Due to Christianity having multiple denominations their beliefs tend to vary. The most popular belief is that your afterlife depends on how you live your life now, much like with Islam. God will decide if your place is in heaven with him or in hell with the fallen angel Satan. In Christianity however your sins can easily be forgiven by confessing to them with a priest and being a generally good person and learning from your mistakes.
Hell is a place for those who rejected god (BBC, 2019) its depicted very similarly to the hell of Islamic traditions, with fire and torture. “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’’ (Matthew 25:41)
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Many of the passages in the bible describe hell as a burning lake of fire and sulphur, controlled by the devil and his angels, meaning demons, who will torture you for the wrong you’ve done. Heaven in Christianity is described as god’s temple (revelation 7:13-17) where there will be no fear or sadness, and god will wipe every tear from his follower’s eyes. In modern culture it’s often depicted as a place in the clouds with pearly white gates and an angel at the door.
Both religions have very similar ideas of the afterlife, the main difference being judgement day. But their descriptions of heaven and hell share many similarities and how you get to either one is the same.
The devil in Islam
The origin story of the devil in both Islam and Christianity shares many similarities. [Quran 2:34] When we said to the angels, 'Fall prostrate before Adam,' they fell prostrate, except Satan; he refused, was too arrogant, and a disbeliever.
Muslims believe the devil was one of god’s angels who refused to bow down to Adam, believing he was better than Adam because he was made of fire and Adam was made from clay. God then threw the devil (known by the name Iblis, Aduw Allah which translates to the enemy of god, and a few other names) out of heaven. His job now is to tempt people to sin (which he started with Eve and the forbidden fruit) until judgement day comes and he is judged for his deeds. [Quran 2:208] O you who believe, you shall embrace total submission; do not follow the steps of Satan, for he is your most ardent enemy.
Iblis is shown as humanity’s worst enemy, and its believed that he can change you through the little things that pile up, for example stealing a chocolate bar may not seem like much but over time Iblis will destroy your will power. Satan tries to create a divide between man and Allah (1 Islam, 2017) through slowly misguiding them.
The devil in Christianity
As in Islam, Satan is seen as the enemy to people and he’s depicted in the bible as a fallen angel who, much like Iblis in Islam, tempted Eve with the forbidden fruit. The bible didn’t include many descriptions of the devil’s appearance, it also never stated that he was the king of hell, but that he would end up in hell (history, September 2017). The bible explains that Satan was exiled from heaven for wanting god’s position and being power hungry.
“You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendour.” (Ezekiel 28:17) The new testament states that the devil is the controller of earth, although god finds ways to show people another path they can take that will carry them away from sin. For example, Jesus Christ, who established Christianity.
The devil in both religions seem to be very similar and based on the same story or angel. However, the devil in Christianity is seen as the ruler of earth which isn’t mentioned in the Quran and their reasons for being exiled from heaven are different.
In conclusion, although the religions both have two very different views on life they share many common themes such as the devil and his rebelling against god, and a woman’s place in religion. They have grown out from practically the same place and share their roots there, bringing different aspects of either religion into the other one, giving similar morals and stories. They share many differences still, such as judgement day. Both religions have a while to go before they fit into our constantly changing modern world, but can do so easily without losing their traditions and values.
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