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Do Muslims and Christians worship the same deity according to Islamic theology?
Executive summary
Islamic theology affirms belief in one transcendent God—Allah—who is the same divine label used by Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews, but classical and modern Islamic teachings explicitly reject the Christian doctrines of the Trinity and the divinity of Jesus, creating a clear theological divergence about God's nature [1] [2] [3]. Scholarship shows Islam developed in dialogue with Christian traditions, which complicates simple answers about identity of deity; some shared attributes exist (unity, creator, merciful) even as doctrinal conflict over personhood and incarnation remains central [4] [1] [2].
1. “Same name, different theology”: what Islam says about Allah and Christian God
Islamic sources and summaries emphasize that Allah is the singular, eternal creator, transcendent and without human attributes, and that Arab Christians and Jews also use the word “Allah” to refer to God—so on a linguistic level the term overlaps [1]. But Islamic theology, as described in encyclopedic and theological overviews, rejects the Christian formulation of God as a Trinity and denies Jesus’ divinity; that rejection is not a minor dispute but foundational for Muslim conceptions of monotheism (tawḥīd) [2] [3].
2. Where agreement exists: shared monotheism and overlapping attributes
Both traditions speak of one supreme creator who is merciful, just, and sovereign; those shared predicates mean believers can point to common ground in worshiping a single, omnipotent deity who sustains the world [1]. Academic treatments note Islam’s engagement with Christian ideas during its formation, so the two faiths’ conceptions of God developed in conversation and carry overlapping language and attributes even as doctrinal meanings diverge [4].
3. Where disagreement is decisive: Trinity, incarnation, and the role of Jesus
Christian orthodoxy affirms the Trinity and the divine sonship of Jesus; Islam explicitly compares Trinitarian doctrine to polytheism and insists Jesus is a prophet, not divine, which makes the two religions’ answers to “who God is” incompatible in core doctrinal terms [2] [3]. Because Islam’s core creed (the Shahada) declares there is no deity but Allah, Islamic theologians treat any addition of divine persons as a violation of monotheism—this is the primary reason many Muslims say Christians do not worship the same God in theological terms [2] [3].
4. Scholarly nuance: historical dialogue and revisionary accounts
Recent scholarship highlighted in reviews shows scholars like Gabriel Said Reynolds argue Islam emerged amid Christian contexts and debates, which introduces nuance: Islamic conceptions of God were shaped in part by interaction with Christian thought and biblical traditions, so the relationship isn’t simply foreign vs. native but dialogical [4]. That history explains why some attributes and scriptural references overlap even where later theology draws hard boundaries.
5. Practical and interfaith perspectives: language vs. doctrinal identity
Practically, Arabic-speaking Christians use “Allah” for God, demonstrating shared linguistic practice [1]. Interfaith practitioners often emphasize common ethical and devotional ground; conversely, many theologians and apologetics sources stress the irreconcilable doctrinal differences [5] [3]. Thus whether one says “same deity” depends on whether the criterion is shared language/attributes or agreement on divine personhood and redemptive claims.
6. What available sources do not mention or resolve
Available sources do not mention specific denominational statements (for example, Vatican or major Muslim council declarations) that might try to formalize a mutual recognition of deity beyond the general scholarly and apologetic claims cited here. They also do not provide polling data on how lay Christians and Muslims personally answer the question in different regions—those empirical details are not found in current reporting (not found in current reporting).
7. Bottom line for readers
If “same deity” is defined narrowly as a single, supreme creator with shared attributes and overlapping vocabulary, Islamic theology recognizes that concept of God—Arabic Christians use the same name and Islam affirms one transcendent creator [1] [2]. If the test is agreement on God’s internal identity—Trinity, incarnation, and Jesus’ divinity—Islamic theology rejects those Christian claims and treats them as incompatible with tawḥīd, leading Islamic theologians to say Christians and Muslims do not worship the same conception of God in doctrinal terms [2] [3].