FAQ in dawah: Christianity

Last updated: 26 July 2025 From the section FAQ in dawah

What is the Bible?

It's a collection of books written by different people
Bible means 'the books' or 'scroll'
It's made up of Hebrew Bible (known as 'Tanakh' or 'Old Testament') and New Testament
Tanakh made up of Torah, Nevi'im and Ketuvim. TaNaKh is an acronym of the 3
Torah, also known as 'Five Books of Moses' or 'Pentateuch', revealed to Moses (born over 3,300 years ago in c.1393 BCE and died aged 120)
New Testament revealed to Jesus (born circa 6 to 4 BCE and died in his 30s)
Jews do not accept New Testament as part of their scripture or as divinely inspired
We Muslims consider both Old and New Testament to be corrupted and not the original revelation sent to Moses and Jesus respectively

3 gods (Trinity) vs 1 god (Unity)

What is 1 god + 1 god + 1 god?
Are they co-equal?
1 God but 3 essence? Can you have 3 uncreated essences rather than 1 singular essence?
1 God (the Father) along with 2 distinct divine person (Son and Holy Spirit)? That's polytheism (i.e. worship of many gods)
There's a hierarchy in Trinity as Father is superior to Son and Holy Ghost. How is that possible if they're one?
Father knew things which Jesus didn't (e.g. the Hour in Mark 13:32). But god knows everything. So Jesus can't be god and co-equal as one knows (i.e. Father) and one doesn't (i.e. Jesus)
Where in the Bible does Jesus say he's god?
Did Jesus worship himself any time (i.e. the man version worshipping the god version)?
Jesus lower than angels for a little while (Hebrews 2:9). How can Jesus be God if he's lower than angels?
Jesus was hungry (Matthew 4:2), thirsty (John 4:7), and got tired (John 4:6). These are hallmark of Jesus' humanity. An All-Sufficient, All-Powerful God does not need this
If you believe Jesus is part of god, then why can't you just say god and not 'in the name of Jesus'?
What makes Christianity different to Hindu religion since the Hindus also believe god came in human form?
Logical Problem of the Trinity (LPT). The proposition that Jesus is limited and unlimited at the same time is a contradiction. It's an affront (offence) to logic. It will cause cognitive dissonance (inconsistent thought to behaviour and attitude change, i.e. erratic)

Biblical verses Christians (mis)use to claim triune god

John 1:14 (In the beginning...word became flesh). These are John's words, not God's. Greek word for 'word' is 'logos' which is used throughout Bible to mean the message of God. In Luke, in John, logos means the commandments of God. This verse means 'in the beginning the command was with God, then when he ordered he made flesh without a father (i.e. Jesus born after God commanded)'. So when God commanded (or logos) the words to be spread amongst the people, it doesn't mean God was spread but His commands were. Also Hellenistic Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria, Egypt, frequently used the concept of Logos as an intermediary between God and creation before John did. Philo's concept influenced the opening verses of Gospel of John
John 10:30 (I and my Father are one). One in purpose, not identity. Verses 22 - 38 has the full context. In Jerusalem, Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch, the Jews surrounded him accusing him of blasphemy as he claimed to be a god and wanted to stone him. So Jesus reminded them that in Torah the Jews themselves are called 'gods'. So when he calls himself 'Son of God' it's because he's a prophet and in the Jewish language many prophets are called son or god. And his followers, or 'sheeps', remain in faith - he as a teacher sees to that as well as God Almighty sees to that. As he and Father are one in purpose
John 14:6 (I am the way...No one comes to the Father except through me). By definition, Jesus isn't God as he says he's only a way that leads people to God (i.e. he's a messenger and people). In verses 1-5 Jesus says "In my Father's house there are many dwelling places" and he'll take the believers to one of these place, and if they don't know the way, then follow him
1 John 5:7-8 (All testifying in Heaven as these three are one and are in agreement in earth). This was originally a footnote that got added only around 15th century and remained so for nearly 400 years. Most Bibles have taken this verse out today as they realised it was not included in the earliest manuscript. But KJV still has it in. KJV says 3 will bear record in Heaven: the Father, the Word, and Holy Ghost and 'these three are one'. But in NIV, ESV, and NRSV, there's no mention of Father, Word, and Holy Ghost and it merely says 'three that testify'
Matthew 28:19 (...baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit). This verse is not mentioned in other 3 gospels (Mark, Luke, and John) when they narrate the story of Christ entering Jerusalem riding on a donkey. This formula for baptism was never uttered by Jesus or his apostles, and some scholars consider this verse a fabrication. Baptism in the early years of Christianity was given 'in the name of Jesus Christ' (Acts 2:38; 10:48) or 'in the name of the Lord Jesus' (Acts 8:16; 19:5). Baptism in the name of trinity was a latter addition. Even in the recently discovered Hebrew manuscript of the Gospel of Matthew - which was originally written in Hebrew - this text is not present

