Similarities & Differences: Faith

Islam is built on both faith (Iman) and actions (deen), and both are of equal importance. Whereas Christianity is founded on faith alone—actions being a byproduct rather than a fundamental requirement. Islam teaches that salvation must be earned. In contrast, Christianity holds that salvation must be received by grace through faith.

Five articles of faith: Muslims have five articles of faith [S.2:177] 

1. Belief in God: Islam’s most fundamental doctrine is an extreme monotheism called Tawhid, which is antithetical to the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. While God is primarily called “Allah” in Islam, this is technically a proper noun rather than one of the traditional ninety-nine names. According to the doctrine of Tawhid, Allah is simple, single, and a singularity, entirely devoid of any diversity whatsoever.
   
   God is one, but Christians and Muslims differ on how that “one” should be understood. Christians view unity as God’s holistic oneness, rather than an internal singularity. By contrast, the Islamic doctrine of Tawhid categorically denies any transcendental complexity within the divine essence. The irony of this scholarly formulation is that it claims an exhaustive, intimate knowledge of God’s internal reality—an assertion that borders on blasphemy. Reducing God to a mere mathematical singularity ultimately deprives the Divine of mystery, majesty, and transcendence.
   
   Singularity is not inherently superior to diversity. Rather, an absolute unity built upon diversity surpasses both. Consider a human being: because we embody both unity and diversity, we are infinitely superior to a simple, single-celled amoeba.
   
   Another problem with the Islamic concept of Tawhid is that it implies both community and communication activities were new experiences for God at the point of the creation of angels and humans. Until that point, according to Tawhid, Allah was singularly alone without any sense of community or communication experience, which apparently became a reality for Allah only after creating angels and humans. Such a view can hardly be consistent with a God who is self-sufficient in every sense, including in community and communication. In contrast, the Christian view of God, as expressed in the doctrine of the Trinity, accommodates both a sense of community and the experience of communication within God throughout eternity—namely, among the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, who form the internal reality of God. As revealed in the Bible, the Son and the Holy Spirit are not additions to God, but extensions of God.
   
   Finally, it should be noted that nowhere in the Quran does Allah declare, ‘I am a simple and single being without any plurality whatsoever within me.’ 
   
   Note: The doctrine of Trinity, the Christian concept of God, is the understanding and definition of the God of the Bible given by the church fathers, the great theologians who were albeit not inspired. Similarly, the doctrine of Tawhid, the Islamic concept of Allah, is the understanding and definition of Allah of Quran and traditions (hadiths) given by Islamic scholars and religious leaders who were also not inspired in any sense.
       

2. Belief in angels: Belief in angels is fundamental to the Islamic faith. According to Islam, Allah created non-physical beings in two categories: Angels and Jinns. Angels were created without free will, which is why they worship and obey Allah completely. On the other hand, Jinns were created with free will, just like humans. The chief and most notable Jinn who rebelled against Allah is Iblis, also known as Shaitan (Satan). While Jinns can be either good or bad, all angels are inherently good. The duties of angels include communicating revelations from Allah, glorifying Him, recording every person’s actions, and taking a person’s soul at the time of death.
    
   According to Christianity, God created non-physical beings in three categories: Angels, Seraphim, and Cherubim. All these beings were endowed with free will. Initially, all of them were holy and good. However, some of these beings later rebelled against God and fell from their privileged position, turning into evil spirits or devils. The chief of the devils is called Satan. Angels are ministering spirits who can assume human form at will and take part in activities such as walking, talking, eating, and even killing. 
    

3. Belief in prophets: Muslims believe in the prophets (Anbiya / أَنْبِيَاء) and messengers (Rusul / رُسُل) of God, starting with Adaam (Adam) and including Nuh (Noah), Ibrahim (Abraham), Lut (Lot), Ismail (Ishmael), Ishaq (Isaac), Yakub (Jacob), Yusuf (Joseph), Musa (Moses), Dawud (David), Suleyman (Solomon), Zhachariyya (Zechariah), Yuhanna (John) the Baptist, and Isa (Jesus). Nevertheless, they believe that Muhammad is the last prophet and final messenger sent by God.
    
   Christians believe in the prophets, prophetesses, priests, and apostles of God. However, Christians do not consider Adam, Lot, Joseph, or Zechariah (the father of John the Baptist) to be prophets, even though all of them are mentioned at length in the Bible. Furthermore, Muhammad is neither mentioned nor foreseen as a true prophet in the Bible. Therefore, Christians do not consider him a prophet from the God of the Bible who sent the true prophets.  
    

4. Belief in books: It is a matter of Islamic belief that Allah, in His mercy, has sent prophet after prophet to lead people forth from darkness into light. Belief in all of Allah’s revealed books forms an integral part of the Islamic faith. Of the holy books, four are mentioned in the Quran: the Sahifa, scrolls given to Abraham; the Tawraat, the revelations made to Moses; the Zaboor, the psalms given to David; and the Injil, the teachings given to Jesus. However, today’s Muslims teach that all of these books have been tampered with by human interpolations. The Quran, the last of the divine books, is the only revealed scripture that has been preserved from human interpolation.
    
