GOD:  Word and Essence

          Roman Catholicism and Islam both profess a belief in the eternal and uncreated Word of God, but it is the way in which the two religions understand this concept that differentiates them.  In Islam the uncreated Word was given to Mohammad by an angel while he was in seclusion in a cave on Mt. Hira. The angel grabbed him and instructed him to recite, but Mohammad told the angel that he could not recite because he could not read, so the Angel grabbed ahold of him two more times, and told him to recite after each time.  Finally, after the third time, Mohammad was inspired to recite the word of Allah. [1]  Later Mohammad's revelations were written down and collected into the sacred book of Islam.  Now, this book, which is called the Qur'an, is considered by Muslims to be the earthly copy of the Heavenly Book, for as the Qur'an itself testifies, "We have revealed the Koran in the Arabic tongue that you may understand its meaning.  It is a transcript of the eternal book in our keeping, sublime, and full of wisdom." [2]  

          That said, during Islam's formative period there was one group of religious scholars (Ulema) known as the Mu'tazila (i.e., those who hold aloof) who rejected the doctrine of the eternal and uncreated Qur'an, and this refusal to accept the predominant position espoused in their creeds in which they insisted "that the Qur'an was created in time, [3] because if it was eternal and uncreated, it followed from their perspective that there would be two etneral and uncreated "things," i.e., the Qur'an and Allah.  Because the Mu'tazila refused to accept belief in the uncreatedness of the Qur'an they were declared to be heretics by the majority of Ulema in the 9th century.  Orthodox (i.e., Sunni) Islam still teaches that the Qur'an is eternal and uncreated, so – one can say – that Muslims do believe in two eternal "things" and two uncreated "things," and yet they profess faith in only one God.  Perhaps if they would reflect on their own teaching concerning the Qur'an, they could come to a better understanding of the Roman Catholic belief in the deity of Christ and the doctrine of the Trinity.  As a result of their teaching about the Qur'an, Muslims proudly proclaim Islam to be a monotheistic Religion of the Book, and they also are willing to give this title – with some caveats – to Christianity. [4]

          Nevertheless, although Muslim scholars are willing to say that Christianity is a Religion of the Book, the Roman Catholic Church explicitly rejects this idea; for as the new universal catechism, quoting a homily of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, states:  

          . . . the Christian faith is not a religion of the book.  

          Christianity is the religion of the Word of God, not a

          written and mute word, but incarnate and living. [5]

One could say, at least on this issue, that Protestantism is closer to Islam theologically because of its sola scriptura doctrine, its rejection of tradition, and its consequent tendency toward the promotion of bibliolatry.  Some Protestant sects even have an affinity to Islam when it comes to understanding free will and predestination (i.e., Calvinism), but that is a topic that will be addressed later in this paper.

          Roman Catholicism is founded upon the dogma of the Incarnation of the Word, and so it is permeated by the realization that "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." [6]  Taking this into account it becomes clear why the Roman Catholic Church rejects the idea that God reveals Himself in a book, the scriptures – no matter how important they are, and they are important – are not the revelation of God to man; instead, God reveals Himself in the person of Jesus Christ, who is both true God and true man.  As the Council of Chalcedon taught, Christ "is consubstantial with the Father in His divinity, consubstantial with us in His humanity, like us in every respect except for sin." [7]  In fact, the whole Catholic theological system is based upon the principle that God has condescended to become man and thereby establish a personal communion of life and love with humanity.  Christ – through His Church and her sacraments, which are the perpetual extension of His incarnation through space and time – enables all of mankind to truly become "partakers of the divine nature, [8] and therefore sons of God within the only-begotten Son of God. [9]

          A Muslim would be offended and deeply troubled by the Roman Catholic belief in the Incarnation of God.  They would also be disturbed by the Catholic concept of revelation, as John L. Esposito points out, "In Islam, God does not reveal Himself, for God is transcendent, but rather His will or guidance." [10]  There is no personal relationship between Allah and the individual Muslim, and even the idea of such a relationship would be repugnant to him.  So God not only remains unknown to the Muslim, but He is ultimately unknowable.  Pope John Paul II point out this weakness in Islamic thought when he recently wrote:

