A contrast between the two messengers of God
This essay is aimed at illumining the contrasting features of the lives of Jesus Christ and Prophet Mohammed. Though both of them proposed different religions namely Christianity and Islam which have quite a lot of dissimilarities in the beliefs, customs and present day scenario, still the presence of striking elements for comparison and contrast cannot be denied. Several online articles and research papers have been used to find the details of the lives of these two great ‘messengers of God’. But certain opinions on the negative aspects of adherence to either of the Prophets and the conclusion on how to positively perceive both of them and their proposed religions depend on the author. There are basically four questions which have been taken into consideration to derive a final statement:
1. Lives of Jesus Christ and Prophet Mohammed
2. Impact of the Deaths of Jesus and Mohammed on the followers
3. How Jesus Christ and Prophet Mohammed are worshipped
4. How their messages are being carried out today
This essay is not aimed to condemn or disrespect any religious belief, group or sentiments.
Keywords: Jesus Christ, Prophet Mohammed, Christianity, Islam
Jesus Christ and Prophet Mohammed: A contrast between the two messengers of God
Monotheism is the central belief of quite a few religions. Christianity and Islam, which have the maximum number of followers in the world, were born as a result of the emergence of two Prophets or messengers of God. Jesus Christ and Prophet Mohammed, who are regarded as the central figures of Christianity and Islam respectively, can be contrasted remarkably in quite a few aspects. This essay is aimed at illumining those very contrasting features to analyse the lives of these two great Prophets.
Lives of Jesus and Mohammed
Different scholars believe differently about the year of birth of Jesus but it is believed to be between 7 BC and 6 AD (Dunn, 2003). It is a prominent belief that He was born of a virgin mother and hence conceived by God (Grudem, 1994). But Prophet Mohammed was born to a couple in 570 AD in a clan called Banu Hashim (Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2007). He lost his parents in childhood and was nurtured by his uncle. He used to visit a cave on Mount Hira to pray alone for weeks where one day he received the Divine revelation.
The life of Jesus Christ saw five major events- his Baptism, Transfiguration, Crucifixion, Resurrection and Ascension (Digby & Francis, 1982). Jesus was baptised by John, the Baptist. Approximately at the age of 30, his ministry began. He started preaching in Galiliee and other regions. After he proclaimed Himself as Christ, numerous rivals rose to oppose Him. But he continued to heal the harrowed, bless those in need and preach to love others. Jesus always told that he was only speaking what God made Him to do. Jesus told others “My teaching is not mine, but his that sent me” and “the words that I say unto you I speak not from myself: but the Father abiding in me doeth his works” (Osborn, 1993).
Inspiring others to believe in the Supreme Power, he always taught to be peaceful, loving, faithful and patient. Jesus was acquainted with the fact that he would be betrayed by one of his disciples. The famous Last Supper with his disciples was followed by the betrayal and arrest of Jesus (Walvoord & Zuck, 1983). He suffered so much for his people and was crucified. When Jesus rose from dead, this resurrection compelled others to believe in His words and works. The appearance of Jesus in front of his disciples, the recording of Bible and a series of Holy events were followed by the ascension of Jesus Christ to Heaven.
On the contrary, the life of Prophet Mohammed was not mystic but still bore a resemblance to that of Jesus. He was visited by Angel Gabriel in the cave on Mount Hira who revealed a verse of God to Him. The very Angel Gabriel is said to have asked Mother Mary to name her child ‘Jesus’. After the divine awakening, Mohammed started preaching monotheism which agitated the polytheists of Mecca (An Introduction to the Quran, 1895). His initial days were also teeming with struggle and torturous revolts. So, he moved to Medina and consolidated His Empire. He later returned and captured the entire Arabian region to spread Islam (An Introduction to the Quran, 1895). One feature distinguishes the two prophets here; Jesus did not seek war to spread Christianity but several sources indicate the use of warfare to prosper Islam (Haykal, 1933). However, Mohammed was blessed with the miraculous journeys called Isra and Miraj with Angel Gabriel which revealed further of divine knowledge to Him. He was believed to have met the other important of Prophets in Islam named Abraham, Isa and Musa in that divine journey. Jesus was called as ‘son’ by a voice from heaven twice (Harding & Nobbs, 2010). In terms of marriage or sexual relationships, Jesus was a celibate. Mohammed married three women of varied ages and died of illness. The preaching of both the Prophets was further spread by their disciples and followers.
Impact of the Deaths of Jesus and Mohammed on the followers
The death of Prophet Mohammed led to a huge conflict in the name of succession. The Arabian state consolidated into one Islamic unit required a leader. Mohammed’s friend Abu Bakr and His cousin Ali ibn Ali Talib were the two contenders of the position. However, the consolidation did take place and within a decade, a huge empire named Rashidun was established by the Muslims (Esposito, 1998). In contrast to this, the death of Jesus was not followed by any fight for throne as there was no throne at all. The crucifixion did leave His people in despair but as his tomb was found empty and Jesus rose from the dead, it strengthened the faith furthermore. Even after His ascension to heaven, he is believed to have appeared. Stephen beheld Jesus before dying as per the Acts of Apostles.
