3 (Imrans):63 Say: "People of the Book, let us come to an agreement: that we will worship none but God, that we will associate none with Him, and that none of us shall set up mortals as deities next to God".
Mohammed declared the revelation of Islam in the year 610 CE and, during the period of 610 until 631 CE, Mohammed and his followers spread that message among his nation of Arabia. Part of that process included a struggle and fight with the Arabian tribes that opposed his message. Until Mohammed, the Arab tribes believed in a supreme God and in lower deities. Mohammed's revelation denied divinity beyond that of God alone, which is entirely consistent with Judaism.
The term "Allah" is equivalent to the term "God" in english. It is a close relative of the Aramaic "elah" and "eloah", which appear in the Torah repeatedly, and which also mean "god" or God". The plural for "elah" and "eloah" in Hebrew is "elohim", which is also found extensively in the Torah. Contrary to western allegations over the centuries, the term "Allah" is not a proper name for a deity coming from a different religion. It is simply the arabic word for "God", just like "elah" is the Aramaic word for "God". [Note: a excellent summary of the names of God in the Jewish Scriptures can be found at the following Christian website:
"Koran" or "Q'ran" means "Recitation", which Mohammed recited and wrote down. In it, God speaks in first person and hence believers of Islam consider the Q'ran the actual word of God. The term "Islam" means "The Surrender", and "Muslim" is literally "one who submits" or "surrenders" to God and God's Recitation.
Mohammed died in 632 CE. After his death, the Arab tribes, united under a single belief system, began the spread of Islam. Very quickly Islam was established in Egypt and the Byzantine-held land of Israel/Palestine. By the year 1492 (when Columbus discovered America) Islam had reached Spain, Iraq, Persia/Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan, all of northern Africa, the Balkans in Europe, Malaysia, Indonesia, and India.
Divinity in Islam
The revelation that Mohammed brought established a much stricter monotheism (with recognition of Allah as the ONLY deity, and foresaking of any other deities). Mohammed identifies the God of his revelation as the God of Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, and the Q'ran explicitly recognizes Allah as the God revealed in the Israelite "Torah" and the Christian "Gospel".
As does the Torah, the Q'ran recognizes the existence supernatural beings called Angels (literally "Messengers") who are supernatural and holy, yet are not considered divinities. With respect to Jesus, Islam specifically attacks the belief that Jesus could be divine and a literal offspring of God, just as it attacks the belief (prevalent in the Arab tribes of the day) that there exist lower level divinities (which the local Arab tribes called "Daughters of Allah") or any kind of literal offspring of God.
Mohammed's revelation also recognizes the Jewish and Christian revelations as true, although it is directly contradicting any implication in the Christian revelation that would equate Jesus with God or asign divinity to Jesus. Jesus in the Q'ran is said to be holy but specifically not divine. Although the actual canon of Graeco-Roman Christianity, established in approx 320 CE, only contains a very small number of allusions to Jesus as equal to God, by the year 320 CE Graeco-Roman Christianity had officially incorporated into its creeds (e.g. the Nicene Creed) statements that God is composed of a trinity consisting of father, son, holy spirit. These creeds were well known by the Arabs of 600 CE, since the Bizantine Roman Empire was their neighbor, and ruler over the land of Israel/Palestine. Mohammed would have seen such creeds with the same antagonism that he had against the Arab tribes' conception that Allah had daughter offsprings.
Mohammed's revelation, just like the Torah and perhaps the original Jewish Christianity (as opposed to Constantinian Graeco-Roman Christianity after 320 CE), is absolutely contrary to the conception of God as anything other than One and specifically calls out Messiah as a human being that is holy (like any prophet would be holy) but specifically not divine. From this standpoint, Islam and Judaism are very much consistent.
The reader of the Q'ran will notice that for the most part, God speaks in first person plural ("We"), not first person singular ("I"). Sometime God speaks of itself in third person singular ("he"). The reader should not interpret this as any kind of encouragement to think of God as composed of any number of parts (like some kind of assembly of divine entities), or as a male entity . The Q'ran is very explicit that God is One and not to be likened to a mortal or human. Interestingly, the Torah also has God speaking as "We" on several occasions (e.g. Genesis 1:26 "Then God said 'Let US make humankind in our image, according to our likeness'). Nevertheless, both Torah and Q'ran go out of their way to specifically forbid human beings to think of God in finite terms; i.e., both say that God transcends all attributes (including numerical values) and must not be conceived of as anything other than ONE.
