples of every culture and nation so that they may guide them to live in accordance with God’s will” (“Islam”). The God of Islam, Allah, is described by Muslims as “the One, the Unique, and all-powerful creator of a perfect, ordered universe” (Barnes). To understand Allah, Muslims look to the guidance of Muhammad, who they consider God’s final prophet. According to Muslims, Muhammad “freed the divine message from human error and offered it, purified, to all people” (Molloy 415). In Islam, Muhammad was responsible for cleansing God’s message to mankind from the corruption of erroneous Jewish and Christian beliefs. Followers of Islam depend on the revelations of Muhammad for religious guidance, but “as with [ . . .] Jesus, Muhammad was not the actual writer of the holy book that bears the founder’s stamp” (Gwynne 75). Listening to Muhammad’s revelations, his followers memorized and later recorded them in writing. This means that like Christianity, Islam begin through oral tradition (74-5). The text that holds the collection of Muhammad’s recitations is called the Qur’an, which is the sacred text of Islam—regarded by Muslims as the “verbatim word of God” (“Islam”). The antagonists of Islam are the Jinn, which are beings created with free will, living on earth in a world parallel to mankind.” In Islamic belief, the Jinn are able to interact with humans in whichever way they desire, in accordance with their free will. Often, however, the Jinn appear to humans with the intention of tempting