Muhammad and Jesus

Religious Studies: Bloomsbury Academic Collections

This set contains six facsimiles from our imprints T&T Clark, The Athlone Press, Sheffield
Academic Press and Continuum and focuses on comparing the Abrahamic religions, Judaism,
Christianity and Islam.

The volumes in this collection compare the different religions based on their prophets, their
teachings and cultural influence, but also in how they face the challenge of an increasingly secular
world. They are concerned with the similarities between the religions they discuss rather than their
differences, hence supporting the view that religions should not be pitted against each other but
instead be understood as faiths favouring understanding and togetherness.

The collection is available both in e-book and print versions.

Titles in Religious Studies are available in the following subsets:

Religions of the World

Comparative Religion
Christianity and Society
Religion, Sexuality and Gender

Other titles available in Comparative Religion include:

Calling Time: Religion and Change at the Turn of the Millennium edited by Martyn Percy
Mystical Union in Judaism, Christianity and Islam: An Ecumenical Dialogue edited by Moshe
Idel and Bernard McGinn
The Privilege of Man: A Theme in Judaism, Islam and Christianity by Kenneth Cragg
Theology in Global Context: Essays in Honor of Robert Cummings Neville edited by Amos
Yong and Peter G. Heltzel
Turning Points in Religious Studies: Essays in Honour of Geoffrey Parrinder edited by Ursula
King
Muhammad and Jesus
A Comparison of the Prophets and Their Teachings

William E. Phipps

Religious Studies: Comparative Religion

BLOOMSBURY ACADEMIC COLLECTIONS

Bloomsbury Academic
An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
 Bloomsbury Academic
An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

50 Bedford Square 1385 Broadway

London New York
WC1B 3DP NY 10018
UK USA

www.bloomsbury.com

BLOOMSBURY and the Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

First published in 1999 by Continuum

This edition published by Bloomsbury Academic 2016

© William E. Phipps 2016

William E. Phipps has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to
be identified as Author of this work.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or
by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information
storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers.

No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organization acting on or refraining from
action as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by Bloomsbury or the
author.

Every effort has been made to contact copyright holders of material reproduced in this volume.
If any copyright holder has not been properly acknowledged, please contact the publisher who
will be happy to rectify the omission in future editions.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN: HB: 978-1-4742-8934-4

ePDF: 978-1-4742-8935-1
Set: 978-1-4742-9214-6

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress

Series: Bloomsbury Academic Collections, ISSN 2051-0012

Printed and bound in Great Britain

MUHAMMAD AND JESUS
MUHAMMAD
AND

JESUS
A Comparison oj the Prophets
and Their Teachings

WILLIAM E* PHIPPS

CONTINUUM • NEW YORK

 1999

The Continuum Publishing Company

370 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10017

Copyright © 1996 by William E. Phipps

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced,

stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the
written permission of The Continuum Publishing Company.

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Phipps, William E.
Muhammad and Jesus : a comparison of the prophets and their teachings /
William E. Phipps.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p.247) and indexes.
ISBN 0-8264-1207-6 (paperback : alk. paper)
1. Muhammad, Prophet, d. 632. 2. Jesus Christ. 3. Islam—
Relations—Christianity. 4. Christianity and other religions—
Islam. I. Title.
BP75.P45 1999
297;.63—dc20 94-36176
CIP
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Quotations from the Quran have been derived from a number of English
"interpretations." Quotations from the Bible are usually my own transla-
tion, but indebtedness to a variety of versions can be found.
 To Charles Mason Swezey,
Dean of Union Theological Seminary in Virginia
and a steadfast walker in the strenuous way of the prophets. Charley encouraged me
to become a Research Fellow at my alma mater during a sabbatical from Davis
and Elkins College. This study was initiated in the nurturing and
stimulating Richmond environment.
 CONTENTS

1. Introduction 1
Muhammad Denigrated 2
Muhammad Appreciated 8
Reasons for This Study 11

2. Antecedents 17
The Regional Heritage 17
The Impact of Poetry 26
Women's Place 28

3. Early Life 33
The Meccan 34
The Nazarene 45

4. Later Life 57
The Medinan Statesman 57
The Peaceful Reformer 71

5. Scriptures 81
The Quran 81
The Bible 98

6. Personal Conduct 109

Prayer and Forgiveness 109
Lowliness and Children 115
Temptation and Self-Discipline 122
Getting and Giving 127

ix
X CONTENTS

7. Social Teachings 135

Gender Relationships 135
Outsiders and Violence 149

8. Sanctions 165
The Nature of God 165
Earthly Rewards and Punishments 172
Afterlife Retributions 176

9. Enlargements 191
Of Muhammad 191
Of Jesus 201

10. Conclusion 217

Theological Differences 217
Paths of Commitment 227
Tolerance of Diversity 233

Notes 247

Indexes 295
Scriptural Texts 295
General 301
 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Jesus and Muhammad have been held in high respect, if not revered, by
the billions who have belonged to the religions they founded. Although
both men thought of themselves as spokespersons of the same God,
little attention has been given to their similarities and differences. A
Quranic verse in which Jesus is commended encourages a comparison of
the two prophets. God declares: "We have made some messengers to
excel over others. To some God spoke directly,- others He raised to a
lofty status."1 According to the Quran, Muhammad and Jesus are both
revealers and servants of God.
In spite of these similarities, a comparison of the two men is
somewhat uneven in the eyes of Muslims and Christians. Muslims
regard the Quran as God's inlibraration, that is, as the divine Word
becoming a book,- Christians regard Jesus as God's incarnation, that is,
the divine Word becoming a flesh-and-blood person. Thus, heavy atten-
tion will be given to comparing the revelation in the Quran with the life
and teachings of Jesus.
This study is an attempt to further frank discussion between
branches of a family that have shared the common Semitic culture of
western Asia. Muhammad and Jesus belonged to a people who traced
their ancestry to Abraham. According to Genesis, that nomadic patriarch
is an outstanding Semite, that is, a descendant from Noah's son Shem. 2
Misunderstandings abound in the religions Abraham sired. The

l
2 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

child, Islam, has learned more from its parents, Judaism and Christianity,
than the parents have learned from the child. The interaction between
family members has been largely a history of polemics, but there are
signs that more constructive communication will take place in the next
millennium. In accord with the dominant contemporary approach of
scholars, I will attempt to give a sympathetic and judicious comparison
of the prophets Jesus and Muhammad. The history of the religions that
followed in their wake will be a secondary consideration.
Respect for Jesus among Muslims has generally been high because
the Quran acknowledges the genuineness of Jesus. The Arabic scripture
consistently treats him in a positive manner, ascribing to him not only
the high office of prophet (nabi)3 but also the highest human office of
messenger or apostle (rasul).4 "Seal of Sanctity" is a title given to Jesus in
the Islamic tradition because he is recognized as displaying holiness to a
superlative degree. Some sayings attributed to Jesus in that tradition
mesh with those in the Gospels.5 Prince Bandar, ambassador to the
United States from Saudi Arabia, sent out a Christmas card on which he
quoted from the Quran—in Arabic and in English—this verse: "Behold,
the angels said, 'O Mary, God giveth thee glad tidings of a Word from
him,- his name will be Christ Jesus, the son of Mary.' "6

Muhammad Denigrated
Reciprocal generous appreciations of Muhammad by non-Muslims are
hard to find. In religion as in politics, vilifying a rival leader is a sleazy
but often effective way of promoting one's own favorite. Montgomery
Watt, who is both an Episcopalian and a widely respected contemporary
biographer of Muhammad, notes:

None of the greatfiguresof history is so poorly appreciated in

the West as Muhammad. Western writers have mostly been
prone to believe the worst of Muhammad, and, wherever an
objectionable interpretation of an act seemed plausible, have
tended to accept it as fact.7

Even before the rise of Islam, prejudice was rampant in Judaism and
in Christianity against the Arabs. They were recognized as descendants
 INTRODUCTION 3

of Abraham by Hagar, one of his concubines from another culture.

Rabbis discussed what Abraham must have thought of the children he
produced by those slaves. Genesis states that he gave them gifts and sent
them to "the east country."8 The gifts were judged in the Talmud to be
sorcery and demonology. 9 According to a rabbinic midrash, the Ish-
maelites had nine tenths of all the world's stupidity. 10
The only New Testament mention of either Hagar or her son
Ishmael is by Paul. Displaying his Jewish upbringing, the apostle writes:

Just as at that time, the child who was born according to the
flesh persecuted the one who was born according to the
Spirit, so it is now. What does the Scripture say? "Drive out
the slave and her child; for the slave's child will not share the
inheritance with the freewoman's child."11

In this passage, Paul paraphrases those words of jealous Sarah, the

wife of Abraham, as though they are God's declaration.
The Arabs were generally unnoticed by the leaders of early Chris-
tianity and when mentioned, they were usually treated harshly. Sozo-
men, a church historian of the fifth century, comments on "Saracens,"
the common Roman name for the Arabs: "To avoid the charge of
bastardy and the low birth of the mother of Ishmael, the Arabs called
themselves 'Sara-cens' as if descended from Abraham's wife Sarah."12
For more than half of church history, the adversary that Christians
have most loved to hate has been Islam. The cultural superiority of Islam
during the first millennium after its rise was not appreciated. While
Christianity was in its "Dark Age," arts and sciences were flourishing in
Muslim states. 13 To compensate for inferiority anxieties, Christians
often reveled in spreading crass distortions. Libel toward Muhammad
has been common in Eastern Orthodoxy, in Roman Catholicism, and in
Protestantism.
A famous Christian monk who lived in the early Muslim culture
evaluated the rival religion in a way that has become typical. John of
Damascus was aware of Muhammad because his parents were involved
in the Muslim government of the Syrian city during the seventh century.
John smeared Muhammad in this way:

A false prophet appeared among them, surnamed Mameth,

who, having casually been exposed to the Old and the New
Testaments and supposedly encountered an Arian monk,
4 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

formed a heresy of his own. And after, by pretense, he man-

aged to make the people think of him as a God-fearing fellow,
he spread rumors that a Scripture was brought down to him
from heaven. Thus, having drafted some pronouncements in
his book, worthy of laughter, he handed it down to them in
order that they might comply with it. 14

John's view of Muhammad as a hypocritical heretic was widely

accepted by subsequent Christians.
Theophanes, another eighth-century Byzantine monk, wrote:

When he (Muhammad) went to Palestine he lived with both

Jews and Christians, and hunted for certain writings among
them. He had an epileptic seizure, and when his wife noticed
this she became very distressed, for she was noble and had
now been joined to a man who was not only helpless but
epileptic as well. 15

Theophaness treatment of Muhammad as a mentally diseased per-

son has been popular in Europe over the centuries.
The medieval Crusades stimulated shrill denigrations of Muham-
mad in Europe and interrupted centuries of peaceful coexistence among
Jews, Christians, and Muslims in Jerusalem. Crusader values are ex-
pressed in the French epic masterpiece, Song of Roland. Muhammad is
treated as an idol that the enemy worship-.

On the loftiest turret they raise Mahound:

Before him the pagans bend and pray.16

The victorious Franks allegedly destroyed images of Muhammad

when they plundered mosques. 17
Peter the Venerable, a twelfth-century abbot of Cluny, provided
Latin Christianity with the notion of Muhammad as a pseudo-prophet.
After visiting in Moorish Spain, Peter brought back this report to
France-.

Muhammad, instructed by the best Jewish and heretical doc-

tors, produced his Quran and wove together, in that barba-
rous fashion of his, a diabolical scripture, put together both
from the Jewish fables and the trifling songs of heretics. Lying
 INTRODUCTION 5

that this collection was brought to him chapter by chapter by

Gabriel, whose name he already knew from sacred Scripture,
he poisoned with a deadly poison that people that did not
know God. 18

Thomas Aquinas, the magisterial Catholic theologian, relied on

Peter of Cluny for much of his knowledge of Islam.19 Biased by his own
vow of celibacy, Aquinas wrote that Muhammad "seduced the people by
promises of carnal pleasure to which the concupiscence of the flesh
goads us." 20 Aquinas responded to Muhammad's teachings with this
diatribe:

The truths that he taught he mingled with many fables and

with doctrine of the greatest falsity. . . . Those who believed
in him were brutal men and desert wanderers, utterly ignorant
of all divine teaching, through whose numbers Muhammad
forced others to become his followers by the violence of his
arms. 21

Dante Alighieri, who lived in the thirteenth century a generation

after Aquinas, was heavily influenced by him. The stellar Italian poet
tells of Muhammad being convicted of being a "seminator di scandalo e di
scisma" on Judgment Day. Being destructive to Christian unity as a
scandal and schism disseminator, Muhammad is consigned to the ninth
level of the Inferno. There he receives everlastingly some of the worst
punishment that hell has to offer. A gash from throat to anus causes his
intestines to hang between his legs. Many of the damned are so horrified
by the mutilated Muhammad spectacle that they forget momentarily
their own torment. 22 Ironically, much of the form of Dante's poem was
inspired by Muslims who wrote imaginatively of Muhammad's visit to
realms beyond the earth. 23 Dante probably used a Latin translation that
had been made in Italy of that alleged visit. 24
Muhammad ranked high among the people Martin Luther liked to
denounce. No Catholic has ever matched the slander hurled out by that
prime Protestant. Luther identified Muhammad with the warring horses
of the Book of Revelation that bring great destruction to Christians. 25
Here is a sampling of Luther's invective against Muhammad: "Should
you be called a prophet, who are such an uncouth blockhead and ass?"26;
"When the spirit of lies had taken possession of Mohammed, and the
devil had murdered men's souls with his Koran and had destroyed the
6 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

faith of Christians, he had to go on and take the sword and set about to
murder their bodies."27,- And "We are fighting that the Turk may not put
his devilish filth and the blasphemous Muhammad in the place of our
dear Lord, Jesus Christ." 28
Luther's Muhammad is also a voluptuary with the sexual potency of
a ram, but he has done less harm to the Church than the Roman
pontiff.29 "The coarse and filthy Muhammad takes all women and
therefore has no wife," but the Pope is more immoral because he
pretends to be virginal yet is promiscuous. 30
There has been a widespread legend in Europe that pilgrims are
attracted to Muhammad's hometown to gawk at his body suspended in
air by lodestone trickery. Stories such as this prompted Ludovico de
Varthema, an Italian contemporary of Luther, to visit Arabia. In the first
description of Mecca by a European, de Varthema refutes the magnet
tale, in part because Muhammad was not buried in the region of
Mecca. 31 In spite of countless millions of pilgrims who have visited the
place where Muhammad's body was buried at Medina, the nonsense
about it hovering "twixt heaven and earth" has continued to entertain
Westerners.
In England, there was a widely accepted story that Muhammad had
faked divine inspiration by training a white dove to pick grains from his
ear while sitting on his shoulder. 32 Through this trick, he is said to have
convinced the dumb Arabians that the Holy Spirit was dictating to him.
Aware of that story, Shakespeare has a French prince say to Joan of Arc:

Was Mahomet inspired by a dove?

Thou with an eagle art inspired then.33

However, a dove is not a Muslim symbol for the Spirit of God, so

the story must have originated with someone aware of the story of Jesus'
baptism.
For Francis Bacon, another Elizabethan writer, Muhammad was a
bungling miraclemonger. A saying attributed to the prophet that has
gained proverbial status among English-speaking people may have been
inspired by these comments by Bacon:

Mahomet made the people believe that he would call a hill

to him, and from the top of it offer up his prayers for
the observers of his law. The people assembled. Mahomet
called the hill to come to him again and again,- and when the
 INTRODUCTION 7

hill stood still he was never a whit abashed, but said, "If
the hill will not come to Mahomet, Mahomet will go to the
hill." 34

Voltaire, one of the most famous French authors of the eighteenth

century, wrote a tragedy about Muhammad. In the conclusion, the dying
prophet acknowledges that he has committed crimes. While asking
Umar, his associate, to whitewash his record, he confesses, "I have
deceived mankind . . . for Mahomet depends on fraud alone." 35 That
drama, which church leaders in Paris protested, is primarily a satire on
Catholic priests. When Voltaire later made nonfictional comments
about Muhammad, he was much more restrained. Responding to the
popular misunderstanding of the prophet, he pointed out that the Quran
does not say anything about a supernatural "journey into the sky."36
Also, Voltaire informed those who charged Muhammad's religion with
gross sensuality that it involves daytime fasting throughout a month
every year, abstaining completely from wine, and giving a significant
percentage of one's income to aid the poor. 37
British missionary Sigismund Koelle expressed a view of Muham-
mad that was all too typical in the nineteenth century. At the conclusion
of his lengthy biography, Koelle writes: "Mohammed was diametrically
opposed to Christ, both in his religious teaching and in his practical
aims. . . . Islam historically proved itself anti-Christian, because Mo-
hammed personally was an Antichrist." 38
A sampling from the early twentieth century displays little change
in the Christian outlook on Muhammad. Samuel Zwemer, professor of
missions at Princeton Seminary, warned his yictorian readers that the
subject of Muhammad's relations with women should be "shrouded from
decent eyes because of the brutality and coarseness of its character." 39
Duncan Macdonald was a pioneer in interfaith dialogue, and the Mac-
donald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations
was named in his honor at Hartford Seminary. Although he aimed at
assessing Islam honestly, he evaluated Muhammad in this demeaning
way: "He was a pathological case. His revelations came to him in a
trance and, like all trance-mediums, he had strangely perverted
ideas. . . . He forged the awful machinery of divine inspiration to serve
his own ignoble and selfish purposes." 40
American contempt for Muhammad surfaced again in the late
twentieth century, and was intensified by the conflict between the
United States and some of the Middle Eastern states. Marius Baar, a
8 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

fundamentalist Christian missionary to the Muslims, published a

diatribe against Muhammad. Not only does Baar allege Muhammad to
be "the antichrist" and "a follower of the devil," but he also claims that
"Allah is a counterfeit of God."41 Syndicated columnist Paul Harvey,
relying on the bigotry of evangelist John Haggai, stated that "the
historic savagery" of Islam is due to its "poison roots."42 Harvey asserted
that Muhammad became personally wealthy by exploiting his enemies
and that there is no mention of love anywhere in the Quran.43
Salman Rushdie, in spite of his Muslim background, has written an
infamous novel that offends many with religious sensitivities.44 The
Satanic Verses represents Muhammad as a lecher, and prostitutes are
named after his wives. The Oxford English Dictionary indicates that Ma-
hound, the name Rushdie gives the prophet, has been used in medieval
and modern times to lambaste monsters, false gods, and Muhammad.
For example, poet Robert Burns describes Satan in this way-. "The De'il
cam fiddling thro' the town. . . . Auld Mahoun . . ,"45
Lack of concern to understand and anxiety over a potential threat
are common threads found in most of the judgments by those who have
found Muhammad repulsive. Even after understanding, non-Muslims
will likely retain points of disagreement with Muhammad. But with the
emotional contempt removed, an appreciation can arise and points of
agreement may be recognized.

Muhammad Appreciated
T o prevent the erroneous idea that no one in Christendom has had a
kind word for Muhammad, other voices should be heard. Timothy, a
Nestorian Christian and an eighth-century patriarch of the Assyrian
Church, stated:

Muhammad is "worthy of all praise" and "walked in the path of

the prophets" because he taught the unity of God. He taught
the way of good works,- he opposed idolatry and polytheism,-
he taught about God, his Word, and his Spirit,- he showed his
zeal by fighting against idolatry with the sword,- like Abraham
he left his kinfolk rather than worship idols.46
 INTRODUCTION 9

George Sale became the earliest Westerner to rise above bigotry

toward Muhammad when he translated the Quran into English from
Arabic for the first time. That 1734 work, along with his clarifying notes,
fulfilled his intention of giving "the original impartial justice." 47 Sale, a
Protestant lawyer, writes in his introduction: "Mohammed gave his
Arabs the best religion he could, as well as the best laws,- preferable, at
least, to those of the ancient pagan lawgivers."48 Responding to Islam-
bashers, Sale asserted that they deceive themselves if they imagine this
religion was propagated by the sword alone." 49 For two centuries, Sales
work was the best single source in English for the study of Islam.
Later in the eighteenth century, distinguished historian Edward
Gibbon gave a balanced treatment of Muhammad's character. Gibbon
recognized that Muhammad was "endowed with a pious and contempla-
tive disposition" and that he "despised the pomp of royalty." 50 Gibbon
thought that Europeans who stress the prophets amorous activities have
"maliciously exaggerated the frailties of Mohammed." 51
Thomas Carlyle, another outstanding English writer, became fa-
mous for his theory that "the history of the world is but the biography of
great men." 52 He discovered Muhammad to have been a sincere leader
after approaching him in this positive manner: "I mean to say all the
good of him I justly can." 53 Carlyle rejected the characteristic European
outlook of the preceding millennium, that Muhammad was "a scheming
impostor." 54 While laudatory toward the founder of Islam, Carlyle's
appreciation did not carry over to the style of the Quran as he read it in
English. He confessed: "It is as toilsome reading as I ever undertook, a
wearisome confused jumble." 55
Writing at the time of Carlyle in the nineteenth century, European
historian Johann Doellinger asserted: "No other mortal has ever, from
the beginning of the world, exercised such an immeasurable influence
upon the religious, moral, and political relations of mankind, as has the
Arab Muhammad." 56
In the twentieth century, non-Muslim scholars have increasingly
acknowledged the greatness of Muhammad. For five decades Anglican
bishop Kenneth Cragg has been writing books to publicize the admi-
rable qualities of Islam and has translated selections from Arabic reli-
gious literature. He states-. "Muhammad, as Prophet, was unique, final,
irrepeatable. . . . The Quran is the final evidence of the Divine origin of
the Prophet's mission. Its Arabic eloquence is indicative of its source in
God." 57
10 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

Franciscan missionary Guilio Basetti-Sani offers this positive

judgment:

Mohammad, seen from the perspective of a thorough study of

the Quran, emerges as one of the great religious souls of non-
Christian mankind. . . . He introduced his people, the sons of
Ishmael, to faith in the God of Abraham, thus fulfilling the
ancient promise of God to Abraham of a special blessing for
the son of the slave girl Agar and her offspring. . . . Though he
declared that he was neither a saint nor an intercessor, he was
nevertheless a witness, the herald of God's judgments. 58

Bassetti-Sani is aware that the Bible contains this promise to Abra-

ham: "As for Ishmael, I have heard you,-1 will bless him . . . and make him
a great nation." 59 According to Muslim tradition, Muhammad is a de-
scendant of Hagar's grandson Nebaioth (or Nabit).
Alfred Guillaume, the English translator of the most important
Arabic biographical sources on the prophet, writes: "Trustworthy tradi-
tion depicts a man of amazing ability in winning men's hearts by
persuasion and in coercing and disarming his opponents. . . . He stands
out as one of the great figures of history." 60
Historian Will Durant likewise concludes his treatment of Muham-
mad with this tribute:

If we judge greatness by influence, he was one of the giants of

history. He undertook to raise the spiritual and moral level of
a people harassed into barbarism by heat and foodless wastes,
and he succeeded more completely than any other reformer,-
seldom has any man so fully realized his dream. . . . When he
began, Arabia was a desert flotsam of idolatrous tribes,- when
he died it was a nation. 61

Michael Hart, a contemporary American scientist, offers a similar

estimate of Muhammad's impact. Hart ranks the three most influential
persons in history in this order: Muhammad, Isaac Newton, and Jesus.
Hart places Muhammad at the top of his list of one hundred humans
because he was "the only man in history who was supremely successful
on both the religious and secular levels."62 Within a century, his fol-
lowers controlled the largest empire in human history. 63
 INTRODUCTION il

Reasons for This Study

r o r international understanding, Christianity and Islam are the most
important religions to study. They are, by far, the two largest religions of
the world, with adherents numbering approximately half of the global
population. 64 Moreover, these religions, now both nonwhite by major-
ity, are showing the greatest growth. Areas in which Islam predominates
comprise a wide band of generally arid land above the equator from
West Africa to Southeast Asia. In addition, there are many millions of
non-Arabic Muslims in the temperate zones of China and Russia. Arabs
comprise only 15 percent of the Muslim population.
While western Asia is the birthplace of both Islam and Christianity,
the largest concentrations of both religions are far removed from that
area. The largest Muslim country is Indonesia, and there are more
Christians in the United States than in any other nation. This shows
how both religions have been successful in missionary expansion. Both
have schisms, but the majority belong to one group: the Muslims are 83
percent Sunnis, and the Christians are 57 percent Roman Catholics.
Muslims were among the earlier arrivals from the Eastern to the
Western Hemisphere. They came as Arabic-speaking slaves from Africa,
but they were not permitted to practice their religion. The last wave of
Muslim immigrants has principally consisted of skilled professionals and
students from Asian countries. The Nation of Islam, usually called the
Black Muslims, is growing in the United States, due especially to the
influence of civil-rights leader Malcolm X. In the twenty-first century,
Islam will expand beyond the current several million followers in North
America to become the continent's second largest religion, even as it
already is in Europe. There are now more Muslims in Europe than there
are Jews in the world. Islam is recovering the significance it had in
Europe from the ninth to the fifteenth centuries. Ethnic conflicts in the
former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia have made Westerners more aware
of Muslims in Azerbaijan and Bosnia. What had been thought of as a
"third world" religion is rapidly becoming a major force in the "first
world."
Studies of history in the West tend to be provincial, giving scant
attention to Muhammad and to the sweep of his followers through
several continents. Westerners should realize their own vested eco-
nomic and political interests, if not humanitarian ones, in developing a
12 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

broader understanding of Islamic culture. Petropolitics, the Iran-Iraq

conflict, the Israeli-Palestinian turmoil, and religious-based global ter-
rorism have become sources of a continuing series of crises facing many
governments.
Aside from demographics and other secular considerations, impor-
tant intrinsic reasons for this quest exist. Most of those who have
followed the Christian or Muslim religions are convinced that their
allegiances have made their lives more worth living. The ideals they
have pursued have generally made human civilizations grander, and
their caring communities have usually provided individual security and
dignity.
Much of the uniqueness of Islam and Christianity is in the charac-
ter of the founders. I have written this book because I believe that a
comparison of Muhammad and Jesus can promote understandings be-
tween often warring cultures. For decades my primary interest has been
the earliest traditions of Jesus, resulting most recently in my book
entitled The Wisdom and Wit of Rabbi Jesus. Analyzing now the historical
Muhammad seems most appropriate, with the aim of comparing the
founders of the two youngest world religions. Although objective rec-
ords on both of these charismatic leaders are unattainable, it is possible
to learn much by weighing biased reports of the prophets' followers. As
difficult as it is to ascertain the reliability of biographical information
about Jesus in the Gospels, it is even more difficult to discover what is
authentic in the lore about Muhammad. The Quran provides very little
data for reconstructing his life, and the stories recorded about him are
much further removed in time from the original eyewitnesses than what
is contained about Jesus in the Gospels. 65 While there are legendary
elements in the story of Jesus, the predominant view of recent scholars
engaged in research on the historical Jesus maintains that much genuine
information about his life and even more about his teachings exists. 66
In spite of Jesus belonging to the ancient era, there is more histori-
cal data for understanding his milieu than for that of Muhammad.
Information about his Palestinian culture comes from a variety of
sources that are independent of Christian records. In addition to the
Dead Sea Scrolls and other archaeological discoveries from the Roman
era in Palestine, there are the Jewish histories of Josephus and writings
that compose what has been called T h e Old Testament Pseu-
depigrapha." For Muhammad there is some non-Muslim Arabic poetry
that provides only a little information about his cultural background.
In my latest pursuit I have been especially assisted by the Center
 INTRODUCTION 13

for the Study of Islam in Hartford, Connecticut. Housed there is the

earliest and most extensive library in America for probing the relation-
ship between Christianity and Islam. Librarian Edna Madden was most
helpful during the period when I engaged in research there. I am also
especially appreciative to Professor Emeritus Willem Bijlefeld, the Dis-
tinguished Professor of Islamic Studies at Hartford Seminary and former
editor of The Muslim World. He critically examined a draft of this study
and shared with me some of the wisdom he has acquired during his long
search for improving interfaith dialogue.
For investigating Islam, as well as Christianity, an abundance of
scholarly sources is now readily available for those who work mainly
with writings in English. In particular, an English concordance to the
Quran and many translations of that scripture have simplified my re-
search. 67 Also, most of the early accounts of Muhammad have now been
translated into English. 68 Ishaq (more correctly, Ibn Ishaq), who wrote
the earliest biography, has provided historians with the most authorita-
tive non-Quranic source. That eighth-century native of Medina care-
fully recorded the names of those who provided him with information
about Muhammad, so the amount of fabrication is probably slight.
Regarding Muhammad's teachings, the most authentic collection {sahib)
is by Al-Bukhari, who in the ninth century scrupulously collected
Muhammad's sayings and actions (hadith). He proved their genuineness
by citing the chain of transmission over the first two centuries of Islam.
Al-Bukhari frequently records several versions of a particular hadith as
conveyed by different individuals. The hadith of al-Bukhari and other
authorities are collected in Tabrizi's fourteenth-century Mishkat Al-
Masabih. I have searched through the thousands of hadith that are
regarded as authentic in order to gather representative sayings of Mu-
hammad on many topics.
Excellent separate modern studies have been made of Muhammad
and Jesus by persons with divergent viewpoints. For example, Fazlur
Rahman, a Pakistani Muslim, and Hans Kung, a German Catholic,
provide insightful treatments. 69 Karen Armstrong and Marcus Borg have
written separate adoring accounts of the two prophets. 70 Surprisingly
though, there is a paucity of attempts to compare their lives and teach-
ings. Two generations ago, an Indian Muslim made a comparison that
found little merit in the Christian interpretation of Jesus. 71 In the past
generation, German scholar Claus Schedi published a monograph on
interpretations of Jesus in the Quran. 72
Spiritual values are less important to French scholar Maxime
14 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