In general, the Q'ran confirms the validity of Torah and Gospel, but also calls out that any Jewish or Christian scripture that contradicts the Q'ran is the result of corruption of the original texts by misguided Jewish or Christian scribes.
A few additional points:
- The Q'ran states as fact the virgin birth of Jesus of Nazareth. Although it does emphatically deny that God can have offspring, it also states that nothing is impossible for God and that God enabled the virgin birth of Jesus.
- The Q'ran, like Rabbinical (Pharisaic) Judaism as well as Christianity, states as fact that the end of times will be accompanied by a final judgement and a resurrection of the dead. Interestingly, Judaism in the time until the destruction of the Second Temple was very split on this topic, with Pharisees believing in the Resurrection, and Zadokites (aka Saducees) denying it. Zadokites were the official priestly administrators of the Temple and denied the Oral Torah and found no evidence in the Written Torah of anything suggesting a final judgement or a resurrection of the dead.
Below we list Q'ranic passages relevant to the many points made above:
2 (The Cow):85 ... To Moses we gave the Scriptures and after him We sent other apostles. We gave Jesus the son of Mary veritable signs and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit. Will you then scorn each apostle whose message does not suit your fancies, charging some with imposture and slaying others? They [Jews and Christians who do not accept Mohammed's message] say: "Our hearts are sealed". But God has cursed them for their unbelief. They have but little faith. And now that a Book confirming their own has come to them from God, they deny it, although they know it to be the truth and have long prayed for help against the unbelievers [i.e. pagans]. God's curse be upon the infidels! .... When they are told: "Believe in what God has revealed", they reply: "We believe in what was revealed to US". But they deny what has since been revealed, although it is the truth, corroborating their own scriptures.
2 (The Cow):252 Such are God's revelations. We recite them to you in all truth, for you are one of Our messengers. Of these God spoke directly; others He raised to a lofty status. We gave Jesus the son of Mary veritable signs and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit.
3 (Imrans):1 ALIF lam mim. God! There is no god but Him, the Living, the Ever-existent One. He has revealed to you the Book with the Truth, confirming the scriptures which preceded it; for He has already revealed the Torah and the Gospel for the guidance of mankind, and the distinction between right and wrong. ...
3 (Imrans):45 The angels said to Mary: "God bids you rejoice in a word from Him. His name is the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary. He shall be noble in this world and in the hereafter, and shall be one of those who are favoured. He shall preach to men in his cradle and in the prime of manhood, and shall lead a righteous life". "Lord", she said, "how can I bear a child when no man has touched me?" He replied: "Even thus. God creates whom He will. When He decrees a thing He need only say "Be", and it is. He will instruct him in the Scriptures and in wisdom, in the Torah and in the Gospel, and send him forth as an apostle to the Israelites. He will say" I bring you a sign from your Lord. ... I come to confirm the Torah which preceded me and to make lawful to you some of things that you are forbidden. I bring you a sign from your Lord: therefore fear God and obey me. God is my Lord and your Lord: therefore serve Him. That is a straight path". ....
3 (Imrans):52 They plotted and God plotted. God is the supreme plotter. God said: "Jesus, I am about to claim you back and lift you up to Me. I shall take you away from the unbelievers and exalt your followers above them till the Day of Resurrection.
3 (Imrans):59 Jesus is like Adam in the sight of God. He created him of dust and then said to him: "Be", and he was.
3 (Imrans):63 Say "People of the Book, let us come to an agreement: that we will worship none but God, that we will associate none with Him, and that none of us shall set up mortals as deities next to God".
3 (Imrans):79 No mortal to whom God has given the Scriptures and whom He has endowed with judgement and prophethood would say to men: "Worship me instead of God". But rather "Be devoted servants of God, for you have studied and taught the Scriptures". Nor would he enjoin you to serve the angels and the prophets as your gods.
3 (Imrans):143 Muhammad is no more than an apostle: other apostles have passed away before him.
18 (The Cave):1 Praise be to God who has revealed the Book to His servant ... so that he may ... proclaim to the faithful who do good works that a rich and everlasting reward awaits them, and admonish those who say that God has begotten a son. Surely of this they could have no knowledge, neither they nor their fathers: a monstrous blasphemy is that which they utter.
