Who is God?

"In the name of God, the most gracious, the dispenser of grace:

All that is in the heavens and on earth extols God's limitless glory for he alone is almighty, truly wise! His is the dominion over the heavens and the earth; He grants life and deals death; and He has the power to will anything. He is the First and the Last, and the Outward as well as the Inward; and He has full knowledge of everything. He it is who has created the heavens and the earth in six aeons, and is established on the throne of His almightiness. He knows all that enters the earth, and all that comes out of it, as well as all that descends from the skies, and all that ascends to them. And He is with you wherever you may be; and God sees all that you do. His is the dominion over the heavens and the earth and all things go back unto God [as their source]. He makes the night grow longer by shortening the day, and makes the day grow longer by shortening the night and He has full knowledge of what is in the hearts [of men]" (Qur'an, Surah 57, v. 1-6).

This excerpt from the Qur'an describing God is very accurate. We believe all of these same things of God. It is basically describing God's power and his sovereignty. As I was going into the Qur'an, I was wary. I wanted to be discerning, as this is the holy book of another religion. This passage, as the first thing I read, totally disarmed me. It read just like something that could be in the bible. There are a lot more similarities between Islam and Christianity than I thought. I became even more wary. The fact that it seems so similar to the bible is dangerous. Christians must be very discerning when reading the Qur'an.

All of that aside, I thought that the similarities between the Qur'an and the Bible were very interesting, as were the differences. As I read through, I started to compare every section to the bible. The quote above was the most obvious example. Another good example is this: "Never can there be a secret confabulation between three persons without His being the fourth of them, nor between five without His being the sixth of them and neither between less than that, or more, without His being with them wherever they may be" (Qur'an, Surah 58, v. 7). This quote is about God's omnipresence. He is everywhere. It is very similar to this bible verse: "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them" (Matthew 18:20).

However, there is a key difference between these two verses, and that difference is the meaning. That difference is God. In the Qur'an, specifically in the verses surrounding the quoted verse, God is described as knowing all. So while at first glance this verse may seem like it is about God's omnipresence, it is actually about his omniscience. The verse is not about God being with you, it is about God knowing what you are doing in secret. I think it is meant to instill fear in the hearts of the readers. So that they will always think about God watching them before they do something sinful. It paints a picture of a God who is like a police officer watching a criminal, just waiting for them to do something wrong so he can arrest them. The bible is very different than this. Rather than being about God watching you to see if you will do anything wrong, it is about God being with you at all times. Whether you are lonely, scared, depressed, or even happy, He is there, watching over you. Not watching like a police officer watching criminals, but like a shepherd watching over his sheep. Rather than fear, this verse is meant to make readers feel comforted, safe.

The main thing that the Qur'an is missing is God's love. While I was reading through, I did not see one mention of God's love. It did mention it a few time, but it wasn't real love. It said things like: God loves people who do this, or: God does not love people who do that. That isn't love, that is approval. In contrast, love is mentioned in the bible (NIV) 551 times. God's greatest commandments to us is to love Him and to love others (Matthew 22:37-39). However, there is a direct contrast in the Qur'an: "Do not take my enemies-- who are your enemies well-- for your friends, showing them affection even though they are bent on denying whatever truth has come unto you" (Qur'an, Surah 60, v. 1). The bible tells us to love our enemies and those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44). The Qur'an tells us to keep them as our enemies and not to think of them as our friends. Not only that, but it goes on to say that your enemies are anyone who denies the truth that has come over you; in other words, anyone who is not a Muslim. They are also God's enemies, too. This is not right. God loves everybody equally, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Atheist. He doesn't reject anyone who doesn't believe in Him. He wants everyone to believe in Him. He wants us to love Him back. That is the God I know and love. I don't want a God like the one in the Qur'an. The fact that He loves us is what makes the Christian God, the one and only God, the God I want to follow.