# Islam

> Claims that come up in conversation about Islam, with a short answer and the texts to open.

Page: https://apologetics.wiki/common-arguments/islam

Hub: https://apologetics.wiki/common-arguments

Shelf: https://apologetics.wiki/islam

## The Bible and the Qur’an

### The Bible Christians read was corrupted, so it is no longer the Torah and the Gospel God revealed.

What you will hear.

The Qur’an’s tahrif verses speak of concealing, misreading, and twisting words, and the biblical text is substantially the same before and after Muhammad.

Texts: [Qur’an 2:75](https://quran.com/al-baqarah/75), [Qur’an 2:79](https://quran.com/al-baqarah/79), [Qur’an 4:46](https://quran.com/an-nisa/46), [Qur’an 5:13](https://quran.com/al-maidah/13), [Sahih al-Bukhari 7363](https://sunnah.com/bukhari:7363)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/was-the-bible-corrupted)

### The Qur’an affirms the Torah and the Gospel as God’s word, present in Muhammad’s day, and then contradicts what those books say about Jesus.

A Christian objection.

If those books were God’s word, the Qur’an contradicts God. If they were not, the Qur’an was wrong to treat them as revealed, present, and binding.

Texts: [Qur’an 5:47](https://quran.com/5/47), [Qur’an 10:94](https://quran.com/10/94), [Qur’an 4:157](https://quran.com/4/157), [1 Corinthians 15:3](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/1-corinthians/15/3)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/the-islamic-dilemma)

### The Islamic dilemma fails: the Qur’an confirms the original Torah and Gospel, and the Bible Christians read was corrupted.

What you will hear.

The Qur’an tells the People of the Gospel to judge by the Gospel they have, and the manuscripts of that Gospel predate Muhammad.

Texts: [Qur’an 5:48](https://quran.com/5/48), [Qur’an 2:79](https://quran.com/2/79), [Sahih al-Bukhari 7363](https://sunnah.com/bukhari:7363), [Qur’an 6:115](https://quran.com/6/115)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/the-islamic-dilemma)

### When the Qur’an says it confirms the earlier scriptures, it means the original Torah and Gospel, not the Bible Christians read today.

What you will hear.

The Qur’an speaks of those books as present with the people of Muhammad’s day, and it tells them to judge by the Gospel they have.

Texts: [Qur’an 3:3](https://quran.com/ali-imran/3), [Qur’an 5:47](https://quran.com/al-maidah/47), [Qur’an 10:94](https://quran.com/yunus/94)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/does-the-quran-confirm-the-bible)

### Qur’an 5:47 tells the People of the Gospel to judge by what God revealed in it, and Qur’an 10:94 tells Muhammad to ask those who have been reading the Book before him.

A Christian objection.

Those verses put the Torah and the Gospel in people’s hands in the seventh century. A corruption story that removes that Bible also removes the book the Qur’an tells them to use.

Texts: [Qur’an 5:47](https://quran.com/al-maidah/47), [Qur’an 5:48](https://quran.com/al-maidah/48), [Qur’an 10:94](https://quran.com/yunus/94), [Matthew 5:17](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/matthew/5/17)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/does-the-quran-confirm-the-bible)

### The Injil was a book given to Jesus himself, and it is not the four Gospels.

What you will hear.

The Qur’an speaks of a Gospel Christians already had and could judge by. In the New Testament the gospel is the message about Jesus in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Texts: [Qur’an 5:46](https://quran.com/al-maidah/46), [Qur’an 5:47](https://quran.com/al-maidah/47), [Mark 1:1](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/mark/1/1)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/what-is-the-injil)

### Paul invented Christianity by turning the prophet Jesus into a divine saviour.

What you will hear.

The death, resurrection, and deity of Jesus are in the Gospels and in a creed Paul says he received. The Jerusalem apostles accepted his gospel.

Texts: [1 Corinthians 15:3](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/1-corinthians/15/3), [Galatians 2:9](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/galatians/2/9), [Qur’an 3:52](https://quran.com/ali-imran/52)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/did-paul-invent-christianity)

### Nothing is like Allah, so he cannot be seen and he is not Jesus.

What you will hear.

The Qur’an says nothing is like him and also speaks of his Face, the Throne, and faces looking at their Lord. Christians say the Son is the image of the invisible God.

