There are several important parallels between two of the central figures in two major world religions: Christianity and Islam. In both religions, two men served as intermediaries between God and the people and while they are an incredibly part of both religions, they are not the center of worship and praise—God is. Muhammad and Jesus Christ brought God’s word to the common people and these teachings of both are reflected in the holy books of both religions. In the Islamic faith, Muhammad, like Jesus, is a prophet or a messiah who brings God’s word directly to the people.
The holy book in the Islamic faith, which is the Qur’an, was a series of revelations to the prophet Muhammad is much like the New Testament in the bible as God’s wishes and hopes for his people are reflected in the actions of Jesus, just like Muhammad. While the religions are quite different in many respects, their foundations as messiahs or prophets is an important similarity. The deaths of both of these men marked critical turning points in the histories of the regions where the religions that sprang from their teachings were. Furthermore, following the deaths of both of these historical figures, the religions they help found began to flourish and take new shape, even in the absence of their leaders.
In the Islamic faith, Allah is God and is the supreme authority—not Muhammad, but the teachings of this prophet form the core of the faith and its literature, including the Qur’an and the Hadith, which is a series of writings about the life of Muhammad. He was discovered to be a prophet when a monk saw that markings on his body were parallel to the marks of a prophet. He worked with caravans of beautiful rich woman and one of them found Muhammad and supported him through the trials of his position. Allowed to take time away from his life and work, Muhammad began taking retreats and during one of these, which would later be known as the holy month of Ramadan, the angel Gabriel came to him and compelled him to began reciting something. At first, he did not know what he was supposed to say but soon he came to speak in verses that would later form the Qur’an. He began to experience some ridicule about the voice that spoke to him but his wife encouraged him and it continued and eventually, he was told to begin sharing what he had been told with the people. This infuriated a class of people with great power and some of his followers, such as Bilal, were forced to endure torture before Muhammad and his followers were finally banished for three years. His visions grew more intense and he ascended into the cosmos and met leaders like Jesus and others. He began to prove himself as a worthy prophet in his pilgrimages but in one year lost his uncle and wife—the strength both in terms of his position in his society and spiritually. The threats in Mecca were still dire and he led some of his followers to Yathrib/Medina and later led a preemptive attack on the Meccans that many believe was successful because God was helping him fight.
Eventually there was a truce, but the Jewish people, despite Muhammad’s suggestion that all religions were unified, would not accept the prophet. With Mecca and Medina believing in him, he made a final pilgrimage to Ka’bah, but became ill and advised his followers but left no successor. He died, with one of his closest friends becoming the caliph, and his life is still the model for emulation.
The life of Jesus follows some of the same path and there are many fundamental aspects of the two men’s lives that are intertwined. They are both men from humble birth who lived simply and were recognized by some as being closely connected to God. This closeness was accepted quickly by some but also created a fair number of enemies—those who saw their power threatened. Both men received guidance from God and were told to speak publicly about what they had been told and both died with many followers. Jesus was born in Nazareth to the Virgin Mother, thus his birth itself was the subject of mystery, whereas Muhammad’s associations with the divine were not manifest until later in his life. Jesus, like Muhammad, lived a relatively ordinary life until he was an adult and met John the Baptist, who saw that he was the Messiah. Jesus and others did not accept this quite at first but Jesus began to perform acts that were miraculous and he developed a large following. Like Muhammad, there were leaders in his city who were frustrated at this new figure of attention and he was persecuted. The people of Jerusalem saw them as his leader but the political forces there were strong. He conducted a last supper with those who followed him and soon after, he was arrested after being betrayed by Pontius Pilate and then crucified. Following his crucifixion, there were a number of ominous signs such as a great earthquake and on the warning of some of his followers, Jews were posted at his tomb so that he would not arise as the prophecy foretold. Eventually, Mary Magdalene, who was one of Jesus’ ardent followers, went to his tomb and saw angels and Jesus and this continued with some of the other disciples and they knew then that Jesus was the Lord and continued to worship him.
Upon their deaths, the divide between how Jesus and Muhammad are seen as spiritual/transcendent versus human beings becomes more defined. The impact of the deaths of these two important figures is different because of the differing context. For instance, as the son of God who was resurrected and proven to be a supernatural being, Jesus, once he had passed away, was not necessarily dead but was revered more as a supernatural being and related to God himself. Muhammad, on the other hand, never purported (or was claimed by others) to be a son of God or a supernatural being at all and always made it clear to his people that he was simply a prophet. He considered Jesus to be a prophet as well but when he died, he was looked at more as a spiritual leader and figure for emulation rather than a figure to worship or give thanks and praise to. Jesus was crucified so that everyone’s sins could be forgiven—an act that in itself communicates his status as a transcendent being. When Muhammad died, it was from a simple human illness and there were not any spiritual purposes behind his death, nor did he rise again or come back in spirit form to communicate with his followers. While their lives were alike in many ways, especially their early years during the time they were gaining followers, the two diverge significantly in their deaths and what such deaths meant for their disciples. Jesus is a figure to be worshipped and idealized by his followers whereas Muhammad is a figure who shows the ideal path for a practicing Muslim.
The death of both men reflects on how they are worshipped today, although depending on which man one is speaking of, the word “worship” means slightly different things. In the case of Muhammad, the term worship is more associated with emulation—good Muslims want to live a life that is as closely aligned with Muhammad’s life as possible and worship the way he lived his life and who he was a man—a human being-as opposed to worshipping him in the sense that they give praise and bestow him with supernatural or transcendent powers. In the case of Jesus, the term worship does mean that he is worshipped as a figure deserving of thanks and praise after he provided human beings with salvation through his death. He was a martyr, although not in a political sense like one might have considered Muhammad if he died during a battle with those from Mecca (which is another hypothetical situation worth considering another time). Jesus was a spiritual martyr and the son of God, thus he is worshipped as a figure with transcendent powers of healing, forgiveness, and other miracles. Muhammad always claimed to be a man only and thus has only been “worshipped” in this sense whereas Jesus is seen as being directly responsible for people in a transcendent, spiritual way.
The messages of both of these leaders are being spread in the same way they have been for centuries—through scripture and readings and interpretations of it. People pray to keep in contact with God and have their religious traditions that are aimed at giving thanks to God, who was revealed to them through the prophets discussed here.
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