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Romans

& World
Religions

Islam and Romans


Muslim Connections
Muslims are connected to Christians through being a part of the
three religion grouping of “Abrahamic monotheists”. These three
religion believe in one God, who appeared to Abraham. But the
connections don’t end there. Additionally, Muslims believe that
God speaks through prophets, that angels and demons are forces
to be reckoned with, the verbal inspiration of Scripture, that Jesus
was born of a virgin, that Jesus healed the sick, that Jesus
ascended to heaven, and that He will come again to judge
humanity. Yet even though Muslims are similar to Christians in
some ways, they also differ greatly in some others.
• Read Romans 5:1-8
• What do these verses tell you about Christianity and
about Jesus?

The 5 Pillars
Islam’s religious practice is divided into what they call “5 Pillars”.
These are 5 things that every Muslim seeks to attain in their own
life:
• Shahada – “Creed” or “Testimony” – this creed or
declaration bears witness to the Muslim belief. It is
literally: “I bear witness that there is only one God, and that
Muhammed is His [last] prophet.” This statement serves
as the beginning of faith for Muslims (c.f. Baptism or in
other Christian groups, “decision for Christ”), as well as
constant creed (c.f. Apostle’s Creed), as well as burial text
(c.f. Baptismal remembrance at Christian funerals).
• Salah – “Prayer” – This is the five daily prayers of a
Muslim, offered to God as a constant reminder of His reign
and an opportunity for feeling sorry for sins committed
during the day. All prayers are recited verses of the
Quran. The opening 5 verses of the Quran are repeated
for every prayer.
• Sawm - “Fasting” - Muslims have one fasting month, the
month of Ramadan. During this month, Muslims are
required to not eat, drink, have sexual relations, or smoke
from sun-up to sun-down.
• Zakat – Almsgiving - The Quran tells Muslims that
Mohammed was born an orphan. Zakat acts as a social
and religious equalizer within the community of faith and
the outside community (although alms to the outside
community are not required, but encouraged).
• Hajj – Pilgrimage – Every Muslim, if physically and
financially able, is required to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca.
These 5 pillars form the basic religious life of a Muslim. In Islam’s
practice, there are no priesthood, no sacraments such as Baptism
and Holy Communion, but instead, the 5 pillars take the places of
those religious items. These 5 pillars are ways in which the
Muslim submits him or herself to God’s will (the root of the word
“Islam” means to “have peace by submission”). This submission
is often considered a sacrifice or suffering taken in exchange for
peace.
• Read Romans 5:3-9
• How does Paul speak of suffering and its effect on the
Christian? Why do Christians “suffer” and
“sacrifice”?

Grace and Sin in Islam


Throughout this series, we are going to be especially interested in
each religion’s concepts of sin and grace.

Sin: Islam regards sin to be any act that is against the will of God
that is enacted by someone who has reached biological puberty
(evidenced by the presence of biological pubescence). Islam
does not believe in “original sin”, but does believe essentially in
“concupiscence”, the natural human lust for sinful actions which
can be exploited or fought against. Any Muslim may commit a sin
and remain “in Islam” or in peace, as long as he or she does not
reject the “Shahada” (see 5 Pillars). Sins carry eternal
punishment in hell and may gain the sinner a “higher degree of
hell” if he or she commits enough (Think the difference between
the grades C, D, and F.) Sins also carry punishment within the
community, which the community is required to act upon in order
to stay in Allah’s good graces.
• What is similar and different in Christian and Muslim
conceptions of hell?
Grace: One of the clearest distinctions between Christianity and
Islam revolves around the Christian idea of “grace” and the
Muslim idea of “submission”. For a Muslim, God grants rewards
to those who submit themselves to Allah. Submission is, thereby,
the way to get to heaven. Christians, however, believe that it is
only the submission of Christ to the cross that paid the price for
our rebellion from God through our sins. Christians then will
“submit” to God’s Will, but out of thanksgiving rather than as the
way to obtain rewards from the Almighty in heaven and here on
earth.
• In Islam you are saved by your submission, in Christianity,
God submitted Himself so that you might be saved.

For Next Time


We will be studying Buddhism.

Keep an eye out for anything Buddhist you might see this
week.

Please don’t throw this away. If you’re not going to use it, leave it for
someone else to use.

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