# What Is the Difference between Islam and Christianity? > Islam and Christianity both speak of one God and honor Jesus. They divide on who Jesus is, whether he was crucified, and whether God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. - Canonical: https://apologetics.wiki/islam/islam-vs-christianity - Religions: Islam - Denominations: none - Beliefs: none - Tags: islam - Updated: 2026-10-10 - Author: [Paul Ambrose](https://apologetics.wiki/author/hi-its-paul) ([GitHub](https://github.com/hi-its-paul)) Islam and Christianity both say that God is one, and both speak of Jesus. Islam says Jesus is a prophet, not the Son of God, and on the usual reading he was not crucified. Christianity says Jesus is God, that he was crucified, and that he rose. ## Key points - [Deuteronomy 6:4](/bible/deuteronomy/6/4) says the Lord our God is one Lord. [Qur’an 112:1–4](https://quran.com/112/1-4) says Allah is one and neither begets nor is born. - [Qur’an 4:171](https://quran.com/4/171) (Saheeh International) says Jesus was a messenger and a word from God, and tells Christians not to say “Three.” - [John 1:1](/bible/john/1/1) says the Word was God. [John 20:28](/bible/john/20/28) records Thomas calling the risen Jesus Lord and God. - [Qur’an 4:157](https://quran.com/4/157) is the usual text for the claim that Jesus was not crucified. The Gospels narrate a public crucifixion, a burial, and a resurrection. - [Qur’an 5:82](https://quran.com/5/82) calls those who say “We are Christians” nearest in affection, and in the same verse names a sharper animosity. [Qur’an 5:51](https://quran.com/5/51) says not to take Jews and Christians as allies. - The two religions are compared as confessions, not as a contest of which rulebook is longer. [What Do Muslims Believe?](/islam/what-do-muslims-believe) ## Do Muslims and Christians worship the same God? Both confess one God. They do not confess the same God. [Qur’an 29:46](https://quran.com/29/46) says to tell the People of the Scripture that our God and your God is one. [Qur’an 112:1–4](https://quran.com/112/1-4) says he neither begets nor is born. [John 1:1](/bible/john/1/1) says the Word was with God and the Word was God. That comparison is already written out, with the verses side by side, in [Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?](/islam/do-muslims-and-christians-worship-the-same-god) and [Tawhid and Christian Monotheism](/islam/tawhid-and-christian-monotheism). The name itself is [Who Is Allah?](/islam/who-is-allah). ## Who is Jesus? [Qur’an 4:171](https://quran.com/4/171) says the Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, was a messenger of God and his word directed to Mary, and a soul from him. It says not to say “Three,” and that God is exalted above having a son. [Qur’an 5:72](https://quran.com/5/72) calls it disbelief to say that Allah is the Messiah, the son of Mary, and quotes the Messiah as saying to worship Allah, his Lord and their Lord. [Qur’an 3:45](https://quran.com/3/45) calls him the Messiah. [What Does Messiah Mean?](/christianity/what-does-messiah-mean) The Christian confession is that this Jesus is God. [John 1:1](/bible/john/1/1) (King James Version): > In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [Matthew 28:19](/bible/matthew/28/19) names the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost in one baptismal name. [The Trinity](/christianity/the-trinity) [The Deity of Christ](/christianity/deity-of-christ) [Is Jesus God?](/christianity/is-jesus-god) [Can God Have a Son?](/islam/can-god-have-a-son) [Jesus in the Qur’an and the Gospels](/islam/jesus-in-the-quran-and-the-gospels) [Was Jesus a Muslim?](/islam/was-jesus-a-muslim) ## The cross [Qur’an 4:157](https://quran.com/4/157) says they did not kill him or crucify him, and that it was made to appear so. The Gospels tell a public crucifixion, a burial, and a risen Jesus whom Thomas calls Lord and God. [Did Jesus Die on the Cross?](/islam/did-jesus-die-on-the-cross) [The Resurrection of Jesus](/christianity/resurrection-of-jesus) [John 3:16](/bible/john/3/16) says God gave his only begotten Son so that whoever believes in him should not perish. That gift is the cross and the resurrection, which the Qur’an does not confess. ## Do Muslims respect Christians? [Qur’an 5:82](https://quran.com/5/82) (Saheeh International) says both things in one verse. The nearest in affection are those who say “We are Christians.” The same verse names a sharper hostility: > You will surely find the most intense of the people in animosity toward the believers [to be] the Jews and those who associate others with Allāh; and you will find the nearest of them in affection to the believers those who say, "We are Christians." That is because among them are priests and monks and because they are not arrogant. [Qur’an 5:51](https://quran.com/5/51) says not to take the Jews and the Christians as allies. The two verses stand together. One of them is not the whole account. ## What is the conflict between Christianity and Islam? The conflict on this page is who Jesus is and whether God has a Son. It is also whether the Gospel the Qur’an tells people to judge by is the Gospel the church reads. [The Islamic Dilemma](/islam/the-islamic-dilemma) [Does the Qur’an Confirm the Bible?](/islam/does-the-quran-confirm-the-bible) [Was the Bible Corrupted?](/islam/was-the-bible-corrupted) [What Is the Injil?](/islam/what-is-the-injil) [Did Paul Invent Christianity?](/islam/did-paul-invent-christianity) Sunni and Shia Muslims differ from each other on leadership after Muhammad. That is a difference inside Islam, not the difference between Islam and Christianity. [What Is the Difference between Sunni and Shia Islam?](/islam/sunni-vs-shia) Judaism also confesses one God and does not confess the Trinity. That comparison is on the Judaism shelf, not a third column in this article. [What Do Jews Believe?](/judaism/what-do-jews-believe) ## Which is stricter, and what is the worst sin? [Qur’an 4:48](https://quran.com/4/48) says God does not forgive association with him, and forgives what is less than that for whom he wills. The five pillars, prayer, zakat, fasting, pilgrimage, and the testimony, are in [What Do Muslims Believe?](/islam/what-do-muslims-believe). The New Testament calls people to believe in the Son. [John 3:16](/bible/john/3/16) [John 14:6](/bible/john/14/6) says Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. A longer list of duties is not the difference that divides the two religions. The difference is whether Jesus is God. ## Frequently asked questions ### Do Muslims support same-sex relationships? [Qur’an 7:80](https://quran.com/7/80) and [Qur’an 7:81](https://quran.com/7/81) have Lot charge his people with approaching men with desire instead of women. [What Do Muslims Believe?](/islam/what-do-muslims-believe) states those verses. Christians read [Matthew 19:4](/bible/matthew/19/4), where Jesus says that he who made them at the beginning made them male and female. ### Is Islam a Christian denomination? No. A denomination on this site is a church that confesses the Trinity. Islam denies that confession. [Islam](/islam) [Christianity](/christianity) ### What do Christians believe about Muhammad? [What Do Christians Believe about Muhammad?](/islam/what-do-christians-believe-about-muhammad) He is not a prophet of the God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Qur’an that names him also denies the cross and the Son. ## Passages quoted on this page ### Deuteronomy 6:4 King James Version. > Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: ### Qur’an 112:1-4 Saheeh International. [Open on quran.com](https://quran.com/112/1-4) > [1] Say, "He is Allāh, [who is] One, [2] Allāh, the Eternal Refuge. [3] He neither begets nor is born, [4] Nor is there to Him any equivalent." ### Qur’an 4:171 Saheeh International. [Open on quran.com](https://quran.com/4/171) > O People of the Scripture, do not commit excess in your religion or say about Allāh except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, was but a messenger of Allāh and His word which He directed to Mary and a soul [created at a command] from Him. So believe in Allāh and His messengers. And do not say, "Three"; desist - it is better for you. Indeed, Allāh is but one God. Exalted is He above having a son. