Christianity vs. Islam

Introduction

There are hundreds of religions in this world. Of them two are the most prominent. It is averaged that there are 750 million people practicing Islam, and another 1 billion practicing Christianity. The start of Islam is actually derived form Christianity, history books indicates that one night in the year 610, the first of many revelations came to Muhammad from God by way of the angel Gabriel. The message Muhammad received told him that there was but one God, not many gods, as most Arabs believed. This God was creator of the world, and He would one day judge mankind. Both of these religions share almost the same framework, but they also differ in many ways.

Discussion

The word Islam means "surrender" or "submission," submission to the will of Allah, the one God. Muslims are those who have submitted themselves. The basic creed of Islam is brief: There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah. Islam teaches that there is one God, the creator and sustainer of the universe. This God, Allah, is compassionate and just. Because He is compassionate, He calls all people to believe in Him and worship Him(Hope, Marjorie, and James Young, 180-193). Because He is also just, on the Last Day He will judge every person according to his deeds. On the Last Day, all the dead will be resurrected and either rewarded with heaven or punished with hell (Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad and Adair, pp 14-28).

In Christianity one of the Ten Commandments states that "I am the Lord you God you shall have no other gods before me", also identical to Islam God is considered the creator of the universe, and he is also just. On the last day, or judgment day, the same holds true as in Islam in the Christian beliefs, the dead will be resurrected and either rewarded with heaven or punished with hell (Hope, Marjorie, and James Young, 180-193).

The Koran relies heavily on Christian traditions. It was Muhammad's contention that Christianity had departed from belief in God's message as revealed in their Scriptures. God had sent many prophets, among them Abraham, who is considered the founder of the faith for Islam, as he is also for and Christianity (Hope, Marjorie, and James Young, 180-193). The Koran, using sources in the older Scriptures and later traditions, relates the stories of Abraham, Joseph, Moses and Aaron, David, ...