Bibla dhe Kurani Studime Komperative
Written by: Abdullah Smith
http://www.answering-christianity.com/abdullah_smith/jesus_and_muhammad_compared.htm
The Gospels repeatedly say that Jesus was only sent to the Jews, he ignored the Gentile woman. Apparently, Jesus interacted with the Gentiles on their desperation, he never preached the Gospel to them:
Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.” Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” (Matthew 15:23-25)
Jesus publicly healed a Jewish woman, but ignored the Gentile woman.
On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised.God..(Luke.13:10-13)
The Jewish woman did not have to plea; Jesus healed without any desperation on the woman’s part!
Regarding Matt. 15:23-25, the scholar John Gill states the following:
But he answered her not a word,…. Not that he did not hear her, or that he despised either her person or petition, or that he was not moved with it; but to continue her importunity, and try her faith, and make it manifest: for like reasons the Lord does not always, and immediately, answer the requests of his people. This giving her no answer, either that he would, or would not help her, carried in it a tacit repulse of her, and a denial of assistance to her; and it seems as if she did for a while desist from her application to him, and betook herself to his disciples to plead with him for her:
Why would Jesus ignore the Gentile woman to test her faith? This doesn’t make sense, the daughter was demon-possessed, and she needed spiritual care. He only heals the woman’s daughter after she spoke eloquent words:
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.” Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.” “Yes, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour. (Matthew 15:22-28, Mark 7:26-28)
Jesus would’ve rejected the woman, unless she spoke eloquently.
Jesus’ response to her in v.27 is one of the most troubling Christological verses in the Synoptic Gospels. It reflects the contempt for the Jews for “heathens” and depicts Jesus as a thoroughly racist and uncaring figure. It is particularly troubling since Jesus has already healed an “outsider”, the demoniac from the Decapolis (5:1-20). Some scholars have tried to soften the picture by arguing that the verse is of doubtful authenticity or by pointing out that the term for “dogs” is diminutive. (Bonnie Thurston, Women in the New Testament, p. 72)
The Jewish woman don’t have to speak eloquently, Jesus heals them instantly!
Yet the Prophet Muhammad never ignored anyone, not even the non-Arabs. He said all human beings are equal, regardless of race and color.
All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over a black nor a black has any superiority over a white – except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belogs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not therefore do injustice to yourselves. Remember one day you will meet Allah and answer your deeds. So beware: do not stray from the path of righteousness after I am gone. (The Last Sermon, source)
The Holy Quran says:
O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things). (Al-Quran 49:13)
How Jesus and Muhammad treated Children:
The Prophet Muhammad loved children, he used to play with children, and spend lots of time with them. These Hadiths demonstrate the Prophet’s deep compassionate love for children.
I went along with Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) at a time during the day but he did not talk to me and I did not talk to him until he reached the market of Banu Qainuqa`. He came back to the tent of Fatimah and said, “Is the little chap (meaning Al-Hasan) there?” We were under the impression that his mother had detained him in order to bathe him and dress him and garland him with sweet garland. Not much time had passed that he (Al-Hasan) came running until both of them embraced each other, thereupon Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “O Allah, I love him; love him and love one who loves him.” (Muslim)
Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), the servant of the Prophet, had another recollection:
I never saw anyone who was more compassionate towards children than Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). His son Ibrahim was in the care of a wet nurse in the hills around Madinah. He would go there, and we would go with him, and he would enter the house, pick up his son and kiss him, then come back. (Muslim)
The Prophet’s love for children was not restricted to his children and grandchildren. The scope of his mercy and affection embraced all children, and he showed the same interest and gentleness to his Companion’s children. The following hadith narrated by Usamah ibn Zaid (may Allah be pleased with him) shows this humane aspect of the Prophet’s personality:
Allah’s Messenger used to put me on (one of) his thighs and put Al-Hasan ibn `Ali on his other thigh, and then embrace us and say, “O Allah! Please be merciful to them, as I am merciful to them.” (Bukhari)
Some people who were not able to understand the power of expressing love to children wondered why the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) played with children and took such an interest in them. Narrated Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him),
Allah’s Messenger kissed Al-Hasan ibn `Ali while Al-Aqra` ibn Habis At-Tamim was sitting with him . Al-Aqra` said, “I have ten children and have never kissed one of them.” The Prophet cast a look at him and said, “Whoever is not merciful to others will not be treated mercifully.” (Al-Bukhari)
The Prophet was always concerned about everyone’s thought and feeling. The following hadith narrated by Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) proves his thoughtful character:
The Prophet said, “(It happens that) I start the prayer intending to prolong it, but on hearing the cries of a child, I shorten the prayer because I know that the cries of the child will incite its mother’s passions.” (Al-Bukhari)
The Prophet was always patient and considerate with children and took great pain not to hurt their tender feelings.
