Jesus and Muhammad

Jesus and Muhammad

This chronologically tells the story of the lives of Jesus and Muhammad and compare the effects of their deaths. The stories are lengthy and to tell in entirety would require the writing of both the Bibles of Christianity and Islam. Therefore, in no way is this essay a complete work and as in all tales of history there may be fact mixed with fiction or guesswork. The work will also include the bias of the referenced works; however, the author will attempt to exclude any of his own.

Jesus

The exact date of the birth of Jesus is not known, however it is widely accepted that Jesus was born in the reign of King Herod and estimates are that he was born around 747-749 A.U.C. The reason behind this are verses in Matthew, which relate the story of Herod who heard of the coming birth of the King of the Jews. Having heard this Herod had every boy child of two years or younger killed. The account of the story is that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. His father was warned of the killings by an angel and fled with the child and mother to Israel. However, since Archelaus was the ruler of Judea and the son of Herod they were afraid to continue and instead stopped and settled in Nazareth. There is a legend that three kings or wise men (the latter having the greatest possibility) sought out the baby Jesus to pay homage to him. This story may or may not be true. (Maas n.d.)

The Hidden Life

A large part of the life of Jesus has no written background so there are many guesses as to what it was like but it is generally believed that his youth was spent in Nazareth. There is one famous scriptural story of when he was twelve years old and on a trip to Jerusalem with his parents. Supposedly, his parents accidently went home without him and did not realize he was missing for three days. They went again to Jerusalem and found him at the temple questioning the teachers there. When they found him, he spoke words that are a quote from this hidden period in his life. The words were, "How is it that you sought me? Did you not know, that I must be about my Father's business [or, "in my Father's house"]?" (Maas n.d.)

Public Ministry

The beginning of Jesus' public life is estimated to be in the years of 777-779 A.U.C. when he was about thirty. His public life can be explained in the nine journeys that he took. (Maas n.d.)

Journey I

On the first journey, Jesus leaves Nazareth and travels to Bethania and there he was baptized by John. Here he received his first testimony from John. Following the Baptism, he retreated into Judea and in the desert; he went without food and was tempted by the devil. His fast was for forty days. For a while, he was near where he was baptized and during this time, he received the next two testimonies and got his first disciples. Together they went to a wedding and the first miracle was performed. At this time, he moved his residence to Capharnaum in Galilee. (Maas n.d.)

Journey II

The second journey took place about A.U.C. 779-780. The occasion of the journey was the Feast of the Passover in Jerusalem. This story is famous and tells of Jesus casting out the business people from the temple. Later, still in Judea he received the third and fourth testimony from John the Baptist. Soon after, he returned to Galilee and became famous for healing the sick and preaching. At this time, he traveled with Peter, Andrew, James and John and did more healing including a leper and a man who had been sick for many years. During this time, he got in trouble with the Pharisees for healing on the Sabbath and the Pharisees joined with the Herodians against Jesus. Jesus then retreated to the Mountain of Beatitudes and prays all night. The next morning he picked his twelve disciples and did the famous Sermon on the Mount. (Maas n.d.)

Journey III

This is a missionary trip about A.U.C. 780 and is done in Galilee. During this trip, Jesus brings a young man back to life or helps him recover. John the Baptist from prison communicates with by messenger with Jesus

. A group of devoted women follows the Apostles and takes care of them. The Pharisees continue to charge him with crimes. This time they accuse him of being a prince of devils. Jesus goes to the sea or lake and there preaches a sermon called the "Lake Sermon" which has seven parables. (Maas n.d.)

Journey IV

This Journey takes place sometime between Fall 780 and Passover 781. Jesus and his Apostles cross the lake near Capharnaum. During the crossing, there is a large storm and Jesus controls the winds and the waves. Then later they come across two demons, which Jesus puts into a herd of pigs. The pigs go berserk and kill themselves in the water of the lake. When Jesus returns to Capharnaum he heals a woman, resuscitates a young woman and helps two blind men see again. There is a second Gospel at this time and Jesus returns to Nazareth but the people will not have him. The Apostles meet with Jesus at this time and this meeting may have been because of the martyrdom of John the Baptist. (Maas n.d.)

