Introduction
Jesus and Mohammed are the two individuals who promoted the widely spread religions in the world. Jesus led to the spread of Christianity while Mohammed initiated Islam religion. Most people confuse these leaders to be one but they are different. They were born at different times, had different origins and their lives were different although they had similar life purposes on earth. This research paper discusses the lives of Jesus and Mohamed historically. The impact of the death of Jesus and Mohammed on Islam and Christianity respectively is also compared. In addition, how each of these leaders is worshipped and how their messages is being carried out in the world today is explained in this research paper.
The history of Jesus and Mohammed
According to Fisher (2007, p.1), Jesus was born to Virgin Mary but was conceived through the Holy Spirit. He was born in a place called Bethlehem but the parents lived in Nazareth. The parents had gone to Bethlehem for the census of AD6 at the time of his birth. He was born during the reign of Herod the great. Therefore his birth was a fulfillment of prophesy and also a connection to the lineage of David (Barnett, 2002, p.90). The name Jesus means “god saves”. His other names were; Emmanuel which “means god with us”, savior and some people called him rabbi.
During his birth the shepherds and the wise men from the east came to see the child and brought gifts. At the age of twelve years old, he went with his parents to Jerusalem and when the parents went back home he was left in the temple and his parents found him discussing with the rabbis. His knowledge was above his child age. Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist when he was thirty years old. When Jesus was being baptized, a dove rested on his head and a voice was heard saying: “this is my son whom I am well pleased with”. Jesus was preached the gospel and also performed miracles such as walking on water, healing the sick, raising the dead and casting out demons. He had twelve disciples and many followers. He taught about the love of God and travelled to many places telling people to repent and they shall be forgiven.
One of his disciples called Judas betrayed Jesus and was paid thirty pieces of silver. Jesus was captured and taken to Pontius Pilate who was the roman governor. Pilate was not able to calm the crowd therefore Jesus was given to the military guards who beat and crucified him on the cross (Barnett, 2002, p.201). When he died there was darkness for three hours, the curtain of the temple was cut into two and there was an earthquake. He was buried and after three days he resurrected and appeared to some of his disciples. After the last supper, he ascended to heaven.
Mohammed was born about 570 Common Era but his father died before he was born. He was brought up by his uncle and as they were traveling in Syria a Christian woman regarded him as a prophet due to the marks he had on his body. He married khadijah a wealthy woman at the age of twenty five years. Mohammed was approached by angel Gabriel during his spiritual trip which is considered as Ramadan. The angel asked him to recite the first words of the Quran and Muhammad was worried but his wife encouraged him to continue. He shared this experience with some friends and was later asked to preach to the public (Fisher, 2007, p.4). He was being humiliated and the humiliations worsen when his wife and uncle died. One day he ascended through the seven heavens into the cosmos. There he met prophets like Adam; he was given the blessings of divine presence and saw heaven and hell.
Mecca and Yathrib were used to fight and Mohammed was injured. They had an agreement that people should pray facing Mecca rather than Jerusalem. Mohamed died in 632 CE and left no successor but Ali his son in law was his inheritor (Fisher, 2005 p.3).
Impact of the death of Jesus and Mohammed to Islam and Christianity
Jesus’ death and resurrection had a great impact on Christianity. Many came to believe that Jesus was the son of God but in the human nature (Fisher, 2005 p.2). For example Saul was changed to Paul and even his life mission changed from a Christian persecutor to a preacher. He started spreading the gospel of Christ hence helped in the spread of Christianity to various parts of the world. Jesus was worshiped as the savior by many.
According to history Jesus is considered as the son of God that was sent on earth to save mankind from condemnation that took place in the Garden of Eden when Adam and eve sinned (Fisher, 2007, P.2). Jesus was to save mankind through his blood that was shed on the cross. Therefore people worship him by praising his name, reading the bible and obeying the commandments. In addition he is also prayed to. Like Jesus Mohammed preached the gospel of love.
Islam rapidly grew after the death of Mohammed. The religion growth was influenced by his works as well as his messages he received from God (Fisher, 2005 p.3). In addition the Quran facilitated the spread of the gospel because many would read. He is considered as a messenger and therefore Muslims do not pray to him but he sends prayers to God. Therefore he is worshipped by people requesting him to send their prayers to God. In addition people read Quran and visit Mecca least once in their life time. Muslims also pray while facing Mecca according to the agreement made between Mecca and Yathrib. Muslims fast during the month of Ramadan (Fisher, 2007, p.4).
How Jesus’ and Mohammed’s messages are carried out
In the world Christianity is being spread by use of the bible. The bible has been translated to into many languages and even vernaculars and this has enabled many to access the gospel of Christ easily. Bibles are also in many versions. The church leaders who are the bishops and pastors read and teach the gospel to the believers. Helping the needy, praying and visiting the sick are also ways used to spread the messages of Jesus (Fisher, 2007, p.3).
Gospel music, composed by artist from all over the world is used to spread the message of Jesus. This is because the artists use biblical verse and testimonies that that encourage people to follow the teachings of Christ. There are also evangelists who travel to various places to teach people about the gospel of Jesus. Other than the bible, there are other Christian literature materials that are used to spread the gospel of Jesus.
In the world today Islam religion is spread by use of Quran which was written by Mohammed. In the mosque there are classes for the young child called ‘mandarasa’. During these classes children are taught the Muslim doctrines and hence they grow up knowing all about Muslim religion. They have enabled all the Muslim children not to join other religions hence they remain Muslims when they grow up. In addition, mosques have spread to various regions in the world. In mosques, Muslims are taught the Muslim doctrines. There are literature books on Muslim doctrine other than the Quran which are published by some writers. These books are also used to spread the Islam doctrine. Muslims also spread the message of Mohammed by helping the needy and the less fortunate in the society. In addition, they also show love to each other (Fisher, 2007, p.3).
Conclusion
Jesus and Mohamed had the same purposes while they were on earth. Jesus lead to the spread of Christianity while Mohammed lead to the spread of the Islam religion. However they were born at different times but their deaths had impact to these religions. For example , the death of Jesus made many realize that Jesus was the son of God sent to earth in the human nature so that he many save human beings from eternal death.
In the world today, Jesus is worshiped by people spreading his gospel, praising him, praying to him, getting baptized and also obeying his teachings. Mohamed is worshiped by Muslims reading the Quran, worshiping on a Friday, visiting Mecca and also fasting during the month of Ramadan. Today the message of Muhammad is spread through reading of Quran and teachings in the mosques. On the other hand Jesus messages are spread through the bible, Christian literature materials, gospel music and through helping the needy and praying for the sick.
Reference List
- Barnett, P. (2002). Jesus & the rise of early Christianity: a history of New Testament Times. Intervarsity Press; Havertown Pennsylvania.
- Fisher, M.P. (2005). Living religions (6th Ed). Kayla McClure. New Jersey; Prentice-hall Inc.
- Fisher, M.P. (2007). Jesus and Mohammed. Valerie. New Jersey: Prentice-hall inc.