          Whoever knows the Old and New Testaments, and

          then reads the Koran, clearly sees the process by 

          which it completely reduces Divine Revelation.  It 

          is impossible not to note the movement away from 

          what God said about Himself, first in the Old 

          Testament through the prophets, and then finally in 

          the New Testament through His Son.  In Islam all the 

          richness of God's self-revelation, which constitutes 

          the heritage of the Old and New Testaments, has 

          definitively been set aside. [11]

Even though Muslim scholars hold that God is utterly transcendent, they nevertheless do ascribe many attributes (i.e., characteristics) to Him.  Some of the most important titles given to Him are; the Omnipotent, the Merciful, the Forgiver, the Compassionate, the Wise, and the Good, to name just a few.  But once again a great gulf separates Islamic thought from modern Roman Catholic theology.  There is a major philosophical difference between the two religions when it comes to how one understands God's essential nature.  In Islam "God is called good because He causes good, but not because goodness is part of His essence." [12]  Muslim author Caesar E. Farah states that, "the attributes of Allah are clearly distinguished from His essence." [13]  So none of the attributes ascribed to God in Islamic theology are essential to His nature, and therefore God is absolutely transcendent and completely unknowable. [14]

          In Roman Catholic theology the divine attributes are possessed by God in His essence; thus God is essentially good, He is just and wise, He is truth in essence.  In Catholic thought, "Not only is God concerned with His work, so to say, but this work, especially in its final achievement, cannot be separated from Himself.  What He does is not only a mysterious revelation of His ideas, but of Himself." [15]  This teaching concerning the nature of God is founded upon the Scholastic tradition of the Middle Ages, and that is why the Pope wrote in his book, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, that Islamic tradition has rejected "all the richness of God's self-revelation, which constitutes the heritage of the Old and New Testaments." [16]  Islam's conception of God is on the surface similar to the Roman Catholic theological view, but in actuality it is an impoverishment, and even a rejection, of it.

MAN:  Sin and Predestination

          Roman Catholicism and Islam hold very different beliefs about the nature of man.  Islam does not accept the Catholic doctrine of original sin, and the consequent necessity of grace for salvation.  The Roman Catholic form of this doctrine should not be confused with the radical teaching of the Protestant Reformers (i.e., Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, et al.).  The ancient tradition of the Church was reaffirmed at the Council of Trent (A.D. 1545-1563), which declared, in opposition to the Reformers, that man's nature was not depraved after the fall.  As George D. Smith explained in his book, "Adam indeed lost, by his sin, all his supernatural and preternatural gifts, but did not lose anything belonging to his nature as man." [17]  So original sin – as the new universal Catechism recently reaffirmed – is "called sin only in an analogical sense:  it is a sin contracted and not committed – a state and not an act.   . . . Although it is proper to each individual, original sin does not have the character of a personal fault in any of Adam's descendants." [18]  Thus, man is not born sinful, i.e., in the sense of having personal guilt; instead, he is born into a situation of mortality and the absence of grace, which is what St. Paul was referring to when he said, "Sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all men have sinned." [19]  So by his disobedience Adam lost the life of grace not only for himself, but for all his descendants.  In connection with this teaching St. Paul explained why a Savior was necessary, for "as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one man's act of righteousness leads to acquittal and life for all men." [20]  To put it another way, because of Adam's sin all men became mortal, which meant that death was empowered to reign over the entire human race, and only one who is greater than death, i.e., God would be able to overcome death and bring life to all.  This is why the incarnation was necessary, so that God as man could make amends for the ancestral disobedience and restore the human family to communion with its creator, for "as the image of the invisible God, Christ is the perfect man who has restored to the children of Adam the divine likeness which had been deformed by sin." [21]

