ISLAM & CHRISTIANITY

REPORT

COMPARATIVE RELIGION

BY ZUHA RASOOL

SAMAHA JAWAD

FATIMA ZAFAR

MAHNOOR BALOCH

SHAHEED ZULFIKAR ALI BHUTTO INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE

AND TECHNOLOGY

SZABIST

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Introduction

Islam and Christianity are both monotheistic Abrahamic religions. The Abrahamic religions, also

referred to collectively as Abrahamism, are a group of Semitic-originated religious communities

of faith that claim descent from the Judaism of the ancient Israelites and the worship of the God

of Abraham. The Abrahamic religions are monotheistic, with the term deriving from the

patriarch Abraham. Abrahamic religion spread globally through Christianity being adopted by

the Roman Empire in the 4th century and Islam by the Islamic Empires from the 7th century.

Today the Abrahamic religions are one of the major divisions in comparative religion.The major

Abrahamic religions in chronological order of founding are Judaism (the base of the other two

religions) in the 7th century BCE, Christianity in the 1st century CE, and Islam in the 7th century

CE. Christianity and Islam are the Abrahamic religions with the greatest numbers of adherents.

Christianity claims 33% of the world's population and Islam has 21%.

Islam is the second largest religion in the world after Christianity, with about 1.8 billion Muslims

worldwide. Although its roots go back further, scholars typically date the creation of Islam to the

7th century, making it the youngest of the major world religions. Islam started in Mecca, in

modern-day Saudi Arabia, during the time of the prophet Muhammad’s life. Today, the faith has

spread rapidly throughout the world. The word “Islam” means “submission to the will of God.”

Islam began approximately 600 years after the founding of Christianity. Muslims, however,

believe that it did not start with Muhammad, but that it was the original faith of others whom

they regard as prophets, such as Jesus, David, Moses, Abraham, Noah and Adam.

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The religion of Christianity and the Christian church began with Jesus and his apostles.

Christianity is the religion that is based on the birth, life, death, resurrection and teaching of

Jesus Christ.

Christianity began in the 1st century AD after Jesus died as a Jewish sect in Judea but quickly

spread throughout the Roman Empire. Despite early persecution of Christians, it later became the

state religion. In the middle Ages it spread into Northern Europe and Russia. During the Age of

Exploration, Christianity expanded throughout the world; it is currently the largest religion of the

world. The religion had schisms and theological disputes that had as result four main branches,

the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox churches, Oriental Orthodoxy and Protestant

churches.

Basic Beliefs if islam

Islam is the religion which was originated in Mecca and Madina at the beginning of the

7th century CE. In 610 CE, prophet Muhammad began receiving what muslims consider as

divine revelations . In 622, his influential uncle uncle Abu Talib passed away after which

Muhammad migrated to the city of Yathrib which is now known as Medina. Later, in in 632,

Muhammad also died.

In the 8th century, Ummayad Caliphate extended from Liberia in the west to the Indus River

in the east. At that time, Abbasids, Mamluks and Fatimids were among the most indluential

powers among the world. By the early 13th century, much of northern Indian sub continent was

conquered by the Delhi Sultanate wheareas Anatolia from the Byzantine Empire was conquered

by Turik dynasties like the Sultante of Rum and Artuqids throughout the 11th ans 12th centuries.
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Moreover, in the 13th and 14th centuries, destructive Mongol invasions and those of Tamerlane

from the east weakened the traditional centers of the Islamic world, stretching from Persia and

Egypt. During the 19th and 20th centuries, most of the Islamic world fell under the influence of

European Great Powers. Their efforts to win independence is still present till today in regions

such as Palestine, Kashmir, Xinjiang, Chechya, Myanmar and Bosnia

Islam is a religion which consists of many beliefs but the six major beliefs which are

most common among the Muslim community as laid out by the Quran and Hadith are as follows:

Belief in oneness of God:

The first and the foremost belief of in Islam is the belief in oneness of God. Every

muslim believes in ‘Tauheed’ which means that there is no God but Allah. He has no partner, no

offspring, no body, no gender or race. Allah alone is the creator and sustainer of this universe

and has all the power over everything in this universe. He is All knowing, All seeing and All

Hearing and His creatures depend on Him for their needs and wishes. Allah is immortal and

perfect therefore He should be worshipped alone as His attributes and divinity cannot be shared

by any other God. According to Islam, it is only Allah who knows the future and has the control

over life and death of His creatures and all other Gods are false.

