Jesus and Muhammad (peace be upon them) in the Bible and the Qur'an

From: http://islam.thetruecall.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=135


All praise is to the One to Whom all dignity, honour and glory are due; the Unique with perfect attributes, Who begets not, nor is He begotten. He has no equal but He is the Almighty, Omnipotent. He sent His Messengers and Prophets to guide humanity towards Monotheism; to worship Him Alone, the only One Worthy of worship, and to warn them of the eternal dire consequences of polytheism, associating partners with One Allah and the worship of creatures. Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon all the Prophets and Messengers, especially on Muhammad, the last of the Prophets, and on all who follow him in righteousness until the Day of Recompense.

Biblical evidence of Jesus being a servant of God and having no share in divinity

Jesus and the Devil in the Bible

In the New Testament of the Bible, in the fourth chapter of the Gospel according to Matthew, the sixth and seventh verses clearly indicate that Jesus is an obedient mortal and God is the Master and Lord according to his saying in the seventh verse:

"It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord, thy God."

In this chapter we read that the Devil actually carried the Messiah, and took him from place to place. How can the Devil carry God? Glory be to Allah; He is above such blasphemy!

Then the Devil orders him to prostrate before him and worship him, even temptng him with worldly possessions. How can the Devil even dare such an audacity with God? When the Devil wanted Jesus to comply with his orders, he (Jesus) replied by saying that it was written (in the previous Books): "Thou shalt worship the Lord, thy God; And Him only shalt thou serve." Matthew 4:10

Children of God
Jesus never called himself Son of God as far as I know - but he used to call himself the 'Son of Man' (Mark 2:10) although he heard himself being called by that name he did not object as assumed in the Bible - and he did not consider the title exclusively for him. According to the Biblical term in the Old and New Testaments, every God-fearing righteous person is called "Son of God". In Matthew 5:9 we read:
"Blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall be called the children of God."
In Matthew 5:45 -
"That ye may be children of your Father which is in heaven..."

God the Father

In Matthew 5:48 -
"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."

In Matthew 6:1 -
"...otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven..."

In Matthew 7:21 -
"Not every one that sayeth unto me (Jesus), Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doeth the will of my Father, who is in heaven." N.B. The word 'Lord' here was translated as Rabb in the Arabic version of the Bible so that people may be convinced that Jesus is God! But if one studies the rest of the verse, one will note that the verse bears testimony to the subservience (to God's Will) of the Messiah (Jesus). Therefore the correct translation should be: "Not every one that sayeth to me, O my Master, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." It is obvious from the above readings from the Bible that the term 'Father' is used for God in numerous places in the Bible. It is never used exclusively for Jesus.

In Matthew 11:25 -
"At that time Jesus answered and said, 'I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and has revealed them unto babes.' "

Jesus the Worshipper

Matthew 14:23 -
"And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray..."

I say: If Jesus is God or a part of God then why did he pray? In fact, prayer is always from a submitting, needy and dependent one for the Mercy of Almighty Allah as mentioned in the Qur'an:

"O mankind! it is you who stand in need of Allah. But Allah is Rich (Free of all needs), Worthy of all praise." The Holy Qur'an, Chapter 35, Verse 15

And in Chapter 19, Verse 93 of Qur'an:
"There is none in the heavens and the earth but comes unto the Most Gracious (Allah) as a slave."

A Biblical Story

Mathew 15:22-28 -
"And behold a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts and cried unto him, saying, 'Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David: my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.' But he answered and said, 'I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Isreal.'

The came she and worshipped him, saying , 'Lord help me.' But he answered and said, 'It is not meet to take the childred's bread and to cast it to dogs.'

And she said, 'Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's table.'

Then Jesus answered and said unto her, 'O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.' "

In this story about a woman from Cannan there are noteworthy points:

1) Lack of mercy and love charged against Jesus (if the incident is reported correctly).
2) Degraded discrimination in regard to the uplifting of his tribe and not for the others.
3) An ignorant polytheist woman debated with him and won him over.

Jesus a Prophet of Allah

Mathew 19:16-17 -
" And behold, one came and said unto him, 'Good master, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?' And he said unto him, 'Why callest thou me good? (There is ) none good but one (i.e) God, but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.'"

In the above verses we note this acknowledgement of his submissiveness (to God's Will)
Mathew 21:45-46 -
"And when the chief priests and pharisees had heard his parable, they perceived that he spoke of them. But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared teh multitude because they took him for a Prophet."

Here it is proved that all those who believed in Jesus during his lifetime did not believe in him being God or the Son of God or one in the doctirne of Trinity; but they believed in him as being a prophet only. This is indeed one of the strongest points of evidence against those who believe in teh Divinity of Jesus (Incarnation of God) if only they pondered.