          Islamic theology rejects the teaching of the Catholic Church about original sin; for in its view Adam's sin was his and his alone, and it has no impact on his descendants.  As Muslim author Ismail R. Al Faruqi wrote: "Islam teaches that people are born innocent and remain so until each makes him or herself guilty by a guilty deed.  Islam does not believe in original sin; and its scripture interprets Adam's disobedience as his own personal misdeed for which he repented and God forgave." [22]  Islam, from a Catholic perspective, is basically Pelagian in outlook, because Muslim theologians – like the 5th century Christian heretic Pelagius – believe that a man can work his way into heaven.  There is no need of a Savior in Islam, because there is nothing to be saved from.  That said, if a man does good works and lives an ethical life he can achieve paradise; but of course if he achieves paradise according to Muslim teaching it actually because God predetermined that end for him from all eternity.

           It is this predestinationism  which truly highlights the difference between Islamic theology and Roman Catholic theology as it concerns the nature of man.  Muslims believe that God has predetermined every event and every action in the life of each and every individual human being, and this includes the person's ultimate end (i.e., whether the person goes to heaven or hell).  God is thus the source of belief and unbelief, as it says in the Qur'an, "The man whom God guides is rightly guided; but those whom he confounds (sends astray) will surely be the losers." [23]  God is also the cause of salvation and damnation, "But My word shall be fulfilled:  'I will surely fill hell with jinn and humans all.'" [24]  Since Islam recognizes but one will in the universe, i.e., the will of Allah, it makes God the origin of both good and evil actions, and so human beings are mere puppets without the power to choose for themselves.  As the Qur'an advises, "Do not say of anything:  'I will do it tomorrow,' without adding:  'If God wills.'" [25]

          Islam's doctrine of predestination was first clearly formulated by a man named Al-Ashari (A.D. 873-935), a former member of the Mu'tazila faction, and the founder of what became known as the Asharite school of theology.  His position basically "denied that man had power over his will but affirmed that man did have control over his responsibilities even though they were willed by God." [26]  Thus, man has no control over what he does, whether good or evil, but he is held responsible for his actions regardless. So if a man commits a terrible crime, even though it is Allah who willed it, the man deserves to be punished.  In Roman Catholic theology this explanation would be seen as unsatisfactory, because man is held responsible for his actions, yet he is not the source of his actions, since in the smallest detail – according to Al-Ashari – they are preordained by God:

          The Quran strongly emphasizes that before anything

          happens on earth it is already written down in the 

          Heavenly Book as Surah 57:22 says:  'No affliction

          befalleth either on earth or in your own persons, but

          but it is in a Book, before We create it, surely that is

          easy for God. [27]

Islam's extreme determinism makes God the source of evil, since He is the one who wills everything that happens, and that idea is utterly contrary to the Catholic tradition. [28]  Yet this horrible idea is positively endorsed by Muslim scholars as a truth of Islamic faith, for according to the Sunna tradition, "God hath decreed and does ordain and determine evil, disobedience and infidelity; yet without His salutary direction." [29]  So in Islamic theology it is held that God does not welcome evil, nor does He take pleasure in it, and yet He is the cause of it.

          The new universal catechism clearly expresses the Roman Catholic position concerning predestination when it states that, "God predestines no one to go to hell, for this, a willful turning away from God (a mortal sin) is necessary, and persistence in it until the end." [30]  In Roman Catholic theology the freedom of man's will is a central dogma; in fact, man's free will along with his intellect are what make him an image of God, [31] for as St. Irenaeus wrote, "Man is rational and therefore like God; he is created with free will and is master over his acts." [32]  Also it must be pointed out that the Roman Catholic Church has always believed that the "omnipotent God wishes all men without exception to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4), although not all will be saved." [33]  Moreover, the Roman Church restated its position on predestination at the time of the Protestant Reformation, when it condemned the Calvinist position on the absence of free will at the Council of Trent (A.D. 1545-1563).  That said, the Qur'an – as already noted above – gives the negative teaching of Islam on free will and predestination, when it says, "We [Allah] have predestined for Hell many jinn and many men." [34]  This statement of course is diametrically opposed to the Roman Catholic belief in the gracious love of God, and His desire to see all men saved.

