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Although Islam is located throughout the world, according to the Pew Forum – Religious Research Centre, there are currently over 10 million Muslims living in the U.S. estimated post-Arab Spring diaspora. the following nations have the highest population of Muslims in the world:
Mohammed: Born in 570 A.D. in Mecca, Arabia. Died 632 A.D.
Married into wealth at the age of 25 and began regular mediation in a cave (every month of Ramadan). c.f. Joseph Smith of Mormonism – private “woods” prayers
Started receiving revelations at the age of 40 from the “angel Gabriel”. c.f. Mormonism Joseph Smith receiving revelations from the angel “Moroni”
Became disgusted with idolatry and desired to rid Arabia of polytheism.
Selected his tribal god al-ilah from the 360 gods of polytheistic Mecca and claimed that this “al-ilah” (which Sumerian tablets define as the “moon god”) is the “one true god” Allah. According to the Encyclopedia of Religion: “‘Allah’ is a pre-Islamic name . . . corresponding to the Babylonian Bel” (ed. James Hastings, Edinburgh, T. & T. Clark, 1908, I:326).
All other gods of Mecca were declared by Mohammed to be idols. This was due primarily to the influence of Jewish and Christian caravans that traveled through Mohammad’s region of Arabia.
Eventually Mohammed declared the God of Judaism and the God of Christianity to be idols as well.
It is worthy of noting that this position directly contradicts the erroneous assumption that “all religions lead to the same God”.
It also contradicts the erroneous statements by many liberal Muslims today that “Allah” just means “God” and that this god Allah is the same one of both Christianity and Judaism. This is NOT what Mohammed believed nor what he taught.
There are four books which are considered to be “Allah-inspired”:
The Sunna
“The Sunna” in Arabic simply means, “a clear or well trodden path”. It is all that Muhammad said, did, condoned, or condemned and is the record of Muhammad’s sayings, customs, teachings, or the lifestyle example that he left for his devotees to follow (c.f Joseph Smith and the “Sayings of Joseph Smith”. Muslims believe Muhammad to be the perfect example for all people This is found in the Qu’ran here:
If you love Allah, then follow me (Muhammad) -Sura 3:31 (Shakir)
Ye have indeed in the Apostle of Allah a beautiful pattern of (conduct) for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Final Day. -Sura 33:21 (Yusuf Ali)
Everything Muhammad did or said is the foundation for all life and belief. The Sunna is clearly of equal importance to the Muslim as the Qu’ran. This is because the Sunna interprets the Quran and without it, the Quran could not be properly understood, let alone applied. most aspects of the Islamic faith are not even mentioned in the Quran but are found only in the Sunna. (c.f. Roman Catholic Christianity) As it is, both the Quran and the Sunna are believed to be inspired and authoritative.
Although Muslims believe that Ishmael received the blessing of Abraham and not Isaac as the Jewish and Christian faiths believe, the Jewish Torah is considered "Allah inspired".
Another set of writings from the Jewish canon of Scripture which Islam considers inspired.
Wherever the first 3 books mentioned above disagree with the Qu’ran, the Muslim feels that they have been corrupted. The Qu’ran supersedes all other revelations and is Allah’s final word to man. c.f. Mormonism and the ‘Book of Mormon’
Are the two books the same? Is the Bible just a man-inspired man-written work like the Qu'ran? Is the Qu'ran a God-inspired God-breathed book like the Bible? Do they both say the same things? The following compare and contrast will shed some light on these questions:
The God of the Bible tells His people to differentiate Him from false gods by their inability to prophesy the future and His unique ability to prophesy the future perfectly. – Isaiah 41:22-24
No prophecies of any kind about the future are given in the Qu’ran
Monotheistic, Trinitarian, as referenced in Isa 43:10; 44:6-8; Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor 13:14
Monotheistic as referenced in Surah 5:73; 112:1-4
Denies the Trinity in Surah 5:73
Jesus is God incarnate – Colossians 2:9
Denies that Jesus is God and claims He was only a “messenger” – Surah 5:17, 75-76
Jesus was crucified on a cross – 1 Peter 2:24
Claims Jesus was not crucified at all – Surah 4:157
Jesus rose from the dead – John 2:19-20
Claims that Jesus died a normal death (after 120 years), was taken up to Allah then simply watched over his followers from heaven. Surah 3:56, 5:118
Jesus was the only Son of God – Mark 1:1
Claims Jesus was not the “Son of God” but rather a “prophet” – 9:30 – only 1 of 25 prophets listed in the Qur’an and 1 of 125,000 in the history of Islam.
Jesus said He was the Son of God – John 10:30-39, John 9:35-40, Matthew 16:13-17, Mark 14:61-64, Luke 22:70-71
Claims that Allah cannot have sons Surah 6:101
Holy Spirit, 3rd person in the Godhead. He will bear witness of Jesus – John 14:26; 15:26
Claims that the Holy Spirit is the angel Gabriel – Surah 2:97; 16:102
Salvation by grace through faith – Ephesians 2:8,9
Salvation is by sincerity and works – Surah 3:135; 7-8-9; 21:47; 49:14; 66:8-9 also by dying for the cause of Allah – Hadith, Surah 3:157
The Devil is a fallen angel – Isaiah 14:12-15; Created by Jesus – Col 1:15,16
The Devil, Satan, is not a fallen angel, but a fallen Jinn (Genie) – 2:34; 7:12; 15:27; 55:15
Man is basically evil (fallen sinner) – Romans 3:23
Man is basically good – Typical cleric teaching (contradicts a buried passage in Surah 12:53 which agrees w/ the Bible)
Disciples were followers of Christ (Christians) – Acts 11:26
Disciples declare themselves Muslims – Surah 5:111
Worship on Sabbath – Exodus 20; Then later on Sunday – Rom 14:5-6; Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:1-2
Worship on Friday – Surah 62:9
Miracles, numerous are recorded
No Miracles recorded, except the claim the Qur’an is a miracle (c.f. Mormons and the Book of Mormon)
Written by 40+ authors over 1500 years – reads as one book
Written by 1 man over 23 years with multiple revisions following his death (c.f. Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon)
Declaration of Faith
Muslims must believe that there is only one God – Allah (c.f. ‘Shema’ of Judaism)
Mohammad is Allah’s messenger (c.f. Mormon cornerstone belief: Joseph Smith is “God’s Prophet”)
Obligatory Prayer
Muslims must pray 5 times a day toward Mecca:
Fajr (dawn)
Dhuhr (noon)
ʿAṣr (afternoon)
Maghrib (evening)
ʿIshāʾ (night).
