Aren't Allah, Brahman and Yahweh just different names for the same God?

Atheist View

The Atheist Perspective

As there is no God, the answer of course must be No.

Every God is a creation of the human mind, and thus every God is different. Even the Christian God differs from sect to sect, often even from individual to individual. The same is increasingly true for Muslims. People create God in their own image, believing in the kind of god who embodies what they think is good or what they would like. Consequently, people who enjoy vengeance will believe in a vengeful God, while people who want more forgiveness in the world will believe in a forgiving God. People who hate homosexuals will believe in a God who hates homosexuals, while people who accept homosexuals will believe in a God who accepts them, too. Once upon a time millions of Christians believed in a God who endorsed slavery, because they wanted to keep slaves. And they went to war against millions of Christians who believed in an entirely different God, one who condemned slavery as evil.

Naturalists conclude from all this that in fact there is no God at all, just the gods people invent.

Which Religion is True?

Atheist view Muslim view Christian view

Muslim View

The Muslim Perspective

by Shaheed Williams

Allah is the name of the Creator in the Arabic language, used by Muslims, Christians and Jews or anyone else who speaks Arabic. Arabic is a Semitic language, so equivalent counterparts for Allah can be found in one of it's sister languages, Hebrew: El, Eloha or Elohim (which is a plural to represent respect). The term 'Yahweh' is derived from 'YHWH' which is in reference to the Creator, but not a name of His.

Allah tells us in the Qur'an that He sent Prophets and Messengers to varying people, places and languages. Some of them are well known - Muhammad, Jesus, Moses, Abraham, etc. (peace be upon them all)- but there are thousands, tens of thousands even, that we don't know about. All of them preached the same message of worshiping Allah alone, though the rules that each nation was to follow may have differed. But the core message about the Creator was the same: that He is completely unique in His actions and abilities; He is completely unique in His description, names and attributes; He is completely unique in His exclusive right to be worshiped.

That being said, it is quite possible that Allah was called other names in many differing places and languages, while maintaining the proper understanding of Him that was conveyed by His Prophets. However, the only religion that remains upon the proper understanding of God, as conveyed by the Prophets, is Islam.

Atheist view Muslim view Christian view

Christian View

The Christian Perspective

by Timothy McCabe

No.

Allah is a generic Arabic term for an ultimate creator God, and could be applied by Arabic speaking peoples to any ultimate creator God, whether He be the God of the Sikhs, the Muslims, the Christians, or the Jews; while Yahweh is the personal name of the God of Christians or Jews only (roughly translated "THE EXISTING ONE"); and Brahman is the non-personal God specific to Hinduism and related religions.

To most English-speaking westerners though, the term "Allah" is specifically synonymous with the Islamic or Muslim God, who is completely different from both the Christian God and the Hindu God.

Allah, the God of Muslims, has supposedly revealed Himself through the Qur'an. When the Qur'an was written, it claimed that:

A. the current Christian scriptures were true (Quran 2:40-44; 3:93; 5:43-48; 5:68; 7:157; 10:94; 20:133; 26:196-197; 29:46; 53:36);

B. the teachings of Moses, Abraham, and Jesus are true (Quran 3:84; 5:43-48; 42:13; 53:36);

C. Muslims and Christians worship the same God (Quran 29:46).

Indeed, according to the Qur'an, the Christian scriptures that were contemporary with it ought to be used to test the revelations given to Muhammad to see if they are genuinely from God (Quran 10:94).

Note that when these claims were made in the Qur'an (c. 600):

C. the God worshipped by the Christians was Trinitarian including the divine Son, Jesus (Isaiah 9:6, 48:16-17; Matthew 1:23, 3:16-17; John 1; Luke 9:35, 20:44; Acts 13:13; Psalm 110:1; Colossians 1:16, 2:9; Romans 15:16; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Nicene Creed c. 431);

B. Jesus had taught that God is Trinity (Matthew 28:18-20; John 14:9, 14:16-17, 14:26, 16:13), Jesus is divine (Matthew 28:18; Luke 19:38-40; John 8:58-59, 10:30-33, 14:6-7), and all men sin (Mark 10:18; Luke 11:13, 18:19);