Texts: [Qur’an 42:11](https://quran.com/42/11), [Qur’an 6:103](https://quran.com/6/103), [Colossians 1:15](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/colossians/1/15)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/what-does-allah-look-like)

### The Qur’an was carefully collected under Abu Bakr and Uthman, and God has guarded its text.

What you will hear.

Sahih al-Bukhari records that collection, the burning of other copies, and a companion’s objection. That history is the fair comparison when the Bible’s manuscripts are challenged.

Texts: [Qur’an 15:9](https://quran.com/al-hijr/9), [Sahih al-Bukhari 4986](https://sunnah.com/bukhari:4986), [Sahih al-Bukhari 4987](https://sunnah.com/bukhari:4987)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/how-was-the-quran-compiled)

### The Qur’an has never been changed. God promised to guard it, and one text has come down intact.

A Christian objection.

Qur’an 15:9 is the promise. Sahih al-Bukhari also records a later collection, the burning of other copies, and verses companions said they recited that are not in the collected book.

Texts: [Qur’an 15:9](https://quran.com/al-hijr/9), [Sahih al-Bukhari 4987](https://sunnah.com/bukhari:4987), [Sahih al-Bukhari 6830](https://sunnah.com/bukhari:6830)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/has-the-quran-been-changed)

### There is only one Qur’an. The readings are ways of reciting it, not different wording or different books.

What you will hear.

Bukhari 4992 reports seven ahruf. Sunni scholarship later counted seven, then ten, canonical readings. Printed Hafs and Warsh differ at Qur’an 2:184, and companions disputed one another’s recitation.

Texts: [Sahih al-Bukhari 4992](https://sunnah.com/bukhari:4992), [Qur’an 2:184](https://quran.com/2/184?translations=20), [Qur’an 15:9](https://quran.com/al-hijr/9), [Sahih al-Bukhari 4986](https://sunnah.com/bukhari:4986)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/how-many-versions-of-the-quran-are-there)

### Muslims and Christians worship the same God, the God of Abraham.

What you will hear.

Both confess one God and reject many gods. Christians also confess that this one God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and that Jesus is God.

Texts: [Qur’an 112:1](https://quran.com/al-ikhlas/1), [Deuteronomy 6:4](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/deuteronomy/6/4), [John 1:1](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/1/1)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/do-muslims-and-christians-worship-the-same-god)

### Allah is simply the Arabic word for God, so the God of the Qur’an is the God of the Bible.

What you will hear.

The word can name God. The Qur’an says God has no son. The Bible says the Word was God, and Jesus is the Son.

Texts: [Qur’an 3:18](https://quran.com/3/18), [Qur’an 5:72](https://quran.com/5/72), [Qur’an 112:1](https://quran.com/112/1), [John 1:1](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/1/1), [Mark 15:34](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/mark/15/34)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/who-is-allah)

## Who Jesus Is

### God cannot have a son, because he does not beget and has no consort.

What you will hear.

Christians deny a physical begetting too. The Son is the eternal Son, not a child God produced with a partner.

Texts: [Qur’an 19:88](https://quran.com/maryam/88), [Qur’an 112:1](https://quran.com/al-ikhlas/1), [Qur’an 5:18](https://quran.com/al-maidah/18), [John 1:18](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/1/18)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/can-god-have-a-son)

### The Qur’an forbids saying “three,” and Christians worship God, Jesus, and Mary.

What you will hear.

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one God. A triad of God, Jesus, and Mary is not the Trinity, and Christians reject it.

Texts: [Qur’an 4:171](https://quran.com/an-nisa/171), [Qur’an 5:73](https://quran.com/al-maidah/73), [Qur’an 5:116](https://quran.com/al-maidah/116), [Deuteronomy 6:4](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/deuteronomy/6/4), [Matthew 28:19](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/matthew/28/19)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/the-trinity)

### Jesus is the Messiah, a word from God, and a spirit from him, and he is still a created prophet.

What you will hear.

Those titles are the Qur’an’s own honours. The Gospel says the Word who was God became flesh.

Texts: [Qur’an 3:45](https://quran.com/ali-imran/45), [Qur’an 4:171](https://quran.com/an-nisa/171), [John 1:1](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/1/1), [John 1:14](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/1/14)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/jesus-in-the-quran-and-the-gospels)

### If Jesus prayed, called the Father greater, and did not know the hour, he cannot be God.

What you will hear.

