page_title: Islam and Mormonism
section_title: God
hierarchical_section_title: Islam and Mormonism / Mormons and Muslims / God
caption_attribution_description: Polski: Medalion z imieniem Allah, Hagia Sophia, Stambuł.English: A medallion showing calligraphy Allah Jalla Jalaluhu (notice the overlaid words Jalla and Jalaluhu) in Hagia Sophia, İstanbul. One of the gigantic medallions installed during restoration under Sultan Abdülmecid during 1847 to 1849.
context_page_description: Islam and Mormonism have been compared to one another ever since the earliest origins of the latter in the nineteenth century, often by detractors of one religion or the other—or both. For instance, Joseph Smith, the founding prophet of Mormonism, was referred to as "the modern Mahomet" by the New York Herald, shortly after his murder in June 1844. This epithet repeated a comparison that had been made from Smith's earliest career, one that was not intended at the time to be complimentary. Comparison of the Mormon and Muslim prophets still occurs today, sometimes for derogatory or polemical reasons but also for more scholarly and neutral purposes. While Mormonism and Islam certainly have many similarities, there are also significant, fundamental differences between the two religions. Mormon–Muslim relations have historically been cordial; recent years have seen increasing dialogue between adherents of the two faiths, and cooperation in charitable endeavors. In terms of a mainstream Islamic as well as Christian perspective, Mormons are sometimes compared to Ahmadiyya in that they are sometimes not accepted as belonging within mainstream Christianity and Islam, respectively.
context_section_description: Perhaps the greatest single area of difference between Mormons and Muslims lies in their religions' differing concepts of God. In Islam, Allah (the Arabic term for God) is seen as being unique, totally transcendent, absolutely and indivisibly One; this concept is called Tawhid in Islamic theology, and does not admit the possibility of division in the Godhead either in personality, essence or otherwise. It holds that God is one (wāḥid) and unique (ahad). The very term "Allah" itself is singular, and does not have a plural form in Arabic (unlike English, where "god" can be pluralized into "gods"). Allah is perceived by Muslims to be a unique, independent and indivisible being, who is utterly independent of and who precedes all of creation, having created all of it ex nihilo. Hence, the idea that there could be more than one God, or that God could be composed of distinct persons (however united these "persons" might be alleged to be in substance – as is held in the mainstream Trinitarian theology of Christianity – or in purpose alone, as alleged by the Mormons in opposition to the Christian doctrine), is all heresy of the worst possible kind for a Muslim. In fact, such ideas are referred to as Shirk, which is the most serious sin in Islamic law, and the only one designated by the Quran as being utterly unpardonable for the person who dies in it.
  In stark contrast, Mormonism believes in a Godhead composed of three separate and distinct beings, who function as a single, unified God under the direction of the Father, who is held to be the senior member of this triad. Although the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants clearly identify the Father, Son and Holy Ghost as being "one God", this unity is seen as a metaphorical "oneness" in spirit, purpose and glory, rather than a physical or bodily union. The Mormon Book of Abraham, in its account of creation (one that generally parallels the one in the Biblical Book of Genesis), speaks of "the Gods", rather than "God", as accomplishing the act of creation.
  Mormon Apostle Jeffrey R. Holland elaborated upon this concept during the General Conference of the LDS Church in 2007:
  We believe these three divine persons constituting a single Godhead are united in purpose, in manner, in testimony, in mission. We believe Them to be filled with the same godly sense of mercy and love, justice and grace, patience, forgiveness, and redemption. I think it is accurate to say we believe They are one in every significant and eternal aspect imaginable except believing Them to be three persons combined in one substance, a Trinitarian notion never set forth in the scriptures because it is not true....
  We declare it is self-evident from the scriptures that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are separate persons, three divine beings, noting such unequivocal illustrations as the Savior's great Intercessory Prayer [John 17], His baptism at the hands of John, the experience on the Mount of Transfiguration, and the martyrdom of Stephen—to name just four.
  Latter-day Saints also believe, in marked contrast to Islam, that God the Father and Jesus Christ each have physical bodies of flesh and bone, and that the Father was once a man, who progressed to become what he is today. Furthermore, they believe that man is capable, by embracing and adhering completely to the Mormon religion, of evolving into a "god" himself in the next life, the LDS equivalent of theosis. In addition, the existence of a being colloquially known as "Heavenly Mother" is affirmed by the LDS Church, though prayer to her or speaking of her as being part of the Mormon Godhead are not encouraged. Islam rejects all of these concepts.
  Whereas Muslims believe that Allah is absolutely above and separate from all of his creation, having created all of it from nothing, Mormonism considers both matter and intelligence to be co-eternal with him, and beyond even his power to create or destroy (cf the natural law called the Law of Conservation of Mass, discovered by Antoine Lavoisier in 1785); rather, God (according to Mormonism) "organizes" the el
caption: Medallion showing the name of Allah in the Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey.
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