Jesus rejects Trinity and polytheism

Jesus explicitly mentioned in Bible he's a prophet and he's only a mediator between God and men (John 17:3, 1 Timothy 2:5)
Jesus taught everyone there's one true god (Mark 12:29)
Followers of Jesus call him a prophet (John 6:14)
Jesus said 'Father is greater than I' (John 14:28) and he cannot do nothing and only seeks to do the will 'of him who sent me' (John 5:30)
Jesus claims to make a pillar in the temple of 'My God'. So Jesus can't call himself god (Revelation 3:12)
Jesus says he's coming from 'the only God' - not 1 of the 3, me and Him, etc. (John 5:43-44)
The idea of god being three divine persons or essence is alien to the teachings of Jesus and all the prophets
In Old Testament, the Lord told Moses 'a prophet like you' will come (i.e. Jesus). He didn't say a god incarnate, fully god fully man, or trinity (Deuteronomy 18:18)

Islam rejects Trinity and polytheism

Allah commands Christians to stop saying Trinity as there's only One God, and Jesus is only a prophet, not god incarnate (An-Nisa 4:171)
Qur'an rejects multiple gods theory (Al-Mu'minun 23:91)
Jesus will deny claiming divinity on Judgement Day (Al-Ma'idah 5:116)
If Allah had begotten son, Muhammad would've worshipped that boy (Az-Zukhruf 43:81)
Our natural disposition or 'fitra' (Ar-Rum 30:30) is to believe in one Creator and have basic moral values
Associating divinity to other than God is the greatest sin in Islam. It's unforgivable. And you're condemned to Hell forever

Son of God

Multiple sons of God in Bible e.g. Adam (Luke 3:38), Jacob (Exodus 4:22), Ephraim (Jeremiah 31:9), Solomon (2 Samuel 7:13-14)
Even common people referred to as 'sons' or 'children' of God e.g. Deuteronomy 14:1, Romans 8:14, John 1:12, 1 John 3:1-2, Job 38:7, Job 1:6, Genesis 6:4, Genesis 6:2, etc.
If Jesus is 'begotten son' of God and the holy spirit 'proceeds from' God, what's the difference between the two?
'Begotten' also means created, i.e. there was a time when Jesus didn't exist. There's a causal relation - Father caused Jesus to be created. God cannot be caused so the Son is not God
'Son' not biological but a term of endearment just like a 'father' is in a church
If Jesus's birth is miraculous, Adam is even more as he had no mother and father

'The Messiah'

Means anointed or chosen one
The title does not make him 'superior to other prophets' as Christian claims. Abraham was known as Friend of Allah. Moses spoke directly with Allah. Muhammad is known as 'The Incessantly Praised One'. So we don't attach significance to a title
Each prophet had different role and different attributes so we don't use the titles to compare or grade them. Qur'an tells us not to compare them (Al-Baqarah 2:285). Their titles, miracles, birth (e.g. virgin birth), etc., does not make them divine
Jews were expecting a 'messiah' to come so Jesus was given that title as he was specifically sent to bring the Jews back to worshipping the One God (As-Saf 61:6). Matthew 15:24 also confirms this
Others were also called 'Messiah' e.g. King David, Cyrus (a Persian non-Jew) (Isaiah 45:1). So it's not exclusive to Jesus
Muslims ask Jews to accept Jesus and for the Christians to stop worshipping Jesus

