Who is holier? I think this is a wrong question. It is like saying a shopkeeper and a manager of a big corporation, who is smarter? Jesus was holy in his own way. He did not rule a state, he did not have to defend a state, he did not act a judge in any case and he had no family. So he was holy in his own limited situation. Prophet Muhammad had to deal with all these different situataions and he was holy in his different roles and situations.
Answer
Hello Humble Believer,
Assalamu alaikum.
Thank you for your question.
From the point of view outlined in your question, you are right in saying that the question, “Who is holier?” is wrong. But often we need to ask wrong questions to arrive at the right answers.
The question, “Who is holier?” was asked in the context of the Christian claim that ‘Jesus was a very holy person, while Muhammad was not.’ Their reason is that Jesus is God, while Muhammad (pbuh) according to them was an ordinary human susceptible to the temptations of this world. Our question in the title of the topic is aimed at bringing to light some of the contradictions and ironies of this position: namely that Jesus is God and Muhammad was an ordinary Arab of the desert.
Before addressing the Christian claim, let me answer your point that Jesus was holy in a limited way, whereas Muhammad was holy in a wider way. I think the use of the word, ‘holy’ here is inappropriate. Your point of contrast between the two prophets is largely true in relation to the spheres of activities of the two prophets; but I think, it would be wrong to speak of Jesus as having limited holiness. In fact we as Muslims are not allowed to differentiate between Allah’s prophets as regards their holiness, and so we must hold both Isa ibnu Maryam (peace be on him) and Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam as equally holy.
As for the validity of the Christian claim that Jesus is God: We have to see whether the qualities we attribute to God is present in Jesus. For example, consider this point: From the Christian beliefs we gather that Jesus was born (i.e he had a beginning) and he ‘died’ (i.e he had an end): Since we know God to be without a beginning and end, we conclude that Jesus can’t be God. They may now object that Jesus was resurrected from the dead; but all humans will die and will be resurrected. Besides, we do not believe that dying and getting resurrected is compatible with the Eternality and Absoluteness of the Almighty. And the Bible itself records many teachings of God’s own Messengers or Prophets (who include Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus himself) that we MUST worship only The One True God. In fact the First Commandment given in the Torah is:
“Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord” (Deuteronomy 6:4) and
“You shall have no other gods before me.” (Exodus: 20: 3)
BY TAKING JESUS AS GOD THE CHRISTIANS BREAK THE FIRST COMMANDMENT OF GOD GIVEN IN THEIR OWN BOOK. They cannot simply ignore this First Commandment by saying that this is an “Old” Testament idea, and their “New” Testament teaches that Jesus is God. BECAUSE, JESUS HIMSELF IN THEIR NEW TESTAMENT (AS RECORDED IN THE GOSPELS) CLEARLY AND CATEGORICALLY STATES THE SAME FIRST COMMANDMENT ONCE AGAIN, AND SAYS THAT THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT COMMANDMENT OF ALL:
Read Mark chapter 12, verses 28-34:
12:28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 12:31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. 12:32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: 12:33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. 12:34 And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.
From the foregoing it is clear that Jesus was/is NOT God, and therefore the claim about his being holy in that special sense has no validity whatever. And so, there really IS a genuine ground of comparison and contrast between Jesus and Muhammad (peace be on them both), as both of them were HUMAN PROPHETS OF GOD.
And Allah knows best.
Name
Yusuf
-
Profession
Question
Dear respected scholar:
As-Salamu `alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
I'd like to know the answers to the following questions.
I'd like to know whether Prophet Muhammad had performed miracles as Jesus had done seen in the New Testament.
Is there any contrivance in the Holy Quran such as Christmas, one of the literary means seen in the Bible, which has been used to appeal for readers to believe in the greatness of God?
Could you tell us the difference of nature as a prophet between Muhammad and Jesus?
Thank you in advance.
Answer
Hello Yusuf,
Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
Thank you for your questions.
First, every Prophet was given some sign or other by Allah Almighty to answer the questions of his people, or to meet some urgent need of the time. In the case of Noah, we know how he saved the believers from the Flood. We see Moses making his staff into a snake, in accordance with the demand of the magicians. Similarly Jesus not only cured a leper and a blind man, but restored a dead man to life.
If we study the contexts of all these miracles, we can conclude that they perfectly suited the times of these prophets. But the Last Prophet Muhammad lived in the dawn of the modern age of enlightenment. Moreover, his people excelled in poetry and the rhetorical use of language. So Allah Almighty gave His Last Prophet such a miracle that could be described as the Miracle of all miracles, that appeals to the modern times: The Holy Qur’an.