Rodinson, who begins an important biography of Muhammad by ac-

knowledging his atheism. Rodinson recognizes that an examination of
legends clustering around either Muhammad and Jesus provides valu-
able data on charisma. He concludes his study in this way:

We know very little for certain about this man whose ideas
and actions have shaken the world, but, as with Jesus, we may
get, through the unreliable tales and one-sided traditions, a
glimpse of something that is the echo of a remarkable per-
sonality which astonished the ordinary men who gathered
around it. 73

Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, another atheist, provided pro-

found insights into the commitments of Jesus. 74 The outlook on religion
of any scholar colors their interpretations, but those differences provide
a kaleidoscopic delight to the subject being examined.
John Calvin originated the interpretive community to which I
belong. His philosophy of religion has been defined in this way: "Cal-
viniste thought is a system in which God is made the center of all that is
and happens, God's will pervading human and cosmic events, and upon
whom man is utterly and cheerfully dependent." 75 Along with Presby-
terian children over the past several centuries, I was taught this prime
doctrine: "Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever."76
As will become apparent, there is much in common between my reli-
gious tradition and Islam. Calvin encouraged openness to traditions
apart from Christianity because he recognized that God's truth cannot
be limited to one religion. 77 That sixteenth-century Protestant reformer
was devoted to the notion that a rational study of human cultures could
dissipate the narrowminded zealots that arise in religions. One of his
legacies is the liberal-arts college he began in Geneva, which became
the forerunner of Harvard, Princeton, Davidson (where I studied), Davis
and Elkins (where I teach), and a host of other academic institutions.
Goethe's aphorism is apropos: "He who is ignorant of foreign
languages, knows little of his own." 78 To paraphrase: Those who know
only their own religion, know little even of that. One of the best results
that can be derived from studying either foreign languages or other
religions is more awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of one's
own. Those who study the religions of other cultures not only broaden
their understanding of what others cherish, but also comprehend their
own faith more fully. One's religion is also like one's language in that, for
 INTRODUCTION 15

most people, neither is a matter of childhood choice. Because people

inculcate a particular type of each before they are self-conscious, it is
easy to err from childhood onward in presuming that all sensible people
speak their tongue and have the same religious views.
Plutarch's study of parallel lives shows that comparisons are instruc-
tional and help sharpen one's understanding of both personalities. Also,
it is good pedagogy to compare what is relatively better known with
what is lesser known. An attempt will be made in this dual biography to
follow the historical evidence where it leads, even though a critical
examination of some aspects of the two prophets' life stories may be
painful.
Those on opposite ends of the religious spectrum may find the
historical approach pursued here disturbing. "Modernists" in Chris-
tianity and Islam may not like what the early traditions about Jesus and
Muhammad contain. For example, the current easy acceptance of imper-
manent marriages by most Christians prompts some to overlook Jesus'
teaching that persons who remarry after divorce are committing adul-
tery. 79 Also, those with ecumenical commitments realize that world
peace may not be promoted by writing honestly about the warrior
aspects of Muhammad's career. Eager to have respected religious figures
from earlier eras conform to contemporary notions of political and
social correctness, they tend to discuss only timely features of the lives
of Muhammad and Jesus. Historical accuracy is*sometimes muted on the
false assumption that harmonious interaction among participants in the
global community can occur without confronting past antagonisms.
"Fundamentalists" in Christianity and Islam may find the scholarly
approach to evoke both disgust and delight. The members of each
group examine their different "infallible" scriptures in a selective man-
ner, treating literally those texts that support their glorified image of
God's superlative mouthpiece while disregarding or allegorizing those
texts that might tarnish that image. Both Fundamentalist types abhor
interpretations that do not conform with their inflexible views of "the
only true religion" and relish unflattering treatments of other religions.
Having commented negatively about religious groups on the far
right, I should acknowledge a common interest. We recognize that
secularism is shallow, and we believe that humans need to return to their
religious roots to find identity and basic values. The secular humanist
does not acknowledge that one of the better ways of defining our species
may be this: humans are worshiping animals. However, intolerance need
not accompany a conviction that there is a dimension of existence that
16 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

transcends the physical,- religious commitment and freedom can be

companions.
There is a reason for naming Muhammad first in the title of this
book. Assuming that Western readers have some knowledge of Jesus and
his homeland, 1 direct more attention toward the lesser-known prophet.
Most chapters begin with Muhammad, and then germane comparisons
are selected from the life, times, and teachings of Jesus. Some facets of
the latter are not introduced if parallels are lacking. For example, Jesus'
discussion of evangelistic techniques with his disciples are not dis-
cussed. Using a kind of "affirmative action," 1 devote more pages to
Muhammad than to Jesus. This might better contribute to overcoming
many Christians' appalling ignorance of the earliest history of Islam.
A new era of religious history that I find invigorating is now
dawning. Global dialogue is slowly replacing separatism in the area of
religion as well as in politics. Among its harbingers is Catholic theo-
logian Paul Knitter, who has written No Other Name? to promote open
dialogue among religions. Previously, religious spokespersons have been
smugly content to deliver monologues to their own constituencies.
Knitter observes:

Christianity, along with all other world religions, is evolving

out of the micro phase of religious history in which the various
traditions grew and consolidated in relative isolation from
each other. The direction today is toward a macro phase of
history in which each religion will be able to grow and
understand itself only through interrelating with other
religions. 80
 CHAPTER TWO

ANTECEDENTS

The Regional Heritage

Muhammad spent his life in a region known as Hijaz, an arid plateau in
western Arabia. Occasional oases, watered by a few annual thunder-
storms, distinguish this area from much of the rest of the earth's largest
peninsula. Were it not for the slender Red Sea, Arabia would be the
eastern part of the desert stretching across North Africa. The Hijaz cash
crops were dates, raisins, and aromatic plants, which were traded north-
ward in Damascus and other cities of the Fertile Crescent.
Most of the Arabs were nomadic bedouin who wandered in search
of vegetation for their domestic animals. They admired the horse but
depended on the less expensive camel for transportation, milk, and
meat. In addition, the camel's hair and skin provided clothing and tent
material,- from its urine came ammonia for washing, and from its dung
came fuel for cooking. In contrast to the way the camel is classified in
Hebrew scripture, the Arabs regarded it as a clean and holy animal.
Jesus spent his life in an agrarian area located less than a thousand
miles northwest of Muhammad's homeland. Olive orchards, grain fields,
and freshwater fishing in the Sea of Galilee provided what visitors from a
desert area had once called "a land flowing with milk and honey."1 The
trade routes that crossed Galilee gave the people living there access to
the cultures of Syria and Egypt. The donkey was the beast of burden
most encountered along those commercial roads.

17
18 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

A century before the advent of Christianity, the Romans conquered

Galilee along with most of Asia west of the Euphrates River. Palestinia
was the name they gave to Jesus' province near the eastern extreme of
their vast Mediterranean and European empire. Only the Nabataean
province on the rim of the Arabian desert was farther removed from the
capital at Rome.
The main international difference between the eras of Muhammad
and Jesus was the peaceful economy that had been ushered in by Caesar
Augustus at the time of Jesus' birth. Although no wars were raging, many
people in Palestine had a burning desire to eliminate the Roman army of
occupation. Few were enamored by the Herodian dynasty, the Jewish
puppet rulers whose actions were directed by the Romans. At Sepphoris,
several miles from Jesus' hometown of Nazareth, a revolt against the
government had caused the Romans to retaliate by crucifying or enslav-
ing thousands. 2 But a full rebellion against Rome in Palestine did not
break out until a generation after Jesus' death.
Arabia was a stateless society governed by numerous contending
sheikhs (tribal chiefs). Mecca was a sheikhdom with commerce as its
main employment because the valley in which the small city was located
was too dry to grow enough food for local needs. It became involved
with caravans moving between Mesopotamia and Yemen, in Southern
Arabia. Frankincense and myrrh, the resins of certain shrubs in Yemen,
were especially valued. This trade is reflected in a biblical story pertain-
ing to Jacobs sons: "They saw an Ishmaelite caravan coming from Gilead
on their way to Egypt, with camels carrying gum, balm, and resin."3
There was also trade between Mecca and Ethiopia (or Abyssinia) via the
nearby Red Sea port of Jedda. Some of that trade was in slaves, ivory,
and precious metals from Africa. The first biblical mention of Arabia is
during the reign of Solomon, who received gold "from all the kings of
Arabia."4 Solomon had a merchant fleet that sailed from Ezion-geber to
destinations along the Red Sea and the coast of East Africa.5 Arab
traders were associated with precious stones, as well as with gold and all
kinds of spices. 6
Located about midway between Mesopotamia and Yemen, Mecca
was more than a rest stop for caravans originating elsewhere. It was a
transportation headquarters, serving as the point of origin and termina-
tion for huge caravans that went to the north in the summer and to the
south in the winter. The city was also at the crossroad of a trade route
from Ethiopia eastward to the Persian Gulf. Sometimes thousands of
camels left or returned to Mecca in a single caravan. 7
 ANTECEDENTS 19

Meccan prosperity from trade was in part due to the conflict

between the Byzantine (or Roman) and Persian superpowers that had
made travel precarious across Mesopotamia to the Orient. The Persian
empire included areas east of the Euphrates, principally Iraq, Iran, and
Afghanistan. The Byzantine empire included Turkey, Syria, Palestine,
Egypt, Ethiopia, and Europe as far north as the Danube. Its capital at
Constantinople had survived the fall of Rome in the fifth century.
Emperor Justinian requested people living along the Red Sea to purchase
silk from India for resale in the West, and thereby deprive the Persians
from profiting on the trade. 8
Arab mobility was not limited to finding pastureland and transport-
ing goods for trade. The scarcity of food in Arabia encouraged many to
live as bandits. The Hebrew Bible describes activity that continued
unchanged for millennia: bedouin Ishmaelites (or Midianites) became a
threat to settled areas shortly after the camel was domesticated. 9 Taming
that animal to become the ship of the desert was the most important
achievement of the ancient Arabs. The story of Gideon may tell of the
first use of camel warfare. At harvest time, the Ishmaelites raided the
fertile area of Galilee. 'They devastated the land" as they stole grain and
livestock. 10 Centuries later, during the last years of the nation of Judah,
Arabs were among the invaders who "carried off all the possessions they
found in the king's palace, along with his (Joram's) sons and wives."11
In the fourth century CE., Ammianus Marcellinus, a pagan soldier
from Syria, compared the Arabs to birds of prey:

The Saracens . . . in a brief space of time laid waste to what-

ever they could find, like rapacious kites which, whenever
they have caught sight of any prey from on high, seize it with
swift swoop. . . . All alike are warriors of equal rank, half nude,
clad in dyed cloaks as far as the loins, ranging widely with the
help of swift horses and slender camels in times of peace or of
disorder. No man ever grasps a plough-handle or cultivates a
tree, none seeks a living by tilling the soil, but they rove
continually over wide and extensive tracts. 12

Another source of livelihood at Mecca was the entertainment of

pilgrims who visited the city. In western Arabia there were several sacred
months annually when marauding bands and tribal feuds were curtailed
by a truce. This enabled Arabs to travel safely to certain sanctuaries and
participate in festivals.13 Praying and fasting were prescribed during the
20 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

sacred month of Ramadan.14 The focus of the pilgrimage in Mecca was

the Ka'ba, so named because the temple was cubical in shape. It was
covered with fine cloth, and the area was kept clean by prohibiting
"dead bodies or menstruous cloths to come near it."15 Inside the temple
were many images representing local divinities of the tribes who gath-
ered there. Adoration of those objects provided some integration for the
Arabian culture. During the holy weeks, worshipers joined in a ritual
procession around the Ka'ba, which had as its cornerstone the sacred
Black Stone. While circumambulating, the Black Stone was touched and
kissed by followers in an effort to inculcate its magical power.
Mircea Eliade includes the Black Stone among the meteorites that
were revered in ancient cultures because they fell from heaven.16 When
Elagabalus, a Syrian Arab, became the Roman emperor in 219 CE., he
had a temple constructed in Rome for the black meteorite he brought
from Emesa, where he had been a priest.17 According to Ishaq, litholatry
was a Meccan export: "Everyone who left the town took with him a
stone from the sacred area to do honor to it. Wherever they settled they
set it up and walked round it as they went round the Ka'ba."18
Pre-Islamic sacred ceremonies also involved Arafat, a holy hill near
Mecca. Pilgrims moved rapidly from Arafat to the valley of Mina, where
domestic animals were sacrificed. The camel, sheep, and ox victims were
usually cooked and eaten rather than burned whole due to the scarcity
of both fuel and meat in the desert.19 After the sacrificial meat was
distributed widely, a head-shaving ritual concluded the pilgrimage.20
Among the deities with which the Ka'ba was associated was Allah,
a contraction of al, the definite article, and llah, meaning "God." The
root for the name of deity in several Semitic cultures is simply the
consonant "L," preceded by a smooth breathing. Cuneiform tablets
dating back more than four millennia have been excavated in recent
years from the Ebla ruin in Syria. X was a prominent masculine god in
that ancient city, and later he headed the Ugarit pantheon.21 He con-
sorted with 'Loah (or 'Lath) and produced the many sons and daughters
that were local deities in Mesopotamia.22 The parental deities X and
'Loah' (-ah is a feminine suffix) were honored as remote creators.
Elohim, the name that is used for deity some twenty-five hundred
times in the Hebrew Bible, may have developed via the merging of the
names of the two primordial deities and the addition of the plural -im
ending. Walther Eichrodt explains that the plural Elohim was used "to
express the higher unity subsuming the individual gods and combining
in one concept the whole pantheon."23 Likewise, Allah became the
 ANTECEDENTS 21

generic term for deity in Arabia, expressing the unified totality of

godness. In Hebrew and Arabic, the plural pronoun was considered
proper to refer to the quintessence of divine powers in Elohim or Allah.
Evidence of pre-Islamic honoring of Allah is found in the name of
Muhammad's father, Abdullah, which means "servant of Allah." Also,
Arab poet Zuhair, writing a generation before Muhammad, warns: "Do
not conceal from God (allah) whatever is in your breasts, hoping it may
be hidden,- God knows whatever is concealed." 24 Ar-Rahman, the Com-
passionate One, was used in Arabia before Muhammad as a synonym for
Allah. 25 Rahman echoes Hebrew theology, as this typical affirmation
shows: "The Lord was gracious to them and had compassion (rachum) on
them." 26
The Quran claims that an Arabian apostle before Muhammad
believed Allah to be not only a god, but the only God. Salih proclaimed
to his tribe: "My people, worship Allah for there is no other god. It was
He who brought you into being from the earth and established you
upon it. Beg forgiveness and turn to Him in repentance for my Lord is
near and ready to answer."27 To this plea, his tribe responded: "Salih, we
had placed our hopes in you, but you forbid us to worship what our
fathers worshiped, and we are suspicious of the faith to which you call
us." 28
The Ka'ba contained hundreds of sacred rocks and statues from
many Arabian tribes, but no images of Allah. No special cult was
associated with Allah. In the pre-Islamic era, Allah was recognized as the
creator of the world and as the giver of rain. 29 He was revered but was
considered to be aloof, so popular piety was usually directed elsewhere.
Meccans turned to Allah in time of crisis, but after they were delivered,
their worship drifted to other deities. For example, when waves enve-
loped them on shipboard, the Meccans prayed to Allah with fervor, but
after safely landing they renewed devotion to other gods and god-
desses. 30
Wilhelm Schmidt used the early Arabic notion of Allah as creator
of the world to illustrate his famous high-god thesis. 31 From anthro-
pological data, Schmidt demonstrated that worship of a primal single
god has been corrupted in numerous cultures by godlings who represent
ancestors or natural objects. Before Muhammad, the high-god at the
Ka'ba in Mecca was probably not considered incompatible with tribal
symbols, any more than most Americans would regard flag devotion to
"Old Glory" incompatible with Christian worship.
Allat, which means the Goddess, was prominent in the pagan
22 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

pantheon of Arabia. Even as Allah was a contraction, so Allat combined al

and Hat. The mention of "Alilat" by ancient Greek historian Herodotus
shows that her cult was established at least a millennium before Islam.
The cult was associated with brotherhood pledges made when partici-
pants dipped their fingers in blood smeared on sacred stones. 32 Origi-
nally, Allat was represented by a white stone. 33 The following inscription
was discovered on the edge of the Arabian desert: "The temple . . . built
to Goddess Allat."34 Dated 57 CE., it was found at Salhad in the
Nabataean culture. 35 Epiphanius reports from the fourth century that at
Petra, the main Nabataean city, hymns were sung in Arabic to a pagan
virgin goddess and to Dhu Shara, her only-begotten son. 36
At Mecca, Allat was thought of as a daughter rather than as a
mother. Pilgrims were attracted to shrines of the three daughters of
Allah in the vicinity of Mecca. To the south, Allat was represented as a
sun goddess,- to the east, Aluzza was represented as the morning-star
goddess,- and to the north of Mecca, there was a sanctuary to Almanat,
the goddess of destiny. Jack Finegan comments on Manat: "The etymol-
ogy of the name is judged to be connected with the root mana, meaning
'to determine' or 'to mete out,' and it is suggested that she was a goddess
of fortune or fate." 37
Both Muhammad and Jesus were more reformers than originators.
Muhammad did not attempt to introduce a new deity but urged people
to worship only Allah. Likewise, when Jesus quoted a reference to "the
God (Elohim) of Abraham" 38 from scripture, he was in no way contrasting
a previous deity of an earlier religion with his own commitment. The
principle of monotheism was a settled matter in his Jewish community,-
the one God was worshiped in homes, in synagogues, and in the temple
at Jerusalem. Only at the temple was there a continuation of the sacrifice
of animals prescribed by the Torah. Jesus was oriented primarily toward
synagogue Judaism, in which scriptural interpretation by scribes was
central.
Adhering to the Mosaic law provided the strongest bond in the
Jewish community, but kinship loyalty was more valued among desert
peoples. Blood revenge by a victim's family was the basic feature of
Arabian justice. The retribution extracted could be less than death,-
stealing was penalized by cutting off a hand. 39 Regarding the nomad's
categorical imperative, Morris Seale writes.-

He had to hate his enemies as steadfastly as he cared for his

kin. This unashamed lust for revenge derives from tribal life
 ANTECEDENTS 23

where a man had to be his own policeman, judge and execu-

tioner. Retaliation was a duty set above all others, serving as a
regulatory principle in society. 40

John Glubb comments on the love for limited warfare at the time of
Muhammad:

Arab tribes regarded war as an endemic and natural feature of

human life. Perpetual peace would have had for them no
conceivable attraction. But one of the reasons why this state
of affairs seemed to them not only endurable but desirable,
was because they regarded war as a means of gaining honor
and plunder, rather than of destroying their enemies. 41

The religious history of the Arabs and the Christians is rooted in

Hebrew culture. Abraham was the first to be called a Hebrew, a name
that may have meant "caravanner."42 He believed that God had estab-
lished a covenant that gave him both land in western Asia and numerous
descendants, through whom he would become a blessing for all people.
As a shepherd, Abraham lived in tents and moved in and out of Egypt.
He was married to Sarah, who had an Egyptian slave named Hagar.
After Sarah presumed she was infertile, she loaned her handmaiden to
Abraham to sire an offspring. He hoped that this scheme would enable
him to live up to the name God gave him, meaning "the ancestor of
many nations." 43 A boy named Ishmael was born, and he was circum-
cised at puberty as a sign of the Abrahamic covenant. 44
Sarah and Hagar became rivals, and this friction was especially
strong after Sarah gave birth to Abraham's second son. Sarah, unable to
tolerate having her son Isaac play with a slave's child, demanded that
Hagar and Ishmael be evicted. Also, Sarah wanted to cut Ishmael out of
sharing in the family inheritance. Abraham was distressed, but he capit-
ulated to his jealous wife. After supplying Hagar and Ishmael with bread
and a skin of water, Abraham sent them off to the wild lands south of
where his flocks were pastured. When the water became exhausted and
death from dehydration was imminent, the Genesis account states that
God showed Hagar a well, and promised that a great nation will come
from her son. 45 The story of Ishmael concludes by telling of twelve
Ishmaelite tribes who settle to the east of Egypt, which would be known
as Arabia. 46
Ancient sources apart from the Bible associate Hagar with Arabia.
24 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

The Assyrians of the eighth-century B.C.E. recorded the submission of

the Hagar tribe in Arabia. Greek and Latin writers sometimes designated
an Arabian tribal federation as Hagarenes. 47 According to a midrash,
Abraham went by camel into the wilderness for an occasional visit with
Ishmael and Hagar. To lessen Sarah's anxiety about her husband spend-
ing time with Hagar, he agreed not to dismount. 48 That legend of family
visitations in Arabia became the basis of subsequent Quranic stories of
Abraham at Mecca.
There was a long history of Arabic-speaking Jews living in the
midst of the Ishmaelites during pre-Islamic times, and their practices
were influential. The first to settle in Arabia may have been some who
escaped from Jerusalem before its destruction in the sixth century
B.C.E.49 Arabs abstained from pork and followed some other Hebrew
customs as well. 50 The pig prohibition displays the prejudice of no-
madic people against a swamp animal that would not be encountered in
arid areas.
At the beginning of the Christian era, Josephus told of Ishmaelite
boys who were circumcised at puberty, as was Ishmael their founder, and
who occupied the desert region "from the Euphrates to the Red Sea."51
The one mention of Arabs (Arabes) in the New Testament pertains to
some who visited Jerusalem for a Jewish festival.52 When Theophilus, a
Christian missionary, came to Yemen in the fourth century, there were
many Jews living there. 5 3
Hartwig Hirschfeld describes the Arabian Jews as generally unin-
terested in warfare: "They were rather peaceful palm growers, craftsmen
and traders who lived in settled habitations round Medina and further
north." 54 According to Gordon Newby, "Jews lived in castles and in
tents" in the Hijaz and were merchants, bedouin, warriors, sailors, poets,
and sculptors. 55 They were especially respected for their linguistic and
horticultural abilities. Newby continues:

The Jews had brought Nabataean techniques of irrigation to

the oases of western Arabia, and they employed the tech-
niques of hand pollination of the date flowers to ensure more
than a spotty yield. Dates were a major source of nourishment
in the Arabian diet, and provided the basis for fermented
drink. 56

Unlike the Jews who were living in Christian areas, religious per-
secution was not a problem for the Jewish minority in Arabia before the
 ANTECEDENTS 25

time of Muhammad. Heinrich Graetz writes of their untrammelled

condition in the sixth century:

(Arabian Jews) were allowed to develop their powers in the

midst of a free, simple, and talented people, to show their
manly courage, to compete for the gifts of fame, and with
practiced hand to measure swords with their antagonists.
Instead of bearing the yoke, the Jews were not infrequently
the leaders of the Arabian tribes. . . . They handled the
ploughshare and the lyre, and in the end became the teachers
of the Arabian nation. . . . The Jews even succeeded in in-
structing the Arabs in regard to their historical origin, con-
cerning which their memories were void, and in their
credulity the latter accepted this genealogy as the true one. It
was of great consequence to the Jews to be regarded and
acknowledged by the Arabs as their kinsmen. 57

In pre-Islamic times, parts of the Jewish scriptures were translated

in Arabia. 58 During that era, Al-Bukhari states, "Jews used to read the
Torah in Hebrew and interpret it to the people of Islam in Arabic." 59
Some Arabs were intrigued by those in their midst who were devoted to
the biblical religion since they knew of its impact in neighboring
countries. According to Maxime Rodinson, they honored the "People of
the Book" for these reasons:

Their claims rested on sacred books sent from heaven in

ancient times, revered for their antiquity, their worth proven
by miracles. They knew the secrets of Allah, they knew how
He wished to be worshiped, what prayers and sacrifices, what
fasts and processions He required if He was to look kindly on
men. 60

A few years before Muhammad became a prophet, four Meccan

youths shared an admiration for Abraham, whom they believed had true
faith. Accordingly, they were critical of their idolatrous neighbors be-
cause "the Stone they went around was of no account; it could neither
hear, nor see, nor hurt, nor help." 61 Because of their search, they were
called hunata, meaning true religionists, a name that had been given to
Abraham and his family. Two of the young men went to Christian
countries and converted. One, Waraqa, became Christian but remained
26 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

in Mecca and gained a mastery of the Bible. The fourth, Zaid ibn Amr,
traveled to Syria where he conferred with Jews and Christians. A monk
informed him that a prophet was to arise in Arabia. Zaid returned to
Mecca, hoping for something better than the prevailing polytheism. At
the Ka'ba he prayed: "O God, if I knew how you wished to be worshiped
I would choose it, but I do not know."62

The Impact oj Poetry

A r a b poets provide much of the data available on the pre-Islamic era. In
this regard, Rodinson writes:

The poet was a person of importance, and feared, because he

was thought to be possessed by a spirit. . . . The poet's chief
use was as a propagandist,- he was the journalist of the desert.
Oratorical contests were held—often at the big fairs—at
which each contestant boasted of his own tribe and mocked
and reviled those of his opponents. 63

Audiences were spellbound by soothsayers who chanted oracles in

"staccato rhymed phrases" while covering themselves with their cloaks.
They would go into trances and forecast in rhythmic prose. Since
incantations were alleged to be inspired utterances, soothsayers were
consulted about both public and private matters. Muhammad's grand-
father urged one to find a way to break a rash vow he had made to
sacrifice a son (Muhammad's father) if his wish was fulfilled.64
Soothsayers or sorceresses were believed to incarnate jinn. They
were believed to reside in the atmosphere as invisible spirits, but occa-
sionally they entered humans and animals, causing physical and mental
changes. Characterized as crafty, mischievous, capricious, and occa-
sionally destructive, the jinn and those who were possessed by them
needed to be respected. English readers of the One Thousand and One
Nights have come to call them "genies."
In pre-Islamic poetry, fate (dahr) was believed to be an irresistible
force, overwhelming all, and depriving life of meaning. 65 Rodinson
notes: "There was no escape from a fundamentally pessimistic view of
life except in making haste to enjoy the fierce but fleeting pleasures it
 ANTECEDENTS 27

had to offer."66 This hedonistic philosophy is similar to that of the fa-

mous Persian poet Omar Khayyam who lived in the eleventh century.
About 560 CE., poet Tarafa celebrated self-indulgence in these lines:

If it were not for three things youth loves, I would not care when I died.
Red wine, well mixed and frothy)
A war-horse, when summoned to the fray-,
A girl to he closeted with on a wintry day.

The man of generous spirit satisfies himself during his lifetime. . . .

