Last time we took a look at the history of Islam where it started.  We took a look at the key player Muhammad and compared Him to Jesus.   We also took a look at the Quran and compared it to the Bible.  Today we are going to look at Allah compared to God as well as the Five Pillars of Islam.  While I do go into a refute using the Bible at times, and give you tips to witness, we are really going to get to the witnessing in Part 3 of Islam.  I wanted to spend some time answering the questions you previously had.  We will do that at the end, there are even a few worked into the middle.     

Allah vs God 

In the Bible we have multiple words for God.  They have generally been reduced to God and Lord, but when you look at the Hebrew there are many different names.  I think the closest name to Allah is Yahweh.  At a glance you can say that Allah and Yahweh are the same god.  But the problem is that we also call God Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  They believe that there is only one god and that Jesus is a prophet and not God Himself.   

The question was raised last time about the name Allah appearing in the Bible.  There are a couple angles I want to take on this.  

1. In the original KJV or NKJV the name Allah does not appear.  However, there are people now changing the name of God and Jesus within the Bible to Allah and Messiah as to not offend the Muslims.  This is what we are now calling Chrislam.  Chrislam’s roots are actually from the 1970s in Nigeria, but we are seeing more and more American teachers intermingling the religions and teaching that they are the same.   

1. If you look at the original languages you will find the Aramaic word ellah.  This word is translated as God.  It is used 95 times in the Old Testament.  We find this word once in Jeremiah, and the remainder in Ezra and Daniel, the two books that are primarily written in Aramaic.  The word ellah is the basis for the name Allah as Aramaic is the root language for Arabic.  In Arabic the translation of god is allah.  It’s both a name and a word just like our word god.  Knowing that, there are Christian bibles translated into Arabic that would use the word allah because there is no other word for god in Arabic.   

Essentially what is happening is that we have the same word with two different meanings.  It is equivocation.  People who speak of them being the same are trying to use vague terms to mislead you.   

Let’s start comparing God and Allah.  Remember that Muslims are encouraged to read the Bible.  So if they are reading the Bible they theoretically know it.  When evangelizing to them you can use it to point out the errancies in Islam.   

Allah is not a personal god. You cannot have a personal relationship with him.  He does not personally manifest himself to those he is close to.  You can know Allah through his attributes such as mercy, justice, compassion, and wrath but the ultimate essence of God remains unknowable.  The emphasis of Islam is service, obedience and allegiance to Allah, it is not personal fellowship.  There is no concept of God as father at all.  This carries over into their actions.  I saw a video recently about ISIS, or what is now called IS.  They were interviewing this guy and he had a wife and kids.  They asked if he had gone home for the high holidays.  He said he would never go home as long as there are people under the oppression of Christianity and other religions.  He said this holy war they had started was the most important thing.  Allah was the most important thing and that meant leaving his family.  If God called me to leave my family I would have to do that, but I know that God will never call me to leave my family.  I am Titus’ father.  I have a role just like God the Father does with me.  To love him and teach him.  They are missing love in Islam, because Allah is not a loving god.   

John 17:3 “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only tue God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” 

In Ephesians and Romans and other places in the Bible it speaks of us as being adopted by God.  We are sons of God.  If you are the son of someone you have a personal relationship with that person. And we address God as the Father, which we talked about.  Jesus taught us to pray: Our Father in heaven.  We cry out Abba Father.  The word Abba is an informal Aramaic term for Father, connoting intimacy, tenderness, dependence.   

Allah is not Triune. This is a big sticking point.  Without the Trinity, Jesus cannot be God and there is no salvation by grace.  Per the Quran “O People of the Book (the Bible), exceed not the limits of your religion. And say not, three.  Deist, it is better for you.  Allah is only one God.” Sura 4:171.  It also says “They are all unbelievers who say, ‘God is the Third of Three. No god is there but one God.” Sura 5:73.   

It seems like the Ace in the hole for this topic is Genesis 1:1 where God is plural in the Hebrew. 

1 John 5:7 “For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.” – The Greek for word here is logos.  If you don’t know the connection of Logos to being Jesus let me know afterwards and I can take you through it.   

Matthew 28:19 “baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”   

Allah does not love sinners. The concept that Allah does not love sinners is repeated 24 times in the Quran.  Here are a few.  “And Allah loves not an ungrateful sinner” Sura 2:276.  “Allah surely loves not the disbelievers” Sura 3:32.  “Surely He loves not the prodigals” Sura 6:141.   

