Why should one believe Allah?

[Trailblazer]

Because the Bible has already prophesied Allah and Muhammad. The Bible has already predicted that another god would come who preaches a different gospel, also the Bible has said that this god will build his own house on the place where God's temple stood. And as we can see today, on this place today in Jerusalem stands a mosque.

Then why don't Christians believe in Muhammad?

 

[Nouman Farooqui]

The Arabic word for the Greek word "Theos" is "ilah" and not "Allah" in John's Gospel. It is not even really sure where the word "Allah" comes from, it is believed to be an amalgamation of the article "Al" and of the word "ilah".

Theos is the common word for God in the Greek New Testament. It normally refers to the true God. However it can also refer to false gods and even humans. The context must determine how it is to be understood.

ʾIlāh (Arabic: إله‎; plural: آلهة ʾālihat) is an Arabic term meaning "deity" or "god". The feminine is ʾilāhat (إلاهة, meaning "goddess");
Allah is the word for God in Arabic. Allah has no plural or feminine form.

ilah is used throughout the Quran in passages discussing the existence of God or the beliefs in other divinities by non-Muslims. Notably, the first statement of the šahādah (the Muslim confession of faith) is "There is no god (ʾilāh) except the God (Allāh)."

 

[Niblo]

The Arabic word for the Greek word "Theos" is "ilah" and not "Allah" in John's Gospel. It is not even really sure where the word "Allah" comes from, it is believed to be an amalgamation of the article "Al" and of the word "ilah".

I did not ask that your Christian Arab friends read John 1:1 in Greek, but in Arabic.

Helen Louise Herndon writes:

‘Since September 11, scores of commentaries have been written about terrorism and Islam, many from Christian leaders. It is remarkable how writers unfamiliar with the Arabic language have ventured comments, if not judgments, relating to the term Allah. It is as if anything to do with Allah must be demonized in order for us to feel righteous and justified.

‘In a news clip on KFUO-AM Radio in St. Louis, shortly after the 9-11 tragedy, Tim LaHaye, noted evangelical speaker and coauthor of the Left Behind series, said, “Allah is not the God the Bible. He is an evil spirit that results in murder.” I have to assume Tim LaHaye is not fluent in Arabic! He is, however, not alone in referring to a Qur’anic interpretation or concept of God. Many Westerners seem unaware that Allah is the God Arabic-speaking Christians worship. The Arabic Bible is replete with the word Allah, beginning with Genesis and ending with Revelation. Jesus Christ is even called the son of Allah in the Arabic Scriptures.

‘Arabic-speaking Coptic, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Maronite, evangelical, and Reformed Christians worship Allah, which is simply the word or term for God in another language. Islam does not hold a copyright to the term. In fact, Arab Christians existed before Islam appeared on the scene. Christians who worship Allah number in the millions, and their biblical version of Allah differs from the Qur’anic version. To demean or demonize the word for God in another language does a great disservice to believers who speak that language. Opportunities to win a hearing or dialogue between Christians and Arabic-speaking Muslims vis-à-vis Jesus Christ are also minimized.

‘It is time for all of us, especially Christians, to exercise caution when it comes to attacking the term for God in a language foreign to most of us. No other term exists in Arabic for the God Christians claim to be the one, true God. Western Christians do not normally use Hebrew terms for God in their languages. They cannot expect Arab Christians to use any other term or word for theirs. Allah is equivalent to the English God, the French Dieu, or the Spanish Dios.

‘Let’s exercise caution in speaking of Islam’s different tenets and not demonize Allah, who is found throughout the Old and New Testaments in the Arabic Bible, as is God in our English version. The apostle John said, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Allah, and the Word was Allah” (see John 1:1). We can join our Arab brothers and sisters in Christ who often say, “Allah be praised!”’ (Christian Research Journal, volume 25, number 1 (2002).

Here is John 1:1 in Arabic:

في البداية كانت الكلمة، وكانت الكلمة مع الله، وكانت الكلمة الله

And the transliteration:

‘Fi albad' kan alkalimat walkalimat kan eind Allah walkalimat kan Allah.’

Ask your Christian Arab friends to check this out for you.

