Compare and Contrast the Lives of Jesus and Muhammad, Research Paper Example

It seems to me that the lives of Jesus and Muhammad were and still are of such a significance that can’t be compared to the life of any other historical personality. They were not only the founders of new religions, but they also established a totally new ways of thinking and somewhat new life philosophies. And the most amazing thing about Jesus and Muhammad is that their messages are still of great importance and actuality after more than two thousands years from the time when these messages had been preached.

In this paper I tried to examine and analyze the major aspects of Jesus’ and Muhammad’s teachings and lives. Despite the fact that Jesus and Muhammad lived in different times and different places, and that they are the creators of two religions that are constantly in the state of conflict with each other, there are quite a lot of similarities in the lives of these two men and especially in their messages.

Thesis Statement

In their times both Muhammad and Jesus were the creators of new religions – Islam and Christianity, which today have grown to be the major religions in the entire world. There are a lot of similarities in the lives, deeds and teachings of both men. But still there is one major difference that can’t be ignored – in contrast to Jesus, Muhammad has never been considered by his followers to be of divine or godly nature.

Lives of Jesus and Muhammad (Historical Perspective)

Although it is a well-established fact that both Jesus and Muhammad were historical personalities, there are still a lot of unanswered questions and scholars still continue to argue over various facts of their lives. It is especially difficult to trace historically the life of Jesus Christ as the major part of information about him comes from the Gospels. And even though all four Gospels provide the same information about some major facts of Jesus’ biography, there are still a lot of differences in details.

Scholars believe that Jesus of Nazareth was born in 7-2 BC in Nazareth, Galilee (Dunn, 2003). The exact year is unknown because the Gospel of Matthew places the birth of Jesus under the reign of Herod the Great (died 4 BC), while the Gospel of Luke states that Jesus was born during the first census of the Roman province of Syria and Judaea in the 6 BC. Jesus was born to Mary and Joseph, who was a carpenter. Later in his life Jesus also became a carpenter. There are no historical notes on Jesus’ childhood and early adulthood life. As a young adult Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist and shortly afterwards he began preaching and healing. In his mid-30s Jesus had a public career which didn’t last long, but did attract considerable attention. Between AD 29 and 33 Jesus went to Jerusalem to watch the Passover, where he was arrested, tried, and executed.  Jesus was crucified under the command of Pontius Pilate who was the Roman perfect of Judaea. There is not established date of Jesus’ death, it is believed that he was executed between AD 29 and 36.

On the contrast, there is much more information available about the life of Muhammad. Most historical information about his life is taken from the Qur’an and from the early biographies of Muhammad that were completed in the 3^rd and 4^th centuries of the Muslim era. Muhammad was born in 570 AD in the Arabian city of Mecca. He became an orphan at a young age and therefore was raised by his uncle Abu Talib. He was working as a merchant and shepherd and by the age of 25 was married for the first time. After a while Muhammad became so tired and discontented with the life in Mecca that he decided to retreat to the cave in the neighboring mountains for meditation and reflection. It is believed that there at the age of 40 Muhammad received the first revelation from God after which he began his preaching career. In 622 AD Muhammad and his followers were forced to migrate to Medina, because of an extremely harsh treatment that they were receiving from the Meccan tribes. Muhammad and his followers were fighting against these Meccan tribes for 8 years and eventually conquered Mecca, united various tribes of Arabia and converted them to the single religion of Islam. In 632 Muhammad conducted his Farewell pilgrimage to Mecca, and few months afterwards he fell ill and on June 8, 632 Muhammad died in Medina (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2009).

Impact of Jesus’ and Muhammad’s Death on a Respective Religion

One of the things that is absolutely different in stories of Jesus and Muhammad is that it is believed by the followers of Christ that he was resurrected after the death, while Muhammad had died and was buried as any other normal person.

In case of Jesus Christians of various confessions believe that his death on the cross was redemptive sacrifice which is the source of humanity’s salvation and the atonement for sin which had began through Adam. Therefore, by his death Jesus paid the debt of human kind which we have to God. The resurrection of Jesus is also seen by Christians as a promise of future resurrection of all true believers that will come when Jesus will return to earth to judge the living and the dead. In overall, in Christian religion the death and resurrection of Jesus serve as symbols of the destruction of death and forgiveness of sins for all followers of the Christ.