Jesus: a Servant of Allah

Mathew 23:8 -
"But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your master, even Jesus, and all ye are brethren."

Here it is clearly proved that Jesus was servant of Allah, and that there is only One Master and He is Allah. In the Arabic version of the Bible this verse has been translated so that Jesus is meant to be the master whereas the English renderingis nearer the original sense.

Mathew 23:9 -
"And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father which is in heaven."

From this you will note that fatherhood and sonship is meant to be the relationship between the Lord and His servants: it is meant in a general sense and not specifically for Jesus.

Mathew 24:36 -
"But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no , not the angels of heaven, but my Father only."

This is a definite proof that the Final Hour is unknown to any but Allah, thus Jesus knowledge is imperfect like all the other men; Allah Alone is All-Knowing, Omniscient.

Mathew 26:39 -
"And he (Jesus) went a little farther, and fell on his face and prayed, saying, 'O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not is a servant of Allah. He (Allah) Alone can cause the change.'"

The Compilation of the Bible

Mathew 27:7-8
"And they took counsel and bought with them the potter's field to bury strangers in, Wherefore that field was called the Field fo Blood, unto this day."

From these verses we understand that the Bible (theNew Testament) was not written during Jesus's lifetime but long after the occurrence of the events described, having been retained in the memory of the prople.

Mathew 27:46 -
"And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, 'Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? (My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?')"

This is according to their (Christians') assumption that Jesus cried in a loud voice saying the above words while he was being cricified.This is a great insult as such words could only come from unbelievers in Allah. Further, it is incredible that such words should come out form a Prophet of Allah, because Allah never breaks His Promise and His Prophets never complained against His Promise.

Jesus:Preacher of monotheism (tawheed)

John 17:3 -
"And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou has sent."

Mark 12:28-30 -
"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?' And Jesus answered him : 'The first of all the commandments is: hear O Isreal, the Lord thy God is One Lord: 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."

Mark 12:32 -
"And the scribe said unto him, 'Well Master, thou hst said teh truth: for there is One God; and there is none other but He.'"

Mark 12:34 -
"...he (Jesus) said unto him, 'Thou art not far from the kingdom of God...'"

In these verses, Jesus (PBUH) himself had testified that Allah is the One God, there is none other than Him, and that whoever believes in His Oneness, he is near the Kingdom of Allah. Therefore whoever associates partners with Allah or believes in the Trinity is far away from the Kingdom of Allah, and whoever is far away from the Kingdom of Allah he is the enemy of Allah.

Mathew 24:36 -
"But of that day and hour koweth no man, no not the angles of the heaven, but my Father only."

I say: A similar text was quoted from S.Mathew which is exactly as proclaimed by the Qur'an in that none knows when the Hour will come except Allah. This extablishes the face that Jesus was subservient to Allah and that he had no share in Divinity: that he was an incarnationof God, was an innovation by the people of Canaan.

John 20:16 -
"Jesus said unto her, 'Mary'. She turned herslef, and sayeth unto him, 'Rabboni', which is to say, Master, Jesus saith unto her, 'Touch me not: For I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God.' Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she has seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things unto her."

In the above narrative Jesus clearly testifies that Allah is his God and their God, making no difference between him and them in the worship of the One Allah. Whoever believes that Jesus is God has indeed blasphemed against Allah and betrayed Jesus and all the Prophets and Messengers of Allah.

Biblical prophecy on the advent of Muhammad (PBUH)


John 4:15-16
“If you love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father and He shall give you another Comforter that he may abide for you forever.”

Muslim theologians have said that “another Comforter” is Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah; and him to “abide forever” means the perpetuity of his laws and way of life and the Book (Qur’an), which was revealed, to him.

John 15:26-27
“But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.”

John 16:5-8
“But now I go my way to Him that sent me and none of you asketh me ‘whither goest thou?’ But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled you heart. Nevertheless I tell you the truth; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and approve righteousness and judgment.”

John 16:12-14
“I have yet many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now. How be it when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak; and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and he shall show it unto you.”
John 16:16
“ A little while and ye shall not see me: and again a little while, ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.”

Muslim theologians have stated that the person who is described by Jesus to come after him – in the above verses – does not comply with any other person but Muhammad (PBUH) the Messenger of Allah. This ‘person’ whom Jesus prophesied will come after him is called in the Bible ‘Parqaleeta’ This word was deleted by later interpreters and translators and changed at times to ‘Spirit of Truth’, and at other times, to ‘Comforter’ and sometimes to ‘Holy Spirit’. The original word is Greek and it’s meaning is ‘one whom people praise exceedingly.’ The sense of word is applicable to the word ‘Muhammad’ (in Arabic).

Dr.M.T.Hilali, Ph.D.

Formerly Professor of Islamic Faith and Teachings,
Islamic University, Al-Madinah Al-munawwarah