Narrated Abu Qatadah: “The Messenger of Allah came towards us while carrying Umamah the daughter of Abi Al-`As (Prophet’s granddaughter) over his shoulder. He prayed, and when he wanted to bow, he put her down, and when he stood up he lifted her up.” (Al-Bukhari)
In a another hadith,
Narrated Umm Khalid: I (the daughter of Khalid ibn Said) went to Allah’s Messenger with my father and I was wearing a yellow shirt. Allah’s Messenger said, “Sanah, Sanah!” (`Abdullah, the narrator, said that sanah meant “good” in the Ethiopian language). I then started playing with the seal of prophethood (between the Prophet’s shoulders) and my father rebuked me harshly for that. Allah’s Messenger said, “Leave her.” The Prophet, then, invoked Allah to grant her a long life thrice. (Al-Bukhari)
In another narration we see the Prophet’s tolerance towards children.
Narrated `A’ishah: The Prophet took a child in his lap … and then the child urinated on him, so he asked for water and poured it over the place of the urine. (Al-Bukhari)
Finally I would like to add another saying of the Prophet that proves that Muslims should be conscious to treat their sons and daughters justly:
“Fear Allah and treat your children [small or grown] fairly (with equal justice).” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
From all the above hadith we see Prophet Muhammad’s attitude toward children is an example for the whole human race that shows how to treat them and cherish them at all times.
(Source: http://www.islamonline.net/english/IN_DEPTH/mohamed/1424/MANNERS/article17.shtml)
On the other hand, Jesus promoted the killing of enemies (Luke 19:27), he killed innocent children (Rev. 2:23), and the Infancy Gospel records that Jesus was a child-killer.
Jesus ordered the killing of apostates:
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. (John 15:5-6)
Jesus ordered the killings of enemies and apostates:
But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.” (Luke 19:27)
Luke is the only gospel to record the saying. Matthew and Mark knew the saying but deliberately excluded it.
The Book of Revelations depicts Jesus as a child-killer.
Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. (Revelations 2:22-23)
It doesn’t matter that Jesus murdered the children of a prostitute. The Old Testament upholds the killing of Babylonian babies just because the Babylonians enslaved the Israelites. Here is the passage:
O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed, blessed shall he be who repays you with what you have done to us! Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock! (Psalms 137:8-9)
There is no justification for holding the children responsible for the crimes of elders. Children are not responsible for the crimes of their parents (Deu. 24:16), so Jesus is guilty for killing innocent children.
Here is Matthew Henry’s commentary on Revelations 2:23
I will kill her children with death; that is, the second death, which does the work effectually, and leaves no hope of future life, no resurrection for those that are killed by the second death, but only to shame and everlasting contempt.
The apocryphal Gospel of Jesus reports that Jesus murdered children his own age:
“…Another apocryphal work of interest is the Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ, which dates from no later than the second century and possibly from before. In this book Jesus is portrayed as a brilliant but eminently human child. All too human perhaps – for he is violent and unruly, prone to shocking displays of temper and a rather irresponsible exercise of his powers. Indeed, on one occasion he strikes dead another child who offends him. A similar fate is visited upon an autocratic mentor. Such incidents are undoubtedly spurious, but they attest to the way in which, at the time, Jesus had to be depicted if he were to attain divine status amongst his following. (Michael Baigent, Holy Blood, Holy Grail, p. 390)
The Popularity of Jesus and Muhammad
The Greek and Roman historians do not mention the Gospel events which indicate these are fables. Amazingly, even the Jewish philosopher Philo (50 CE) fails to mention the resurrection of Jesus.
“We have here a good example of the credulity of Western man. For two thousand years he has been reading about this convulsion and “darkness over all the earth” without ever questioning it or demanding proof of it. Yet had it happened, would not some of those able historians have recorded it? Why did they not?” (Deceptions & Myths of the Bible, Lloyd Graham p. 349)
“I wish all fundamentalists would take special note that while these quite public, literally stupendous events are alleged to have taken place, not a single other contemporary source can be found to corroborate or confirm them — even though this was at a time and in a place where capable observers, recorders of remarkable happenings, historians, and others were in no way lacking. There is not a smidgeon of a trace of historicity to be found”. (Tom Harper, The Pagan Christ, p. 149)
The Gospels try to explain that Jesus was very popular (Matt. 4:24, 9:26). Yet he was rejected (John 1:11), his own disciples forsook him (Matt. 26:56, John 6:66), and the Pharisees rejected him despite that he was Pharisee himself.
Jesus was not very popular; many Greek and Roman historians do not record his miracles. After the departure of Jesus, his teachings spread to North Africa and Egypt, but he was not popular or widely known.