On the contrast, in Islam there are no believes of Muhammad’s resurrection or possible coming back. It is simply believed that Muhammad had lived and died as a normal person, although he had been the messenger of God and the greatest prophets of all his prophets. In the final years of his life Muhammad had managed to unite all the Arabian tribes under a single Islam religion. So the greatest impact of Muhammad’s death on his followers was the necessity to elect the next person who would carry on the tradition and mission of Muhammad. Abu Bakr, collaborator and friend of Muhammad, was chosen as such a person and was made the first caliph.

Ways in Which Jesus and Muhammad Are Worshipped / Regarded

The major difference at this part is that in Islam Muhammad is not worshipped in the sense that Christians worship Jesus Christ. Muslims love and respect Muhammad as a prophet and messenger of God. However, he is regarded to be a mortal man though a very extraordinary and wonderful human being. The only one who is being worshipped in Islam is God, Muslims believe in his oneness. Muslims view Muhammad as a restorer of the original, uncorrupted monotheistic faith of Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and others. In Muslim tradition, Muhammad is viewed as the last and the greatest in a series of prophets – as the man closest to perfection, the possessor of all virtues (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2009).

On the other hand, in Christianity Jesus is regarded to be the Son of God, meaning the second person in the divine Trinity. He is also worshipped as a Messiah, whose coming to the earth was prophesized in the Old Testament, and who came to provide salvation and reconciliation with God by his death for human sins. There are also such beliefs about Jesus that Christians continue to preserve as virgin birth, performance of miracles, ascension into heaven and a future second coming.

Massages of Jesus and Muhammad in the Modern World

In their days both Muhammad and Jesus were the creators of new religions – Islam and Christianity, and today these two religions have grown to be the most numerous in the world, with the largest number of followers and covering the largest land territories. For instance, today the number of Christians (of various denominations) ranges between 1.5 and 2.1 billion people, which makes it the world’s largest religion (Adherents, 2007). In its turn, Islam is followed by around 1.3 to 1.8 billion people (Adherents, 2007). But it is quite obvious that since the times of Muhammad and Jesus a lot have been changed in their initial messages and religions themselves have undergone through serious metamorphosis.

The greatest difference that can be seen between the initial message of Muhammad and its present interpretation is connected with the jihad. Initially, jihad means “to strive or to struggle”. There are different categories of jihad based on the object or goal of the struggle. But the most important among them– as it was regarded by Muhammad to be the “greater jihad” – pertains to spiritual self-perfection. However, most Muslims today interpret jihad as a form of warfare oriented on the external struggle to defend against non-Muslim combatants and to expand the Islamic state.

Today the message of Jesus is followed and worshipped in churches throughout the whole world, as well as in the daily lives of many Christians. Words and teachings of Jesus can be found in the Holy Bible’s New Testament. Muhammad is not worshipped by Muslims, as he is believed to be simply the messenger of God. But his teachings, which can be found in Qur’an, are still followed today by Muslims all over the world.

The Major Theological Differences in the Two

As it was mentioned in the thesis statement of the paper the major theological difference that exists between Jesus and Muhammad is that Jesus is regarded to be the Son of God while Muhammad is seen by Islamic followers as a mortal man of non-divine nature (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2009).

At this point it is also necessary to mention the main theological difference that exists between Islam and Christianity in general, as it is directly related to the views that their followers hold on Muhammad and Jesus. The fundamental belief of Islam is the concept that there is only one God – Allah. As Qur’an says – “…God, the One and Only; God, the Eternal, Absolute; He begets not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him.” (Qur’an 112:1-4). At the same time, Christians believe in the Holy Trinity – God the Father, Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the Holy Spirit. Therefore, Christians regard Jesus as God incarnate and “true God and true man”, thus he is of both truly divine and truly human nature. As a true man Jesus suffered pain and died on the cross, but as a true God after his death he rose to live again. Even though Muslims believe in Jesus as one of the main prophets of God, they absolutely reject the idea of his divinity. In Islamic theology, Jesus was just a man and not the son of God (Thomas, 2007). Basically, Muslims regard Christian concept of Trinity to be something like polytheism.

