REVELATION MAKES YAHWEH KNOWN 4

Revelation makes God known

Jesus said, “They know with certainty that I have come from you” (Jn.17:8) 

Through the church the manifold wisdom of God should be made known (Eph.3:10)

“The One (God) whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you” (Acts 17:23c)

Muhammad and Jesus Compared 5

Thus with Muhammad and Jesus, we have two significant leaders whose words, although very different, are still impacting our world today. 


Muhammad claimed he was a prophet for Allah, and his followers say that his message supersedes that of all other prophets.

Jesus, on the other hand claimed to be more than a prophet. He said he existed before the universe was created, and that he is one with God the Father. His followers believed his words because they saw him alive after his death.

Other than the Qur’an, Muhammad left us no proof that his message was from God. His followers claim that the Qur’an is a miracle needing no proof or evidence. 


However, Jesus reportedly backed up his words and claims with a feat that would have been impossible unless God had done it. 


To his followers, it was his bodily resurrection from the dead that convinced them his words are true. 


They went everywhere proclaiming Jesus' claims to be true, even at the cost of their own lives.

If Jesus did rise from the dead, then he is the only man able to tell us what is on the other side. 


Did he tell us that we face an uncertain future after we die? Or did Jesus promise that we can be forgiven and accepted into the loving arms of God? 


Discover what Jesus said in “Why Jesus?”

Muhammad and Jesus Compared 2

Different Character

As a mortal man, Muhammad sinned like us. Jesus was said to be “without sin” (John 8:46). Even his enemies were unable to accuse him of breaking any of God’s Commandments. But Muhammad admitted he had erred, and asked Allah for forgiveness three times (Sura al-Ghafir 40:55; 47:19 al-Fath 48:2).

Different Authority

Muhammad never performed a miracle (Qur’an 29:50), but Jesus exhibited complete authority over nature by performing numerous miracles (Mark 3:9,10).

Different Credentials

Jesus fulfilled ancient Hebrew prophecies; Muhammad did not. Muhammad offered no credentials but his revelation. Yet, nearly 300 Old Testament prophecies with 61 specific details were fulfilled by Jesus Christ. Only God could have brought all those details to pass. Thus, Jesus is a perfect match for each of them. Jesus’ divine credentials were established by his fulfillment of God’s prophetic Word.

Different Power

Jesus’ resurrection demonstrated divine power; Muhammad died and his bones are reportedly within his grave at Medina. Jesus, on the other hand, came back to life three days after he was crucified and confirmed dead by Roman executioners. Both Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection are historical facts for which there is compelling evidence.

Muhammad and Jesus Compared 1

Muhammad and Jesus

Differences between Muhammad and Jesus

Although some similarities exist between Muhammad and Jesus, their differences are far greater. Let’s look at a few of the most important.

Different Claims

Muhammad said he was just a man; Jesus claimed to be God. In fact, Muhammad never claimed to be more than a man, a prophet of Allah. His following prayer reflects that:
"O Allah! I am but a man.” (Ahmed, Musnad, Vol. 6, pg. 103)

Although Jesus was fully a man who felt pain, became hungry, tired, and was tempted like us, Jesus also claimed to be fully God, equal with his heavenly Father. He said that prior to becoming a man, he and the father had always existed as one God, and had jointly created the universe.

Several popular conspiracy theories, like The Da Vinci Code, have asserted that the church invented Jesus’ divinity, but historical evidence indicates the earliest Christians believed that Jesus is both Lord and God.

Christianity would not be the same if Jesus’ disciples hadn’t truly believed he was God. (The term, “Son of God” does not mean a biological offspring, or that Jesus is inferior to his Father, it only reflects their relationship with one another within the godhead). All the evidence points to the fact that the disciples totally embraced his deity.

Muhammad and Jesus Christ Similarities 1

Comparative Religion:

Similarities between Jesus and Muhammad

Before we look at the differences between Jesus and Muhammad, let’s identify a few of their similarities.

Great religious leaders

Jesus and Muhammad established the world’s two largest religions, Christianity with 2.1 billion, and Islam with 1.8 billion people, together half of the world’s population.

Monotheism

Although their views of God’s nature were different, both men believed in and taught about one true God who is sovereign, infinite, all powerful, all-knowing, and the ultimate judge of all mankind.

Old Testament Scriptures

Both men accepted the Old Testament as God’s Word, and acknowledged Abraham, as the one through whom God would make a great people. Jews and Christians believe God’s promise is through Abraham’s son, Isaac, while Muslims believe it is through Abraham’s other son, Ishmael.

Muhammad and Jesus

Compare the Men — Compare the Religions

Thomas Carlyle observed that the history of the world is really the biography of great men. And no two men have influenced our world more than Jesus and Muhammad. Nations have used their words as the foundation of their cultures and laws. Fully half of the world’s inhabitants trace the roots of their beliefs back to Muhammad’s words in the 7th century and the teachings of Jesus Christ in the 1st century. So who were these men who have changed our world, and how do they compare with one another? 

We begin with Muhammad.

Muhammad didn’t appear extraordinary at first. But in time his name became known throughout the Arab lands as the one who united a disparate group of nomad Arabs into a powerful force for their God. 

And today, nearly 1,400 years later, 1.8 billion Muslims revere Muhammad as the greatest of all prophets.

About six hundred years before Muhammad another man appeared on the scene who in three short years changed our world. His name is Jesus Christ. 

Within a few generations after he left earth, the power and might of the Roman Empire was enveloped by the phenomenon of Christianity, and today it is the world’s largest religion with over 2 billion followers.

Although Muslims and Christians both believe strongly in God, their religious differences have changed our 21st century world. But, can their many religious differences be traced back to the teachings of Muhammad and Jesus? If these religious leaders were alive today, would they reflect the divisions of their followers, or would they agree with one another?

Perhaps we can answer that question by looking at the similarities and differences of Muhammad and Jesus. Both religious leaders had some similarities, but their differences account for much of the division we see today between Islam and Christianity.