A Brief Summary of Islam, Part 1

A Brief Summary of Islam, Part 1
Wednesday, March 6, 2024 by Dr. James W. Walraven

Categories: Apologetics / Contemporary issues / The church / Thought for Today / Truth telling

As the chaos from the church move comes to an end, I’m getting back to normal studies and ongoing research projects. Along those lines, I’ve finally finished going through the Quran. I’ve got about 100 pages of quotes to organize, but that will come much later.

Next up, I will be going through more key writings that are central to Islam. I still intend to do a major almost book-length blog series on the topic, but for now that is months away. For a variety of reasons, that blog series will appear only on my website, not on either my Facebook page, or the church Facebook page.

For now, I’d like to do a short seven part series about what I’ve been learning from the Quran. When I do the formal blog series, I’ll be including extensive direct quotes from the Quran, as well as related footnotes and appendices that are also in my copy of the Quran. I’ll also reference several other books I haven’t read yet, but that is not my intention at this point.

In summary, what does Islam teach?

There are areas of overlap between the Quran, and the Christian Bible, such as we have it (in essence as we have it per Islam). First, God is described as the Creator and provider of all things. Of note, the Quran states that He created the world in six days.

The Quran also has much to say about the need for charity, to provide for widows and orphans, to care for the indigent, not unlike what we see in the Old Testament. Although details differ when compared to the Old Testament, there are also extended sections dealing with family relationships, allowable and forbidden sexual relationships in terms of marriage, laws concerning divorce, dietery requirements and restrictions, general communal laws, and other related concerns, as well as various actions that result in the death penalty.

Beyond these commonalities, things diverge significantly. Of greatest importance, Islam is the original, and one true religion. Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon, and many other historical Old Testament figures, were in fact devout Muslims, not Jews. Jesus and his (lower case is deliberate) disciples were all devout Muslims. The Quran quotes Jesus on a number of occasions where he states that he is not God, but just one who is faithful in giving God’s warnings. The Christian idea of “Trinity” is an outright lie, a hideous blasphemy against the One, singular, God.

Per Islam, both the Old Testament and New Testaments, as we now have them, are corrupt. Rather, the originals—the now long lost genuine writings, including the original Mosaic Law—were in line with Islamic teaching, teaching subsequently revealed and/or restored via Muhammad.

In the next post, we’ll look at what the Quran teaches about God, and a few other key topics.

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