The grave of the prudent man, the wealth-hoarder, I see not to differ from
the grave of the. . . spendthrift.
On each stands a mount of earth topped by flat slabs.67

Physical resurrection was considered absurd, but death was not

regarded as annihilation. 68 Pagan Arabs said, according to the Quran:
"There is only our first death; we will not be raised."69 That outlook is
similar to Job's concept of Sheol, the gloomy abode of the dead: "Those
who go down to Sheol do not come up. . . . They will not awake or be
roused out of their sleep." 70
Morris Seale's comments on the life-after-death view of pre-Islamic
Arabs is somewhat more positive:

They believed that the departed lived a life of their own and
enjoyed a conscious existence in the grave. . . . Pagan Arabs
cared for their dead and supplied them with food and
drink. . . . Coming upon the grave of an acquaintance, they
would call his name and greet him: the deceased was believed
to return the greeting. Owls fluttering around were thought to
be the spirits of the departed, and their screeching was taken
to be the moaning of the dead. 71

The recurring bird image in the poetry of pagan Arabians depicts

graphically a basic ingredient of their outlook. Theodor Noeldeke
comments: "The soul of the murdered man was represented as appearing
in the form of an owl, and as continually crying out, 'Give me to drinkl'
until vengeance had been executed." 72 That getting-even ethic tended
to stimulate continual feuding in pursuit of justice.
Toshihiko Izutsu specifies other values championed by the early
28 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

Arabs: "That faithfulness or trustworthiness was one of the highest and

most characteristic virtues in the desert is known to every reader of pre-
Islamic poetry and traditions." 73 Izutsu discusses each of these main
virtues: generosity, courage, loyalty, veracity, and patience. Hospitality
and helpfulness were also admired by desert people in their struggle for
existence. Excessive wine drinking, causing poverty, was a primary
vice. 74 Tranquility (al-hilm), combining gentleness and forbearance, was
a highly esteemed virtue in pre-Islamic poetry. 75 Thus, the barbarity of
the pagan Arab tribes should not be exaggerated.
Jesus was also much influenced by the poetry of his culture. He
sometimes appropriated expressions of the Hebrew prophets, whose
messages were recorded in poetic form. 76 The psalms, the most signifi-
cant contribution of the Hebrews to the arts, was a source for some of
his sayings. For example, to defend children's loudness in a place of
worship, he quotes a psalm that commended what came "out of the
mouths of babes and infants." 77 Since the psalms served as Jesus' hymn
book, a psalm designated for the Passover festival was probably sung
after he ate his last supper with his disciples. 78
As Jesus was being crucified, he recited prayers from the psalms. 79
One of those prayers was not clearly or fully heard. Jesus probably
mumbled the words of a Hebrew who had been tortured by his enemies.
This prayer was called the "my-God-why-have-you-forsaken-me" psalm
for its opening line. An examination of the devotional poem reveals that
the victim does not cry out for revenge in spite of his intense pain. In the
latter part of the psalm, the sufferer looks beyond his personal tragedy to
the eventual triumph of God's kingdom. Confidence is expressed that all
people will accept God's rule.

Women's Place

Jesus belonged to a culture in which some women had been given con-
siderable respect. Among the early Hebrew heroines were Tamar, Mi-
riam, Deborah, Ruth, and Huldah. However, a deterioration of the status
of women can be traced in the several centuries before the Christian era. 80
A few generations before Jesus ben Joseph, Jesus ben Sirach charged:
"Woman is the origin of sin, and it is through her that we all die. . . .Out of
clothes comes the moth, and out of woman comes wickedness. A man's
 ANTECEDENTS 29

wickedness is better than a woman's goodness,- it is woman who brings

shame and disgrace."81 Generally subscribing to Sirach's misogyny in the
generation before Jesus, influential Rabbi Hillel commented, "The more
women, the more witchcrafts." 82 Pharisee Josephus stated that "woman is
in all things inferior to man." 83 Sirach's sentiments had an impact on the
Jerusalem Talmud in this way: "The first man was the blood and life of the
world. . . and Eve was the cause of his death." 84
Women were reminded of their lower status in various ways. A
father could sell an unwanted daughter into slavery.85 Women, along
with slaves and children, were exempted from reciting the Shema creed,
which was at the core of Jewish worship. 86 A Jewish menstruant was not
accorded as much dignity as a gentile male at the Jerusalem temple for
she was excluded from even the outermost of the four courts. 87 The
Mishnah echoes a rabbinic debate over whether women should receive
religious education. Eliezer associated teaching a daughter the Torah
with teaching her promiscuity. 88 Other rabbis believed that it should be
taught to both daughters and sons. 89 Judith Wegner explains: "Eliezer
fears that the more a woman knows, the more liberated she may
become—above all, in her sexual conduct." 90 She concludes her thor-
ough study of the status of women in early Judaism with this judgment:
"Woman was never a complete person in mishnaic society, but neither
was she always and only a chattel." 91
According to the Mosaic law, a menstruant was "impure" during her
period and for the subsequent week. 92 The rabbis established eleven days
as the ordinary duration of this ritual uncleanness. 93 In the division on
cleanliness, the longest in the Mishnah, a whole tract is devoted to detect-
ing the menstruant. There the taboo is expressed in this way: "The blood
of a menstruant and the flesh of a corpse convey uncleanness." 94 Com-
plete immersion in a ritual bath was required at the end of the taboo
period. 95
Wives accused of infidelity were subjected to a terrifying ordeal,
but their sexual partners were not. 96 In order to frighten a confession out
of a woman accused of becoming pregnant by someone other than her
husband, she was dressed in black and brought to the eastern gate of the
Jerusalem temple. There a priest humiliated her by untying her hair and
tearing her dress so that her breast was publicly exposed. 97 Then he
required her to drink a mixture of holy water, dust from the sanctuary,
and ink from the scroll on which the accusation against her was written.
Guilt was deemed certain if the potion caused a change in her complex-
ion and a miscarriage. 98
30 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

What can be known about the place of women in pre-Islamic

Arabia? Elise Boulding shows that in early nomadic societies, bedouin
as well as others, women sometimes were accorded a higher status than
they were in more settled societies." Beginning with the Queen of
Sheba, there were several illustrious Arab queens, some of whom were
sovereigns. 100 Nabia Abbott notes: "In poetry, the major literary pas-
sion of pre-Islamic Arabia, the Arab woman figured large."101 The most
popular deities were goddesses, and human females may have benefited
from that adoration. On the eve of the coming of Islam, Arab women
were occasionally recognized as priestesses and as prophetesses. 102
"The forerunner of the best side of medieval chivalry,"103 is the way
Stanley Lane-Poole describes pre-Islamic Arabic culture:

In the old days, says an ancient writer, the true Arab had but
one love, and her he loved till death. The Arab of the desert
. . . regarded women as divinities to be worshipped, not as
chattels to possess. . . . Antar, the Bayard of pagan Arabia,
gave his life to guard some helpless women. These verses of
Muweylik breathe a tender chivalrous regret for an only
love:

God's love be thine and His mercy, O thou dear lost one! Not meet for thee
is the place of shadow and loneliness.
And a little one hast thou left behind. . . .
When her crying smites in the night upon my sleepless ears, Straightway
mine eyes brimful are filled from the well of tears.104

Some basic Semitic marriage customs were found in pre-Islamic

Arabia. 105 A bride's guardian was usually given a gift, called mahr in
Arabic, from the Hebrew mohar.106 In addition to the dowry there was
the levirate arrangement whereby a wife could be transferred like prop-
erty at her husband's death to the nearest male relative. 107
Although patriarchy seems to have prevailed among the early
Arabs, some marital arrangements limited the power of the male. At the
time when Muhammad established Islam in Medina, polygyny was
probably not the usual pattern of marriage. 108 Geoffrey Parrinder finds
evidence of matrilineal structures: "Some of the Arabs before Islam had
followed a system of kinship which regulated marriage and descent
through the mother." 109 Also, polyandrous marriage of one woman to
 ANTECEDENTS 31

several men was accepted by some, and wives as well as husbands had
the right to divorce. 110 Ammianus Marcellinus describes Arabian culture
this way: "The future wife, by way of dower, offers her husband a spear
and a tent, with the right to leave him after a stipulated time, if she so
elects-, and it is unbelievable with what ardor both sexes give themselves
up to passion."111
Use Lichtenstadter concludes a study of pre-Islamic Arabian
women in this way:

On the whole women were esteemed . . . and they occupied a

high rank in the community of the tribe. They were honored
as wives and mothers, beloved as daughters,- it was honorable
to fight for them, shameful to abandon them to the enemy. 112

Also, in Mecca there appears to have been no stigma attached to a

woman combining marriage with business operations.
Muslims generally have not acknowledged those aspects of
ancient Arabian culture that suggest that many women tended to enjoy
a position of dignity. They assume a low state of morality because the
Quran frequently refers to the previous era as a time of jahiliyya.
That term, meaning "ignorance" but interpreted to mean darkness or
wildness also, expresses prejudice against anything before Muham-
mad's revelation. 113 Muhammad's humane contribution looms greater if
unlimited polygyny and few female rights are assumed before he
arrived, but documentary evidence in support of those assumptions is
mixed.
In a monograph showing the evolution of the early Hebrew leg-
ends in Arabia, Reuven Firestone demonstrates that there are other
important influences from early Arabian culture that carried over into
Islam. He concludes:

Muslim historiographers have regularly claimed that Islam

represented an absolute religious break from pre-Islamic
times, an assumption that may now be questioned. . . . By
assuming a new genesis in the first quarter of the seventh
century, this approach tends to ignore the important and
lasting influence of pre-Islamic Arabian religious thought
(monotheistic as well as pagan) and institutions on nascent
and early Islamic civilization. 114
32 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

Christians recognize that Jesus criticized the religious outlook and

social institutions that preceded him in significant ways. In general,
Christians have not presumed that the separation was as radical as what
Muslims have claimed vis-à-vis Muhammad. Both Christianity and Islam
have been greatly influenced by the theological and ethical viewpoints
of the cultures in which they were reared.
 CHAPTER THREE

EARLY LIFE

The best source of information about Muhammad is the Quran even

though it contains little biographical information. The unconcern of its
editors for chronological sequence suggests that it was not composed
for historical study Modern Islamic scholars have generally agreed on
where the Quranic revelations were first proclaimed, and knowledge of
this assists in biographical reconstruction.
In the following chapters, a critical use will be made of several
relatively early biographies of Muhammad, following the standard ap-
proach of both Muslim and non-Muslim scholars. None of them was
written until more than a century after he lived, but oral tradition can be
given considerable weight in cultures that are predominantly preliterate.
If no records of Abraham Lincoln's life had been made until the present
generation, there would probably be little in a written biography other
than larger-than-life stories about the heroic American. Memory train-
ing is not an educational emphasis for those who can easily write down
data and file it away. Factual forgetfulness is less tolerated in cultures in
which literacy is uncommon because that would result in most of the
past being lost forever.
There are similar problems pertaining to recovering reliable data
on the historical Jesus, who wrote nothing extant. The canonical
(church-approved) Gospels are the principal sources for the life of Jesus,
but they were not primarily written to give biographical data. In addi-

33
34 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

tion, more than a generation had lapsed between his death and their
publication. Consider an example of embellishment contained in the
Easter accounts of the New Testament. The apostle Paul, who wrote the
earliest record of those experiences some twenty years after Jesus' burial,
says nothing about his corpse being raised.1 Decades after that record,
accounts alleging Jesus' empty tomb and his physical resurrection are
given prominence in the four Gospels.
The legendary biographies of Muhammad and Jesus are compared
to reveal parallels and salient points of difference. The many miraculous
stories about the two men, which seem to be largely the creations of
hagiographers, are discussed in a later chapter.

The Meccan
Th e story of Muhammad is a tale of two cities, one rather barren and
one relatively fertile. This section focuses on Muhammad in Mecca,
where he spent fifty years of his life. The last dozen years, when he lived
in Medina, are equally important and are treated in the next chapter.
Muhammad belonged to the Quraish tribe, which for generations
had been dominant in Mecca. A clan of that tribe, named after Muham-
mad's great-grandfather Hashim, had high standing as keepers of the
Ka'ba sanctuary. Muhammad was a threadbare aristocrat, having both
status and poverty. Biographer Sa'd indulges in hyperbole to describe
Muhammad's paternal uncles: "Among the Arabs there were no more
prominent and stately men, none of more noble profile. Their noses
were so large that the nose drank before the lips."2
Before Muhammad was born, about the year 570, his father died.
Amina, Muhammad's mother, placed her baby with foster parents who
were bedouin near Mecca to ensure that he was cared for adequately.
After living several years with those shepherds, Muhammad was re-
turned to Amina. He was with her only briefly before she died. After the
death of both parents, the boy came under the supervision of his uncle,
Abu Talib, the clan head. Muhammad traveled to Syria with a caravan
led by his merchant uncle, which exposed him to other religions.3
Ishaq tells of Muhammad's encounter with Zaid ibn Amr, an uncle
who had abandoned his traditional Meccan religion. As a boy, Muham-
mad attempted to share meat that he had brought from a shrine for
 EARLY LIFE 35

pagan sacrifice. Muhammad later recalled that Zaid, after refusing the
offer, "upbraided me for idolatry and spoke disparagingly of those who
worship idols and sacrifice to them." 4 Alfred Guillaume calls this "the
only authentic story of Muhammad's early years."5
Khadija, who may have been the richest merchant of Mecca, heard
of Muhammad's trustworthiness and made him her agent for selling
caravan goods in Syria. Even though she was some years older than her
twenty-five-year-old employee and had been married twice, she asked
him to marry her. 6 Sa'd records the following story about Khadija,
which may be truthful because it does not glorify Muhammad:

She called her father to her house, plied him with wine until
he was drunk, slaughtered a cow, anointed him with perfume
and clothed him in a striped robe,- then she sent for the
Messenger of God and his uncles and, when they came in her
father married him to her. When her father recovered from his
intoxication, he said, "What is this meat, this perfume, and
this garment?" She replied, "You have married me to Muham-
mad b. 'Abdallah." "I have not done so," he said. "Would I do
this, when the greatest men of Mecca have asked for you and I
have not agreed? 7

The marriage produced several children, but the boys died "in
paganism."8 Zaid, a prisoner or slave ransomed by Khadija and Muham-
mad, was then adopted as their son. Her wealth relieved her husband of
having to work for a living. This new situation helps to explain one of
the few biographical references to Muhammad in the Quran. An early
record alludes to God making the impoverished orphan prosperous.
This question is directed to Muhammad: "Did He not find you destitute
and enrich you?"9 This affluent situation enabled him to devote himself
primarily to religious concerns. He and Abu Talib, who remained a
pagan throughout life, were intensely involved in the traditional Mec-
can religion. Ishaq tells of how Muhammad stroked idols and offered
sacrifices to them. 10
At the age of thirty-five, Muhammad helped the Quraish in recon-
structing the Ka'ba. Its stone walls were demolished to the foundation and
then rebuilt. Controversy arose as to who should have the honor of plac-
ing the sacred Black Stone in the rebuilt structure. To settle the dispute,
the Quraish called for Trusty {al-Amin), a nickname for Muhammad. Dip-
lomatically, he placed the stone in a cloak and had a representative from
36 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

each clan take one corner of the cloth in order to lift it together to its
appointed place. A carpenter, who was an African Christian, used timbers
from the wreck of a Greek ship at Jedda to replace the roof.11
Muhammad had developed an antipathy toward polytheism by the
age of forty. He was probably influenced by what Zaid ibn Amr had
learned from abroad about the anticipation of an Arab prophet, similar
to biblical prophets, surfacing. On a mountain near Mecca where Zaid
had retreated for meditation a few years earlier, Muhammad and his
family spent the month of Ramadan in seclusion each year. There, at a
cave called Hira, he became entranced. 12 While asleep during the "night
of power,"13 he experienced an awesome Person: "He stood on the upper
horizon. Then, drawing near, He came down within two bow-lengths
and revealed to His servant whatever He revealed."14 The revelation
seemed to reverberate through the sky as it ordered Muhammad "to
proclaim" 15 (icjra, the Arabic imperative that is the first revealed word,
contains the root of what would later become the name of the holy
book). Muhammad initially refused to speak out, so the command was
repeated again and again. Fearful for his life, he announced: "Proclaim,
in the name of your Lord who creates humans from sperm! Proclaim,
how the Most Bountiful One teaches by the pen what humans do not
know!"16 Revelations like this would continue intermittently until his
death two decades later.
Muhammad's struggle at the beginning of his ministry resembled
that of Jeremiah. Far from wanting a religious vocation, that sensitive
prophet of ancient Judah resisted his call. 17 Being God's mouthpiece,
Jeremiah realized, entailed uttering a message of judgment that his
fellow citizens least wanted to hear. He confessed that he was tormented
by the ambivalence of his natural desire for popularity and his commis-
sion to proclaim the word of God. Jeremiah felt a burning fire within
that he could not control in spite of the resulting derision. 18
After being overwhelmed by his visionary experience, Muhammad
agonized over an apparent divine call while in seclusion at Hira. He
contrasted his personal hopes with his anticipations of the effects of his
new career. The Quran asserts: "You did not expect that the Book would
be revealed to you."19 Muhammad was severely disturbed over the
genuineness of the revelation and the nonconformity demands of the
prophetic role: "Woe is me, poet or possessed. . . . I will go to the top of
the mountain and throw myself down that I may kill myself and gain
rest." 20 Muhammad's suicidal anxiety over whether he has had an au-
thentic communication from God displays his sincerity. An impostor
 EARLY LIFE 37

consciously making up the message would probably have had no an-

guish or outcry.
As an Arab who believed the atmosphere was teeming with impish
jinn, Muhammad asked Khadija if he might have been hoodwinked into
seeing a mirage. She responded supportively-. "God would not treat you
thus since he knows your truthfulness, your great trustworthiness, your
fine character, and your kindness. This cannot be, my dear. Perhaps you
did see something." 21 She then cleverly devised a test to prove who was
possessing her husband. Reasoning that a bad spirit would want to
watch sexual relations while a good spirit would modestly leave, she
experimented when Muhammad was aware of the presence of a spirit.
Khadija had her lover sit in her lap while she removed her clothes.
When she exposed her body, Muhammad's mind no longer focused on a
troublesome spirit. She then declared triumphantly: "Rejoice and be of
good heart, by God he is an angel and not a satan."22
Khadija sought advice about her husband from Waraqa, her Chris-
tian cousin who had serious religious interests. Upon recognizing the
similarity between Muhammad's experience and that of Moses, he
judged that Muhammad had had a legitimate prophetic call. Waraqa
identified Gabriel, the biblical archangel, with Muhammad's revelation
transmitter and warned him to expect persecution in Mecca followed by
expulsion. 23
A revelation at Mecca pertains to the guidance that Muhammad
received from Christians or Jews: "If you doubt what We have sent down
to you, ask those who have been reading the Book previously."24 There
seems to have been a considerable awareness of the Torah in Mecca
because Muhammad was soon to ask his people: "Have you not heard of
what is preached in the scriptures of Moses and Abraham?" 25
It is apparent that Muhammad received psychological reassurance
as well as material support from Khadija. She was the first to be con-
vinced of the genuineness of her husband's revelatory experiences,
believing in him when he did not believe in himself. As Fatima Mernissi
touchingly puts it: "This is the way Islam began, in the arms of a loving
woman." 26 Ishaq offers this tribute to Khadija: "He (Muhammad) never
met with contradiction and charges of falsehood, which saddened him,
but God comforted him by her when he went home. She strengthened
him, lightened his burden, proclaimed his truth, and belittled men's
opposition." 27 Mutual devotion between Muhammad and Khadija is
evident, and he remained a monogamist as long as she lived.
Meccans puzzled over what kind of person Muhammad had
38 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

become. Among the opinions expressed was that he was a seer or a poet.
One Meccan called him a sorcerer "who has brought a message by
which he separates a man from his father or from his brother, or from his
wife, or from his family."28 The Quran's favorite designation for Muham-
mad is rasul, meaning "one who is sent",- "apostle" is a good translation
since it comes from the Greek verb apostellein, "to send." Like the biblical
and non-biblical apostles of the Greco-Roman culture, Muhammad
thought of himself as someone commissioned to deliver a message. He
resembled an earlier "prophet crying in the desert," John ben Zechariah,
or the Apostle Peter who spoke out against the Jerusalem establish-
ment. 29
Muhammad understood his role to be a forceful reciter of what
he heard, not a quiet interpreter of the message. His manner of preach-
ing was similar to that of soothsayers in his culture. In his sermons,
the prophet balanced God's kindly dealings with His harsh judgments.
He invited his people to acknowledge the true and merciful God at the
Ka'ba: "Let the Quraish worship the Lord of this House who has
provided for them against famine and made them secure against peril." 30
Muhammad told of paradise's delights and contrasted it with the horrors
of hell for idolaters. Muhammad described the Meccans in a disparaging
manner and warned them: "Their worship at the holy House is nothing
more than whistling and clapping of hands. . . . God will separate the
bad from the good, bind the wicked together, and cast them into
Hell." 31
By the age of forty-three, Muhammad's castigation of idol wor-
shipers had brought hostility from his Quraish tribe for it supervised the
recently reconstructed Ka'ba sanctuary that contained many images. His
unpopular message is evident in this Quranic comment:

When Our clear revelations are proclaimed to them, those

who disregard their destiny with Us say, "Proclaim something
else, or change it." Say, "It is not for me to alter it of my own
accord. I only follow what is revealed to me. . . . Had God so
willed, I would never have proclaimed it to you." 32

Abu Talib, embarrassed over his nephew's persistence, advised him

to spare both of them from tribal contempt. Muhammad responded: "By
God, if they put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left on
condition that I abandoned this course, until God has made it victorious,
or I perish therein, I would not abandon it."33 This vow of determina-
 EARLY LIFE 39

tion, accompanied by tears, caused this uncle to assure Muhammad: "Go

and say what you please, for by God I will never give you up on any
account." 34
Several of the Meccan revelations conveyed by Muhammad show
that he endured much scorn: "The unbelievers look scathingly at you
and say, 'He is surely demented!' " 35 Another revelation states, "The
unbelievers plot against you to wound you, or to kill you, or to drive you
away. . . . They block the way to the sacred mosque and are not fit to be
its guardians." 36 Still another states, "When Our revelations are pro-
claimed to them in plain words, they say: 'This man simply wants to turn
you away from the gods your fathers worshiped. This (Quran) is noth-
ing but a fraud.' " 37
The Quraish leaders viewed Muhammad as their city's leading
troublemaker. They based their opinion on these observations: "He
had declared their mode of life foolish, insulted their forefathers, re-
viled their religion, divided the community, and cursed their gods." 38
Ishaq's account continues: "While they were thus discussing him, the
Apostle came towards them and kissed the Black Stone." 39 On encir-
cling the Ka'ba several times, he overheard personal denunciation from
his tribe. In exasperation, Muhammad shouted: "Will you listen to me,
O Quraish? By him who holds my life in His hand I bring you slaugh-
ter."40 When he returned the next day they leapt upon him. Abu Bakr
interposed: "Would you kill a man for saying Allah is my Lord?"41 They
then dragged Muhammad's friend around by his beard. 42
The city leaders promised Muhammad, with questionable sin-
cerity, what he would receive from them if he stopped his judgmental
preaching. Ishaq records this tradition:

If it was money he wanted, they would make him richest of

them all; if it was honor, he should be their prince,- if it was
sovereignty, they would make him king,- if it was a spirit that
had got possession of him, they would exhaust their means in
finding medicine to cure him. 43

Finding Muhammad had no intention of curtailing his prophecies,

the Quraish asked, no doubt tongue in cheek, for a more helpful
message:

If you won't accept any of our propositions, you know that no

people are more short of land and water and live a harder life
40 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

than we, so ask your Lord who sent you, to remove us from
these mountains which shut us in, and to straighten out our
country for us, and to open up in it rivers like those of Syria
and Iraq, and to resurrect for us our forefathers. 44

At the beginning of his prophetic work, Muhammad was asked to

prove himself by doing supernatural acts similar to those Abraham and
Ishmael had allegedly done. According to the Quran, the Meccans
challenged Muhammad in these ways: "Let him show us some sign, as
did the apostles of old" 45 and "We will not believe in you until you make
a spring gush forth from the earth for us." 46 But Muhammad regarded
the natural regularities as such a marvelous witness to God that no
unnatural portents were needed. The Quran states:

It was He who gave the sun its radiance and the moon its
brightness, ordaining its phases so that you may compute
seasons and years. . . . In the alternation of night and day, and
in all that He created in the heavens and the earth, there are
signs for people who revere Him. 4 7

There was a time when Muhammad could easily have claimed to

have had a special sign from God, but he refused to exploit the occasion.
A solar eclipse occurred about the time when one of Muhammad's
children died. Some attributed the eclipse to nature's sympathy, but
Muhammad said regarding the sun or moon: "They are not eclipsed on
account of anyone's death or on account of anyone's birth." 48
Some taunted Muhammad's lack of success by asking why God had
not given a treasure to His alleged prophet. 49 The scornful asked him to
ascend to heaven and bring back parchment scrolls of the Quran that
they could touch. 50 According to the Quran, its earthly manifestation is
sufficient miraculous proof. To the Meccans' question, "Why has no sign
been given him by his Lord?"51 came this response: "Is it not enough for
them that We have revealed to you the Book for their instruction?" 52
Huston Smith's treatment of Muhammad's viewpoint on magical
signs deserves to be quoted at length:

In an age charged with supernaturalism, when miracles were

accepted as the stock-in-trade of the most ordinary saint,
Muhammad refused to pander to human credulity. To miracle-
hungry idolaters seeking signs and portents, he cut the issue
 EARLY LIFE 41

clean: "God has not sent me to work wonders,- He has sent me

to preach to you. My Lord,- be praised! Am I more than a man
sent as an apostle?" From first to last he resisted every impulse
to inflate his own image. "1 never said that God's treasures are
in my hand, that I knew the hidden things, or that I was an
angel. I am only a preacher of God's words, the bringer of
God's message to mankind." If signs be sought, let them be not
of Muhammad's greatness but of God's, and for these one need
only open one's eyes. The heavenly bodies holding their swift,
silent course in the vault of heaven, the incredible order of the
universe, the rain that falls to relieve the parched earth, palms
bending with golden fruit, ships that glide across the seas
laden with goodness—can these be the handiwork of gods of
stone? What fools to cry for signs when creation tokens
nothing else! In an age of credulity, Muhammad taught re-
spect for the world's incontrovertible order, a respect that was
to bring Muslims to science before it did Christians. 53

The Meccans whom Muhammad had alienated would probably

have killed him soon after he began to proclaim his unpopular message
had it not been for the protection of his pagan Hashimite clan. A fatal
offense to one clan member would have been interpreted as something
the group must avenge. Therefore, the Meccans used reprisals that did
not include killing. Persecution against the Muslims consisted of im-
prisonments, food deprivation, and beatings. A boycott was instituted
against them for two years. Those punitive measures caused some to
capitulate, but others were strengthened. 54
Initially, Islam made slow headway, and several years after its
beginning there were only a few converts. Muhammad's nephew, Ali,
and adopted son Zaid were the first males to accept his message.
Waraqa, who encouraged Muhammad during his break with polythe-
ism, remained a Christian. When Muslims invited Abu Talib, Ali's father
and Muhammad's uncle, to accept Islam, he said: "I cannot give up the
religion of my fathers which they followed."55 Umar, one of the Mec-
cans who had been determined to rid the world of Muhammad and his
companions, became what would prove to be a most important con-
vert. 56 He, like Muhammad, was probably influenced by their uncle,
Zaid ibn Amr, who was unsatisfied with the traditional religion of
Mecca.
During Muhammad's prophetic years, sick people occasionally
42 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

asked him for advice. He expressed confidence in divine healing rather

than in charms, but trust in God was not separated from the use of folk
remedies. He presumed that being bled could improve many illnesses,
whereas applying antimony could clear the sight and make hair grow. 57
He advocated water for a fever, honey for diarrhea, and cauterization for
a wound. 58
When Muhammad was forty-five, he sent several dozen Muslims
across the Red Sea for safe haven to Ethiopia, which was ruled by a
Christian, called the Negus. The king gave protection, hospitality, and
full freedom of religion to the refugees, which included Muhammad's
daughter Ruqaiya and her husband. The Quraish, disturbed to learn that
the Muslims had found security in Ethiopia, attempted to bribe the
Negus. They sent him gifts of Meccan leatherwork, which was prized in
Ethiopia, along with a request that he should cease to give sanctuary to
those who professed a false religion.
The Negus then asked a Muslim spokesperson to tell about his
religious leader. Ja'far, a cousin of Muhammad, responded with this
information:

He summoned us to acknowledge God's unity and to worship

Him and to renounce the stones and images which we and our
fathers formerly worshiped. He commanded us to speak the
truth, be faithful to our engagements, mindful of the ties of
kinship and kindly hospitality, and to refrain from crimes and
bloodshed. He forbade us to commit abominations and to
speak lies, and to devour the property of orphans, to vilify
chaste women. He commanded us to worship God alone and
not to associate anything with Him, and he gave us orders
about prayer, almsgiving, and fasting. 59

When the Negus requested to hear the Quran, Ja'far recited what is
now entitled "Mary." That chapter tells of Jesus and his virginal mother,
Zechariah and his son John, as well as stories about the Hebrew patri-
archs. The Negus and the bishops reportedly wept on hearing the
revelation. The king said: "Of a truth, this and what Jesus brought have
come from the same niche. . . . Go, for you are safe in my country. . . .
Not for a mountain of gold would I allow a man of you to be hurt." 60
The refugees were soon to hear an unfounded rumor that the
Quraish had accepted Islam. Some returned to Mecca from this first
migration while others remained behind. 61 All had become aware of
 EARLY LIFE 43

Christian doctrines, and some who settled in Ethiopia became Chris-

tians.
At forty-nine, Muhammad was grievously struck by the deaths of
Khadija and Abu Talib, his two main supporters. Another uncle, Abu
Lahab, who became chief of the Hashimite clan, withdrew protection
from the Muslims. Even though two of his sons had married Muham-
mad's daughters, he and Umm Jamil, his wife, became prominent adver-
saries. Umm Jamil, a poet, composed this taunt:

We reject the reprobate.