19 (Mary):88 Those who say: "The Lord of Mercy has begotten a son", preach a monstrous falsehood, at which the very heavens might crack, the earth break asunder, and the mountains crumble to dust. That they should ascribe a son to the Merciful, when it does not become the Lord of Mercy to beget one!
5 (The Table):116 ...God will say: 'Jesus, son of Mary, did you ever say to mankind: "Worship me and my mother as gods besides God" ?'. 'Glory to You', he will answer, 'how could I ever say that to which I have no right?'. If I had ever said so, You would have surely known it. You know what is in my mind, but I know not what is in Yours. You alone know what is hidden. I told them only what You bade me. I said: "Serve God, my Lord and your Lord".
14 (Abraham):52 This is a warning to humankind; Let them take heed and know that He is but One God. Let the wise bear this in mind.
Jihad
The original struggle by Mohammed to gain acceptance of his revelation by the pagan (polytheistic) Arab tribes is by far the main focus of the term Jihad (Holy War) in the Q'ran. In fact, when it comes to Jews, Christians, Sabeans (followers of John the Baptist), the Q'ran calls them "People of The Book", and specifically recognizes the Torah and Christian Gospel as valid (except that the Q'ran contradicts the Christian concepts of the Trinity and divinity of Jesus, which the Q'ran ascribes to erroneous interpretation of the true original message.) In fact, The Q'ran specifically forbids forced conversion and also forbids attacking non-believers unless the non-believers forcefully attack first or forcefully obstruct Mohammed's mission to spread the revelation of Islam.
2 (The Cow):178 Believers, retaliation is decreed for you in bloodshed: a free man for a free man, a slave for a slave, and a female for a female. ... Men of understanding!, in retaliation you have a safeguard for your lives; perchance you will guard yourselves against evil.
2 (The Cow):190 Fight for the sake of God those that fight against you, BUT do not attack them first. God does not love the aggressors. Slay them [the unbelievers who attack you first] wherever you find them. Drive them out of the places from which they have driven you. Idolatry is more grievous than bloodshed. .... Fight against them until idolatry is no more and God's religion reigns supreme.
2 (The Cow):216 Fighting is obligatory for you, much as you dislike it.
2 (The Cow):256 There shall be no compulsion in religion. True guidance is now distinct from error. He that renounces idol-worship and puts his faith in God shall grasp a firm handle that will never break.
3 (Imrans):21 To those who have received the Scriptures and to the Gentiles [pagans] say: "Will you surrender yourselves to God?". If they become Muslims they shall be rightly guided; if they give no heed, then your only duty is to warn them. God is watching all His servants.
5 (The Table):34 Those that make war against God and His apostle and spread disorder in the land shall be put to death or crucified or have their hands and feet cut off on alternate sides, or be banished from the land.
8 (The Spoils):30 Remember how the unbelievers plotted against you. They sought to take you captive or to have you slain or banished. They schemed - but God also schemed. God is most profound in His machinations. ...8:40 Tell the unbelievers that if they mend their ways their past shall be forgiven; but if they persist in sin, let them reflect upon the fate of their forefathers. Make war on them until idolatry shall cease and God's religion shall reign supreme.
9 (Repentance):1 A declaration of immunity from God and His Apostle to the idolaters with whom you have made agreements: For four months you shall go unmolested in the land. Bit know that you shall not escape God's judgement, and that God will humble the unbelievers.
9 Repentance):4 Proclaim woeful punishment to the unbelievers, except to those idolaters who have honoured their treaties with you in every detail and aided none against you. With these, keep faith until their treaties have run their term. God loves the righteous. When the sacred months [Shawwal, Dhul-Qu'adah, Dhul-Hajjah, Muharram] are over, slay the idolaters wherever you should find them. Arrest them, besiege them, and lie in ambush everywhere for them. If they repent and take to prayer and render the alms levy, allow them to go their way. God is forgiving and merciful.
9 (Repentance):29 Fight against such of those to whom the Scriptures were given as believe neither in God nor the Last Day, who do not forbid what God and His apostle have forbidden, and do not embrace the true Faith, until theypay tribute out of hand and are utterly subdued.