We must remember that this Book was given to the Arabs of the day by an illiterate man; and he started reciting verse after verse which astounded the best poets of the day.
And even now the challenge of the Qur’an to produce at least a few verses equal (in beauty, meaning and rhythm) to those in the Qur’an remains unmet.
In short the Miracle of Muhammad, peace be on him, is the Holy Qur’an. And I would like to emphasize once again that the performance of any miracle by any prophet is a gift from Allah at that time to suit a context.
We should also realize that a miracle is only one of the possible signs that can lead us to faith. More important is our meditation on the ever-present miracle of Allah existing in all nature mentioned in the Holy Qur’an, such as the phenomena of nature, like the Sun, the Moon, the stars, the rotation of the day and night, the winds, the rains, the change of seasons etc.
Now we know that in spite of all the wonderful miracles by Jesus, his own disciples abandoned him in his direst need: Read Mark 14:50- “And they all forsook him, and fled.”
And if we may believe the Christian gospels, the people who saw all those miracles demanded that he be crucified! This proves that even great miracles performed by Jesus did not help the people to accept him: John 1:11- “ He came unto his own, and his own received him not.”
Compare this with the unflinching loyalty of the Sahabah (Companions) of Muhammad (pbuh), who would willingly lay down their lives to prevent any harm to the Prophet. Of course, Muhammad did not do the same kind of miracles as Jesus. But didn’t Jesus himself say: Matthew 24:24- “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”
So performing miracles can be done by false prophets too. And therefore, miracles NEED NOT serve as proof for true prophethood.
Your next question is about chiasmus: Chiasmus is a figure of speech based on inverted parallelism. It is a rhetorical device in which two clauses are related to each another through a reversal of terms in order to make a larger point. The presence of a figure of speech like chiasmus does not necessarily mean that the work is divine in its origin. Most classical authors made use of this figure of speech. Even today we find many clever authors and public speakers using the same device for effectiveness. In fact the Holy Qur’an contains many literary devices that show its excellence as a miracle of literature. Chiasmus is only one of them. But it needs a great Arabic scholar to write about that. I am not the right person to deal with that subject.
Now your next question:
First the word, prophet: It is an English word used in the place of the Arabic, nabi or rasul. Neither nabi or rasul literally means ‘prophet’ i.e in the sense of someone who prophesies or speaks of the future events. The essential role of prophets was to teach the people about how they should worship the one and only God. They also teach the people how to live a life of complete obedience to God. They may prophesy about the events to come, only as far as God informs them. Only God knows the future, as it is part of the ghayb (= The unseen world).
To write in detail about the difference between Jesus and Muhammad as prophets is beyond the scope of this dialogue. In a nutshell, Jesus’ mission was limited to the Children of Israel, while Muhammad’s mission was to the whole of humanity. Jesus did not try to be a model in different fields of human life; while Muhammad was a model to the people in all the diverse fields of life.
And Allah knows best
Name
Saadiq
-
Profession
Question
As-Salaam Alaykum,
Don't you think it's bit silly to compare who is more holier of the two Messengers of Allah? When to believe of ALL the messengers of Allah is one of the parts of arkanul Iman.
Instead of comparing which one of them was holier or had more miracles etc,. we should be focusing what was their message, which was SAME, to worship Allah alone. We should be building bridges from this aspect, if we are having dialogue with non-Muslims.
Jazakullah Khayr
Answer
Hello Saadiq,
Assalamu alaikum.
Thank you for your question.
The point of the title is first of all to initiate interest in people in making a comparative study between the Christian idea of Jesus as Son of God and the Muslim idea of Muhammad as the Last Prophet of God. Basically this discussion is not meant as a venture to compare the “miracle-working power” of the two prophets, but as a consideration of the roles of the two prophets as well as their teachings.
And another point we wish to bring into focus is the invalid premise behind the Christian idea of denigrating Muhammad for not being another miracle-working Son of God.
And Allah knows best.
Name
adnan
- Tanzania
Profession
manager
Question
Why is Jesus considered to be a prophet of God, while we, Christians, believe he is God at the same time?
Answer
Hello Adnan,
Peace be with you!
Thank you for your question.
I understand that your question is: why Jesus is considered a prophet of God, while Christians believe that he is God at the same time?
