This post will broadly explore the topic of “why Islam is not true” at a very high level. We’re going to do this by comparing core beliefs of both religions.

Why can we as Christians say things like “Islam is not true”? Surely we’re all entitled to our own beliefs and if someone believes in Islam then that’s their own choice and we should just let them practice their own religion in peace?

Well, the answer lies in the claims made by each religion. Islam and Christianity can’t both be true because they make opposing “truth claims.” As an example, in Islam, Jesus was never crucified; rather, it was made to appear that he was (Quran 4:157).

“And [for] their saying, ‘Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah.’ 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.”

Another example is the nature of God. In Christianity, we have God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, whereas in Islam God is the father of no man (Quran 19:88-91).

“And they say, ‘The Most Merciful has taken [for Himself] a son.’ You have done an atrocious thing. The heavens almost rupture therefrom and the earth splits open and the mountains collapse in devastation that they attribute to the Most Merciful a son.”

Views on God

Islam has a lesser understanding of the concept of God. Think of it like this: What is the greater kind of love? Loving yourself or loving someone else? The correct answer here is loving someone else.

The Islamic God Allah is dependent on his creation for the greater kind of love (loving others) because he can’t love someone if they don’t exist. That means before creation, Allah (who is supposedly a loving God) was incapable of the greater kind of love (loving others) whereas in the Christian paradigm, God isn’t dependent on anyone outside of Himself for the greater kind of love and He experienced the greater kind of love before anything was created (between the Father, the Son and the Spirit).

In Christianity, we are “sons of God”:

“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God”

John 1:12

“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”

Romans 8:14

“For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.”

Galatians 3:26

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.”

1 John 3:1

“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”

Romans 8:16-17

In Islam, you can only go to God as a slave:

“There is none in the heavens or the earth who will not return to the Most Compassionate in full submission.”

Quran 19:93

Last point in this section is about love. YHWH the God of the Christians loves everyone and it is His wish that ALL will come to salvation (even Muslims). In Islam the “loving” god of the Muslims calls Christians the filthiest of creatures.

“Indeed, the worst of all beings in the sight of Allah are those who persist in disbelief, never to have faith”

Quran 8:55

Islam is Ahistorical

When we say that Islam is ahistorical, what we mean is certain claims made by the religion either contradict or lack credible support from historical evidence, making them impossible to verify from an objective, historical standpoint.

As we’ve already seen, Islam denies the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth, which is one of the most well-attested historical events in ancient history with evidence from:

• Early Christian sources (the New Testament, early church fathers etc)
• Non-Christian sources like Tacitus, Josephus, and Lucian, confirm Jesus’ crucifixion under Pontius Pilate.

This is a problem for Islam because Christianity makes the opposite claim and has an abundance of evidence to support its claim. The fact that Islam denies the crucifixion puts the entire Islamic narrative at odds with the abundance of historical evidence that we have and disconnects it from well-supported historical facts.

Muslims claim that Muhammad is a historical figure but non-Islamic records of his life are scarce. Most of what we know about Muhammad comes from Islamic references written decades or even centuries after his death, some of which contain contradicting or conflicting accounts.

An example of this would be the night journey of Muhammad. Quran 17:1 speaks about Muhammad’s night journey from the “sacred mosque” to the “furthest mosque”

Glory be to the One Who took His servant ˹Muḥammad˺ by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque whose surroundings We have blessed, so that We may show him some of Our signs. Indeed, He alone is the All-Hearing, All-Seeing.

Some Muslims interpret this “furthest mosque” as being the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem but at the time of this event, the Al-Aqsa Mosque didn’t exist and wouldn’t for another few decades after Muhammad’s death. Others interpret this to mean a spiritual journey with the “furthest mosque” being a symbolic location or a place in heaven.

When it comes to Islamic sources we don’t gain any clarity on this event because there are conflicting sources that give conflicting information.

Sahih al-Bukhari (hadith 3207) and Sahih al-Bukhari (hadith 3887) have conflicting information on the description of the journey, who Muhammad met, and what events took place.

Sahih Muslim 162 talks about the different accounts and how some have been added to and some have been removed from.

Tafsir al-Qurtubi (Quran 17:1) discusses the differing views regarding the physical and spiritual nature of the journey and also the disagreements about whether the Isra (the night journey) and Mi’raj (Muhammads ascension to heaven) occurred on the same night or as separate events which illude to the differing accounts within the hadith literature.

Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Quran 17:1) also talks about the differing accounts in the various narrations in the hadith literature.

So not only is Islam ahistorical, but it is also impossible to get a clear understanding of certain topics because of the contradicting accounts found within the Hadith traditions.

There is no salvation in Islam

In Christianity we believe that we are saved by grace alone and our works are evidence of our faith, but in Islam, it is your works or “good deeds” that will get you into heaven.