9 (Repentance):38 Believers, why is it that when you are told: 'March in the cause of God,' you linger slothfully in the land? Are you content with this life in preference to the life to come? Few indeed are the blessings of this life, compared to those of the life to come. If you do not go to war, He will punish you sternly, and replace you by other men. You will in no way harm Him: for God has power over all things.
9 (Repentance):73 Prophet, make war on the unbelievers and the hypocrites and deal rigorously with them. Hell shall be their home: an evil fate.
Attitude towards Jews and Christians and their revelations
2 (The Cow):47 Children of Israel, remember the favour I have bestowed upon you, and that I exalted you above the nations. Guard yourselves against the day on which no soul shall stand for another: when neither intercession shall be accepted for it, nor any ransom be taken from it, nor any help be given it.
2 (The Cow):54 We gave Moses the Scriptures and knowledge of right and wrong, so that you might be rightly guided.
2 (The Cow):61 ... Believers, Jews, Christians, Sabaeans - whoever believes in God and the Last Day and Does What is Right - shall be rewarded by their Lord; they have nothing to fear or to regret.
2 (The Cow):85 ... To Moses we gave the Scriptures and after him We sent other apostles. We gave Jesus the son of Mary veritable signs and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit. Will you then scorn each apostle whose message does not suit your fancies, charging some with imposture and slaying others? They [Jews and Christians who do not accept Mohammed's message] say: "Our hearts are sealed". But God has cursed them for their unbelief. They have but little faith. And now that a Book confirming their own has come to them from God, they deny it, although they know it to be the truth and have long prayed for help against the unbelievers. God's curse be upon the infidels! .... When they are told: "Believe in what God has revealed", they reply: "We believe in what was revealed to US". But they deny what has since been revealed, although it is the truth, corroborating their own scriptures.
2 (The Cow):120 You will not please either the Jews or the Christians unless you follow their faith. Say: "God's guidance is the only guidance". And if after all the knowledge you have been given you yield to their desires, there shall be none to help or protect you from the wrath of God. Those to whom We have given the Book, and who read it as it ought to be read, truly believe in it; those that deny it will surely be the losers. Children of Israel, remember the favour I have bestowed upon you, and that I exalted you above the nations. Guard yourselves against a day on which no soul shall stand for another: when neither ransom shall be accepted from it, nor intercession avail it, nor any help be given it.
2 (The Cow):135 They say: "Accept the Jewish or the Christian faith and you shall be rightly guided." Say: "By no means! We believe in the faith of Abraham, the upright one. He was no idolater." Say "We believe in God and that which is revealed to us; in what was revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the tribes; to Moses and Jesus and the other prophets by their Lord. We make no distinction among them, and to God we surrender ourselves.".
3 (Imrans):19 The only true faith in God's sight is Islam. Those to whom the Scriptures were given disagreed among themselves through jealousy only after knowledge had been given them.
3 (Imrans):63 Say "People of the Book, let us come to an agreement: that we will worship none but God, that we will associate none with Him, and that none of us shall set up mortals as deities next to God".
3 (Imrans):66 Abraham was neither Jew nor Christian. He was an upright man who surrendered himself to God. He was no idolater.
3 (Imrans):72 Some of the People of the Book say to one another.... "Believe in none except those that follow your own religion". Say: "The only guidance is the guidance of God".
3 (Imrans):84 Say "We believe in God and what is revealed to us; in that which was revealed to Abraham and Ishmael, to Isaac and Jacob and the tribes; and in that which their Lord gave Moses and Jesus and the prophets. We discrminate against none of them. To Him we have surrendered ourselves."
3 (Imrans):111 Had the People of the Book accepted the Faith, it would surely have been better for them. Some are true believers, but most of them are evil doers. ... Yet they are not all alike. There are among the People of the Book some upright men who all night long recite the revelations of God and worship Him; who believe in God and the Last Day; who enjoin Justice and forbid evil and vie with each other in good works. These are righteous men: whatever good they do, its reward shall not be denied them. God well knows the righteous.
3 (Imrans):118 Believers, do not make friends with any but your own people. They [the unbelievers] will spare no pains to corrupt you. They desire nothing but your ruin. .... See how you love them and they do not love you. You believe in the entire Book. When they meet you they say: 'We, too, are believers.'. But when alone, they bite their finger-tips with rage. Say: 'May you perish in your rage! God has knowledge of your inmost thoughts'.