Philo-Judaeus (Alexandria)
Seneca (Rome)
Plutarch (Greece)
Apollonius (Alexandria)
Epictetus (Turkey)
Silius Italicus (Spain)
Ptolemy (Egypt)
The scholar Muhammad Ataur-Raheem says:
The more people have tried to discover who Jesus really was the more it has been found how little is known about him. There are limited records of his teachings and some of his actions, but very little is known about how he actually lived his life from moment to moment and how he conducted his everyday transactions with other people…Certainly, the pictures many people have given of Jesus – of who he was and what he did – are distorted ones. Although there is some truth in them, it has been established that the four accepted Gospels have not only been altered and censored through the ages but also are not eyewitness accounts. (Jesus Prophet of Islam, p. 5)
The Prophet Muhammad, on the other hand, was very popular, and his teachings spread to other lands, He sent various letters to non-Muslim kings, rulers, and emperors. These letters are preserved and exist today in its original form.
And look at the history of that era and you will find that no other people were more suited for the endowment of this prophethood than the Arabs. Great nations of the world had been struggling hard for world supremacy, and in this long struggle and incessant strife, they had exhausted all their resources and vitality. The Arabs were a fresh and virile people. The so-called social progress had produced bad habits among the advanced nations, while among the Arabs no such social organization existed, and they were, therefore, free from the inactivity, debasement, and indulgences arising out of luxury and sensual satiety.
The pagan Arabs of the fifth century had not been affected by the evil influence of the artificial systems and civilization of the great nations of the world. They processed all the good human qualities, which the people untouched by the “social progress” of the time ought to possess. They were brave, fearless, generous, faithful to their promises, lovers of freedom, and were politically independent—not subject to the hegemony of the imperial powers. They lived a very simple life and were strangers to the life of luxury and indulgence.
No doubt, there were certain undesirable aspects of their life as well, but the reason for the existence of such aspects was that for thousands of years no prophet had risen among them, nor had there appeared a reformer who might have civilized them and purged their moral life of all evil impurities. Centuries of free and independent life in sandy deserts had bred and nourished extreme ignorance among them. They had, therefore, become so hardhearted and firm in their traditions of ignorance that to make them human was not the task of an ordinary man.
At the same time, however, they did possess a capacity that if some person of extraordinary powers were to invite them for reform and give them a noble ideal and a complete program, they would accept his call and readily rise to act effectively for the achievement of such a goal, and spare no strife for or sacrifice in the cause. They would be prepared to face without the least scruple even the hostility of the entire world in the cause of their mission. And verily it was such a young, forceful, and virile people that were needed for disseminating the teachings of the World Prophet: Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).
(Abul Ala Mawdudi, Towards Understanding Islam,
Slavery abolished by Muhammad, Jesus failed to abolish slavery
The Prophet Muhammad gradually abolished slavery, and he treated the slaves very well. By the end of his prophethood, slavery was completely abolished throughout Arabia:
The Prophet appointed a black Abyssinian slave to call the adhaan, his name was Bilal. He was the first black Muslim, and the Prophet loved him dearly:
A bedouin came to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and said: I have sighted the moon. Al-Hasan added in his version: that is, of Ramadan. He asked: Do you testify that there is no god but Allah? He replied: Yes. He again asked: Do you testify that Muhammad is the Apostle of Allah? He replied: Yes. and he testified that he had sighted the moon. He said: Bilal, announce to the people that they must fast tomorrow.
Salim ibn AbulJa’dah said: A man said: (Mis’ar said: I think he was from the tribe of Khuza’ah): would that I had prayed, and got comfort. The people objected to him for it. Thereupon he said: I heard the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) as saying: O Bilal, call iqamah for prayer: give us comfort by it.
The narrator, Nasr, mentioned the name of the person who had the dream, saying: And Abdullah ibn Zayd, a man from the Ansar, came. The same version reads: And he turned his face towards the qiblah and said: Allah is most great, Allah is most great; I testify that there is no god but Allah, I testify that there is no god but Allah; I testify that Muhammad is the Apostle of Allah, I testify that Muhammad is the Apostle of Allah; come to prayer (he pronounced it twice), come to salvation (he pronounced it twice); Allah is Most Great, Allah is most great. He then paused for a while, and then got up and pronounced in a similar way, except that after the phrase “Come to salvation” he added. “The time for prayer has come, the time for prayer has come.”
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: Teach it to Bilal, then pronounce the adhan (call to prayer) with the same words. As regards fasting, he said: The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) used to fast for three days every month, and would fast on the tenth of Muharram. Then Allah, the Exalted, revealed the verse: “…….Fasting was prescribed for those before you, that ye may ward off (evil)……and for those who can afford it there is a ransom: the feeding of a man in need (ii.183-84). If someone wished to keep the fast, he would keep the fast; if someone wished to abandon the fast, he would feed an indigent every day; it would do for him. But this was changed. Allah, the Exalted, revealed: “The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qur’an ……….(let him fast the same) number of other days” (ii.185).
Jesus never abolished slavery, he never destroyed racism, these problems continued to exist.
