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Sermon #1060
Jesus or Muhammad?
A fascinating exchange took place on August 2, 2016. Hours after Francis, head of the Roman Catholic Church
declared that Islam is a peaceful religion, ISIS representative periodical Dabiq corrected the leader of the
Roman Catholic Church. The Daily Caller reported this rebuke, “…Islam … is violent in nature, hates
‘disbelievers’ and says Western politicians who claim otherwise are just out to garner as many votes as they
can for the next election cycle.’” http://dailycaller.com/2016/08/02/isis-to-pope-actually-islam-is-a-religion-ofviolence/#ixzz4GE05A5g5 Thankfully, not all Muslims embrace this idea.
About one third of the world population, 2.1 billion people, claims to be Christian. The major rival belief systems
are: Buddhism, at #6 with 376 million and 6% of the world’s population; at #5, taking in about 400 million
people is Chinese traditional religion—a blend of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism; Hinduism is #4 with
900 million adherents (14%); 1.1 billion (16%) are classified as non-religious (atheists, agnostics and
secularists); Islam is the #2 most popular world religion with 1.5 billion adherents or 21% of the world
population.
Christians believe Islam is a false religion and that Mohammad is a false prophet. We do not want
Islam to spread, but we do not believe in defeating Islam by burning mosques or the Qur’an. We overcome
Islam by contrasting Jesus and Muhammad; the Bible and the Qur’an. More about the religion of Islam and its
founder, Muhammad, after our song…
For most of our lives, many of us knew little and cared even less about Islam. Since 9/11, however,
Islam has had a major impact on our lives. The Arab population makes up only twenty-two percent of the
Muslim world population. Sixty percent of Muslims are Asian. Twelve percent of Muslims come from Africa.
Five million Muslims make up 1.5% of the US population. The greatest concentrations are in Michigan, Illinois,
New York and California. There are more Muslims than Methodists in Chicago. The Hartford Institute for
Religion Research reports that the “number of mosques in the U.S. went from 1,209 in 2000 to 2,106 in 2010,
a 74 percent increase.” The largest is in Dearborn, Michigan, with a capacity of three thousand. Friday is the
Muslim holy day. The imam is the Muslim pray leader in the mosque. The word Islam means “submission,” and
the word Muslim means “slave.”
MUSLIM DENOMINATIONS
About 85% of Muslims are Sunni, and 15% are Shi’a. The Sunni believe Muhammad’s close friend and fatherin-law, Abu Bakr, took the reins after Muhammad’s death while the Shi’a believe Muhammad’s son-in-law, Ali,
took over. The Shi’a population is concentrated primarily in Iran, Azerbaijan, Bahrain and Iraq. The Sunni
follow Abu Bakr and the Caliphs while the Shi’a follow Ali and the Imams who were thought to be sinless, semidivine Imams who could perform miracles.
THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
1) Confession of Faith: “There is no God, but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.”
2) Prayer: Preceded by elaborate cleansing rituals, Muslims pray a ritual prayer facing Mecca at five
prescribed times a day.
3) Charitable giving: Muslim’s must give two percent of their gross income for the poor.
4) Fasting: Ritual fasting during month of Ramadan from dawn till dusk.
5) Pilgrimage (Hajj): Every healthy Muslim is expected to travel to the Kaaba in Mecca once in their life
(Surah 22:27). Pilgrims must then walk seven times around the Kaaba in a counter-clockwise direction
and mimic Muhammad in kissing the Black Stone seven times, once for each time they walk around it.
Muslims insist, incidentally, that the black stone is not an object of worship.
6) Some Muslim scholars considered Jihad to be a sixth pillar of Islam. Jihad means struggle and
nothing captivates the American mind about this religion more. Some Muslims take Jihad to be merely
the purifying of Islam to a perfect state, but many others interpret this struggle to be a military conquest
to convert the world to Islam.
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EARLY LIFE
Muhammad, the founder of Islam, was born in 570 AD in Mecca. His father died before his birth, and his
mother died when he was six years old. Then, Muhammad went to live with his grandfather—the caretaker of
the Ka’aba. Muhammad lost his grandfather during childhood also. He then went to live with his uncle, Abu
Talib, the new caretaker of the Ka’aba.
The Ka’aba made Mecca sacred. The Ka’aba was a black cubical building that, according to
Muslims, was built by Abraham and Ishmael after a great flood. In Muhammad’s day, the Arabs worshiped
many other gods, the images of which were stored in the Ka’aba during his youth. Many
Arabs came to trade at Mecca. While in Mecca, they went to the Ka’aba, walked around it seven times, kissing
or touching the Black Stone built into the wall. While maintaining respect for the Ka’aba itself, Mohammad
developed disdain for the worship of the many statues at the Ka’aba and for the businessmen who sold them.