You know that the prophethood of Jesus is not initially a Muslim idea: He is called a prophet in your own Bible. But Jesus as God is a Christian idea, not directly mentioned or clearly defined even in the Bible. Whenever Muslims point this fact out, the Christian scholars are unable to quote words of Jesus such as “I am God, worship Me” etc in support of the claim. Instead they quote ambiguous words of Jesus which lead to the opposite interpretation. And of course your theologians and doctors of divinity go to great lengths in ‘finding’ evidences from their Book to establish the Pauline heresy that the Son Jesus is the same as the Father God. This is nothing less than blasphemy and polytheism. When you call Jesus God, you break the First Commandment given in your own Book:
“Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord” (Deuteronomy 6:4) and
“You shall have no other gods before me.” (Exodus: 20: 3)
And what did Jesus himself teach? Read this from Mark chapter 12, verses 28-34:
12:28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 12:31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. 12:32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: 12:33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. 12:34 And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question."
“And no man after that durst ask him any question.” Why? Because he had given the final and conclusive answer to the question of the First Commandment.
And Allah knows best.
Name
sunera
- United Arab Emirates
Profession
Question
salam alaikum...
The discussion about Muhammed & Jesus -who is holier- I think it will hurt some people, but according to Islam all the prophets are holy, then all the prophets are recommended by Prophet Mohammed & Holy Quran on the Judgement Day...
On the basis of this statement we can know Allah gave Prophet Mohammed peace be upon him a spcial holier stand at Him.. Is it true? What about your opinion?
Answer
Hello Sunera,
Assalamu alaikum
Thank you for your question.
Please see the answer given to Humble Believer above.
Allah in the Holy Qur’an commands Muslims not to differentiate between any one and another of His prophets; we MUST honor them and respect them equally. If Allah Almighty makes any distinction among His prophets, it is His business and we have no right to do that. That is the correct Islamic position on the matter, and my opinion on it is irrelevant.
Hope I have answered your question.
Name
janice
- United States
Profession
wife
Question
Both would be holy in the same rate? They are both prophets of Allah.
Answer
Dear Janice,
Assalamu alaikum
Thank you for your comment.
You are perfectly right in saying that both Jesus [Isa ibnu Maryam (pbuh)] and Muhammad (pbuh) are prophets of Allah and both are equally holy. That is the right position from the point of view of what Allah Almighty says in the Holy Qur’an:
“Say ye: "We believe in Allah, and the revelation given to us, and to Abraham, Isma'il, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and that given to Moses and Jesus, and that given to (all) prophets from their Lord: We make no difference between one and another of them: And we bow to Allah (in Islam)." ” (2: 136)
And Allah knows best.
Name
mohamed
- Egypt
Profession
madkour
Question
In the Day of Resurrection who will be interceding first, Prophet Muhammda for Muslims or Jesus to Christians.
Answer
Hello Mohamed,
Assalamu alaikum
Thank you very much for your question.
Both Jesus and Muhammad were prophets of Islam (= Submission to Allah the One and Only God) and both were Muslims (= Persons who submit to the One True God); and there is no question of Jesus interceding for “Christians”, particularly because he NEVER EVER founded a religion called “Christianity”, which in fact is a paganized version of the Religion of Jesus; and the paganizer was a man called Saul of Tarsus, the self-styled Thirteenth Apostle, or the Apostle to the Gentiles who came to be known as St Paul.
And Allah knows best.
Name
janice
- United States
Profession
hose wife
Question
Are both Muhammad and Jesus holy? They are both prophets of Allah peace be upon them!
Answer
Hello Janice,
Assalamu alaikum
Thank you for your question.
As has been explained above in answer to other questions, both Jesus and Muhammad are holy messengers and prophets of Allah; and both deserve the same respect and honor as all other prophets of Allah, according to Islam.
And Allah knows best.
Name
Noor Azmy Che Li
- Malaysia
Profession
Finance Off
Question
Assalamu alaikum
I always wonder why the Christians could not accept that Muslims exist and our Prophet Muhammad is our Prophet likewise their Jesus whom they believe as the Son of God whereas we Muslim believed in him as one of our 25 main Prophets.
Why there is always a sense of insecurity whenever Christians are in a Muslim Country as I believed that their course of action or their leader's action cause their own feeling of insecurity.
Answer
Hello Noor Azmy,
Assalamu alaikum
Thank you for your question.
It is the duty of all of us Muslims to engage in Da’wah: namely to invite others to the Way of Allah. When we engage in dialogue with others, for example Christians, we understand the depth of their misunderstandings about Islam. Mostly it is not the fault of ordinary Christians that they have a wrong idea of Islam. Muslims are as guilty in this respect as their own wrong-headed preachers- i.e misguided Muslims who give out wrong signals to the outside world as well as the televangelists and missionaries who spread false stories and stereotypes of Islam.
The first duty of a da’ee therefore is to clear the prevailing misunderstandings about Islam, by engaging in dialogues, discussions and seminars on topics of religion in general and Islam in particular. But this requires knowledge as well as a good grounding in the elements of diplomacy and public relations.