Shockingly, the Bible says:
Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. (1 Peter 2:18)
Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, (Ephesians 6:5)
The Bible treats slaves unjustly, contains very harsh and racist laws.
“The Christianity which the nations claim to follow is the religion of Paul, who is admittedly the chief and almost the only theologian that the Church recognizes. Because of his betrayal of the Master’s teachings, the vision of true Christianity has been so dimmed that men have been able to defend war and a host of other evils, such as flesh eating and slavery, on the authority of the Bible.” (Christ or Paul? Rev. V.A. Holmes-Gore)
Here are the specific passages:
However, you may purchase male or female slaves from among the foreigners who live among you. You may also purchase the children of such resident foreigners, including those who have been born in your land. You may treat them as your property, passing them on to your children as a permanent inheritance. You may treat your slaves like this, but the people of Israel, your relatives, must never be treated this way. (Leviticus 25:44-46)
When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she will not be freed at the end of six years as the men are. If she does not please the man who bought her, he may allow her to be bought back again. But he is not allowed to sell her to foreigners, since he is the one who broke the contract with her. And if the slave girl’s owner arranges for her to marry his son, he may no longer treat her as a slave girl, but he must treat her as his daughter. If he himself marries her and then takes another wife, he may not reduce her food or clothing or fail to sleep with her as his wife. If he fails in any of these three ways, she may leave as a free woman without making any payment. (Exodus 21:7-11)
When a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod so hard that the slave dies under his hand, he shall be punished. If, however, the slave survives for a day or two, he is not to be punished, since the slave is his own property. (Exodus 21:20-21 NAB)
“And he that stealeth [kidnaps] a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.” (Exodus 21:16)
If you buy a Hebrew slave, he is to serve for only six years. Set him free in the seventh year, and he will owe you nothing for his freedom. If he was single when he became your slave and then married afterward, only he will go free in the seventh year. But if he was married before he became a slave, then his wife will be freed with him. If his master gave him a wife while he was a slave, and they had sons or daughters, then the man will be free in the seventh year, but his wife and children will still belong to his master. (Exodus 21:2-6)
“And whosoever lieth carnally with a woman, that is a bondmaid, betrothed to an husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her; she shall be scourged; they shall not be put to death, because she was not free. And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, even a ram for a trespass offering. And the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before the LORD for his sin which he hath done: and the sin which he hath done shall be forgiven him.” Leviticus 19:20-22
“When thou goest forth to war against thine enemies, and the LORD thy God hath delivered them into thine hands, and thou hast taken them captive, And seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a desire unto her, that thou wouldest have her to thy wife; Then thou shalt bring her home to thine house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails; And she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thine house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after that thou shalt go in unto her [i.e. rape her or engage in consensual sex], and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife. And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money, thou shalt not make merchandise of her, because thou hast humbled her.” Deuteronomy 21:10-14
Racism in the Bible:
There are significant passages of racism in the Bible. While the Prophet Muhammad destroyed and condemned racism, Jesus never even condemned it.
Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil. (Jeremiah 12:23)
“And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an host of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots…” So the LORD smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled. (II Chronicles 14:9, 12)
The LORD will be terrible unto them: for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and men shall worship him, every one from his place, even all the isles of the heathen. Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be SLAIN by my SWORD. (Zephaniah 2:11-12)
THERE IS NO GOD IN ALL THE EARTH, BUT IN ISRAEL. (2 Kings 5:15)
Since you were precious in my sight, you have been honourable, and I have loved you. Therefore, I WILL GIVE MEN IN EXCHANGE FOR YOU, AND PEOPLE FOR YOUR LIFE. (Isaiah 43:4)
Noah drank of the wine, and became drunk, and lay uncovered in his tent. And Ham the father of Canaan saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers out-side. Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it upon both their shoulders, and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness. When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him, he said, “CURSED be Canaan, a slave of slaves shall he be to his brothers, blessed be Shem, and let Canaan be his slave.” (Genesis 9:21-25)
“We ourselves, who are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners.” (Galatians 2:15)
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9)
Thus the Lord said, “Behold I will lift up my hand to the gentiles, and raise up my signal to the people, and they shall bring your sons in their bosom, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders. Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow down before you with their faces to the ground; they will lick the dust at your feet..(Isaiah.49:22-23)
And the Lord said, “Go through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have you pity. SLAY UTTERLY OLD AND YOUNG, BOTH MAIDS AND LITTLE CHILDREN, AND WOMEN..(Ezekiel.9:5)
And the Lord said unto Moses, “Avenge the children of the Mid’-an’ites.. They warred against the Mid’-i-an’ites, as the Lord commanded Moses, and they slay
all the males. And they took all women as captives, and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods. And they burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with fire. Moses said, “HAVE YOU SAVED ALL THE WOMEN ALIVE? NOW KILL EVERY MALE AMONG THE LITTLE ONES, AND KILL EVERY WOMAN that has known a man by lying with him, but all the young girls who have not
known a man by lying with him keep alive for yourselves. (Numbers 31:1-10)
The congregation of Benjamin sent twelve thousand of their bravest men, and commanded them, “Go and smite the inhabitants of Ja’-besh-gil’ead with the
edge of the sword; also the women and the little ones. Every male and every woman that has lain with a male YOU SHALL UTTERLY DESTROY. (Judges 21:10)
Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married, for he had married a Ethiopian woman. And they said, “Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” And the LORD heard it. Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth. And suddenly the LORD said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting.” And the three of them came out. And the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward. And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the LORD make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them, and he departed.