 

[Teritos]

Theos is the common word for God in the Greek New Testament. It normally refers to the true God. However it can also refer to false gods and even humans. The context must determine how it is to be understood.

ʾIlāh (Arabic: إله‎; plural: آلهة ʾālihat) is an Arabic term meaning "deity" or "god". The feminine is ʾilāhat (إلاهة, meaning "goddess");
Allah is the word for God in Arabic. Allah has no plural or feminine form.

ilah is used throughout the Quran in passages discussing the existence of God or the beliefs in other divinities by non-Muslims. Notably, the first statement of the šahādah (the Muslim confession of faith) is "There is no god (ʾilāh) except the God (Allāh)."

As I said, where the word Allah comes from is not certain. But if we assume that Allah consists of the article Al and Ilah, then one could write Allah everywhere where "Ho Theos" is written in Greek. But if in the NT only the word Theos is written, then the correct translation into Arabic is Ilah and not Allah.
And the word Theos does not always have to point to false gods if it is not related to God. Theos means like the Hebrew word Elohim "mighty one", therefore also angels are called gods in the Bible, also Jews in the OT are called gods by God by saying: "Didn't I say you are gods"?

 

[McBell]

As I said, where the word Allah comes from is not certain.

Allah
Arabic name for the Supreme Being, 1702, Alha, from Arabic Allah, contraction of al-Ilah, literally "the God," from al "the" + Ilah "God," which is cognate with Aramaic elah, Hebrew eloah (see Elohim).
​

allah | Origin and meaning of the name allah by Online Etymology Dictionary​

 

[ecco]

Which eyewitnesses wrote about it? Where can we find their first-hand accounts?

Cornelius Tacitus (b. ca. 52-54 AD), for example, writes: "Christ had been executed under the leadership of Tiberius by the procurator Pontius Pilate" (Cornelius Tacitus, Annalen, p 740; XV. 44).

Author of Republican Rome. Tacitus, in full Publius Cornelius Tacitus, or Gaius Cornelius Tacitus, (born ad 56—died c. 120),
​

Tacitus was born 56CE

Jesus, as described in the New Testament, was most likely crucified on Friday April 3, 33 A.D.
​

Tacitus was not born when Jesus was allegedly crucified. Tacitus was not an eyewitness.

The Jewish general and historian Flavius Josephus (b. 37 A.D.) states that Jesus was condemned to death on the cross by Pilate (Flavius Josephus, vol. 1 515 f; XVIII.3.3).

Did you not understand what you wrote? Josephus was born 4 years after the alleged crucifixion.

Which eyewitnesses wrote about it? Where can we find their first-hand accounts?

eye·wit·ness
/ˈīˌwitnəs/


noun

1. a person who has personally seen something happen and so can give a first-hand description of it.
   

 

[ecco]

But the number of people converting to Christianity in US is about a third of those reverting to Islam.

What's your point? What does "reverting" to Islam mean?


Also...

Islam gains about as many converts as it loses in U.S.

 

[ecco]

The 35% is still a great deal of people to try and convert.

About the same amount are leaving both religions and three times more people are entering Islam than Christianity. I see a difference there that has nothing to do with coincidental statistics of population. Plus, both Christians and Muslims call their own people to the religion as well, namely the non-practicing ones and the deviated ones.

As a whole, the number of Christians is decreasing and the number of Muslims is increasing, without a doubt.

That's not true of American Muslims...

Islam gains about as many converts as it loses in U.S.

About a quarter of adults who were raised Muslim (23%) no longer identify as members of the faith, roughly on par with the share of Americans who were raised Christian and no longer identify with Christianity (22%), according to a new analysis of the 2014 Religious Landscape Study. But while the share of American Muslim adults who are converts to Islam also is about one-quarter (23%), a much smaller share of current Christians (6%) are converts. In other words, Christianity as a whole loses more people than it gains from religious switching (conversions in both directions) in the U.S., while the net effect on Islam in America is a wash.​

 

[ecco]

As a Muslim, I accept – without reservation – that Allāh (subḥānahu ūta'āla)) is our Creator and Lord; who can be known with certainty, by the natural light of reason from created things;
...
who is infinitely just and infinitely merciful.

