Islam 101
Islam, Judaism and Christianity
Family resemblances, honest differences
6 min, Intro
Islam sees itself as part of the same story as Judaism and Christianity: one God, Abraham, Moses and Jesus. It shares much with both. It also differs from each in important ways. This lesson sets those out fairly.
Draft written with AI help: awaiting scholar review
The thread
Judaism, Christianity and Islam all look back to one man, Abraham. This lesson starts at that shared root, then follows the branches: how the Qur'an speaks of Jews and Christians, how it honours Jesus, and where the three faiths honestly part ways.
One family tree
Go back far enough and three faiths meet in one man. Judaism, Christianity and Islam are often called the Abrahamic faiths, because each looks back to Abraham (Ibrahim) as a father of faith.
The Qur'an has its own way of describing him. It calls him a man of pure monotheism, "neither a Jew nor a Christian", but devoted to God alone.
Then the family tree branches. Arab tradition traces Muhammad's ﷺ ancestry to Abraham's son Ishmael (Isma'il). Muslims honour Isaac (Ishaq) as a prophet too.
مَا كَانَ إِبۡرَٰهِيمُ يَهُودِيࣱّا وَلَا نَصۡرَانِيࣱّا وَلَٰكِن كَانَ حَنِيفࣱا مُّسۡلِمࣱا وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ ٱلۡمُشۡرِكِينَ ٦٧
67 Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was a monotheist Muslim, and he was not one of the polytheists.
To Muslims, Abraham belongs to everyone who worships one God.
"People of the Book"
So how does the Qur'an speak about Jews and Christians? It gives them a name: Ahl al-Kitab, People of the Book, because they received earlier revelation.
That name comes with a distinct, respected place. Muslims may eat their food, and Muslim men may marry Jewish and Christian women.
The Qur'an also sets the manners for disagreement. It instructs Muslims to discuss faith with them "in the best manner", and to say: our God and your God is one.
۞ وَلَا تُجَٰدِلُوٓاْ أَهۡلَ ٱلۡكِتَٰبِ إِلَّا بِٱلَّتِي هِيَ أَحۡسَنُ إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُواْ مِنۡهُمۡۖ وَقُولُوٓاْ ءَامَنَّا بِٱلَّذِيٓ أُنزِلَ إِلَيۡنَا وَأُنزِلَ إِلَيۡكُمۡ وَإِلَٰهُنَا وَإِلَٰهُكُمۡ وَٰحِدࣰ وَنَحۡنُ لَهُۥ مُسۡلِمُونَ ٤٦
46 Do not argue with the People of the Book except in the best manner, unless with those of them who transgress [against you]. And say, “We believe in what is sent down to us and what was sent down to you, and our God and your God is One, and to Him we submit.”
The Qur'an asks Muslims to disagree with Jews and Christians in the best manner.
Jesus in the Qur'an
Jesus ('Isa) is one of the most honoured figures in the Qur'an.
The Qur'an calls him the Messiah. It affirms his virgin birth to Mary (Maryam). It describes his miracles. Mary herself is the only woman named in the Qur'an. A whole surah carries her name.
But the honour has a limit. The Qur'an rejects the belief that Jesus is God or the son of God, and Muslims do not accept the Trinity.
Most Muslims understand the Qur'an to say that Jesus was not crucified but raised to God, and that he will return before the end of time.
إِذۡ قَالَتِ ٱلۡمَلَٰٓئِكَةُ يَٰمَرۡيَمُ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُبَشِّرُكِ بِكَلِمَةࣲ مِّنۡهُ ٱسۡمُهُ ٱلۡمَسِيحُ عِيسَى ٱبۡنُ مَرۡيَمَ وَجِيهࣱا فِي ٱلدُّنۡيَا وَٱلۡأٓخِرَةِ وَمِنَ ٱلۡمُقَرَّبِينَ ٤٥
45 [Remember] when the angels said, “O Mary, Allah gives you glad tidings of a Word from Him, whose name will be the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary; honorable in this world and the Hereafter, and one of those near [to Allah].
قَالَ إِنِّي عَبۡدُ ٱللَّهِ ءَاتَىٰنِيَ ٱلۡكِتَٰبَ وَجَعَلَنِي نَبِيࣱّا ٣٠
30 Jesus said, “I am a slave of Allah. He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet.
In the Qur'an, Jesus is honoured as Messiah and prophet, but not as God.
Where the paths part
Put the three faiths side by side, and both the shared roots and the real differences show.
Start with Judaism. Islam and Judaism share a strict belief in one God, a sacred law covering daily life, dietary laws and a resistance to images in worship. They differ chiefly over whether Jesus and Muhammad were prophets.
Then Christianity. Islam and Christianity share reverence for Jesus and Mary and belief in a coming judgement. They differ on Jesus's divinity, the Trinity, the crucifixion and the idea of original sin. Islam teaches that every person is born pure and accountable only for their own deeds.
These are real differences, held seriously by believers on each side. Lantern explains them so that each can be understood, not to win an argument.
Understanding a difference is not the same as erasing it.