Islam, Judaism, and Christianity are known as the monotheistic, Abrahamic religions. Followers of Islam are known as Muslims and followers of Judaism are known as Jews. All three faiths use different texts; the Muslims use the Quran, the Christians have the Holy Bible and the Jews rely on a modified version of the Christian Old Testament. Quranists use the Quran, while other Muslims may accept certain supplementary texts as the truth.
Islam, along with Judiasm and Christianity, is one of the three monotheistic Abrahamic religions. They are so called because they all have a common ancestor in the prophet, Abraham. This is the story of Abraham, his family, and how the three religions began. Although it is taken from the Old Testament of the JudeoChristian Bible, the story is the same for the followers of Islam. The purpose here is not to convert, but to inform.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. He planned to create a home where mankind could live and He could enjoy relationships with each and every one of them. Adam and Eve were intended to live in the Garden of Eden and be the parents of all humanity. He gave them the complete freedom of Paradise; the only thing he told them they were not to do was to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge.
Satan, originally one of God's three archangels, was jealous and hated mankind. One day, Eve was walking alone in the Garden of Eden. Taking the form of a serpent, or snake, Satan convinced her that nothing bad would happen to her if she ate the forbidden fruit. So she did, and she gave some to Adam.
God was furious. He had given them everything. All He had asked in return was one little thing, not to eat the fruit, and they went and did it anyway. They were thrown out of heaven. Centuries later, the descendants of Adam and Eve had discovered lower levels of sin and spent their lives doing their own thing rather than obeying God's principles. God despaired of his creation, and sent a flood to destroy the whole sorry lot. The only ones spared were Noah and his family.
Noah, his wife, their three sons and their wives, survived the ordeal of the flood and carried on repopulating the planet. It wasn't long, however, before their descendants fell into sin and moral decay. God found a man named Abraham who lived according to God's principles. He made a promise to Abraham that he would father a great nation. After years went by without giving birth, Sarah, Abraham's wife, allowed her maid, Hagar, to have a child by Abraham. The boy's name was Ishmael, and the family lived in harmony for many years.
Then Sarah had a son of her own by Abraham. They called him Isaac. By now, Ishmael was a young teenager. She had no use for him and had him and his mother cast out of their home. God sent an angel to tell Hagar not to worry, that Ishmael would go on to become the father of a great nation. This was the Arab nation.
Ishmael was the father of the followers of Islam, Isaac the father of the Jews and the Christians. With a common origin, the three faiths actually have more in common than the things that divide them. We all worship the same God.
Islam, along with Judiasm and Christianity, is one of the three monotheistic Abrahamic religions. They are so called because they all have a common ancestor in the prophet, Abraham. This is the story of Abraham, his family, and how the three religions began. Although it is taken from the Old Testament of the JudeoChristian Bible, the story is the same for the followers of Islam. The purpose here is not to convert, but to inform.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. He planned to create a home where mankind could live and He could enjoy relationships with each and every one of them. Adam and Eve were intended to live in the Garden of Eden and be the parents of all humanity. He gave them the complete freedom of Paradise; the only thing he told them they were not to do was to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge.
Satan, originally one of God's three archangels, was jealous and hated mankind. One day, Eve was walking alone in the Garden of Eden. Taking the form of a serpent, or snake, Satan convinced her that nothing bad would happen to her if she ate the forbidden fruit. So she did, and she gave some to Adam.
God was furious. He had given them everything. All He had asked in return was one little thing, not to eat the fruit, and they went and did it anyway. They were thrown out of heaven. Centuries later, the descendants of Adam and Eve had discovered lower levels of sin and spent their lives doing their own thing rather than obeying God's principles. God despaired of his creation, and sent a flood to destroy the whole sorry lot. The only ones spared were Noah and his family.
Noah, his wife, their three sons and their wives, survived the ordeal of the flood and carried on repopulating the planet. It wasn't long, however, before their descendants fell into sin and moral decay. God found a man named Abraham who lived according to God's principles. He made a promise to Abraham that he would father a great nation. After years went by without giving birth, Sarah, Abraham's wife, allowed her maid, Hagar, to have a child by Abraham. The boy's name was Ishmael, and the family lived in harmony for many years.
Then Sarah had a son of her own by Abraham. They called him Isaac. By now, Ishmael was a young teenager. She had no use for him and had him and his mother cast out of their home. God sent an angel to tell Hagar not to worry, that Ishmael would go on to become the father of a great nation. This was the Arab nation.
Ishmael was the father of the followers of Islam, Isaac the father of the Jews and the Christians. With a common origin, the three faiths actually have more in common than the things that divide them. We all worship the same God.
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