Can this be said of any other Being?

Sure, anyone can say anything about any other entity. What's your point?

 

[ecco]

The god of Islam known as Allah is not the God of the Bible, since both contradict each other, one of them must be a deceiver.

Or, the people who wrote the stories about them were deceivers.

 

[Shakeel]

What's your point? What does "reverting" to Islam mean?


Also...

Islam gains about as many converts as it loses in U.S.

That people change religions and that of those who change their religion more people change to Islam than to Christianity. (according to these pew stats anyway)

Converts to Islam
Two-thirds (67%) of all converts to Islam in the U.S. came from Protestant churches, 10% came from Catholicism, and just 5% from other religions. Nearly one-in-seven converts to Islam (15%) had no religion before their conversion.

Islam gains about as many converts as it loses in U.S.
About a quarter of adults who were raised Muslim (23%) no longer identify as members of the faith, roughly on par with the share of Americans who were raised Christian and no longer identify with Christianity (22%), according to a new analysis of the 2014 Religious Landscape Study. But while the share of American Muslim adults who are converts to Islam also is about one-quarter (23%), a much smaller share of current Christians (6%) are converts. In other words, Christianity as a whole loses more people than it gains from religious switching (conversions in both directions) in the U.S., while the net effect on Islam in America is a wash.

In Islam it is said that all children are born as Muslims.

Sahih Muslim 2658e - The Book of Destiny - كتاب القدر - Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم)
Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:

No babe is born but upon Fitra. It is his parents who make him a Jew or a Christian or a Polytheist. A person said: Allah's Messenger, what is your opinion if they were to die before that (before reaching the age of adolescence when they can distinguish between right and wrong)? He said: It is Allah alone Who knows what they would be doing.

 

[Shakeel]

That's not true of American Muslims...

When I said their number increases, I meant as whole, not just through conversions.

 

[ecco]

In Islam it is said that all children are born as Muslims.

I guess that makes me an apostate. Yay! I'm free.

 

[ecco]

When I said their number increases, I meant as whole, not just through conversions.

Not according to the Pew study. At least read the part I quoted.

 

[Shakeel]

Not according to the Pew study. At least read the part I quoted.

I've read it numerous times. Can you point out exactly which part you're referring to?

 

[McBell]

There is only one creator, but many claim to be that creator.

You have not shown, outside wishful thinking, that there even is a creator involved.
Let alone only one.

The god of Islam known as Allah is not the God of the Bible

Many people agree with you.
But then,
Many people disagree with you.

since both contradict each other, one of them must be a deceiver.

Or both of them can be a deceiver.
Or it might be the followers who get it wrong.

And let us not forget all the possibilities that are not bound by logic...

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

There are many witnesses to the crucifixion, even the Jews recorded the death of Jesus in their Talmud. The Old Testament also prophecied the crucifixion. Jesus himself said that he would die on the cross as ransom for everyone who believes in it. So much evidence, but 600 years later a god suddenly comes along and says this without showing any evidence:
They certainly did not kill or crucify Jesus. (Quran 4:157)

The Quran also says about Allah:
Allah is the most cunning. (Quran 3:54)

And as we can see in the Bible, the question was not whether Jesus really died, but whether he was really raised from the dead, which many doubted, even the disciples themselves.

So why should I believe Allah? What are good arguments for it?

There is no reason at all to believe what the Qur'an says about Jesus. Even secular historians are in agreement that Christ was crucified. The Qur'an even misrepresents the Trinity. I don't know why it says those things, but it's bizarre and very incorrect.

 

[Trailblazer]

There is no reason at all to believe what the Qur'an says about Jesus. Even secular historians are in agreement that Christ was crucified.

#20 Trailblazer, Thursday at 1:57 PM

 

[Niblo]

Sure, anyone can say anything about any other entity.

Show me a Being who has all the attributes of Allāh (subḥānahu ūta'āla), and you will have shown me the Exalted, known by a different name.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

#20 Trailblazer, Thursday at 1:57 PM

That's interesting, but obviously I don't agree with that.