Original Sin

Forgiveness is different from paying a sin debt. Forgiveness is free (e.g. I forgive you) whereas a debt requires some type of payment. As Muslims we say God is Most Forgiving so we don't need to sacrifice anything, especially an innocent and pious human, to get that forgiveness
In the Bible, Jesus said "if you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me" (John 5:46). But Moses said nothing about original sin nor the future crucifixion or resurrection of Jesus in Old Testament
Sin cannot be inherited
Parents not responsible for children's sin and vice versa. Each will die for their own sin (Deuteronomy 24:16, 2 Kings 14:6). The son will not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son's iniquity (Ezekiel 18:20)
Even in the Bible there are stories where people were forgiven without any atonement or sacrifice. Such as when Prophet Jonah went to Ninevites who weren't Jews but their king and whole nation repented for their sin and God 'changed his mind about the calamity' he was going to heap on them and didn't go ahead (Jonah 3:10)
Muslims reject Christian's doctrine that "sin entered the world because of Adam and Eve disobeying god so god sent his only begotten son to make up for this"
Qur'an says Adam and Eve were deceived by Iblis / Satan to eat from the forbidden tree. But they prayed for forgiveness and were forgiven as Allah is the Accepter of Repentance, Most Merciful (Al-A'raf 7:19-25, Al-Baqarah 2:35-37, Taha 20:115-122)
Allah says he'll forgive anyone if we repent (An-Nisa 4:110, Al-Ma'idah 5:39, Az-Zumar 39:53)
Allah's mercy is greater than His anger (Hadith, Sahih Muslim 37:6626)
Every son of Adam commits sin but the best is those who repent (Hadith, Sunan Ibn Majah 4251)

Crucifixion of Jesus

Isaiah 53 and John 3:16 used by Christians to refer to crucifixion, how people must believe in Jesus to go to Heaven, and how you'll go to hell if you don't believe in him
According to Judaism, Isaiah 53 is not about Jesus' crucifixion or suffering of an individual but instead about the suffering of the Jewish people, persecuted over centuries and bearing the sins of the world. The suffering servant is the nation of Israel itself (Isaiah 49:3)
John 3:16 are John's words, not Jesus's. Also this chapter John was written by anonymous authors
Can God, the Ever-Living, die? Or be killed?
Sacrificing a human or animal is a pagan act. Is God not capable of forgiving without sacrificing a human? Especially a perfectly innocent human like Jesus?
Sacrifice of children did not even cross the mind of God (Jeremiah 19:5). He neither commanded it nor talk about it
During his final hour Jesus cried out "'Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" (My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?) (Matthew 27:46)
Christ was not the first dying and rising god. He wasn't even the first god that atoned for sin so that others could receive salvation. Nor was he the first god to be crucified and resurrected. Various ancient mythologies, predating Christianity, have same concept e.g. Osiris (Egyptian), Horus (Egyptian), Inanna (Sumerian), Tammuz (Sumerian), Baal (Canaanite), Dionysus (Greek), Adonis (Greek), Achilles (Greek), Mithras (Persian/Roman), Buddha (Nepalese), Krishna (Indian), etc.
God is immortal (i.e. cannot die) (1 Timothy 6:16)

Apostle Paul came up with the concept of Original Sin and Crucifixion

Paul the Apostle, also named Saul of Tarsus, wrote 13 or 14 books of 27 books of New Testament. The original sin and crucifixion concept came from him (Romans 5:19)
Paul came up with the idea of shedding blood (Hebrews 9:22)
Paul never met Jesus
When Paul was alive, he didn't say anything about having a vision of Jesus on the road to Damascus where he was going to persecute the followers of Jesus. This incident is written in the Books of Acts 9:1-6 by Luke, after Paul died
Paul didn't even know how to read Hebrew
Paul can't even read Old Testament - he misquotes it and misuses it all the time. He never once quotes from the Hebrew scriptures, he only quotes from Greek scriptures