The sense of insecurity the Christians feel, for instance in the Muslim countries is related to the insecurity felt by Muslims in Christian countries.
This too can be to a great extent eliminated by engagement in free dialogues and discussions. The point is that we must establish good channels of communication between the two communities with a view to arriving at peace, harmony and mutual good will.
And Allah knows best.
Name
Medo
- Egypt
Profession
Lawyer
Question
What is the most appropriate way to clear the misconceptions?
Answer
Hello Medo,
Assalamu alaikum
Thank you very much for your question.
Da’wah in the right way, in the right spirit- that is the only way to clear the misconceptions prevailing in the minds of Christians or any one else.
Allah Almighty Himself teaches us in the Holy Qur’an:
“Invite (all) to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: for thy Lord knoweth best, who have strayed from His Path, and who receive guidance.” (16: 125)
May Allah the All Merciful guide us, help us and lead us along His Path!
Name
Anwar
- United Kingdom
Profession
Engineer
Question
Salaam
How can we convince the Christians that Jesus(peace be upon him) was a Messenger of God Almighty and that Muhammad peace be upon him was a natural Successor to Jesus? Also can you answer how to make Christians believe and accept the teachings of Muhammad? If the Christians reject Muhammad(peace be upon him) are they rejecting Jesus(peace be upon him)?
Shukran
Answer
Hello Anwar,
Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah
Thank you for your question.
As I have said above in an answer to another question, the only way is to do da’wah in the right way, in the right spirit as Allah Almighty Himself has taught us to do:
“ Say: "O People of the Book! come to common terms as between us and you: That we worship none but Allah; that we associate no partners with him; that we erect not, from among ourselves, Lords and patrons other than Allah." If then they turn back, say ye: "Bear witness that we (at least) are Muslims (bowing to Allah’s Will).” (3: 64).
The above verse clearly tells us to seek common ground with the Christians and Jews. That is the starting point. From there we need to quote their own scriptures and point out how many of their beliefs are at variance with the clear teachings of the prophets. Step by step, patiently and with respect for the other side, we can proceed and in sha Allah we will be able to convince them of the truth of our beliefs about Jesus. The success of this method depends on a number of factors:
1. Our knowledge of the Bible and Christian beliefs and practices;
2. Our knowledge of the Qur’an and the teachings of Islam’
3. The willingness of the Christian who is communicating with us to accept the truth when they know it – that is, he/she must be a genuine lover of truth.
If the Christians sincerely follow the true meanings of the prophecies in the Old Testament and the New Testament about the Last Prophet, they have to accept him as the natural successor to Jesus. And in spite of their having understood the truth about the prophecies, if they reject it, they are of course in effect rejecting Jesus too.
Even when our addressee is a person who seeks dissension and wishes to denigrate Islam and Muslims, we must not get disappointed, because we don’t know when Allah guides a person to the truth of Islam; and so we must strive our best, trusting in Allah Almighty.
And Allah knows best.
Name
chino
- Egypt
Profession
student
Question
One of the Hadiths of the Prophet (peace and blssings be upon him) mentions humbly that he (peace and blssings be upon him) is the master of the whole world with no proud. So referring to this Hadith, Prophet Muhammed (peace and blssings be upon him) is surely the holier. So what do you think about that?
Answer
Hello Chino,
Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah
Thank you for your question.
Please see my answers to the questions above.
And you will be able to get the answer to your question, insha Allah.
Name
Mohammed
- India
Profession
Question
Dear Scholar,
Is it not unfair to compare the prophets when Allah himself told in Surah Al-Baqarah that we don't distinguish between the prophets? With the ayat, it is clear that all the prophets of Allah Amighty are equal. Am I right?
Jazak Allah
Answer
Hello Mohammed,
Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah
Thank you for your question.
Please read my answer to the question from Humble Believer.
Thanks once again for asking.
Name
sam
-
Profession
Question
Hi
If Jesus was God, what did he do during his first 30 years on earth. Why did he have to wait for so long?
Answer
Hello Sam,
Peace be with you!
Thank you very much for your question.
First, Jesus was not God. God is the Transcendent Creator and Sustainer of the whole universe; and He does not limit Himself to adopt the shape of one of His own creatures.
In the case of Jesus, we know very little; even the gospels that give "the greatest story ever told" says nothing of Jesus during the thirty years of his life. And the four gospels are really pseudepigrapha, meaning writings by certain people in other names, or in false names. And there are many inconsistencies and discrepencies in these stories that make their authenticity questionable...