Journey V

This journey is in the spring of 781. Jesus thinks to take a rest so the Apostles and Jesus cross the Sea of Galilee in the north but instead of a restful place, they find hordes of people waiting for their teaching. Jesus taught all day and then wanted to feed the people however there was only five loaves of bread and two fish. The little bit of food, after Jesus blessed it, fed five thousand people and the remains were enough to fill twelve baskets. Following the feast Jesus and the disciples had to run away because the people wanted to make Jesus a King. Jesus sent the Apostles to the boats and then went into the mountains to pray until late at night. Meanwhile, the Apostles were in the boats and running against a wind. At this time, they see Jesus walk on the water. Peter does also until his confidence breaks. Then Jesus came into the boat. Jesus preaches the next day about the Bread of Life and some followers give up on him but his disciples grow stronger in their faith. (Maas n.d.)

Journey VI

This journey took place between about May 781 to September the same year. This was a rather long journey during which he renounces some of the practices of the Pharisees. He did healings, exorcisms and fed four thousand people with seven loaves bread and a small amount of fish. Even though Jesus had numerous healing, the Pharisees and Sadducees wanted him to give them a heavenly sign. Jesus then gives them the sign of Jonah the Prophet. Perhaps the most significant event on this journey was that Jesus predicted his Passion (death on the cross and resurrection). (Maas n.d.)

Journey VII

This journey takes place between about September 781 to December 781. During this journey he went to Jerusalem and there taught the parable of the "Good Samaritan". In addition, at this time the Pharisees tried to trick him by telling him to pass judgment on a woman who committed adultery. This is the famous story of whoever has not sinned cast the first stone. On this journey, Jesus also takes a trip through Judea and Peraea and stands up to the Pharisees and calls them hypocrites. (Maas n.d.)

Journey VIII

On this trip, Jesus came back to Jerusalem for the Feast of Dedication. In Jerusalem, he continued to work healing people on the Sabbath. One healing was at a prince of the Pharisees house where he healed a man of dropsy. Later he brought the man called Lazarus back to life who had been dead for several days. The Jews were really upset at this healing and said that Jesus must die. After that, he left to a place of Ephrem. (Maas n.d.)

Journey IX

This journey happened between about February 782 and Passover 782. This last journey went from Ephrem and through Samaria and part of Galilee, Peraea, Jordan, and Jericho. Jesus also went to Mt. Olivet, Bethphage and ended in Jerusalem. On the journey, Jesus cured ten lepers, answered questions by the Pharisees, and predicted the Passion for the third time. (Maas n.d.)

The Passion

The passion is a book in itself; therefore, the author will briefly describe it but in no means intentionally belittles this event in its brief nature. In reality, the fundamental belief of Christianity hinges on whether this happened or not. (Maas n.d.)

The Passion of Christ consists of his own preparation, the preparation of his disciples and the preparation by his enemies. In his own preparation, Jesus is strengthened by an appearance of an angel and by his own prayer. During the preparation, the famous last supper happens with his disciples. Judas leaves during the meal and betrays Jesus. Jesus was then imprisoned and tried before the Jewish court. He was found guilty of blasphemy and sentenced to Death. Then Jesus was tried before the civil court, which was held in three sessions. Once before Pilate then before Herod and finally before Pilate again. The Roman court found him innocent but decided to teach him a lesson and eventually tortured him and crucified him. (Maas n.d.)

The crucifixion is marked by several events. One being the conversion of one of the robbers his was crucified with him, the saying of the famous "Seven Words" and by the geological event of an Earthquake. One Roman guard decreed that Jesus was truly the Son of God. To make sure Jesus was dead he was pierced with a spear. Then his body was taken down and entombed. (Maas n.d.)

