The two largest religions in the world are Christianity and Islam. For the purpose of this book, Roman Catholicism is seen as a part (the major part) of Christianity. Yahweh is the God of the Christians, and the one who revealed himself to them through, and in the Bible. True Christians acknowledge and worship Him as God. Islam worships Allah and acknowledges him as the only true God. Muslims do not acknowledge the God of the Christians as Yahweh. They claim that Allah, their God, is in fact the same God who is worshipped by Christians. There are also many Christians, perhaps the majority of Christians, who think that Christians and Muslims worship the same God, only by different names. According to both of these religions, there is only one true God. It is, therefore, extremely important to determine whether they are, indeed, the same person or God. If they are not the same God, it means that at least one of them is not the true God and, therefore, must be an idol.
These two beings, Yahweh of the Bible and Allah of the Quran, are revealed through their respective revelations (holy books). In the case of Yahweh, it is through the Bible, and in the case of Allah, through the Quran as well as through the Hadith. The Hadith will be discussed later in more detail. These two books, the Bible and the Quran, provide clarity and illuminate the characteristics and attributes of these two beings.
The moral attributes of these two beings will be the focus of this study. If they are the same God, then at the very least, they will share the same moral attributes, demonstrated by similar characteristics, which will be clear from their books. The reader will realise, from the many citations from the holy books which are used, that there is no doubt as to the nature of the character and moral attributes of these two beings. The premise or presupposition held in this book is that love is the core moral attribute of the true God. This love is a love that really cares; not a sentimental or emotional love. In life, every creative person typically cherishes the things he/she has created, be it art or any form of creativity, the creator is usually proud of it, and protective over it. It can be expected, therefore, of a Creator-God to care about and feel benevolent towards his creation, especially about humankind that He created. The assumption exists that the love of the true Creator-God would be a benevolent kind of love, and probably an unselfish kind of benevolence. This love that can be defined as compassionate and caring love, a kind of love possessing a disposition to do good deeds, and be kind only for the sake of kindness, not because of personal interest or gain. On a human level, this kind of love would mean that a person always acts in a benign manner towards all people, including people he/she does not like. This means always doing to others what you would want them to do to you in similar circumstances, and never doing to them what you would not want done to yourself in similar circumstances. These actions should be done without the slightest motive for personal gain. Although self-serving is never the motive in this kind of love, it is inherent in it, because this love is never a threat to anyone, but is constructive, while lack of this kind of love is always a threat and it is destructive.
If all people had always acted in this kind of love, no one would ever have been wronged and it would have been heaven on earth. This then, is the kind of love that can be described as real love, and the kind of love that can be expected from the true Creator-God. There are numerous examples of love and kindness in the Bible that concur with this description of love. One of them is found in 1 John 4:18:
"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love."
A person can expect that the law of a true God (commandments to his followers), who is undoubtedly a loving God, will be based on this kind of benevolent love. It will surely be a law that insists on compassionate actions towards fellow humans, as well as towards Him. This law will be resolute on a disposition that is never a threat to another person, but rather a consideration for fellow humans.
The true God's benevolent love is obvious in the wonder of His creation. The true Creator-God must be a God of love, it is impossible for the God who created the universe - the earth with everything in it - not to be a God of love. The proof of the Creator’s love cannot only be seen in the harmony of the earth in relation to the universe, the beauty, the artistry, and delicacy of that which was created (the universe, the earth, plants, animals and man), but also in the fact that man was given the ability to choose (free-will). Imagine man functioning mechanically and instinctively, like a robot. Would there be any love involved in creating machines without the ability to enter into any meaningful relationships? It would not have been possible for man to do good deeds or to be obedient, and although man would not be able to do wrong or be disobedient, it would be insignificant because there would be no freewill involved.