When the cloud removed from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous,[a] like snow. And Aaron turned toward Miriam, and behold, she was leprous. And Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, do not punish us[b] because we have done foolishly and have sinned. (Numbers 12:1-10)
The Holy Quran destroyed racism and slavery:
And among His Signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the variations in your languages and your colours: verily in that are Signs for those who know. (Al-Quran 30:22)
O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things). (Al-Quran 49:13)
Here is what Malcolm X said after going to Hajj:
America needs to understand Islam, because this is the one religion that erases from its society the race problem. Throughout my travels in the Muslim world, I have met, talked to, and even eaten with people who in America would have been considered white – but the white attitude was removed from their minds by the religion of Islam. I have never before seen sincere and true brotherhood practiced by all colors together, irrespective of their color.
The extinction of race consciousness as between Muslims is one of the outstanding achievements of Islam and in the contemporary world there is, as it happens, a crying need for the propagation of this Islamic virtue. A.J. Toynbee, Civilization on Trial, “Islam has forged in one relation of brotherhood all the people taken out from the boundaries of culture, color and region. So far as marriage and marital life is concerned, they have very deep roots in Islam, and social and biological realties have set the seal of truth upon them. In comparison to the superficial and so-called monogamy of the West, family principles, traditions and regulations of Islam are more practicable.” -Ismail Wieslaw Jazierski, Poland
“Islam has still the power to reconcile apparently irreconcilable elements of race and tradition. If ever the opposition of the great societies of East and West is to be replaced by co-operation, the mediation of Islam is an indispensable condition. In its hands lies very largely the solution of the problem with which Europe is faced in its relation with the East. If they unite, the hope of a peaceful issue is immeasurably enhanced. But if Europe, by rejecting the co-operation of Islam, throws into the arms of its rivals, the issue can only be disastrous for both.” -H.A.R. Gibb, from Whither Islam
“I hope the time is not far off when I shall be able to unite all the wise and educated men of all the countries and establish a uniform regime based on the principles of Qur’an which alone are true and which alone can lead men to happiness.” Napoleon Bonaparte
Jesus and Muhammad on Humor
The Prophet Muhammad had a great sense of humor! There are many traditions of the Prophet smiling and laughing.
Narrated Aisha, Ummul Mu’minin:
The people complained to the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) of the lack of rain, so he gave an order for a pulpit. It was then set up for him in the place of prayer. He fixed a day for the people on which they should come out.
Aisha said: The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him), when the rim of the sun appeared, sat down on the pulpit, and having pronounced the greatness of Allah and expressed His praise, he said: You have complained of drought in your homes, and of the delay in receiving rain at the beginning of its season. Allah has ordered you to supplicate Him has and promised that He will answer your prayer.
Then he said: Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Universe, the Compassionate, the Merciful, the Master of the Day of Judgment. There is no god but Allah Who does what He wishes. O Allah, Thou art Allah, there is no deity but Thou, the Rich, while we are the poor. Send down the rain upon us and make what Thou sendest down a strength and satisfaction for a time.
He then raised his hands, and kept raising them till the whiteness under his armpits was visible. He then turned his back to the people and inverted or turned round his cloak while keeping his hands aloft. He then faced the people, descended and prayed two rak’ahs.
Allah then produced a cloud, and the storm of thunder and lightning came on. Then the rain fell by Allah’s permission, and before he reached his mosque streams were flowing. When he saw the speed with which the people were seeking shelter, he (peace_be_upon_him) laughed till his back teeth were visible.
Then he said: I testify that Allah is Omnipotent and that I am Allah’s servant and apostle.
The Gospels describe Jesus as a sorrowful man, full of melancholy and grief.
He rebukes with majesty, councils with mildness, His whole address whether in word or deed, being eloquent and grave. No man has seen him laugh, yet his manners are exceedingly pleasant, but he has wept frequently in the presence of men. He is temperate, modest and wise. A man for his extraordinary beauty and perfection, surpassing the children of men in every sense. “The Epistle of Lentulus to the Roman Senate”
The shortest verse in the Bible has Jesus weeping (John 11:35), and he often appeared angry (Matt. 23:17), he ignored his mother twice (Matt. 12:48, John 2:4). We must believe that Jesus had no sense of humor, yet the Prophet Muhammad laughed and smiled many times.
