REVELATION MAKES YAHWEH KNOWN 3

Revelation makes God known

I.Can someone call himself the messenger of a non-revealing god?

   God revealed Himself to Moses and talked to him (Ex.25:9);
         The Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend (Ex.33:11; Num.12:8)

    God did not reveal Himself to Muhammad and did not talked to him personally

    Who, Moses or Muhammad, knows God personally and is able to speak about the glory of God?

           Having God, listening and talking to Him, and knowing Him personally affect all dimensions of our life and provides us with reasons to talk about Him

REVELATION MAKES GOD ACCESSIBLE 4

God in the Qur’an is not revealed to Muhammad 

God in the Bible reveals Himself to many people

Who can then claim knowing and having the truth?

      The followers of the Bible or the Qur’an?

ALLAH IS UNREVEALING

Allah Is Unrevealing

Bukhari :: Volume 6 :: Book 60 :: Hadith 378

Narrated Masruq: I said to 'Aisha, "O Mother! Did Prophet Muhammad see his Lord?" Aisha said, "What you have said makes my hair stand on end ! Know that if somebody tells you one of the following three things, he is a liar: 

Whoever tells you that Muhammad saw his Lord, is a liar." Then Aisha recited the Verse: 'No vision can grasp Him, but His grasp is over all vision. He is the Most Courteous Well-Acquainted with all things.' (6.103) 'It is not fitting for a human being that Allah should speak to him except by inspiration or from behind a veil.' 

(42.51) 'Aisha further said, "And whoever tells you that the Prophet knows what is going to happen tomorrow, is a liar." She then recited: 'No soul can know what it will earn tomorrow.' 

(31.34) She added: "And whoever tell you that he concealed (some of Allah's orders), is a liar." Then she recited: 'O Apostle! Proclaim (the Message) which has been sent down to you from your Lord..' (5.67) 'Aisha added. "But the Prophet saw Gabriel in his true form twice."

Muhammad and Jesus Christ - Messengers

True Muslim Believes...

I bear witness that no God but Allah 

and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah 

and I bear witness that Jesus is the servant of Allah and His Messenger

True Christian Believes....

Act 4:12  Only Jesus has the power to save! His name is the only one in all the world that can save anyone. 

Heb 1:1  In the past God spoke to our ancestors many times and in many ways through the prophets, 

Heb 1:2  but in these last days he has spoken to us through his Son. He is the one through whom God created the universe, the one whom God has chosen to possess all things at the end. 

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 3

Different Message

Jesus taught love and grace; Muhammad taught submission and rules. Muhammad taught that we must attain salvation by adhering to Islam’s Five Pillars of the Faith. In other words, our salvation depends on our own efforts. Even then, one has no assurance of forgiveness, and must depend upon the mercy of Allah for forgiveness. Some Muslims believe that the Qur'an teaches that becoming a martyr for Allah will gain them favor and they will be rewarded by a heavenly harem.

Jesus said God created us for a relationship with Himself. His plan is to adopt us into His heavenly family as His beloved children. However, we rebelled against Him and broke His moral laws. The Bible calls this sin. Such disobedience against a holy God requires judgment. Our good deeds, money, or prayers cannot take away our sins.

The Bible tells us God is a pursuing God who devised a plan to free us from our sin debt. God's solution was to pay the price Himself. In order to accomplish that, Jesus became a man who would die in our place

(Philippians 2:5). Jesus said: “God so loved the world that He sent Jesus to die for us” John 3:16). Jesus taught that salvation is a free gift which must be embraced by faith in him alone, not our deeds. It is our choice to accept or reject God's free pardon.

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 2

Biographical Sketch:

Life of Muhammad

Muhammad was born in 570 A.D in Mecca, a city in Western Saudi Arabia. He was an orphan, having lost both parents by the age of 6. After age 8 the young Muhammad was raised by his uncle, Abu Talib. In time he joined the trading caravans as a merchant.

At age 25 Muhammad married a wealthy widow by the name of Khadijah, 15 years his senior. The couple had four daughters and two sons who died in infancy. During Muhammad’s life he had a total of eleven wives. He was described as gentle and humble by nature. He loved children and animals.

At age 40, Muhammad fell into a trance in a cave on Mount Hira near Mecca where he claimed to have heard the angel Gabriel speak to him. Muhammad reportedly ran home crying out, “O, Kadijah! I have either become a soothsayer or else I am possessed of the Djin [demon] and gone mad.”

Khadijah and her Christian cousin Waraqah consoled Muhammad, assuring him his vision must be real, and that he was truly God’s prophet. Muhammad had additional revelations of Gabriel speaking to him, but he still had agonizing doubts about their reality. He was even more troubled when the revelations ceased, becoming dejected and entertaining suicide.

It wasn’t until later when his revelations resumed, that Muhammad finally began proclaiming himself as a prophet, and preaching “in the one sovereign God, resurrection, and the last judgment, and the practicing of charity to the poor and the orphans.”

Muhammad was illiterate and recited his revelations orally. It wasn’t until after his death that they were compiled and written down in the Qur’an. Muslims accept the Qur’an as a miracle, believing it is 100% inspired with no human error. Much of what we know as Islam — the lives and sayings of the Prophet — is based on texts from between 130 and 300 years after Muhammad's death.

In the face of rampant idolatry, Muhammad became zealous for Allah. It was his zeal that led Muhammad to take up the sword for Allah. He would spread Islam by conquering the “infidel” (unbelieving) peoples, including Christians and Jews.

Prior to taking up the sword, Muhammad had co-existed peacefully with the many Jewish inhabitants of Medina. But when he realized the Jews rejected his prophetic calling and radical ideas, he became angry, and began treating them cruelly. As a result, some Jews were driven into exile by his militia, while others were executed with their widows and children being sold as slaves.

Prior to his death, Muhammad led several military campaigns. He proved to be a courageous and capable military leader. By the time of his death in 632, Muslims ruled only in Arabia. But within ten years the Arab Muslims conquered Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Iraq, and then Persia (Iran). In one generation Muhammad and his followers had changed the political landscape of the Eastern world. Today Muslims around the world honor Muhammad as Allah’s one “True Prophet.”

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.

Islam

     Islam - 622 CE

Islam was founded in 622 CE by Muhammad the Prophet, in Makkah (also spelled Mecca). Though it is the youngest of the world's great religions, Muslims do not view it as a new religion. They belief that it is the same faith taught by the prophets, Abraham, David, Moses and Jesus. The role of Muhammad as the last prophet was to formalize and clarify the faith and purify it by removing ideas which were added in error. The two sacred texts of Islam are the Qur'an, which are the words of Allah 'the One True God' as given to Muhammad, and the Hadith, which is a collection of Muhammad's sayings. The duties of all Muslims are known as the Five Pillars of Islam and are:

1. Recite the shahadah at least once.
2. Perform the salat (prayer) 5 times a day while facing the Kaaba in Makkah.
3. Donate regularly to charity via the zakat, a 2.5% charity tax, and through additional donations to the needy.
4. Fast during the month of Ramadan, the month that Muhammad received the Qur'an from Allah.
5. Make pilgrimage to Makkah at least once in life, if economically and physically possible.

Muslims follow a strict monotheism with one creator who is just, omnipotent and merciful. They also believe in Satan who drives people to sin, and that all unbelievers and sinners will spend eternity in Hell. Muslims who sincerely repent and submit to God will return to a state of sinlessness and go to Paradise after death. Alcohol, drugs, and gambling should be avoided and they reject racism. They respect the earlier prophets, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, but regard the concept of the divinity of Jesus as blasphemous and do not believe that he was executed on the cross.