According to the Koran, Allah’s unity, the tawhid, is stated in both positive and negative terms. That is to say, the Islamic holy book teaches unequivocally as to what Allah is and is not. For instance, the Koran speaks that “Allah is One” (112:1). He is a singular unity that is comprised of only one person sharing one being over against the—from a Muslim point of view—aberrant Christian understanding of the Godhead. To Muslims, the Christian perspective of God is blasphemous and amounts to shirk, idol worship. The Koran goes to great lengths to repudiate the God of Christianity and makes clear references to the religion when it states, “He begot none, nor was He begotten. None is equal to Him” (112:1–4). The reference is clearly a denial of God begetting Christ or the latter being begotten by the former (cf. Ps 2:7; John 1:18, 3:16; 2 Cor 5:21; 1 John 4:9; etc.). Allah is not three, but one. Indeed, the Trinity is clearly antithetical to the monotheistic concept of Allah as revealed in the Koran. “Unbelievers are those who that say: ‘Allah is one of three.’ There is but one God” (5:73).
Jesus Christ, therefore, is not to be equated with Allah as the Christians do. “Unbelievers are those who declare: ‘Allah is the Messiah, the son of Mary’ (5:17; 72). Moreover, Jesus is said to be “no more than an apostle” (5:75). The unbeliever, namely, Christians, who continue to equate Jesus with God and refuse to repent, will be “cast into the fire of Hell” (5:73–74). Just as Yahweh was serious about placing anyone or anything before or beside Him, the Koran forbids the same practice. While adherents of both religions claim monotheism, Yahweh, as revealed in the New Testament, has manifested Himself as three persons sharing one being (Trinitarianism), while the Koran teaches Unitarianism. Any other view, as the Koran stresses, abrogates the clarity of the holy book and amounts to polytheism.
In attempting to help believers understand Allah more fully, the Koran reveals some of the attributes or qualities of God. It speaks highly of his mercy and forgiveness (4:110; 6:12; 8:38), though severely of those who fail to submit wholeheartedly to him both in this life and the one to come (8:38–39; 41:28, 40–42). Furthermore, Allah, similar to the God of the Jews and Christians, sees all things (40:20), is omnipresent (2:115; 7:7), possesses omniscience (2:268; 10:61), is omnipotent (6:61–62; 5:19), and created the universe and all its inhabitants (2:29; 3:191; 6:1; 46:33). Without question, Allah manifests all of these attributes and many more. He is not limited by anyone or anything. In fact, he is eternal; he is infinite (112:1). It would seem, therefore, that the Muslim could rightly proclaim as Matthew did that with God all things are possible (Matt 19:26).
Allah is also love but not in the same sense as Yahweh is love. In Islam, the greatest act of love Allah accomplished is that he forgives some of their sins. More than this, he also provides sustenance for his creation, gives families and friends, shows mercy to the believing, and gave humanity his divine revelation in the Koran. It could also be said that an aspect of his love is persistence in that Allah does not immediately destroy unbelievers but grants them repeated opportunities to repent of their wrongdoing and unfaithfulness and submit wholly to him.
That Allah is good and righteous means the faithful follower can spend eternity with him in Paradise provided he has fulfilled all the conditions necessary for eternal life. Salvation is granted to all who perform good deeds. “Blessed is the reward of those who do good works” (3:134–139). However, good works are not enough to gain entrance into paradise. Faith must be present and active alongside of deeds. Indeed, Allah promises believers who exercise faith and perform good works will have an eternal reward (5:9). This is not to say, however, that one can earn the forgiveness of Allah. In fact, one must rely upon Allah’s grace and mercy in order to achieve forgiveness and salvation in paradise. The reward of everlasting life with him is based upon his grace. “Allah chooses whom He will for His mercy. His grace is infinite” (2:105; cf. 8:29).
For the wrongdoer, however, his fate is far worse. The one who refuses to submit himself to Allah, believe in him, and fails to perform good deeds, will face unimaginable suffering on the Day of Judgment when his fate will be sealed. Allah prepared a fire for him wherein he will scream out for water in agony, only to receive scolding water and persist in a place where there is no rest (18:30; cf. 3:131; 19:59–61).
Since one’s ultimate destiny will determine whether he goes to heaven or hell, the followers of Islam attempt to placate Allah through their own efforts. This is necessary since there is no intercessor who pleads on the behalf of another, as the Christians with the intermediary, Christ. Therefore, one must continue to be obedient toward Allah, obey his commands as expressed in the Koran, exercise faith, and repent sincerely so that he may be forgiven (3:16).
Those who fail to do all these commands, after having been justly warned by the revelation of the Koran and the prophets, will deservedly be punished for his obstinacy (3:77). In hell, the impenitent and unfaithful will face eternal torment, suffering that will “assail them from every side, yet they shall not die” (14:17). Whether the pictures described in the Koran are literal or metaphorical and much like the Christian view of hell, the reality is that the suffering endured there is unimaginable and far worse than even the human mind can comprehend.
As painful as hell is, however, heaven is the antithesis of perdition. Paradise is a blissful state in a “lofty garden,” replete with fruit to enjoy, to eat and drink to one’s content (69:21–24). Moreover, and perhaps more importantly, believers who enter into paradise—for those who had faith and did good works—will be “wedded to chaste virgins” (4:57). That one receives these promised blessings, therefore, is incumbent upon his continual faith, obedience, and submission to Allah and his word and be accompanied with a sincere repentance of sins. If he does that, he does not have to worry about suffering through an eternity of hell but will receive the loving-kindness of Allah’s mercy and grace (3:135; 7:8-9; 49:14). And if one thinks he will live his life in a self-serving manner, only to repent at his final breath, he is sorely mistaken. For with Allah, he is not to be deceived. “Allah is wise and all-knowing. But Allah will not forgive those who do evil all their lives and, when death comes to them, say: ‘Now we repent!’” (4:18).
When working through the Koran, one cannot help but to reach the conclusion that Judaism and Christianity played an integral role in shaping the thoughts of Muhammad and can be seen through many parallels in his teaching and thinking. That said, however, it is also evident that Islam defines itself in response to the latter and is Muhammad’s attempt at rehabilitating the teachings of which he was aware. The student of Christianity might easily come to the conclusion the prophet Muhammad was confused on a number of Christian teachings and attempted to amalgamate a hybrid between Judeo-Christian beliefs and what he believed to be true concerning the nature of God and what would prove most beneficial to him and the advancement of his own personal agenda. Reading through the Koran, therefore, was truly an exercise in patience in seeing an attempt made to improve upon the doctrine of God, man, sin, salvation—among many others—but failing miserably on the most fundamental level. That which is theopneustos cannot be improved upon as the Koran so amply demonstrates.