The worship of Jesus and Mohammed
Being Abrahamic religions, both Christianity and Islam shared several common faiths-Monotheism, the commandants and ‘love thy neighbour’ theory. But with time, Muslims and Christians started to focus on differences between the two religions rather than similarities. However, both religions accept the existence of Jesus and Prophet Mohamed to be true. Jesus is worshipped in Churches where His idol is the central figure for prayers. But Mohammed did not preach the use of even this idol to refer to God. Mohammed and Allah are worshipped by following the five pillars of Islam- Testimony, Alms-giving, Prayers, Fasting and
Pilgrimage. Christians gather in Church on Sundays and special occasions to pray, sing in the God’s name and discuss important matters. However, in terms of public discussions Mosques are utilised much widely than Churches. Both the prophets, Jesus and Mohammed are praised in the scriptures and verses read by their followers. In the initial days, the followers of Islam
worshipped Prophet Mohammed and used warfare to extend their empire. Forced conversions to Islam and destruction of idols of Gods and Goddesses of other beliefs were extensively practiced. As per certain texts, Mohammed himself emboldened the practice of forced conversion and destruction of idols (Guillaume, 1955). But there are no strong evidences indicating Jesus and violence. He was not associated with the preaching of violence of any kind. He also never inspired to demean the followers of other religious beliefs.
However, both the Prophets are highly respected by their followers. The birthday and other significant events related to them are marked as important celebration or holidays even today. Christmas, Eid, Easter, Moharram etc. are celebrated to honour the two. Monotheism still holds to be the core of both religions and hence is a part of followers of both Jesus and Mohammed.
How their messages are being carried out today
The answer to this question takes into account both the negative and positive interpretations of the original message. No religion was formed to bring menace to human kind. And each was aimed to bring man close to God. Jesus and Mohammed preached the oneness and prominence of God. They asked to love God with sheer dedication and not considering anything else more important that service to God or human kind. The holy books which have been worded by these very prophets- the Bible and the Holy Quran are filled with
messages to love God, love the neighbours and being a good human being. How could someone preach Godliness without love for mankind in mind? So, a similar life filled with virtues and love for the Supreme Power or God or Allah was preached by both Jesus and Mohammed. With time and different strategies, both Christianity and Islam grew vastly to be
the two most widespread religions in the world. There are billions of Christians and Muslims in the world. But, the fact cannot be denied that the race to prove utter closeness to God led to decline in principles in several Christians and Muslims. Thousands of Muslims have become the part of a war they call Jehad to spread Islam with violence. They demean every other religion and deities. Numerous Christians too consider their religion to be the ultimate one and say- Jesus is the only way. The contradiction is this that Jesus never preached to demean the other religions. Terrorism in the name of Islam has led to the misinterpretation of Islam as a violent religion but in fact, Quran says that killing of one innocent man is equal to killing of whole humanity.
Countless authors including both Christians and Muslims write texts disrespecting the other religious beliefs. Does not one question strikes every sane mind- don’t we know history through texts only? Whatever we know through texts might be untrue too. It might be that that the demeaning stats about Prophet Mohammed were compiled by Christian writers and vice versa. A few sites openly associate Mohammed with raping of innocent women. How civil is the use of such words for a religious leader or messenger? Several Islamic scholars do not believe in the existence of Jesus. This meaningless race to prove oneself and one’s religion more logical and closer to God is not healthy. Thankfully, there are millions of open minded Christians and Muslims both, who follow their religions with dedication but also regard the other religious beliefs. With time, proper education and rise of a fresh outlook has led to a reduction in feeling of hatred between the followers of different religions. The same has happened with followers of Islam and Christianity. There are sane and mistaken followers as well as logical and open-minded ones in both religions. The fact is that both the religions are growing day by day and define an important aspect of world peace. And there is an amalgamation of people with conservative and liberal thoughts on religion in both of these.
Conclusion
Both Jesus and Mohammed are worth respecting; they preached basically to believe in God and owe everything to Him. There were notable comparisons between the lives of these two great messengers of God. And the followers are very well carrying the religion with dedication. The only requirement is to open the eyes and watch the goodness in preaching of religions other than one’s own. If all the ruckus in communalism is about proving closeness to God, it can be proved much more efficiently through love, peace and tolerance. And this very thought is the essence of teachings of both Jesus Christ and Prophet Mohammed.
References
An Introduction to the Quran (1895), p. 185-187
Digby, M & Francis, C (1982). Essays in New Testament interpretation .
Dunn, James DG (2003). Jesus Remembered. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 324.
Esposito, 1998
Grudem (1994) pp. 568–603
Harding, M & Nobbs, A (2010) The Content and the Setting of the Gospel Tradition
Haykal, M.H. (1933) The Life of Muhammad, translated by Isma'il Razi A. al-Faruqi. The Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs, Cairo, Egypt & the University of Chicago
Ibn Ishaq (translated by Guillaume, A. 1955) The Life of Muhammad. Oxford University Press, Oxford. pg. pg. 916-918
Osborn, E.F. (1993). The emergence of Christian theology. P- 98
Walvoord, J & Zuck, R. (1983). The Bible Knowledge Commentary: New Testament.
Welch, Alford . Muhammad, Encyclopedia of Islam
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