Muhammad or Jesus?
When these two individuals are compared great differences can be found. The faith of Islam depends on the truth of the stories about a remarkable prophet Muhammad who lived in the oldest city of the world, Mecca, and who had the Qur’an dictated word for word to him. The following is a short discussion of just some of the evidence. This search for truth has been elaborated in my book ‘The Origins of Islam’.
The character of Muhammad
Many revere Muhammad as the perfect example to live by but early Islamic literature portray a man of questionable character. This information written by his followers and raises the question to what extent he should be honoured today.
Critics were assassinated
The Sirah literature, the biographical literature, and the Hadith, collections of sayings produced by early Arabs, both portray Muhammad as a warlord. Although it does show him sometimes offering mercy to his opponents, just as often if not more so, it portrays Muhammad as ordering or sanctioning the killing of specific individuals who were considered critics, satirists, or actively opposed the Muslim community in Medina. The earliest biographers such as Ibn Ishaq are quite detailed in showing how the prophet did not suffer people reciting poetry against him and made a point of ordering the murder of such poets. These actions were part of the intense political and religious conflict during that period. These are some documented examples:
Abdullah ibn Khatal was a poet who left Islam, apostatised, and insulted Muhammad with satirical poems who Muhammad had executed.
Fartana was a singing girl in the service of Ibn Khatal. She was also executed for singing his critical songs.
Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf was a Jewish poet and leader who was assassinated by Muhammad's followers after the Battle of Badr. He is also said to have written satirical poetry.
The Sirah says that Abu 'Afak and Asma' bint Marwan were killed for composing poetry that incited the people of Medina against Muhammad.
Abu Rafi' was an opponent of Muhammad who was assassinated in his home. Sources indicate this was due to his role in aiding enemy troops and mocking Muhammad through poetry.
Al-Nadr ibn al-Harith was captured at the Battle of Badr, and was executed rather than ransomed. Sources suggest this was because he harassed Muhammad and mocked the Qur’an as ‘tales of the ancients’.
Slaves were abused
Muhammad had female slaves with whom he had sexual relations, a practice known in Islamic law as concubinage. Scholars generally identify between two and four women who served as Muhammad's concubines. Maria the Copt was sent to him as a gift by the Governor of Alexandria and bore him a son.
This practice was permitted under the Quranic concept of 'Ma malakat aymanukum' (‘those whom your right hands possess’), which allowed men to have sexual relations with female captives or slaves outside of a formal marriage contract. This is explicitly mentioned in verses such as Quran 33:50, which is addressed to Muhammad specifically.
Torture was used
Muhammad aggressively attacked several groups of people that opposed him. After Khaibar was conquered, the Jews there were either enslaved, executed, or allowed to live there provided they gave the Muslims one half of all they produced. One of Muhammad's most brutal acts involved a prisoner named Kinana, one of the leaders of Khaibar. Muhammad wanted him to reveal where some buried treasure was hidden. Kinana refused. Muhammad had him tortured to the point of death, then had him beheaded.
In contrast Jesus was acknowledged by those who knew him very well to be a righteous man who was willing to suffer for others. He came to die as a sacrificial lamb that people may be forgiven and put right with God.
The reliability of the Qur’an
There are now many concerns about this. The standard Islamic narrative teaches that this was dictated to Muhammad and we have the exact copy of this today.
Origin of the stories
Some Islamic scholars have estimated that approximately 25 per cent of the Qur'an's verses are derived from Biblical stories. It has also borrowed legends from both apocryphal Jewish and Christian sources.
The stories of men sleeping in a cave for centuries originate from a late antique Christian legend. The legend, known as the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus (or the Companions of the Cave), tells of a group of young men who, around AD 250, hid in a cave to escape persecution by the Roman Emperor Decius. They fell into a miraculous sleep and woke up over two centuries later during the reign of Emperor Theodosius II (408–450). The story was used to show the possibility of resurrection. This story is recounted in the Qur’an (Surah 18:9-16) but there it is described as being factual:
“We shall recount to you their story in truth: surely they were young men who believed in their Lord, and we increased them in guidance. We strengthened their hearts, when they stood up and said, ‘Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth. We do not call on any god other than him.” Surah 18:13-14
This overlooks that this story was a fable and that the God of the young men was the Lord Jesus.
There was a Jewish legend coming from the first century AD called ‘Satan and Adam’. When God created Adam he ordered the angels to prostrate before him, all did so except Satan who refused, saying,
‘I am better than him, You created me from fire, and You created him from clay’.
Satan was subsequently cast out of heaven and became Satan. This was a Jewish fairy tale told by rabbis to teach the significance of man. It was never considered true yet this story is included in the Qur’an where Satan is called Ibis and it is recounted as being factual history (Surah 2:30-36).
