Questions From a Christian

Very often I get questions from Christians and other non-Muslims about Islam. These questions usually come from my primary website Islamic Learning Materials.

I love it when these questions come in. I love them because this is when I know I’m doing some form of dawah. The website is up there all the time, but I have no way of knowing who’s visiting or reading.

But when someone sends in a letter asking for more information about Islam, then I know that at least that one person is going to learn something about Allah and His messenger from me.

Alhamdulillah. I only pray that Allah accepts my humble effort and that I can continue to share the message of Islam with others for as long as He wills.

Someone wrote in with the question: “what do muslims believe that genesis 1:26 means? Is it referring to one God , one person, or one God, and 3 persons? Which is the muslim belief? Eplain let “us” make man in our image.“

This was the beginning of a long discourse that continued for about a week. I’m not sure what the questioner’s intentions were, but I am happy I had the chance to talk about Islam to them.

I also learned, as you will soon also Inshallah, that the questioner had been exposed to some incorrect information about Islam. What’s worse, is that this information came from other Muslims!

Well, here is my response to her question:

Thank you for visiting our website. I’m honored that you have asked me about more information about Islam.

In response to your question: yes what do muslims believe that genesis 1:26 means? Is it referring to one God , one person, or one God, and 3 persons? Which is the muslim belief? Eplain let “us” make man in our image.

Let me first state that I cannot explain Biblical passages without bias. I am Muslim and do not believe the Bible is the true word of God. Also, I am not a biblical scholar so I can only give a layman’s explanation of these biblical passages. Any attempt I make at explaining the Bible will be tainted with my own personal beliefs.

Therefore, I prefer not to explain nor vilify nor disprove anything written in the Bible. Instead, I try to explain what Islam is, and I try to do so based on what the Quran says and based on the statements of the last Prophet of Allah, Muhammad, may Allah be pleased with him.

Islam is primarily about one thing – the worship of the one, true creator whom you referred to as God and for which the Arabic word is Allah. This is the same God that created the universe and all it holds. This is the God that created Adam from dust, spoke to Moses through the burning bush, blessed Mary with the miraculous birth, and revealed the Quran to Prophet Muhammad. (May Allah be pleased with all of his prophets and messengers).

The worst sin any person can commit is to associate partners with Allah. As the Quran states in Chapter 4 verse 48:

“Verily, Allâh forgives not that partners should be set up with him in worship, but He forgives except that (anything else) to whom He pleases, and whoever sets up partners with Allâh in worship, he has indeed invented a tremendous sin.”

So as Muslims we reject any concept or idea or belief that even remotely violates this tenet. Therefore, we do not accept that there are three gods in one, or that god is made up of three separate yet unified identities as various interpretations of the Christian trinity claim.

Allah is one. It’s really just that simple.

The second most important belief in Islam is to follow the teachings of the men that Allah has sent to guide us to the truth. Allah has prescribed a specific way of life that entails maintaining certain moral values and establishing peace and justice on earth. If men were left alone to this task without any guidance, there would certainly be chaos as one man’s peace is another man’s oppression and one man’s value is another man’s sin.

Therefore, Allah has sent us guidance in the form of His holy books and His prophets. The last of these prophets was Muhammad ibn Abdullah, born in Mecca about 1400 years ago. In order to live as true Muslims i.e. people who submit to the will of Allah, we must follow the teachings of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.

I hope this brief explanation goes a long way in explaining what Islam is and what Muslims believe. If you have more questions or comments, please do not hesitate to share them with me.

I am going to include an ebook I find to be very helpful in understanding the similarities and differences between Islam and Christianity called Muslim Christian Dialogue. This ebook also goes a long way in explaining what Islam truly is in a manner westerners can easily understand.

If I’ve said anything of benefit, then all praises are due to Allah. If I’ve said anything that is incorrect or misleads, then it is my fault and the fault of Satan the Rejected.