Belief in the Angels of God:

Another major belief in Islam is the Belief in the Angels of God. Angels hold a great

importance in Islam as muslims believe that Angels are unseen beings who never gets tired of

worshipping God as they never sleep or rest. They are the ones who carry out God’s orders

throughout the world without getting tired. Moreover, there are different Angels with different

roles and duties in Islam such as Angel of death ( Malak Am- Maut), Angel of rainfall ( Mikail),

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Angel for blowing the trumpet on the day of judgment ( Israfeel) , Guardian of heaven (

Rizwan)and guardian of hell ( Malik). Angel Gibrael was sent by Allah to bring the divine

revelations to the prophets.

Belief in the Books of God:

Thirdly, there is Belief in the Books of God. Muslims believe that various holy books

and scriptures have been revealed by Allah to his various messengers such as the Quran which

was given to Muhammad (PBUH), the Gospel which was given to Jesus, the Torah which was

given to Moses, the Scrolls which was given to Abraham and the Psalms which was given to

David. However, Muslims believe that these holy books in their original forms were divinely

revealed but it is only the Quran which remains because it was the last holy book and it was first

revealed to the Holy prophet Muhammad (PBUH) who was the last messenger of Allah.

Belief in the prophets or Messengers of God:

Fourthly, there is Belief in the prophets or Messengers of God. Muslims believe that

various messengers or prophets have been appointed by God to send guidelines to the mankind

throughout this universe. Adam was the first man and is considered as the first prophet and

Muhammad is considered as the last prophet of Allah who was sent with a message of Islam for

all mankind while other prophets who came after Adam were prophet Noah, prophet Abraham,

prophet Moses, prophet Jesus.

Belief in the Day of Judgment:

Another major belief in Islam is the Belief in the Day of Judgment. Muslims believe in

life after death. On the Day of Judgment humans will be accountable for their actions and deeds

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which they performed in this life. It is believed that those who followed the right path under

God’s guidance will be rewarded with paradise however those who rejected God’s guidance and

believed in other religions will be punished with hell

Belief in the Divine Decree:

Lastly, there is Belief in the Divine Decree. This belief can be expressed as a belief that

whatever happens in one’s life either good or bad is governed by the divine decree and one

should respond to it with patience and thankfulness and accept that whatever happens with a

person happens with God’s will.

Basic beliefs of Christianity

Christianity is one of the Abrahamic monotheistic religions. It’s one of the most widely

practiced religions in the world with around more than two billion followers. It is a religion that

follows the idea of one God. Adherents of this religion follow the teachings of the Jesus of

Nazareth and consider him to be the son of God and savior of the people. This concept is central

to the believes of this religion. Christians believe that the coming of the Messiah was already

prophesied in scriptures of Judaism which is also known as the Old Testament by Christians.

Christianity first began in the roman province of Judea, as a sect of the Judaic religion. From

then onwards it was spread to different parts of the world by the followers of the religion even

after initial persecutions. Although Christianity began as a religion only after the fall of the

Jerusalem in AD 70.

Since then Christianity has spread on a wide scale, it has basic cultural differences in its

eastern and western branches. The largest four branches of Christianity are the Protestantism

with 920 million followers, the Catholic Church with 1.3 billion followers, the oriental

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orthodoxy with 86 million followers and the Eastern Orthodox Church with 260 million

followers. Basic creeds of Christianity hold in common the belief on Jesus as the son of God,

who according to the Christian beliefs came on earth to show the way of God and in the process

ministered, suffered, and died and then rose from the dead for the good of all humanity so that

salvation of mankind could be achieved. Christians around the world identify with different

creeds. Three of these main creeds are Apostles creed, the Nicene Creed and the Athonasian

creed.

Major believes of Christianity

 Believe in one God that is the Father with Jesus as son of God and the Holy Spirit.

 Belief in the death of Jesus and the resurrection and ascension of Christ.

 Belief in the holiness of the church and communion of the saints.

 Belief in the concept of second coming of the Christ, the Day of Judgment and salvation

of the believer and faithful.

Jesus

The belief in the teachings of Christ and belief in Jesus as the son of God and Messiah

is at the very core of the Christian beliefs. He is believed to be the savior of the human kind sent

by God and is also the promised Messiah mentioned in the Old Testament. The fundamental

belief of Christianity holds the idea that believing in the death and resurrection of Jesus is the

only way the sinful soul of a human can be reconciled to God, and is the only way to attain

salvation and thus are promised an eternal life.

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 Some Christians also believe that Jesus is actually God incarnate and is the “true God

and true man” with the belief that he became fully human and suffered the pain of the human

kind but did not sin and as God rose again to life. The New Testament mentions that he rose to

life from death, went up to the Heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father that is God

and is to return and fulfill the prophecy of the Messiah. The four chronicles of Mathew, Luke,

Mark and John describe the complete life and teachings of Jesus.

“Jesus Christ is God” (John 1:1, 14, 10:30-33, 20:28; Colossians 2:9; Philippians 2:5-8;

Hebrews 1:8).

