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The Love of God in the Quran

Many Christians are surprised when they learn that the Quran, the holy book of Islam, shares many teachings in common with the Bible. The Quran says much that agrees with the Bible concerning God, creation, the angels, and various Bible characters, just to name a few. On the other hand, some of what the Quran says about these things is in direct conflict with foundational teachings of the Bible. This difference is cast in sharp relief when you look at what the Quran declares about the love of God.

God is worshiped as "Allah" by Muslims around the world. "Allah" is simply the Arabic word for "God", and is the word used also by Arab Christians to describe the God of the Bible. An Arabic-speaking Christian believes that Allah, i.e. God, sent his Son into the world to die on the cross for our sins. He knows that Allah/God loves all men, and that his love has no conditions attached to it. But when the Quran speaks of God's love, it is quite a bit different than what we find described in the Bible.

The Quran Says More About What God Does Not Love Than What He Does Love

There are some 40 references to God's love in the Quran. In 17 of the 40 references, we read about what God loves. For example, Surah 2 (or chapter 2), verse 195 says, "God loveth those who do good". However, in the remaining 23 of 40 references we discover only what God does not love. An example is found Surah 3:57 which says, "God loveth not those who do wrong". The result is that more than half of the Quran's references about God's love are negations of God's love describing only what God does not love. This paints a picture of a God who is rather unloving and negative toward people.

In the Quran, God Does Not Love the Whole World

One of the most precious truths treasured by Bible believers everywhere is that God loves the whole world of men, and by implication, God loves each person. "For God so loved the world..." (John 3:16). We revel in the fact that God loves us as individuals. We can say with assurance "God loves ME!"

On the other hand, the Quran teaches no such thing. Nowhere in its pages can you find a statement of God's love for all mankind. Instead, you find that God loves some people, but doesn't love others. Surah 5:13 teaches that "God loveth those who are kind", and that's fine. We all like, even love, people who are kind. But the same Surah 5 in verse 67 says, "God loveth not those who do mischief". If I was God, I might feel the same way, but I'm not God and that is a good thing. It is crucial to our salvation that God is NOT like us. He does not treat us as our sins deserve, but extends his offer of mercy to all, even to those who "do mischief".

In the Quran, God Does Not Love Sinners

Throughout his earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus was condemned by the religious elite for being a "friend of sinners". He responded by saying that he had not come to call the righteous, but "sinners" to repentance. His death on the cross was for sinners. "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). It is clear from the Bible that God loves sinners, and that is good, because not one of us is without sin.

In the Quran however, God does not love sinners. This fact alone should take any attraction out of Islam, for we all need a God who loves sinners. No one needs a harsh taskmaster who demands perfection in order to stay in his good favor. Rather, we need a merciful Lord who accepts us as we are and then enables us to live lives pleasing to Him. And that is what we have in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

George King