Could you please explain how we know that God and Allah are not the same? Many people think they possibly are, but I’d like to know the difference from a Christian standpoint.
As I think about, it seems most of the times I hear someone say Allah and God are the same, the speaker is a Christian. I don’t remember ever hearing a Muslim or a Jew make that claim.
When Mohammed developed Islam, around 600 AD, he consolidated the pantheon of 360 Arabic deities into one. That one was called al Ilah, later shortened into Allah, and was the Arabic god of the moon. According to some experts, that explains why you’ll see a crescent moon atop most mosques.
But there are other reasons to conclude that Allah and the Christian God are not the same. Christians worship one God in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Islam denies the Trinity and worships a god who is not a father and who has no son. They say, “God does not beget, and God was not begotten.” If they’re speaking of God the Father they’re half right, God was not begotten. But when it comes to God the Son, they’re wrong on both counts. The Father does beget and the Son was begotten (John 3:16).