Short answer
No. Islam and Christianity share a great deal, including belief in one Creator, in Jesus and in Mary, but they differ on core beliefs: Islam teaches that Jesus is a prophet and not God or the son of God, that there is no Trinity, and that Muhammad ﷺ is the final messenger. Holding both sets of beliefs at once is not possible.
Faith requires belief in the oneness of Allah and in the prophethood of Muhammad ﷺ. Believing that Jesus is divine, or rejecting the final prophet, contradicts the shahada. A person who wants to keep loving Jesus loses nothing by becoming Muslim: Muslims believe in him as a messenger.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
People often ask this because they love both: the stories of Jesus they grew up with and the clear monotheism they find in Islam. That love is not wasted. Islam requires belief in Jesus and all the prophets, and in the Gospel as revealed. A Muslim honours Jesus and Mary every time he reads the Quran.
But the two creeds cannot both be held at once:
- God: Islam teaches Allah is one, with no partner, son or Trinity. The Quran addresses the Christian belief directly and asks people to stop saying "three".
- Jesus: a messenger and servant of Allah, not God and not crucified.
- Muhammad ﷺ: the final messenger, sent to all people. The shahada includes this.
- Salvation: through faith in Allah and righteous deeds, not through the atonement of the cross.
Do Muslims and Christians worship the same God? Arabic-speaking Christians also call God Allah, and the Quran tells Muslims to say "our God and your God is one". Muslims believe they and Christians are speaking of the same Creator, while the Christian picture of Him includes beliefs Islam rejects. The four schools and all Muslim scholars agree on this.
If you find yourself between the two, take your time, read the Quran in translation and speak with a Muslim who knows both faiths. When you are ready, the shahada is a single sentence. See also Islam and Christianity.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Aal-i-Imraan 3:84
قُلْ ءَامَنَّا بِٱللَّهِ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ عَلَيْنَا وَمَآ أُنزِلَ عَلَىٰٓ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ وَإِسْمَٰعِيلَ وَإِسْحَٰقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ وَٱلْأَسْبَاطِ وَمَآ أُوتِىَ مُوسَىٰ وَعِيسَىٰ وَٱلنَّبِيُّونَ مِن رَّبِّهِمْ لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍۢ مِّنْهُمْ وَنَحْنُ لَهُۥ مُسْلِمُونَ ﴿٨٤﴾
Say, "We have believed in Allah and in what was revealed to us and what was revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the Descendants, and in what was given to Moses and Jesus and to the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and we are Muslims [submitting] to Him."
Muslims believe in Jesus and all the prophets.
Quran, Surah An-Nisaa 4:171
يَٰٓأَهْلَ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ لَا تَغْلُوا۟ فِى دِينِكُمْ وَلَا تَقُولُوا۟ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ إِلَّا ٱلْحَقَّ ۚ إِنَّمَا ٱلْمَسِيحُ عِيسَى ٱبْنُ مَرْيَمَ رَسُولُ ٱللَّهِ وَكَلِمَتُهُۥٓ أَلْقَىٰهَآ إِلَىٰ مَرْيَمَ وَرُوحٌۭ مِّنْهُ ۖ فَـَٔامِنُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِۦ ۖ وَلَا تَقُولُوا۟ ثَلَٰثَةٌ ۚ ٱنتَهُوا۟ خَيْرًۭا لَّكُمْ ۚ إِنَّمَا ٱللَّهُ إِلَٰهٌۭ وَٰحِدٌۭ ۖ سُبْحَٰنَهُۥٓ أَن يَكُونَ لَهُۥ وَلَدٌۭ ۘ لَّهُۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۗ وَكَفَىٰ بِٱللَّهِ وَكِيلًۭا ﴿١٧١﴾
O People of the Scripture, do not commit excess in your religion or say about Allah except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, was but a messenger of Allah and His word which He directed to Mary and a soul [created at a command] from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers. And do not say, "Three"; desist - it is better for you. Indeed, Allah is but one God. Exalted is He above having a son. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And sufficient is Allah as Disposer of affairs.
The Quran rejects the Trinity and the divinity of Jesus.
Quran, Surah Al-Ankaboot 29:46
۞ وَلَا تُجَٰدِلُوٓا۟ أَهْلَ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ إِلَّا بِٱلَّتِى هِىَ أَحْسَنُ إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا۟ مِنْهُمْ ۖ وَقُولُوٓا۟ ءَامَنَّا بِٱلَّذِىٓ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْنَا وَأُنزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ وَإِلَٰهُنَا وَإِلَٰهُكُمْ وَٰحِدٌۭ وَنَحْنُ لَهُۥ مُسْلِمُونَ ﴿٤٦﴾
And do not argue with the People of the Scripture except in a way that is best, except for those who commit injustice among them, and say, "We believe in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you. And our God and your God is one; and we are Muslims [in submission] to Him."
Muslims address Christians and Jews as speaking of the same Creator.
Sahih Muslim 153
Sahih... لا يسمع بي أحد من هذه الأمة يهودي ولا نصراني ثم يموت ولم يؤمن ...
"No one of this nation, Jew or Christian, hears of me and then dies without believing in what I was sent with, except that he will be among the people of the Fire."
Belief in the final message is required of everyone it reaches.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Aqida al-Tahawiyya, the sections on the prophethood of Muhammad and on Allah's oneness. Muhammad ﷺ is the seal of the prophets, sent to all creation.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.