Short answer
Yes. Muslims worship the God (﷾) of Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus, and they worship Him as Jesus did. Asked which commandment came first, Jesus answered: "Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord." In prayer he called God "the only true God". The Qur'an tells Muslims to say to Jews and Christians, "Our Allah and your Allah is one". Allah (﷾) is God's (﷾) name in Arabic, and most scholars take it to mean "the God". It shares a root with Eloah, a Hebrew word for God (﷾), and matches elaha, "the God" in Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke. Arab Christians say Allah (﷾) too, and their Bible opens "In the beginning Allah created". Christians added the Trinity, the teaching that God is three persons. Jesus never taught it. The God (﷾) Muslims worship is the God (﷾) Jesus worshipped. Islam calls Christians to worship Him as Jesus did: Him alone, with no partner.
Full explanation
The creed Jesus taught
Asked which commandment was the first of all, Jesus named no Trinity. The Trinity is the Christian teaching that the one God is three persons. Instead he recited the Shema, the Jewish declaration of faith from the Torah (the Law of Moses), word for word. He told Satan that God (﷾) alone is to be worshipped and served. In prayer he called the Father the only true God (﷾) and himself the one God (﷾) had sent. In John's account, at the empty tomb, Jesus says he is going "to my God, and your God". So the creed is one true God, and a messenger He sent. That is the shape of the Muslim declaration of faith, the Shahada, in Jesus' own words. The difference between the two faiths is not a different God. It is the Trinity, which was added to the creed Jesus himself recited.
“And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:”
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:”
“Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”
“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
“Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.”
What the Qur'an tells Muslims to say
The Qur'an tells Muslims to say to Jews and Christians: "Our Allah and your Allah is one." It also calls them to the common ground of worshipping none but Allah (﷾). It records Jesus telling his people to worship Allah (﷾), his Lord and theirs. The same verse warns that whoever joins other gods with Allah (﷾) is barred from the Garden. The Prophet (ﷺ) said that the prophets are brothers, and that their deen, their way of life, is one. He also said that he is the closest of all people to Jesus.
“And dispute ye not with the People of the Book, except with means better (than mere disputation), unless it be with those of them who inflict wrong (and injury): but say, "We believe in the revelation which has come down to us and in that which came down to you; Our Allah and your Allah is one; and it is to Him we bow (in Islam)."”
“Say: "O People of the Book! come to common terms as between us and you: That we worship none but Allah; that we associate no partners with him; that we erect not, from among ourselves, Lords and patrons other than Allah." If then they turn back, say ye: "Bear witness that we (at least) are Muslims (bowing to Allah's Will).”
“They do blaspheme who say: "Allah is Christ the son of Mary." But said Christ: "O Children of Israel! worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord." Whoever joins other gods with Allah,- Allah will forbid him the garden, and the Fire will be his abode. There will for the wrong-doers be no one to help.”
Abu Hurayra reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said he is the closest of all people to Jesus son of Mary, in this world and the next; the prophets are brothers with one father and different mothers, and their religion is one.
One word in three languages
Hebrew, Aramaic and Arabic belong to one family of languages, and they share a root for the word God. Hebrew has Eloah and Elohim, and the related El. Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke, has elah. Arabic has ilah. Each language then makes the word definite, as in "the God". Arabic puts al, meaning "the", at the front. Most scholars take Allah (﷾) to be al + ilah, "the God". Aramaic adds -a, meaning "the", at the end. Elah + a gives elaha, said Alaha in Syriac. Syriac is a form of Aramaic, and Alaha is the word for God (﷾) in the Syriac Bibles of the Eastern churches. The New Testament Gospels keep the root in the cry they record from the cross. It is Eli in Matthew and Eloi in Mark, and it means "my God". The Qur'an teaches that it was not Jesus who was crucified. The cry is cited here only for the word it keeps.
Lists the Hebrew words for God, El, Eloah and Elohim, and gives the Aramaic elah and the Arabic ilah as the same word as Eloah.
“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
“And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
| Language | The word for God (﷾) |
|---|---|
| Hebrew | Eloah and Elohim, and the related El. |
| Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke | elah. With “the” added at the end it becomes Alaha, “the God”. |
| Arabic | ilah. With al, “the”, added at the front it becomes Allah (﷾), “the God”, as most scholars take it. |
The three languages are branches of one family and share one root for God (﷾). The Syriac Bibles of the Eastern churches say Alaha, and the standard Arabic Bible says Allah (﷾) from its first verse.
Allah (﷾) in the Arabic Bible
Arab Christians call God Allah. The Smith-Van Dyck Bible, an Arabic translation published in 1865, is still the standard Bible of Arabic-speaking Protestants. It uses Allah (﷾) in its first verse and throughout as its word for God (﷾). The name is said in Arab churches every Sunday.
