God." In Western culture, it is commonly believed that the word Allah
is used exclusively by Muslims to describe their God, but this is not
actually true. The word Allah is used by Arabic speakers of all
Abrahamic faiths (including Christianity and Judaism) as meaning
"God." However, according to Islam, Allah is God's proper name, while
Christians and Jews know Him as YHWH or Yahweh. When Arabic-speaking
Christians use the word Allah, it is usually used in combination with
the word al-Ab. Allah al-Ab means "God the Father," and this usage is
one way Arab Christians distinguish themselves from Muslims.
Before the inception of Islam, most Arabs were polytheistic pagans,
believing in an unfeeling, powerful fate that could not be controlled
or altered or influenced by human beings. Muslims regard Muhammad as
the last and greatest prophet, and they credit him with restoring to
the Arabs the monotheistic faith of their ancestors. Islam and Judaism
both trace their spiritual lineage to Abraham, but the God-concept of
Islam is different from that of Judaism and Christianity in some
significant ways. Yahweh and Allah are both seen as omnipotent,
omnipresent, omniscient, and merciful. However, in both Judaism and
Islam, God's mercy is dependent, at least partly and many times fully,
on man's actions. The Islamic concept of Allah and the Jewish concept
of Yahweh both deny the triune nature of God. They eliminate God's
Son, Jesus, and they also eliminate the Holy Spirit as a distinct
Person of the Godhead.
Without Jesus, there is no provisionary salvation—that is, salvation
is based on man's effort rather than God's grace. Without the Holy
Spirit, there is no sanctification, no peace, no freedom (Romans 8:6;
2 Corinthians 3:17). Christians trust that by Jesus' death and
resurrection, along with the indwelling of His Spirit, sin is
forgiven, the conscience is cleansed, and the human soul is freed to
pursue God and goodness without the fear of punishment (Hebrews
10:22).
A Muslim may love Allah and wish to please Allah, but the question in
his mind will invariably be "is it enough? Are my works enough to
merit salvation?" Christians believe that God sent His Son, Jesus
Christ, to provide an answer to the question "is my work enough?" The
answer is, no, our work is not enough (Matthew 5:48). This is shocking
to anyone who has been trying on his own to appease God. But this was
the point of Jesus' famous Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1–48). The
Jews that Jesus spoke to, just like the Muslims who follow Allah, were
trapped by the knowledge that nothing they did would ever meet God's
perfect standard. But Christ's perfect life, atoning death, and
resurrection did meet God's standard (Hebrews 10:10; Romans 8:1–8).
Jesus' message to the Jews and His message now, to Muslims and
everyone else, is "repent and believe" (Mark 1:15). This does not mean
"stop sinning" and "believe that God exists." It means "turn from sin
and stop trying to please God by your own ability" and "believe that
Christ has accomplished everything for you." The promise to those who
trust Christ is that they will become the children of God (John 1:12).
Allah offers no such promise. Muslims believe Allah will be merciful
to them based on his evaluation of their performance. But salvation is
never sure; it is never a promise. When the Western world looks with
horror on things like jihad and acts of Islamic terrorism, they get a
glimpse of the powerful fear that Allah instills in his many of his
followers. Faithful Muslims are faced with a terrible choice: obey the
violent commands of an omnipotent deity whose mercy is given only to
the most passionate and devoted followers (and perhaps not even then),
or give themselves up as hopelessly lost and headed for punishment.
Christians should not regard Muslims with hatred, but instead with
compassion. Their god, Allah, is a false god, and their eyes are
blinded to the truth (see 2 Corinthians 4:4). We should be praying for
Muslims and asking God to show them the truth, revealing His promise
of mercy and freedom in Christ (2 Timothy 2:24–26).
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