   Ironically, even the Quran, which Muhammad presented roughly five hundred years after the completion of the New Testament, nowhere declares that the previous scriptures—the Tawrat, Zabur, and Injil—are textually corrupted. Instead, it merely implies that certain individuals in Arabia misrepresented or misinterpreted them during Muhammad’s time.
   
   Regardless of human opinions and beliefs, the truth remains that God’s word is indestructible. For Christians, particularly born-again believers, God revealed His word in the form of inspired books to humanity through His chosen instruments, including prophets, priests, leaders, and apostles. These divinely inspired books comprise the Jewish Tanakh (the Old Testament, which includes the Tawrat, Zabur, and the Prophets—specifically the Pentateuch, Psalms, Wisdom literature, and prophetic books) and the Christian New Testament (the Injil, which contains the Gospels, Acts, the Epistles, and the Book of Revelation).
   
   Although God’s word can be misunderstood, misinterpreted, mistranslated, or mistranscribed by individuals, no created being will ever be able to corrupt it, either in this world or in the world to come; neither can it ever be completely lost (Matt. 24:35). In this imperfect world, even the words of mere men have been preserved for millennia. How much more, then, will the words of the Sovereign Lord of all be preserved? His word will endure forever (Isa. 40:8; 1 Pet. 1:25).
   
   To assume otherwise is to imply that God is a miserable failure at protecting His own word, which is a blasphemy of the worst kind. God’s enemy, Satan—the father of lies—has introduced many falsehoods against scripture in an attempt to discredit it. Unfortunately, those who are deceived by Satan believe that God’s word has been either lost or corrupted. For Christians, the Old and New Testaments alone form the complete word and final revelation of God to humankind. Any book outside of these two scriptures is a mere human production.    
    

5. Belief in the Day of Judgment: Muslims believe in the Day of Judgment (the Day of Resurrection) on which all people will be resurrected to face Allah’s judgment according to their beliefs and deeds. 
    
   Both the Old Testament and the New Testament teach that there is a final Day of Judgment for all flesh. Its main purpose is to mete out punishment to the wicked—specifically those whose sins have not been washed in Jesus’ blood, those who rejected the gospel, and those who tried to achieve righteousness through their own imperfect efforts instead of accepting the God-provided righteousness in Jesus. This punishment will be administered in Hell and will be proportional to their sinful intentions, words, and deeds in this life. Conversely, true Christians are assured in the New Testament that those who believe in and follow Jesus will not face this final Day of Judgment. Instead, they will face a different judgment, known as the judgment of rewards, where true Christians will be rewarded or rebuked based on their intentions, words, and deeds in this world.
    
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6. Belief in predestination (al-Qadar):Many Muslims believe that this is the sixth article of faith, while some do not. Muslims who believe in Al-Qadar (Divine Predestination) do not mean that human beings lack free will. Rather, they believe that Allah has given humans free will and that, at the same time, Allah predetermines everything. They also believe that eventhough these two concepts seem mutually exclusive, they fit together perfectly! This means that human beings have the freedom to choose between right and wrong, and because of this, they are responsible for their choices.
   
   The belief in Divine Predestination includes four main components:
   – Allah knows everything; He knows what has happened and what will happen.
   – Allah has recorded all that has happened and all that will happen.
   – Whatever Allah wills to happen, happens, and whatever He does not will to happen, does not happen.
   – Allah is the Creator of everything, including good and evil.
    
   The Islamic belief in total predestination alongside human freedom nothing but contradictory; it is pure and simple. Christians also believe in predestination based on the Bible. However, unlike the total predestination found in Islam, the Bible teaches partial or selective predestination.  
    
   Three types of God’s will are at work in creation with regard to the things that exist and the events that will take place. The first is the Predetermined will of God. For example, this is the cause behind the existence and function of inanimate things, such as the movements of celestial objects and subatomic particles. This will of God is also the cause behind prophesied events and roles in history. These specific events and roles cannot be changed by any other being, as they are predetermined and thus fixed.  
    
   Second, the Perfect will of God. These are the intentions, events, actions, or courses of action that God desires in harmony with His nature. Nonetheless, these are not determined and forced by God; instead, they are left to the choice of beings with free will, such as humans or angels. Therefore, free-will beings can impact them either positively or negatively.
    
   Third, the Permissive will of God. There are those intentions, events, actions or courses of action that are permitted by God, but not according to his desire. Free-will beings are allowed to choose them but must pay a price for doing so.
    
   Apart from these, there are intentions, words, and actions available as possibilities that go against God’s will and which God hates. Free-will beings are given the freedom and capacity to choose these possibilities and turn them into realities. However, those who love and fear God will shun those possibilities.