“Jesus was born of a virgin” (Matthew 1:18; Luke 1:26–35).

“Jesus is fully God and fully man” (Colossians 2:9; 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 4:15; 2

Corinthians 5:21)

Death and Resurrection

The belief in the death and resurrection is a central belief of the Christian religion,

Christian belief that Jesus died by crucification and was buried and after three days rose from the

dead and ascended to heaven only to return again. Much of Christian theology and doctrines are

based on these two events. Christians hold this event as the most important, believing that this

depicts that Jesus has power over life and death and thus has the power to give people eternal

life.

“Jesus resurrected from the dead in physical form” (John 2:19-21).

God and Trinity

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 Christians believe in one God, a God that is all powerful, has complete command over

the world, who is omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent.

The concept of trinity explains that God comprises of distinct and co existing person

that is the Father, the son (Jesus) and the Holy spirit, according to the Athnasian creed “the

Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and yet there are not three Gods but

one God".

“There is only one God” (Isaiah 43:10; 44:6, 8; John 17:3; 1 Corinthians 8:5-6;

Galatians 4:8-9).

“God is infinite and eternal. He has always been and will ever be God” (Psalm 90:2;

Genesis 21:33; Acts 17:24).

“God is three in one or a Trinity; God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy

Spirit” (Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19; John 14:16-17; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Acts 2:32-33, John

10:30,17:11, 21; 1 Peter 1:2).

Salvation

It is believed that Jesus Christ died for the atonement of the sins of the human kind and

human beings can attain salvation by repentance, baptism and participating and believing in the

death and resurrection.

“Jesus died for the sins of each and every person in the world” (1 John 2:2; 2

Corinthians 5:14; 1 Peter 2:24).

“Jesus' death was a substitutionary sacrifice. He died and paid the price for our sins so

that we might live forever with him.” (1 Peter 2:24; Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45).

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 “Believers are saved by grace; Salvation cannot be earned by human efforts or good

works” (Ephesians 2:8–9).

“Those who reject Jesus Christ will go to hell forever after they die” (Revelation 20:11-

15, 21:8).

“Those who accept Jesus Christ will live for eternity with him after they die” (John

11:25, 26; 2 Corinthians 5:6).

Christians also consider the bible as the word of God. They believe in the existence of a hell, in

the concept of life after death and the concept of final judgment.

Similarities

Both Christianity and Islam hold that God is receptive to human need. An unobtrusive contrast

between the two religions, be that as it may, can be found in the instantaneousness of terms used

to indicate association with God in propositional proclamations. Christians underline the genuine

nearness of the Spirit of God in people, though Muslims talk about the projection of God and His

essence figuratively inside the heart. As per Rahner, the nearness and quickness of the

cherishing, Trinitarian God is "a store given to every single person" (Karkkainen, 2004, p. 40)

For Christians, God's responsiveness depends on the Trinitarian idea of God, though

divine responsiveness for Muslims is based (at any rate to a limited extent) upon the Muslim

devotee illustrating right activity because of learning of God. In the two religions a

comprehension of God's responsiveness to people gives a warrant to adherents to look for

vicinity to God. Since Christianity and Islam both underline the trait of God as adoring

(fundamental to Christian Trinitarian religious philosophy and found in a considerable lot of the

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Ninety Nine Names of God in Islam) there is a desire for psycho-otherworldly profit by drawing

near God. Subsequently, connection elements of place of refuge and secure base in association

with God rely on comprehension of the innateness and responsiveness of God through holy

writings. Christians can utilize characteristic social learning of God (in light of the adoring

nature of the Holy Spirit) to approach God as a connection figure and thereupon create cognitive

affective diagrams of their connection association with God. Muslims may utilize their

intellectual comprehension of God so as to approach Him as a connection figure and thereupon

experience a connection association with the celestial.

Psychological for unreliably connected adherents may incorporate referencing

significant holy messages and magical compositions that uncover God's responsiveness. Muslim

customers may advantage by an accentuation on subjective comprehension of God's

characteristics with related fortification of positive encounters as the customer approaches God.

Christian customers may best be helped by writings that demonstrate crafted by the Spirit in

attracting individuals to God just as talking about positive connection encounters with God.

In the two religions a condition of immaculateness, or exemplary nature, is

esteemed to be gave on adherents by the elegance of God. In Islam, this state is the acquired

condition of the newborn child though in Christianity it is the procured condition of the adherent

as a result of dedicated dutifulness by Jesus the Christ. Despite the fact that God is the wellspring

of human value to approach God, the two religions contrast in how such profound

immaculateness, or honorableness, can be kept up through adulthood. Muslims should

deliberately perceive sin and act suitably to expel the polluting influence of wrongdoing so as to

approach God. Christians must keep up their confidence in their relationship with Jesus Christ

who alone is equitable previously God.