The Smith-Van Dyck Arabic Bible, completed in 1865 and still the standard Bible of Arabic-speaking Protestants, opens Genesis 1:1 with "In the beginning Allah created the heavens and the earth". Its word for God throughout is Allah.
What Christians teach about God (﷾)
Christianity teaches that the one God exists as three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They are co-eternal and co-equal, which means none came before the others and none is greater. The Athanasian Creed, an old statement of Christian belief, says whoever wishes to be saved must hold this. The Catholic Church teaches that Muslims, with Christians, adore the one merciful God (﷾) who will judge mankind.
States that the catholic faith is to worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, three persons who are co-eternal and co-equal, and that whoever wishes to be saved must think this of the Trinity.
The Catholic Church teaches that God's plan of salvation includes the Muslims first among those who acknowledge the Creator: they profess to hold the faith of Abraham and, together with Christians, adore the one, merciful God who will judge mankind on the last day.
Three objections answered
Athanasian Creed
States that the catholic faith is to worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, three persons who are co-eternal and co-equal, and that whoever wishes to be saved must think this of the Trinity.
Cited for
The true God is the Trinity, so a God who is one person only is a different God.
The response
By that test, Jesus would not have worshipped the true God (﷾). His first commandment was the Shema, the creed of one God (﷾) with no mention of three persons. He called the Father the only true God (﷾). The God (﷾) Muslims worship matches the creed Jesus spoke.
Where it lands — The God (﷾) of Jesus' own creed is the God (﷾) Muslims worship. The Trinity is the later addition.
Matthew 28:19 — Gospel of Matthew, chapter 28, verse 19
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”
Cited for
Jesus taught the Trinity when he commanded baptism in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Baptism is the Christian rite of entry into the faith, done with water.
The response
The verse names three. It does not say the three are one God. Some point out that "name" is singular. But one name over three does not make them one God, and in Acts that name is Jesus' alone. Acts is the book that tells what the apostles did after Jesus. Whenever Acts names the name used in baptism, it is the name of Jesus alone (Acts 2:38; 8:16; 19:5). If Jesus had given the threefold name as his last command, it is hard to explain why Acts never once records it being used.
Where it lands — Matthew 28:19 names three without calling them one God (﷾), and the apostles in Acts are never recorded using it.
The Islamic Invasion (1992)
Claims that Allah was the name of a pre-Islamic Arabian moon god, and so is not the God of the Bible.
Cited for
Allah was a pre-Islamic moon god, so Muslims do not worship the God of the Bible.
The response
The Arabic Bible calls the God (﷾) of Genesis 1:1 Allah (﷾). By this charge, every Arab church would worship a moon god. The pagan Arabs did use the name Allah before Islam. But the Qur'an records that they called Allah (﷾) the One who created the heavens and the earth. It says He made the sun and the moon obey His law. Allah (﷾) was the Maker of the moon, not the moon. The Qur'an also forbids the very worship the charge alleges. It says not to bow to the sun or the moon, but to Allah (﷾) who created them. The crescent on mosques and flags is not a symbol taught by the Qur'an or the Prophet (ﷺ). It became a common emblem of Muslim states centuries later, above all under the Ottomans, the Turkish dynasty that ruled much of the Muslim world.
Where it lands — Islam forbids bowing to the moon, because God (﷾) created it. So Muslims do not worship the moon.
Perspectives
Christian
God is one being in three persons. Christians disagree on whether Muslims worship the same God. The Catholic Church teaches that Muslims adore the one merciful God with Christians.
The Athanasian Creed defines the faith as worshipping one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity.
Rebuttal
That is the creed's wording, not Jesus' own. Jesus gave the Shema, one God (﷾) with no mention of three persons, as the first commandment. He called the Father "the only true God", and spoke of "my God, and your God".
The Second Vatican Council taught that Muslims, together with Christians, adore the one merciful God.
Rebuttal
The Council is right that there is one God. But Christians describe Him as three persons, and Jesus never did. His creed was the Shema.
The Islamic perspective
Muslims worship the one God (﷾) of Abraham, Moses and Jesus, and worship Him as Jesus did. The Prophet (ﷺ) taught that all the prophets share one deen, one way of life. Christians mean the same God (﷾), but the Trinity is a false description of Him, added to the creed Jesus taught.
Jesus gave the Shema, "The Lord our God is one Lord", as the first commandment of all.
Jesus called the Father the only true God (﷾) and described himself as the one God (﷾) sent.
The Qur'an tells Muslims to say to Jews and Christians, "Our Allah and your Allah is one".
Most scholars take Allah (﷾) to mean "the God", from ilah. Ilah is the same word as the Hebrew Eloah and the Aramaic elah.
Arab Christians use Allah for God (﷾), and their standard Bible has it in Genesis 1:1.
All the prophets taught one deen, one way of life: to worship God (﷾) alone.