Topic > World religions: differences between Islam and Christianity

In previous decades, two religions were the most followed by people, namely Islam and Christianity. Each religion differs from the other in several aspects such as the Quran and the Bible. Followers of each religion believe that their religion is the true one as they believe that it is the undeformed one and the other distorted. What might be the distinctions between these two religions? This essay analyzes the differences between Islam and Christianity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay To fully understand the two religions we must first understand the meaning of their names. Every religion has been given a name based on the name of its creator or the culture and country in which it was founded, with the exception of Islam. What makes Islam different is that its name is not tied to any one person or culture. The word Islam is originally an Arabic word meaning submission and religiously means submitting to the will of God in following all his orders and instructions. Mawdudi believes that: “As a religion, Islam represents complete submission and obedience to Allah and that is why it is called Islam.” On the contrary, Christianity means the faith founded on the person and teachings of Jesus Christ, where Mawdudi states that: "Christianity takes its name from the name of its prophet Jesus Christ". Defining the God of each Religion is the most important thing to do as everything that comes next depends on that, where followers of each religion are asked to follow the path and instructions given by their God. Islam states that there is one God (Allah) in whom they believe in the Oneness of Allah and who is the creator of all things such as the sun, earth, solar system, universes, etc. and that Allah is the Almighty and All-Supreme. Dr. Hammudah Abdalati believes; In Islam, Allah is the eternal and only God who stands above all other beings, so challenging that belief means you are committing the most unforgivable act. Last but not least, Allah does not have a son, a wife, a race or a body. This is the ideology of God in Islam. On the other hand, Behr states that in the Christian religion: «The one God exists in three Persons and in one substance, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and God has reconciled the world to himself in Christ through the Son, in whom the creation was then reconciled with God, it is the property of the Father's essence. Therefore, what the Son did then are works of the Father, since the Son is the form of the divinity of the Father, who performed the works.” The Father is God himself and his son is Jesus Christ and the holy spirit, all three constitute one God who can be three separate eternal entities at the same time without heterogeneity destroying unification. The second major difference is the Holy Books bestowed upon messengers where they include God's words, commands, and instructions to guide people to the truth. The Holy Book of Islam is called the Quran. The nature of the Quran relates to fundamental Islamic concepts such as the names of Allah and the resurrection on the Day of Judgment. The Quran also contains stories about previous prophets and their history with their people, how did their people react to their message of worshiping Allah alone? Did they accept it and believe in the oneness of Allah in worshiping Him or did they deny the Prophet's message? It also contains real events from the time of the Prophet Muhammad with his companions, unbelievers and with God. In contrast, the Christian's holy book is called the Bible and consists of the Old Testament and the New Testament. Ehrman believes that “The New Testament contains 27 books divided into 4 groups: Gospels, Acts of the Apostles,Epistles and Revelation” and describes the Old Testament as: “The Old Testament contains 39 books (24 in Hebrew) which were more or less a fixed collection about a century after the life of Jesus.” They differ in the instructions and orders written in them. For example, the Quran says that Jesus is a prophet who was raised by God to the first heaven and that he will return to Earth before the Day of Judgment to restore justice. The Bible says that Jesus is the son of God who was crucified. The third difference between them is the place of worship where they perform their prayers to their God. Muslims pray in a mosque which often has a rounded roof that contains no images of animals or humans but only decorations with words from the Quran. Muslims pray five times a day, but what is the real purpose? Mawdudi states that: “These are the prescribed daily prayers that consist of repeating and refreshing five times a day the belief in which you place your faith. You get up early in the morning, purify yourself and present yourself before your Lord for prayer. The various poses you assume during your prayers are the very embodiment of the spirit of submission; the various recitations remind you of your commitments to your God.” It is the means to reform and strengthen the connection between Muslims and Allah. It's easy to see how regular prayers strengthen the pillars of your faith, preparing you for greater understanding and devotion to God, and strengthening the faith from which comes courage, honesty, determination, purity of spirit, progress of the soul, and spiritual enrichment. Christians pray in a church that commonly contains altar tables, lecterns, pulpits, holy water fonts, and stained glass windows. McIntyre believes that: “Prayer is the elevation of the earth-bound soul to heaven, the entrance of the purified spirit into the holiest place; the tearing of the luminous veil that encloses, as if behind curtains, the glory of God". One of the main beliefs of Islam is the Day of Judgment, which is connected to some events, instructions and descriptions in the Quran. As human beings, we are bound to be attracted by the charm of life, so we tend to overlook the fact that our life will end at some point and that we will stand before Allah and be judged based on all our deeds, good and good . bad things we have done in our lives. Mawdudi states that: “That the entire record of every man and woman of all their deeds and wrongdoings will be presented before God for the final judgment.” Would it be a logical thing to live our lives contrary to what Allah has commanded us?! However, some people live their lives completely omitting and ignoring Allah's orders. Muslims believe that they will leave this life and take only their shares with them, leaving behind money, cars, apartments, jewelry, etc. The Quran says: “He whose scales are heavy with good deeds, will live a pleasant life… for he whose scales are light, his refuge will be an abyss.” This verse of the Quran encourages people to always think twice before taking any action as they will be questioned about it on the Day of Judgment. They will live their lives striving to perform only the actions that please God in order to be rewarded with Heaven, an eternal place of happiness. Consider the one who refuses to believe in the Day of Judgment. He will have the certainty that believing in God and living according to His rules has no consequences. What importance would you give to a life spent seeking God's pleasure? Mawdudi clearly says, “For him, neither obedience to God is of any benefit, nor disobedience to Him of any harm, and if a man does not follow God's code and live according to his likes and dislikes, or what is the use Does he believe in the existence of God, if he has such a belief?" White states: "The Day of Judgment is the.