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 Differences

Numerous individuals wonder what the correlation is between Islam versus

Christianity. While there are a couple of similarities among Islam and Christianity, for example,

a confidence in good living and doing great to other people, in any case, Muslims and Christians

have tremendously various perspectives on significant purposes of belief system and religious

philosophy. Most importantly is the contrasting impression of Jesus, the Christ which is one of

the major differences between Islam and Christianity. Islam promptly acknowledges that Jesus of

Nazareth existed and that He was conceived of the virgin, Mary. Islam encourages that Jesus was

just another prophet, equivalent to and following in the line of Adam, Noah, Abraham, and

Moses. Muslims accept that Muhammad is the last delivery person, better than every single past

prophet, a definitive. Christians accept that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God, which as

the Jews blamed for old, makes Him equivalent to God. He is acknowledged as the Second

Person of the Trinity, God Himself come to earth in the substance. There are a lot more existing

differences between Islam and Christianity other than this particular difference.

Christians see the Old and New Testament as the Holy Word of God. Muslims see the

Quran as the Holy Word of God.

The word Quran signifies 'recitation'. Muslims guarantee that the Quran has been

safeguarded in its accurate, unique structure in Arabic since huge gatherings would present it to

other enormous gatherings with no variety. Muslims perceive the Torah (law) of Moses, Psalms

of David, and Gospels of Jesus as books from God; be that as it may, they accept these works

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have been adulterated after some time because of a wide range of interpretations. Muslims

guarantee that no original copy of the Quran in Arabic has any variety.

Christians accept that the Bible of the Old and New Testament in Its unique language

(Hebrew, Greek, Arabic) is God's Word without mistake. Our English Bibles today are as yet

reliable and sacrosanct in view of literary analysis. To get familiar with literary analysis, look at

my blog "Why Our Bibles Today are Trustworthy."

The Quran was composed by the prophet Muhammad. Muhammad got disclosures

from the heavenly attendant Gabriel for a multi-year time frame starting in 609 AD. The Bible

contains 66 books, composed by 40 writers, covering a time of around 1,600 years.

Christians have faith in the Trinity: 1 God in 3 people: God the Father, God the Son,
God the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19-20; 2 Corinthians 13:14; John 10:30).

The God of Islam is one God, in 1 Person, not a Trinity. Here are a few entries from the
Quran that clarify how the God of Islam isn't a Father…

“In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Proclaim, “He is the One and only God. The Absolute God. Never did He beget. Nor was He
begotten. None equals Him.” – Surah 112:0-4

“He to whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and who has not taken

a son and has not had a partner in dominion and has created each thing and determined it with
(precise) determination.” – Surah 25:2

Christians accept that Jesus is God (John 10:30). Muslims trust He was simply a
prophet and marvel specialist (Surah 3:49; 5:110; 9:30).

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 Islam would guarantee that Jesus was conceived of a virgin, and that He was taken to
Heaven (Surah 4:158). They don't accept that Jesus kicked the bucket on the cross (Surah 4:155-
158).

Christians accept each human is brought into the world with unique sin (Psalm 51:5;
Ephesians 2:1). Muslims accept when you are conceived, you have a 'fresh start.' Islam asserts
that wrongdoing exists as a result of human shortcoming and absent mindedness (Surah 4:28).

As per Islam, Satan is in charge of wrongdoing, and there is no revile over Adam or
creation. The Bible says Satan enticed Adam and Eve to sin and that God later reviled Satan,
Adam, and Eve (Genesis 3).

One focal truth of Christianity is that in spite of the fact that we acquired Adam's
wicked nature, we were given another nature in Jesus (Romans 5:12-21). Adam was our
delegate, and Jesus has now supplanted Adam in that job. Where Adam fizzled, Jesus prevailing
by carrying on with an ideal life, kicking the bucket on the cross and bearing the discipline for
our transgressions, and rising again from the dead (I Corinthians 15:21-22).

In case you're a Christian, as you approach Easter Sunday, grasp your confidence from
God's Word. Be grateful that God cherished you so much that He sent Jesus to kick the bucket on
the cross for your wrongdoings.

References

Narrated in Saheeh Muslim, no. 2754, and Saheeh Al-Bukhari, no. 5999

NIV Compact Dictionary of the Bible, Douglas, p. 42

Christianity, Britanica Encyclopedia. www.britannica.com/topic/Christianity

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Fairchild, M. (2018). Basic Beliefs of Christianity. Learn Religions.

ttps://www.learnreligions.com/basic-christian-beliefs-700357

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