5. Muhammad
Muslims claim that they believe in all God’s prophets and discriminate against none. Jesus is one of their greatest prophets. They honor him and sometimes give his Qur’anic name, ‘Isa, to their children. So why do Christians not do the same with Muslims? Why do they not reciprocate their inclusive faith? Why do they not believe in Muhammad as God’s final prophet? Are they not being biased against Islam and prejudiced against Muslims?
Here are some possible answers to these questions often asked by Muslims:
1. Muslims are consistent with their Scriptures, which make it mandatory for them to believe in Jesus. Christians are also consistent with their own Scriptures, which do not speak of Muhammad.
2. Jesus himself compares the prophets who came before him to God’s servants while he describes himself as God’s Son who revealed God to the full (Matthew 21:33–45: Hebrews 1:1–4). Therefore, there is no need for a prophet to come after him.
3. Muslims believe in the Qur’anic Jesus, not in the Christ of the Gospels. They do not, for instance, believe in the crucified and risen Christ.
4. What exactly do we mean by “prophet”? If a prophet is someone who preaches that the Creator is the one and only God and that everyone should worship him, then Muhammad could be seen as a prophet. But if the message of a “prophet” must be in line with the biblical revelation already given, it is surely understandable that Christians are dubious about the status of a “prophet” whose followers find no place for a sin-bearing, crucified, and resurrected Messiah.
5. More broadly, why should Christians accept Muhammad as a prophet? What is the positive evidence adduced in support of this claim? Is it convincing?
This section looks into the Islamic credentials for Muhammad’s prophethood. They will be examined from a biblical perspective, just as Muslims assess Christian doctrine from a Qur’anic perspective. There are four main Islamic proofs for Muhammad’s prophethood.
Proof 1: Biblical Prophecies
The Qur’an claims that Muhammad was foretold in both the Torah and the Injil (7:157), that is, in what Christians would call the Old and New Testaments. This Qur’anic claim is made with no proof text from either Scripture. By contrast the Gospels reproduce many quotations from the Torah to make the case that Jesus is indeed the long-awaited Messiah. The Jewish prophets predicted his birth, message, miracles, death, and resurrection.
The Islamic Prophetic Tradition (which was written down later than the Qur’an) refers to a text in Isaiah which speaks about “the Servant of the Lord.”30 This text needs to be viewed in its wider context. The prophet Isaiah portrays this Servant in four poems known as “the Servant Songs.” While some features of the Servant may bear some similarities with Muhammad, others are characteristics of Jesus’ mission. The Fourth Song, in particular, is about the suffering Servant who offers his life as an atoning sacrifice. He is raised from the dead, lifted up to heaven, and honored by God, who appoints him as the qualified intercessor on our behalf (Isaiah 53).
Contemporary Muslims point to other texts in the Bible that in their view speak about Muhammad. Two passages are often cited in this respect. The first is the prophecy concerning the new Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15). Before he died Moses announced to his people that God would send them a prophet “like him.” Muslim apologists argue that Muhammad is this prophet. Moses and Muhammad have many similarities in terms of their natural birth and death, their political and religious leadership, their supremacy over their enemies, and the comprehensiveness of their respective laws. Moses, however, foreshadowed Jesus in many more important features. Moses was God’s prophet who mediated God’s word; Jesus was both God’s prophet and God’s Word. Moses liberated his people from Pharaoh’s political oppression; Jesus brought his people a far greater liberation, namely, a spiritual liberation, setting them free from the bondage of sin and eternal death. Moses interceded temporarily for his people after they worshiped the golden calf; Jesus has been our intercessor since the day he ascended to heaven and will always intercede for us. Jesus and Moses were both Jewish prophets, whereas Muhammad was not. Thus not only did Moses point to Jesus, but “the second Moses” is a far greater prophet than the first.