The Son truly became man. Texts about his human life do not cancel the texts that call him God.

Texts: [Mark 13:32](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/mark/13/32), [John 14:28](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/14/28), [John 17:3](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/17/3), [Qur’an 19:30](https://quran.com/maryam/30)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/if-jesus-is-god-why-did-he-pray)

### By the Qur’an’s own descriptions of what God alone does, Jesus does those same things in the Gospel.

A Christian objection.

The Qur’an says God gives life, is the First and the Last, and comes with the angels. The Gospel says Jesus does the same.

Texts: [Qur’an 22:6](https://quran.com/al-hajj/6), [Qur’an 57:3](https://quran.com/al-hadid/3), [Qur’an 89:22](https://quran.com/al-fajr/22), [John 5:21](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/5/21)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/does-jesus-do-what-only-god-does)

### Jesus was not crucified. It was made to appear so, and God raised him.

What you will hear.

The crucifixion is in the four Gospels, in the creed Paul received, and in Tacitus. Jesus said it would happen.

Texts: [Qur’an 4:157](https://quran.com/an-nisa/157), [Mark 15:24](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/mark/15/24), [1 Corinthians 15:3](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/1-corinthians/15/3)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/did-jesus-die-on-the-cross)

### Jesus was a Muslim, because the Qur’an calls his disciples Muslims.

What you will hear.

The Qur’an uses that word for people who submit to God, including Abraham. Jesus recited the Shema, prayed to the Father, and was crucified, which the Qur’an denies.

Texts: [Qur’an 3:52](https://quran.com/ali-imran/52), [Qur’an 3:67](https://quran.com/ali-imran/67), [Mark 12:29](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/mark/12/29), [Qur’an 4:157](https://quran.com/an-nisa/157)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/was-jesus-a-muslim)

### Jesus never said he was God. He was a prophet who prayed to God.

What you will hear.

He forgave sins, said “Before Abraham was, I am,” and “I and my Father are one,” and Thomas called him “My Lord and my God.” Prayer to the Father means the Son is not the Father.

Texts: [Mark 2:5–7](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/mark/2), [John 8:58](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/8/58), [John 10:30](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/10/30), [John 20:28](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/20/28), [Qur’an 5:72](https://quran.com/al-maidah/72)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/is-jesus-god)

### God did not become a man. The incarnation says what the Qur’an denies.

What you will hear.

The Catechism says the Son of God assumed a human nature and remained truly God. John 1:14 says the Word was made flesh. The Qur’an says he neither begets nor is born.

Texts: [John 1:14](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/1/14), [Philippians 2:6](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/philippians/2/6), [Qur’an 4:171](https://quran.com/4/171), [Qur’an 112:1–4](https://quran.com/112/1-4)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/what-is-the-incarnation)

### “My God, why have you forsaken me?” shows Jesus was not God, or that he was not the one on the cross.

What you will hear.

The sentence is Psalm 22:1. The psalm ends with God hearing the sufferer. The cry is the Son bearing sin, inside the crucifixion the Qur’an denies.

Texts: [Mark 15:34](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/mark/15/34), [Psalm 22:1](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/psalms/22/1), [Psalm 22:24](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/psalms/22/24), [Qur’an 4:157](https://quran.com/an-nisa/157)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/my-god-my-god-why-have-you-forsaken-me)

## Muhammad

### Muhammad was a real man in Mecca and Medina, and that is why he is a prophet.

What you will hear.

The Qur’an names him, and the biography dates his death to 8 June 632. A man in Arabia is not the same claim as a prophet after Jesus, whom Thomas calls Lord and God.

Texts: [Qur’an 33:40](https://quran.com/33/40), [Qur’an 3:144](https://quran.com/3/144), [John 20:28](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/20/28)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/was-muhammad-a-real-person)

### Hadith describe Muhammad’s height, color, and hair, so that description is the pattern to follow.

What you will hear.

Sunni reports say medium height, neither absolutely white nor deep brown. The Qur’an calls him a pattern and does not give that list. Christians follow Jesus, who is God.

Texts: [Sahih al-Bukhari 3547](https://sunnah.com/bukhari:3547), [Qur’an 33:21](https://quran.com/33/21), [John 1:1](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/1/1)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/what-did-muhammad-look-like)

### Jesus foretold a messenger named Ahmad, and the Helper in John 14–16 is Muhammad.

What you will hear.