          In conclusion, one can clearly see that the teachings of these two religions are very different, and that man in Islam is seen as a slave to a distant and unknowable master, i.e., a God to whom he must blindly submit, and who may send him to hell on a whim.  While Roman Catholicism sees man, through the Incarnation of the Word, raised by adoption into the sublime dignity of a son of God in the only-begotten Son of God.  The differences between these two religions are profound, while their similarities are only superficial.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

General Sources:

Abdu-R-Rahman Abu Zayd.  Al-Ghazali on the Divine Predicates.  (Lahore:  Sh. Muhammad Ashraf, 1982).

Karl Adam.  The Spirit of Catholicism.  (New York:  the MacMillan Company, 1936).

Ismail Al Faruqi.  Islam.  (Beltsville, Maryland:  Amana Publications, 1994).

Hilaire Belloc.  The Great Heresies.  (Manassas:  Trinity Communications, 1987).

F. F. Bruce.  Holy Book and Holy Tradition.  (Grand Rapids:  William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1968).

Louis Bouyer.  Liturgical Piety.  (Notre Dame, Indiana:  University of Notre Dame Press, 1955).

John L. Esposito.  Islam the Straight Path.  (New York:  Oxford University Press, 1991).

Caesar E. Farah.  Islam.  (Hauppauge:  Barron's Educational Series, Inc., 1994).

Norman L. Geisler.  Answering Islam.  (Grand Rapids:  Baker Books, 1994).

Pope John Paul II.  Apostolic Letter:  Tertio Millennio Adveniente.  (Boston:  Daughters of St. Paul, 1994).

Pope John Paul II.  Crossing the Threshold of Hope.  (New York:  Random House, Inc., 1994).

Thomas W. Lippman.  Understanding Islam.  (New York:  Mentor Books, 1982).

William Miller.  A Christian's Response to Islam.  (Wheaton:  Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1976).

J. Robinson Armitage.  St. Irenaeus: The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching.  (New York:  The MacMillan Company, 1920).

George D. Smith.  The Teaching of the Catholic Church.  (New York:  The MacMillan Company, 1949).  2 Volumes.

Catholic Doctrinal Sources:

Catechism of the Catholic Church.  (New York:  Catholic Book Publishing Company, 1994).

The Christian Faith in the Doctrinal Documents of the Catholic Church.  (New York:  Alba House, 1982).

The Church Teaches.  (Rockford:  Tan Books and Publishers, Inc., 1973).

The Sources of Catholic Dogma.  (St. Louis:  B. Herder Book Company, 1957).

Islamic Doctrinal Sources:

The Translation and Meanings of Sahih Al-Bukhari.  (Ryidah:  Darussalam Publishers and Distributors, 1997).  9 Volumes.

Montgomery Watt.  Islamic Creeds:  A Selection.  (Edinburgh:  Edinburgh University Press, 1994).

Translation of the Bible:

The Bible:  Revised Standard Version.  (New York:  American Bible Society, 1971).  

Translations of the Qur'an:

N. J. Dawood.  The Koran.  (New York:  Penguin Books, Inc., 1990).

Rashad Khalifa.  Quran:  The Final Scriptures.  (Tucson:  Islamic Productions, 1981).

Roman Catholicism and Islam

by Steven Todd Kaster

Diablo Valley College

Philosophy 220:  Comparative Religion

Professor Pavesich

13 December 1995 (revised 25 November 1998)

_____________________________________

End Notes:

[1]  See The Translations and Meanings of Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 1, Number 3, pages 46-48.

[2]  The Qur'an, Sura 43:2-3.

[3]  Caesar E. Farah, Islam, page 204.