3 (Imrans):187 When God made a covenant with those to whom the Scriptures were given, He said: 'Proclaim these to mankind and do not suppress them.' But they cast the Scriptures behind their backs and sold them for a paltry price.
3 (Imrans):199 Some there are among the People of the Book who truly believe in God, and in what has been revealed to you and what has been revealed to them. .... They shall be rewarded by their Lord.
4 (Women):46 Some Jews take words out of their context and say [to Muhammad]: 'We hear but disobey. may you be bereft of hearing! Ra'ina! ', thus distorting the phrase with their tongues and reviling the true faith. But if they said: 'We hear and obey: hear us and Unzurna', it would be better and more proper for them. God has cursed them in their unbelief. They have no faith, except a few of them.
4 (Women):47 You to whom the Scriptures were given! Believe in that which We have revealed, confirming your own scriptures, before We obliterate your faces and turn them backward, or lay Our curse on you as We laid it on any who broke the Sabbath.
4 (Women): 153 The People of the Book ask you to bring down for them a book from heaven. Of Moses they demanded a harder thing than that. They said to him: 'Show us God distinctly.' And for their wickedness the thunderbolt smote them. The worshipped the calf after distinct signs had been revealed to them; yet We forgave them that, and bestowed on Moses clear authority.
4 (Women): 156 They [the People of the Book] denied the truth and uttered a monstrous falsehood against Mary. They declared: 'We have put to death the Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, the apostle of God.' They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, rather he [Jesus] was made to resemble another for them. Those that disagreed about him were in doubt concerning him. They knew nothing about him that was not sheer conjecture; they did not slay him, for certain. God lifted him up to Him; God is mighty and wise.
4 (Women): 159 Because of their iniquity, We forbade the Jews good things which were formerly allowed them; because time after time they have debarred others from the path of God; because they practice usury - although they were forbidden it - and cheat others of their possessions. We have prepared a stern chastisement for those of them that disbelieve. But those of them that have deep learning and those that truly believe in what has been revealed to you and to other prophets before you; who attend to their prayers and render the alms levy and have faith in God and the Last Day - these shall be richly rewarded.
4 (Women): 163 We have revealed Our will to you as We revealed it to Noah and to the prophets who came after him; as We revealed it to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the tribes; to Jesus, Job, Johan, Aaron, Solomon and David, to whom We gave the Psalms.
4 (Women): People of the Book [Christians], do not transgress the bounds of your religion. Speak nothing but the truth about God. The Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, was no more than God's apostle and His Word which He cast to Mary: a spirit from Him. So believe in God and His apostles and do not say: 'Three'. Forbear, and it shall be better for you. God is but one God. God forbid that He should have a son! ... The Messiah does not disdain to be a servant of God, nor do the angels who are nearest to Him.
5 (The Table): 5 Lawfull to you are the believing women and the free women from among those who were given the Book before you [Jews, Christians], provided that you give them their dowries and live in honour with them, neither commiting fornication nor taking them as mistresses.
5 (The Table):13 Because they [the Jews] broke their covenant, We laid on them Our curse and hardened their hearts. They have tampered with words out of their context and forgotten much of what they were enjoined. You will ever find them deceitful, except for a few of them. But pardon them and bear with them. God loves those who do good.
5 (The Table):14 With those who said they were Christians We made a covenant also, but they too have forgotten much of what they were enjoined. Therefore we stirred among them enmity and hatred, which shall endure till the Day of Resurrection, when God will declare to them all they have done.
5 (The Table):15 People of the Book!, Our apostle has come to reveal to you much of what you have hidden of the Scriptures, and to forgive you much.
5 (The Table):16 Unbelievers are those who declare: 'God is the Messiah, the son of Mary.' Say: 'Who could prevent God, if He so willed, from destroying the Messiah, the son of Mary, his mother, and all the people of the earth? God has sovereignty over the heavens and the earth and all that lies between them. He creates what He will and God has power over all things.'
5 (The Table):18 The Jews and Christians say: 'We are the children of God and His loved ones.' Say: 'Why then does He punish you for your sins?' Surely you are mortals of His own creation. He forgives whom He will and punishes whom He pleases. ...'
