God and Allah - are they the same?

Muslims praying to Allah in Indonesia

Let me begin by saying...I do not claim to be an expert on Islam in any way. I write this article because this question has burdened my heart. I have asked God for His wisdom and also talked to some friends, who work with Muslims, for their thoughts.

The question I want to address - Is Allah God?

The answer I have come up with is no and yes.

I'll begin with comparing Jehovah God to Allah in the Koran.

The god of Islam, Allah, as defined by the Koran, is seen as creator of the universe, all powerful and the One who determines the fate of all men...just as the Biblical God. But there are many ways in which they are not the same.

"Allah is presented in the Koran as an autocratic ruler who is aloof and arbitrary (Sura 5:40). Allah is unknowable whereas the God of the Bible is knowable (2 Timothy 1:12). Allah is impersonal, unlike the personal God the Scriptures reveal (1 Peter 5:6-7). Allah is unitarian (Sura 4:48) whereas the God of the Bible is trinitarian (2 Corinthians 13:14). Here is what the Koran says about the God of the Bible (Sura 4:171): “Believe in Allah and say not ‘Trinity.’ Cease! It is better for you! Allah is only One God. Far is it removed from his transcendent majesty that he should have a son.”

Allah is capricious (Sura 2:284), whereas the true God is trustworthy. And Allah is never anywhere presented as a god of love — which is the essence of the nature of the true God (1 John 4:7-16).

Jesus — The Koran denies point blank that Jesus was the Son of God (Sura 112:2-3). It also denies His atoning sacrifice by claiming that he never died (Sura 4:157). A substitute died for Him on the Cross. The Koran teaches that Jesus was translated to Heaven, like Enoch, where He will remain until He returns to kill all pigs, destroy all crosses, and convert the world to Islam. Jesus will marry, reign for 40 years and then die and be buried next to Muhammad in Medina. Jesus is characterized in the Koran as nothing more than “an apostle of Allah” (Sura 4:171). "

Source: The Truth About Islam Dr. David R. Reagan...to read more see God and Allah

There is much more you can read about this topic, so I will sum it up by saying that overall, the character and nature of Allah, as declared by the Koran and his followers, has some similarities but many differences to the character and nature of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. I do not believe that they are the same God at all. I do not believe that when Muslims pray to Allah and we pray to God our Father, that we are praying to the same God.

However, I do not want to stop here, which is where I believe so many Christians stop...which is where I stopped until recently.

As I spoke about in earlier blogs - A witness in every culture and in earlier ones,  The incredible power of God and Eternity in their hearts, for Christians to reach out to an entirely foreign people group, it is so important for them to find a culture key...something in that people group's culture that will help them relate to Jesus, that will open the door to the Gospel, that will show them that God has left a witness for Himself within their culture (Rom. 1:20, Acts 14:16-17, Romans 2:14-15 and Psalms 19:1-4).

I believe, as do many other Christians, that one of the main culture keys for the Muslims is the word Allah. Before I say anymore, I want to share with you the words from a friend of mine, Malath, who is a pastor in Iraq. He has worked with Muslims his whole life and knows much about sharing Christ with them.

"Allah is the name of God in Arabic. In our Arabic Bible, it is written Allah, so we are using the same term to express our faith in God. That is good because we consider that as a common ground between us.

However, the attributes of our God are totally different than Allah in Islam. Allah in Islam has 99 names and it is missing the one we have, which is "God is Love." So we use this name, "God is Love," to reach them (Muslims) and tell them that our God loves us and them as well. At our church in Iraq, we supply some food and children gifts to show them the love of our God.

Also Allah in Islam is very hard to reach or talk to, so we tell them it is not hard or impossible at all in Christianity. We as His people can be in fellowship with God...known to them as Allah. Also, as you know, there is no insurance of salvation in Islam, not like us, so you can use this also. All these things show to Muslims, in indirect ways, that our God is different than Allah in Islam."

So, while Allah and God are not the same God, the term "Allah" as referring to a creator and all-powerful God, can be used as a common bond, a culture key, a redemptive analogy, in order to introduce the God of the Bible to Muslims. This has been done by numerous Christians throughout the centuries...in fact, as Malath stated, the Arabic translation of the Bible uses Allah as the word for God.

This was reiterated by my missions teacher, Dr. Goodwin, himself a missionary for many years, who said, "My understanding, from talking with Egyptian Christians, is that the word Allah is simply the Arabic word for God.  The word was around a long time before Islam started."

The use of this culture key, by Christians, has not been lost on Muslim leadership. "Millions of Christians in Indonesia (which has the highest number of Muslims of any country but also has a sizable number of Christians) use Allah for God and Tuhan Allah for Lord God. Perhaps because of this, Indonesian Christians have been much more effective in winning Muslims to Christ than any other Christians. Let is also be known that Muslims in some Muslim nations, knowing the access the name Allah gives to the Muslim heart, are passing laws to forbid Christians from using it in reference to the Gospel of Christ," Don Richardson in Redemptive Analogy.  Malaysian Christians still banned from using "Allah" , Malaysian Muslims attack churches over Christian references to Allah

In conclusion, I do not believe that God and Allah are the same, however, when reaching out to Muslims, Christians can find common ground in the name "Allah" to reference a creator, all powerful God. They can use the Muslims' understanding of God as a beginning to an understanding of who Christ is. We as Christians must defend the tenants of our faith, but we must also diligently seek for ways to share Christ with those who have a hard time understanding that Jesus came to die for them.