A. the Christian scriptures (undebatably established since c. 397 in the west and c. 508 in the east, unchanged for 100 years prior to the Qur'an) taught that God is Trinity (Isaiah 9:6, 48:16-17; Matthew 1:23, 3:16-17; John 1; Luke 9:35, 20:44; Acts 13:13; Psalm 110:1; Colossians 1:16, 2:9; Romans 15:16; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Matthew 28:18-20; John 14:9, 14:16-17, 14:26, 16:13, etc), Jesus is divine (Matthew 28:18; Luke 19:38-40; John 8:58-59, 10:30-33, 14:6-7, etc), and all men sin as a direct result of Adam (Luke 11:13; Romans 5:12-21; 1 Corinthians 15:22, etc).

Note that Muslims deny the Trinity, the deity of Christ, and that all men sin as a direct result of Adam. The Qur'an also denies that Jesus was crucified (Quran 4:157), whereas the Christian scriptures that the Qur'an says are true claim that Jesus was crucified (Matthew 27:35, 28:5; Mark 15:24-25, 16:6; Luke 23:33; John 19:18).

From all of this we see that:

Premise 1: If the Qur'an is true, the Christian scriptures are true.

Premise 2: If the Christian scriptures are true, Islam is false.

Conclusion: If the Qur'an is true, Islam is false.

Additionally, it appears to me as though Allah claims in the Qur'an to always be just (Quran 4:40, also Quran 2:272, 2:281, 3:18, 3:108, etc), yet at times according to the Qur'an, He completely ignores the penalty for sin (Quran 4:64, 4:96, 4:100, 4:106, etc), thus making Him unjust. This makes Him both just and unjust at the same time and in the same way. In other words, Allah violates the logical law of non-contradiction. This means that either things can both be and not be at the same time and in the same way, making all knowledge utterly impossible, or else Allah as described in the Qur'an does not exist. Yahweh, on the other hand, does exist and tells us that it is impossible for Him to deny Himself, or to be self-contradictory (2 Timothy 2:13, Hebrews 6:18, Titus 1:2).

Brahman, the ultimate deity of Hindus, is also different from Yahweh. As I understand, under the Brahman deity, time has been going on for an infinite number of cycles, which means that since past time has ended, we have come to the end of infinity. Yet, infinity has no end by definition. Therefore, under Brahman, "infinite" and "not infinite" mean exactly the same thing. In other words, yet again, either Brahman does not exist, or else things can both be and not be at the same time and in the same way, defying the laws of logic and thus making all knowledge absolutely impossible.

Yahweh exists, whereas the other two do not, and only under Yahweh is it possible for reality to be as it is, whereas it would not be possible for reality to be as it is under Allah or under Brahman.

Atheist view Muslim view Christian view

Comments

Timothy McCabe arguments are based upon 1 wrong and 1 false understanding:
1- Allah is a generic Arabic term for "god"- FALSE, ilah is the generic Arabic term wich means "god", when prefixed with Al (which limits the usage toa specific entity) it becomes Allah meaning: The specifig God, written in English as 'God' not as 'god'. So Allah is not the generic, but a specif term.
2- Unjust by completely ignoring the penalty for sin - WRONG: As per Quran, justice is based on the matters involving human relations (socialogy), and God will never ignore or nullify any person who commits such crimes, these are temed in Islam as 'Huqooq ul Ibad' (rights of human). On the other hand, there are 'Huqooq ul Allah' (the right of Allah) in which, as he describes in Quran, He may ignore one if his basic faith is not corrupted and he does not violates human rights, This is the absolute example of just and mercy (Al-Rahman).

— Wasiuddin Azeem

It is sad that you do not include comments by Hindus for Brahman. In Vedas, Brahman means ALL THAT EXISTS. Hence, whatever exists is Brahman - just one entity. It is due to Maya that we experience disconnect among things. I won't call it God but the INFINITE EXISTENCE.