Friendships and relationships are voluntary, and it is impossible to force anybody into a friendship or a relationship. There are points of agreement to some aspects about the creation narrative of the Bible and the Quran. Man (Adam and his wife) was created by the true God with the ability to choose. He (God) also intended for man to live with Him in a loving relationship, as was initially the case in the Garden. The true God knows that man will have peace and freedom only as long as he serves God in a relationship of love. This relationship must, however, be voluntary and without any compulsion, or it would be meaningless, and prove a lack of love and righteousness by God. It is for this reason that God gave man a choice, according to the Bible, either to put God first and be obedient by not taking the forbidden fruit (eating from the tree), or to be disobedient to God’s command and thereby putting themselves (love of self) first. A God of love will
choose to be in a voluntary loving relationship with his created humanity. It would not have been necessary for God to forbid wrongdoing by man if man did not have the ability to make choices. It would not be possible for man to do anything against God’s will. By taking the forbidden fruit, in an attempt to become like God, man proved that his own interests (self-gratification) became more important to him than the interest of God. Man made the decision to serve himself rather than God. Off course, according to the Bible, this happened under the instigation and deception of Satan, through the serpent, but man is still guilty because he had the ability to remain obedient to God. Man could have resisted the allure of self-serving behaviour presented to him by the serpent.
A God of love can only be just because righteousness is a benevolent disposition and, therefore, the kind of love that He has. God could do nothing but to enforce his promised punishment, because He is a just God. Selfishness and lack of love cannot exist in any way in the presence of a perfect God of love. For this reason, He sent man out of His presence and out of His responsibility, into a world that is under the power of the evil one. Man disobeyed God, in spite of the fact that he was duly warned and was aware of the consequences of disobedience. This is, in essence, the biblical reason for man’s alienation from God and consequently, man’s spiritual death, but it goes further than that, according to the Bible.
Because the true God is love He longs for the restoration of the relationship, but it must take place in a righteous manner. The only righteous manner is to get man to return to Him voluntarily. It is, however, impossible for man to do so, except if someone else who qualifies, could take the punishment for the sin of man. Therefore, because of God’s love and man’s inability, God involved Himself with humanity, and more specifically with individuals (living in a world under the power of the evil one) who had a love for Him or a desire to know Him. God worked through these people and prepared a nation through which the Person would be born, who would bear the punishment for all and reconcile to God those who sought salvation. In what other just way could a God of love reconcile his alienated (spiritually dead) creature with Himself?
If the true God was not a God of love He would have created man without the ability to choose, in which case it would have been unnecessary to make commandments or laws, because no one would have had the ability to transgress. Alternatively, He could act more unloving by creating them with the ability to choose (freewill), but then force them to serve Him by using violence. Would it not have been better then to rather create them without this ability to choose at all? How just is a God who creates man with free will but then forces man, by using violence, to serve him?
The Bible will provide proof that Yahweh, the God of the Bible, is indeed a God of love. Therefore, if it can be established from Islam’s holy books (Quran and Hadith), that Allah is also a God of love and that he shares moral attributes with Yahweh, God of the Bible, it can then be concluded that they are, indeed, the same God (as is generally believed). If, however, it becomes clear that they do not share the same characteristics and attributes, it will be reasonable to conclude that they are not the same being.
This means that it needs to be determined what the holy books of these two religions, Islam and Christianity, teaches and what behaviour and life each of these religions portray. This study is certainly not about the opinions of people regarding these religions, but only about what their holy books teach concerning love, and the type of lifestyles these books promote.
If, during this process, there are statements made which readers find offensive, please be assured that this was not the intention. The intention is neither to offend anybody, nor is it to create feelings of resentment or hatred between religions, but only to search for truth. When a true representation of anything offends, the blame would lie in the nature of the fact and not the person who brought it to light. Every effort is made to represent the contents and teachings of the different holy books in an unbiased way. If the reader perseveres and finishes this book, he/she will realise that the motive for writing it is love, and a serious effort to convey the truth and nothing else.
The reader is invited, therefore, to finish reading this book and, if necessary, check all the citations in the sources mentioned to confirm their accurate quotation. Only then can a decision be made regarding the credibility. It is, unfortunately, a fact that not all Christians are always fully informed about all biblical doctrines, and likewise, there are Muslims who are not always aware of all the teachings of the Quran and the Hadith. There is a possibility that some of the citations might surprise some readers, Christians as well as Muslims.