Brothers of Faith

This week in Religion class we talked about the Islam faith. More specifically we talked about the foundations of Islam faith and we stopped right at the beginning of talking through the five pillars. This talk had a lot to do with Muhammad, a prophet, who had a big influence on their faith. So this blog I plan to devote to the comparison of Muhammad for the Muslims and Jesus for the Christians. While there are many differences between these two men, you could say that because both of these religions came from Abraham that they are brothers of faith.

First let me be very clear so as not to confuse people. Muhammad is not God’s son like Jesus is. Muhammad is only a prophet and as such he is not to be idolized in the way Jesus is. So with that out of the way let’s start with the basics. Muhammad was born around 570 CE, Common Era, meaning he was born 570 years after Jesus was born. Obviously, this means the Islamic faith is younger than the Christian faith. Now while Christians believe Jesus was resurrected and still lives in a way where he cannot be seen, after Muhammad died he was put into the ground and that was it.

There are a few commonalities between these two men but one very important one is Gabriel. The angel Gabriel was the angel who told Mary she would be pregnant with Jesus and he was also the angel who was the messenger from God to Muhammad with the word of the lord. You could say that it was Gabriel who gave both men their purpose in life. This also means both men led similar lives. Muhammad was told the word of God by Gabriel and he relayed it to one of his converts and they write it down for him. Muhammad, unlike Jesus, was illiterate and so he needed the help of other followers to write down what was told to him. Jesus was also told the word of the lord by his father, God, and then he too told followers of the word.

Both men also share one God. Allah, YHWH, and any of his other proper names, is the God of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Because these three faiths all stem from the story of Abraham and his family all these faiths have one God, the God and they all share him. I have not read the Qur’an (Koran), the Islamic bible for lack of a better description, but I venture to guess that many of the messages in the Qur’an are similar if not the same as the messages described in the bible. Neither Muhammad nor Jesus wrote either book.

The direct chain from God to Gabriel to Muhammad to the written page is important to the Islamic faith because they believe the Qur’an is the embodiment of God on Earth. That is why not too long ago when a pastor in Florida tried to burn the Qur’an it was such a big deal. It was also why there was such a fuss about the soldiers at Guantanamo Bay Penitentiary flushing the Qur’an down the toilet. The Qur’an for the Muslims is like God, so burning it or flushing it is like burning or flushing God. It is a major deal! It is almost like the crucifixion of Jesus except he was meant to die because his sacrifice was our way to get to heaven with our sins.

Besides the major difference of the religions and the fact that Muhammad is only a prophet and nothing else, a big difference between the two men is their upbringing. Muhammad was orphaned as a young boy and because of that he was illiterate. Muhammad lived in the big city of Mecca. He had to make his way in the world on his own because he had no one to help him. Because of this he went to work for a wealthy caravan trader. Working on a caravan was not the job he wanted but he did it for the money. It was through this job that he met his love and they got married living off her wealth.

Jesus on the other hand, had a mother and two fathers. He had his actual father, God and his “step dad,” for lack of a better explanation, Joseph. Jesus grew up in a normal setting in the big city of Jerusalem like any other child would. He became a carpenter and enjoyed his work. He spoke the word of his father as instructed. While many Christians do not know the marital status of Jesus because it doesn’t say in the bible we can assume for argument sake, he was single. This is yet another reason he and Muhammad are different.

The connection to God is the last difference between the men I am going to mention. God had a direct connection with Jesus. He was God’s son and they could talk to each other through prayer. By this I am saying that Jesus spoke God’s actual words because their connection was pure. Muhammad had a good connection to God, but because there was a messenger in between, one never knows if the messages were exactly what God said. Play the game telephone and tell me if you get the exact message at the end that you did at the beginning. Not to make Muhammad sound like he didn’t get the correct message, just saying that the more channels the message goes through the more likely the message is to be altered.

Jesus and Muhammad have similarities and differences to be sure, but they are brothers of faith due to their Abrahamic connection. Jesus was born nearly 570 years before Muhammad. Jesus had a direct connection to God. Jesus is God’s only son and thereby is idolized himself. Jesus was raised with a mother and father. Jesus is part of the Christian faith. Jesus lives again. Jesus was a carpenter. Muhammad was born after Christianity was already started. Muhammad’s connection to God was through Gabriel. Muhammad is a prophet and therefore when he died he was not another God to pray to, just a man. Muhammad was orphaned as a child. He worked for a caravan trader. Muhammad is known for being a major part of the Islamic faith.

These men are similar in as many ways as they are different. They were both prophets of God. They both spoke God’s word to the people. They both grew up in important cities to their faiths. They both lived normal lives. They both died. Both of their lives were greatly influenced by the angel Gabriel, Muhammad’s messenger and Jesus’ announcer. They both have books pertaining to their faith with information they preached in them, the Qur’an and Bible respectively. They share one God and one religious root. They finally are important men in their respective faiths because of what they did for the faiths. While they are not the same they represent the importance of people to their faiths and prove that with God all things are possible.