The second text concerns the Paraclete. Before he ascended to heaven, Jesus announced to his disciples that he would send them the paraklētos, a Greek word that means advocate, helper, comforter, counselor (John 16:7, 12–13). Muslim apologists argue that Muhammad is the object of this prophecy. This claim is based on a Qur’anic text where Jesus is said to have predicted the coming of “Ahmad” (another name for Muhammad) after him (61:6). Again, this text from the Qur’an offers no Scriptural reference to back up its allegation. Moreover, Jesus describes the one who was to come after him as “the Holy Spirit” (John 14:26), “the Spirit of truth” (John 14:16–17; 15:26). Furthermore, he told his disciples to stay in Jerusalem where the Spirit would be sent to them “in a few days” (Acts 1:4–5). Ten days after he ascended to heaven, the Holy Spirit was indeed sent to the disciples while they were gathered in Jerusalem (Acts 2:1–4). Thus these biblical texts point to a spiritual entity (the Holy Spirit), not to a physical, human, entity (Muhammad).
Proof 2: Miracles
A second Islamic proof that Muhammad was God’s prophet is that he worked miracles. Jews, Christians, and Muslims all believe that some miracles are given by God to accredit his messengers. The Islamic Prophetic Tradition reports several miracles attributed to Muhammad.31 Muhammad’s greatest miracle, however, according to Islamic teaching, was the Qur’an itself (17:88; 52:34). This miracle points to the perfection of the Qur’an in terms of both its content and literary form. It is enhanced by the belief that Muhammad was illiterate (7:157–58) and thus unprepared to produce such an outstanding Book. (The Qur’anic message will be considered under the third proof.)
The belief about Muhammad’s illiteracy rests primarily on one text that describes him as an ummi prophet (7:157–58). To understand this word, one must examine its four other occurrences in Qur’anic texts. (1) Some Jews are blamed for being “illiterate,” that is, ignorant of the Torah (2:78). (2) Muhammad was sent to “the People of the Book” as well as to “the illiterates,” that is, peoples with no Holy Scripture (3:20). (3) Some people (Jews) among “the People of the Book” declare that they have no obligation towards “the illiterates,” namely, the Arab people (3:75). (4) The “illiterates” (Arabs) were sent a prophet, namely Muhammad, from among themselves (62:2). These four texts show that the word ummi in the Qur’anic context is about religious ignorance, not about being unable to read and write. To take sura 7 verses 157–58 to mean that Muhammad was literally an illiterate prophet is an unwarranted interpretation. It aims to underscore the so-called miracle of the Qur’an. The likely meaning of the word is that as an Arab prophet Muhammad was not versed in the “Holy Scripture” (whether the reference is to the Bible or to the Qur’an) until the Qur’an was revealed to him.
The so-called supernatural literary style of the Qur’an can be appreciated only by Arabic speakers. The literary quality of any book is relative and subjective as it depends on our personal judgment. As for the Qur’an itself, not all Arabic speaking people (including Muslims) agree that it is a masterpiece in Arabic literature. Furthermore, even if we accept the miraculous character of the Qur’an, miracles represent only one indicator that needs to be corroborated by other indicators. A self-proclaimed prophet should be judged by the content of his message regardless of whether he is able to work miracles (Deuteronomy 13:1–3). False prophets do sometimes work miracles (Matthew 7:21–23; 24:24), and not all prophets have worked miracles. John the Baptist was a genuine prophet though he worked no miracles at all (John 10:41).
Proof 3: Islamic Law
Muslim scholars argue that, unlike Jewish and Christian teaching, Islamic doctrine is perfect and this proves its divine origin. They make their case by looking at different aspects of this law.
According to Muslim apologists, religious law in Islam has the balance right between justice, which characterizes Judaism, and mercy, which is exemplified in Christianity. Islam is neither a violent religion (Judaism) nor an unrealistically pacifist religion (Christianity). Muslims see Judaism as focused on this world and Christianity as an other-worldly religion. Islam, by contrast, claims to contain the balance by focusing as much on life in this world as in the next.
Love and justice go hand in hand in Christianity, too. Christians have been mandated to preach the gospel, which is essentially about God’s forgiving love, whereas civil authorities have been mandated by God to implement justice in society (Romans 13:1–4). Christians are not all pacifists: many, perhaps most, adhere to “just war” theory. Like Islam, biblical Christianity is a holistic religion that does not separate spiritual life from social, economic, and political life. Christians, however, do not take the same approach as Muslims as to how they should carry out their mission. Their emphasis is on individuals as much as on the community, on the need to change people’s hearts as well as their behavior, and this change has to be bottom-up rather than top-down.
The Islamic penal code is seen by Muslims to be perfectly balanced. The death penalty is prescribed in only three cases (apostasy, murder, and adultery). Mosaic law is seen to be too harsh because capital punishment is prescribed in too many cases, whereas Christianity simply does not have a codified criminal system.
Yet this understanding of Christianity should be disputed. The fact that Christians are expected to forgive those who do them wrong (Matthew 18:21–22) does not invalidate the state’s obligation to fulfill its God-given mandate (Matthew 22:21; Romans 13). Governments are established to elaborate and operate a just legal, political, and economic system that should remain adjustable according to times, places, and cultures.
Moral teaching is also deemed well balanced in the Qur’an, unlike the Torah and the New Testament. The Torah is seen to be too lax (for instance, unlimited polygamy, easy divorce) and the New Testament too strict (no divorce, no polygamy). By contrast, Islamic law combines human weakness and high moral standards (polygamy is limited to four wives, divorce is legal but reprehensible).
Yet Christian teaching does recognize human weakness. For instance, divorce is not completely ruled out (Matthew 5:31–32). At the same time, Christians are called to be perfect and merciful like their heavenly Father (Matthew 5:48; Luke 6:36). The right ethical standards for God’s people can only be God’s moral perfection. One of God’s most wonderful gifts is his Holy Spirit, who empowers believers in such a way that it is possible for them to model their lives on God’s perfection embodied in the life of Jesus Christ. And one day, in the resurrection life of the new heaven and the new earth, that perfection will be perfectly achieved. Even now, while we live in anticipation of what is not yet but what will be, it is crucially important simultaneously to hold high the standard of perfection toward which we press, even while we lament our countless lapses—and then turn to the cross, once again, for forgiveness.
Proof 4: Military and Political Success
Muslim scholars consider that Muhammad’s triumph over his enemies is proof that he was God’s prophet. When he died in AD 632, virtually all Arabs had embraced Islam. This is seen as evidence that Islam is a God-given religion, spread through the Prophet Muhammad. Today the Muslim community and the Christian community are about the same size (although the majority of human beings are neither Christian nor Muslim).
By contrast, Christianity does not equate religious, military, or political success with faithfulness to God. According to both the Bible (Hebrews 11:37–40) and the Qur’an (2:61, 91), many of God’s faithful servants and prophets have been martyred. Jesus himself was very suspicious of popular success and worldly power (Matthew 4:8–10; John 6:15). The question is, “What is genuine success?” The crucifixion of Jesus was a spectacular failure if we look at it from a human perspective. From God’s perspective it was his greatest success because on the cross he defeated humanity’s real enemies, namely, sin, evil, and death (Colossians 2:13–15). God demonstrated Jesus’ victory when he raised him from the dead and enthroned him in heaven (Philippians 2:9–11).
In short, from a Christian perspective, the four main proofs of Muhammad’s prophethood are not conclusive. Christians are more than happy to own the first part of the Islamic creed: “There is no god but God.” But it is not possible for them to make theirs the second part: “and Muhammad is his Apostle.” To be sure, Muhammad was certainly a great religious and social reformer and an outstanding political and military leader. But the Christian creed highlights both God’s oneness and Jesus’ uniqueness: “There is one God and one mediator between God and human beings, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself as a ransom for all people” (1 Timothy 2:5–6).
6. The Kingdom of God
Both the Bible and the Qur’an stress the universal sovereignty of God. The Bible describes God as “the God of heaven and earth” (Genesis 24:3; Matthew 11:25); the Qur’an describes God as “the King of heaven and earth” (2:107; 3:189). Both Islam and Christianity teach that the kingdom of God has been established on earth. The coming of Jesus Christ for Christians and the revelation of the Qur’an for Muslims have ushered human history into a new phase. In the two religions, the revelation of the gospel (Acts 17:30) and the birth of Islam (3:154; 5:50; 33:33; 48:26), respectively, have brought the era of ignorance to an end. A new era has begun with the coming of God’s kingdom among all the peoples of the world, especially among the community of believers.
Christianity and Islam are both missionary religions. Christians have been mandated to be God’s witnesses on earth and to expand his kingdom (Luke 24:45–48). Muslims have received a similar mandate (2:143; 22:78; 33:45). How Christians and Muslims are to carry out their mission is dictated by the respective messages of Jesus Christ and Muhammad and the way they have preached the gospel and the Qur’an.