From a Christian perspective, human works will not be sufficient to have your sins forgiven and be given entry into the Kingdom of Heaven, only the sacrifice of Christ is good enough for that.

Christianity offers assurance (you know right this minute if you’re going to heaven or not) whereas in Islam it’s all up to the discretion of Allah.

Revelation and Authority

Muslims believe that the Quran supersedes earlier scripture and is the direct speech of God. Christianity on the other hand believes that the Bible is divinely inspired and the final word of God. The Christian argument here is that the Bible is coherent over time and verified through prophecy where Muslims have to rely on circular reasoning to validate their claims.

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high”

Hebrews 1:1-3 (ESV)

It’s clear that from a Christian perspective, Jesus is God’s final and completed revelation to mankind rendering any other revelation (like the Quran for example) unnecessary or false.

It didn’t even come as a surprise to God because He already refuted the claims of Islam, centuries before its inception.

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.”

Galatians 1:6-9 (ESV)

“You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!”

James 2:19 (ESV)

The two religions are at odds

It is amazing that Islam still exists because it implodes under its own claims. This line of argumentation is called the “Islamic dilemma” and essentially follows this logic. If the Bible is true then Islam is false (because Islam confirms the Bible), and if the Bible is false then Islam is also false (because Islam confirms the Bible).

Here’s a breakdown of why that is.

The Quran says that Muslims are to submit to YHWH.

“Do not argue with the People of the Book unless gracefully, except with those of them who act wrongfully. And say, “We believe in what has been revealed to us and what was revealed to you. Our God and your God is ˹only˺ One. And to Him we ˹fully˺ submit.”

Quran 29:46

Muhammad is to consult with the Christians and the Jews if he is in doubt.

“If you ˹O Prophet˺ are in doubt about ˹these stories˺ that We have revealed to you, then ask those who read the Scripture before you. The truth has certainly come to you from your Lord, so do not be one of those who doubt”

Quran 10:94

The Bible was revealed by Allah.

“He has revealed to you ˹O Prophet˺ the Book in truth, confirming what came before it, as He revealed the Torah and the Gospel previously, as a guide for people, and ˹also˺ revealed the Decisive Authority.1 Surely those who reject Allah’s revelations will suffer a severe torment. For Allah is Almighty, capable of punishment.”

Quran 3:3-4

“Then in the footsteps of the prophets, We sent Jesus, son of Mary, confirming the Torah revealed before him. And We gave him the Gospel containing guidance and light and confirming what was revealed in the Torah—a guide and a lesson to the God-fearing.”

Quran 5:46

No one can change the words of Allah.

“Recite what has been revealed to you from the Book of your Lord. None can change His Words, nor can you find any refuge besides Him.”

Quran 18:27

We had the gospel at the time of Muhammad.

“˹They are˺ the ones who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whose description they find in their Torah and the Gospel. He commands them to do good and forbids them from evil, permits for them what is lawful and forbids to them what is impure, and relieves them from their burdens and the shackles that bound them. ˹Only˺ those who believe in him, honour and support him, and follow the light sent down to him will be successful.”

Quran 7:157

Christians are to judge by what Allah has revealed.

“So let the people of the Gospel judge by what Allah has revealed in it. And those who do not judge by what Allah has revealed are ˹truly˺ the rebellious.”

Quran 5:47

Christians and Jews are to stand fast on the Bible.

“Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “O People of the Book! You have nothing to stand on unless you observe the Torah, the Gospel, and what has been revealed to you from your Lord.” And your Lord’s revelation to you ˹O Prophet˺ will only cause many of them to increase in wickedness and disbelief. So do not grieve for the people who disbelieve.”

Quran 5:68

Although the Bible was revealed by Allah, and Muhammad was to consult with the Jews and Christians if he had doubts, the Bible, as we know it today, was available at the time of Muhammad, and no one can change God’s words. Somehow the Bible became corrupt and is no longer beneficial to mankind and it was necessary for God to fix His mistake and send another prophet. That is 100% fallacious thinking considering everything we just read out of the Quran.

Here’s a challenge to the Muslims reading this: find a source in either the Quran or Hadith (or anywhere else for that matter) that proves the claim that the Bible is corrupted. We’ve looked for the evidence and have found nothing. This claim that the bible is corrupt is both ahistorical and self-defeating to the Islamic position.

You may find something along the lines (paraphrasing here) of a story about a group of Jews who changed the meaning of the words and sold their book for a profit.

The question to that is: if I and a few of my friends re-wrote the Quran, would the Quran be corrupted now? I bet you’d say no and you’d be correct. In order for me to properly corrupt the Quran I’d have to remove all previous copies, remove it from the memories of the Muslims and then replace it with my own words. Reality doesn’t work like that, unfortunately.