His words we repudiate.
His religion we loathe and hate.62

Family alienation is also bitterly expressed in this Quranic proph-

ecy: "The power of Abu Lahab will perish, as will he. His wealth and his
acquisitions will not save him. He will roast in flames and his wife will
carry the wood." 63
For Muhammad, the traditional patriarchal bonds were now sec-
ondary to monotheism. The Quran asserts: "Believers, do not accept
your fathers and your brothers for friends if they choose unbelief rather
than faith."64 It also states that children and personal property should
not be held with more enthusiasm than obligations to God. 6 5 Muham-
mad's tie with the embryonic Muslim community took priority over
family friendships.
Bereft now of any influential protector, Muhammad realized that
an emigration of all Muslims from Mecca was imperative. He first took
refuge in Taif, an oasis sixty miles to the south, but he was treated with
ridicule there. When Muhammad asked the people in Taif to accept
Islam and help him, one chief scornfully said: "If you are an apostle
from God as you say you are, you are far too important for me to reply
to, and if you are lying against God it is not right that I should speak
to you!"66
Muhammad fled to an orchard, where he prayed:

O God, to Thee I complain of my weakness, little resource,

and lowliness before men. O Most Merciful, Thou art the
Lord of the weak, and Thou art my Lord. To whom will Thou
confide me? To one afar who will misuse me? Or to an enemy
to whom Thou hast given power over me? If Thou art not
angry with me I care not. 6 7
44 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

At that time, a young slave named Addas took a platter of grapes to

Muhammad, who initiated this conversation:

"From what country do you come, O Addas, and what is your

religion?" He (Addas) replied that he was a Christian and
came from Ninevah. "From the town of the righteous man
Jonah son of Mattai," said the Apostle. "But how did you know
about him?" asked Addas. "He is my brother,- he was a prophet
and I am a prophet." 68

After escaping from the Taif hecklers, Muhammad returned to

Mecca and encountered some men from Yathrib who were there on a
pilgrimage. They thought that as a leader from another city, the prophet
might be more impartial in settling their feuds and thereby unifying
their people. There were two main pagan tribes in Yathrib; allied with
them were three Jewish tribes who formed a large part of that commu-
nity. The ancestors of those Jews were probably the first people to
settle in that area. 69 They may have migrated there from Palestine, but
their use of the Arabic language and Arabian names suggests that many
years earlier some pagan Arabs had converted to Judaism. The pagan
tribes of Yathrib had been prepared to be receptive to monotheism by
their influential Jewish neighbors. Unlike the Meccans, the pagans of
Yathrib were little offended by the prophet's denigration of Arabian
polytheism.
Muhammad asked that the Yathribites agree to protect him from
his enemies by the force of arms, but the pilgrims had no authority to
agree to that request. That first agreement was called the "pledge of
women" because it lacked muscle. 70 A year later, a large delegation from
Yathrib, now including representatives from both Arab tribes, returned
to Mecca and promised to accept him as their sheikh. They agreed to go
to war in defending Muhammad in exchange for his promise of rewards
in paradise. 71
The Yathribites who formed this compact hoped that Muhammad's
religion might protect them from a messianic prophet whom some
expected. Some years earlier, a rabbi from Syria had warned them that a
fearsome prophet "will be sent to shed blood and to take captive the
women and children of those who oppose him." 72 Not only might
Muhammad's monotheism satisfy the Jews in Yathrib, but he had
adopted Jerusalem as the direction of prayer after access to the Ka'ba
was cut off to Muslims. 73 Also, he encouraged his followers to fast on
 EARLY LIFE 45

Yom Kippur, the most important holy day of the Jewish year. Un-
diplomatically, however, the Jews were not invited to negotiate with
Muhammad before he came to Yathrib.
When Meccan leaders learned of the Muslim plan to establish
themselves in Yathrib and then noticed that some had already taken
refuge there, they gathered to discuss what they should do. Although
Muhammad's diatribes about Judgment Day might have been unpleas-
ant, the thought of Muslims achieving retaliatory power gave them even
more consternation. Perhaps they were foresighted enough to see that
Muhammad might even muster a force to effect an economic blockade
of Meccan caravans traveling in the vicinity of Yathrib. Abu Jahl, the
head of the Quraish tribe, proposed that Muhammad be killed as soon as
possible. The leaders accepted his scheme: A member of each clan,
except the Hashimites, should strike him with a sword simultaneously so
that the responsibility for his blood would be distributed to all Meccans.
Muhammad benefited from the tribal openness with which Mec-
cans regulated their city. He was tipped off regarding the details of the
joint murder plot, and escape plans were made. By the time the assas-
sination party came to the prophet's house, he and Abu Bakr had hidden
in a cave outside of Mecca. An intense search then got underway,
stimulated by a reward of one hundred camels for their capture. After
eluding the Meccans by hiding in the cave for several days, the compan-
ions made a breathtaking escape to Yathrib, where they were eagerly
received by the dozens of Muslims who had emigrated earlier. 74

The Nazarene
Th e first three decades of Jesus' life, when Nazareth was his hometown,
are examined here. (The remaining months, when his focus was on
Jerusalem, are considered in the next chapter.) According to the Gospel
of Matthew, infant Jesus and his parents spent some time in Egypt as
political refugees. 75 Although the story may not be historical, the
cruelty of the Herodian dynasty during the time of Jesus is amply
documented. 76 Jesus belonged to a Jewish people who had lost their
independence to Roman tyrants and their Jewish surrogates.
According to the Talmud, a Jewish father's duties to his son num-
bered five: circumcising the child, presenting him in the place of
46 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

worship, instructing him in the Torah, training him in a trade, and

arranging a marriage for him at pubescence. 77 The Gospels discuss the
circumcision of Jesus when he was eight days old as a sign of the
covenant made with Abraham. 78 A month later, a presentation cere-
mony for the infant was held at the Jerusalem temple,- Jesus' parents
sacrificed doves because they could not afford a lamb. 79 Since Jesus'
family is recorded as carefully observing some traditional Israelite prac-
tices, it is likely that they also observed other customs that are not
mentioned.
A prayer used at mealtime among Jews in Jesus' day might well have
been used in his Nazareth home. It expresses a breadth of concern for
the whole of creation: "Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the
universe, who sustains the whole world with goodness, kindness, and
mercy. You give food to all creatures, for Your mercy endures forever."80
The benevolence of the divine probably dominated Jesus' outlook
throughout his life.
The Gospel accounts suggest that Jesus was much indebted to his
parents. Joseph, who is usually represented as the father of Jesus in the
only Gospels that refer to his conception, 81 is portrayed as both just and
kind in his relations to Mary. 82 Mary's song depicts God as opposed to
the arrogant and helpful to the poor. 83 Jesus learned to appreciate much
of the theology and ethics of his peasant parents.
Aramaic, a Semitic language closely related to Hebrew, was Jesus'
mother tongue. He probably read Hebrew as a result of attending a
synagogue school in Nazareth whose only text was the Hebrew Bible. It
was called The House ojthe Book, and theology was only one of the subjects
considered. History, literature, political relationships, morality, andcul-
tic practices were studied from the scriptural anthology that scribes had
recorded over the previous millennium. Comprehension of the archaic
Hebrew language was assisted by Aramaic paraphrases, called targums.84
Both Muhammad and Jesus spent many years in secular employ-
ment. In accord with cultural expectations, Jesus was apprenticed in
boyhood in his father's carpentry craft. He probably continued in the
work for about two decades in Nazareth.
Like Muhammad, Jesus belonged to a town far from the center of
civilization. He thought of Jerusalem as the geographic hub of world
culture. Prophets had referred to the historical capital of "the holy
land" 85 as the earth's "navel".86 In contrast to Muhammad, for whom
Arabia was at the center of world cultures, Jesus referred to Sheba, or
Yemen, as "the end of the earth." 87
 EARLY LIFE 47

The Torah instructs the faithful to make pilgrimages to the central

sanctuary of Israel on festive occasions. 88 Rituals associated with such
trips resemble those engaged in during pilgrimages to Mecca. Ceremo-
nial washing, 89 shrine circling, 90 and hair cutting 91 were featured
events. When Jews from Palestine and the Diaspora arrived, they sang
this psalm:

I was glad when they said to me,

"Let us go to the house oj the Lordi"
Ourjeet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem.
Jerusalem—huilt as a city that is hound firmly together.
To it the tribes go up. . . .
Pray fior the peace ofi Jerusalem.92

The one boyhood story of Jesus in the New Testament tells of his
going with his parents to Jerusalem, where he experienced a rite of
passage into adulthood. He displayed to the scribal authorities there an
in-depth knowledge of his religious heritage. That vignette concludes
by affirming a fourfold growth: "Jesus increased in wisdom, in stature,
and in divine and human favor."93
There was this saying in Jesus' day: "There are four types among
them that sit in the presence of the sages: the sponge, the funnel, the
strainer, and the sifter."94 The "sponge" soaks up everything the instruc-
tor says and deposits it elsewhere relatively unaltered,- it is simply a bit
adulterated. The "funnel" receives what is poured in one ear and slowly
discharges it out the other ear, retaining nothing. The "strainer" lets out
the wine and keeps the worthless sediments. But the commendable
student is the "sifter" who separates the coarse particles from the fine
flour.95 Jesus was a "sifter," discriminatingly refining religious traditions
for contemporary use.
Just as the historical record does not specify if Joseph fulfilled his
duty in teaching Jesus the Torah, no mention is made of his finding a
wife for his son after the age of twelve. The New Testament is silent on
all of Jesus' early adult activities. As I have argued elsewhere, it is
probable that Joseph found a wife for teenage Jesus. 96 Had Jesus not
followed custom, criticism of his remaining a bachelor would be ex-
pected because this would be viewed as a rejection of what was com-
manded in the creation stones of his culture. 97 Regarding rabbis, the
Mishnah states-. "An unmarried man may not be a teacher." 98 Rabbi Jesus
was denounced for many things by Jewish leaders, but his marital status
48 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

was not one of them. The Gospels, like the Quran, take the Semitic
obligations of circumcision and marriage for granted, often without
mentioning them in individual cases.
John the Baptist was the living prophet who strongly influenced
Jesus at the beginning of his ministry. John stimulated a religious awak-
ening among Jews who had thought that Abraham's descendants were
insulated from God's judgment. Contemplating privileges rather than
responsibilities, they had presumed that there was a most favored nation
status in the divine government. To counter the smugness of God's
alleged chosen, John thundered:

Do not fancy that you can get by with saying, "We have
Abraham as our ancestor",- for I tell you, God is able to
produce descendants for Abraham from these stones. The ax
is ready to strike the trees at the root,- every tree that fails to
bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."

John considered changed life important, not correct lineage. Be-

coming baptized was efficacious only if it symbolized the washing away
of past bad behavior. Jesus admired that prophet's emphasis on the
fruitfulness that results from repentance,- a fig tree should be chopped
down if it produces nothing after careful nurturing. 100 Neither prophet
believed that a people could live on the momentum of godly forbears
because the living faith of the dead easily becomes the dead faith of the
living.
Jesus' prophetic ministry was launched by an experience that paral-
leled what happened to Muhammad in a remote area near Mecca. At
about the age of thirty, the Galilean came to the Judean desert where his
cousin John was preaching. Growing religiously for Isaiah and subse-
quent prophets meant becoming conscious of the imperfections of their
society and of themselves, as well as of a desire for forgiveness.101
Accordingly, Jesus wanted John to baptize him and to get a fresh start on
his life's vocation. While participating in the sacrament at the nearby
Jordan River, he experienced a momentous "call" resembling that of
some of the Israelite prophets. 102 A vision and voice were revealed to
Jesus: "He saw the firmament open and the dovelike Spirit descending
on him,- and from heaven came this declaration, 'You are my chosen
Son.' " 103
By the time of Jesus' baptism in the Jordan, he was fully aware of
 EARLY LIFE 49

being called to a special mission. He then withdrew to the bare hills near
the Dead Sea where there was little to distract him from spiritual
contemplation. As he attempted to define his new role, Jesus pondered
several possibilities for the future. These were: "Should I aim at satisfy-
ing material needs?," "Should I choose any effective means for achieving
control over others?," and "Will showing off special personal power
promote my cause?"
Jesus may have thought of attempting to become a new Moses,
delivering his people from latter-day pharaohs while providing physical
sustenance. The Exodus story claims that water, manna, and quail mirac-
ulously appeared along the way for Israelite consumption. Is the role of a
savior, Jesus wondered, inseparable from providing literal food for
down-and-out people? He either had the scroll of Deuteronomy with
him in the desert or had memorized verses from it because his responses
to this and other career possibilities came from that source. Jesus found a
principle relevant to his situation in words attributed to Moses-. "Bread is
not the only human need." 104
In the second temptation—to follow the order in Luke's Gospel—
Jesus is shown, in his mind's eye, all the earth's kingdoms. He is prom-
ised authority over all humans if he uses devilish tactics. In the centuries
before and after Jesus, conquest by war has been the most common
means that leaders have used to gain international power. Although
Jesus desired to promote God's transcultural kingdom, he rejected the
principle that a good goal justifies any evil means for diminishing
nation-states.
Jesus' final wilderness temptation apparently occurred while he was
meditating on a theme from the poetic anthology with which he was
most familiar. Psalm 1 announces a motif that is occasionally repeated in
subsequent poems, that the pious prosper and the wicked wither. The
most outspoken expression of that theme is in Psalm 91, in which a poet
claims that the person who trusts in God will remain unscathed by
surrounding disaster:

You will not fear the terrors of the night, nor the dangers of the day,-
Neither the plague that stalks in the dark, nor the calamity that spreads
havoc at midday
Though hundreds die at your side and thousands close at hand, the
pestilence will not harm you.
You will look about you and see how sinners are punished.105
50 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

Thus, the religious are promised safety during an epidemic. The

righteous can gaze with satisfaction at those who are dying all around
them in recompense for their wickedness. A bold declaration is then
made regarding the future:

God has charged his angels

to guard you wherever you go.
They will carry you in their arms
to keep youjrom hitting your foot against a stone.106

Presuming that the divine Protector never allows bad things to

happen to good persons, the psalmist concludes his encouragement to
fearlessness by assuring those who are devoted to God that they will not
only be rescued from trouble but will also be rewarded with long
physical life.
The Quran and Psalm 91 view angelic rescue missions similarly.
When attacking a Meccan army at Bahr with a comparatively small
number of troops, the Muslims called for more help. A miraculous
response followed:

When you prayed to your Lord for help, He answered: "I am

sending to your aid a thousand angels, rank after rank.". . .
Your Lord inspired the angels, saying: "I am with you,-
strengthen the believers. I will cast terror into the hearts of
those who disbelieve. Strike them from head to finger!" Who-
ever defies God and His Apostle will be sternly punished by
God. 1 0 7

While Jesus was apparently reflecting on the sentiments of a psalm-

ist who believed religion could prevent pain and illness, an idea entered
Jesus' imagination: could he, as one with strong religious convictions,
jump off the highest building he had ever seen and be rescued in midair
by guardian angels? Had not John the Baptist called him a mighty
man? 108 The temple in Jerusalem rose hundreds of feet above a ravine
below. Jesus worked over the perennial problems of special providence.
Should a person expect God to counter dependable natural forces and
save life and limb in a supernatural manner? Would a person who jumps
from the temple be a praiseworthy believer or a stupid exhibitionist?
Out of this contemplation, Jesus rejected the simpleminded belief
 EARLY LIFE 51

that the righteous can rest assured that their health and lives will be
miraculously preserved by divine intervention. He recognized that God
did not save the devout person whose prayer is recorded as Psalm 22
from torture and premature death. To the contrary, Manasseh, the most
wicked of all kings of Judah, had the longest reign while his grandson
Josiah, the most righteous of those kings, was killed at the age of thirty-
nine. 109 Also, the depraved monarch who began the Herodian dynasty
died at a ripe old age possessing enormous wealth and power. 110 Jesus
did not endorse the Psalm 91 fantasy of God's agents hovering over the
righteous to make emergency rescues that contravene the natural order.
Whereas Jesus found the wiles of Satan in Psalm 91, he discerned
the will of God in this proclamation attributed to Moses: "You shall not
put God to the test as you did at Massah."111 During the exodus from
Egypt, some Israelites withheld their trust in God until receiving water
at Massah in a spectacular manner. 112 While in another wilderness, Jesus
decided that he should not attempt to test God as the Israelites had
done. He appears to have associated the testimony in Psalm 91 with the
evil inclination in humans that mistakes fanatical foolhardiness for
religious courage.
Jesus' scriptural interpretations were like those of the resourceful
scribe whom he commended as being able to "bring out of his treasure
what is new and what is old."113 The Nazarene thought of his gospel as
"new wine" that would explode the hardened forms of ceremonial
Judaism. 114 Like his prophetic antecedents, Jesus carried on a lover's
quarrel with some of the traditions of his people. However, he defended
but few novel ideas that had not been accepted by at least some of his
fellow Jews.
Some of the Israelite prophets inspired Jesus in style and in con-
tent. The poetic rhythms by which they conveyed their messages
affected his speech. Jesus' focus on love and mercy was no doubt
influenced by Hosea's main theme. 115 The "good tidings" lyrics of Isaiah
of Babylon had a profound impact on Jesus. He aimed at fulfilling the
prophecies of a suffering servant who would become a "light to the
nations." 116 The innocent servant would persist in gentle ways to bring
justice to the earth. 117
Jesus attracted "great crowds" in Galilee even though some mem-
bers of the religious establishment found him subversive. The party of
Pharisees (meaning "Separated Ones") thought that devotion to God
required aloofness from those who did not have the time or interest to
obey the host of details in the Mosaic law. The respectable Pharisees
52 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

were disgusted that Jesus was kind to those who had been marginalized.
In response, he affirmed that his mission in life was to live with the
disreputable, extending to them the largest measure of trust possible in
order to change their attitudes. He acknowledged that he did not come
to work with those who thought they were in excellent spiritual health,-
rather, he came to associate with the irreligious.118
Like John the Baptist before him and Muhammad after him, Jesus
proclaimed God's rule and the need for repentance. 119 Repentance
involves a radical change in personal values, which results in discarding
religious legalism, purifying the inner life, and assisting the needy. In
spite of Jesus' unwelcomed message of judgment, he attracted many
people because of the therapy (from therapeuo, usually poorly translated
as "healing") he provided for the sick. 120 In ancient cultures, people
commonly believed that disease was caused by demons that invaded
their bodies, so Jesus worked to expel them. He tried to make people
aware of the psychosomatic causation of some illnesses, and occa-
sionally he informed those who felt healed that their faith was the
cause. 121 Jesus recognized his powerlessness to facilitate healing among
those who lacked confidence that they could regain health through the
help of God. 122
Consider one type of faith healing: Jesus occasionally encountered
individuals who had a skin disease that was psychogenic in nature. It
may have been psoriasis or vitiligo, misleadingly called "leprosy" 123
Priests declared those with such dermatological difficulties to be impure
and quarantined them. 124 Being socially ostracized until symptoms dis-
appeared was probably more destructive to well-being than the ail-
ments. One so-called "leper" came to Jesus believing that he could be
cleansed. Far from shunning him as contaminated and repulsive, Jesus
was "moved with compassion" and laid his hand on the man. 125 The
therapy in this case appears to have been Jesus assuring him that he was
not polluted as defined by Jewish law. A similar disregard for conven-
tional standards is displayed in the story of Simon the leper and Jesus. 126
He identified with that outcast by entering his dwelling and dining with
him, an encounter that may have brought healing.
Jesus was not pleased with the fame he was winning by attending to
those who were ill, knowing that there is nothing permanent in healing.
Since all who regained their health would eventually die, he recognized
that transmittable teaching could influence subsequent generations. He
left the crowds who wanted to be cured of their ailments, saying: "I must
proclaim the good news of the sovereignty of God . . . for I was sent for
 EARLY LIFE 53

this purpose." 127 The newly introduced title of "Rabbi" was frequently
used in reference to Jesus because he was interested in interpreting
scripture and in providing illustrative parables. Synagogue-goers found
in his teachings a vitality and boldness that they did not associate with
the Jewish scribes. 128
Bernard Shaw comments on the embarrassment Jesus felt from the
popularity he was receiving from his "mighty works":

When people who were not ill or in trouble came to him and
asked him to exercise his powers as a sign of his mission, he
was irritated beyond measure, and refused with an indignation
which they . . . must have thought very unreasonable. To be
called "an evil and adulterous generation" (Matt. 12:39)
merely for asking a miracle worker to give an exhibition of his
powers, is rather a startling experience. Mahomet, by the way,
also lost his temper when people asked him to perform mira-
cles. 129

Both Muhammad and Jesus had visions of what society should be

and an eagerness for change to achieve it. Muhammad's method empha-
sized restructuring the social structure, replacing tribal bonding with the
Muslim community. Jesus' approach focused on individual renewal by
selecting a dozen ordinary youths and training them to be carriers of his
gospel. Although keenly aware of their deficiencies, his dual perspective
enabled him to see the persons they might become.
An example of Jesus' transforming friendship can be found in his
relations with a fisherman named Simon, who "had an impulsive and
vacillating temperament. 130 Jesus saw not only Simon's weaknesses but
also his possibilities for becoming a steadfast leader. Thus, Jesus had said
to him, in effect: "Your parents named you Simon, but I am nicknaming
you Petros. You are Petros and on this petros I will build my church." 131
Petros, or Peter, is a Greek word that means rock when translated into
English. After long association with the charismatic Jesus, Peter did
become rock-like in conviction and did not cave in under the threat of
persecution from the Jewish supreme court. 132
Jesus asked prospective disciples to think carefully before joining
his band to ascertain if they had the stamina needed for the arduous days
ahead. 133 He said, "He who is near me is near the fire."134 "Fire" is here a
figure for the dangerous testing that the recruits would face. Jesus
frankly pointed out that wild animals have more safety and security than
54 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

he was receiving. That awareness is revealed in this dialogue: "As they

travelled along the road, someone said to him, 'I will follow you wher-
ever you go.'Jesus replied: 'Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the
Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.' " 135 In addition to not having a
place to call their own, disciples may find their families to be more
threatening than sheltering. Jesus quoted a saying of an earlier prophet:
"Your enemies will be members of your own household." 136
Some of Jesus' opponents accused him of being inspired by the
devil, and even members of his own family thought he was out of his
right mind. When his mother and his brothers attempted to take him
home, Jesus declared that his true family is composed not of his physical
kin but of those who do God's will. 137 Jesus' bond with his disciples
provided a surrogate family that transcended class, education, ethnic,
and gender divisions. Since kinship ties were central in the Semitic
culture, the loss of that network was dangerous.
John the Baptist became disenchanted with Jesus because he was
expecting his cousin to usher in a sudden divine intervention that would
separate out the good "grain" and burn the worthless "chaff."138 Since
Jesus had no interest in being a fierce ruler who would quickly destroy
evildoers, John dejectedly asked: "Are you the one who is to come, or
shall we wait for another?" 139 Jesus responded by attempting to con-
vince John that he was operating in the gradual way announced by
Isaiah, emphasizing God's mercy rather than God's wrath. 140
Midway through his ministry in Galilee, according to Mark, Jesus
visited his hometown. He made Isaiah's manifesto his own in the
Nazareth synagogue. Jesus announced his leading motif in this scriptural
reading:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me to bring good news to the destitute.
He has sent me... to free the downtrodden,
and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.141

On that occasion, Jesus referred to himself as a prophet and de-

fended his acceptance of gentiles by calling attention to a neglected
aspect of the work of two revered prophets who lived nine centuries
earlier. Jesus was impressed that both Elijah and Elisha concerned them-
selves with needy foreigners. During a time of famine, Elijah traveled to
the heathen homeland of Jezebel—his greatest enemy—and aided a
widow. What made that episode even more significant to Jesus was that
 EARLY LIFE 55

no mention is made of his helping people in Israel who were also

suffering from severe deprivation. 142 Likewise, Elisha assisted in restor-
ing the health of a Syrian army commander. Then, as in recent decades,
citizens of Israel considered Syria to be their main enemy. Again, Jesus
noted, the prophet could have expended all his efforts on those of his
own culture in similar need. However, scripture does not tell of Elisha
providing therapy for any Israelites who had the same dreaded skin
disease. 143
When fellow Nazarenes heard Jesus appeal to historical episodes
that they had conveniently overlooked, their earlier admiration
ceased. 144 Had he only said that he was at least as interested in non-
Nazarenes as in Nazarenes, he would have generated no more than their
disgust over his loss of special affection for his native village. But to cite
evidence from authoritative sources to prove that the Lord had compas-
sion on Israel's enemies was perceived by those Nazarenes as a threat to
their intense regionalism. Uncontrollable rage toward Jesus resulted,
and the Nazareth synagogue service concluded with this attempted
lynching:

When they heard this, all in the synagogue were infuriated.

They sprang to their feet and put him out of town. They led
him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built,
intending to throw him off the cliff. But he walked through
the mob and went away 1 4 5

Thus, the religious establishment in Nazareth illustrated what Jesus

had said to them: "Truly I tell you, no prophet is acceptable in his own
community." 146 Even as Muhammad was considered such a danger to his
fellow Meccans that they attempted to kill him, so Jesus was viewed as
threatening by those with whom he had lived throughout his life. He
left his hometown never to return again.
 CHAPTER FOUR

LATER LIFE

The Medinan Statesman

Tor Muhammad, a decade of increasing humiliation was followed by a
decade of increasing success. He arrived in Yathrib with Abu Bakr, his
most steadfast comrade, after narrowly escaping assassination. Going to
the city called for a ten-day journey north of Mecca, traveling near the
main trade route to Syria. The rainfall there permitted orchards of date
palms and fields of barley Yathrib was not as homogeneous as Mecca,- the
different tribes lived in agricultural settlements with tower fortifications
to provide protection when attacked. The city was soon to be renamed
Medinat al-Nabi, City of the Prophet, and abbreviated as Medina.
The movement of Muslim base operations to Medina is known as
the hijra. The linguistic meaning of the term is "migration," but "flight"
accurately describes the desperate situation. It was as pivotal for Muslim
history as the exodus from Egypt was for Israelite history. Muslim
calendar-makers subsequently regarded it as parallel in significance to
what the coming of Jesus has been in Christianity. The year of the hijra,
abbreviated "A.H.," has provided for Muslims an option to "A.D." (anno
Domini, "year of the Lord"), which has been Christians' recognition of
Jesus' significance in beginning a new era. The Muslim year, following
the lunar cycle, divides the year into months of twenty-nine or thirty
days, for a total of 354 days per year.

