Who is allah, really?

[Classik]

I have read ...and heard some muslims say allah is not the same as the Christian God. Some Christian or most Christians say the same. (Any thread on this topic already???:dunno). But who is allah, really?

 

[Classik]

How does knwoing who allah is affect your Christian life, some might ask?

 

[The Unbeliever]

Allah the proper name for the monotheistic divinity of Islam. Allah is also the name of god for Arabic speaking Christians and Jews.

 

[joep222]

In simplest terms, Allah is a false idol.

 

[The Unbeliever]

In simplest terms, Allah is a false idol.

Well, if you are seeking the simplest terms, Allah is Allah.

 

[By Grace]

Many opinions, few facts

I have read ...and heard some muslims say allah is not the same as the Christian God. Some Christian or most Christians say the same. (Any thread on this topic already???:dunno). But who is allah, really?

Here is something that can form the basis of understandingn and not rely on ANY one person's well-meaning, but subjective definition

ALLAH’S EXISTENCE AND ONENESS

Sura 112 is dedicated to the fundamental question “Who is God?†According to Islamic tradition, this chapter is Muhammad’s definition of Allah. Classical commentator Zamakhshari (d. A.D. 1146) says, “Ibn Abbas related that the Koreish said, O Mohammed, describe to us your Lord whom you invite us to worship; then this Surah was revealed.†The sura reads: “In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Say: He is God, The One and Only; God, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, Nor is He begotten; And there is none Like unto Him.†This sura “is held to be worth a third of the whole Qur’an and the seven heavens and the seven earths are founded upon it. To confess this verse, a tradition affirms, is to shed one’s sins as a man might strip a tree in autumn of its leaves.â€16

The cornerstone of Muhammad’s message was the absolute unity and sovereignty of God. In inviting his people to join him in the worship and service of the one true God he presents several arguments in defense of God’s existence. The existence of God is not taken for granted in the Qur’an. Rather, it points out many ways in which reason leads to belief that God exists.
In over eighty passages the Qur’an draws attention to the wonders of visible nature in the heavens and on earth, as well as to the manifestations of life in plants and animals, especially in the realm of human life...



​

THE NINETY-NINE NAMES OF ALLAH
​

Another typical Islamic answer to the question “Who is God?†is to point out Allah’s “most beautiful names.†The Qur’anic basis for this is found in 59:22–24:

God is He, than Whom There is no other god; Who knows [all things] Both secret and open; He, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. God is He, than Whom There is no other god; The Sovereign, the Holy One, The Source of Peace [and Perfection], The Guardian of Faith, The Preserver of Safety, The Exalted in Might, The Irresistible, the Supreme: Glory to God! [High is He] Above the partners They attribute to Him. He is God, the Creator, The Evolver, The Bestower of Forms [Or Colours]. To Him belong The Most Beautiful Names: Whatever is in The heavens and on earth, Doth declare His Praise and Glory: And He is the Exalted In Might, the Wise.



Geisler, N. L., & Saleeb, A. (2002). Answering Islam: The crescent in light of the cross (2nd ed.) (19) and(23). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.
​

it is important to note that while there are 99 attributable names to allah, the name "father" is conspicuously absent. The Arab answer to the legendary riddle "Why is the camel so haughty?" is that he knows the 100th name of allah.

 

[The Unbeliever]

Re: Many opinions, few facts

it is important to note that while there are 99 attributable names to allah, the name "father" is conspicuously absent.

That was a helpful post. And you are right, "Father" is not one of the names I would think Muslims attribute to Allah. The reason for that is that it would imply a break from the monolithic and singular nature of the Islamic deity. There could be no "Father" without children, and Islam expressly denies that Allah has children.

 

[Classik]

Re: Many opinions, few facts

...Islam expressly denies that Allah has children.

Good question would be: who are muslims to allah? :dunno

 

[The Unbeliever]

Re: Many opinions, few facts

Good question would be: who are muslims to allah? :dunno

Muslim means "one who submits to God". They are servants to his will and worshipers of his person.

 

[Sinthesis]

Re: Many opinions, few facts

Muslim means "one who submits to God". They are servants to his will and worshipers of his person.

I'm pretty sure the 'to God' part is just implied, so that it actually means 'one who submits', leaving the actual authority submitted to by muslims open to interpretation.