5 (The Table):20 Bear in mind the words of Moses to his people. He said: 'Remember, my people, the favour which God has bestowed upon you. He has raised up prophets among you, made you kings, and given you that which He has given to no other nation. Enter, my people, the holy land which God has assigned for you. Do not turn back, and thus lose all'.
5 (The Table): 32 ...We laid it down for the Israelites that whoever killed a human being, except as punishment for murder or other villainy in the land, shall be redeemed as though he had killed all mankind; and that whoever saved a human life shall be deemed as though he had saved all mankind.
5 (The Table):43 But how will they [the Jews] come to you for judgement, when they already have the Torah which enshrines God's own judgement? Soon after, they will turn their backs: they are no true believers. We have revealed the Torah, in which there is guidance and light. By it the prophets who surrendered themselves judged the Jews, and so did the rabbis and the divines, according to God's Book which had been committed to their keeping and to which they themselves were witnesses.
5 (The Table):45 We decreed for them [the Jews] a life for a life, and eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, an ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth, and a wound for a wound. But if a man charitably forebears from retaliation, his remission shall atone for him.
5 (The Table):46 After them [the prophets of the Torah] We sent forth Jesus, the son of Mary, confirming the Torah already revealed, and gave him the Gospel, in which there is guidance and light, corroborating what was revealed before it in the Torah, a guide and admonition to the righteous. Therefore let those who follow the Gospel judge according to what God has revealed therein. Evil-doers are those that do not judge according to God's revelations. And to you [followers of Mohammed] We have revealed the Book with the truth. It confirms the Scriptures which came before it and stands as a guardian over them. Therefore give judgement among men according to God's revelations and do not yield to their fancies or swerve from the truth made known to you.
5 (The Table):49 We have ordained a law and assigned a path for each of you. Had God pleased, He could have made of you one community: But it is His wish to prove you by that which He has bestowed upon you. Vie with each other in good works, for to God you shall return and he will resolve for you your differences.
5 (The Table):51 Believers, take neither the Jews nor the Christians for your friends. They are friends with one another. Whoever of you seeks their friendship shall become one of their number. God does not guide the wrongdoers. You see the fainthearted hastening to woo them. They say: "We fear lest a change of fortune should befall us.' But it may well be that when God grants you victory or makes known His will, they will regret their secret plans.
5 (The Table):64 The Jews say: 'God's hand is chained.' May their own hands be chained! May they be cursed for what they say! By no means. His hands are both outstretched: He bestowes as He wills.
5 (The Table):65 If the People of the Book accept the true faith and keep from evil, We will pardon them their sins and admit them to the gardens of delight. If they observe the Torah and the Gospel and what is revealed to them from their Lord, they shall enjoy abundance from above and from beneath. There are some among them who are righteous men; but there are many among them who do nothing but evil. Apostle [Mohammed]: proclaim what is revealed to you from your Lord; if you do not, you will surely fail to convey His message. God will protect you from all men. God does not love the unbelievers. Say: "People of the Book, you will attain nothing until you observe the Torah and Gospel and that which is revealed to you from your Lord." ... Believers, Jews, Sabeans, and Christians - whoever believes in God and the Last Day and does what is right - shall have nothing to fear or to regret.
5 (The Table):73 Unbelievers are those who say: 'God is the Messiah, the son of Mary.' For the Messiah himself said: 'Children of Israel, serve God, my Lord and your Lord.' He that worships other gods besides God, God will deny him Paradise, and the Fire shall be his home. None shall help the evil-doers. Unbelievers are those who say: 'God is one of three.' There is but one God.
5 (The Table):75 The Messiah, the son of Mary, was no more than an apostle: other apostles passed away before him. His mother was a saintly woman. They both ate earthly food.
5 (The Table):82 You will find that the most implacable of men in their enmity to the faithful are the Jews and the pagans, and that the nearest in affection to the faithful are those who say: 'We are Christians.' That is because there are priests and monks among them, and because they are free from pride. When they listen to that which was revealed to the Apostle, you see their eyes fill with tears as they recognize its truth. They say: 'Lord, we believe. Count us among the witnesses. Why should we not believe in God and in the truth that has come down to us? Why should we not hope our Lord will admit us among the righteous ? And for their words God has rewarded them with gardens watered by running streams.
