Jesus (pbuh) in the Quran and Muhammad (pbuh) in the Bible
By Syed Manzoor Alam, New Age Islam
July 18, 2013
Indeed without any doubt the two most influential men in history are Jesus and Muhammad (pbut). People can kill and die for them. Surprisingly enough neither men were the founders of their so-called respective religions: Jesus Christ (pbuh) was not the founder of Christianity because there is no such thing as Christianity; similarly Muhammad (pbuh) was not the founder of Islam. The correct thing to say about them is that they were reformers.
God says “in every age have We sent a revelation” and “to every nation a Warner has been sent”. Islam is not a new religion; in fact it is present since man set foot on this earth. Since then God has been sending His revelations for guidance, and Prophets to warn and bring people to the “straight path”.
Jesus Christ (pbuh) was sent with the Injeel for the Children of Israel. Jesus Christ says in the Bible numerous times “It was said by them of old time... but I say unto you” meaning thereby that he was a reformer. Similarly Muhammad (pbuh) was given the Quran and he brought about innumerable reformations, like he gave the right to life to girls, he gave them the right to inherit property, he limited the number of wives, he abolished the custom of alcoholism and gambling etc.
Both of them followed the Grand Plan of God. They (just like other prophets, some 1,24,000) came from the same source. It almost follows the teaching of Gita, which says that “whenever there is decline of righteousness, and rise of unrighteousness, I incarnate myself to protect the virtuous and to destroy the wicked, from age to age.” But instead of “I”, being God, He chooses a pious man, from amongst men to do His job.
In the Quran we are told about Jesus Christ. The Quran mentions Jesus (pbuh) twenty five times and every time he is spoken of in great respect.
"We gave Jesus, the son of Mary, clear signs and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit" (The Holy Qur’an 2:87)
"O Mary! God gives thee glad tidings of a Word from Him: his name will be Christ
Jesus, the son of Mary..." (3:45)
"...Christ Jesus the son of Mary was (no more than) an apostle of God..."(4:171)
"...And in their footsteps we sent Jesus the son of Mary..." (5:46)
"And Zakariya and John, and Jesus and Elias: all in the ranks of the righteous." (6:85)
I believe the worst swearing one can give to any human being is to swear his/her mother, similarly the best thing one can say to human being is to give honour and respect to his/her mother. The Quran says:
"'Behold'! the angels said: 'O Mary! God hath chosen thee and purified thee, and chosen thee above the women of all nations" (3:42) (On a side note if Muhammad (pbuh) had written the Quran then he would not have gone out of his way to incite his own people, the Arabs, by praising a Jewess- i.e., not Muhammad’s mother, wife, daughter is the chosen one, in fact a Jewess is “chosen above the women of all nations”).
"O Mary! Worship thy Lord devoutly: prostrate thyself, and bow down (in prayer) with those who bow down."(3:43)
‘Behold!' the angels said: 'O Mary! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a word from him: his name will be Jesus, the son of Mary; held in honour in this world and the hereafter; and (of the company of) those nearest to Allah." (3:45)
With just a few verses from the Quran, over 1.6 billion Muslims believe, without any proof that Jesus is not an illegitimate child and that Mary was a chaste woman.
"She said: 'O My Lord! How shall I have a son, when no man hath touched me?"
"He said: 'Even so: Allah creates what He wills: whenever He decrees a matter He merely says “Be” and it is! And Allah will teach him the Book and Wisdom, the Torah (Law) and the Gospel," (3:47-48)
Just as Jesus is found in the Quran so is Muhammad (pbut) found in the Bible. There are numerous prophesies about the coming of Muhammad (pbuh). He is even mentioned by name in the original manuscript. It is mentioned in Song of Solomon, 5:16
“His speech is most sweet, and he is altogether desirable [AV: lovely]. This is my beloved and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.” (The Roman script is “hikko mamtaqqim we-khullo mahamaddim zeh dodi we-zeh re‘i benoth-Yerushalayim”)
The translators change this proper noun into “altogether lovely”, which is not the right thing to do. In some of the early versions of the Bible instead of “this is my beloved” or “he is my beloved”, it has been reported that some versions had used “she is my beloved” so that never ever could Muhammad (pbuh) be brought into mind.
When the Prophet, who was an illiterate man i.e.., he was not learned, was in the cave pondering about the mysteries of the universe, a voice told him to “Read”, and the Prophet replied “I am not learned”. The same thing is mentioned in the Book of Isaiah, ch 29 verse 12, which says:
“And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned”.
In Deuteronomy 18:18 God says to Moses:
“I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and I will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him”.
Some may say that this prophecy refers to Jesus, because Jesus was a Jew and a Prophet, just like Moses. If this is the case then there are so many other prophets in the Bible who are Jew as well as Prophets. This prophecy refers to nobody but Muhammad. Let us analyse how is Moses like Muhammad and not like Jesus:
Moses had a normal birth, just like Muhammad and unlike Jesus. Moses is said to be a prophet only, just like Muhammad and unlike Jesus. Moses had a father and a mother, just like Muhammad and unlike Jesus. Moses was married and had children, just like Muhammad and unlike Jesus. Moses was accepted as a whole by his people, just like Muhammad and unlike Jesus. Moses had political authority, just like Muhammad and unlike Jesus. Moses had a natural death, just like Muhammad and unlike Jesus. Moses was buried in grave, just like Muhammad and unlike Jesus. Moses is not considered divine, just like Muhammad and unlike Jesus. Moses began his prophetic mission at the age of 40, just like Muhammad and unlike Jesus.
These are more than enough proof that indeed this prophecy refers to no one but Muhammad. The verse in discussion is explicit in saying that the prophet will come amongst the Brethren of the Jews. Abraham had two sons: Ishmael and Isaac. The Jews are the descendants of Isaac’s son, Jacob. The Arabs are the children of Ishmael. Thus, the Arabs are the brethren of the Jewish nation.
The prophecy also says that God will put words in his mouth. This is what the Quran says:
“Nor does he speak from [his own] inclination. It is not but a revelation revealed.” Qur’ān 53:3-4
Jesus Christ says in Gospel of John ch 16:
“I have yet many things to say unto you but you cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of Truth will come he will guide you unto all truths; for he shall not speak of himself. Whatever things he shall hear so shall he speak and he shall glorify me”.
Muhammad (pbuh) was called as the al-Amin- the trustworthy. The Quran says that Muhammad does not speak of his own authority, and after Jesus the only prophet to ever glorify Jesus was Muhammad.
There are other prophesies also like Jesus talking about the “comforter”. But these are enough proofs that the Quran gives great amount of respect to Jesus Christ (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and the Bible too gives enough reverence to Muhammad (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
There is a cult growing in the western world which paints the world in ‘either-or’ terms like black or white, either Jesus was God or he was an imposter, either Jesus was God or he was a liar and now which forced me to write this article- either Jesus or Muhammad. Why can’t there be both? Why is it have to be Jesus or Muhammad; why can’t it be like Jesus and Muhammad? I hope this article will guide us closer to the truth.
· All the references have been taken from King James Version and Yusuf Ali’s Translation.
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-pluralism/jesus-(pbuh)-quran-muhammad-(pbuh)/d/12646