Islam and Christianity

By Curt Tilleraas ”This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those in whom he is well pleased!” (Luke 2:12-14)      When I was a child I was taught that there is only one God, and that people either worship false gods or they worship the one true God. In the Old Testament it is made clear from the get-go that (1) our God is a jealous God, and (2) that anyone who desires to receive the Lord’s protection and promises must abandon the worship of all other gods.       The revelation of God as a jealous God was not lost in the New Testament, either. Nowhere in the New Testament do we find Jesus speaking about the equality of the gods or saying anything that might be construed as meaning that all paths lead to His Father. In fact, He says just the opposite: “I am the wa

Allah – the proper name for God in Islam – Allah is also the name for God among    Arabic speaking people, including Arabic speaking Christians ‘arif – one who knows Allah by experience/vision Aya/ayat – verse/verses in the Qur’an – also means sign/miracle Dar al-Salam , “the abode of bliss/peace”, or Paradise Dar al-Islam :    “the abode of Islam” – parts of world where Islamic law ( sharia ) rules Dar al-Harb :     “the abode of war” – the parts of the world ruled by unbelievers Dar al-Sulh –   territory not under Islamic rule, but which exists via a treaty, or     agreement-- This status is, at most, a temporary status (truce). Djinn, or Jinn – We get the word “genie” from this word. In the order of created beings    (humans, jinn, and angels). They are created from air and fire. Angels from light, and    humans from the earth. Fatiha –   The Opening, or, The Opener – first Surah of the Quran “ In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate, Praise be to God, The Lord of t

“Abada b. al-Samit stated, I heard the Messenger of God say, “ Five prayers are prescribed by God for His servants in the space of a day and a night. Those who observe these have God’s promise that he will let them enter Paradise . One who does not perform them has no promise from God. If God wills, He will punish the person, and if he wills, pardon.”      The five prayers are obligatory for every Muslim who has reached the age of puberty and has the use of reason, except for women who are menstruating or recovering from childbirth. If Muslims deny the necessity of prayer through ignorance, one must instruct them; if they deny it willfully, they have apostatized .      It is not permitted to delay a prayer, unless one has formulated the intention of combining it with another prayer, or was prevented from fulfilling the conditions for it [e.g., great ablution].      If Muslims abstain from saying the prayers from negligence, one should ask them three times to repent: if they repent, i