Revelation is at the center of most world religions, as it is the way in which the divine communicates with humanity. If religion pursues the divine, then there could be no authentic religion in the world without divine revelation. The ways in which God reveals Himself to the world are particularly critical for Christianity and Islam.
For Christians, Jesus is the primary (and for some traditions, sole) source of Revelation specifically because he is the Son of God and a member of the Trinity, making his teachings, from the Christian perspective, directly from God. Some traditions of Christianity also accept Revelation outside of Christ through the Holy Spirit, which depending on the tradition, may directly involve Christ and/or his directive. For example, Vatican II theology states that truth in other religions is possible due to the presence of Christ via the Holy Spirit (Rahner 1966). This idea parallels the filioque, which is unique to the Roman Catholic (along with some Byzantine traditions) version of the Nicene Creed (Gloeckner 2025).
Islam views Revelation to be witnessed in three modalities: 1) communication directly from Allah, 2) communication through a messenger from Allah, and 3) communication experienced through dreams/visions inspired by Allah (Ayoub 2010). As Muslims do not believe that Jesus is divine, Christian Revelation in the Gospels falls into the second category, according to Islam, while it is believed that Muhummad experienced Allah’s communication directly. Yet, Muslims still believe that both Jesus and Muhammad were inspired by the Spirit of God (Ayoub 2010).
If interreligious dialogue between Islam and Christianity is to bear fruit, an attempt must be made to reconcile the concept of Revelation. Perhaps the only possible way for this to be realized is through a deeper understanding of the role of the Spirit in the two faiths. I propose a comparative study on revelation in Islam and Christianity with the intent of laying out the best path forward for interreligious dialogue between the two faiths concerning Revelation.
The Quran references the Holy Spirit and “the Spirit” (Ruh) differently, with diverse meanings and context for each reference. Ultimately, though, the Spirit’s role is usually one of communication, whether that be informing important figures such as Mary or inspiring the speech of figures such as Jesus (Makdod 2024). In this way, a primary role of the Spirit in Islam is divine communication.
In Christianity, the Holy Spirit plays a similar role, serving as God’s divine presence in the world and an inspiration to humans. Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant Christians all, to an extent, believe the Holy Spirit to be a source of divine inspiration in the world post-Scripture, through councils (Chase 2012), and in everyday life, including in other religions (Paul VI, 1965). Therefore, the two faiths should theoretically find common ground on Revelation through the concept of the Spirit.
However, unlike in Islam, Christians view the Spirit to be God Himself, a member of the Holy Trinity, which is a concept that is vehemently rejected by Muslims. This becomes a sticking point that curbs dialogue between the two faiths, which is exacerbated by implications in some Christian traditions that the Spirit can only act through Christ (Gloeckner 2025).
A deeper investigation on the role of the Spirit in Revelation in Christianity and Islam is necessary to realize the full potential for dialogue between the two religions. Additionally, a fresh look at divine revelation in general between the two faiths, especially in different traditions within each faith, should yield more points of discussion. If Christianity and Islam cannot connect on sources of Revelation, dialogue between them can only go so far, especially when considering how centered both are on the topic of Revelation. If it is possible for the Spirit to inspire other faiths from the perspectives of both Christians and Muslims, and if conformity can be achieved on the understanding of how the Spirit inspires (and its relationship with the Father/Allah), then fruitful dialogue may be possible via Revelation. A comparative study is necessary to fully explore this possibility.
Such a study must take into account the origins of views on both the Spirit and Revelation in general. For Christians, these origins are related to Jesus sending forth the Spirit to his disciples in Chapter 20 of John’s gospel, serving as God’s presence with them after Jesus departed. This is mentioned in Luke’s Gospel as well, when Jesus states he will send the Spirit that was promised from the Father (24:49). The ambiguity in these passages leaves an open question of how the Spirit inspires, how it reveals God today, and whether it is commanded by the Father, by Jesus, or has some independence. There is even more ambiguity in the Spirit’s origins and role in the Quran, with the Spirit inspiring Scriptures, inspiring Jesus and Mary, assisting believers, and personifying Revelation itself, sometimes in the form of a person and sometimes through communications to people (Makdod 2024).
Analyzing these differences in the perception of the Spirit across the two faiths will reveal the compatibility of ideas on Revelation and open channels for dialogue. For this reason, I propose a comparative study between Islam and Christianity on the nature of the Spirit and Revelation for the AAR Annual Meeting 2025.
Works Cited:
Ayoub, M. 2010. “Revelation in Christianity and Islam.” Centre for Muslim-Christian Studies, Spring No.1.
Chase, F.H. 2012. “The Eastern Orthodox Conception of Tradition.” Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America 15:63-77.
Gloeckner, C. 2025. “The Filioque: Implications on Religious Diversity.” To be presented at Nicaea 2025 Conference in Rome, Italy, April 2-5, and published thereafter.
Makdod, M. 2024. “The Spirit and Holy Spirit in the Quran and its Exegesis.” Kader 22 2:362-379.
Paul VI 1965. Nostra Aetate. Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
Rahner, K. 1966. “Dogmatic Notes on ‘Ecclesiological Piety’.” In Later Writings. Helicon Press, pp. 336-365.
Divine Revelation as a source of knowledge and understanding is at the forefront of both Christianity and Islam. Therefore, interreligious dialogue between the two faiths must include a discussion on Revelation. While the two religions may, in many ways, seem to be in opposition on this matter, an important similarity may be the presence of God through the Spirit. The concept of a Spirit as a medium for divine communication with humanity exists in both faiths, albeit in different forms (the Trinitarian Holy Spirit in Christianity vs. Ruh or “the spirit” in Islam). However, disagreements on the nature of this Spirit and the ways in which inspiration occurs make dialogue on Revelation difficult. A comparative study on Revelation in Christianity and Islam, with a special focus on the Spirit, may yield common ground on the Spirit’s inspiration of humanity and open dialogue toward a more diverse understanding of divine communication.