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And sufficient is Allāh as Disposer of affairs. ### John 20:28 King James Version. > And Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God. ### Qur’an 4:157 Saheeh International. [Open on quran.com](https://quran.com/an-nisa/157) > And [for] their saying, "Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, the messenger of Allāh." And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain. ### Qur’an 5:51 Saheeh International. [Open on quran.com](https://quran.com/5/51) > O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies. They are [in fact] allies of one another. And whoever is an ally to them among you - then indeed, he is [one] of them. Indeed, Allāh guides not the wrongdoing people. ### Qur’an 29:46 Saheeh International. [Open on quran.com](https://quran.com/29/46) > And do not argue with the People of the Scripture except in a way that is best, except for those who commit injustice among them, and say, "We believe in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you. And our God and your God is one; and we are Muslims [in submission] to Him." ### Qur’an 5:72 Saheeh International. [Open on quran.com](https://quran.com/al-maidah/72) > They have certainly disbelieved who say, "Allāh is the Messiah, the son of Mary" while the Messiah has said, "O Children of Israel, worship Allāh, my Lord and your Lord." Indeed, he who associates others with Allāh - Allāh has forbidden him Paradise, and his refuge is the Fire. And there are not for the wrongdoers any helpers. ### Qur’an 3:45 Saheeh International. [Open on quran.com](https://quran.com/3/45) > [And mention] when the angels said, "O Mary, indeed Allāh gives you good tidings of a word from Him, whose name will be the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary - distinguished in this world and the Hereafter and among those brought near [to Allāh]. ### Matthew 28:19 King James Version. > Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: ### John 3:16 King James Version. > For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. ### Qur’an 4:48 Saheeh International. [Open on quran.com](https://quran.com/4/48) > Indeed, Allāh does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills. And he who associates others with Allāh has certainly fabricated a tremendous sin. ### John 14:6 King James Version. > Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. ### Qur’an 7:80 Saheeh International. [Open on quran.com](https://quran.com/7/80) > And [We had sent] Lot when he said to his people, "Do you commit such immorality as no one has preceded you with from among the worlds [i.e., peoples]? ### Qur’an 7:81 Saheeh International. [Open on quran.com](https://quran.com/7/81) > Indeed, you approach men with desire, instead of women. Rather, you are a transgressing people." ### Matthew 19:4 King James Version. > And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, ## Sources Numbered to match the HTML References list. Item 1 is `#ref-1` under `#references`. Scripture links to the King James Version on this site. 1. [Qur’an, 4:171; 5:72; 4:157; 5:82; 5:51; 4:48](https://quran.com/4/171) (Saheeh International. The link is the first passage.) 2. [Gospel of John, 1:1; 20:28; 3:16](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/1/1). King James Version 3. [Gospel of Matthew, 28:19](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/matthew/28/19). King James Version 4. [Deuteronomy, 6:4](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/deuteronomy/6/4). King James Version ## See also - [Can God Have a Son?](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/can-god-have-a-son) — The Qur'an condemns the claim that God has taken a son, especially a son by a consort. Christians deny that picture and still confess the eternal Son. - [Did Jesus Die on the Cross?](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/did-jesus-die-on-the-cross) — The Qur'an is widely read as saying Jesus was not crucified. The Gospels, Paul, and two Roman-era historians say he was. - [Did Paul Invent Christianity?](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/did-paul-invent-christianity) — Muslims often say Paul turned the prophet Jesus into a divine saviour. The creed he says he received, and the apostles he names, are the test of that claim. - [Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/do-muslims-and-christians-worship-the-same-god) — Is Allah the same God? Muslims and Christians both confess one Creator, the God of Abraham. They do not confess the same account of who that God is: Christians say Jesus is God, and the Qur'an denies it. - [Does Jesus Do What Only God Does?](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/does-jesus-do-what-only-god-does) — The Qur'an says God gives life to the dead, is the First and the Last, and comes with the angels. The Gospel says Jesus does those things. ## History [View history on GitHub](https://github.com/Apologetics-Wiki/apologetics-wiki/commits/main/src/content/articles/islam-vs-christianity.md)