Islam is one of the largest religions worldwide, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion with a vast following, accounting for up to 25% of the global population. The belief holds that God is unique, all-powerful (omnipotent), and merciful, guiding humanity via natural signs, revealed scriptures, and prophets. One of the main pillars of faith in Islam is the Shahada, commonly referred to as testimony or witness. The Shahada is the profession of faith for all Muslims, which every new convert must recite with conviction. The witness asserts that there is only one God (Allah) and that Muhammad is one of God’s messengers (prophets). The phrase from the profession of faith appears on various objects and architectures in Islam. The testimony is the call to prayer recited by the muezzin when he urges adherents to worship at different times of the day. According to the worldview espoused in the Shahada, it is an unforgivable and awful sin to give God partners (associates) and continually reminds Muslims of Islam’s absolute monotheism.
Moreover, Islam views God (Allah) as deliberately distant from humankind. Thus, because of God’s transcendence, humanity remains presently separated from God and not man’s sinful, corrupted, and fallen nature. The view of God is that he is ‘wholly other’ and that no man can comprehend him. Hence, Allah does not reveal himself to humankind due to his superiority. Consequently, according to Islam, humanity’s current condition is not unusual. Therefore, human beings are pure and good, yet forgetful and weak, such that Adam and Eve forgot God’s command in the Garden of Eden not to eat the forbidden fruit. According to the worldview, human beings have the innate (in-built) capacity to abstain from sin due to their natural goodness and purity but need guidance to achieve nobility. Muslims assert that such advice exists in the very law of God contained in the Quran and espoused in other Muslim traditions. The prophet Muhammad founded the first Muslim community in 722 AD to bring about the new social order among human beings that hinged on the contents of the Quran. For the Muslim, the implication is that the challenge is in God’s transcendence and not humanity’s sinful/ fallen nature.
Christianity holds that there are three separate/ distinct divine Beings in the God-head (trinity): God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Such was evident in the Great Commission when Christ commissioned His disciples to go throughout the world and baptize men in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, the Old Testament record states that there is only one God. The claim of one God reconciles with Christians’ view that the three Heavenly dignitaries are one in their character, in their thoughts, and mission (goals). There is no variance amongst them, and no strife exists in their way of working so that there is only one God, even in Christianity. Hence, Christ is God and not merely a prophet. He is the One to who Abraham (from whom Islam descends) offered sacrifice, and He is the One that the Old Testament prophets (some included in the Quran) pointed to as the perfect sacrifice that would atone for the world’s sin. Jesus can only accomplish this if He is the head of the race, the head of Adam, and the Father of creation in Eden. He is the Son who executes the Father’s will in all things.
Christianity reveals that God is also loving and that He ever longs for a closer companionship with humankind, primarily via the agent of the Holy Spirit who is to dwell in all willing men. Such is in contrast with Islam’s view that God opts to seclude Himself from the human race due to His otherness, which would make the creation of man meaningless. The prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament reckons that the sins of men separate between humanity and God and causes God to hide his face from humankind (Isaiah 59:2), not God’s transcendence. As Christianity asserts, human beings lack moral power over sin and are slaves to iniquity. Only the merits of Christ and faith in the divine Lamb can make man right with God and equip him to do good works. Only God can transform men into submissive beings and not mere earthly guidance. The hallmark of true Christianity is that the righteous shall live by faith in Christ. God walked closely with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden until the point of disobedience. From that point, God put in place plans of salvation to ensure that humanity once again reunites with and walks closely with God for all eternity. God’s transcendence does not cause Him to want to stay away from His very creation.
Bibliography
Bavinck, Herman, and Nathaniel Gray Sutanto. Christian Worldview. Crossway, 2019.
Tamam, Abas Mansur. Essay. In Islamic Worldview: Paradigma Intelektual Islam. Spirit Media Press, 2017.