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” 

Also look at the Parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15.   

1 John 1:8 “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” 

1 John 4:7-8 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” 

1 John 4:19 “We love Him because He first loved us.”  

So it is pretty clear that Allah and our God are not the same.  They have totally different characteristics.  Only one of them is actually loving.  There are lot of references from 1 John, but that is because it is such a good reference for this topic.  The last reference for you, and the reason why I will follow the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is this, 1 John 3:16 “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us.” There is no other god proclaimed by any religion that truly loves them.  Loves them to the point that He would die for them.  The key to witnessing to people of other religions is just that.  My God, He died for me.   

Five Pillars of Islam 

Now that we have looked at who the Muslims believe Jesus to be, and we have looked at how Allah relates to God we should take a look at their belief system.  They have five doctrines or beliefs of faith as well as five pillars or obligations of their faith.   

Doctrine. There are five basic doctrines that they teach.  We have covered some of them already.   

1. Monothesitic.  There is only one true god and his name is Allah.  He is not part of a trinity and does not have a son.  He is all seeing, all knowing, all hearing, all speaking, all powerful, and all willing.   

1. Angels.  There is a hierarchy of angles, with Gabriel being the chief.  They believe that there are two angels attached to everyone, one to record good and the other to record bad.  This way there is an exact record for judgment.  This is funny since Allah knows everything.  This is also funny since everything is preordained.  If something good or bad happens it was preordained.  They also believe that angels were made from light and are slaves completely and utterly submissive to Allah.  They only speak what Allah tells them to.  That being said there is no way for Satan to be a fallen angel, so they have Jinns.  Jinns are unseen creatures made from fire.  There are good and bad Jinn.  Satan is one of these.   

1. Holy Books. The Quran is the infallible, inerrant scripture spoken directly from Muhamad to Gabriel and then from Gabriel to Muhammad.  The Torah, Psalms, and the gospels are considered inspired, but are corrupted.   

1. Prophets.  There allegedly have been 124,000 prophets including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, Jonah, John the Baptist, and Jesus.  But Muhammad was the last and greatest of them all.   

1. Judgment.  At the Day of Judgment, Allah will weigh a person’s good and bad and will decide them if they go to paradise or hell.   

Five Pillars. There are five things that every Muslim must do to appease Allah.  If a Muslim can fulfill all five pillars and remain in the faith he will make it to paradise.  If he performs the pillars and doesn’t remain in the faith he will not be saved.   

1. The Great Confession.  “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the prophet of Allah”.  This is the also known as the shahada or the great confession.  It is whispered into a person’s ear at birth and at death if possible.  
    
   This is the confession that Allah is the one and only true God, that Allah alone is worthy of worship, and that Allah alone is the sovereign lord who does what he wills with whoever he wills. It means that all his rules and laws found in the Koran are to be followed. It means that the Christian doctrine of God as a Trinity is false--as are all other belief systems including pantheism.  
    
   Muhammad is the true and greatest prophet of Allah, and recognition of Muhammad as the Prophet of God is required. It was through Muhammad that Allah conveyed the last and final revelation.  

1. Prayers.  Prayers known as salahs, are done five times a day each with a physical posture.  The call to prayer is sounded by a Muslim crier or muezzin from a tower called a minaret.  Prayer involves confession of sins, which begins with the purification of the body and ends with the purification of the soul. The first prayer is at dawn and the last at sunset. Prayers can be done individually or in groups any day except Fridays.  Fridays must be communal.   

1. Giving Alms.  Muslims are required to give 2.5% of their currency as well as giving of possessions for the cause of Islam. It helps the poor and allows the give to become more submissive to Allah.   

1. Fasting.  The fasting month of Ramadan is done to commemorate the first revelation of the Quran to Muhammad. Muslims fast during the day and are allowed to eat at sundown for the entire month.  The fast generally entails no eating, drinking or sexual relations during the day.   

1. Pilgrimage to Mecca.  This pilgrimage is required at least once in a Muslim’s lifetime if they are physically and financially able to.  The pilgrimage is also known as hajj and is considered to greatly enhance ones chances for salvation.  This is because it costs a lot do it.  Generally the pilgrimage must take place during the first half of the last month of the lunar year.   