5 (The Table):73 Unbelievers are those who say: 'God is one of three.' There is but one God. If they do not desist from so saying, those of them that disbelieve shall be sternly punished.
6 (Cattle):160 Have nothing to do with those who have split up their religion in sects. God will call them into account and declare to them what they have done.
9 (Repentance):30 The Jews say Ezra is the son of God, while the Christians say the Messiah is the son of God. Such are their assertions, by which they imitate the infidels of old. God confound them! How perverse they are! They make of their clerics and their monks, and of the Messiah, the son of Mary, Lords besides God; though they were ordered to serve one God only.
Attitude towards pagans or unbelievers in general
2 (The Cow):212 For the unbelievers the life of this world is decked with all manner of temptations. They scoff at the faithful, but those that fear God shall be above them on the Day of Resurrection.
2 (The Cow):221 You shall not wed pagan women, unless they embrace the Faith. A believing slave-girl is better than a idolatress, although she may please you. Nor shall you wed idolaters, unless they embrace the Faith.
3 (Imrans): 150 We [God] will put terror into the hearts of the unbelievers. They server other deities besides God for whom He has revealed no sanction.
3 (Imrans): 183 To those that declare: 'God has commanded us to believe in no apostle unless he brings down fire to consume an offering.', say: "Other apostles before me have come to you with veritable signs and worked the miracle you asked for. Why did you slay them, if what you say is true?'.
4 (Women): 48 God will not forgive those who serve other gods besides Him; but He will forgive whom He will for other sins.
6 (Cattle):100 Yet they [the misguided] regard the jinn as God's equals, though. He Himself created them, and in their ignorance acribe to Him sons and daughters. Glory to Him! Exalted be He above their imputations! Creator of the heavens and the earth. How should He have a son when He had no consort? He created all things, and He has knowledge of all things.
6 (Cattle):137 Their idols have induced many pagans to kill their children, seeking to ruin them and to confuse them in their faith. Had God pleased they would not have done so.
6 (Cattle):140 Loosers are those that in their ignorance have wantonl slain their own children and made unlawful what God has given them, inventing falsehoods about God.
9 (Repentance):114 It is not for the Prophet or the believers to beg forgiveness for idolaters, even though they be related to them, after it has become manifest that they have earned the punishment of Hell. Abraham prayed for his father only to fulfil a promise he had made him. But when he realized he was an enemy of God, he disowned him. Yet Abraham was a compasionate and tender-hearted man.
17 (The Night Journey):23 Your Lord has enjoined you to worship none but Him, and to show kindness to your parents. If either or both of them attain old age in your dwelling, show them no sign of impatience, nor rebuke them; but speak to them kind words. Treat them with humility and tenderness and say: 'Lord, be merciful to them. They nursed me when I was an infant.'
Righteousness, Faith, and Salvation. Also, injunctions against idolatry.
2 (The Cow):176 Righteousness does not consist in whether you face towards the East or the West. The righteous man is he who believes in God and the Last Day, in the angels and the Book and the prophets; who, though he loves it dearly, gives away his wealth to kinsfolk, to orphans, to the destitute, to the traveller in need and to beggars, and for the redemption of captives; who attends his prayers and renders the alms levy; who is true to his promises and steadfast in trial and adversity and in time of war. Such are the true believers; Such are the God-fearing.
4 (Women):57 As for those who have faith and do good works, We shall admit them to gardens watered by running streams, where, wedded to chaste spouses, they shall abide forever.
4 (Women):74 Let those who would exchange the life of this world for the hereafter, fight for the cause of God; whoever fights for the cause of God, whether he dies or triumphs, We shal richly reward him.
4 (Women):87 God: there is no god but Him. He will surely gather you all together on the Day of Resurrection.
4 (Women):112 God will not forgive idolatry. He will forgive whom He will all other sins. He that serves other gods besides God has strayed far indeed. Rather than to Him, they pray but to females: they pray but to a rebellious Satan. God has laid his curse on Satan, for he had said: 'I shall entice a number of Your servants and lead them astray...'.
4 (Women):121 As for those that have faith and do good works, We shall admit them to gardens watered by running streams, and there they shall abide forever. Such is God's true promis: and who has a truer word than God? It shall not be in accordance with your wishes, nor shall it be as the People of the Book desire. He that does evil shall be required with evil: he shall find none besides God to protect or help him. But the believers who do good works, both men and women, shall enter Paradise.
