Over the last couple weeks, as I've been reading through the Qur'an, one thing has become clear: Allah is a name for the God of Abraham. This makes sense--Islam traces its lineage to Ishmael, son of Abraham, just as Judaism traces its history to Isaac, son of Abraham. While Genesis gives Isaac a special position among the sons of Abraham--he is the promised child whose lineage Messiah would come from--Ishmael is also favored by God and it is promised that he too will become a great nation (Genesis 21:18). Interestingly, Ishmael had 12 sons, just as Isaac did (Genesis 25:12-17). While Ishmael and his sons move to the east, the Hebrew Scriptures tend to have a positive view of them, for instance, associating wisdom with those in the East (1 Kings 4:30). Moreover, a number of righteous characters such as Job (Job 1:3) and Moses' father-in-law Jethro, a priest of Midian (modern Saudi Arabia), are from the East and are presented as offering true worship to the true God. This background helps explain the presence of wise men from the East at the opening of Matthew's gospel (an excellent sermon on this).
Recently, some Christian's have argued that Allah is not the same as the Christian God because Islam's Shahada which affirms the oneness of God in declaring that there is no God but Allah is inconsistent with the Christian understanding of God as trinity. However, the Hebrew Shema which plays a central role in Judaism, and was cited by Jesus as the climax of Torah, makes a very similar declaration ("the LORD our God, the LORD is one"; see Deuteronomy 6:4-9). Significantly, Christians have never held to the position that Jews who reject the the doctrine of the trinity worship a different God. Rather, the Christian community has readily acknowledged that the Hebrew Scriptures say very little to suggest the God of Abraham, YHWH, has a triune nature (although, through the lens of the New Testament, one can see suggestions of it present). Therefore, rather than claim that those who worship YHWH worship a different God, Christians have always held that they worship the same God as the Jews, but that something new (and incredibly important) has now been revealed about this God since the incarnation of Christ and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Indeed, the Qur'an outright rejects the divinity of Jesus. It presents God as One Person, rather than the Christian conception of God as three-Persons-yet-One. Here there is an authentic disagreement between Christians and Muslims, just as there is authentic disagreement between Christians and most Jews over the identity of the Person of Jesus. But all three groups worship the God of Abraham, the Creator of heaven and earth. Christians believe their Muslim and Jewish friends have missed a most important Revelation of this God, but that doesn't change the fact that all three groups worship the same God. Moreover, in Christian history there have been many great individuals such as Isaac Newton, or in the early Advent movement, James White and Uriah Smith, who, at least for a time, rejected the doctrine of trinity. Of course, looking back we might lament that they did and even say they took a heretical position, but we still regard them as worshipers of the true God.
In addition to trinity, there seems to be another factor at play in many of these conversations: eschatology, that is, the theology of last day events. You see, Revelation describes a series of battles between various political/religious groups resulting in the persecution of the righteous and leading up to the return of Christ. Many of these battle scenes are described with references to Israel and middle eastern geography and therefore, especially in recent decades, some Christians have seen various wars in the middle east as fulfilling these prophecies with Islam fulfilling the role of the antichrist figure in Revelation. There are, however, a number of problems to this view. Chiefly, this is a selective (and rather modern) reading of apocalyptic prophecy that disregards the theological development of the New Testament. For you see, the New Testament presents Christ as the New Israel (just as He is the New Adam). What this accomplishes is it spiritualizes the blessings of the covenant to those who are "in Christ" (eg. 2 Corinthians 1:20). In particular, this means the references to Israel and Mediterranean wars should not be read in the sense of literal wars in the middle east, but through the lens of a spiritual conflict not limited to a particular geography. You can read about this in The Deep Things of God and The Israel of God in Prophecy.
Of course, there is a spiritual system of confusion and persecution described by terms such as "Babylon", "the harlot", and "the beast" described in the Revelation. But the Revelation consistently describes this system using Roman and, more incredibly, Christian language. Rome would have made sense since the original audience of the Revelation was facing persecution from Rome for their refusal to participate in the cult worship of the Roman emperor. The fact that Christian language is also used to describe this system is more surprising (here are some study guides that walk through this), but it is consistent with the teachings of Paul and Jesus that the greatest danger the Church faced is that one day it would transform from a persecuted people to a persecuting people. In short, Revelation isn't warning against some other faith such as Islam when it describes a system of massive religious confusion and persecution. Rather, it is warning against what Christianity can become, especially when it lays hold of political force. Much of Christian history is a sad testimony to the accuracy of Revelation's prediction.
Fascinatingly, the Qur'an seems to have recognized this transformation of Christianity away from a pure faith:
"If only the People of the Book [Christians] had faith, it would be best for them. Among them are some who have faith, but most of them are perverted transgressors." [3:110]
"Not all of them are alike: of the People of the Book are a portion that stand for the right. They rehearse the Signs of Allah all night long, and they prostrate themselves in adoration. They believe in Allah and the Last Day. They enjoin what is right, and forbid what is wrong, and they hasten in emulation in all good works. They are in the ranks of the righteous." [3:113-114]
Notice, the Qur'an maintains a high regard for those who maintained an authentic faith, anticipated the last day, and lived righteous lives. As I look back at history, I can identify with those who rejected the Romanization of the Church into an empire, desiring a more authentic life of faith and obedience. Does this mean I agree with all of the teachings of the Qur'an? Not at all. The identity of the Person of Christ is central and I believe here the Qur'an gets it wrong. But I also see how Islam maintained other great teachings of the New Testament that the Christian Church largely disregarded for much of history, such as those highlighted in the passages above. Moreover, Protestants have long taken a favorable view of Islam if only because it seems the Protestant Reformation would have been quickly stopped if Turkish armies hadn't at a critical moment stole the attention of emperor Charles V long enough for the reformation to spread (see Great Controversy, Chapter 11).
Jesus taught his followers, "I have other sheep which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd." Notice, Jesus affirms that there are others that just as truly belong to Himself; moreover, He leaves the responsibility to Himself to guide them to Himself. What is the Christian's role in all this? At the end of the day, rather than seek to demonize or draw into question the worship of our Muslim friends, Christians should examine the purity of their own worship. Not only then will our good works lead others to glorify God (Matthew 5:16), but it will guard as against false security. After all, as Jesus reminded His disciples, simply knowing to call Him Lord does not constitute true worship:
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'" (Matthew 7:21-23)Jesus' teaching of the Day of Judgement highlights not only that many who thought they were living in service of Him were in fact not, but also that many were serving Him without ever realizing it (see Matthew 25:31-46). I'll close with a reflection on this judgement scene from The Desire of Ages:
How surprised and gladdened will be the lowly among the nations, and among the heathen, to hear from the lips of the Saviour, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me"! How glad will be the heart of Infinite Love as His followers look up with surprise and joy at His words of approval!
But not to any class is Christ's love restricted. He identifies Himself with every child of humanity. That we might become members of the heavenly family, He became a member of the earthly family. He is the Son of man, and thus a brother to every son and daughter of Adam. His followers are not to feel themselves detached from the perishing world around them. They are a part of the great web of humanity; and Heaven looks upon them as brothers to sinners as well as to saints. The fallen, the erring, and the sinful, Christ's love embraces; and every deed of kindness done to uplift a fallen soul, every act of mercy, is accepted as done to Him.
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