1. Jihad. While Jihad is not traditionally one of the five pillars there are sects that are making it a pillar.  Essentially there are six pillars now.  I want to spend a little more time looking at this one right now because it is such a hot topic on the news.  With IS, formerly ISIS, and Hamas and all of these terrorist regimes running around we see Jihad a lot.  What is it really and does the Quran support it.   
    
   Essentially Jihad is interpreted as an internal struggle with oneself or a spiritual struggle.  It can also be considered as an external struggle or defending Islam.  There are four Jihad expressions: 

1. Jihad of the Tongue: Speaking about their faith 

1. Jihad of the Hand: Expressing their faith in good works 

1. Jihad of the Heart: Making their faith a force of good 

1. Jihad of the Sword: Defending their faith when under attack 

There are categories Jihad fall into, “Greater” and “Lesser”.  The “Greater” Jihad is considered to be the internal struggle a Muslim has to be a true believer and follower.  The “Lesser” is traditionally called the “Holy War” and launched against the enemies of Allah and Islam.   

When you speak to Islamic scholars they will tell you that the “Lesser” Jihad is “permitted only in self-defense or against tyranny and oppression--not as a tool to promote Islam”.  When you watch videos of interviews with IS they will continually tell the camera that they are being oppressed.  That they are liberating those Muslims who are surrounded by Christians.  They are freeing the people from the tyranny of the nations they live in.  And instead they are setting up their own government.   

Here is what the Quran has to say about Jihad.   

1."Truly Allah loves those who fight in His Cause in battle array, as if they were a solid cemented structure," (Surah 61:4).  

2."Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you but do not transgress limits . . . 191And slay them wherever ye catch them. and turn them out from where they have turned you out; for persecution is worse than slaughter; But fight them not at the sacred Mosque unless they (first) fight you there; But if they fight you, slay them. Such is the reward of those who reject faith. 192 But if they cease, Allah is oft-forgiving, Most Merciful. 193And fight them on until there is no more persecution. And the religion becomes Allah's. But if they cease, Let there be no hostility except to those who practice oppression" (The Qur'an, Surah 2:190-193).  

3."O ye who believe! what is the matter with you, that, when ye are asked to go forth in the cause of Allah, ye cling heavily to the earth? Do ye prefer the life of this world to the Hereafter? But little is the comfort of this life, as compared with the Hereafter.  Unless ye go forth, He will punish you with a grievous penalty, and put others in your place; but Him ye would not harm in the least. For Allah hath power over all things," (Surah 9:38-39). 

This is what the Hadith says about Jihad (remember that Hadith is the recordings of what Muhammad said and did) 

1."The Prophet said, "The person who participates in (Holy battles) in Allah's cause and nothing compels him to do so except belief in Allah and His Apostles, will be recompensed by Allah either with a reward, or booty (if he survives) or will be admitted to Paradise (if he is killed in the battle as a martyr). Had I not found it difficult for my followers, then I would not remain behind any sariya going for Jihad and I would have loved to be martyred in Allah's cause and then made alive, and then martyred and then made alive, and then again martyred in His cause" (Volume 1, Book 2, Number 35, Narrated Abu Huraira).  

2."Allah's Apostle said, "A pious slave gets a double reward." Abu Huraira added: By Him in Whose Hands my soul is but for Jihad (i.e. holy battles), Hajj, and my duty to serve my mother, I would have loved to die as a slave" (Volume 3, Book 46, Number 724: Narrated Abu Huraira).  

3."Allah's Apostle said, "Allah guarantees (the person who carries out Jihad in His Cause and nothing compelled him to go out but Jihad in His Cause and the belief in His Word) that He will either admit him into Paradise (Martyrdom) or return him with reward or booty he has earned to his residence from where he went out" (Volume 9, Book 93, Number 555: Narrated Abu Huraira). 

Answers to questions: 

1. Has anyone put the Quran in chronological order?   

1. Yes. There are places where you can go to find the correct chronological order of the book.  While looking into this I did find one other helpful bit of information:  
    
   Sura 2:106. Whatever a Verse (revelation) do We {Allah} abrogate or cause to be forgotten, We bring a better one or similar to it. Know you not that Allah is able to do all things? 
    