John’s Helper is the Holy Spirit, who stays with the disciples, teaches them, and glorifies Jesus. No Gospel manuscript says Ahmad.

Texts: [Qur’an 61:6](https://quran.com/as-saf/6), [John 14:16](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/14/16), [John 14:26](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/14/26)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/is-muhammad-the-paraclete)

### Islam has a fixed number of prophets, and Muhammad is the last.

What you will hear.

The Qur’an names messengers and says some stories were not told. It does not print a total. It calls Muhammad the seal. Christians say God has spoken by the Son, who is God.

Texts: [Qur’an 4:164](https://quran.com/4/164), [Qur’an 33:40](https://quran.com/33/40), [Hebrews 1:1](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/hebrews/1/1)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/how-many-prophets-are-there-in-islam)

### Muhammad could not read or write, so the Qur’an is a miracle.

What you will hear.

The Qur’an calls him the unlettered prophet, and the same root is also “unlearned.” A treaty report says he wrote or had the line written. Letters do not make him a prophet after Jesus.

Texts: [Qur’an 7:157](https://quran.com/7/157), [Qur’an 29:48](https://quran.com/29/48), [Sahih al-Bukhari 3](https://sunnah.com/bukhari:3)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/was-muhammad-illiterate)

### Muhammad is the prophet like Moses in Deuteronomy 18, the one the Qur’an says is written in the Torah and the Gospel.

What you will hear.

Deuteronomy 18 promises a prophet from among Israel, and the New Testament applies that promise to Jesus. The Torah and the Gospel do not name Muhammad.

Texts: [Deuteronomy 18:15](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/deuteronomy/18/15), [Acts 3:22](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/acts/3/22), [Qur’an 7:157](https://quran.com/al-araf/157)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/is-muhammad-the-prophet-of-deuteronomy-18)

## Practice and Law

### A mosque is the house of worship, and prayer faces Mecca.

What you will hear.

The Qur’an says the masjids are for Allah and turns the face toward the Sacred Mosque. Jesus says the Father is worshiped in spirit and truth, not on one mountain.

Texts: [Qur’an 72:18](https://quran.com/72/18), [Qur’an 2:144](https://quran.com/2/144), [John 4:24](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/4/24)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/what-is-a-mosque)

### Islam honors women, and men and women are equal in the Qur’an.

What you will hear.

The Qur’an says a woman’s work is not lost, and it also puts men in charge, gives a son twice a daughter’s share, and counts two women as witnesses for one man. Christians say male and female are both in the image of God, and that Jesus is God.

Texts: [Qur’an 3:195](https://quran.com/3/195), [Qur’an 4:34](https://quran.com/4/34), [Qur’an 4:11](https://quran.com/4/11)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/women-in-islam)

### Aisha was a child when Muhammad married her.

A Christian objection.

Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim record her saying she was married at six and that the marriage was consummated at nine. Qur’an 33:21 calls Muhammad an excellent pattern.

Texts: [Sahih al-Bukhari 5133](https://sunnah.com/bukhari:5133), [Sahih Muslim 1422](https://sunnah.com/muslim:1422), [Qur’an 33:21](https://quran.com/al-ahzab/21)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/how-old-was-aisha)

### Muslims go to a paradise of gardens, rivers, and spouses.

What you will hear.

The Qur’an describes that garden and the Fire, and it includes believing women. Christians hope for the Father’s house through Jesus, not for that garden.

Texts: [Qur’an 2:25](https://quran.com/2/25), [Qur’an 9:72](https://quran.com/9/72), [John 14:2](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/14/2)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/do-muslims-believe-in-heaven)

### Muslims believe in one God, his angels, his books, his messengers, the Last Day, and divine decree, and they practice the testimony, prayer, zakat, fasting, and Hajj.

What you will hear.

Those are the lines the Qur’an and a Sunni hadith name. Christians confess that the one God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and that Jesus is God.

Texts: [Qur’an 4:136](https://quran.com/4/136), [Qur’an 3:19](https://quran.com/3/19), [Sahih al-Bukhari 8](https://sunnah.com/bukhari:8), [John 1:1](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/1/1)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/what-do-muslims-believe)

### Islam and Christianity worship the same God and honor the same Jesus, and the remaining differences are secondary.

What you will hear.

