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A Common Spiritual Heritage
Islam's relationship to Judaism and Christianity
Islam traces its spiritual heritage all the way back to Abraham, sharing with the Hebrew people the same ancestral origins. The Bible (and the Qur'an) tells us that Abraham had two sons: Isaac was born of Abraham's wife, Sarah. But 13 years earlier, when Sarah was still barren, Ishmael was born to Sarah's hand-maiden, Hagar. Ishmael was Abraham's first born son but the story passed down to Jews and Christians, through the Bible, tells of the descendants of the second son, Isaac. What became of Hagar and Ishmael are hinted at in Genesis (21:9-21). Thus are all three religions referred to as the "Abrahamic religions".
Arabian tradition, Islam and its Holy Book, the Qur'an, fill in the rest of the story: While Isaac became the father of the Hebrew people, Ishmael became the father of the Arab people. Both Hebrew and Arab are Semitic peoples with a similar culture, language and heritage. Hebrews and Arabs are brothers! The religions that began with these two peoples may be considered "cousin" religions. And Christianity, with its Jewish roots, is also thus related to Islam. In fact, Islam recognizes the prophets of both earlier religions. The Qur'an relates many of the same stories found in the Bible: Adam and Eve and Satan in the Garden of Eden, Abraham and his sons, Jacob and his sons, Moses, Kings David and Solomon. The Qur'an also references stories and personalities from the New Testament of the Christians: Jesus and his mother Mary (who the Qur'an tells us was, indeed, a virgin when she conceived her son).
Over time, Islam teaches, the older religions decayed; the original word of God, through translation and misinterpretation of the Holy Books of Torah and the Gospels, were lost to humanity. God sent prophets to remind the people of what God intended but, in time, even these prophets were not sufficient to restore God's people to a fully righteous state. From time to time God must send a new messenger with a new revelation that fully restores what has been lost over time. This then was Jesus and his Gospel. But once again, over time, through translation of the original words of God and interpretation of men of the church, this new revelation was also distorted. Thus it was, that in the year 610 God once again choose a new prophet and messenger to bring a new revelation into human history. This new messenger was Muhammad, of the Arab peoples; and the new revelation was the Qur'an. Islam has been most careful to maintain the Qur'an in its original Arabic, thus avoiding the errors of human translation. Thus it is that Islam teaches that the Qur'an is the final revelation and Muhammad is the final prophet (the "seal of the prophets") God will need to send.
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