The Impact of Jesus and Muhammad
The mission of Muhammad lasted 23 years, yet the ministry of Jesus only lasted three years. Jesus hardly made any impact on the world, the religion called “Christianity” was never founded by him (Matt. 5:17-20). He failed to change the world, he was rejected by his own people, and his enemies crucified him to prove he was false (Deu. 13:5, 21:23).
The Prophet Muhammad had a stronger impact on humanity, and he left a legacy and revolution.
Along with this, he now appeared before his people as a unique philosopher, a wonderful reformer, a renowned moulder of culture and civilisation, an illustrious politician, a great leader, a judge of the highest eminence and an incomparable general. This unlettered Bedouin, this dweller of the desert, spoke with such learning and wisdom the like of which none had said before and none could say after him. He expounded the intricate problems of metaphysics and theology. He delivered speeches on the principles of the decline and fall of nations and empires, supporting his thesis by the historical data of the past. He reviewed the achievements of the old reformers, passed judgments on the various religions of the world, and gave verdicts on the differences and disputes between nations. He taught ethical canons and principles of culture. He formulated such laws of social culture, economic organisation, group conduct, and international relations that even eminent thinkers and scholars can grasp their true wisdom only after life-long research and vast experience of men and thing. Their beauties, indeed, unfold themselves progressively as man advances in theoretical knowledge and practical experience.
This silent and peace-loving trader who had never handled a sword before, who had no military training, who had but once participated in a battle and that also just as a spectator, turned suddenly into such a brave soldier that he did not even once retreat in the fiercest battles. He become such a great general that he conquered the whole of Arabia in nine years, at a time when the weapons of war primitive and the means of communication poorest. His military acumen and efficiency developed to such a high pitch and the military spirit which he infused and the military training which he imparted to motley crowd of Arabs (who had no equipment worth the name) wrought such a miracle that within a few years they overthrew the two most formidable military powers of the day and became the masters of the greater part of the then known world.
This reserved and quiet man who, for full forty years, never gave indication of any political Interest or activity, appeared suddenly on the stage of the world as such a great political reformer and statesman that, without, the aid of radio and wireless and press, he brought together the scattered inhabitants of a desert of twelve hundred thousand square miles, -a people who were warlike, ignorant, unruly, uncultured, and plunged in internecine tribal warfare-under one banner, one law, one religion, one culture, one civilisation, and one form of government.
He changed their modes of thought, their very habits and their morals. He turned into the cultured, the barbarous into the civilised, the evildoers and bad characters into pious, God-fearing, and righteous persons. Their unruly and stiff-necked natures were transformed into models of obedience and submission to law and order. A nation which had not produced a single great man worth the name for centuries gave birth, under his influence and guidance, to thousands of noble souls who went forth to far-off corners of the world to preach and teach the principles of religion, morals and civilisation.
He accomplished this feat not through any worldly lure, oppression or cruelty, but by his captivating manners, his endearing moral personality, and his convincing manners, his endearing moral personality, and his convincing teaching. With his noble and gentle behaviour he befriended even his enemies. He captured the hearts of the people with his unbounded sympathy and the milk of human kindness. He ruled justly. He did not swerve from truth and righteousness. He did not oppress even his deadly enemies who were after his life, who had pelted him with stones, who had turned him out of his native place, who had pitched the whole of Arabia against him nay, not even those who had chewed raw the liver of his dead uncle in a frenzy of vengeance. He forgave them all when he triumphed over them. He never took revenge from anyone for his personal grievances or the wrongs perpetrated on his person.
In spite of the fact that he became the ruler of his country, he was so selfless and modest that he remained very simple and sparing in his habits. He lived poorly, as before, in his humble thatched mud-cottage. He slept on a mattress, wore coarse clothes, ate the simplest food of the poor, and sometimes went without any food at all. He used to spend whole nights standing in prayer before his Lord. He came to the to the rescue of the destitute and the penniless. He felt not the least humility in working as a labourer. Till his last moments there was not the slightest tinge of kingly pomp and show or hauteur of the high and the rich in him. Like an ordinary man he would sit and walk with people and share their joys and sorrows. He would so mix up and mingle with the crowd that a stranger, an outsider, would find it difficult to point out the leader of the people and the ruler of the nation from the rest of the company.
In spite of his greatness, his behaviour with the humblest person was that of an ordinary human being. In the struggles and endeavours of his whole life he did not seek any reward or profit for his own person, not left any property for his heirs. He dedicated his all to Millat. He did not ask his adherents to earmark anything for him or his descendants, so much so that he forbade his progeny from receiving the benefit of Zakat (or poor-tax), lest his follower at any future time may dole out the whole share of Zakat to them.
The achievements of this great man do not end here. In order to arrive at a correct appraisal of his true worth one has to view it in the background of the history of the world as a whole. That would reveal that this unlettered dweller of the desert of Arabia, who was born in the ‘dark ages’ some 1400 years ago, was the real pioneer of the modern age and the true leader of humanity. He is not only the leader of those who accept his leadership but of those also who do not acclaim him as such: even of those who denounce him! The only difference being that the latter are unaware of the fact that his guidance is still imperceptibly influencing their thoughts and their actions and is the governing principle of their lives and the very spirit of the modern times.
It was he who turned the course of human thought from superstition-mongering, love for the unnatural and the inexplicable, and monasticism towards rational approach, love for reality, and a pious, balanced worldly life. It was he who, in a world which regarded only supernatural happenings as miracles and demanded them for the verification of the truth of a religious mission, inspired the urge for rational proof and the faith in them as the criterion of truth. It was he who opened the eyes of those who had been accustomed till then to look for the signs of God in the natural phenomena. It was he who, in place of baseless speculation, led human beings to the path of rational understanding and sound reasoning on the basis of observation, experiment, and research. It was he who clearly defined the limits and functions of sense perception, reason, and intuition. It was he who brought about a rapprochement between the spiritual and the material values. It was he who harmonised Faith with Knowledge and Action. It was he who created the scientific spirit with the power of religion and who evolved true religiosity on the basis of the scientific spirit. (Abul Ala Mawdudi, Towards Understanding Islam, pp. 50-51)
The Prophet Muhammad is greater than Jesus:
Jesus never married and so he could not become an ideal husband and father. He did not triumph over his enemies and so had no chance of showing how a victor should behave towards his vanquished foes who have spared no pains to annihilate him and his followers. He did not have his persecutors at his mercy and so had no occasion to show real forbearance and forgiveness. Jesus did not rise to power to become the model of a benevolent and just ruler and judge.
We must turn to Prophet Muhammad, and not Jesus, if we want to see the picture of an ideally happy and pious married life and of a wise, just and benevolent ruler whom nothing could corrupt or divert from working for the material and moral amelioration of his people. Prophet Muhammad witnessed both the phases of persecution and success. He showed rare patience, fortitude, courage and love for his foes as a persecuted preacher of religion and in the hours of deepest gloom, and unparalleled self-control and mercy when his bitterest foes were helpless before him.
Jesus did not get the chance to put into practice many of his precepts and teachings. For instance, he advised his followers to sell their garments and purchase swords (Luke 22:36), but he could not demonstrate to them the right use of the sword. To resist violence and aggression sometimes becomes our highest duty – for instance, when helpless men, women, and children are being slaughtered and the freedom to believe and practice the religion of their own choice is denied to people by fanatics and tyrants. It was Prophet Muhammad who showed how a true solider of God, the protector of the victims of intolerance and cruel violence, should behave on the battlefield and in moments of defeat and triumph.
The life of Jesus runs parallel to the early life of the Prophet Muhammad, but Jesus did not live long enough to give a practical shape to his teachings and work out the social implications of his message. He did not have the chance to enlarge his teachings to cover all the situations of life and to bring about the tremendous social reforms that Prophet Muhammad did. The modern man, who has to lead a life as a son, a husband, a father, a poor worker, a citizen, a neighbor, a despised advocate of new ideas and ways, a victim of religious and political bigotry, a man with authority, a successful leader of man, a soldier, a business-man, a judge, and a ruler, will find Prophet Muhammad as a perfect model for him in all situations and walks of life.
The Prophet Muhammad completed what was left incomplete by Jesus. Islam is the true religion of Jesus, revived by a fresh revelations and perfected to cover all aspects of human actions and relations and to give guidance to the people of all times and nations. It is, in short, a Universal Religion. It does not only respond to man’s devotional urges but to human life as a whole. It does not only give us infallible metaphysics, but also a comprehensive and sublime code of individual and social ethics, a sound economic system, a just political ideology, and many other things besides. It is not a solitary star, but a whole solar system, encompassing the whole and illuminating the whole” (Ulfat Aziz-Samad, Islam and Christiantiy, pp. 26-27)
Let us consider the following quotations:
“Muhammed is the most successful of all Prophets and religious personalities.” Encyclopedia Britannica
“The founder of twenty terrestrial empires and of one spiritual empire, that is Muhammed. As regards all standards by which human greatness may be measured, we may well ask, is there any man greater than
he?”Lamartine, Historie de la Turquie, Paris 1854, Vol. 11 pp. 276-277
“I have always held the religion of Muhammad in high estimation because of its wonderful vitality. It is the only religion which appears to me to possess that assimilating capacity to the changing phase of existence which can make itself appeal to every age. I have studied him – the wonderful man and in my opinion for from being an anti-Christ, he must be called the Saviour of Humanity. I believe that if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it the much needed peace and happiness: I have prophesied about the faith of Muhammad that it would be acceptable to the Europe of tomorrow as it is beginning to be acceptable to the Europe of today.”