The Resurrection

On the third day, after Jesus was buried his body disappeared from his tomb. It is reported that he appeared alive to many people. This event was perhaps the most significant event in the history of Christianity. (Maas n.d.)

Muhammad

Muhammad's birth is reported to be in 570 CE in Makkah. When Muhammad was only a few weeks old, his father, Abdullah, died in Medinah. When Muhammad was six years old, his mother also died and he was cared for by his grandfather on his father's side, Abd al Muttalib, until the age of eight. From the age of eight Muhammad was raised by his father's brother Abu Talib. Muhammad's grandfather was already a leader of the Quraish (an Arab tribe) and had the responsibility of caring for the Ka'bah (the religious shrine of Muslims). Muhammad came from the lineage of Ismail (son of Abraham) from Ismail's second son Kedar. (Zahoor & Haq 1998)

The Ka'bah was the first Mosque on earth to worship the one God named Allah. Supposedly, it was built again by Abraham and Ishmael (these names are the Hebrew versions of Ibrahim and Ismail in Arabic). (Zahoor & Haq 1998)

Muhammad's uncle trained Muhammad to become a businessman. Muhammad developed a reputation of being perfectly honest and had the nickname of al-Ameen meaning honest and trustworthy. This reputation caused a rich businesswoman by the name of Kahadijah to hire Muhammad and later to marry him. It is historically reported that Kahadijah had already been widowed twice and was forty years old. However, she must have been quite healthy because she and Muhammad had six children together. They had four daughters and two sons but the first son died at the age of two and the second died while still a baby. (Zahoor & Haq 1998)

At this time, the Ka'bah had become corrupted by idol worship and it is reported that in all there were three hundred and sixty idols. This corruption was a fundamentally against the religion that had been established by Abraham and Ismail. There were a small number of people who were against this corruption and sometimes held gatherings in the hills around Mecca (the city that held the Ka'bah).

(Zahoor & Haq 1998)

The First Revelation

When Muhammad was forty years old, he was on Mount Hira to do meditation at the time of Ramadan (the holy month when Muslims visit the Ka'hab. During this time of meditation, Muhammad had his first revelation. This revelation came to him from the Archangel Jibri (Gabriel). Gabriel supposedly asked Muhammad to read or recite and Muhammad being illiterate said that he could not do it. Then Gabriel squeezed him three times until he finally gave in and recited the messages Gabriel taught him. These messages become the first five verses of the Surah chapter of the Qur'an. Muhammad was really frightened by this revelation and went immediately home asking his wife to put a blanket over him. His wife Khadijah, talked to her cousin about this revelation. Her cousin was a man whose name was Waraqa who was a respected Wiseman with experience in these sorts of things. Waraqa said that the Angel who appeared was in fact Gabriel and that Muhammad was the foretold prophet. Khadifah believed this to be true and she became the first person to join or believe in Islam. She became Muhammad's strongest supporter and stuck by him in all of his ordeals. She died during Ramadan in 620 CE. (Zahoor & Haq 1998)

During a period of twenty-three years, Gabriel visited Muhammad and taught him many verses. These were later compiled into what is called the Qur'an or Islamic bible.

Along with this compilation, which is written in the first person, as directly from God, is another compilation of the sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad, which are known as the Hadith. (Zahoor & Haq 1998)

The Prophet Muhammad had the mission to put back the religion taught by the Prophet Abraham to its former purity and to teach humanity the proper way to live. During the first years of his teaching, Muhammad had a following of about forty people. The leaders of the Quraish and of Makkah tried to stop Muhammad from his preaching by making offers of money and power even going as far as offering to make him king if he would stop. Muhammad refused all offers and so the leaders took further steps resorting to persecution, physically and through business boycotts. When the pressure of the persecution became too much Muhammad's followers, about eighty at the time escaped to Abyssinia. Abyssinia was ruled by a Christian king who protected them after hearing the details of their religion. This protection was necessary because the leaders of the Quraish had sent men to bring Muhammad and his followers back. When the leaders could not bring the followers back, they put a ban on any contact with them. This ban lasted for three years and lifted when the document of the ban was eaten by worms, having been stored in the Ka'bah. The worms ate the whole document except for the words "In Your name, O Allah". In replace of the ban, the leaders of the Quarish proposed that the two religions have joint freedom of practice and Muhammad accepted the proposal. (Zahoor & Haq 1998)