Both speak of one God and of Jesus. They divide on whether Jesus is God, whether he was crucified, and whether God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Texts: [Qur’an 4:171](https://quran.com/4/171), [Qur’an 4:157](https://quran.com/4/157), [John 1:1](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/1/1)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/islam-vs-christianity)

### Jihad in the Qur’an means only a personal, inner struggle, not fighting.

What you will hear.

Some verses speak of striving with the Qur’an. Other verses command fighting, including the sword verse. Sahih al-Bukhari 25, a Sunni hadith, says he was ordered to fight until people testify, pray, and give zakat.

Texts: [Qur’an 25:52](https://quran.com/25/52), [Qur’an 9:5](https://quran.com/9/5), [Qur’an 2:190](https://quran.com/2/190), [Sahih al-Bukhari 25](https://sunnah.com/bukhari:25)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/what-does-jihad-mean)

### Islam does not punish a person for leaving the religion.

What you will hear.

The Qur’an says there is no compulsion in religion. Sahih al-Bukhari 6922 and Sahih Muslim 1676a, Sunni hadith, order death for the one who changes his religion or leaves the community.

Texts: [Qur’an 2:256](https://quran.com/2/256), [Sahih al-Bukhari 6922](https://sunnah.com/bukhari:6922), [Sahih Muslim 1676a](https://sunnah.com/muslim:1676a)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/what-does-jihad-mean)

### Muslim women wear a covering because the Qur’an commands it, and the reports differ on the face.

What you will hear.

Qur’an 24:31 tells believing women to draw their head coverings over their chests. Qur’an 33:59 gives the outer garment so they will be known and not abused. Bukhari 4758 describes heads and faces covered. Abu Dawud 4104 points to the face and hands, and Abu Dawud calls that report mursal.

Texts: [Qur’an 24:31](https://quran.com/24/31), [Qur’an 33:59](https://quran.com/33/59), [Sahih al-Bukhari 4758](https://sunnah.com/bukhari:4758), [Sunan Abi Dawud 4104](https://sunnah.com/abudawud:4104)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/why-do-muslim-women-wear-the-hijab)

### Sharia is one statute book that every Muslim country applies in the same words.

What you will hear.

Britannica says sharia is considered divine and immutable, and that fiqh, the human effort to state it, is changeable. The Qur’an speaks of an ordained way and of a law and a method. Sunni schools are named on the Sunni page.

Texts: [Qur’an 45:18](https://quran.com/45/18), [Qur’an 5:48](https://quran.com/5/48), [Britannica, fiqh](https://www.britannica.com/topic/fiqh)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/what-is-sharia-law)

### A Christian and a Muslim may marry.

What you will hear.

Qur’an 5:5 permits marriage to chaste women from the People of the Scripture. Qur’an 2:221 and 60:10 do not permit a believing woman to marry a polytheistic or disbelieving man. 2 Corinthians 6:14 says not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers.

Texts: [Qur’an 5:5](https://quran.com/5/5), [Qur’an 60:10](https://quran.com/60/10), [2 Corinthians 6:14](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/2-corinthians/6/14)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/can-a-christian-and-a-muslim-marry)

### Allah has ninety-nine names, and memorizing them brings a person into paradise.

What you will hear.

Sahih al-Bukhari 7392 says that. The page does not print the list. The Qur’an says the best names belong to God. The Bible names the LORD, I AM, and the Almighty, and says the Word was God.

Texts: [Sahih al-Bukhari 7392](https://sunnah.com/bukhari:7392), [Qur’an 7:180](https://quran.com/7/180), [Exodus 34:6](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/exodus/34/6)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/what-do-the-99-names-of-allah-mean)

### The Temple Mount is Al-Aqsa, the place of the Night Journey.

What you will hear.

Qur’an 17:1 names the night journey to al-Masjid al-Aqsa. The Hashemite page calls the whole compound Al-Aqsa, including the Dome of the Rock. The Bible says Solomon built the house of the Lord there.

Texts: [Qur’an 17:1](https://quran.com/17/1), [1 Kings 6:1](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/1-kings/6/1), [Matthew 24:2](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/matthew/24/2)

[Read the Full Answer](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/what-is-the-temple-mount-in-islam)