Had God so willed, He could have made you all one community. But He willed it otherwise in order to test you by that which He has given you, He made you as you are. So vie with one another in good works.
The Qur'an
Doing Good Works
Topic: Interfaith Pathways
“Lo! We did reveal the Torah, wherein is guidance and a light, by which the Prophets who surrendered unto God judged the Jews and the rabbis and the priests, judged by such portion of God’s Scripture as they were bidden to observe, and to which they were witnesses. So fear not mankind, but fear Me. And barter not My revelations for a little gain. Whoso judges not by that which God has sent down–such are disbelievers.
And We caused Jesus, son of Mary, to follow in their footsteps, confirming the Torah before him, and We bestowed on him the Gospel, wherein is guidance and a light, confirming that which was revealed before it in the Torah–a guidance and an admonition for those who ward off evil.
Let the People of the Gospel judge by that which God has revealed therein. Whosoever judges not by that which God has revealed–such are those who live in evil.
And unto thee We revealed the Scripture with the truth, confirming whatever Scripture was before it, and a watcher over it. So judge between them by that which God has revealed, and follow not their desires apart from the truth which has come unto thee. For each We have appointed a divine law and a traced-out way. Had God willed He could have made you one community. But that He may try you by that which He has given you, He made you as you are. So vie one with one another in good works. Unto God you will all return, and He will then inform you of that wherein you differ.”
The Qur'an
Wilson, Andrew, editor. World Scripture - a Comparative Anthology of Sacred Texts. Paragon House, 1991, p. 37 [Qur'an 5.44, 46-48].
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Qur’an 5.44, 46-48
The Qur’an states that it is a trustworthy standard of truth, ‘a watcher’ over other revelations by which their beliefs can be tested and evaluated. Orthodox Islam goes further and regards the path laid down in the Qur’an to be the one sole path. Where the Jewish and Christian differ from the testimony of the Qur’an, the error is laid to the interpolations made by corrupt Jewish and Christian divines. But this interpretation may go beyond the letter of the Qur’an, which prohibits such disputes between religions. Each is held responsible only to the truth as found in its own scripture. Any contest between religious communities should be carried out on the field of good works. The question of reconciling different doctrines is left to God.
–Wilson, Andrew, editor. World Scripture – a Comparative Anthology of Sacred Texts. Paragon House, 1991, p. 37.