Assignment: Jesus and Mohammed Paper

Many people will say that there is no comparison between Jesus and Mohammed (or
Muhammad), but people who say this may not know anything about the man that Musl
ims would die for. Jesus was born of Joseph, a Jewish carpenter, and Mary, a vir
gin. Mohammed was never worshiped, because Muslims worship none other than Alla
h. Jesus and Mohammed were both prophets. They both claimed to be messengers of
G-d. They had many followers as both claimed to be the “chosen one” of G-d. They
both were known as extreme law-bearers and referred to as "last of a line of pr
ophets." They both were known as restorer of their faiths. (Even though their fa
ith did not exist before their lifetime.) They both were very persuasive orators
and known to be extremely influential to those who believed in them, similar to
Charles Manson. While Jesus believed in non-violence and was a man of peace, Mo
hammed believed that it was alright to kill in the name of religion. Jesus beli
eved he would die before he would deny his religion and beliefs. He claimed to b
e the son of G-d. Mohammed believed that another being would die for what they b
elieved in. Jesus had prophesized his own death, including the events leading up
to his death. A blind man claimed that Jesus healed him and restored his sight.
Jesus’ followers believed in him of their own free will; he did not demand that
a person had to believe in him or his father. Mohammed forcefully made people be
lieve and serve the god that he believed in. If any such person did not believe
Mohammed, then that person did not deserve to live. Both persons posed as apostl
es of their god. Both claimed that if people follow them and believe in them tho
se people would be graced by the god. Both characters endured hostility and pers
ecution from opposing religions, however Jesus did not attempt to escape his per
secution. Mohammed eventually fell ill and died at the age of 62; Jesus was murd
ered.
Jesus believed in marrying only one wife, which is termed monogamy. Mohammed and
his followers believed in having multiple wives; polygamy. Both subscribed to t
he concept of being promiscuous and spreading their seed, they just interpreted
how to do so differently. According to Keohane, “Islam is a caustic blend of pag
anism and twisted Bible stories. Muhammad, its lone “prophet,” who made no proph
ecies, conceived his religion to satiate his lust for power, sex, and money.” (2
010). Many Christians believe Jesus performed “miracles.”
The Prophet Muhammad was born in 569A.D. in Makkah, also known as Mecca, Saudi A
rabia. He was raised by his grandfather, Abdul Muttalib. This was because Muhamm
ad s father had died before he was born. Upon his grandfather s death, he was br
ought up by his uncle Abu Talib. The Makkans claim to be descended from Abraham
by Isma`il. (Pickthall, n.d.) Therefore, it could be said that Islam is similar
to Christianity in the fact that both are Abrahamic religions. Jesus performed n
umerous “miracles” to prove to the folks that he was the son of G-d. He used his
holy powers to override nature, disease, and even death itself. He made believe
rs out of people that witnessed his miracles. These miracles, along with his tea
chings, caused many to glorify G-d and believe that Jesus was the true Messiah.
The Messiah had been foretold to be the savior of the world and the King of the
Jews. Of course, the leaders of the Jews did not uphold the belief that Jesus wa
s Messiah. The Jews had Jesus arrested. He was nearly released by the Roman Gove
rnor Pilate, until the Jews threatened to riot. Pilate gave in to the demands of
the Jews and sentenced Jesus to be crucified. The Hunafa sought the truth throu
gh inner reflection or meditation. Muhammad s place of meditation was known as H
ira`, a cave located in the Mountain of Light, near Makkah. This is where the an
gel Jibril, known as Gabrial to Christians, revealed to Muhammad his destiny. Th
e angel appeared to Muhammad and stated "O Muhammad! Thou art Allah s messenger,
and I am Jibril". (Pickthall, n.d.) Muhammad became disturbed by this occurrenc
e. After coming to terms with this purpose, he began to preach to family and fri
ends. The people of Makkah considered him to have gone crazy.
Muhammad claims that he was commanded by Allah to preach to the public for conve
rting the pagan Arabians to his Islamic beliefs. He was met with much oppositio
n by the pagan Quraysh. This led to Muhammad and his conformists to flee from pe
rsecution to Abyssinia, which is Ethiopia. Documents were written decreeing the
imprisonment of Muhammad and his family as well as the other Muslims. Three year
s later, the elders removed the decree from the Ka’bah for review and reconsider
ation. All but the words “Bismik Allahumma” were eaten by white ants. Bismik All
ahumma means “In thy name, O Allah” so the elders lifted the ban on Muhammad and
he was set free. After being set free, Muhammad went forth to preach his belief
s. He journeyed for 10 years, ending his travels during his pilgrimage to Makkah
at Mount Arafat. Afterwards he became ill and died.
The messages of Jesus were written decades after he had died, none of any writte
n book was authored by Jesus. Stories were retold by Paul along with other, unkn
own, people who interpreted things differently from others. This practice still
occurs today. The Gospel writers, who lived several decades after Paul, include
d details of Jesus’ life and teachings, which came from stories passed around th
rough the years, akin to urban legends of the present day. Mohammed’s writings
were not based upon fact, although the writings were actually authored by him. T
here is also evidence of further editing and revising of the Quran. When Mohamme
d died, Abu Bakr entered the house at this moment, and after he had touched the
body of the Prophet with a demonstration of profound affection, he appear at th
e door and addressed the crowd with the following speech: "O Muslims, if anyone
of you has been worshipping Muhammad, then let me tell you that Muhammad is dead
. But if you really do worship Allah then know that Allah is living and will nev
er die. Do you forget the verse in the Quran: Muhammad is not more than a Messen
ger, and indeed (many) Messengers have passed away before him. If he dies or is
killed, will you then turn your back on your heels (as disbelievers)? And he who
turns back on his heels, not the least harm will he do to Allah, and Allah will
give reward to those who are grateful" (Ch 3:144 Quran). Upon hearing this spee
ch of Abu Bakr, Umar acknowledged his error, and the crowd was satisfied and di
spersed (Matson, 2007)
Mohammed and Jesus were quite different in many aspects. Jesus claimed to be the
son of G-d and Mohammed claimed to be the messenger of G-d. Images are allowed
of Jesus while images of Mohammed are forbidden. Christians considered Jesus as
messiah. The Muslims did not believe that G-d has a son nor that the messiah ha
d come yet. One was a carpenter and the other was a merchant. Jesus had the unna
tural ability to resurrect himself after he died, while Mohammed died and stayed
dead. In his famous book Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis makes this statement, "
A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a
great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic - on the level with a man who
says he is a poached egg - or he would be the devil of hell. You must take your
choice. Either this was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something
worse. You can shut Him up for a fool or you can fall at His feet and call Him L
ord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a
great human teacher. He has not left that open to us" (n.d.).
References
Keohane, S. (2010, July 18). Muhammad: Terrorist or Prophet? Retrieved from Bibl
eProbe: http://www.bibleprobe.com/muhammad.htm
Lewis, C. S. (n.d.). Mere Christianity.
Matson, J. (2007). Comparison of Jesus and Muhammad. Retrieved from Associated C
ontent: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/235804/comparison_of_jesus_and_
muhammad.html?singlepage=true&cat=34
Pickthall, M. (n.d.). The Life of Prophet Muhammad. Retrieved from Muhammad.Net:
http://www.muhammad.net/bio/bypickthall.htm