After he conquered Mecca in 630 AD, Muhammad destroyed the idols housed within the Ka’aba and
rededicated it as the most holy site of Islam and the direction Muslims must face when they pray. The black
stone in the Ka’aba could not be destroyed and was made an Islamic holy artifact. Custom has it that the stone
fell from heaven and was originally white, but turned black because of the sins of Muslims absorbed when
touching it. The black stone has probably been touched more times by more people than any other object on
the planet. In the twenty-first century alone, two million people every year, kissed or caressed it. This has been
going on for thirteen centuries.
Mecca, the site of the Ka’aba, is considered so holy that no non-Muslims are even allowed in the city! The
restriction actually extends out to a twelve mile radius away from the Ka’aba.
At age twelve, Muhammad traveled with his uncle’s caravan to Syria. Bahira, a monk from a Christian sect
invited Muhammad and his uncle for dinner. Bahira, interviewed Muhammad with great interest, and, the story
goes, Muhammad’s responses corresponded to “Bible” prophecies. When Bahira found a mark between
Muhammad’s shoulders, he declared to Abu Talib, “Behold, this child is going to be the final prophet for our
world. This is the stamp of prophethood. Don’t let the Jews hear about this or see this birthmark on his
shoulder. If they find it, they will try to kill him.” There is, however, no historical evidence that this Nestorian
sect was ever looking for another prophet.
When Khadija, a forty year old, four-time divorced caravan owner, and the wealthiest, most powerful woman in
Mecca, discovered the character of the twenty-five year old Muhammad, she hired him as manager of one of
her caravans to Syria. After his caravan returned with huge profits, she proposed marriage to him. Although
both families initially disapproved, Khadija’s cousin, a notable religious leader in Mecca as pastor of a large
Ebionite church, supported their marriage, persuaded the families of its merits and then performed the wedding
ceremony. So, not only was Muhammad’s first wife likely a Christian-professing church member, but
Muhammad had a Christian wedding of sorts. His wife’s pastor-cousin served as his mentor and taught him his
version of “Christianity.” This background explains Muhammad’s monotheism. Meanwhile, Muhammad
continued to go to the Ka’aba and walk in circles around the black stone.
For fifteen years, Muhammad frequented a local cave to pray— sometimes up to days at a time.
Then, in 610 AD, during what Muslims now call the month of Ramadan, Islamic historians report that the angel
Gabriel appeared to him and commanded him to read. Muhammad tried to excuse himself saying he could not
read. But, Gabriel supposedly repeated this command three times and issued forth the first verses of the
Qur’an (sometimes spelled Quran or Koran) to be revealed— Surah 96:1-3.
After the vision, according to Islamic belief, Muhammad retreated to the safety and comfort of his wife’s
support, telling her the frightful experience made his heart tremble and his neck muscles twitch. He added, “Oh
Khadija, what is wrong with me? What has happened to me?” His wife, Khadija, enlisted her cousin’s aid in
consoling him. The cousin exclaimed, “I swear this is the great sign that came to Moses, and Muhammad is the
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prophet of this Arabic nation. Stand and be strong.” The next day, the Ebionite pastor “laid hands on him” and
pledged his support to the death—only to die, himself, a few days later.
Meanwhile, after spending weeks in his cave seeking revelations, Muhammad, according to Islam, heard a
voice and saw a vision of Gabriel sitting on a throne in the open atmosphere. (By the way, the angel Gabriel is
the wrong one to be on a throne. That’s for God only!) After this vision of Gabriel, Muhammad claimed to
receive regular revelations. He dictated the words of Gabriel, supposedly, to various companions as the “word
of God” which would form the Qur’an. This reminds the Bible student of the Holy Spirit’s warning from
Galatians 1:6-8, “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to
a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of
Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached
to you, let him be accursed.”
Islam is not an independent religious system like Hinduism or Buddhism, but is, to a great extent, a perversion
of the gospel of Christ.
Muhammad’s following grew very slowly at first. Only a few dozen friends and family were converted in the
early years and the group kept a low profile. After three years, according to Muhammad, Gabriel told him to be
more assertive. This led to what Islam calls, “The Year of Hunger.” The people of Mecca rejected Muhammad,
harassing him and his followers and eventually carrying out a city-wide business boycott that left Muhammad
and his band of Muslims to eat leaves and animal dung in a desert valley outside Mecca. They would have
starved to death were it not for sympathizers who slipped in stealthily to bring them food. Eventually, the
people of Mecca relented.
Muhammad kept preaching against Mecca’s idolatry, commanding them to accept Allah as the One True God
and Muhammad as Allah’s prophet. When the people asked for a sign, he pointed to the Qur’an. Only a few
people were convinced, so Muhammad formed an alliance with warring tribes from Medina to protect him from
his enemies.