57
58 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

Muhammad, now fifty-two in 622 A.D. = 1 A.H., headed the em-

igrants (muhajirun); only after some years did he become the absolute
ruler of Medina. His first decision was to decide where to live without
offending any group. To avoid the appearance of personal favoritism, he
gave free rein to his camel and alighted where it kneeled. An open-air
sanctuary was located on that plot, presumed to be the divine choice. It
was called a mosque (masjid), which in Arabic means a place of worship.
He constructed shelters of unbaked mud-brick around the mosque for
his residence and headquarters. 1
Originally there appears to have been three prayer times daily: at
dawn, midday, and evening, but soon two more were added. 2 On Friday,
there was a noon service at the mosque. 3 Muhammad promoted congre-
gational prayer by claiming that it was twenty-five times superior to
private prayer. 4
In the absence of clocks, a reminder of prayer times was needed.
Muhammad considered following the Jewish custom of blowing a ram's
horn or of adopting the Christian custom of ringing a bell. 5 He decided
on instituting a town crier, and many years later the minaret was
constructed as a perch for the one called a muezzin. Bilal, a former
Ethiopian slave who had been ransomed by Abu Bakr, was selected for
the role. That first Black Muslim shouted out with his powerful voice
from a high place. 6
Muhammad drew up a unilateral proclamation that replaced the
centrality of kinship with the bond of Muslim brotherhood. The em-
igrants and the Medina Muslims, along with those who would fight
alongside them, formed "one community (umma) to the exclusion of all
other people." 7 Islam, in effect, became a more inclusive tribe. With
Muslim solidarity, the burden of revenge shifted in large part from the
family to the religious fellowship. An offense against any Muslim consti-
tuted a crime against Islam.8
All disputes were to be brought to Muhammad for settlement, and
his pronouncements of God's judgment were to be accepted by the
community. 9 A shift in Muhammad's role in Medina is apparent from the
start. The revelation to the prophet at Mecca stated: "You are only a
warner,- you have no authority over them." 10 From this point forward,
Muhammad asserts, "Fear God and obey me."11
The Jews, who had been prominent in Medina for many genera-
tions, had accommodated themselves to pluralism and were well ac-
cepted by the polytheistic Arab tribes. Montgomery Watt describes
their importance:
 LATER LIFE 59

At one time the Jews had had political control of Medina, and
the remnant of the previous Arab settlers had become depen-
dent on them. Perhaps it was the Jews who developed agricul-
ture at Medina, as they did in other parts of Arabia.12

Dealing with the Jews was a new challenge for Muhammad because
in Mecca he confronted only polytheists. He glibly assumed that fellow
astute monotheists would join the Muslims, but few did. The Jews
quickly discovered that the free practice of their religion was in conflict
with accepting Muhammad's role as mediator. They realized that he did
not exalt the Torah as the basis of authority and that his knowledge of
their traditions was deficient.13 Muhammad probably envied the Jews
because of their prosperity, as well as their claim to superior religious
knowledge. He soon realized that he was incapable of assimilating the
Jews into the new community. An unending mutual bitterness between
the Jews and Muhammad followed. After realizing the Jewish rejection,
he reversed the prayer direction for Muslims, so that they turned their
backs on Jerusalem and faced Mecca. 14 Also, fasting during the month of
Ramadan replaced the Yom Kippur fast that Muhammad had previously
sanctioned. 15
The Muslims in Medina were in desperate need of employment.
The jobs in agriculture and trading were already taken by the Medinans.
Following a common bedouin means of subsistence, the refugees began
preying on caravans. Muhammad's former experience with Meccan
caravans gave him an insider's awareness of their routes and vul-
nerability. The Meccans were targeted because the emigrants had a
passionate desire to retaliate for insults and property losses they had
suffered in their native city.
After some unsuccessful raids, the Muslims ambushed a small cara-
van that was traveling without armed escort under the cover of the holy-
month amnesty. Of the four Meccans in the caravan, two were captured,
one escaped, and one was killed. That murder launched a blood feud
that deepened the antagonism of the Quraish toward the Muslims. The
hostages were imprisoned until a ransom was paid.
Many Arabs regarded the Muslim attack as scandalous because it
violated a widely honored time of peace that made pilgrimages possible.
Muhammad received this clarifying revelation: "Fighting during the
sacred month is bad in God's sight, but the expulsion of people from
worship (at Mecca) by unbelievers is worse."16 The Muslims were then
able to confiscate the raisins, leather, and other merchandise from the
60 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

caravan with a clear conscience. A revelation from on high settled how

spoils should be divided: four-fifths were to be distributed to the ma-
rauders,- one-fifth was to be given to Muhammad for his family and for
his discretionary use with the poor. 17
Encouraged by the loot that had been taken from the Meccans,
Muhammad led an attack at Badr against a large caravan returning from
Syria. In this case, the Meccans had sent out troops to protect their
caravan and to fight off Muhammad's bandits. Features of that battle are
similar to the fight of David and the Israelites against Goliath and the
Philistines. It began with combat between representative warriors going
forth from the opposing forces and, at the end, the head of the leader of
the larger enemy force was removed as a trophy and thrown down
before Muhammad. 18
Before the general slaughter at Badr got underway, Muhammad
prayed in this somewhat threatening manner: "O God, if this band
perish today You will be worshiped no more." 19 Afterward the Prophet
assured his right-hand companion: "Be of good cheer, O Abu Bakr. God's
help has come to you. Here is Gabriel holding the rein of a horse and
leading it."20
Some important Meccans were killed, including commander Abu
Jahl. He had bitterly opposed Muhammad from the beginning of his
prophetic ministry and had been determined to crush Muhammad. Most
of the Meccan prisoners of war were held for ransom since there was no
profit in killing them. But Muhammad did execute two captives who had
mocked him during his years of preaching in Mecca. 21
The most celebrated piece of Badr booty was a double-pointed
sword that came to be known as Dhu'l Fakar, meaning "vertebrae
cleaver." It had hollows on its back edge for penetrating coats of mail.
Muhammad wore it at subsequent battles as an encouraging reminder of
past enemies' defeat. The sword passed into the possession of subse-
quent Muslim leaders. 22
The Muslims interpreted the triumph at Badr as a providential
deliverance. Its effect on the new community was similar to the Is-
raelites' claim, as they fled from Egypt, that God had defeated Pharaoh's
army. The lengthy account of the Badr battle and the poetic celebration
afterward display the intense Muslim interest in taking revenge. Ishaq
devotes half of the pages concerning Muhammad's first two years in
Medina to this first major victory, during which the number of Meccans
slain was several times more than his own losses.
As Muhammad consolidated his power, he began to rid Medina of
 LATER LIFE 61

the three Jewish tribes. He was irritated that no Jews had volunteered to
fight the Meccans and that hardly any had accepted him as a gentile
successor to Moses. The Quran insultingly compares the Jews holding
the Torah to an ass carrying books, oblivious to what they contain. 23
Muhammad warned the Qainuqa tribe, composed of Jewish mer-
chants: "Beware lest God bring upon you the vengeance that he brought
upon Quraish, and become Muslims. You know that 1 am a prophet who
has been sent—you will find that in your scriptures." 24 They replied, "O
Muhammad, you seem to think that we are your people. Do not deceive
yourself because you encountered a people with no knowledge of war
and got the better of them,- for by God if we fight you, you will find that
we are real men!"25 After the Jews expressed defiance, Muhammad
received this message: "Say to the unbelievers: 'You shall be vanquished
and driven into Hell, an awful resting place! You have already had a sign
in the two armies which met: one was fighting for God's cause,- the other,
unbelievers.' " 26
Biographer Hisham tells of a prank on an Arab woman by some of
the Qainuqa. After she refused to uncover her face when seated in the
marketplace, a teasing goldsmith fastened her clothes so as to cause an
immodest exposure when she stood. The Jewish merchant was killed by
a Muslim who, in turn, was killed by some Jews. 27 After this disturbance,
Muhammad wanted to punish the whole tribe severely but a Medinan
chief interceded on their behalf. The prophet yielded on condition that
the Qainuqa leave Mecca within three days without their arms and
possessions. The expelled tribe went to Syria, and the Muslims confis-
cated a large amount of property. 28
Meccan general Abu Sufyan vowed to have no sex until he retali-
ated for his defeat at Badr and for a subsequent capture by the Moslems
of his caravan, which contained a huge shipment of silver. While near
Medina, he was entertained by a leader of the Nadir tribe of Jewish
agriculturists who provided some secret information about the Mus-
lims. 29 Believing that the Nadir were plotting to assassinate him,
Muhammad had his men besiege their plantations and destroy some of
their palm trees. He approved the Jews' request that their lives be spared
and that they be allowed to go into exile. They carried as many of their
possessions as they could load on camels and appeared to be relieved to
leave a city where they were despised by a leader with increasing power.
Some went northward to Khaibar, and others went on to Syria. The
Muslims divided the remaining Nadir property, which provided houses
for the expatriates from Mecca. 30 The Quran tells of the expulsion of
62 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

those Jews and the hellfire awaiting them because "they resisted God
and his Apostle."31
Ishaq records an episode that expresses Muhammad's growing
hatred of the Jews, the blind obedience he was receiving from his
followers, and pagan theological ethics.-

The Apostle said, "Kill any Jew that falls into your power."
Thereupon Muhayyisa . . . leapt upon . . . a Jewish merchant
with whom they had social and business relations, and killed
him. When Muhayyisa killed him, Huwayyisa (his non-
Muslim elder brother) began to beat him, saying, "You enemy
of God, did you kill him when much of the fat on your belly
comes from his wealth?" . . . Muhayyisa answered, "Had the
one who ordered me to kill him ordered me to kill you, I
would have cut your head off."32

At fifty-five, Muhammad suffered a military reversal at Uhud,

where the Meccans slayed three times more troops than the overconfi-
dent Muslims did. Wearing two coats of mail, Muhammad participated
in the battle. He shot his bow until it broke, and he bloodied his sword.
In return, Muhammad received superficial head injuries, causing a de-
moralizing rumor that he had been killed. 33 The crudity of war is
displayed in the corpse mutilations after this battle. Meccan women
slashed off ears and noses in order to make anklet and necklace trophies.
Abu Sufyan's wife cut out and tried to eat the liver of the prophets uncle,
Hamza, who had killed her father. 34
The Meccan victory was so great that had they taken advantage of
the situation, they could have destroyed the Medinan military capa-
bility. However, the Meccans withdrew after retaliating, killing a num-
ber equal to that of their own forces killed at the previous engagement.
Arabs typically fought to get even for some past injustice, not to
exterminate their enemy. Abu Sufyan shouted from a mountaintop:
"Victory in war goes by turns: today is in exchange for the day of
Badr."35 Muhammad has Umar respond: "We are not equal: our dead are
in Paradise,- your dead are in Hell." 36
Since Muhammad had touted that God caused the victory at Badr,
some Muslims had come to think they were henceforth invincible. Most
Muslims were encouraged that their upstart army was not eliminated by
the strongest force the Meccans could muster. Lest it be thought that the
 LATER LIFE 63

defeat at Uhud was due to the weakness of Islam's deity, the Quran
provides this theodicy:

You disobeyed after God had shown you what you crave.
Some yearn for the present world; others, the world to come.
He allowed you to be driven back in order to test you. . . .
Remember how you fled in panic while the Apostle at your
rear was calling out to you. Therefore He paid you back with
sorrow for every vexation. 37

Two years after the Uhud battle, the Quraiza Jewish tribe from
Medina may have encouraged the Meccans to attack Muhammad again.
The Jews allegedly stated that the religion that Muhammad discarded
was superior to Islam.38 Before the invasion, Muhammad constructed a
trench across the only approach to Medina that the Meccan cavalry
could use. He assisted the diggers, causing sparks to fly as he struck
rocks with a pick. 39
The besieged Medinans encountered hardships after several weeks,
causing Muhammad to plan a peaceful way of getting the invaders to
withdraw. By bribing some of them with a large payment of dates, he
intended to divide the enemies and to persuade some to leave. After the
Muslims learned that Muhammad was merely following his own judg-
ment and not divine revelation, they rejected his efforts for negotiating
an end to the conflict. They told Muhammed: "After God has honored
and guided us to Islam and made us famous by you, are we to give them
our property? We certainly will not. We will give them nothing but the
sword until God decides between us." 40 After a little bloodshed, the
invaders returned to Mecca.
As soon as the "battle of the trench" was over, Muhammad ter-
rorized the Quraiza, the only Jews left in Medina. They denied the
accusation that they supported the Meccans from where they lived on
the outskirts of the city. In any case, the Jews did not assist the Muslims
during the siege of Medina. Ali Dashti comments: "Since their refusal to
collaborate with Abu Sofyan (the Meccan commander) had been the
main reason for the outcome of the war to the Moslem advantage, they
might have been thought to deserve at least the Prophet's lenience."41
According to Ishaq, Gabriel appeared to convey God's order that
Muhammad fight against the Quraiza. After they surrendered, they were
asked to choose between death and accepting Muhammad as God's the
64 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

prophet whom God forecasted in their Jewish scripture. The Quraiza

said, "We will never abandon the laws of the Torah and never change it
for another." 42 Ishaq's grisly account of male massacre follows: "The
Apostle went out to the market of Medina and dug trenches in it. Then
he sent for them and struck off their heads in those trenches as they were
brought out to him in batches. . . . There were 600 or 700 in all."43 Some
of the Jewish women and children were sold as slaves to obtain horses
and weapons. Muhammad took Rayhana, the wife of one whom he
decapitated, for his possession. 44 The Quran gives a theological sanc-
tion to these actions: "God brought those scriptural people down from
their strongholds and cast panic in them. You (Muslims) put some to the
sword and took others captive. He permitted you to inherit their land,
their dwellings, and their wealth." 45
There was no more organized resistance against Muhammad in
Medina after the Quraiza were eliminated. Maxime Rodinson comments
on the significance of that action:

From a purely political point of view . . . the massacre was an

extremely wise move. The Quraiza were a permanent threat
in Medina. To let them go would be to strengthen the hot-bed
of anti-Muslim intrigue at Khaibar. Only the dead do not
return. Furthermore, the killing would help to frighten and
discourage the enemy. 46

As the undisputed sovereign of Medina, he turned his attention to

negotiating peace with his native Quraish tribe. Muslim devotion to the
place called by the Quran "the mother of cities" 47 had been deepened by
years of praying in the direction of Mecca. The prophet put on pilgrim
garb during the traditional truce month and took seventy camels to the
city for sacrifice.
On coming within a few miles of the holy city, his party was
confronted by Meccans who were determined to block the Muslims
from entering. When the envoy attempted intimidation, Abu Bakr re-
sponded: "Go suck Al-Lat's tits!"48 More conciliatory, Muhammad
agreed to the Meccan demand that pilgrimage to the Ka'ba be delayed
for a year and that Meccans have a decade to decide on becoming
Muslims. Deferring to Meccan sensitivities, he did not sign the armistice
with his usual title "Apostle of God." This and other concessions were
strongly opposed by General Umar, who regarded it humiliating for a
superior power to cater to objections of those who were weaker. He
 LATER LIFE 65

said: "Is he (Muhammad) not God's Apostle, and are we not Muslims,
and are they not polytheists? . . . Then why should we agree to what is
demeaning to our religion?" 49
That diplomatic compromise over entering Mecca proved to be
one of Muhammad's wisest acts. Since the troops accompanying him
were comparatively few in number and lightly armed, he avoided a
crushing defeat while securing future benefits. To assure peace, the
Meccans agreed to withdraw from the city during the next Muslim
pilgrimage. "No previous victory in Islam was greater than this," Ishaq
writes,- "more than double as many entered Islam as ever before." 50
Overcoming enemies without bloodshed was Muhammad's policy
with regard to his home city, but elsewhere he did not grant generous
terms in order to avoid war. He displayed no magnanimity in an expedi-
tion he led against the Jewish settlement at Khaibar, an oasis far north of
Medina where many members of the Nadir tribe lived. Muhammad was
aware of the wealth of that community, and he may still have been
disgusted over the proud way in which the Nadirs made their forced exit
from Medina two years earlier. Ishaq notes that "they went with such
pomp and splendor as had never been seen in any tribe" as wives and
children sang joyfully while riding on heavily loaded camels. 51 In any
case, Muhammad viewed Jewish power anywhere in his region of Arabia
as a security threat and was determined to destroy it. His long-range
solution to his problem is disclosed in his frank comments to the Jewish
community: "If you embrace Islam, you will be safe. You should know
that the earth belongs to God and His Apostle, and I want to expel you
from this land." 52
After a devastating attack and victory at Khaibar, the spoils, includ-
ing wives of slain warriors, were distributed among the victors. Muham-
mad selected one of the beautiful young widows for himself. Because of
their irreplaceable agricultural skills, the conquered people of Khaibar
were not exterminated,- they persuaded their captors to employ them for
half the share of their produce. 53
Seven years after the hijra, the formerly despised Meccan agitator
reentered his native city for the first time. In accord with the truce, the
Meccans evacuated their city for three days to avoid hostilities with
the Muslim pilgrims. Muhammad's uncle al-Abbas, who was head of the
Hashimite clan, remained to welcome his nephew. To strengthen clan
bonding, Muhammad married Maimuna, the sister of his uncle's wife. 54
Like the ritual he had performed early in life, he circled the sanctuary
seven times on his camel and touched the Black Stone.
66 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

Muhammad's finest hour may have been when, at the age of sixty,
he returned again to Mecca and led thousands of troops triumphantly
into Mecca with little killing or looting. Pardon was given to men such
as Abdulla who had renounced Islam and returned to Mecca after
writing down some of Muhammad's revelations at Medina. Abu Sufyan,
formerly the military commander of battles against Muhammad and
now his father-in-law, became his loyal supporter for the rest of a long
life. Unlocking the Ka'ba, the focal point of ritual prayers, Muhammad
had the 360 idols burned or broken. He ordered that only the icon
depicting Jesus on his mother's knee be preserved.55
From that occasion to the present, the empty Ka'ba at the center of
the rededicated Grand Mosque of Mecca has functioned like the Holy
of Holies in the temple of ancient Jerusalem. Neither of the small
cubical-shaped structures were places for most worshipers to enter.
Israelites imagined then and Muslims now conceive of the windowless
shrines as housing the earthly invisible presence of the King of Kings,
whose rule stretches in all directions. Those sacred buildings were not
objects of worship but places to concentrate consciousness on the single
God who made their religious history possible.
Why did Muhammad not destroy the Black Stone that he had
helped during his pagan years to lodge in the side of the Ka'ba? On his
first pilgrimage to the shrine that had been for him the holiest place
throughout his life, the Black Stone was "embraced" (istalama, the Arabic
word here, involves stroking and kissing).56 His sentimental attachment
was so strong that he could not classify it with the other carved and
uncarved idols in the Ka'ba. Perhaps he had come to think of the Black
Stone not as an object of worship but as a symbol of God's presence. It
became for Muhammad's "house of God" (bait-allah) what a field stone
became for Jacob's "house of God" (beth-el).57 Rock connotes perma-
nence, so it is an occasional metaphor for God in the Hebrew culture.
For example, Joshua used a stone as a reminder of covenant renewal with
the Lord.58
While at the shrine that was as central to Muslims as it had been to
Arab pagans, Meccans swore allegiance to the city's new ruler. At that
occasion, according to Ishaq:

The Apostle stood at the door of the Ka'ba and said: "There is
no God but Allah alone. . . . He has made good His promise
and helped His servant. . . . O Quraish, God has taken from
you the haughtiness of paganism and its veneration of ances-
 LATER LIFE 67

tors. Man springs from Adam and Adam sprang from dust. . . .
Go your way for you are the freed ones." 59

At this time, a confederacy of twenty thousand Arabs marched

unsuccessfully against Muhammad at Hunain, near Mecca. Their defeat
established him as unquestionably the most powerful leader in Arabia.
The accompanying personal popularity of Muhammad resulted in a
flood of new Muslims, many of whom may have been only nominally
converted. Ishaq associates a Quranic revelation with this situation:
"After God's help and victory came, you see multitudes crowding into
God's religion." 60 Since a one-sentence creed affirming monotheism and
Muhammad's prophetic role was the minimum demanded for joining
Islam, it is understandable that whole towns would suddenly want to be
part of a people who were highly successful politically and economi-
cally. For the first time in history, most of the bedouin tribes of the
Arabian peninsula became united. Muhammad had increased loyalties
from clan or tribe to form a pan-Arabian solidarity, theoretically based
on theocracy. Belligerence was channeled to the cause of protecting the
community of those professing a common religious commitment.
The Quran states that the bedouin were generally not fully con-
verted to Islam.61 Those who have probed seventh-century Arabian pol-
itics have likewise pointed to the gap between outward profession of faith
and inward monotheistic commitment. Iranian scholar Dashti writes:

Although no reliable statistics of devotees and opportunists

among the Prophet's followers have yet been compiled, it can
be inferred that about ninety percent of those who had pro-
fessed Islam by the time of his death had done so from either
fear or expediency. 62

Rodinson has this to say regarding the consolidation of Muslim

power:

Muhammad was able to bribe influential men with suitable

presents and, like a true politician, to play on men's ambition,
greed, vanity, fears and sometimes no doubt (although more
rarely) on their thirst for idealism and devotion. Some were
completely converted, others gave their allegiance while re-
maining pagan at heart. Every tribe bound itself to Medina
with promises to furnish troops and not to attack the other
68 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

tribes which had made alliances with Muhammad. They

smashed their idols and undertook to pay either the lawful
contribution of the faithful or the tax levied on associates, as
the case might be. . . . Every conceivable attitude was there,
from firm conviction to downright unbelief. But all these
tribes were bound to Muhammad as political entities. That
was what mattered. 63

In less than a decade, Muhammad had risen from a Meccan fugitive

to an Arabian potentate. He sent letters to some foreign rulers affirming
that he was God's messenger and that any people who accepted Islam
would be safe. The letter to Muqauqis, the Coptic King of Ethiopia, was
favorably received, and he sent to Muhammad the gift of a concubine, a
Christian named Mariya (Mary). 64 She gave birth to a boy, who lived
only one year. During that time, Muhammad probably hoped that some
day he might be succeeded by this son who was named Ibrahim after the
patriarch declared by the Quran to be the paradigm Muslim.
After subduing his fellow Arabians, Muhammad returned to
Medina—which remained his political capital—and directed his atten-
tion northward beyond Arabia. He wanted to take advantage of the
wealth of the Fertile Crescent, which formed an arc around northern
Arabia from the Persian Gulf to the Nile Delta. He may have realized
that the power vacuum resulting from the weakness of the former
mighty empires of that area would make conquest easier.
The campaign that Muhammad led on Tabuk, an outpost of the
Byzantine empire south of the Dead Sea, was the beginning of the
Muslim wars of international conquest. To penetrate a region ripe for
the plucking hundreds of miles north of Medina, he amassed a large
army. Getting underway was hampered by the prosperity of the Mus-
lims, which had lowered their motivation to risk death in order to gather
more booty. The intense summer conditions en route were almost
disastrous. Ishaq states: "When the men had no water they complained
to the Apostle, so he prayed, and God sent a cloud, and so much rain fell
that they were satisfied."65
When the Muslims reached their destination, the Christians in
Tabuk and the surrounding region submitted without fighting. Byzan-
tium had so little power left that John, the governor of Aila, took the
initiative to make a treaty with Muhammad. The merchants of Aila, now
the port city of Aqaba, were guaranteed safety for their ships and
caravans in exchange for paying protection money. A precedent was
 LATER LIFE 69

then established for dealing with people with a biblical religion who
lived outside of Arabia. While entrusting Muslims with military control
by the payment of an annual tax, they could continue to practice their
religion. 66
On returning to Medina, Muhammad treated as apostates those
able-bodied men who had not joined him to spread the religious,
political, economic, and social system of Islam. He was incensed that
some Muslims would rather not go outside their region to conquer. The
Quran treats the situation scornfully: "What ailed you when it was said
to you, 'March for God's cause,' that you lingered slothfully in the
land. . . . If it had been closer by and an easy journey, you would surely
have gone." 67
The Tabuk campaign was the last of the twenty-seven in which
Muhammad took part personally,- he actually fought in nine battles.
There were many other raids carried out by Muhammad's troops. 68 His
victories and defeats were rather evenly divided. The prophet's last
sermon in Medina was devoted to promoting a military campaign in
Syria, which was completed several years later with the capture of
Damascus. 69
At sixty-two, Muhammad made his last trip to his home city. By
now, the Quran had added a pilgrimage to Mecca as a basic Muslim
obligation: "To make hajj to the Ka'ba is a duty to God for believers who
have the capacity to make the journey." 70 At Mecca, he ran around the
Ka'ba three times and walked around it four times. 71 Then he moved
rapidly between Safa and Marwa, 72 hills associated with Hagar's frantic
search for water before the Zamzam source was found. On the Arafat
plains, a few miles from Mecca, the culminating rituals took place. For
hours, the pilgrims stood together in solidarity 73 Muhammad con-
cluded what would soon be recognized as his farewell discourse with
these unifying words: "Know that every Muslim is a brother to every
other Muslim and that you are now one brotherhood." 74
At nearby Mina, the pilgrims threw pebbles at pillars that repre-
sented Satan, who tempted Abraham to refuse God's command to
sacrifice his son. Then, in recognition that God permitted Abraham to
substitute a domestic animal, the pilgrims ritually sacrificed animals and
ate the meat or gave it to the needy. 75 After the pilgrims made offerings,
they were deconsecrated and could replace their two white seamless
loincloths with ordinary clothing. The minimum time for the pilgrimage
was two days,- afterward they could resume cutting their hair and engag-
ing in marital intercourse. 76
70 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

Shortly after returning to Medina, Muhammad became ill with

pneumonia-like symptoms. He confided to friends that God had assured
him a place in paradise but had given him the option of going at once or
going later, and that he had chosen the former. Aisha, his teenage wife,
described his last hours in this way: "His pain overcame him as he was
going the round of his wives. . . . The Apostle died in my bosom during
my turn."77
Muhammad's last words expressed his judgment that Islam alone
should survive in his homeland. He allegedly said: "Let not two religions
be left in the Arabian peninsula."78 Aisha reported that "when the last
moment of life of God's Apostle came, . . . he said, 'May God curse the
Jews and Christians, for they built the places of worship at the graves of
their prophets.' "79 During his illness, Muhammad heard of the adora-
tion of saint statues at an Ethiopian church80 and he may have been
reflecting on the undesirable possibility of Muslims idolizing his relics.
The prophet prohibited the use of funeral monuments or inscriptions.81
In Muhammad's opinion, he died as an old man. The Apostle had
said: "The term of life of my people ranges between sixty and seventy
years, and very few live longer."82 Yet the Muslim community was not
prepared for the loss of their leader, and his death came as a profound
shock. Immediately after his death, Umar attempted to deny the mortal-
ity of his hero by this announcement: "Muhammad is not dead: he has
gone to his Lord as Moses did."83 Umar was not referring to Moses' final
disappearance on Mount Nebo, but to his ascent to Mount Sinai before
returning a month later. Abu Bakr, Muhammad's closest companion,
then spoke to those who had gathered at the Medina mosque. After
silencing Umar's frantic proclamation, Abu Bakr put an immediate end
to any idolizing impulse. Facing the reality of Muhammad's corpse
nearby, Abu Bakr announced: "If anyone worships Muhammad, Muham-
mad is dead. If anyone worships God, God is alive, immortal."84 He then
recited this Quranic verse: "Muhammad is no more than an apostle, and
many apostles have passed away before him."85 Muhammad was not
buried in the Muslim graveyard, but where he died under Aisha's dwell-
ing adjacent to the mosque.86
Robert Ellwood offers a fitting tribute to the fulfilled life of this
charismatic figure:

Muhammad died a popular hero among his people, a ruler, a

successful diplomat, politician, and general. He was a mystic
 LATER LIFE 71

visionary also, but there was nothing ethereal about him.