However, the concept behind the controversy is expressed within the genius of the verse:

Mar 8:27 - And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am?​

 

[OldJesushippie]

Allah a name ascribed to a divine person. Most create Allah (God) in their own imaginations based on a combination of presuppositions and ideals. My suspicion is that most Christian have a very mixed view of God (Allah) in their minds a well.

Matthew 7:14 (English Standard Version)
"For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few."

 

[Claudya]

Would be easy to dismiss Allah as a false idol. But if we do so, there's a problem. 1.5 billion muslims in the world genuinely believe that their idea of Allah is correct. By saying that they are following a false idol we basically tell them that they have fallen for an absolute error, or a fundamental lie.
Many muslims would probably claim that they have had some sort of encounter with their God, or can feel His presence, or strongly feel that their faith is right. They will find intellectual arguments for why their faith and their scripture is superior to any other. They live their lives by the rules of Islam and experience happiness (most moslems aren't angry violent extremists). So in other words: they are deeply convinced of the rightfullness of their religion, on the intellectual, emotional, scriptural and practical level.
But we are convinced they all err?
If it is possible for a group humans to absolutely err in such a profound way about a fundamental thing like the nature of God, then this kind of fundamental error can happen to ALL humans, including ourselves. There is no certainty that our own way to think of and to live with God is right. We, too, may have fallen for a false idol.

So in order to save my own faith in God (and to preserve my intellectual consistency) I must admit, that there is at least a chance that the muslim way with God (who they name by the Arab word Allah) is as right as I think ours is, and that there is some divine explanation for the contradictions we see between both religions.

 

[Sinthesis]

There is a divine explanation for the contradictions we see between both religions, but it exposes the insufficiency of Islam. As you seem to understand, the challenge for the Christian is to respect the integrity of the Muslim as a person when presenting a better understanding to them of God through Christianity. The individual may not deserve this fair treatment, but Grace is not deserved.

 

[By Grace]

Would be easy to dismiss Allah as a false idol. But if we do so, there's a problem. 1.5 billion muslims in the world genuinely believe that their idea of Allah is correct. By saying that they are following a false idol we basically tell them that they have fallen for an absolute error, or a fundamental lie.

Truth is NOT a numbers game That is a logical fallacy (I forget the name), and it ignores the evidential nature of Christianity. Islam began c.600 AD, but we can go back to see some of the cities mentioned in the Bible exactly where they should be, and have proofs of the things that happened there in the Bible have evidences in its relic record. No other religion can claim that.

Many muslims would probably claim that they have had some sort of encounter with their God, or can feel His presence, or strongly feel that their faith is right. They will find intellectual arguments for why their faith and their scripture is superior to any other. They live their lives by the rules of Islam and experience happiness (most moslems aren't angry violent extremists). So in other words: they are deeply convinced of the rightfullness of their religion, on the intellectual, emotional, scriptural and practical level.

The nature of God as revealed in the Bible is covenantal, and relational. No other religion has that. That is what makes Christianity unique of all the religions of the world.

But we are convinced they all err?

If it is possible for a group humans to absolutely err in such a profound way about a fundamental thing like the nature of God, then this kind of fundamental error can happen to ALL humans, including ourselves. There is no certainty that our own way to think of and to live with God is right. We, too, may have fallen for a false idol.

You are making an error of equality. Due to the nature of each religion, there is no sort of equality, excepting a very superficial level. One huge difference is the fact that you can examine the things stated in the Bible and find them. If you did that with Islam, and what Mohammad taught, they would kill you if they catch you.

So in order to save my own faith in God (and to preserve my intellectual consistency) I must admit, that there is at least a chance that the muslim way with God (who they name by the Arab word Allah) is as right as I think ours is, and that there is some divine explanation for the contradictions we see between both religions.

Here is the difference that you seek:
There are only two religions in the world: grace and works. Christianity is all by grace (hence my user name) and works describe EVERY OTHER religion. I include the cults in that and the Seventh Day Adventists also. EACH maintain that you need to do this or do that, or avoid this, or avoid that in order to become worthy of whatever they say is the afterlife. the problem with that is that one group's this is not the same ass another group's this.