After dismal results from ten years of preaching, Muhammad, in 623 AD at age 53, claims to have received a
revelation to flee to Medina (Muslims call this the hegira) where Muhammad received another revelation for
holy war (jihad) – to fight against anyone who rejected Islam! This marks the first year of the Islamic calendar
(AH 1 – after hegira). Then, the tide began to change for Islam. Successful attacks against caravans from
Mecca crippled the Meccan economy, and Muhammad began to gain the upper hand.
Meanwhile, Medina, except for its Jews, began to follow Muhammad. The Jews said they were looking for a
prophet who was a descendent of David, and Muhammad’s only sign, the Qur’an, did not impress. After
debating with the Jews for three years, he ordered the assassination of prominent Jews who rejected and
ridiculed his movement, eventually running all the Jews out of Medina.
About this time, after 25 years of marriage, Khadija, his first wife, died. He later married twelve other women.
After solidifying his power for eight years in Medina, Muhammad accumulated an army of ten thousand
soldiers. Although Muhammad declares originally in the Qur’an that he is only a “plain warner,” he later
became a great advocate of violence. Muhammad backed it up: By 629 AD, he had taken Mecca, and by the
time of his death in 632 AD, he had conquered the Arabian Peninsula.
Let’s reflect and compare what we know about the leaders of the world’s two largest religions. The Qur’an
speaks of Muhammad as a model for all men. Surah 68:4 says of Muhammad, “You are blessed with a great
moral character.” Earlier, Surah 33:21 asserts concerning the Islamic founder, “The messenger of GOD has
set up a good example for those among you who seek GOD and the Last Day…”
The New Testament presents Jesus as a model for godly living as well. The apostle Paul writes in 1
Corinthians 11:1, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.” The apostle tells us in 1 Peter 2:21, “For to this you
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were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps…”
Would we have a better world, if everyone followed the example of Jesus or Muhammad? Which man looks
like the greatest messenger sent from God?
Whereas there was nothing unusual about Muhammad’s birth, Jesus’ birth was a great miracle in fulfillment of
a prophecy seven centuries earlier in Isaiah 7:14: “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the
virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” We read in Matthew 1:22-25, “So all
this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: ‘Behold, the
virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God
with us.’”
While Muhammad was recognized as a prophet by a mark between his shoulders at age twelve, Jesus was
noted—at the same age—for his mature discussions with Jewish rabbis. We read in Luke 2:46-47, “Now so it
was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to
them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers.”
Keep in mind, contrary to Qur’anic contentions, that no known biblical manuscript preserves any prophecy
about Muhammad—much less a prophecy about a mark between the shoulders.
Both Jesus and Muhammad started out peacefully promoting their convictions. Jesus never strayed from that
path even when His own life was threatened, but when Muhammad’s peaceful program failed, he claims to
have received a new revelation saying he should go on the war path. Jesus confidently received his mission
from the Father, while Muhammad was terrified by the supposed appearance of the angel Gabriel. Jesus
began his earthly ministry by being tempted by the devil (Luke 4). After that he went to the synagogue in
Nazareth where He grew up, and read a prophecy about himself, as recorded in Luke 4:16-19, and stood, said
boldly, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
While the only sign Muhammad offered was the Qur’an, Jesus performed many miracles, impressed the
masses with his teaching, and refuted the erroneous teaching of the Jewish elite. Jesus never married, living a
celibate life. Jesus taught God’s original plan for marriage revealed in Genesis that "Two become one flesh'?
So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."
(Matthew 19:4-6)
In contrast, Muhammad had thirteen wives. He first married a wealthy woman who was four times divorced.
Later, Muhammad married the nine year old daughter of a loyal follower. Hauntingly like Joseph Smith of
Mormon fame, Muhammad taught that men could have plural wives, but not more than four at a time (Surah
4:3). After revealing no man could marry his own daughter-in-law, he received, supposedly, a special
revelation that allowed him to take the wife of his adopted son (Qur’an 33:37). Later, Muhammad had another
convenient revelation that he could have MORE than four wives; he had twelve wives when he died (Surah
33:50-51).
We noticed earlier that the most holy site of Islam is the Ka’aba and the black stone in it. The most holy place
on earth for the Christian is the worship assembly and the observance of the Lord’s Supper, in particular. The
Lord’s Supper is only for Christians, but, unlike the ban that keeps non-Muslims twelve miles from the Ka’aba,
non-Christians are always welcome at the house of the Lord.
You can’t take both Jesus and Muhammad. Jesus teaches in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Stay with us to get a copy of this message…
Thank you for watching Let the Bible Speak. If you’d like to get a free copy of today’s message, #1060 “Jesus
or Muhammad?” or begin our free Bible study course, please write us at the address to follow. Finally, we echo
the sentiment of the apostle Paul when he wrote in Romans 16:16, “the churches of Christ salute you.” Until
next week, goodbye and God bless.
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