Instead he seemed to his people a man larger than life in many
senses: warmhearted, full of cheerful humor, a planner of
stratagems, a marshall who rode into battle with his troops
and held his following together by the force of his personality
when all seemed darkest. 87

The Peaceful Reformer

After being ousted from Nazareth for his lack of chauvinism, Jesus
made his home in the lakeside town of Capernaum. 88 His friends were
mainly fisherfolk who lived in the area, including Mary of Magdala,
whose town was also on the Galilean lake. Farther along the lake was
Tiberius, which Herod Antipas built as his new capital and named for
the ruling Caesar. Jesus apparently avoided the Galilean cities, Tiberius
and Herod's earlier capital at Sepphoris.
King Herod had provoked anger among many Jews because of his
luxurious lifestyle and adoption of Roman customs. He assumed that
whom he married or divorced was strictly a personal matter that could
be done without consulting even his wife. Before marrying his brother's
wife, Herod decided to divorce the daughter of Arab King Aretas IV.
John the Baptist denounced the marital conduct of his king, which was
incestuous according to Hebrew law. 89 Fearful that John's popularity
with the people in his realm might cause an uprising, Herod had him
imprisoned. 90 Subsequently, with encouragement from his new wife,
the king ordered John's head served on a platter at his birthday party. 91
Enraged by the desertion, the Arabian princess returned to Petra,
the Nabatean capital. By way of revenge, her father humiliated Herod in
a battle against the Jews. Josephus records a theological interpretation
that was given to Herod's military defeat:

To some of the Jews the destruction of Herod's army seemed

to be divine vengeance, and certainly a just vengeance, for his
treatment of John, surnamed the Baptist. For Herod had put
him to death, though he was a good man and had exhorted
the Jews to lead righteous lives. 92
72 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

John's martyrdom had a profound effect on Jesus because he also

thought of himself a prophet. This self-understanding corresponded
with his public image,- some Galileans described Jesus as "a prophet like
one of the old prophets"93 and exclaimed, "A great prophet has arisen
among us!"94 "Prophet," the standard translation of the Hebrew term nabi
or the Greek term prophetes, can be misleading if foretelling the future is
presumed to be its primary connotation. Biblical prophets were inter-
preters of past divine-human covenants and, on the basis of historical
patterns, discerners of present and future trends. The prophets who
interested Jesus were principally spokespersons for God in their own
times. They were mainly not condemners of outsiders but warners to
their own people.
Herod thought of Jesus as another troublesome John the Baptist
who was critical of the authorities in his realm.95 Jesus was informed that
the king was determined to kill him.96 To achieve that end, the Hero-
dians had conspired with the Pharisees.97 Recognizing that his days
were numbered, Jesus concentrated on spreading the Gospel rapidly and
training twelve disciples to carry on after him. To accomplish both
purposes, Jesus sent out pairs of disciples to different places in Galilee on
a practice mission. They attempted to give more wholeness to the minds
and bodies of those they encountered.98
After Jesus' disciples returned, he took them on a retreat into the
mountains to the north of Galilee. There he introduced the notion that
great suffering, and even death, should be expected for himself and his
followers. In spite of the recent ghastly killing of an innocent prophet,
the disciples had a mental block against accepting that God would
permit good people to face such terrible experiences. Jesus spoke in this
frank and paradoxical manner:

If any want to become my followers, let them deny them-

selves, carry their cross, and follow me. Those who want to
save their life will lose it, but those who lose their life for me
and for the gospel will save it. What will they gain by winning
the whole world at the cost of their life?99

In Galilee, there were occasionally scenes of captured terrorists car-

rying their cross to a place of execution. 10° Jesus introduced the notion of
taking up a cross voluntarily, even when it was not inflicted. According to
one Gospel, he advocated that the cross be carried "daily,"101 showing that
 LATER LIFE 73

it symbolized for him not political martyrdom but an ongoing living sacri -
fice. The cross was a strong image for risking humiliation while advocat-
ing Jesus' way. This would involve breaking some of the establishment
rules and courageously standing tall without revenge.
Not long after Jesus returned with his disciples from the Lebanese
mountains, a slow journey to Jerusalem began. He announced, "It cannot
be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem."102 Jesus inter-
acted with the Passover pilgrims who were traveling with him on his last
visit to the traditional capital. Those who accompanied him were filled
with ebullient nationalism and religious enthusiasm. They sang a psalm
that tells of the divine assistance available to Jews as they desperately
respond to encompassing enemies. Psalm 118 contains the Hosanna cry,
meaning "Rescue now!" The exclamations that follow identify the
singers as being in the Jerusalem area:

O Lord, (jive us success!

Blessed be the one who enters in the name oj the Lord!. . .
With branches in hand, move in procession to the Temple altar!103

A festive crowd carrying leafy boughs accompanied Jesus. They

hoped he might be God's agent for driving the Romans out of Palestine.
They shouted, "God bless the coming kingdom of our father David!
Hosanna in the highest!"104 During the Passover, the annual celebration
of the Israelite defeat of the Egyptians, there was a fervent longing for
liberation from contemporary pharaohs. The pilgrims dreamed that the
new savior would be like one of God's anointed kings who never lost a
battle. David had removed the Philistine threat and had widened the
boundaries of the independent Israelite state to the greatest extent ever.
Those along the road with Jesus desired a new David who would behave
in a similar manner.
After the Roman conquest of Palestine under General Pompey,
some Pharisees composed a new psalm to vent contempt for those
gentiles. The pilgrims may have sung it also:

O God, may the son of David rei^n over your servant Israel
Gird him with strength to shatter wicked rulers.
May he purge Jerusalem from gentiles that trample and destroy it. . . .
With an iron mace he will crush all their substance.
He will blot out the lawless gentiles with a word of his mouth.105
74 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

Some of Jesus' disciples thought that Jesus was going to Jerusalem

to expel the Romans and rule from a glorious throne. James and John
requested: "Permit us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left,
in your glory."106 Jesus lamented that they did not discern that his
kingdom was associated with suffering and service, not special privilege
and secular power. Ironically, James became the first apostle to be
martyred, by order of Herod Agrippa. 107
When addressing his disciples, Jesus contrasted his notion of great-
ness with the prevailing view:

You know that the recognized rulers in the world lord it over
their subjects, and their great ones are tyrants. It shall not be
so with you. Among you, whoever wishes to become great
must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first must be
slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but
to serve, and to give his life to free many. 108

Jesus discerned two irreconcilable hopes imbedded in the scrip-

tures. The popular one was that the Lord's anointed would become king
in Jerusalem and "break them (national enemies) with a rod of iron." 109
Jewish warriors would beat "pruning hooks into spears," converting a
peaceful economy into a military power, with Jerusalem as the strong-
hold. 110 The opposite hope was of a "Prince of Peace"111 who would lead
people in beating their "spears into pruning hooks." 112
In order to signal that his mission was of a peaceful nature, Jesus
used a protest strategy that earlier prophets in Jerusalem had employed.
They had used crowd-stopping symbolic actions to draw attention to a
message that was counter to popular sentiments. Jeremiah once wore an
ordinary ox yoke as he walked in the city, explaining to the curious that
the freedom-curtailing "yoke" of Babylonian rule should be preferred to
the alternative. To picture the alternative of mass destruction by the
Babylonian army, he shattered a pottery vase. Jeremiah believed that
Jewish nationalists were inviting war, famine, and pestilence because
they aimed at political independence regardless of the cost. 113 He was
convinced that submission to a foreign pagan army was the Lord's will,
even though many thought of him to be a subversive to the Judean
religious community. 114
Jesus wanted the peasants accompanying him and the Jerusalemites
to reject the conventional wisdom that patriotism always means bellig-
erence against national foes, presuming that such is God's will. Jesus
 LATER LIFE 75

agreed with Jeremiah, his role model, that there are situations where
being conquered by foreign troops is better than being buried by them.
At the risk of being called a deserter, Jesus urged: "When you see
Jerusalem surrounded by troops, realize that its devastation is near. Then
those who are in Judea must run away to the mountains, and those who
are inside the city must evacuate/' 115
Jesus also followed Jeremiah in maintaining that the enemies of the
Jewish peasantry were, in considerable part, their own rulers. With that
elite group in mind, Jesus laments-. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, city that
kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!"116 Both Jeremiah
and Jesus declared: "This house shall become a desolation." 117 The ruling
"house" in Jerusalem had violently opposed God's messengers.
To counter the zealotry of those approaching Jerusalem with him,
Jesus publicly demonstrated for the first time that he was the promised
Messiah. To express the qualities of his reign, he dramatized Zechariah's
hope by means of a royal entry. 118 Jesus liked the symbols of the
prophets poetry-.

Shout for joy, people of Jerusalem!

Look, your king is cornine)!
He is vindicated and victorious,
But humble and riding on a donkey. . . .
He will banish the war horse and the battle bow-,
He will make peace among the nations,
His rule will extend from sea to sea.U9

Jesus may also have had in mind the concluding words of Zech-
ariah's prophecy: "There shall no longer be traders in the house of the
Lord of hosts." 120
When Jesus obtained a panoramic view of the city from the
Mount of Olives, he lamented that his people did not understand or
endorse a vision for the future that he shared with some earlier
prophets. The Jerusalem dwellers rested their security on two things:
the presumed impregnable walls of their mountaintop fortress and the
location there of "the House of the Lord," on the verge of completion
after decades of reconstruction. Jesus saw parallels between what
weeping Jeremiah faced vis-à-vis the Babylonian destruction of Jerusa-
lem six centuries earlier and what might be ahead for those who
disregarded the lessons of history. Jesus had sad reflections on entering
Jerusalem:
76 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

When he came into full view of the city, he burst into tears,
saying, "If only you knew today the path to peace! But it is
hidden from your sight. The time is coming when your ene-
mies will build fortifications around you and besiege you. You
and the children within your walls will be dashed to the
ground. Your enemies will not leave one stone standing upon
another because you did not recognize your time of oppor-
tunity."121

Here, Jesus gives conditional prophecy in the manner of Jeremiah,

who believed that forecasted tragedy would not strike if sinful people
repented. In urging the Jerusalem officials to choose the road of recon-
ciliation toward their enemies rather than the road of rebellion, Jer-
emiah pleaded: "The Lord sent me to prophesy against this Temple and
this city all the things you have heard. If you change your conduct . . .
the Lord will revoke the disaster that he has pronounced against you." 122
By riding into Jerusalem on what was then the common beast of
burden rather than on the mount of a military commander, Jesus acted in
a highly significant manner. He pointed to a radically new kind of reign:
one in which majesty is combined with meekness and peacefulness
replaces jingoism. Marcus Borg describes Jesus' procession into the
traditional royal capital in this way:

His entry was a planned political demonstration, an appeal to

Jerusalem to follow the path of peace, even as it proclaimed
that his movement was the peace party in a generation headed
for war. It also implied that the alternative of peace was still
open. 123

Prophets Jeremiah and Jesus both attempted to deflate the priests'

presumption that the temple was indispensable to God. For the priests, it
was unthinkable that God would permit the destruction of his earthly
dwelling place, which they were commissioned to manage. They had
converted the outer Court of Gentiles from a place of worship to a place
of commerce. Jesus was angered over the desecration there by money-
changers who issued temple-approved currency in exchange for Roman
coins and over vendors who were hawking animals for the sacrificial
ritual. Infuriated by the priests who profited from these concession
stands, Jesus appropriated Jeremiah's claim that the temple had become a
"den of robbers" and that its destruction was justified.124
 LATER LIFE 77

Jesus thought the temple should be cleansed, not from the gentiles,
but for the gentiles. In support of their right to worship at the temple, he
cleared out a space for them. He had the audacity to overthrow the
booths in the area originally intended for gentile worship. Jesus agreed
with the inclusiveness that Isaiah expressed as God's spokesperson:

As for the foreigners who give me their allegiance, who love

and serve me, . . . I will bring them to my sacred hill and make
them joyful in my house of prayer. Their sacrifices and offer-
ings will be accepted on my altar, for my temple shall be called
a house of prayer for all peoples. 125

The priests in Jerusalem asked Jesus about his authority to demon-

strate at the temple. Perceiving that the question was intended to entrap
him, he did not respond. Rather, Jesus infuriated them more by telling a
parable that pointed to the historical unfaithfulness of Jewish rulers and
their persecution of prophets. 126 The authorities then posed another
tricky question: "Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?" 127 Those
raising this taxation issue thought Jesus' answer either would alienate
him from his peasant supporters or would convince the Romans that he
was subverting their rule in Palestine. By way of separating the spheres
of government and religion, he responded: "Give Caesar what Caesar is
due, and give God what God is due." 128 In a compromising manner, he
asserted that civil obedience to a pagan ruler was not always inconsistent
with serving God.
On leaving the temple for the last time, Jesus lamented: "Do you
see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon an-
other." 129 Howard Kee and Franklin Young provide this interpretation:

Many of the Jews were seething with a desire to revolt against

the Romans, whom they looked upon as hated intruders,- yet
Jesus continually refused to give in to the popular hopes for
revolt and revenge. Not that he was unaware of the oppression
of his people. Rather, he seems to have been convinced that
armed revolt was not the way out of their difficulties. It would
lead only to destruction, motivated as it was by a desire fully as
evil as the Romans' desire for power—the desire for revenge. 130

Priests of the Sadducaic party were comfortable with the status quo
and were not in favor of revolt against Rome,- they defended the temple
78 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

huckstering that provided their income. Seeing that Jesus could not be
frightened into leaving Jerusalem, they decided to have him killed in a
legal manner. Realizing that the crowds were "spellbound by his teach-
ing," the priests bribed one of Jesus' disciples to assist in capturing him
under the cover of darkness. ,31 John Crossan, a leading current author-
ity on the historical Jesus, finds his "symbolic destruction" of the temple
a sufficient action to account for the determined effort to have him
executed. 132
Jesus arranged for a supper with his disciples at Mark's home in
Jerusalem. There he set forth the "new covenant" that Jeremiah had
announced. 133 Unlike the old Sinai covenant, adherence to internalized
principle would take precedence over external law. He broke a loaf of
bread and distributed it, saying, "Take, this is my body." 134 While
passing around the wine he said: "This is my blood, poured out for many,
which ratifies Gods covenant." 135 Here, Jesus alludes to the suffering
servant of Isaiah who "poured out himself to death, . . . yet bore the sin
of many."136
After that private farewell meal, Jesus experienced the humiliation
of public rejection by the leaders in Jerusalem. In a garden at the city's
outskirts, while he was praying to have the fortitude to carry out his
mission, Judas led a detachment of temple guards to Jesus and identified
him by greeting him with a kiss. The religious authorities had organized
an armed posse that night on the presumption that he was another
violent revolutionary who would resist arrest. On seeing them, Jesus
asked indignantly: "Am I an outlaw that you have come with swords and
clubs to capture me?" 137
The prisoner was then taken in rapid succession before at least two
judges at different places in Jerusalem. At dawn, Jesus first appeared
before Caiaphas, the high priest. He had assembled the Jewish high
court, called the Sanhedrin, at his residence. After conflicting testimony
against Jesus was given, Caiaphas asked: "Are you the Messiah, the Son
of the Blessed One?" 138 Jesus' affirmative answer was deemed blas-
phemous, and the enraged Sanhedrin voted for capital punishment.
Some opponents spit on him, and the guards beat him. 139 In a similar
manner, the Jerusalem elite had responded to Jeremiah by having him
beaten and by demanding his death. 140
Since the Sanhedrin could not carry out death sentences, 141 Jesus
was taken before Pilate, the Roman governor. In order to be prepared for
a possible insurrection at the Passover feast, the Jewish freedom celebra-
tion, Pilate was visiting his military headquarters in Jerusalem. As a civil
 LATER LIFE 79

ruler, he was unconcerned over the blasphemy matter, but Jesus' admis-
sion of being the Messiah prompted this question: "Are you the King of
the Jews?" "You say so" 142 was Jesus' elusive reply, but Pilate found
nothing to indicate that the accused should be punished. The Roman
authority tried to resolve the case by offering the release of either Jesus
or Barabbas for Passover amnesty. The latter was a convicted terrorist
and a murderer, but the lynch mob requested that Barabbas be acquitted.
Pilate then made the politically expedient move and permitted the
crucifixion of one he knew was innocent of treason. 143 Jesus was put to
death by the Romans, but Jewish scholar Claude Montefiore admits that
his arrest and "trial" was instigated by the Jerusalem priests. 144 In Ray-
mond Brown's definitive commentary on the narratives pertaining to
Jesus' last week in Jerusalem, he shows that a significant factor in Jesus'
condemnation was the Sanhedrin's disgust over his anti-temple teach-
ings. 145
Before giving Jesus a cross beam to carry to the site of execution,
Roman soldiers mocked the Jews by showing them their "king." To
simulate royal status, they robed Jesus in purple and placed a stiff weed
in his hand for a scepter. To parody the laurel wreath worn by the
Roman emperor, a crown of thorn branches was pressed down on Jesus'
head. The soldiers then alternated between striking him and saluting
him in a contemptuous manner. At Golgotha, the cross for Jesus was
distinguished from those for two outlaws by the sarcastic inscription
over it, "The King of the Jews." 146 The arms of the three condemned
men were spread out and nailed to beams, which were then lashed to
vertical posts.
To many Jews in Jerusalem, Jesus must have seemed to be more of
a traitorous wimp than a triumphant winner. They admired such rebels
as Barabbas, but Jesus rejected their violent methods. Before Jesus, no
one had been quite so odd as to advocate a loving attitude toward
adversaries or to both preach and practice nonviolence toward per-
sonal persecutors. Such teachings of Jesus were so distinctive that
diverse groups of biblical scholars have ranked them as the Gospel
sayings alleged to be by Jesus that are most likely to be authentic. 147
David Flusser, a Jewish authority on Christian origins, finds the "defini-
tive characteristic" of Jesus' ethic distilled in these three words.- "Love
your enemies." 148
Jesus advocated that his followers endure persecution while "seek-
ing the divine rule and God's justice." 149 The unpopular Jesus was
taunted by those who equated kingship with militant resistance to alien
80 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

political powers. The Jewish religious leaders inadvertently expressed

the truth when they scornfully commented: "He saved others but he
cannot save himself."150 On that crucifixion day, Jesus' frightened male
disciples forsook him, but some women stayed with him until his death
and assisted with the burial. 151 In accord with the Semitic tradition that
would later result in similar treatment for Muhammad, Jesus' body was
wrapped in linen cloth and simply buried. 152
Within a few days of Jesus' death, some of his disciples became
convinced that he had appeared to them. 153 Believing that he was now
alive and exalted to a position of honor, their despair was changed to
joy. They were no longer blinded by their personal ambitions to be part
of the power structure of a restored Jewish kingdom. Recalling Jesus'
international aim, the apostles gradually radiated out from Jerusalem in
pursuit of that goal. Their mission witness extended to the boundaries of
the Mediterranean world.
A psalmist composed this cryptic line: "The stone that the builders
rejected has become the chief cornerstone." 154 That stone is treated in
the New Testament as a metaphor for Jesus, whom the Jerusalem rulers
discarded outside the city walls. They perceived that the odd-shaped
religion that he embodied could not fit into the scheme they had for
constructing Judaism. Ironically, the stone the rulers threw out became
the main stone for a new structure, providing the standard for aligning
other "living stones" that compose the church. 155
The Hebrew poets stone symbol is also apt for describing Muham-
mad, whom the Meccan shrine builders despised and rejected. Subse-
quently, the presumed misshapen stone became worth more to Islam
than the Black Stone has been to the Ka'ba. Each prophet has experi-
enced an amazing reversal in subsequent history: one who was deemed
inferior and destined for the rubbish heap was discovered to be appro-
priate for setting the lines and carrying the weight for a massive edifice
that is still being erected. Members of the separate communities exclaim
with the psalmist, who viewed God as the architect for this strange
development: "This is the Lord's doing, and a wonderful sight!"156
 CHAPTER FIVE

SCRIPTURES

Th e Bible and the Quran are the most widely read and studied books in
history. In Islam, the Quran is primary, and Muhammad is a secondary
material witness to it,- in Christianity, Jesus is primary, and the Bible is a
secondary material witness to him. According to the Quran, the Word of
God became a book; according to the New Testament, "the Word be-
came flesh and lived among us."1 Accordingly, Muslims write about "the
divinity of the Quran," 2 and Christians speak of "the divinity of Christ." 3
In discussing the two scriptures, attention will be given to comparing the
Quran's treatments of biblical stories with the biblical texts.

The Quran
Affirmed by the Quran is a transcendent source of revelation, called
"the mother of the Book."4 The "glorious Quran, inscribed on an imper-
ishable tablet," 5 is believed to be a depository of sublime wisdom. "Only
the pure can grasp the Lord's revelation." 6 Since it is written in Arabic, 7
early Muslim scribes wrote down a replica of the original text that
Muhammad had recited, and all authentic study of it is necessarily in
Arabic. By its own declaration, the Quran is flawless,8 so no human

81
82 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

could be its author. It is the continuous monologue of One whose word

is absolute truth: "This Quran is not such as could be composed by
anyone but God. It verifies and explains the previously revealed Scrip-
tures."9 The earthly Arabic copy of the heavenly prototype, certified by
the seventh-century caliphs, is also presumed to be infallible.
According to the Quran, communication between God and hu-
mans is indirect: "It was not given to any mortals to have God speak to
them except by revelation, or from behind a veil, or through a messen-
ger who is authorized to make known His will."10 All that Muhammad
recited was allegedly sent down from heaven by the intermediary,
archangel Gabriel, who conveyed what was in the original.11 God is
acknowledged as the Quran's creator, but the prophet was indispensable
for its manifestation. Regarding that interdependence, Rafiq Zakaria
writes: "There could have been no Quran without Muhammad. He is
not only its transmitter but also the embodiment of its teachings. . . .
There are references in it to his work and mission, his struggles and even
his personal affairs."12 The revelation was sometimes addressed to other
Muslim believers or to unbelievers rather than to Muhammad.
From a wife of Muhammad comes a report indicating that both
auditory and visionary stimuli were involved in receiving the Quran:

Aisha asked: "O Apostle of God, how does revelation come to

you?" The Apostle of God said: "Sometimes it comes to me
like the reverberation of a bell, and that is the hardest on
me. . . . Sometimes the angel takes the form of a man for me,
and addresses me, and I understand what he says." Aisha
continued: "I have actually seen him, at the coming down of
the revelation upon him, on an extremely cold day, with his
forehead running with perspiration." 13

Muhammad distinguished between his fallible opinions and the

revelation he transmitted. After coming to Medina, he offered some
advice on fruit-tree cultivation, a subject he knew little about. His
judgment was put into practice, causing the harvest to diminish. The
prophet explained: "When I issue any command to you regarding your
religion, accept it,- but when I issue any command to you based on my
own opinion, I am merely a human being." 14
The Quran recorded by Muslims is composed of revelations that
are loosely strung together. Abrupt topic shifts heighten puzzlement
over the meaning of particular fragments. For example, chapter (sura)
 SCRIPTURES 83

twenty-four begins with regulations pertaining to male/female conduct,

commenting on slanderous charges against one of Muhammad's wives.
Then comes the most sublime paean of praise to God in the Quran,
followed by a description of the plight of unbelievers and other topics.
Both hearers and reciters of Quranic verses in Arabic may not
understand what is being chanted, but "the sound itself of inimitable
sonority and rhythmic power is numinous and sacramental."15 Like the
mantras of the religions of India, the psychic vibrations of God's very
words are considered awesome. The Quranic cadences have so much
charm that listeners are often indifferent toward analyzing the content.
There is more in the pages of the Book of Books than the prophet
received. Muslims believe that the Hebrew Bible and the Gospels are
by-products of the quintessential Book and contain partial revelations of
God's ideas. 16 Whatever truth there is in scriptures of other religions
comes from this archetype, which embodies the totality of the word of
God. Jews and Christians are "people of the Book."17 The relationship
between scriptures is declared succinctly in the Quran: "God revealed
the Torah and the Gospel earlier to guide humans. Now God has
revealed to you (Muhammad) the Book that confirms the truth of what
preceded it."18
Regarding the integration of Hebraic legends pertaining to
Abraham in the early Islamic culture, Reuven Firestone writes:

Part of the sublimity of the Quran was its success in rendering

Biblicist traditions that had found their way into Arabic mean-
ingful to the indigenous non-Biblicist Arab population. . . . Its
audience certainly knew many of the Bible-oriented stories
and may have enjoyed hearing them told by their Biblicist
neighbors, but had not previously considered them relevant
to their own history and welfare. Through his recitation of the
Quranic revelation, Muhammad taught that the legends were
a part of universal history and that they related directly to
every individual's personal salvation. 19

Muhammad had no firsthand knowledge of either the Torah or the

Gospels, the parts of the Bible the Quran frequently alludes to. His
exposure was by way of oral transmission rather than through study of
the written record. Muhammad displays almost no awareness of the
many prophets biblical books are named for. All of the Quran's eighteen
biblical prophets are males,-20 Lot and Ishmael are included, but not
84 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

Miriam or Huldah. In the Bible, the latter two are prophets, but the
former two are not. The absence of most of the biblical prophets may be
due to the Jews whom Muhammad encountered having little interest in
prophets after Moses. Also, the Quran displays no awareness of the
apostle Paul, who wrote a large portion of what came to be known as the
New Testament. That silence may reflect Arabian or Ethiopian Chris-
tians' lack of concern for some biblical writings.
Abraham and Moses are the Torah personalities whom Muhammad
found most useful for his situation. He defended himself from his
Meccan critics by utilizing the Quranic adaptation of a Jewish midrash
about Abraham. 21 According to that story, Abraham emigrated from his
hometown after indulging in idol smashing. Young Abraham had de-
nounced those in his community who followed the traditional worship
of images, and he had pulverized all except the chief one when they
were not looking. When the outraged polytheists confronted him about
the vandalism, Abraham confounded them. He claimed that the biggest
image broke the smaller ones and that his people should ask them if that
was not true. The episode ended with this dramatic exchange:

They said to Abraham: "You know they cannot speak." He

answered: "Would you then worship, instead of God, that
which can neither help nor harm you? Shame on you and on
your idols! Have you no sense?" They cried: "Burn him. . . ."
We (God) rescued him and Lot, and brought them to the land
We had blessed for all peoples. 22

The plural pronouns that are often used to refer to God should not
be interpreted as an unwitting relapse into polytheism. The frequent use
of "We" and "Us" may be to heighten awareness that God is not human.
A similar use of plural pronouns in reference to the single God is found
in the Bible.23
One biblical story of Abraham and his family in "the promised
land" became the basis for considerable Muslim expansion. The patri-
arch had given Hagar and Ishmael a goatskin of water before they set
out for the arid wilderness. When the water was exhausted, Hagar
placed her young son under a bush. According to the Genesis legend,
she frantically searched for water and wept in despair, whereupon God
showed her a well from which she refilled her goatskin. 24
On returning to Ishmael, according to Muslim lore, Hagar found
that God had provided a spring where she had left him. 25 The place is
 SCRIPTURES 85

identified with Becca, the early name for Mecca, 26 so Hagar is presumed
to have run between hills in that vicinity. Baca, a word meaning "weep-
ing" that is mentioned once in the Bible as the name of a valley, is
equated in Muslim tradition with Becca. A psalmist says of some trav-
elers: "As they go through the valley of Baca, they make it a place of
springs." 27 Hagar and Ishmael became the first people to settle there.
Muhammad's grandfather found a well within the sacred enclosure
of the Ka'ba that he identified with the one that had saved Ishmael's life.
It was called Zamzam in imitation of the sound of the water springing
forth. After crying out "Allah is great," he cleaned the rubble out of the
well. 28 Zamzam has continued to supply worshipers at the Ka'ba to
this day.
According to the Quran, Abraham came to Mecca and helped
Ishmael build the Ka'ba for worshiping the one true God. 2 9 Finding
Ishmael's family in poverty, Abraham advised his son to divorce his
spouse. Ishmael took the advice and after marrying a second wife, he
became prosperous. 30 The grand patriarch is given credit for initiating
pilgrimages to Mecca, for circumambulating the axial point of world
religion, and for instructing sacrificers there to share the meat with the
poor. 31 The mark Abraham made in Mecca was indelible for even now
pilgrims are shown a stone enshrined in a kiosk near the Ka'ba that
allegedly contains his footprint.
The Quran also includes a story about what commitment to the
will of the inscrutable God might entail. The characters of the story are
aged Abraham and an unnamed son who is to be sacrificed to God as a
burnt offering. Muslim tradition is divided over whether Isaac or Ish-
mael is the sacrificial son. 32 Abraham asked his son to comment on his
dream in which the son was being sacrificed by his father. Although the
son knows in advance that he will be slaughtered if his father does what
they assume God has ordered, he submits in a gentle manner. While
Abraham is posed to slit his son's throat, he learns that God was only
testing them and that they have proven their devotion. 33
Regarding the Meccan enhancements to the Abrahamic legend in
the Quran, Francis Peters comments.-

Muslim and Jew come together in the figure and symbol of

Abraham, . . . the father of both Isaac and Ishmael, the former
the tribal ancestor of the Sons of Israel, the latter of all the
Arabs. This was the biblical genealogy, and it was not disputed
by Islam. Where they did disagree was on the fulfillment of the
86 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

promise to Abraham, whether it came to term in the Israelites or

the Arabs. There are in fact two Abrahams in the Quran, the
well-known figure from Genesis, embroidered here and there
with what appear to be Jewish legendary midrash-, and another
Abraham, the product of some other sensibility, who emigrated
to Arabia with his wife Hagar and his son Ishmael to settle in
Mecca, where he built the Ka'ba, the "house of God," and insti-
tuted most of the ritual practices of the later Islamic pil-
grimage. . . . The historian may note that the Abraham
associated with Mecca appears in the Quran only after Muham-
mad's first confrontation with the Jews of Medina, and so the
invocation of Abraham may have been a response, a retort to
the Jewish rejection of Muhammad's own prophethood. 3 4

Peters's construction seems plausible because it shows Muhammad

reacting in a typically human fashion. He was certainly dismayed over
realizing that few Jews accepted him as the fulfillment of the monotheis-
tic tradition he admired. By way of compensating for this fact, the
Quranic revelations began to relate Abraham to Arabia, and to Mecca
specifically. The Quran treats the authority of the first Semite who lived
in western Asia as superior to that of Moses, the prophet most admired
by his Jewish opponents. The Abrahamic saga is now assigned exclu-
sively to the place where Muslim attention is focused when praying.
Even if not historically accurate, the Arabization of Abraham
served brilliantly to advance Muhammad's diatribes against the Jews.
Since the biblical tradition is silent on whether Abraham and Ishmael
ever went to Mecca to make it the cult center for their unsullied religion,
the rabbis were unable to give historical refutation to the contention of
the Quran. Moreover, it is reasonable to assume that an ancient person
could travel from Palestine to Arabia to live with a son and help him
construct a shrine.
Montgomery Watt provides this perceptive evaluation of the
Quranic treatment of Abraham-.