This is in contrast to the Christian faith which bases its practice of prayer on the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:7-8:
“And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the pagans do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”
Compulsory Giving
Charitable giving according to the level of wealth that has been accumulated by the Muslim. There are five principles that should be followed when giving the zakāt:
Fasting during Ramadan
Fasting must be observed by all Muslims that have reached the age of puberty.
There are three types of fasting (Siyam) which are observed by Muslims as written in the Quran:
Ritual fasting – found in sura Al-Baqara – which is done during the month of Ramadan. c.f. Roman Catholicism practice of fasting during “Lent”.
Fasting as compensation for repentance (from sura Al-Baqara)
Ascetic fasting (from Al-Ahzab). c.f. fasting of the monks of Buddhism and Roman Catholicism.
Pilgrimage to Mecca
Every Muslim who is able, must make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their life where they will walk around Kaaba seven times, touch a Black Stone (which dates back to the tribal god of Muhammad amidst the 360 gods of polytheist Mecca during his youth).
The practice of touching the stone is called Istilam, Hajji or Hajjas will also travel seven times between Mount Safa and Mount Marwah, and will throw stones at the Devil in Mina, a practice which is called Ramee.
Sect from Latin 'secta' meaning cut or discipline path
The majority of Islam today, a more moderate sect of Islam formed by 4 Orthodox schools of thought accepting The Quran:
Founded by Abd al-Wahhab in 1691
al-Wahhab claimed that Muslims departed from the “true” Muslim faith and Mohammed precepts
Rejects Ijma (Islamic consensus for ‘correct’ doctrine among scholars) and Qiyas (comparative analogies of Hadith and Islamic writings over time) of traditional Islam
True Islamic salvation is not found in consensus tradition but rather lying prostrate before Allah and venerating him and him alone
Condemn astrology and superstition but believe in the virtue of counting the 99 names of Allah on their fingers
Fundamental sect of Islam primarily in Iran, also found spread throughout the middle east.
Shiites believed that the rightful replacement to Mohammed as prophet was the Caliph Ali the son-in-law of Mohammed who was murdered by Mu’awiya who claimed the role for himself.
Shi’ites claim that Allah has sent over 124,000 prophets.
Islamic Adaptation of the Hindu Vedantic Principles
Not Recognized by Sunnis or Shi’ite Muslims as a “legitimate” sect – referred to as a sort of “fair-haired” step child of Islam by outside observers c.f. Mormonism vs Biblical Christianity and Hare Krishnas vs Fundamental Hinduists;
Suffis see no difference between good and evil
Mostly found in the region of Iran (Persia)
Many “faqirs” or subsects within Suffi Islam – divided by the class which governs Islam for the sect and those that do not c.f. Rabbinic Judaism, Roman Catholic Christianity hierarchy and sacerdotalism
Although not officially considered a sect of Islam, the Bahaii faith does find its roots directly in Islam:
Even if the Muslim does great works, it is still not a certain thing that he/she will get into heaven. Ultimately, Allah could have his reasons for denying the faithful Muslim entry and Allah has the prerogative to change his mind at any given moment and for any given reason (or no reason at all!)
In other words, faithful obedient Muslims cannot have confidence of heaven until the gates of the Islamic heaven slams closed behind them – according to the Quran. c.f. Catholic Christianity – works, sacerdotalism, purgatory doctrines
Judgement Day, one’s good works must outweigh the bad in order to go to paradise. Otherwise he/she will go to hell. Article 5 of 5
Jihad (holy war) If a Muslim dies in a jihad he/she has immediate access to paradise. (This is the primary motivation for suicide bombers) c.f Shintoist: Kamikaze fighters of Japan in World War II
Paradise is a physical place of sensual pleasures where each man will have a harem of beautiful women who will bear children for him. c.f Mormonism
If I am Muslim: I will never know where I am going when I die despite a lifetime of good works and devotion to Allah, the only way I can supposedly know for sure, is if I die via a Jihad. Unfortunately, the only Jihads out there are the one's waged by Islam extremists and those wars involve my strapping a bomb to my chest or taking up automatic weapons and killing innocent unarmed Muslim, Jewish or European women and children in the name of the god Allah. This "jihad" appears to be the only guarantee of heaven, although according to the Quran it is not really guarantee at all. As a result of this, there is no real confidence that Allah will accept the Muslim when they die.
No one receives eternal life and eternal presence with God (from Whom all good things come – James 1:17), by belonging to the right church, denomination, world religion, or by having a particular world view. Rather only those who trust in the Lord Jesus (preached by the Apostles in the Bible) for their own sin.
We will not trust in a Savior for sins that we either don’t believe we have or that we think aren’t deserving of hell. But the Bible says that ALL have sin and the wages of that sin is eternal separation from God (death). The good news is that the Bible says that you can know that YOU have eternal life. Click the button below to see if you are genuinely saved from your sins according to the Bible: