Jesus & Muhammad

JESUS & MUHAMMAD

Jesus & Muhammad Ginni McAlarney Axia College of University of Phoenix

Hum/130 Lindy Williams March 18, 2012

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Jesus & Muhammad Jesus and Prophet Muhammad are two of the most influential religious leaders history. Both of these men claimed to have been messengers of God and they have dedicated their entire lives to fulfilling the will of God. Religious foundations have been based on the principals of these two leaders. Jesus and Prophet Muhammad have come into so many peoples lives throughout our history. They still continue to be an inspiration to people and show them Gods way of living. They will continue to be an inspiration and show people Gods way in our generations to come. Jesus was born sometime in the year 4 BCE to Joseph a carpenter and Mary who was a virgin. Jesus was conceived by the Virgin Mary and the Holy Spirit (Reid, 1994). The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and said you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son, and shall call his name Jesus (Reid, 1994). There wasnt really anything documented about the childhood or early manhood of Jesus, its mostly a mystery (Fisher, 2005). Around 30 years old, Jesus was said to have been baptized by John the Baptist. Following the baptism of Jesus, John publically announced that the Messiah had arrived and thus began Jesus ministry. Following his baptism, Jesus took a 40 day retreat in the desert wilderness, where he fasted. Jesus was tempted by Satan to use his spiritual power for worldly ends but Jesus was able to refuse all temptations (Fisher, 2005). When Jesus returned from his 40 day retreat he began teaching how to be more like the life of a spirit. Jesus taught the first disciples that worrying about comfort and wealth were selfish and in order to be accepted Gods kingdom, you must leave your selfish thinking behind (Fisher,

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2005). Jesus would have a large get together for thousands of his followers where he would teach these basic principles. He continued to pass on his beliefs when he was traveling and became known for performing miracles such as; healing the sick and turning water into wine. Jesus spoke to many people about acceptance and ate his meals with people of all social classes; he said judge not, and you will not be judged (Taize, 2006) People had begun turning on Jesus when they did not agree with his teachings. He was arrested after the last supper for a statement Caiaphas pronounced as blasphemy (Fisher, 2005). After Jesus was arrested for blasphemy he was ordered to be crucified by his critics. Pilate then turned Jesus over to the military guard for execution by crucifixion. Jesus was beaten with whips and nailed to a wooden cross to die. He was lead through town carrying his cross with a crown of thorns that had been placed on his head. After Jesus died on the cross a disciple named Joseph asked for his body. Joseph wrapped Jesus body in linen and placed him in his own tomb. Jesus is said to have died on a Friday sometime between 27 and 33 CE. He is said to have been resurrected three days later (Fisher, 2005). Jesus death had a huge impact on Christianity. Most of Jesus followers were too scared to continue to practice Christianity, because of what they had seen happen to Jesus. Although the impact didnt have a lot to do with the crucifixion and killing of Jesus. The biggest impact on Christianity was due to the resurrection of Jesus. Without the resurrection of Jesus Christianity would have died off. After the resurrection his followers believed that Jesus was in fact God in human form walking on earth with them (Fisher, 2005). Today Jesus is worshipped through many different denominations of Christianity that have been created by his loyal followers. Some people hang crosses in their homes as a reminder

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that Jesus died for our sins. People attend church on Sundays to listen to his stories, they pray daily, and they keep his teachings close to their hearts as a reminder for all that he has done for us. The bible kept and read in many different homes around the world. People send their children to bible school and Sunday school, they hang the Ten Commandments on the walls of their homes to remember what Jesus wanted them to do. People celebrate Easter in remembrance of Jesus resurrection and they celebrate Christmas in remembrance of his birth. His messages are still passed on to one another and they are maintained by people through our morals and values.

