Jesus and Mohammed 1
Running Head: JESUS AND MOHAMMED
Jesus and Mohammed
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June 22, 2008
Jesus Christ versus Prophet Mohammad
We know of the Christian story of Angel Gabriel announcing to Virgin Mary that she would be God’s mother through an immaculate conception. As understood Jesus Christ was born without human biological father born humbly in a manger in Bethlehemwith a foster father Joseph along with Mary. Remarkable signs appeared upon His birth which commenced the recognition of His divine attributes believing Jesus is the Divine Messiah and the prophesied Son or Lamb of God as mentioned in the Old Testament who will save sinful world. He grew up as a carpenter manifesting wise wisdoms always speaking and showing examples of a righteous individual. Believers and followers adored and praised Jesus and His teachings which He always emphasized that His teachings are in accordance to God the Father’s words. His words, teachings and examples were treasured and inspired the disciples to make the writings of documents which later were compiled as the New Testament containing all the gospels believed as the Words of God or the “good news”. Miraculous events took place during His presence. The miracles that happened became stronger proof that strengthened the belief of the followers and convinced other non-believers that Jesus indeed is the Son of God. Jesus devoted His life for the people and there is no indication of any establishment of His own family. There is no any account that he got wife and children but there is clear indication that throughout His life, he lived with His mother and a foster father giving them high regards and respect. Jesus lived with the people and tried to help the people to go through the right path. He provided guidance to the people to go back to God and attain salvation.
On Prophet Mohammed’s story, he was born from a poor family with some signs that he would become God’s Messenger from the time before he was conceived. His father died before he was born. As the tradition during that period, he was sent to wet nurse who took care of him during his early life. Some miraculous events started to happen since he was baby. The poor woman who took care of him did not have enough milk to feed him but her milk flowed abundantly when baby Mohammed was fed. The skinny goat and produced milk more than enough to feed the village. He later grew up as an orphan with more guidance from his uncle who was a trader. Once on their journey on a hot dessert, Mohammed was seen to be protected by shadows of clouds following him over his head. He grew up as an honest and a good person and prophesies that he would be someone important in the future. He lived a normal life just as an ordinary person engaged in business trading which required long distance travels with a caravan along the desserts. He learned both Judaism and Christianity but formed belief that there is only one God. He turned as a family man with wives and children.
His mission commenced later in his life at the age of 40 when the Angel Gabriel appeared and relayed a message that God choose him as the last prophet with a mission to preach submission to the will of Allah. That commenced the continuous revelation of the Qur'an over a period of 23 years. The Qur'an was not written right after the revelation. Though he can speak with eloquence and fervour, Mohammed was known as an illiterate person and was commanded by Angel Gabriel to read. After the revelation of God’s words through Angel Gabriel, it was recited and memorized by the Prophet and his companions. As the followers of Islam were pursued later and the followers taught by Mohammed start to die either from prosecution or old age, it was decided to compile the Qur'an into a written document.
Carrying out his designated mission was not easy as there were strong opposition on his teachings. Mohammed formed an army to help protect his followers upon carrying out his mission. He destroyed all figures of idolatry in the city. He endured all the sufferings and tortures which made him a stronger Messenger.He taught self control and discipline to his followers up to the extent of not omitting praying in battlefields. Mecca refused to acknowledge his mission and he and his followers was tortured and driven away in an exile to Medina where he built the first mosque for Muslims to pray. Mohammed was persecuted and boycotted even until he took refuge in a nearby city.
For an accomplishment of his mission, Mohammed was given permission by Allah to open war and he led his people in battlefields to reunite the people but pardonedall enemies at the end of war. This is the root of Islamic ideology known as Jihad to fight back even if it means sacrificing one’s life for a cause of protecting the religion. One of Mohammed’s best contributions is represented by his proclamation of principles of universal brotherhood and doctrine of equality of all mankind. He founded Islam which practiced and preached democracy embodied five times a day when the peasants, slaves, and kings bow down side by side proclaiming “God alone is great.
Mohammed became a significant figure in Islam regarded as man with sterling quality, spotless honesty, with noble virtues, with absolute sincerity and trustworthiness of apostle of Islam. In Islamic view, he is a Prophet and Messenger of God. He is recognized as the General, the King, the Warrior, the Businessman, the Preacher, the Philosopher, the Statemen, the Orator, the Refuge of orphans, the Protector of slaves, the emancipator of women, the Law-giver, the Judge, and the Saint among others.
Just like Jesus, miraculous events happened while carrying out his mission. The difference is that Jesus spread the good news to the people and taught the people without bloody warfare. Jesus commenced teaching at a very young age while Mohammed received the mission at the age of 40. Both lived a life of piety and generosity and eexperienced rejection and persecution from certain group of people. Both were constantly guided by the angels. While Jesus was persecuted and tortured to death, Mohammed died in a normal way the same as anyone would. Jesus was believed to resurrect and ascend to heaven back to God the Father, Prophet Mohammed was believed to go straight to heaven in God’s Paradise after his death.
For Christians, Jesus' Crucifixion and death turned as a great center piece which graced the world with forgiveness of sins. His death means salvation and redemption from the fires of hell. Jesus death is accounted as God’s great sacrifice for His great love to His people. His death strengthened the foundation of Christian religion believing Jesus as the God the Son who sent the God the Holy Spirit after His resurrection. Many disputes evolved later ending up Christian belief in many denominations.
Mohammed's death was considered losing a significant leader. His death caused a remarkable chaos in Islamic religion he founded. The followers relapsed into idolatry with Judaism and Christianity rising back. The people turned back to the way they were before with full of hypocrisy. His death remarked the taking over of the leadership by the caliphs which lead to a split in the Islamic faith, with Sunnis recognizing the succession of Caliphs to lead the faith, while Shias resisted believing that the leadership over the religion should onlybe accomplished by Prophet Mohammed's descendants.
For Christians, Jesus was respected and was given high regards for his good deeds and preaching but he was also treated as an ordinary person while on earth. After His death and resurrection, He was strongly accepted by Christians as the Son of God and was ever since worshipped as God until the present times.
Mohammed on the other hand was a respected person renowned for his honesty and generosity but has really not received much of extraordinary recognition during his early life. At the start of his mission, he was highly respected by his followers with few manifestation of divine worship by few followers which he strongly aborted. For Islam, he is revered and proclaimed as a highly respectable Messenger of God with a special seat in Heaven waiting to unite with other people at the end of the world. Islamic teachings declare him as the last prophet that every Muslims must accept but he was never given a divine worship.
Today, Jesus teachings and messages remain alive with Christians forming the largest religion in the world. His teachings are all contained in the Holy Bible and religious materials in print or electronic devices. Active and continuous preaching of Christianity belief never ceased within different generations. While for Mohammad’s messages, the Islamic society is as well actively spreading and preaching them worldwide. Muslim people had been continuing Mohammed’s mission to convince the people towards full submission to Allah- the only God. Mohammed’s received revelation was compiled as a Quran which has been made available in prints and electronically. Muslims till the present days strive hard to protect the Holy Quran in its original form. Other messages of Mohammed are actively taught in different sort of media which include print outs of Quran as a whole or in parts, interpretation of Holy Quran, Islamic teachings through Hadiths and many articles pertaining to Islamic belief. Islam is currently growing very fast worldwide.
References
The life of Mohammad. Retrieved June 21, 2008 from madeinatlntis Website
Jesus life. Questions about the events surrounding the life of Jesus. Retrieved June 21, 2008 from Ask the RealJesusWebsite AAjesuslifemain.html