AUM SHAANTI SHAANTI SHAANTI

— NiceAnand

Anand,

If you are interested or know someone who would be:
http://www.godcontention.org/apply.php

— Webmaster

I always believe we all from one parents.We have to trust ourself.Lack misunderstanding whole world has problem.every body claim to be that their god is great not knowing we all came from one parents that adam and eve.(the great creator who created man and woman)

— shameemizebhijie

Wasiuddin Azeem, Your entire comment is a fallacy. 'ilah' is the arabic for 'god'. Allah is the Arabic for 'the god/God'. Both 'ilah' and 'Allah' are titles, thus both are generic terms as they could refer to any god/Supreme God of a given culture. For eg: An arab Hindu would say that Allah of his Vedas is Brahma because Brahma is a name and 'Allah' is a title (Brahma being his Supreme God).

The Hebrew equivalent of "Allah" is "Elohim". There is no Arab equivalent for YHWH because YHWH (Yahweh/Jehovah) is a name. The name of the Allah which muslims worship is not mentioned in the Quran. So his name remains obscure.

— Winston Xavier

I agree with Timothy McCabe completely. Brahman is a finite being who is not worshipped and is rarely recognized by Hindus. Allah is a false god and an abomination of Yahweh created by Muhammad. Yahweh is the True and Living God. He is perfect and just in all ways. He is loving and caring for His children. His love is so great He sent His Son Jesus to die on the Cross so that we may be saved and be with Him. Jesus is the only way to be saved from sin and eternal death. Accept the Lord Jesus Christ into your life today!

— PraiseJesus7

The question: Aren't Allah, Brahman and Yahweh just different names for the same God?

Answer: Yes AND No.

They may be to some people for others not.
"God" really only exists in the minds of the person that believes it. Allah could be piece of stone to some to others a demon.

If the human race was wiped out and extinct where would their respective "God/Gods" be?

They exist only in the mind... btw where is Zeus?

— The Truth

The most reasonable answer came from islam.. The atheist made a decent point. The christian is just lost and disinformative. That guy needs his "facts" checked lol Allah is surely NOT a generic term but GOD is as generic as its going to get as you can Add to the word God to give it gender. Something God should be far above.... A gender.

— Daniel

Christians defined God themselves....like Hindus...

Conclusion : They are on the Wrong Track

— Faiz Ahmed Khan

Trinity is False from Bible itself

— Faiz Ahmed Khan

God is Far Exalted from having a SON

— Faiz Ahmed Khan

In fact, naturalists have a de facto God, and its name is Emergence.

How was the universe created?

It emerged.

There was chaos during the first trillionth of a second after the Big Bang, then there was order. How did this order come about?

It emerged.

How did this order (sometimes speciously known as "laws of nature") persist?

Emergence persisted.

Sentience, most contemporary scientists agree, does not exist in pure matter. how did it arise in living creatures?

It emerged.

How did reason and understanding arise?

It emerged.

For every scientific statement, when you want an explanation, turn to the great God Emergence.

See nobel prize winner Steven Weinberg's "Does Science Explain Everything? Anything?" (which answers, "no") if you don't understand the God of naturalism.

— Don Salmon

Dear Timothy, even you know and I know that the verses which you quoted to prove that trinity is true is from the Bible. And also we both know that the current bible is not the one revealed to Prophet Jesus . Christians agree themselves that Bible was written by not one but several human beings . It contradicts itself. It has thousands of different versions in itself.The Quran speaks about the revelations of Jesus, not Paul or Matthew oe Luke.Hence Quran says that those revelations were true. But the current Bible cannot be trusted by us in any way.So you qoute hundred verses from it to prove trinity and divinity, those still remain irrelevant.

— A Muslim

It may be worthwhile to say that Orthodox Christians, while trinitarian, do not recognize Jesus as God himself. He was agent. The only constant is the universal constant, or Holy Spirit. As one in the orthodox line of rites, I would say this Christian take is weighed in protestant beliefs more than anything.

— Niall

Yes, we Muslims do believe that teachings of Moses,Abraham, Jesus were true except those which have been modified.
Your Trinity's "Father" is our Allah
Christians or "Jews" didn't worship Jesus at his lifetime as Jesus didn't want them to do so. He didn't order them to take himself as a God

— Mohamed Sherif

If something regarding christian scripts was not told by Jesus in his life time, I won't believe it as a Muslim, as it might be fabricated by saints and priests

— Mohamed Sherif

Aren't Allah, Brahman and Yahweh just different names for the same God?

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