The conception of Islam as a restoration of the pure religion

of Abraham offends modern Western standards of historical
objectivity. Yet from a sociological standpoint it must be
admitted that it was effective in its original environment. . . .
Islam belongs in a sense to the Judaeo-Christian tradition, and
that tradition may be described as the tradition which begins
 SCRIPTURES 87

with Abraham. Islam is thus a form of the religion of

Abraham—a form, too, well suited to the outlook of men
whose way of life was closer to Abraham than that of the bulk
of Jews and Christians. 35

Joseph is the other Genesis patriarch who is treated extensively in

the Quran. Delightful characterizations are given in what it calls "the
best of stories." 36 The chapter entitled "Joseph" stands out in the Quran
because it deals consistently with only one subject. The sexual aggres-
siveness of Potiphar's wife and her friends is portrayed more boldly than
in the Hebrew account, causing Joseph to request imprisonment to
protect his virtue.
Moses, along with other Israelites of his generation, commands
more attention in the Quran than all other biblical prophets combined.
He is the major figure for more than five hundred verses, or approx-
imately 10 percent of the total text. He is mentioned seven times more
often than Jesus. The focus on Moses is no doubt related to the similarity
of his personal experiences to those of Muhammad. Both individuals had
foster mothers, and both were exiled from the place where they grew up.
Both established ways of worshiping God, served as military leaders, and
received revelations in the desert that provided regulations for their
people. Sociologist Robert Bellah points out how Muhammad had more
in common with Moses than with Jesus:

Muhammad did not begin his preaching in a great and closely

organized world empire but rather in a tribal society, which
had not yet attained a political structure that could be called a
state. He had not so much to work out a relationship to an
existing political order as to create a new one. 3 7

Exploring specific parallels between Moses and Muhammad is

instructive. Each was unexpectedly summoned to pursue difficult tasks
that demanded total commitment. The Quran tells of what happened to
Moses when he went to light a torch from something on fire: "When he
came near, a voice called out to him: 'Moses! I am your Lord. Take off
your sandals, for you are in the sacred valley of Tuwa. I have chosen you,-
listen to what shall be revealed.' " 38 The Muslim custom of barefooted
worship originated with the precedent set by Moses at a burning bush. 39
Common ground becomes sanctified when footwear, symbolizing what
is handcrafted, is set aside. While secluded in the Sinai desert, Moses
88 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

also veiled himself after talking with God.40 Muhammad, on a mountain

outside Mecca, wrapped himself in a cloth at the time of his trances.41
Muhammad's mode of serving as an intermediary was similar to that
of his precursor. The vocation of each prophet involved being a mouth-
piece for God against the power structure of his society. The Torah
repeatedly tells of Moses receiving instructions like this: "Go to Pharaoh
and say, Thus says the Lord, "Let my people go." ' "42 In the Quran the
style is frequently similar, as in this example: "Say, 'People, the truth has
come to you from the Lord.' "43 Muhammad could identify with the fact
that Moses' teaching was often unfavorably received by the Israelites, as
well as by the Egyptian king. The Quran recalls: "Moses said to his
people: 'O my people, why do you seek to harm me when you realize
that I am God's messenger to you?' "44
Catholic theologian Guilio Basetti-Sani observes: "Between Moses
and Muhammad profound psychological and spiritual similarities exist.
The religious content and the social ethics of the Sinaitic message are
similar to those of the message of the Quran."45 Quranic law contains
overtones of the Mosaic code, especially as summarized in the Deca-
logue. One listing begins and ends with the first and greatest command-
ment: "Worship no other god beside God."46 Following this are laws
pertaining to kindness to one's parents, giving to the needy, and know-
ing before acting. Murder, adultery, stealing, and haughtiness must be
avoided. Some laws are more specific than the Ten Commandments-.
murder is related to infanticide, and stealing is related to weight cheat-
ing in the marketplace. Also, the younger generation is instructed to
return to aging parents the care they once received from them.47 A
comparison with the Ten Commandments shows two main omissions:
there is no law pertaining to the irreverent use of the name of God, and
there is no sabbath law.
The Quran affirms: "We gave the Book to Moses, a complete code
for those who would do good, with guidance in all things."48 Even so,
this explanation is given for some prohibitions in the Torah: "Because of
the wrongdoing of the Jews, We forbade them certain wholesome things
which were formerly lawful."49 For example, camel meat was created to
be ceremonially clean, although it is a dietary prohibition in the Mosaic
code.50 Also, Abraham did not have to curtail his activities one day each
week because he lived before the enactment of laws regulating the
Sabbath.51
Moses developed military prowess among the ragtag ex-slaves who
had fled with him during the exodus from Egypt.52 Muhammad also
 SCRIPTURES 89

molded timid exiles into an attack force for overcoming powerful adver-
saries. Just as Moses longed to repossess land promised by God to the
followers of Abraham, so Muhammad hoped that the Semitic region
from Mecca to Palestine would call on the name of the one God. At the
time of the deaths of Moses and Muhammad, their armies had invaded
land east of the Dead Sea and had ambitions to capture the region where
Abraham, Lot, and Isaac had settled. Richard Bell makes this comment
about Muhammad:

The example of Moses had implanted in his mind the idea of a

conquering religious people. The hijra and the execution of
the divine vengeance upon the unbelievers of Mecca had
given the immediate occasion for the organization of such a
warlike community. The victory of Badr had confirmed it. 53

Muslim apologists draw upon the precedent of Moses to justify the

Quranic statement regarding Muhammad's harsh treatment toward
some followers of Moses. 54 As noted earlier, the entire Quraiza clan of
Jews in Medina was killed or enslaved, and their property was confis-
cated. That action continues to be justified by stating that it was merely
doing to the Jews what their distant ancestors did to others. Martin
Lings comments on the final liquidation of Jewish power in the city
named for the prophet by a footnote to his collection of the earliest
sources on Muhammad. Lings states that it "coincided exactly with
Jewish law as regards the treatment of a besieged city, even if it were
innocent of treachery." 55 The Torah passage is then cited:

When making war against a town, you shall besiege it,- and
when the Lord your God gives it into your hand, you shall put
all its males to the sword. You may, however, take as your
booty the women, the children, livestock, and everything else
in the town. 56

Similarly, Cyril Glasse claims that the Quran is in line with the
Torah regarding the extermination of the Quraiza. Muhammad, like
Moses, was assisting God in giving appropriate punishment: "It is a case
of the final judgment overtaking a people while still in this world." 57
Apologists do not explain that the passage in Deuteronomy to which
they appeal also states that forced labor rather than slaughter should be
the punishment for those who surrender—as the Quraiza did.
90 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

David is another prominent figure of the Hebrew Bible who inter-

ested Muhammad. He was charmed by the way in which the inex-
perienced Israelite, with God's wisdom and a weak band of troops,
vanquished Goliath and his mighty army. 58 Muhammad saw a parallel
between that Israelite battle and his encounter with Meccan forces at
Badr. The Quran refers to the latter engagement this way: "The faithful
fighters saw with their very eyes that the unbelievers were twice their
own number. But God strengthens with His aid whom He will."59
The Quran seems to confuse happenings that are chronologically
separate in the Bible. The account of King Saul's army confronting the
Philistines appears to be combined with the account of Gideon's forces
fighting the Midianites. Stories belonging to different eras may be
conflated in this passage: "When Saul led his troops, he said: 'God will
test you at a river. Whoever drinks its water will not fight by my side, . . .
except for him who scoops it up in the hollow of his hand.' " 60 Also, the
Quranic Haman is an Egyptian official whom the Pharaoh commands to
build a tower of bricks that he can climb to confront the alleged God of
Moses. By contrast, the biblical Haman is a Persian official who is
separated by geography and many centuries from either Moses or the
Tower of Babel.61
The Quran occasionally refers to the evangel (injil, the Arabicized
form of the Greek maggelion), which in English is more commonly called
the Gospel. The Quranic gospel refers not to what Jesus said and did
according to the four Gospels of the New Testament, but to his words in
the Quran. Some of those words are similar to alleged teachings of Jesus
as reported by Christian contemporaries of Muhammad.
Only four New Testament figures are recognized by the Quran,
and they all appear in nativity stories. Jesus is portrayed mainly as a child
who does little to provoke antagonism from opponents. There are about
one hundred verses in fifteen chapters about John the Baptist; his father,
Zechariah; Jesus,- and his mother, Mary. The latter is distinguished in the
Quran as being the only woman for whom a chapter is named and the
only woman personally named in any chapter. Apart from that "most
blessed of women," all the rest are known as the wives of named
husbands.
Muhammad's high regard for Mary is displayed in his protecting a
Madonna painting at the Ka'ba from destruction. 62 His respect for her is
related to a revelation he received: "(Concerning) Mary, the daughter of
Amram {Imran), who preserved her virginity: We breathed of Our Spirit
into her womb. She trusted in her Lord's words to her and His scriptures,
 SCRIPTURES 91

and was truly devout." 63 Perplexed as to how she would become preg-
nant without having intercourse, Mary is told that "God creates what He
wills by simply saying 'Be!' and it is." 64 Conception without the semen of
a man or the uterus of a woman occurred when God formed a clay figure
and blew into it. 65 The way in which Jesus became animated is similar to
the way God made Adam, but the presence of a uterus for fertilization
simplified the miracle. 66
Early Muslim interpreters expanded on the Quran's contention that
God placed young Mary in the custody of Zechariah the priest. 67 The
claim that she conceived as a virgin is made more plausible by isolating
Mary from secular men. She was orphaned as a child and was raised until
puberty in the temple precincts of Zechariah, her uncle. Lots were cast
in the community where the shrine was located to determine who
should give Mary financial support, and a carpenter named George was
selected. There was a monk in the community named Joseph, but he did
not touch her. 68 That legend parallels in some ways what is recorded in
the apocryphal Protevancjelium oj James, which was popular in Byzantine
Christianity.
According to the Quran, the ministry of precocious Jesus began as
soon as he could breathe. Mary was alone in the countryside when her
labor pains began. Leaning against a palm tree, she cried out in distress:
"Would I had died before now and left without a trace!"69 She realized
that her baby was being born when she heard a voice from below her,
saying: "Don't despair, God has provided a stream of water at your feet.
Shake the tree trunk, and ripe dates will fall down around you. Eat,
drink, and refresh yourself."70
When Mary carried her infant to her people, Jesus announced: "I
am God's servant. He has given me the Scripture and has appointed me a
prophet; His blessing is upon me wherever I am. He has commanded me
to be steadfast in prayer, to pay the welfare tax all my life, and to honor
my mother." 71 Later, boy Jesus tells of wonders he will perform:

From clay I will shape for you the form of a bird. It will
become a living bird, by God's permission, as I breathe into it.
Also by God's permission I will heal the blind and the leper,
and raise the dead. I will announce to you what to eat and
what to store in your houses. 72

When the Quranic Jesus became an adult, his disciples wanted him
to produce food miraculously. They tested him in this manner: "Can
92 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

your Lord send down for us from heaven a tray full of food?. . . We wish
to eat from it so that we may reassure ourselves and know that what you
said to us is true, and that we may be witnesses of it."73 Jesus responded
with this prayer: "Lord, send down to us food from heaven that it may be
a feast for us and a sign from You for those who will come after us."74
God replied by sending provisions and by warning that subsequent
disbelief would result in severe punishment.75 On the basis of what
surfaces in the Quran, Muslims seemed to regard Jesus principally as a
lifelong magician. Parables were of much interest to several Gospel
writers, but they were apparently unknown to Muhammad. Perhaps the
reason for almost no discussion of Jesus' teaching in the Quran was an
assumption that its content was not different from that of other
prophets, whose teachings are given.
Muhammad apparently presumed that Jews and Christians knew
little of significance about prophets that could supplement what he had
revealed. Thus, the prophet said: "Do not ask the people of the Book
about anything."76 Curiosity about comparative religion is lacking in
those who presume that they possess the later and purer truth. Apropos
here is John Kelsay's comment on the status of the Quran: "It becomes
more than an Arabic version of the Word of God, equivalent to Torah
and Gospel. The Quran becomes the 'decisive criterion,' by which the
monotheistic communities may resolve their religious disputes."77
According to the Quran, Jesus was uniquely "close to God."78 His
role is revealed in these verses: "Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, was only a
messenger of God, and His Word that He imparted to Mary, and His
Spirit."79 (Here, Jesus is called al-masih, literally "the messiah," but the
Quran shows no understanding of its original meaning as a title of the
anointed ruler promised in Israel. Rather, it connotes what Christ meant
to Christians of Muhammad's day, a proper name of Jesus.) God says of
Jesus, "We confirmed him with the Holy Spirit."80 God without Word is
expressionless,- God without Spirit is lifeless. Thus, if God's Word and
Spirit dwelt in Jesus, then to know Jesus is in some way to be aware of
the living presence of God.
Jesus in the Quran is a harbinger parallel to John the Baptist in the
Gospels. John proclaimed: "The one who is coming after me is greater
than I",-81 "He must increase, but I must decrease."82 Similarly, the Quran
attributes this prophecy to Jesus: "People of Israel, 1 am God's messenger
to you, confirming the truth of the Torah and bringing good news of a
messenger who will come after me, whose name is praiseworthy."83
 SCRIPTURES 93

Ahmad, the Arabic word for "praiseworthy," contains the same root as the
name Muhammad. Thus, Muslims presume that the principal teaching
of Jesus' gospel was that Muhammad would be his successor.
Biographer Ishaq attempts to relate to the New Testament Jesus'
alleged forecast of Muhammad in the Quran. Recorded in the Gospel of
John are these words attributed to Jesus while he was at the Last Supper
with his disciples: "It is to your advantage that 1 am leaving you. Unless 1
go, the Helper will not come,- but if I depart, I will send him to you." 84
The Greek word for helper, paraklytos, is also translated in English as
comforter, counselor, or advocate. Ishaq alleges that the Greek term
does not adequately translate the Aramaic (or Syraic) word that Jesus
used: menahhemana, meaning "life giver." Thus, when Jesus taught in
Aramaic, he allegedly used a word containing some letters of Muham-
mad's name. 85 Subsequently, the Fourth Gospel writer corrupted Jesus'
words when making a Greek translation. European Christians have
believed Jesus was promising the Holy Spirit to reinforce his witness,
but Muslims have thought he was predicting the coming of Muhammad.
According to Ishaq, a Jewish king named David condemned Jesus
to be crucified whereupon Jesus persuaded one of his thirteen disciples
to be his stand-in. His name was Sergius—who is not generally known
because Christians deny that he existed. Sergius had become Jesus'
execution replacement before Judas' betrayal kiss. 86
Ishaq says of Jesus: "God raised him to Him and garbed him in
feathers and dressed him in light and cut off his desire for food and
drink, so he flew among the angels, and he was with them around the
throne. He was human and angelic, heavenly and earthly." 87 Ishaq
thought of Jesus as being taken alive to heaven in the manner of an
earlier bird-like ascension: "God wrapped Elijah in feathers and clothed
him with fire and removed his need for food and drink, and he flew
among the angels, and he was half man, half angel, half earthly, half
heavenly." 88
Just as the Quran views Jesus as a modifier of the earlier revelation,
so Muhammad's mission was to announce changes in scriptural revela-
tions and even to alter revelations he had received earlier. The Mosaic
dietary law is relaxed, and all foods except pork, carrion, meat offered to
idols, and blood are sanctioned. 89 The Quran recognizes the camel as
the main animal for religious sacrifices and for providing meat to eat. 90
The tone of the Quranic revelations delivered in Mecca generally
differ from those given in Medina. The earlier ones include advice and
94 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

exhortation but not legislation, whereas the later ones contain manda-
tory commandments. Over the decades that Muhammad received di-
vine communiques, the content occasionally changed. The prophet is
reported to have said: "Some of my traditions abrogate others just as
some parts of the Quran abrogate others."91 The Quran affirms that
textual revision is the prerogative of the Author: "God abrogates or
confirms whatever He will, for He has with Him the mother of Books."92
God takes full responsibility for revisions, acting like a world-class
scholar improving an already excellent manuscript. This doctrine of
abrogation gave some of Muhammad's opponents ground for accusing
him of doctoring the alleged divine revelation to suit his personal needs.
The Quran states: "When We replace one verse for another—and God
knows best what He reveals—they say, 'You have made it up.' "93
Interpreters of the Quran would be greatly assisted if there had
been a revelation from on high as to which verses were changed. Most
of the abrogated verses appear to remain in the text as part of God's
word. This is problematic since often there is no divine declaration as to
which text is earlier, and thus temporary, and which is the permanent
injunction. Consequently, there is little consensus among scholars as to
what verses have been modified or discarded. To protect the infallibility
of the Quran, some Muslim scholars claim that what has been super-
ceded is not anything that was revealed to Muhammad, but any biblical
revelation that is inconsistent with the Quran.94 For example, ancient
Jewish expatriates oriented themselves toward Jerusalem when they
prayed, but Muhammad changed the direction to Mecca.95 The obvious
discrepancy between the records of two holy books regarding Jesus' final
hours on earth is explained as a falsification by the writers of the New
Testament in order to serve their own interests.
In an effort to absolutize the Quranic revelation, Muslims who
have lived after the time of Muhammad have generally believed that the
Quran called the prophet "illiterate" (ummi).96 This would stress that he
was a passive transmitter of God's word and exclude the possibility that
his pronouncements came after he studied Jewish and Christian texts.
However, an examination of uses of ummi elsewhere in the Quran shows
that the term specifically means "unscriptured" or "gentile," in contrast to
the "People of the Book."97 Working as the business manager for his
wife's caravans for a large part of his life, Muhammad most likely shared
at least a basic literacy that was common among traders. Indeed, the
earliest biography of Muhammad occasionally refers to his writing
down something.98 Apart from the issue of Muhammad's literary abili-
 SCRIPTURES 95

ties, he surely had an active mind. The stories of his early religious
retreats show that he had developed extraordinary sensitivity to spiritual
impulses.
Awareness of Muhammad's creativity prompted accusations by
some adversaries about his source of authority. These are echoed in the
Quran: 'Those who disbelieve say: This is but a forgery which he
invented with the help of others.' . . . And they say: 'Stories about
ancient people he has written down as they were told him morning and
evening.' " " Other critics of Muhammad claimed that he got his ideas
from a particular human: "They say, 'A mortal taught him' but the man to
whom they allude speaks a foreign language, while this is eloquent
Arabic speech." 100 The Jews that Muhammad encountered spoke a
mixture of Aramaic and Arabic. Since his message was strongly mono-
theistic, Maxime Rodinson is probably right in identifying as Jewish the
foreign source to which the Quran refers.101
A Jewish boyhood companion of Muhammad named Ibn Sayyad
might be the person who was thought to have been a source of what
Muhammad called God's revelation. According to an early Muslim
tradition, Ibn Sayyad also claimed that he was God's messenger and had
a throne vision. Muhammad hid behind palm trees in an attempt to hear
something that Ibn Sayyad was murmuring when he wrapped himself in
a garment to induce a mystical trance. 102
Muhammad appreciated parts of three religious traditions. From
his inherited Arabian religion, he endorsed the sanctity of the Ka'ba and
some of the pilgrimage observances. From Judaism, he adapted the sagas
of some prophets and approved of their theological ethics. From Chris-
tianity, he accepted the prominent roles of Mary and her son. This
prompts Khuda Bukhsh to ask:

What else is Islam but a revised edition of Judaism and Chris-

tianity? Muhammed never claimed originality. He insisted . . .
that his mission was but to rid Judaism and Christianity of
what he regarded as life-destroying accretions—to proclaim
their pristine purity—to enthrone in the hearts of men the
faith of Abraham, in its undimmed excellence! 103

According to the Quran, Muhammad is "the seal of the

prophets." 104 Throughout the centuries, writers have commonly certi-
fied their works by impressing their private seals upon them. Al-Bukhari
records that Muhammad, to assure recipients of the authenticity of his
96 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

letters, fashioned a seal in the form of a silver ring on which he

engraved, "Muhammad, God's Apostle."105 As a metaphor, a messenger
was called "a seal" if his testimony conveyed the sender's authority.
Hence, in John's Gospel, Jesus is referred to as the carrier of God's
seal.106 This means that God attests to the truth of Jesus' teachings, but it
does not imply that there would be no subsequent communications.
Montgomery Watt suggests that the reference to Muhammad as "the
seal of the prophets" meant that he confirmed previous prophets, not
that he was the final legitimate one.107
Late in life Muhammad may have thought of himself not only as
having the divine mark of approval, but also as a bearer of God's final
testimony. Another Arab, who claimed prophetic credentials, received a
harsh reply from Muhammad after sending him a letter with this saluta-
tion: "From Musailima the messenger of God to Muhammad the messen-
ger of God."108 The response was addressed: "From Muhammad the
messenger of God to Musailima the liar."109 A monotheist and probably
a Christian, Musailima was subsequently killed when Muslims led an
army against him and his Hanifa tribe.110
Muhammad may have been among those Arabs who had been
influenced by Mani.111 Several centuries earlier, he had sought to estab-
lish himself in the Middle East as the culmination of a line of divine
spokespersons in Asian religions. He claimed that an angel had an-
nounced to him that God had chosen him to preach and that he had
been made a sealer of a wide range of revealers, including those of the
Judeo-Christian culture. According to the founder of the influential
Manichean religion:

Wisdom and deeds have always from time to time been

brought to mankind by the messengers of God. So in one age
they have been brought by the messenger called Buddha to
India, in another by Zaradusht (Zoroaster) to Persia, in an-
other by Jesus to the West. Thereupon this revelation has
come down, this prophecy in this last age, through me, Mani,
messenger of the God of truth to Babylonia.112

The Quranic revelation was initially transmitted from person to

person by professional reciters. Muhammad said: "You must keep on
reciting the Quran because it escapes from the hearts of men faster than
camels do when untied."113 Memorization was facilitated by the poetic
rhythm contained in many of the more than six thousand verses. Some
 SCRIPTURES 97

Muslims must have memorized parts of it during Muhammad's lifetime

and recited it in prayers. There was and continues to be the hafiz,
meaning "keeper," who commits to memory the whole Quran, which is
almost as long as the New Testament.
To curb the problem of forgetfulness, fragments of the Quran were
recorded on bones, palm leaves, leather, potsherds, and thin white
stones. 114 Writing down the oral revelations probably began before
Muhammad's death and continued for a generation afterward. Abu Bakr
and Umar were concerned over the possible loss or distortion of the
revelations that Muhammad received during the last third of his life
(610-32 CE.). Those first caliphs realized that many who knew parts of
the Quran by heart were dying,- therefore, they arranged for scribes to
gather written and oral testimonies so that an official text could be
canonized as Islam's ultimate authority. 115 Most Muslims think that the
final edition of the Quran was completed during the rule of Caliph
Uthman in the mid-seventh century. Oral transmitters were much
needed even after the written Quran was completed because the classi-
cal Arabic script lacks the vowel signs that are necessary for both
reading and understanding.
Some scholars surmise that it was at least the eighth century before
the definitive recension was completed. 116 The earlier portions of the
written Quran are the short poetic utterances delivered at Mecca, and
the last are the prosaic social regulations for the Muslim community at
Medina. To understand the Quran in its approximate chronological
development, the book should be read from end to beginning. After
the Quran's canon was completed, additional records were made of the
life and teachings of Muhammad, but these are not considered to be in-
fallible.
Presumably, God has not since added to or erased from Muham-
mad's recital of the matrix Book. The belief among orthodox Muslims is
that the Arabic text of the Quran is literally the word of God. Fresh
arguments are occasionally made in support of that dogma. For example,
after completing a computer analysis, Naheem Khan concludes that "the
Quran could not have been composed by any person except Allah."117
Included in his purported scientific support for this conclusion is that
irraheem ("most merciful") is used exactly 114 times, which coincides with
the total number of Quranic chapters. 118
98 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

The Bible
Th e biblical terms for "revelation" (Hebrew, t)alah; Greek, apokalupsis),
refer to an uncovering by God of what had been hidden. The emphasis
in revelation is on divine initiative, but alertness by humans is needed in
order to notice the exposure of what previously had been veiled. Most
people fail to comprehend spiritual meaning, Jesus observed, because
they do not make an adequate effort to find out. 119
Jesus' parables paradoxically conceal and elucidate, depending on
the recipients' capabilities for thoughtful and spiritual reflection. For
example, his story of a father with two problem sons does not make
explicit the theological message that legalistic obedience to religious
regulations can hinder a close relationship with God. 120 Although the
story does not mention God, it may subtly reveal more about Jesus' view
of God than anything else in the Gospels. For those who have spiritual
sensitivity and insight, some characteristics of God are revealed in the
parent who is eager to develop mature relationships among alienated
family members.
When Jesus quoted from the Torah what he called the first com-
mandment, he added to the Hebrew original. The additional phrase is
italicized: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and
with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength." 121
Seemingly, Jesus wished to emphasize that devotees to God should not
substitute affectionate gushing or ritualistic frenzy for intellectual disci-
pline. Both devotional and mental persistence are needed for religious
discovery. Jesus advised: "Continue to ask and it will be given you,- keep
seeking and you will find; knock constantly and it will be opened to
you." 122
A dialogue between Jesus and Peter illustrates the close tie between
revelation and discovery. After gathering from his disciples a report on
how other Galileans regarded him, Jesus asked, "Who do you say that I
am?"123 Peter answered, "God's Messiah." 124 Jesus commented that Pe-
ter's affirmation came not so much from human insight but from what
God had revealed to him. 125
In the Semitic culture there was the doctrine that cosmic nature
"proclaims God's handiwork." 126 Jesus found that wildflowers and care-
free birds disclose some of the glory of God. 1 2 7 Muhammad believed
 SCRIPTURES 99

that God inspires bees to suck from flowers and produce honey. 128 But
nature was not the primary method of God's communication for either
prophet, nor did they associate revelation with priestly pronounce-
ments, magical manipulation, or divination declarations.
Jesus found God's purposes usually expressed through events in
Israelite history,- revelation accompanied the prophetic interpretation of
those events. For example, the emancipation of Israelite slaves is inter-
preted by Moses and Miriam as a mighty act of the God of liberation
that should motivate the emancipated to respond by divine worship and
by adherence to covenantal law. A Quranic metaphor is apropos here:
revelation is a lightning flash at night that illumines everything in the
vicinity, assisting in the movement toward the sanctioned destina-
tion. 129 The revelation pertaining to the exodus from Egypt enabled
discerning Israelites to get a general bearing on the nature of God that
made their subsequent activities significant.
The equity theme that was prominent in the struggle of Moses
against Pharaoh had an impact on both Jesus and Muhammad. Jesus
expressed a Torah teaching when he announced at Nazareth that God
had sent him "to free the downtrodden and to proclaim the year of the
Lord's favor."130 Allusion is made here to Moses' designation of a jubilee
year when the people of God will "proclaim liberty throughout the
land."131 During that year, a land redistribution would provide a new
beginning for those who had become impoverished. Although Jesus did
not conceive of his role as an economic redeemer, he warned his
disciples against gentile tyrants. He taught them that leaders should
administer in the literal sense of ministering to others. 132 The Quran
also emphasizes the social-justice message of the Torah in this preface to
the story of Moses: "Pharaoh became a tyrant by dividing his people
into different castes and impoverishing one tribe. . . . God showed favor
to those who were oppressed by providing them leaders . . . and by
inflicting on their oppressors what they dreaded." 133
When arguing with the Sadducees, Jesus appealed to what his scrip-
tures said about God's continuing relationship with Moses' Hebrew an-
cestors. Jesus presumed that those Jewish leaders could have discovered a
clue about life after death from reading carefully a passage from Ex-
odus. 134 To provide authority for his positions when responding to the
Pharisees, Jesus cited what David did and what Isaiah said. 135
According to the Gospels, divine revelation came directly to Jesus
as it had to earlier prophets. John the Baptist was regarded by Jesus as
100 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

the most recent of a long sequence of spokespersons for God. He had

great respect for John's supplement to the past divine-human communi-
cations that were preserved in Hebrew scriptures. 136 Jesus' direct rela-
tionship with God is best revealed in his frequent references to divine
fatherhood, a metaphor emphasizing personal closeness rather than
oldness or maleness.
Both Jesus and Muhammad belonged to the Semitic tradition in
which divine revelation consisted of both vision and audition. 137 Fre-
quently, however, God speaks without appearing. 138 At his baptism,
Jesus both saw the "the Spirit's descent like a dove" from an opening in
the heavens and heard a heavenly voice. 139 After that special audiovisual
experience, subsequent inspiration appears to have had a continual
quality. Millar Burrows observes: "Jesus' message seems to be the expres-
sion of clear, steady insight rather than the result of separate, particular
revelations." 140
For Jesus, revelation was not primarily associated with mystical
dreams or mediating angels. He told his disciples that they were privi-
leged in this respect: "Many prophets and righteous people longed to
see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did
not hear it."141 This shows that Jesus believed that his gospel disclosed
more about God's purposes than earlier religious persons had received.
Jesus was convinced that the substance of revelations was in a
constant process of revaluation. The theological notions of earlier pivo-
tal biblical personalities might either be rejected or given a fuller signifi-
cance in light of fresh experience. The presumption is not that God is
improving, but that humans are gradually gaining more understanding
of God's will. Both the Gospels and the Quran maintain that Jesus
confirmed the Torah and developed it further. For example, Jesus ex-
panded the commandment forbidding murder to include the prohibi-
tion of hateful attitudes that might result in homicide. 142
Supplanting rather than supplementing Torah laws is also associ-
ated with Jesus' teachings. He distinguished God's intention from hu-
man legislation by the way he referred to some laws. Significantly, the
Sermon on the Mount does not introduce a quotation from his Bible in
this Torah manner: "God said . . . 'An eye for an eye. . . .' " 143 Rather, this
and other quotations from the Mosaic law are prefaced by "You have
heard that it was said. . . ."144 Jesus then states a different principle that
was, in at least one case, diametrically opposed to a basic Torah law. The
way in which Jesus revoked the Mosaic law pertaining to retaliatory
justice is discussed later.
 SCRIPTURES 101

