Is Allah the Same God Christians Worship?

Some people imagine that Muslims worship a different, foreign deity called “Allah”. But walk into a church in Cairo, Beirut or Amman on a Sunday morning, and you will hear Christians praying to Allah too. The question behind the question is a deeper one: when Muslims and Christians speak of God, are they speaking of the same Being?

“Allah” is the Arabic word for God

Allah is simply how you say “God” in Arabic. It is the word Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews used before Islam, and still use today. The most widely used Arabic Bible, the Van Dyck translation, opens with the words Fi al-bad’i khalaqa Allahu as-samawati wal-ard — “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1, KJV).

The word is related to the Aramaic Alaha, the language Jesus (peace be upon him) spoke, and to the Hebrew Eloah and Elohim. So when Muslims say Allah, they are not naming a tribal or local god; they mean the one God, the Creator of everything. You can read more in Who Is Allah?

The God of Abraham

Muslims believe they worship the same God who spoke to Abraham, gave the Torah to Moses and sent Jesus with the Gospel. The Qur’an tells Muslims to say exactly this to Jews and Christians:

۞ وَلَا تُجَٰدِلُوٓا۟ أَهْلَ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ إِلَّا بِٱلَّتِى هِىَ أَحْسَنُ إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا۟ مِنْهُمْ ۖ وَقُولُوٓا۟ ءَامَنَّا بِٱلَّذِىٓ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْنَا وَأُنزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ وَإِلَٰهُنَا وَإِلَٰهُكُمْ وَٰحِدٌۭ وَنَحْنُ لَهُۥ مُسْلِمُونَ ﴿٤٦﴾

And do not argue with the People of the Scripture except in a way that is best, except for those who commit injustice among them, and say, "We believe in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you. And our God and your God is one; and we are Muslims [in submission] to Him."

This verse is remarkable. It does not tell Muslims that Christians worship something else; it tells them to say our God and your God is one. In the Muslim view, Jews, Christians and Muslims are all turning to the same Creator — the God of Abraham.

Where the understanding differs

The difference between Islam and Christianity is not the name of God but how His nature is understood.

Most Christians believe in the Trinity: that the one God exists eternally as three persons — the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit — equal and undivided. Christians are clear that they are monotheists and do not worship three gods.

Islam teaches tawhid: God is one in every sense, without partners, without offspring, and without any division within Him. The Qur’an’s shortest summary of this belief is a chapter Muslims recite every day:

قُلْ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ أَحَدٌ ﴿١﴾ ٱللَّهُ ٱلصَّمَدُ ﴿٢﴾ لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ ﴿٣﴾ وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُۥ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌۢ ﴿٤﴾

¹Say, "He is Allah, [who is] One, ²Allah, the Eternal Refuge. ³He neither begets nor is born, ⁴Nor is there to Him any equivalent."

The Qur’an also speaks to Christians directly on this point, with honour for Jesus and a clear call to pure oneness:

يَٰٓأَهْلَ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ لَا تَغْلُوا۟ فِى دِينِكُمْ وَلَا تَقُولُوا۟ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ إِلَّا ٱلْحَقَّ ۚ إِنَّمَا ٱلْمَسِيحُ عِيسَى ٱبْنُ مَرْيَمَ رَسُولُ ٱللَّهِ وَكَلِمَتُهُۥٓ أَلْقَىٰهَآ إِلَىٰ مَرْيَمَ وَرُوحٌۭ مِّنْهُ ۖ فَـَٔامِنُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِۦ ۖ وَلَا تَقُولُوا۟ ثَلَٰثَةٌ ۚ ٱنتَهُوا۟ خَيْرًۭا لَّكُمْ ۚ إِنَّمَا ٱللَّهُ إِلَٰهٌۭ وَٰحِدٌۭ ۖ سُبْحَٰنَهُۥٓ أَن يَكُونَ لَهُۥ وَلَدٌۭ ۘ لَّهُۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۗ وَكَفَىٰ بِٱللَّهِ وَكِيلًۭا ﴿١٧١﴾

O People of the Scripture, do not commit excess in your religion or say about Allah except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, was but a messenger of Allah and His word which He directed to Mary and a soul [created at a command] from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers. And do not say, "Three"; desist - it is better for you. Indeed, Allah is but one God. Exalted is He above having a son. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And sufficient is Allah as Disposer of affairs.

Notice that even here, Jesus is called the Messiah, a messenger of God, His word and a soul from Him. The verse does not belittle Jesus; it asks that he not be raised to the level of God.

Same God, different descriptions?

Think of two people describing the same person. They may disagree on some details, yet both are clearly talking about the same individual — even if one of them is mistaken on a point. Muslims see the relationship to Christianity in a similar way: both faiths turn to the one Creator of the heavens and the earth, the God of Abraham, but Muslims believe that the Trinity is not a correct description of Him.

Christians themselves answer this question in different ways. Some say Muslims and Christians worship the same God with different understandings; others say the differences are too great to call Him the same. Both views are held sincerely, and the question is worth discussing calmly.

Muslims often point out that Jesus himself began the greatest commandment with the creed of Israel: “Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord” (Mark 12:29, KJV). For Muslims, that sentence sums up their entire faith.

Why the conversation matters

The Qur’an invites Christians and Muslims to come together on a common word: to worship God alone and associate nothing with Him (Qur’an 3:64). That invitation assumes we are talking about the same God, and that the conversation is worth having. If you would like to continue it, read Islam and Christianity: What We Share and Where We Differ or learn more about why Muslims believe God is one.