Studies, without a doubt, point out that Christianity and Islam are the major religions in the world. Available literature shows that the two religions are the only, world over to have followers in every region and sphere of the earth. Numerical evidence points out that Christianity is the largest religion accounting for an estimated 1.8 billion followers. It is followed closely by Islam with a billion followers. Other religions fall way back and cannot even fall within comparing limits.
As a result, Jesus who is the foundation stone of Christianity, and Mohammed who, on the other hand, is the founding father of Islam are among the most influential personalities ever. This paper intends to compare and contrast the two personalities in terms of history and influential capacities on their followers.
Jesus was born in the small town of Bethlehem from Joseph and Virgin Mary. During his years as a child, he stayed with his father, Joseph who was a carpenter. He was baptized by John in the River Jordan. It was from this moment that he started his ministry as the messiah. He was followed by his twelve disciples also called apostles who accompanied him in his various teaching missions. Jesus devoted most of his time teaching the world on God’s will through various parables and sermons. Throughout his life, he performed various miracles. With his supernatural powers, he was able to defy nature, diseases, and death to prove his role as a messiah (Arthur, 2001).
On his part, Mohammed, the founder of Islam was born in Mecca in Saudi Arabia. He was not able to be raised by his father because he died before Mohammed was born. As a result, he was raised by his grandfather, Abdul Muttalib. It did not take long before his grandfather died living the young Mohammed under the care of his uncle, Abu Talib. With his uncle, Mohammed accompanied merchants who traded with Syria. After having gained some experience, he started trading for a widow called Khadijah who was 15 years older than him. Despite the age difference, the two fell in love and later married, their marriage lasting 26 years.
Being a nonconformist, Mohamed could not accept the trend in the existing religion as handed over during the days of Abraham. Originally, Kaaba, the House of Allah was not meant for the worship of any other god but Allah. Sadly, other idols had gained entrance into Kaaba and people had started worshipping them within this holy house. Therefore, Hunafa, who were other non-conformists like him sought to understand the true religion as passed down by Abraham and avoid the worship of idols within the holy house. This marked the beginning of the Islam faith that later came to impact the whole world (Armstrong, 2002).
To begin with, the similarities between the two will be highlighted. The birth of the two principles was marked by historical events just before and during the event. For Jesus Christ, the bible says that shepherds who were in the field were visited by the angel of God who brought them the good news of the birth of Jesus. In addition, three magi were guided by a star that directed them to the place where the child was born.
On the other side, Mohammed’s presence in the house of Halima, his nurse (a requirement in the Arabian traditions), blessings was witnessed in great amounts. For instance, despite the great drought over the land, their herds increased in great numbers. In addition, their camels and sheep increased their milk production while previously shriveled trees became greener and healthier. Sick people who visited the house went away healed (Armstrong, 2002).
Second, the arrival of both Jesus and Mohammed on the scene is characterized by the beginning of a new religion which had some notable differences from the existent religions. For instance, Jesus was the foundation of a new religion that was different and offered a challenge to Judaism. This happened when he proclaimed that he was the son of God and was sent as the messiah. This formed the beginning of Christianity. On the other hand, Mohammed, at the age of 40 starts the Islamic faith which challenges the existing Christianity and Judaic religions. Therefore, both Jesus and Mohammed bring on the stage a new religion that offers a challenge to the existing religions (Arthur, 2001).
Finally, the information age has impacted greatly both religions. Through the change of communication from one to many, the improvement has led to many communication which allows people to manipulate knowledge. Therefore, the information age has led to the increased spread of both religions. Teachers from both religions can spread their messages further and faster. In addition, people can discuss one with another and a group and another to assist each other in the understanding of religion. Therefore, both religions have witnessed a great increase in spread with the information age (Robinson, 1993).
Lastly, both Jesus and Mohammed are witnessed by their respective books to have lived lives that were characterized by humility and generosity. They persevered certain circumstances that would not have been favorable to them. In times of need, many people benefited from the generosity of both Jesus and Mohammed.
Despite the similarities, the two personalities had several differences. Of great interest was the subject of treating one’s enemies. The two principles form a basic foundation for their respective religions. Most literature points out that Jesus taught a message of forgiving one’s enemies. He taught his followers to offer the other chi if one was slapped. In conquering nonbelievers, Jesus teaches that they should be conquered through love. Violence was not at all his priority. This is evidenced when he replaced the ear of one of the people who had come to capture him when his disciples decided to put up a fight (Arthur, 2001).
On his part, Mohammed believed in war (holy war, also referred to as Jihad. His life is full of episodes when he waged war against those who could not convert. The teachings of his religion show that he was given the mandate by Allah to wage war against all those who could not convert (Armstrong, 2002).
Another striking difference is in their deaths. Mohammed met with his death through Aisha who was his wife. Jesus was crucified by Jewish leaders who accused him of blasphemy. Also, while Mohammed died and was buried in Saudi Arabia, Jesus is said to have resurrected from death and ascended to heaven and waits to come back on Judgment day. The two deaths have great significance on their respective religions.
While the death of Jesus Christ led to the strengthening of believers’ faith as a result of the ascension claim, a phenomenon that exists to this moment, Mohammed’s death brought a split where the Sunnis’ view of who was to take the mantle of leadership conflicted with the Shi’as hence causing a rift that exists up to this moment (Arthur, 2001).
In conclusion, both Jesus and Mohammed have had great impacts on the spiritual world. They contributed greatly to the formations of Islam and Christianity. Despite the numerous similarities, we find that Jesus and Mohamed had great differences especially in their teachings and their deaths. All these impacted later on their followers’ faiths.
Reference List
Armstrong, K. (2002). Islam: A Short History. New York: Modern Library Chronicles.
Arthur, J. (2001). The Real Church: The GodMan Legacy. Nairobi: Uzima Press.
Robinson, F. (1993). Technology and Religious Change: Islam and the Impact of Print, Modern Asian Studies, 27(1), 229-251.