After the death of Khadijah in 620, CE Muhammad married Sawdah a fifty-year-old Muslim woman. Then soon after married a young girl whose name was A'ishah. When Muhammad's uncle, Abu Talib, died Muhammad attempted to go to the city of Taif hoping to receive their protection. Instead, he met hostility and was hurt badly by children who threw stones at him. After this, Gabriel came to Muhammad and let him, know if he were to ask Allah the angels would destroy the city in punishment. Instead of accepting the offer, Muhammad prayed that in the future the people of Taif would become Muslims. On the return trip from Taif, the verses of Surah Al Jinn (Chapter 72) were revealed. (Zahoor & Haq 1998)

Shortly after Taif, two major events happened to the Prophet Muhammad. One event is called the al-Israa. In the al-Israa, Gabriel came to Muhammad where he was at that time in a Mosque near the Ka'bah and transported him to a mosque in Jerusalem (al-Aqsa) in a very short time. At the temple al-Aqsa, Muhammad had a meeting with other Prophets, which included Abraham, Moses and Jesus. At this meeting, Muhammad led the others in prayer. In the next mystical event, Muhammad was taken up into the heavens to be shown the signs of God. Later, to mark this historic event, the Dome of the Rock was created on the spot where the event supposedly took place. The Dome of the Rock is inscribed with the Islamic view and the oneness of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths. (Zahoor & Haq 1998)

During the year of 622 CE, the leaders of the Quraish plotted to assassinate Muhammad. They chose one man from each of the tribes and they were to descend upon him all at once and kill him. At this time, the next there was an occurrence of another event known as the "Hijra". In this event Gabriel came to Muhammad and warned him, thus Muhammad was able to make an escape to Medinah. Many Muslims left Makkah at this time to join the Prophet in Medinah. (Zahoor & Haq 1998)

During the next few years, there was a lot of fighting in which many women lost their husbands. Muhammad married several of these widows. The fighting went on for about three years cumulating in a large force of about ten thousand Muslims descending upon the holy city of Mecca. They entered the city of Mecca with little resistance and when under control Muhammad gave the people clemency and freedom. In the following year largely because of this benevolence, almost all of Arabia had accepted the Muslim religion. (Zahoor & Haq 1998)

In 632 on his last pilgrimage, Muhammad had his last revelation and gave a powerful sermon. Then after two months, Muhammad became sick and his death is on record as June 8, 632 CE. He is buried in the same city he died in Medinah.

Muhammad in the Islamic religion is clearly a Prophet and in fact, it is a basic requirement of faith that he be regarded as the messenger of the one and only God. His death is significant in that he is said to reside in his grave until the coming of the messiah. This however, contradicts what Muhammad himself said which was "a prophet does not die until he is shown his place in heaven and given the choice of whether to remain alive or reside with God." Muhammad chose to remain with God. His death martyred him as the messenger of God to the Muslim people and humanity.

(Zahoor & Haq 1998)

Conclusion

The life and death of Muhammad is significant to the Muslim religion in that Muhammad is proclaimed the messenger of God. However, the Muslims make a clear distinction between God and Muhammad. In contrast, for Christians the death and then resurrection of Jesus is proof there is eternal life and a chance for each of them to reach this eternity. This event is the very core of the Christian faith.

Reference

Maas A.J., (n.d.), Chronology of the life of jesus Christ, The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VIII. Published 1910. New York: Robert Appleton Company

Retrieved May 7, 2007 from http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08377a.htm

Zahoor A., Haq Z. (1998), Biography of prophet Muhammad, Copyright © 1990, 1997, 1998 all rights reserved, Retrieved May 6, 2007 from http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/muhammad.html