Resurrection

Where did Jesus go after he died for 3 days (before he was resurrected)?
4 Gospels written decades after Jesus died or taken to Heaven, and also written by followers who believed deeply in Jesus's divinity. Worse still, the 4 gospels were written by anonymous authors who copied it from earlier source (like Q Source, M Source, etc.)
The earliest Gospel, Mark, doesn’t even include any post-resurrection appearance by Jesus. None. And the other gospels that do speak about resurrection, present conflicting information regarding who saw Jesus, where, and when
If Jesus wanted to convince people of his resurrection, what's more convincing: to have no eye witness other than your own cult following or to go to public with the wounds in your feet, hands and side?
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Resurrection claim has none
We don't have any contemporary historical records, physical evidence, or neutral eye witness testimony that would be expected for such a monumental event
Romans were also meticulous record keepers. And a resurrected Jewish preacher (i.e. Jesus) who attracted a large following would've merited some comment. But there was no such record

Resurrection account not unique to Jesus

Zarephath (1 Kings 17:22) and Lazarus (John 11:44) also mentioned in Bible as being resurrected
Gospel tell us during crucifixion all the graves of Jerusalem opened and their occupants (the saints) were raised and entered the city (Matthew 27:52 & 53). And these saints were not divinely conceived like Jesus
In 1st century AD people believed Roman Emperor Nero would return after his death. His resurrection stories were so convincing that Romans had to put down the imposters and one was so convincing he even convinced the Parthian army to go to war with the Roman emperor (and get totally annihilated)

"Over 500 people witnessed Jesus after resurrection"

1 Corinthians 15:3-6 claims over 500 people saw Jesus after his resurrection
This claim contained in a letter to Corinthians church (Corinthians was over 800 miles from Jerusalem) from apostle Paul
Cannot verify the claim
No names of any of 500 (suspiciously round number)
Not a single testimony or written account from any - only the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. So that's 4 out of 500+
Why didn't a single 1 of these 500 people write about it over two decades? Or get someone to write about it (if they were illiterate)? Especially when the event is so life-changing?
Personal testimony is one of the least reliable form of evidence in a court of law as it's prone to distortion and bias
'Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures' - which scriptures?
Paul himself had heard it from others (v. 3). He only met an apostle years after the alleged event. So it's thirdhand information, not even secondhand information
Claim is a fabrication or heresy

Preservation of Bible

Bible revealed in Aramaic (which Jesus spoke), but there's no manuscript in Aramaic only in Koine Greek
Oldest extant manuscript fragments of the New Testament are a business-card-sized fragment of the Gospel of John, Rylands Library Papyrus P52, which dates to the first half of 2nd century
Earliest complete manuscript of the New Testament, the Codex Sinaiticus, is from 4th century and written in Koine Greek by anonymous authors. Some of the chapters from Codex Sinaiticus are not even in the Protestant version of the Bible
Gospels are considered anonymous 2nd generation texts, not written by eye witnesses. We don't even know who wrote the gospels
Paul had vision of Jesus but never met him in person
Mark, Matthew, John, Luke were not written by those specific people, but are just names of those gospels. There's no author mentioned for any of them
Mark written 70-90 years after Jesus. But who wrote Mark? Mark himself references Mark in the chapter in the third person

Contradictions

Different versions of Bible: King James Version (KJV), Jehovah Witness, Mormon, Orthodox, etc.
Which one is authentic?
Some versions contain books which others don't have, and some have verses which contradicts other Bibles or even themselves
Protestant Bibles contain 66 books, Catholic 73, (Eastern and Oriental, or Greek and Russian) Orthodox 76 or more, and Ethiopian Orthodox 81
Account of crucifixion in Matthew, Mark and Luke differ
On Noah's Ark should he bring two of every animal (Genesis 6:19) or seven pairs of clean animals and one pair of unclean animals (Genesis 7:2)?
In KJV, was Ahaziah 42 years old (2 Chronicles 22:2) or 22 (2 Kings 8:26)? Christian claim it's a scribal / copying error
Judas died buying land and falling headlong with guts spilling out (Acts 1:18-19) or threw money into temple and hanged himself (Matthew 27:5)
Did David's chief kill 800 (2 Samuel 23:8) or 300 (1 Chronicles 11:11)?