Changes in the Qur’an
Standard Islamic Teaching stresses that the Quran has been perfectly preserved. This is a typical assertion:
“There is no doubt that the Quran is preserved by Allah Almighty, as He has undertaken its preservation Himself. Allah says:
“Indeed, it is We who sent down the Quran and indeed, We will be its guardian.” Surah 15:9
There is much evidence now to show that this cannot be true. Textual variants are common in ancient Islamic documents. This is not uncommon in such documents but the problem is that Islamic authorities deny there have been any alterations.
According to the Hadith General Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman approached Caliph Uthman ibn Affan around 646–650 AD expressing concern for the rising disagreements among Muslim armies regarding the recitation of the Quran, warning that these differences could cause division similar to those among previous religious communities. Uthman ordered all copies of the Qur’an to be collected and one authoritative version produced. He then had four authorised versions produced and all other versions were burnt. For this reason we cannot know what the earlier documents contained.
Abdullah ibn ‘Umar, the son of the second Caliph advised that no one should claim,
“‘I have acquired the whole of the Qur’an,' because much of it has vanished. Instead, he instructed that people should say, ‘I have acquired what has survived’”.
The Qur’an emphasises the city of Mecca in the arid district of South Arabia. It is called the ‘Mother of all settlements’ (Surah 6:92). This cannot be true. There is no archeological evidence that it existed in the seventh century. It is not shown on any maps before the 8th century AD. It is not mentioned by any early travellers in the region. There was very limited water there. The Qur’an teaches that it had a stream, that there were fields with loam, olive trees grew there. None of this is true.
The Qur’an teaches that the Quibla (Direction of Prayer) of mosques was always towards Mecca but that is not true either. It was only after 725 AD that mosques changed their direction to Mecca.
Analysis of Saracen coins minted in the 7th century shows that the caliphs were not Islamic. Many showed the face of the Caliph, which is banned by the Qur’an and may had Christian crosses on them. This is contrary to the teaching that the early expansion of the Arab empire was Islamic. It seems that it was based on a form of Christianity that denied the divinity of Jesus and hence was opposed to the Trinitarian Byzantine Roman empire that was in retreat.
The place of Jesus
Ninety verses in the Qur’an talk about Jesus, and twenty five mention him by name. He is referred to as the Messiah (Al-Masih) eleven times in the Quran. He is a prominent figure in Islam, being called Isa al-Masih (Jesus the Messiah) or Al-Masih ibn Maryam (The Messiah, son of Mary). The present antagonism to the followers of Christ today is therefore hard to explain. Jesus is explicitly referred to as a ‘Word’ from or of God in the Quran, primarily in three distinct passages. These verses (Quran 3:39, 3:45, and 4:171) highlight his unique, miraculous creation without a father. Jesus is directly called ‘a Spirit from Him; once in the Quran (Surah 4:171) but he is frequently described as being supported by the ‘Holy Spirit’ or ‘Spirit of Holiness’ in three other passages (Surahs 2:87, 2:253, 5:110).
The Qur’an teaches that Jesus did amazing miracles and other incredible miracles including raising the dead and implies that he will have a role on the historic day of judgment. His virgin birth is also taught but who his Father is, is not mentioned. He will return at the end of history to fight against the anti-Christ as a Hadith teaches.
“Jesus/ ʿIsa ibn Maryam will surely descend as a just judge and a fair leader. He will travel through the mountain passes [of Arabia] as a pilgrim for Hajj or `Umra and will definitely come to my grave and greet me and I shall respond to him.” Hakim: 4162
Yet Islam denies that Jesus is God’s divine Son and so denies what the Old and new Testament teaches. Islam accepts his ascension but deny his crucifixion and resurrection in spite of all the evidence available by contemporary writers that this really happened. It is as it they have borrowed Jesus from Christianity and tried to insert him alongside a military commander and the two do not fit together. Jesus was a very different Messiah.
Any faith on which people are asked to build their lives must be built on firm foundations, on the rock of truth. It is a tragedy that Islam has tried to degrade Jesus in favour of a manufactured general who is no comparison on any level. Muhammad performed no miracles, his teaching was all about this world whereas Jesus focussed on how to be forgiven and how to get right with God through believing in and following himself. Both lived in male dominated societies but Jesus went out of his way to demonstrate that, in God’s eyes, women are of equal value to himself because they are of equal value to God. Societies based on Christian teaching tend to value men and women equally whereas this is not generally true in Islamic states and societies.
Anyone interested in comparing Jesus with Muhammad cannot do better that to read and study John’s gospel which was written by one of Jesus’ closest companions.
BVP