[4]  See the Qur'an, Sura 5:14-15 and 5:18-19.  As far as Islam's doctrine of monotheism is concerned, even it is problematic from a Catholic perspective because for a Christian the polytheism of pagans and the monotheism of Muslims are equally false:  the former because it denies the oneness of the divine nature, and the latter because it is founded upon an explicit denial in the Qu'ran of the dogmas of the Incarnation and the Holy Trinity.  

[5]  Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 108.

[6]  John 1:14.

[7]  The Church Teaches, page 172.

[8]  2 Peter 1:4.

[9]  See Romans 8:14-17.

[10]  John L. Esposito, Islam the Straight Path, page 22.

[11]  Pope John Paul II, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, page 92.

[12]  Norman L. Geisler, Answering Islam, page 137.

[13]  Caesar E. Farah, Islam, page 108.

[14]  Could it be possible that Islamic theology on this point may have been influenced by the Eastern Orthodox doctrinal distinction between essence and energy in God?  To answer my own question:  I suppose it is possible that the formal theological disputations that took place between Eastern Orthodox clergy and Muslim scholars (Ulema) shortly after the conquest of Christian areas in the Middle East may have had an impact on Islamic beliefs.  Although, it is important to note that, the essence / energy distinction in Eastern Orthodoxy does not mean that God cannot be known at all; rather, it simply means that God ad intra (i.e. in His essence) is hetero-ousios in relation to creation and thus transcendent, while God ad extra (i.e., in His energies) comes down into creation revealing Himself to mankind and thus making Himself immanently present.

[15]  Louis Bouyer, Liturgical Piety, page 103.

[16]  Pope John Paul II, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, page 92.

[17]  George D. Smith, The Teaching of the Catholic Church, Volume 1, page 333.

[18]  Catechism of the Catholic Church, nos. 404-405.

[19]  Romans 5:12.

[20]  Romans 5:18.

[21]  Pope John Paul II, Tertio Millennio Adveniente, page 10.

[22]  Ismail R. Al Faruqi, Islam, page 9.

[23]  The Qur'an, Sura 7:178.

[24]  The Qur'an, Sura 32:13.

[25]  The Qur'an, Sura 18:23-24.

[26]  Caesar E. Farah, Islam, page 207.

[27]  F. F. Bruce, Holy Book and Holy Tradition, page 211.

[28]  The Calvinist sect in Protestantism holds views on predestination that are very similar to those promoted by Islam.

[29]  Caesar E. Farah, Islam, page 119.

[30]  Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1037.

[31]  According to St. Irenaeus, not only does man's intellect and will make him an image of God, but so does his physical body, because he sees man as being created in the image of God incarnate, that is, he sees man as being made in the image of Jesus Christ, who is the perfect image of the Father, for as he explained: "He made man the image of God; and the image of God is the Son, after whose image man was made:  and for this cause He appeared in the end of the times that He might show the image (to be) like unto Himself." [J. Robinson Armitage, St. Irenaeus: The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching, (New York:  The MacMillan Company, 1920); paragraph no. 22, pages 89-90].  See also St. Irenaeus: The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching, where he said, "But man He formed with His own hands [i.e., the Son and the Holy Spirit], taking from the earth that which was purest and finest, and mingling in measure His own power with the earth. For He traced His own form on the formation [i.e., on man's body], that that which should be seen should be of divine form: for the image of God was man formed and set on the earth. And that he might become living, He breathed on his face the breath of life; that both for the breath and for the formation man should be like unto God" [J. Robinson Armitage, St. Irenaeus: The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching, (New York:  The MacMillan Company, 1920); paragraph no. 11, page 80].  Thus, from what St. Irenaeus said in this text, it becomes apparent that the formation of man out of the earth is done in such a way that man's physical frame corresponds to the incarnate Son of God, which makes him physically deiform (i.e., physically in the image of God); while the breath of life involves the imparting of the Holy Spirit to man, which makes him a living being (i.e., spiritually in the likeness of God).

[32]  Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1730.

[33]  The Sources of Catholic Dogma, page 127.

[34]  The Qur'an, Sura 7:179.

Copyright © 1995-2025 Steven Todd Kaster