Muhammad was born in the year 570 CE in Mecca (Fisher, 2005). Muhammads father died shortly before he was born and Muhammads mother died when he was six. After this Muhammad went to live with his paternal Uncle who acted as a father to Muhammad (Hahn, 2012). When Muhammad was a teenager he began to take caravan trips with his uncle on one of his trips he went to the country of Syria. Muhammad was recognized by a Christian monk, who claimed that Muhammad was a prophet because of certain markings on his body (Fisher, 2005). Muhammad continued the caravan lifestyle, he started managing caravans for an intelligent, wealthy and beautiful women named Khadijah. When Khadijah was 40 and Muhammad was 25 she offered to marry him. Muhammad decided to marry Khadijah and they had spent 26 years together until she finally passed. Muhammad gained his status and respect from others because of his marriage to Khadijah. When Muhammad was 40 years old, he went on a spiritual retreat during the month called Ramadan. During this retreat an angel had called out to him and insisted he recite. After Muhammad seen the angel named Gabriel in human form he told him that he was unable to read.

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Gabriel insisted that he recite so out of frustration Muhammad shouted what shall I recited? Gabriel began dictating the words to Muhammad. The first words that Muhammad cited are what we know as the Quran (Fisher, 2005). After this experience, Muhammad returned home scared, Khadijah comforted him and encouraged him to overcome his fear of responsibilities and ridicule of prophethood (Fisher, 2005). Muhammad only shared these revelations with the people who believed in him. After about three years passed by, the spirits instructed him to start preaching his visions to the public. At first he was ridiculed and wasnt even taken seriously. People thought that he might be a little crazy. Muhammad was strong willed, and kept on preaching anyways, regardless of what the people thought. His followers were punished and tortured and persecuted while being demanded to return to the old ways of the old Gods. Eventually Muhammad and all his followers were banished to a barren place for 3 years. They had a hard time surviving but made it through. When Muhammad was 50 years old, things got terribly worse. This is what is referred to as the Year of Sorrows. Muhammad lost his wife and his uncle, and the persecution got even worse. Soon after these things happened Muhammad experienced the Night of Ascension. He saw heaven and hell and met with teachers and prophets like Adam and Jesus. He received immense blessings for his efforts and they encouraged him to remain strong willed. Things then began getting better for Muhammad, people started recognizing him for the Prophet that he was and invited him to come to their cities to solve their social, economical and political problems. Muhammad gained more respect than ever. In 622 CE, Muhammad and his loyal followers traveled secretly to Medina, because some of the people in Mecca still considered

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him to be a great threat and wanted him silenced. The people from Mecca came to the conclusion that the people in the city of Medina were going to rise up and try to attack Mecca, so Mecca declared war first. Eventually Muhammad and his city won the battle. Mecca was taken back and many Meccans began to understand Muhammads teachings and converted to Islam. Muhammad died in 632 CE. Muhammads death impacted Islam greatly. When Muhammad died, he was not clear about who his successor was to be and this led to much confusion and questions. The religion split off into many parts and people began interpreting the Quran to fit their own personal beliefs and agendas. This eventually led to Sunni and Shiite problems that are present in the Middle East still to this day. The same thing can also be seen in Christianity as a result of Jesus death, but not to such a violent extent. Muhammad is worshipped today through the continuing religious teaching of Islam. Islam is the largest growing religion in the world. Islam currently has an estimated 1.3 million Islamic followers (Fisher, 2005). Muhammads message is being carried out through the teachings of the Quran and the followers of Islam that dont take it to violent extents. Islam was meant to be about love and oneness with Allah, not fighting and killing. Christians have pretty much put the violent holy wars behind themselves, but with modern Islam throughout the Middle East, Muslims still havent recognized that war is not what its supposed to be about.

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References Fisher, Mary. (2005). Living Religions (6th ed.). Pearson-Hall. Hahn, Harley. (2012). Interesting people Muhammad. http://www.harley.com/people/muhammad.html Reid, John O. (1994). When was Jesus Born? http://www.cgg.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Library.sr/CT/ARTB/k/568/When-Was-JesusBorn.htm The Sabr Foundation. (2012). Prophet Muhammad http://muhammad.net/j/index.php The Taize Community. (2006). Judgement: Why did Jesus tell his disciples not to judge? http://www.taize.fr/en_article4026.html

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Student's signature (name typed here is equivalent to a signature): Ginni McAlarney