Similarities of Lives and Messages of Jesus and Muhammad

The lives and messages of both Jesus and Muhammad were quite significant and the impacts of their ministries can still be observed in the modern world. But there can be found certain similarities in the lives and messages of these two men.

Similarities in Lives

Although the events that accompanied the birth of Jesus and Muhammad are quite well-known, little information can be found about their childhood. It is only known that Muhammad became an orphan at a pretty young age, and therefore he was raised by his relatives. About the childhood of Jesus it is know that his family had to escape from Bethlehem, because Jesus could be killed there, and that they had to run away and evade king Herod until the king died. However, nothing in particular is known about their adolescence and early adulthood.

Another similarity is that both Jesus and Muhammad began to preach their messages at quite a late age – Jesus at around 30 and Muhammad at around 40 years of age. And both men had begun their preaching career after they had received the message from God. The only difference at this point is that Muhammad was visited by Archangel Gabriel, while Jesus was directly speaking to God.

During their lives both Jesus and Muhammad were followed by a group of followers or disciples who were writing down their teachings and messages. In such a way the holy books for Islam and Christianity were completed – the Qur’an and the Holy Bible’s New Testament, respectively.

Similarities in Messages

There are quite a lot of similarities in the messages of Jesus and Muhammad, although there are some critical differences that can’t be underestimated.

The major similar trait of messages that were preached by Muhammad and Jesus is that both of them believed that there is only one true God, and thus they absolutely rejected all the polytheistic believes. Basically, they were preaching about the same God, who could be found in the Holy Bible’s Old Testament. They both recognized the God of the Old Testament and Abraham as the one through whom the great nation will arrive. The only difference at this point is that Jesus (and eventually Christians) believed that God’s promise is fulfilled through Abraham’s son Isaac, while Muhammad and all Muslims believe that it is completed through Abraham’s son Ishmael. And even though the nature of God was seen differently by Jesus and Muhammad, they both taught that true God is infinite, sovereign, all powerful and all-knowing, and that he is the ultimate judge of the human kind. Both Jesus and Muhammad also preached that there would be the final Day of Judgment.

Second similarity is that the teachings of them both outlined the ways in which people can enter the heavens. But at this point there is a difference that is connected with the main theological issues of Christianity and Islam. While Muhammad was telling people that he mustn’t be worshipped, because he is only a messenger of God, Jesus’ message stated that in order to enter the Kingdom of God one must repent and follow him, as he is the Son of God.

Both Muhammad and Jesus were preaching love and kindness of all people towards each other. Both of them also preached that all people are created equal and that God loves all of his children.

Major Sects and Denominations of Islam and Christianity

Since the times when Muhammad and Jesus were preaching their messages and when the official religions of Christianity and Islam were established a lot has been changed in their initial meanings and on the basis of these official religions there occurred a lot of various sects.

Major Sects of Islam

Islam consists of a number of religious denominations, the major among which are Sunni and Shi’a. Essential believes of these two major branches are pretty similar, however, there are significant legal and theological differences in the two. According to the U.S. Library of Congress about 85 percent of all Muslims in the world are Sunni, while remaining 15 percent are Shia (2007). The break down of Islam into these two sects occurred when the forth caliph – Ali ibn Abi Talib – was assassinated and followed by Abi-Sufyan. This fifth caliph was supported by the majority of Muslims, but there was a group who remained loyal to Ali. For the most part this group was concentrated in Iraq and came to be known as Shia’at’ali (Shias).

Sunni. The main pillars of Sunni’s belief are the example of Muhammad’s life (Sunnah) and the hadith which recounts Muhammad’s words, actions and personal characteristics. Sunnis also believe that the first four caliphs were the rightful successors of Muhammad and they also believe that all succeeding leaders must be elected by the Muslim community. While Sunnis recognize Ali as one of the caliphs, they don’t regard him to be the only true continuation of Muhammad’s tradition. The main doctrines of Sunni Islam were completely formed by the end of the 9^th century and complete theological system was developed toward the end of the 10^th century (Meri, 2005).