George Bernard Shaw, THE GENUINE ISLAM.
“My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world’s most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular level.”
Michael H. Hart, THE 100: A RANKING OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSONS IN HISTORY, New York: Hart Publishing Company, Inc., 1978, p. 33.
“In little more than a year he was actually the spiritual, nominal and temporal rule of Medina, with his hands on the lever that was to shake the world.” John Austin, MUHAMMAD THE PROPHET OF
ALLAH in T.P.’s and Cassel’s Weekly for 24th September 1927.
“Four years after the death of Justinian, A.D. 569, was born at Mecca, in Arabia the man who, of all men exercised the greatest influence upon the human race… Mohammed”
John William Draper, M.D., L.L.D., A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe, London 1875, Vol.1, pp.329-330
“People like Pasteur and Salk are leaders in the first sense. People like Gandhi and Confucius, on one hand, and Alexander, Caesar and Hitler on the other, are leaders in the second and perhaps the third sense. Jesus and Buddha belong in the third category alone. Perhaps the greatest leader of all times was Mohammed, who combined all three functions. To a lesser degree, Moses did the same.”
Professor Jules Masserman
“Head of the State as well as the Church, he was Caesar and Pope in one; but he was Pope without the Pope’s pretensions, and Caesar without the legions of Caesar, without a standing army, without a bodyguard, without a police force, without a fixed revenue. If ever a man ruled by a right divine, it was Muhammad, for he had all the powers without their supports. He cared not for the dressings of power. The simplicity of his private life was in keeping with his public life.” Bosworth Smith in ‘Muhammad and Muhammadanism,’ London, 1874.
According to the Bible, Jesus’ mission was a failure. Even contemporary historians say Jesus failed his mission.
Jesus had no foreknowledge of his failure and crucifixion. The Last Supper was a celebration with his closest disciples of his appearance as King and the imminent overthrow of the Roman power. After preparing himself by several nights of prayer on the Mount of Olives, Jesus was convinced that “the day of the Lord” was close at hand, and he called together his disciples for a final strengthening of the bond between them before their crucial testing time. The atmosphere must have been extremely tense. They were about to embark on a great venture on which the fate of their country and the whole world would depend. But the special poignancy and drama of the Gospel accounts are the product of hindsight and of the myths that grew up later to explain Jesus’s failure. (Hyam Maccoby, Jesus and the Jewish Resistance)
Christianity was founded by Paul, not Jesus. The conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity was the failure of Jesus’ teachings, the Romans converted to the religion of Paul, and they were deceived by the Church for the exploitation of wealth and power. The Gospel of Jesus does not exist; the Gospel of Paul is flourishing instead.
“Paul… did not desire to know Christ…. Paul shows us with what complete indifference the earthly life of Jesus was regarded…. What is the significance for our faith and for our religious life, the fact that the Gospel of Paul is different from the Gospel of Jesus?…. The attitude which Paul himself takes up towards the Gospel of Jesus is that he does not repeat it in the words of Jesus, and does not appeal to its authority…. The fateful thing is that the Greek, the Catholic, and the Protestant theologies all contain the Gospel of Paul in a form which does not continue the Gospel of Jesus, but displaces it.” (The Quest for the Historical Jesus, Albert Schweitzer)
“The Christianity which the nations claim to follow is the religion of Paul, who is admittedly the chief and almost the only theologian that the Church recognizes. Because of his betrayal of the Master’s teachings, the vision of true Christianity has been so dimmed that men have been able to defend war and a host of other evils, such as flesh eating and slavery, on the authority of the Bible.” (Christ or Paul? Rev. V.A. Holmes-Gore)
“My long-time view about Christianity is that it represents an amalgam of two seemingly immiscible parts–the religion of Jesus and the religion of Paul. Thomas Jefferson attempted to excise the Pauline parts of the New Testament. There wasn’t much left when he was done, but it was an inspiring document.” (Letter to Ken Schei
Jesus, on the other hand, showed disrespect towards his mother. He never greeted his mother with a decent salutation; he always referred to his mother by the title “woman”.
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. (John 2:4)
When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! (John 19:26)
The Greek word for woman is Gunhv, and it’s the same word Jesus used for the prostitute:
The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” (John 8:3-10)
Instead, Jesus showed respect to strange woman, he called the bleeding woman ‘daughter’ and not ‘woman’.
She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.” Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that moment. (Matthew 9:21-22)
Strangely, Jesus showed respect to the unclean woman, yet dishonors his own mother.
Jesus despised his mother but another woman praised her.
As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.” (Luke 11:27)
Blessed is the mother who gave birth to Jesus? Yes indeed, but Jesus never acknowledged this fact. The Bible says those who dishonor the parents are not successful.
“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. (Exodus 20:12)
‘Each of you must respect his mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God. (Leviticus 19:3)
“There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers; (Proverbs 30:11)
