A Theological Challenge to the Islamic Conception of God
By Dr. Maxwell Shimba, Shimba Theological Institute
Abstract
The term “Father” as used by Jesus in reference to God stands at the heart of the Christian revelation and is foundational to Christian theology. Conversely, Allah in Islam categorically denies any notion of divine Fatherhood, explicitly repudiating the concept in the Qur’an. This paper explores the profound theological and historical discontinuities between the Christian God, who is revealed as Father in the ministry of Jesus, and Allah of the Islamic tradition. We address the central question: If Allah is the same God as the God of Jesus, why did He never reveal Himself as Father, and why did He wait centuries to correct this supposed error?
1. The Fatherhood of God in the Teachings of Jesus
The New Testament is saturated with references to God as “Father.” Jesus employs this intimate language over 170 times in the Gospels, not only in private prayers (Mark 14:36; John 17:1,11) but also in teaching the disciples to pray: “Our Father in heaven…” (Matthew 6:9). This Fatherhood is not merely metaphorical or functional, but ontological—expressing an essential relational dynamic within the Godhead (John 1:18; John 5:18; John 10:30).
Moreover, the earliest Christian creeds and the apostolic witness unanimously affirm that God is eternally Father to the Son (Nicene Creed, c. 325 AD; cf. John 17:24).
Scriptural Evidence:
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Matthew 11:27: “No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son…”
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John 5:18: The Jews tried to kill Jesus “because he was… calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.”
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John 20:17: “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”
This consistent, public, and unchallenged use of “Father” by Jesus is unparalleled in pre-Christian Jewish literature, highlighting its revelatory significance.
2. The Silence and Absence of Allah in the Gospels
If, as Islamic polemic claims, Allah is the same God whom Jesus worshipped and revealed, we are compelled to ask: Where was Allah when Jesus called God “Father”?
There are several options, none of which are satisfactory for Islamic theology:
a) Allah was Silent or Absent
If Allah is the God of the Gospel, why did He not correct Jesus—or the disciples, or the early Church—regarding the “error” of calling God “Father”?
The Quran repeatedly insists, “It is not befitting to Allah that He should beget a son” (Quran 19:35; 112:3). Yet, for nearly 600 years, no divine correction is issued until Muhammad arises in 7th-century Arabia. Such divine silence is incongruent with the vigilance and corrective zeal Allah displays elsewhere in Islamic scripture.
b) Allah is not the God whom Jesus Revealed
A more logical conclusion is that the God revealed by Jesus—the God who calls Himself Father—is categorically distinct from Allah of the Quran. The Johannine and Synoptic traditions make clear that the Fatherhood of God is central, not peripheral, to Christ’s revelation.
c) The Law of First Proclamation and Doctrinal Consistency
In biblical theology, the principle of “first proclamation” or “progressive revelation” holds that God’s self-revelation is consistent and unchanging (Malachi 3:6; James 1:17). The God of the Bible reveals Himself progressively, but never contradicts prior revelation. If Allah were truly the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jesus, He could not introduce a doctrinal innovation that flatly contradicts the cornerstone of Christ’s message.
3. The Qur’anic Rejection of Divine Fatherhood
The Qur’an not only avoids “Father” language, but outright rejects it:
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Quran 5:18: “The Jews and Christians say, ‘We are the children of Allah and His loved ones.’ Say, ‘Why then does He punish you for your sins?’”
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Quran 19:88-92: “And they say, ‘The Most Merciful has taken [for Himself] a son.’ You have done an atrocious thing…”
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Quran 112:3: “He neither begets nor is born.”
This is not a matter of differing terminology but a fundamental theological chasm. Nowhere in the Qur’an does Allah ever reveal himself as Father. Islamic exegesis (tafsir) is unanimous: “Father” as a title for God is shirk (blasphemous association).
4. Historical and Theological Discontinuity
If Allah is the same God as the Father of Jesus, the absence of divine correction during the ministry of Jesus, the apostolic age, and the patristic period is inexplicable.
Why did Allah wait over six centuries to send Muhammad to “correct” Jesus’ supposed error?
Such a view not only indicts God’s providence and sovereignty but undermines the credibility of both Christian and Islamic scripture.
Furthermore, if Allah is not the Father, then he cannot be the God of Jesus. The central Christian confession—that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19)—excludes any deity who does not eternally exist as Father.
5. Academic Consensus and Scholarly Reflections
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Larry Hurtado (Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity): The worship of Jesus as Son of the Father is the earliest and most distinctive mark of Christian faith, distinguishing it sharply from Judaism and, later, Islam.
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Richard Bauckham (Jesus and the God of Israel): The early church’s invocation of God as Father “rests on the direct teaching and example of Jesus.”
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Kenneth Cragg (The Call of the Minaret): “The Qur’an’s rejection of the divine Fatherhood stands as its most decisive break with Christian revelation.”
6. Conclusion: Allah—A Different God
The law of first proclamation, the consistency of divine revelation, and the unbroken testimony of the church require that the true God is the one revealed by Jesus as Father.
The absence of any correction by Allah during the Gospel era, and the outright rejection of divine Fatherhood centuries later, strongly indicates that Allah is not the God of Jesus, but a later theological construct—one that came, not to fulfill, but to contradict the self-revelation of the God of the Bible.
In sum:
If Allah were God, He would have affirmed or corrected Jesus during his earthly ministry regarding calling God “Father.” The 600-year silence is theologically indefensible. Allah’s refusal to be “Father” is a categorical proof that he is not the God and Father of Jesus Christ.
The God of Jesus is the Father—eternally, unchangeably, and uniquely so.
To deny the Fatherhood of God is to deny the heart of Christian revelation.
References
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The Holy Bible (Matthew, John, Revelation, Malachi, James)
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The Holy Qur’an (Surahs 5, 19, 112)
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Larry Hurtado, Lord Jesus Christ
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Richard Bauckham, Jesus and the God of Israel
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Kenneth Cragg, The Call of the Minaret
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N. T. Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God
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Early Christian Creeds and Councils
Dr. Maxwell Shimba, Shimba Theological Institute
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