Shia. On contrast with Sunni Islam, Shias believe that Ali was the only true descendant and legitimate successor of Muhammad and they also regard him to be the one who brought the divine light from the Prophet. Therefore, they reject the first three caliphs. They also believe that only certain individuals among the descendants of Muhammad, known as Imams, have special political and spiritual right to rule over the Islamic community. The reason why Shia Islam has far less numerous amount of followers than Sunni is that for a number of decades, after the split of Islam, Shias had no real and formal organization. In its turn Shia Islam is divided into three main branches – Twelver, Ismaili, and Zaidi. Nowadays, Shia Islam is followed by the majority of population in such countries as Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan, and Bahrain.

Major Denominations of Christianity

There exist five major branches of Christianity – Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Church, Protestantism, and Anglican Church. However, there also exist a vast number of different denominations and subdivisions of each of these five churches. Almost since the time of the origin of Christianity (1^st century AD) it hasn’t been a monolithic faith. In the Western world the three major divisions of Christianity are Catholicism, Protestantism and Anglicanism. At the same time, in the East the majority of believers follow the East Orthodox Church, also called Greek Orthodox Church, with the minority being members of Oriental Orthodox Churches.

Catholicism. Catholics consider themselves to be followers of the Original and Universal Church. Catholic Church traces its origin through apostolic succession to the Christian community that was established by Jesus. Roman Catholic Church is leaded by bishops with the Pope, the Bishop of Rome, being the highest authority in matters of faith, morality and Church governance. In the recent decades the Roman Catholic Church has been working toward the reconciliation among all Christians. Nowadays, Catholicism includes more than 1.1 billion baptized members, and thus being the largest among all the Christian Churches and representing one sixth of the world’s population.

Protestantism. Movement of Protestantism originated in the 16^th centuries when Martin Luther, John Calvin and Huldrych Zwingli had doubted the traditional views, rituals, and believes that were held by the official Roman Catholic Church. The major believe that differs Protestants from the rest of Christians is that they regard the Bible to be the final source of authority for all Christians and therefore they reject the official church organization. Protestantism today is as multi-faceted as ever.

Anglicanism. Anglicanism originated from Protestantism and initially was the English Church that separated from the Roman pontiff, but eventually it developed into the international Anglican Communion. The Anglican Church is headed by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Today it consists of more than eight million people, being the third largest denominations of Christianity after the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Eastern Orthodox Church. In the same way as the Roman Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church also regards itself to be the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church established by Jesus Christ. Eastern Orthodox Church originated in the result of the great East-West Schism that occurred in the 11^th century. The head of the Eastern Orthodox Church is the Patriarch of Constantinople. Presently, Eastern Orthodox Church consists of 300 million members which makes it the second largest Christian Church after the Roman Catholic one.

So it’s quite evident that in the times of Jesus and Muhammad their messages were of an absolute originality and revelation for ordinary people, and they were considered somewhat revolutionary and disturbing by the official political leaders. Both Jesus and Muhammad were appealing to the hearts of people, calling them for unification and love towards each other. However, while Jesus was simply preaching, healing, and teaching people the word of God, Muhammad was absolutely consciously creating a new religion and fighting for the spread of this new religion. But still, Muhammad has never considered himself to be God or of divine nature while Jesus was telling his disciples that he is the Son of God, and that in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven people must follow him. And exactly these two differences in the messages and deeds of Jesus and Muhammad make up the main distinction between Christianity and Islam. So a conclusion may be drawn that while both Jesus and Muhammad were preaching about the same God and they were showing people by their actions how to be God’s people, there were some differences in their messages that has grown to be the main issues of conflict between the two greatest religions of the world – Islam and Christianity.

References

Adherent statistics and religious geography citations. (2007, December). Major religions ranked by size. Retrieved July 20, 2009, from http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html

Dunn, J. D. (2003). Jesus Remembered. Eerdmans Publishing.

Meri, J. W. (2005). Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia. Routledge, 1^st Edition.

Muhammad. (2009). In Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved July 19, 2009, from Encyclopedia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/396226/Muhammad

Thomas, D. (2007). Tathlith, Trinity. Retrieved July 20, 2009, from Encyclopedia of the Qur’an Online: http://uclibs.org/PID/113653

U.S. Library of Congress. (2007, September). Country Studies: Sunni and Shia Islam. Retrieved July 20, 2009, from http://countrystudies.us/afghanistan/61.htm.