"Qur'an copied Bible"

If so, why didn't the Qur'an copy the errors in the Bible?
Qur'an corrects many mistakes and contradictions in the Bible (e.g. not blaming Eve for fall of mankind, not accusing some prophets of shameful and criminal acts, etc.)
Similarities stem from the fact that Qur'an and Bible come from same source: divine revelation
First Arabic translation of Bible was done centuries after Muhammad's death (possibly 8th or 9th century)
Some stories in one scripture but not in another. For example, Biblical story of Isaiah not in Qur'an, while Qur'anic story of Moses and Al-Khadir (chapter 18) not in Bible
Both have contrasting views on perception of God, Jesus, salvation, crucifixion, and original sin
All eyes were on Muhammad (pbuh). If he was getting his information from someone or somewhere, his enemies would know
Qur'an is the speech of God and Bible is words of man. And not even Jesus's words but his followers

The Muslim Jesus

Jesus (peace be upon him) is a prophet, not god or son of god
A Jew by ethnicity but Muslim by belief as he submitted himself to the One Creator (which is what the word 'Muslim' means)
You cannot be a Muslim if you don't believe in Jesus. Believing in all messengers, including Jesus and Moses, in one of Islam's 7 articles of faith
Miraculous birth. He's mother Mary was pious and virgin (Ali 'Imran 3:47). She has a chapter named after her in Qur'an (chapter 19 'Maryam')
Referred to by various name and titles in Qur'an including Isa (Arabic name), ibn Maryam ("son of Mary" thus emphasizing he has no father), al-Masih ("the Messiah"). He's also referred to as "the fulfilment of His Word through Mary" (kalimatullah) and a "spirit [created from a command] from God" (ruhuAllah) in the Quran (An-Nisa 4:171)
Mentioned more times than Muhammad in Qur'an ('Isa' 25 times, 'al-Masih' or 'the Messiah' 8 times while 'Muhammad' 4 times and 'Ahmad' 1 time). Chapter or surah 47 'Muhammad' is named after the messenger though
Jesus healed the blind and the leper and raise the dead to life by Allah's Will (Ali 'Imran 3:49)
Qur'an says Jesus wasn't crucified and didn't die but "it was only made to appear so" and instead he was taken up alive to Heaven by God (An-Nisa 4:157-158). This 'made to appear so' has plethora of meaning. Some say another man who looked like Jesus was put in his place instead
Jesus in Matthews cries out to God to save him from the crucifixion. So as Muslims we can say God answered his prayer by not crucifying him. But Christian version is God said no to Jesus and humiliated and punished him via the crucifixion.
Muslims believe Allah ascended Jesus to Heaven and he'll return back on earth as the Messiah, his second coming, and kill the false messiah (Dajjal) and restore peace on earth. But he'll be a Muslim and not a deity as Christian believe. Jesus will make clear who his followers are e.g. by killing the pigs and destroying the cross as they are symbols of uncleanliness and kufr (disbelief). He'll live a normal life and die

Muslims are true followers of Jesus (pbuh), not Christians

Worship the Father or God only
Pray like Jesus by putting head to the ground (Matthew 26:39). And wash or do 'wudu' before praying (Leviticus 16:4)
Men circumcised like Jesus (Luke 2:21)
Don't eat pork (Leviticus 11:7) and forbid drunkness (Ephesians 5:18)
Men keep long beard and wear robe like Jesus
Women cover hair and body like Mary (1 Corinthians 11:5-6), Jesus's mother
Fast like him. Jesus fasted 40 days (Luke 4:2) while Muslims fast 30 days during Ramadan
Greet everyone with 'Peace be upon you' (John 20:21) or 'As-salamu alaikum' in Arabic