   So basically it is written into the Quran to not worry when the Quran contradicts itself because Allah can do what he wants and can change.  That is definitely not the God of the Bible.   
   Malachi 3:6 “For I am the Lord, I do not change.”  

1. Are there records of angels fighting? 

1. There is one record that I found.  It is the battle of Badr.  Like we discussed last time, after Muhammad started receiving his revelation from Gabriel he started preaching to people.  When Mecca was found to not be prosperous for him he left.  When they started to get bigger they started to attack caravans that were headed to Mecca.  The intent was just to steal from them.  Doing this they started a blood feud.  They got word one day of a very large caravan.  They mustered an army of about 300 people and went after it.  The Meccan army found out and dispatched to go protect it.  The Muslims were very out numbered, but there are several factors about the Meccan’s being demoralized by the time the battle began that potentially lead to their defeat.  The Quran records that thousands of angels descended from heaven and fought with them.  This is something they take as literal.  There were literally thousands of angels with them.  In the Hadith Muhammad is recorded as speaking about the role that Gabriel played in the battle.   

1. Sharia Law 

1. The Sharia law is taken directly from the Quran and the Hadith. Therefore, it cannot change.  However, the interpretation of it can vary based on the judge or Caliph (a caliph is a Muslim leader).  I struggled to find a complete list (and based on how extensive it is it would be very long), but I was able to find a few things for you. 

1. Theft is punishable by amputation of the right hand. 

1. Criticizing or denying any part of the Quran is punishable by death. 

1. Criticizing or denying Muhammad is punishable by death. 

1. Criticizing or denying Allah is punishable by death. 

1. A Muslim who becomes a non-Muslim is punishable by death. 

1. A non-Muslim who leads a Muslim away from Islam is punishable by death. 

1. A non-Muslim man who marries a Muslim woman is punishable by death. 

1. A man can marry an infant girl and consummate the marriage when she is 9 years old. 

1. Female circumcision is encouraged. 

1. A woman can have 1 husband, but a man can have 4 wives, except Muhammad he can have more. 

1. A man can unilaterally divorce his wife, but a woman needs her husband’s consent to divorce. 

1. A man can beat his wife for subordination. 

1. Testimonies of four male witnesses are required to prove rape against a woman. 

1. A woman who has been raped cannot testify in court against her rapist. 

1. A woman’s testimony in court, only allowed in property cases, carries half the weight of a man’s. 

1. A female heir inherits half of what a male inherits. 

1. A woman cannot drive a car.  

1. A woman cannot speak alone to a man who is not her husband or relative. 

1. Meat to be eaten must come from animals that have been sacrificed to Allah. 

1. Muslims should engage in Tagiyya and lie to non-Muslims to advance Islam. 

1. Genealogy of Muhammad 

1. Muslims do claim to produce the lineage of Muhammad all the way back to Adam.  I have brought a nice flow chart for you.  While the names don’t identically match I think because they are the Arab names, they do sound similar and do follow all the way to Abraham.   
    
   I provide this purely as in formation to you.  Remember what Paul wrote to Titus “But avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and useless.” Titus 3:9 

1. Fulfilment of Prophecies. 

1. As I started into this one there was a lot of junk that started flying around.  A lot of forums with people stating something regarding prophecies and then others refuting.  There are even webpages refuting other webpages.  To sift through all of this information and identify what is true or not would take a lot of time.  But more than that I was reminded of this.  The same verse from Titus as well as 2 Timothy 2:23 “But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife.”   
    
   While I want you to understand the religion, the main focus of this ministry is to prepare to witness to people.  In witnessing attacking prophesies is only going to cause strife.  One quick thing you see when you read these forums is that there is no winner in these arguments.  Stick to the basics.  Stick to salvation and the work of Jesus Christ.   
    
   If you want to know more I encourage you to go find it for yourself.  That being said I saw a list of 10 prophecies that Muhammad fulfilled.  The majority of them if not all of them came from the Hadith, not from the Quran.  Remember the Hadith is the sayings of Muhammad as recorded by others not the word given to Muhammad by Allah.   Of all these prophecies they all regarded war.  They were all fairly general, locations of battles, people who would be there to see a battle.  Not super fancy prophecies, but things that could be doctored, not easily but could be.  Nothing like predicting the birth place of the savior, or predicting his exact form of death 600-1000 years before it is invented.