Christianity and Islam are two of the most popular religions being practiced around the world. Both are believed to have a common Genesis whereby some of the teachings have some similarity. For instance, both acknowledge that there is one supernatural being who is God, commonly referred to as Allah in Islam. Consequently, some of the prophets in both religions are the same, for instance, Abraham in Christianity and Ibrahim in Islam. Similarly, some of the religious practices in both religions seem to complement one another. For instance, prayers and fasting are highly regarded in both although there are some conspicuous differences on how they are conducted. Islam dictates that, “You have to offer perfectly the five compulsory prayers in a …show more content…
According to Islam, “Mohammed is the greatest of prophets.” (Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, Deliverance from error, 17) Most of the teachings in the Quran are derived from Mohammed’s teachings and his way of life. On the other hand Christians consider Jesus as the only son of God something which is highly refuted and disputed by the Islam believers. According to Christianity, Jesus is the Messiah and therefore Christians should pray through him for their prayers to be meaningful. Islam does acknowledge Jesus but not as the son of God but as a prophet like any other religious prophet. As translated by Mohammed Aqib Farid, in the Quran Suras 4:157, 172, indeed Islam acknowledges Jesus, known as ‘Eisa’, but as a prophet. (Mohammed Aqib Farid, The Qur'an Sura 4: The Women, 14) Both Prophet Mohammed and Jesus bring the major bone of contention between the two religions, as each of the latter keep comparing their teachings and …show more content…
To some philosophers they even go ahead to question how a Divine Being (God) gave birth to a human being. (Tertullian, Study guide to Prescription against Heretics, 1) Apart from the Jesus’ and Holy Trinity’s controversies, some teachings between the two religions seem to contradict one another. For instance, according to Christian marriage institution, a man should only marry one wife. On the other hand, Islam allows marriage of more than one wife if the man can afford to sustain them. “…marry the women whom you like - two at a time, or three or four; then if you fear that you cannot keep two women equally then marry only one or the bondwomen you own; this is closer to your not doing injustice” (Mohammed Aqib Farid, The Qur'an Sura 4: The Women, 1) This is one practice that Christian seems to be considerably against thereby contradicting Islam. Question of the Ultimate Truth The superiority conflict between the two religions is somehow based on the question of truth. To begin with the Christian’s point of view, God’s word is the ultimate source of truth and every Christian should obey it without adding or subtracting anything. The main issue has been on how God’s word is interpreted and understood by the common man. As the article ‘Summa Contra Gentiles’ states, the Christian’s truth originates from