But here is where you intellectual integrity should kick in. the doctrine of non contradiction is a sledge hammer of logic against all those religions. You see if there were truth in those religions, there would be no contradictions due to the ontological nature of truth. Truth is not relative; it is an unchanging axiom. If that were not so, there could never be a word in any language that describes something immutable as truth. Thus it is consistency that rules. Christianity (and Judaism) are consistent religions. Also, if their prophets were all from the same God, then their messages would be identical. By definition of "truth" the word "similar" or a synonym can not be used. If God said it for Christianity and any other religion, then it must be EXACTLY congruent, or else God would not be, and thus a god.

Exodus 20:2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments

​

I dare say that you may be caught up in the politically correct fallacy of "tolerance". It does not work that way with Him because He says here that He is very intolerant of any thing being exalted above Him.

Alexander Pope said it quite well:
[SIZE=-1]:[/SIZE]

Vice is a monster of so frightful mien,
As to be hated needs but to be seen; 1
Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face,
We first endure, then pity, then embrace.​

Essay on Man. Epistle ii. Line 217.​

That is the aim of the politically correct movement. Think of the abominations that you regularly are subjected to on television in Germany. None of them are acceptable in the USA, but the same things that you see are forced upon us, in a subtler form. The liberal producers of raunchiness would have us accept such perversions as "normal" and have us "loose our inhibitions" "be accepting (tolerant) of differences" "don't be judgmental" etc ad nauseum.

That is why Christians need to be different, and stand up for what is good and holy without compromising or caving in to pressure.

I am not jumping on you, dear sister, but you know how easy it is to walk down some streets of any German city and see ongoing sins in the store windows. It is my opinion that Jesus would show kindness to those in the windows because they are people, created in His image. However, I do not believe that he would be accepting of what a "sex worker" did for a living. If He took a whip to the tables of the money changers in the Temple, what might He do if he walked into one of the many bordellos in Germany?

Enough sermonizing. I wrote to help give you some strength to deal with the onslaught of evil you face every day in a foreign country. Keep on reading God's word daily!

 

[Thetruth101]

God is 1 and all. Meaning Yahweh as well as Allah. Both religions come from the same forefather Abraham. First wives and second wives son split ways and made those two religions. They are under 1 God, christians and muslims.

 

[Stormcrow]

I have read ...and heard some muslims say allah is not the same as the Christian God. Some Christian or most Christians say the same. (Any thread on this topic already???:dunno). But who is allah, really?

Allah is both the name of Islam's deity and the title ("God") by which Arabic-speaking Christians refer to the Christian deity (also known as the first person of the Trinity.)

Islam denies the Trinity, denies the resurrection (denies that Jesus was even crucified!) and, therefore, denies the deity of Christ. Islam denies the incarnation: "God in flesh."

Jews also deny these things but here's the important difference to understand between Judaism and Islam: Judaism's holy book - the "Old Testament" - prophesies to all the things of Christ shown to be fulfilled in the New, while Islam's "holy book" denies them. In other words, Judaism led to Christianity: Islam leads away from it.

The Allah Islam worships is a false god. The "Allah" that Christians know - through Christ - is the true God who sent Christ to die on the cross for us.

Just remember that no one gets to the Father except through Christ. As Islam denies this, claiming Mohammed as their "true prophet", Islam shares nothing of spiritual or doctrinal significance at all with Christianity.

 

[Eugene]

God is 1 and all. Meaning Yahweh as well as Allah. Both religions come from the same forefather Abraham. First wives and second wives son split ways and made those two religions. They are under 1 God, christians and muslims.

Bullfeathers! Romans 9:7 "Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. Hebrews 11:18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:"

 

[By Grace]

God is 1 and all. Meaning Yahweh as well as Allah. Both religions come from the same forefather Abraham. First wives and second wives son split ways and made those two religions. They are under 1 God, christians and muslims.

Obviously you did not read my post in its entirety especially this part:

You are making an error of equality. Due to the nature of each religion, there is no sort of equality, excepting a very superficial level. One huge difference is the fact that you can examine the things stated in the Bible and find them. If you did that with Islam, and what Mohammad taught, they would kill you if they catch you.

 

[Davies]

Happy Thanksgiving,

Allah is a figment of Mohammad's imagination.

- Davies

 

[Kaliani]

Is Allah a false god in the sense that he doesn't exist?

Or does he exist but is actually, well, the devil?