4 (Women):125 And who has a nobler religion than he who surrenders himself to God, does what is right, and follows the faith of saintly Abraham, whom God chose to be His friend?
5 (The Table):65 If the People of the Book accept the true faith and keep from evil, We will pardon them their sins and admit them to the gardens of delight. If they observe the Torah and the Gospel and what is revealed to them from their Lord, they shall enjoy abundance from above and from beneath. There are some among them who are righteous men; but there are many among them who do nothing but evil. Apostle [Mohammed]: proclaim what is revealed to you from your Lord; if you do not, you will surely fail to convey His message. God will protect you from all men. God does not love the unbelievers. Say: "People of the Book, you will attain nothing until you observe the Torah and Gospel and that which is revealed to you from your Lord." ... Believers, Jews, Sabeans, and Christians - whoever believes in God and the Last Day and does what is right - shall have nothing to fear or to regret.
6 (Cattle): 107 Do not revile the idols which they [believers] invoke besides God, lest in their ignorance they revile God with rancour. Thus have We made the actions of each community seem pleasing to itself. To their Lord they shall return, and He will declare to them what they have done.
6 (Cattle):137 Their idols have induced many pagans to kill their children, seeking to ruin them and to confuse them in their faith. Had God pleased they would not have done so.
7 (The Heights):40 For those that have denied Our revelations the gates of heaven shall not be opened; nor shall they enter Paradise until a camel shall pass thru the eye of a needle. Thus we regard the guilty.
11 (Hud):24 We sent forth Noah to his people. He said: 'I have come to warn you plainly. Serve none but God. Beware the torment of a woeful day.'
14 (Abraham):43 Woe to those who love this life more than the life to come.
14 (Abraham):52 This is a warning to humankind; Let them take heed and know that He is but One God. Let the wise bear this in mind.
Creation of mankind
15 (Al Hijr):26 We created man from dry clay, from black moulded loam, and before him Satan from smokeless fire. Your Lord said to the angels: 'I am creating man from dry clay, from black moulded foam. When I have fashioned him and breathed My spirit into him, kneel down and prostrate yourselves before him.' The angels, one and all, prostrated themselves, except Satan.
Dietary regulations
5 (The Table): 3 [Believers,] You are forbidden carrion, blood, and the flesh of swine; also any flesh dedicated to any other than God. You are forbidden the flesh of strangled animals and of those beaten or gored to death; of those killed by a fall or mangled by beasts of prey (unless you make it clean by giving the death-stroke yourselves); also of animals sacrificed to idols. ... He that is constrained by hunger to eat of what is forbidden, not intending to commit sin, will find God forgiving and merciful.
5 (The Table): 5 All good things have this day been made lawful to you. The food of those to whom the Book was given [Jews] is lawfaul to you, and yours to them.
5 (The Table):93 No blame shall be attached to those that have embraced the Faith and done good works in regard to any food they may have eaten, so long as they fear God and believe in Him and do good works; so long as they fear God and believe in Him; so long as they fear God and do good works. God loves the charitable.
6 (Cattle):121 Do not eat of that which has not been concecrated in the name of God, for that is sinful. Note: Compare with similar injunction in Christianity recorded in Acts 15:29 : "Abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from fornication. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well.", which was agreed during Council of Jerusalem, after the arguments between Paul and Jesus' brother Jacob (James), regarding which Torah Laws are applicable to Gentile (i.e. non-Israelite) Christians.
6 (Cattle):146 We forbade the Jews all animals with undivided hoofs and the fat of sheep and oxen, except what is on their backs and intestines and what is mixed with their bones. Such is the penalty We imposed on them for their misdeeds. What We declare is true.
16 (The Bee):115 He has forbidden you carrion, blood and the flesh of swine; also any flesh consecrated other than in the name of God. But whoever is compelled through necessity, intending neither to sin nor to transgress, will find that God is forgiving and merciful.
Other topics
Mohammed's night flight to Jerusalem. 17 (The Journey):1 Glory be to Him, who made His servant go by night from the Sacred Temple [Mecca] to the farther Temple [Jerusalem] whose surroundings we have blessed, that We might show him some of Our signs.
All quotations from the Koran are from english translation by Penguin Books, England; 1995 edition.