Islam And Respect Of Previous Religions Of God

Peace of God and His mercy to you.

Today, I would like to talk about Islam and how it views previous religions of God (Judaism and Christianity) as well as Islam's view of previous Prophets.

A Faith Pillar
The Muslim must believe in Judaism and Christianity as well as in all the Holy Books and in all the Prophets, mentioned or not, who were sent by God to guide humanity:

Lo! Those who believe (in that which is revealed unto thee, Muhammad), and those who are Jews, and Christians, and Sabaeans - whoever believeth in Allah and the Last Day and doeth right - surely their reward is with their Lord, and there shall no fear come upon them neither shall they grieve. The Cow 2:62

God also says:

The messenger believeth in that which hath been revealed unto him from his Lord and (so do) believers. Each one believeth in Allah and His angels and His scriptures and His messengers - We make no distinction between any of His messengers - and they say: We hear, and we obey. (Grant us) Thy forgiveness, our Lord. Unto Thee is the journeying. The Cow 2:285

And He says:

O ye who believe! Believe in Allah and His messenger and the Scripture which He hath revealed unto His messenger, and the Scripture which He revealed aforetime. Whoso disbelieveth in Allah and His angels and His scriptures and His messengers and the Last Day, he verily hath wandered far astray. The Women 4:136

The Prophet Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him, explained faith pillars:

One day Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) appeared before the public. Then a man came to him and asked: Prophet of Allah, what is Iman? Upon this he (the Holy Prophet) replied: That you affirm your faith in Allah, His angels, His Books, His meeting, His Messengers and that you affirm your faith in the Resurrection hereafter. He (again) asked: Messenger of Allah, what does Islam signify? He (the Holy Prophet) replied: Islam signifies that you worship Allah and do not associate anything with Him and you perform the prescribed Prayer and you pay the obligatory poor-due (Zakah) and you observe the Fast of Ramadan. He (the inquirer) again asked: Messenger of Allah, what does Al-Ihsan (Faithfulness) imply? He (the Holy Prophet) replied: That you worship Allah as if you are seeing Him, and in case you fail to see Him, then observe that He is seeing you. He (the inquirer) again asked: Messenger of Allah, when would there be the Hour of (Doom)? He (the Holy Prophet) replied: The one who is asked about it is no better informed than the inquirer. I, however, will narrate some of its signs (and these are): When the female-slave will give birth to her master, when the naked, barefooted would become the chiefs of the people; these are some of the signs of (Doom). (Moreover) when the shepherds of the black (camels) would exalt themselves in buildings, this is one of the signs of (Doom). (Doom) is one of the five (happenings wrapped in the unseen) which no one knows but Allah. Then he (the Messenger of Allah) (may peace be upon him) recited (the verse):

Verily, Allâh! With Him (Alone) is the knowledge of the Hour, He sends down the rain, and knows that which is in the wombs No person knows what he will earn tomorrow, and no person knows in what land he will die Verily, Allâh is All­Knower, All­Aware (of things) . Luqman 31:34

He (the narrator, Abu Hurairah) said: Then the person turned back and went away. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Bring that man back to me. They (the Companions of the Holy Prophet present there) went to bring him back, but they did not find him. Upon this Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) remarked: He was Gabriel. He came to teach people their religion. Source: al-islam

We all worship one God - Allah. Arab Christians call God 'Allah'. He is the Almighty one God:

Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, (2) The Beneficent, the Merciful. (3) Owner of the Day of Judgment, (4) Thee (alone) we worship; Thee (alone) we ask for help. (5) Show us the straight path, (6) The path of those whom Thou hast favoured. Not (the path) of those who earn Thine anger nor of those who go astray. (7) The Opening

ِAnd belief calls for respect. A person who disrespects a religion does not believe in it, and he becomes a non-believer.

The Prophet, Peace Be Upon Him, says:

When Allah will gather together, on the Day of Judgment, all the earlier and later generations of mankind, a flag will be raised (to mark off) every person guilty of breach of faith, and it will be announced that this is the perfidy of so and so, son of so and so (to attract the attention of people to his guilt). Source: al-islam

Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him, admired Jesus, the Christ. He said:

Jesus son of Mary saw a man committing theft; thereupon Jesus said to him: You committed theft. He said: Nay. By Him besides Whom there is no god (I have not committed theft). Thereupon Jesus said: I affirm my faith in Allah and disbelieve my own self. Source: al-islam

And he also said:

I am most akin to the son of Mary among the whole of mankind and the Prophets are brothers of different mothers, (but of one religion) and no Prophet was raised between me and him (Prophet Eisa - Jesus). Source: al-islam

And said:

By Him in Whose hand is my life, the Son of Mary (may peace be upon him) will soon descend among you as a just judge. He will break crosses, kill swine and abolish Jizyah, and the wealth will pour forth to such an extent that no one will accept it. Source: al-islam

The Prophet described Moses and Jesus when he met them in Jerusalem in his Night Journey:

When I was taken for the Night Journey I met Moses (peace be upon him). The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) gave his description thus: He was a man of an erect stature with straight (the narrator is doubtful regarding the word "straight") hair on his head as if he was one of the men of the Shanu'ah; and I met Jesus and the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) described him as one having a medium stature and a red complexion as if he had (just) come out of the bath. He observed: I saw Abraham (peace be upon him) and among his children I have the greatest resemblance with him. He said: There were brought to me two vessels. In one of them was milk and in the other one there was wine. And it was said to me: Select any one you like. So I selected the vessel containing milk and drank it. He (the angel) said: You have been guided on the natural disposition or you have attained the natural disposition. Had you selected wine, your Ummah would have been misled. Source: al-islam

In the end...
Respecting religions of God, the previous Prophets and previous Holy Books are parts of faith. A person who disrespects Christianity, Judaism, Jesus, Moses, Injil, Torah, or other Prophets or Books is a disbeliever:

Those who disbelieve say: The Hour will never come unto us. Say: Nay, by my Lord, but it is coming unto you surely. (He is) the Knower of the Unseen. Not an atom's weight, or less than that or greater, escapeth Him in the heavens or in the earth, but it is in a clear Record, (3) That He may reward those who believe and do good works. For them is pardon and a rich provision. (4) But those who strive against Our revelations, challenging (Us), theirs will be a painful doom of wrath. (5) Saba

Make sure you pray for God's forgiveness, and do not forget to praise God's Prophets and teach others to respect them :)