As John Meier demonstrates, abrogation is an appropriate way of

referring to Jesus' treatment of some verses of the Hebrew Bible.145
Since the doctrine of verbal inerrancy is not defended in the Bible, no
insurmountable problems are posed by biblical figures who champion
contradictory principles. For example, Moses, in the name of the Lord,
excluded all with mutilated genitals from the Israelite community. 146
Isaiah later replaced that cruel restriction with a merciful judgment. He
promises, in the name of the Lord, that eunuchs who cling to the
Israelite covenant will have honor more enduring than some who have
children. 147 Philip Sigal shows that Jesus was among those ancient
rabbis who abrogated specific teachings of the written and oral Torah in
pursuit of a fuller understanding of God's will. 148
Jesus did not strictly adhere to the Mosaic ceremonial law. As the
Quran recognizes, he announced that his mission was to confirm what is
true in the Torah and "to authorize as lawful some things that had been
forbidden." 149 Jesus denounced those who scrupulously observed the
Jewish food laws while ignoring personality pollution. Some Pharisees
were exceedingly cautious not to contaminate themselves by putting so-
called unclean meats in their mouths, but they permitted vile things to
flow from their minds and mouths. Jesus asked:

Do you not perceive that nothing that goes into you from the
outside can defile? It enters the stomach, and not the heart,
and is excreted. . . . What comes out of you is what defiles.
From your heart come evil intentions which lead to sexual
immorality, stealing, murder, and adultery. From inside come
greed, meanness, deceit, indecency envy, slander, arrogance,
and foolishness. 150

Mark comments on this teaching: "By saying this, Jesus pro-

nounced all foods clean." Note that the issue of ceremonial purification
is unrelated to whether foods are physically dirty or washed.
The basic biographical sources for both Jesus and Muhammad
deny that they were omniscient at any stage of life. Jesus warned
disciples to be wary of self-appointed prophets who claim to know
future scenarios regarding the coming Judgment Day. He commented:
"About that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor
the Son, but only the Father."151 Because eschatological specifics are
unpredictable, Jesus recommended continual alertness. 152 A Quranic
revelation is virtually the same: "They ask you (Muhammad) about when
102 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

the hour of doom will come to pass. Say: 'Knowledge of it is with my

Lord only. He alone will reveal it at its proper time. . . . It comes when
you are unaware.' " 153
Both Jesus and Muhammad alerted their disciples to the possible
deceitfulness of those claiming to be mouthpieces for God. "Beware of
false prophets," Jesus said, "who come to you in sheep's clothing but
inwardly are ravenous wolves." 154 Muhammad appropriated those same
animal images in his warnings: "In the last times men will come forth
who will fraudulently use religion for worldly ends and wear sheepskins
in public to display meekness. Their tongues will be sweeter than sugar,
but their hearts will be the hearts of wolves." 155
Early Christian and Muslim spokespersons have interpreted an
announcement about Moses in a parallel manner. He said to the Isra-
elites, "God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you." 156
Those who recorded and preserved that saying did not think that Moses
had some particular prophet in mind, but they hoped that a spirit-
inspired person would appear in the future. On separate occasions,
church leaders Peter and Stephen quoted that verse from the Torah
when arguing before Jerusalem authorities that Jesus fulfilled Moses'
longing. 157 Knowing that the Jews continued to look for the prophet
Moses promised, the main biographer of Muhammad helped to legiti-
mize Islam by declaring Muhammad to be the fulfillment of the fore-
cast. 158
In the New Testament, Jesus is accepted as the decisive prophet,
but revelation did not terminate with his life and death. Since he did not
think of himself as the last prophet, he promised his followers that they
would become divine spokespersons. They should not worry about
testifying before oppressive authorities because, Jesus assured them,
"words will be given you when the time comes,- it will not be you
speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you." 159 Like-
wise, the Fourth Gospel affirms that Jesus will send the "Spirit of truth"
who will provide fuller theological disclosures. 160 There were female as
well as male prophets who embodied that Spirit.161 The earliest list of
church offices places the apostles at the beginning, the tongue-speakers
at the end, and the prophets in second rank. 162 The gift of prophecy
continued in the post-apostolic age. 163
In contrast to Moses and Muhammad, Jesus did not think of himself
as a lawgiver. For example, inheritance laws are set forth by Moses 164
and by Muhammad, 165 but Jesus stated that his role did not involve
handling legal matters of property division. Rather, he concerned him-
 SCRIPTURES 103

self with moral principles on which family inheritance should be

based. 166
Dealing with social inertia was a problem for both Jesus and
Muhammad. Jesus compared the traditionalists' rejection of fresh revela-
tions to wine drinkers: "Nobody who has been drinking old wine desires
new wine. T h e old is better,' they say."167 The Quran likewise describes
the Arabs' resistance to change: "When they are bidden to come to the
revelation which God has sent down to the messenger, they say: 'We are
content with what our forefathers did,' even though their forefathers did
not know anything and were not rightly guided." 168
Jesus thought that biblical interpreters often fail to enlighten. Like
blind men who have the audacity to call themselves guides, they cause
followers to fall in the ditch. 169 They have not used the key at their
disposal for unlocking the treasures of the scrolls and for making scrip-
tural teaching relevant. 170 They honor dead prophets but are unap-
preciative of live ones. 171 The scribes play trivial pursuits in religion at
the expense of justice and love,- they burden religious life with regula-
tions but do little to help people bear them. 172
Occasionally, Jesus differed from his fellow Jews on what was
important in biblical revelation. For example, the latter tended to admire
military prowess and to dote on David, who defeated many enemies of
Israel. They hoped that Jesus might be a latter-day David and vanquish
the powerful Romans. But Jesus admired David not so much because he
suppressed the Philistines but because he combated legalism. On one
occasion, some Pharisees demanded an explanation from Jesus as to why
he permitted work on the Sabbath. As his disciples passed through a
field, they plucked ripe grain, rubbed it in their hands, blew away the
chaff, and then consumed the kernels. They had engaged in a form of
reaping, threshing, and winnowing, three of the many types of work
prohibited by the prevailing interpretation of the basic commandment
pertaining to the holy day of rest. 173
In response to this criticism, Jesus asked why David's soldiers
satisfied their hunger by eating consecrated bread at the Israelite
tabernacle. 174 According to the Torah, only priests were permitted to
eat holy bread at the shrine. 175 Jesus presented that parallel case pertain-
ing to a revered ancestor in order to goad his fellow Jews into realizing
that human need should take priority over sanctified legislation. Jesus
concluded: "The sabbath was made to serve humans,- they were not
made to keep the sabbath." 176 He seems to have viewed David more as a
humanitarian than as a warrior with a sling or sword.
104 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

Jesus realized early on in his public ministry that his adversaries

would soon destroy him, so he trained disciples to transmit his teachings
after his death. The Acts, the first book of church history, shows that the
leadership was broad-based. Peter, although in a later century recog-
nized as the first pope, was responsible to the whole group of apostles.
They sent him to Samaria and demanded that he explain why he went
beyond established policy. 177 Like the caliphs during the generation
after Muhammad, the apostles of Jesus were considered to be the best
spokespersons to spread the public teachings of their religious mentor.
The original gospel took the form of orally communicated teach-
ings of Jesus. Just as the Pentateuch contains the record of Moses'
alleged speeches that were long preserved in the Israelite oral tradition
before being committed to writing, so the New Testament contains
"good news" that eyewitnesses remembered and recorded decades later.
The phenomenal memories of preliterate persons is captured by the
rabbinical saying, "A good student is like a cistern that does not leak a
drop." 178 Even so, pious fabrications were probably used to fill in bio-
graphical gaps for Jesus, as well as for Muhammad. Painstaking sifting of
biblical material is needed to separate later accretions from what is
historically authentic.
Neither Jesus nor Muhammad instructed that his messages be
published by other than the usual word-of-mouth method. Emphasis
was understandably placed on oral transmission because scrolls or books
were not the common mode of circulating ideas in cultures in which
only a very small percentage were literate. There is no evidence that
Jesus thought his teachings would be recorded and eventually be re-
garded as holy scripture.
In the Semitic culture, the recording of orally transmitted pro-
phetic proclamations occurred when a severe disruption in the commu-
nity jeopardized the normal communication. The Hebrew prophets did
not write down the "books" that now bear their names. Rather, fragments
of their proclamations were gathered by disciples and inscribed on a
scroll when ominous times arose. For example, prophet Amos an-
nounced the imminent destruction of Israel by the Assyrian army. A
generation later, when the invading army did in fact destroy Samaria and
the nation surrounding that royal city, survivors who remembered
Amos's message jotted down some record of it.
The deaths of both Jesus and Muhammad predate the beginning of
writing about those prophets and their revelations by a couple of
decades. Literary activity was stimulated by the recognition that fol-
 SCRIPTURES 105

lowers who had firsthand memories of their leaders' teachings were

dying or being killed. Efforts were made to put the Quran into a written
form when power rivalry in the Muslim community was resulting in the
assassination of caliphs.
The written Gospels began when the oral transmission was threat-
ened by the martyrdom of Jesus' apostles. Even apart from those killings,
the natural death of first-generation Christians would result in having to
rely exclusively on secondhand reports. The Church became aware that
the precious teachings of Jesus lodged in people's minds needed to be
preserved in writing. About forty years after Jesus' death, two Gospel
writings appeared. One was what came to be known as the Gospel of
Mark, which emphasizes the actions of Jesus. The other was a collection
of Jesus' teachings, which scholars call "Q" or Quelle (meaning "source" in
German). The original document is lost, but its existence is hypothe-
sized on the basis of paragraphs that are quoted from "Q" in Gospels
written about a decade after Mark, which came to be called the Gospels
of Matthew and Luke. Those later Gospels separately incorporated most
of what is recorded in Mark, supplemented by more than two hundred
verses from "Q." "Synoptic" (meaning "common viewpoint") Gospels is
the designation given Mark, Matthew, and Luke because the sequence
for Jesus' movements in Mark is generally followed by those in Matthew
and Luke. In addition, accounts of what Jesus said and did that are not
found in Mark or "Q" are contained in Matthew and Luke. Those stories
were apparently gathered from the oral tradition by the editors of
Matthew and Luke, who wrote independently of one another.
In addition to the Synoptic Gospels, other Gospels contain some
genuine traditions of Jesus' life and teachings. The Fourth Gospel, which
has been known as John's Gospel, was written at the end of the first
Christian century and is less reliable as a historical source than the
earlier canonical Gospels. Discovered in the sands of Egypt this century
were a number of documents that may contain traditions as early as
those published in the New Testament. The Gospel of Thomas is the
most important of these non-canonical writings. It contains many
sayings of Jesus that are basically the same as those in the New Testa-
ment, as well as others that are not recorded elsewhere but may be
authentic. An illustration of the latter is this saying that pertains to
revelation: "He who will drink from my mouth will become like me. I
myself shall become he, and the things that are hidden will be revealed
to him." 179
Within a decade of Jesus' crucifixion, there arose a need to translate
106 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

his Gospel from the Aramaic language in which he taught. As church

membership spread beyond Palestine and became predominantly non-
Jewish, missionaries circulated reports of Jesus' sayings and actions in
Greek, the international language of the Mediterranean. They found
nothing sanctified or charming about reciting Gospel passages from
Jesus' mother tongue or from its first translation into Greek. Unlike
Islam, there was no savoring the revelation's sonorous original language.
In church history, more attention has been accorded particular vernacu-
lar renderings of the Bible, such as the Latin Vulgate, the German
translation by Luther, and the King James version. Christians tend to be
inspired less by any sublimity of the New Testament's literary style and
more by its content as interpreted. Whereas the Quran is presumed to
be a verbatim transcript of what God wrote in Arabic on a heavenly
tablet, the New Testament contains little of what was regarded as Gods
direct words.
Beginning in the second century, many Christians have presumed
that numerous creations by unknown writers contain historical material
about Jesus' life. The Quran echoes some stories about Mary, the mother
of Jesus, that are not found in the New Testament. One of these later
tales begins with this account of Mary's mother: When she was deliv-
ered, she said: "Lord, I have given birth to a daughter and have called her
Mary. . . . Protect her and her offspring from Satan." 180 In explaining
this verse, Muhammad said: "Except for Mary and her son, no child is
born but that Satan touches it when it is born, whereupon it starts
crying." 181
Also, according to the Quran, the angels said: "God has chosen
you, Mary. He has made you pure and exalted you above
womankind." 182 Edward Gibbon comments on that treatment of Mary's
sanctity: "The Latin church has not disdained to borrow from the Koran
the immaculate conception of his virgin mother." 183 Although Gibbon
errs in suggesting that the Catholic doctrine of the Immaculate Concep-
tion is Muslim in origin, he rightly recognizes that it is not a part of early
Christianity. It is unlikely that there is any reliable historical data about
Mary apart from the New Testament, and even some of its accounts are
historically questionable.
Much of Muhammad's knowledge of Jesus and his mother may
have come from an encounter with some Christian visitors from Najran,
an oasis near Yemen. They came to Medina two years before Muham-
mad's death in response to a threatening letter from the prophet. He had
urged them to convert to Islam or pay the tax he prescribed. He
 SCRIPTURES 107

concluded: "If you refuse to pay the tax, then I shall declare war against
you." 184 After much consultation, the Bishop of Najran decided to send
a delegation to Muhammad to find out if he was a prophet sent by
God. 185 Their discussions appear to have been friendly because the
Quran claims that, in contrast to the Jews and the idolaters, they
appreciated Muhammad: "Among them are priests and monks who are
not arrogant. When they listen to the Apostle's revelation, their eyes
overflow with tears as they recognize its truth." 186
The Najran Christians argued for the divinity of Jesus because he
had the supernatural ability to speak wisely from his cradle and to create
birds that could fly when he was a boy. 187 Those miracle stories origi-
nated with an apocryphal Gospel that was composed in the Byzantine
region centuries after the canonical Gospels. This note appears at the
beginning: "Jesus spoke even when he was in the cradle, and said to his
mother, 'Mary, I am Jesus, the Son of God, the Word. . . .' " 188 That non-
canonical Gospel also tells of Jesus at the age of seven acting like the
Genesis Creator, animating by his command the creatures he had
formed from clay. 189 That folktale, like the Quran, seems to regard Jesus'
childhood as the most important period of his life. The Quran contains
hardly any of Jesus' teachings as an adult. He is usually named in tandem
with his mother, conveying the impression that he did not become
independent of her. But in the Gospels of the New Testament, the adult
Jesus has views that differ sharply from those of his mother. 190
Both Jesus and Muhammad thought of the messages they conveyed
as improvements in some respects over previous disclosures of God.
Jesus believed that the Gospel abrogated some of the declarations of the
Torah, and Muhammad believed that his proclamations as God's spokes-
person abrogated any conflicting statements in the Torah, the Gospels,
or his earlier revelations. Many followers of each prophet have main-
tained that God has not spoken definitively since the time of their
respective prophet. It is obvious that interfaith dialogue cannot proceed
far until there is adjudication of these conflicting doctrines of revelation.
 CHAPTER SIX

PERSONAL
CONDUCT

Prayer and Forgiveness

In most religions, prayer is regarded as a two-way communication,

combining listening for divine revelation with making appropriate re-
sponses. "To pray" literally means "to plea," so the verb does not ade-
quately express the full interrelationship assumed in Muslim and
Christian worship. Both Jesus and Muhammad believed that they could
converse directly with God in public and in private, without priestly or
angelic intercession.
For Muhammad, every day was hallowed by engaging in frequent
communication with God. The Quran indicates that the prophet some-
times spent part or all of a night meditating on God. 1 Although he did not
establish a weekly holy day for worship and rest, he advised his followers
to interrupt ordinary work one day each week for community worship at
noon. The Quran states: "Believers, when you are called to Friday
prayers, hasten to remember God and leave your trading." 2 In addition to
prescribed prayers independent of mealtimes, there was this Quranic
injunction: "Do not eat of that over which God's name has not been
pronounced." 3 The importance of prayer to the prophet is illustrated by
his response to being told of someone who failed to arise to perform

109
110 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

morning prayer. "Satan urinated in his ears" was his comment on the
sleeper who was unresponsive when the call to prayer was sounded. 4
Muhammad and other Muslims engaged in preparatory ceremonial
purification. The Quran provides these instructions:

Believers, when you rise up for prayer, wash your faces and
your hands up to the elbows,- wipe your heads and wash your
feet up to the ankles. If you are sexually polluted, cleanse
yourselves. But if you are sick or on a journey, or if you can
find no water after you have relieved yourselves or had inter-
course with women, take some clean sand and rub your hands
and faces with it. 5

Muslim tradition supplements the Quran in providing details on

bodily expressions for prayer. Aisha supplies this information: "When
prayer was first laid on the Apostle, it was with two prostrations for
every prayer: then God raised it to four prostrations at home, while on a
journey the former ordinance of two prostrations held."6 "Prostration"
does not refer to stretching out flat; rather, knees, head, and palms touch
the "dust" from which humans are made. Praying begins by exclaiming
"God is greater!" (Allahu akbar) with hands raised, followed by reciting
the opening chapter of the Quran while still in an erect posture. This
worship is climaxed by kneeling, lowering the head to the rug or the
ground, and saying amen (amin). The Quran informs the faithful that a
callous on the forehead can result from this habitual homage. 7
In Jesus' day, Jews were expected to "pray at the dawning of light"8
and in the evening. 9 Jesus recharged his spiritual batteries by vigils in
secluded places: "In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up
and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed." 10 And, "After
saying farewell to them (the crowd and his disciples), he went up on the
mountain to pray."11 His prayer postures included standing, kneeling,
and prostration. 12 Following Jewish custom, Jesus said a "blessing" be-
fore eating. 13 Although he sometimes prayed with congregations, pri-
vacy was often sought for integrating prayer with the ongoing activities
at hand. Even though Jesus generally followed the traditional prayer
practices of his people, he occasionally displayed independence. He was
criticized for not having his followers pray and fast as frequently as
pious Jews did. 14
For Jesus, prayer was a discipline for subordinating human desires
to divine wisdom rather than a scheme for getting one's will accom-
 PERSONAL C O N D U C T ill

plished. In the garden of Gethsemane on the night before his execution,

Jesus requested that he might be relieved, if possible, of the anticipated
suffering ahead. Then, with resignation, he concluded, "Yet not my will,
but Your will be done." 15 The Quran suggests Muhammad's similar
humility when facing the future. Muhammad proclaimed: "Do not say of
anything: 'I will do that tomorrow,' without adding, 'If God wills.' "16
Jesus recognized that insincerity is a perennial problem in religion.
The Sermon on the Mount advises: "Whenever you pray, do not be like
the hypocrites,- for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at
the street corners, so that they may be publicly seen."17 To other Jews,
Jesus charged:

Rightly did Isaiah describe you hypocrites in these words:

These people honor me with their lips,
hut their hearts arc jar from me;
Their worship is an empty show.*8

The Quran also criticizes ostentation: "Hypocrites seek to outwit

God, but God outwits them. When they rise to pray, they perform it
unenthusiastically, making a show before the people and are little mind-
ful of God." 19 The Quran also regards the thoughtless ritualizing of
words as unacceptable. It advises.- "Believers, do not attempt to pray
when you are drunk, but wait until you know what you are saying." 20
Muhammad warned against other distractions that could shift the focus
of the person praying. He warned that prayers are annulled if a dog,
donkey, or a woman pass in front. (Aisha did not appreciate being
categorized with animals.) 21 Women who wish to pray at mosques form
lines behind the men, which prevents men from observing female
posteriors during kneelings.
In the context of encouraging prayer to give inner strength, the
Quran compares religion to plant development. The Quran teaches that
divine nurture produces firm and mature believers. 22 The Quran develops
this organic analogy elsewhere: "Good words are like trees with deep
roots and fruitful branches,- evil words are like an uprooted tree." 23 This
instruction parallels Jesus' comparison of the godly community's gradual
growth to seed in fertile and moist soil; its branches become strong
enough to support bird nests and eventually to produce abundantly. 24
The heartbeat of Islam is found on the opening page of the Quran.
Called the fatihah, the essence of Islamic worship is contained in several
sentences:
in MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

Praise be to God, Lord of the Universe, the Compassionate,

the Merciful, Sovereign of the Day of Judgment. You alone we
worship, and You alone we ask for help. Guide us in the
straight path, the path of those whom You have favored,- not
of those who have earned Your anger, nor of those who have
gone astray. 25

Memorized in Arabic by every faithful Muslim, those words are

repeated by the devout at each of the five daily times of prayer. This
prayer of prayers emphasizes the benevolence of God, even though His
wrath is acknowledged. The nature of God is associated with the "path"
along which believers walk, showing the relevance of theology to moral
conduct.
The corresponding basic prayer for Christians is commonly known
as "The Lord's Prayer." While it has been recited over the centuries, some
concluding phrases have often expanded its form as recorded in the
New Testament. Luke's Gospel explains what prompted that most influ-
ential prayer and then gives the original petitions:

After Jesus finished praying in a certain place, one of his

disciples said, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his
disciples." Jesus replied: "When you pray, say this: Father, may
your name be kept holy. Your kingdom come. Give us each
day the food we need. And forgive us our sins, as we forgive
everyone who has done us wrong. And do not put us to hard
testing." 26

The use of "Father" was not intended to connote gender, but to

focus on parents' creative and nurturing powers. Jesus' father image was
similar to that of a psalmist who said: "As a father has compassion on his
children, so the Lord has compassion on those who revere him." 27 God
is separated by holiness but is not removed from earth. Thus, daily bread
and other material needs of humans are of God's concern.
The Lord's Prayer and the principal Muslim prayer are considered
to be as efficacious when prayer either in private or in a congregation.
Both prayers begin with the adoration of God's greatness, and both rise
above egocentricity by the use of plural pronouns. The pronouns "we,"
"us," and "our" significantly display that private concerns are not pre-
dominant and that everyone has similar fundamental needs. Neither
 PERSONAL C O N D U C T 113

prayer is comprehensive,- both omit thanksgiving, which Muhammad

and Jesus considered important.
Jesus' model prayer has been admired in Muslim tradition. Muham-
mad is represented as praying: "Our Lord God who is in heaven, hallowed
be your name,- your kingdom is in heaven and on earth,- as your mercy is in
heaven, so show your mercy on earth,- forgive us our debts and our sins." 28
If Jesus prayed what he recommended to his disciples, then he and
Muhammad were aware of the need for personal forgiveness.
By means of a weighty conjunction, Jesus coupled acceptance by
God with human forgiving-ness: "Forgive ...aswe forgive."29 Pleading
for God's mercy while sacrificing an animal is less demanding than
working patiently to overcome one's alienation from other humans.
Jesus thought it improper to seek divine forgiveness if a similar attitude
was lacking in one's own human relationships. He provided this illustra-
tion: "If, as you come to worship, you remember a falling out with your
neighbor, first go and make peace with him." 30 Jesus' emphasis on
reconciliation is conveyed in this exchange: "Peter came and said to him,
'Lord, if another member of the community sins against me, how often
should I forgive? As many as seven times?'Jesus said to him, 'Not seven
times, but, I tell you, seventy times seven.' "31 When praying on the
cross that his executioners be forgiven, Jesus practiced what he taught. 32
Vertical and horizonal reconciliation is also connected in the
Quran-. "Pardon and forgive. Do you not wish God to forgive you?" 33
According to early Muslim tradition, Muhammad advised: "If anyone
would like God to save him from the anxieties of the Day of Resurrec-
tion, he should grant a respite to one who is in straitened circumstances,
or remit his debt." 34 Aisha reported the prophet as saying: "Avert the
infliction of prescribed penalties on Muslims as much as you can, and let
a man go if there is any way out, for it is better for a leader to make a
mistake in forgiving than to make a mistake in punishing." 35
Muslims also remembered this exchange between Muhammad and
one of his followers: " 'How often shall I pardon a servant?' . . . The
prophet replied: 'Forgive him seventy times daily.' " 36 "Seventy" was a
Semitic way of saying "unlimited." Jesus and Muhammad were using
hyperbole, which was prominent in Semitic speech. 37 It is hard to
imagine the possibility of more than a small fraction of seventy pardon-
ing interactions with a servant in the course of a day. The seventy
sayings attempt to convey that a quantitative limit should not be placed
on forgiveness.
114 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

Moses, one of Muhammad's mentors, is represented in the Quran

as seeking God's forgiveness more often than he does in the Bible. After
his impetuous act of killing an Egyptian slavemaster, Moses prays:
"Forgive me, Lord, for I have sinned." 38 Again, after the episode of the
golden calf and breaking the law tablets, he pleads, "Lord, forgive me,
and forgive my brother." 39
After becoming victorious over an Arabian city, Muhammad re-
ceived this encouragement: "God may forgive you your past and future
sins and perfect His goodness to you." 40 One of the prophet's prayers
emphasizes his need for divine forgiveness-. "I am Thy servant and hold
to Thy covenant and promise as much as I can. I seek refuge in Thee
from the evil of what I have done. I acknowledge Thy favor to me, and I
acknowledge my sin. Pardon me, for none but Thee pardons sins."41
Muhammad was instructed to ask his people to pray for more than their
own pardon.- "Implore God to forgive your sins and to forgive believing
men and women." 42 A Quranic prayer suggests the dire consequence
that can come from not being forgiven: "Our Lord, we believe: forgive
us our sins and guard us from the punishment of Fire."43
The Quran sets limits on forgiveness by excluding pagans who are
Muslim enemies. Believers should follow the example of Abraham who
allegedly said to those who opposed his family in his native town: "We
are through with you and all that you worship other than God. We
reject you: hostility and hatred have come between you and us forever,
unless you believe in God only." 44 However, a nonbelligerent idolater
should not be renounced: "God does not forbid you from being kind and
dealing equitably towards those who have not made war on your reli-
gion nor expelled you from your homes. God loves those who are
just." 45
Muhammad could not tolerate poets who criticized him, and he
showed no mercy toward them. At the time, poets had a role similar to
television commentators today as molders of public opinion. Muham-
mad ordered the death of Uqba, who had written verses against him, as
soon as he achieved the power to do so with impunity. A bitter response
was given to Uqba's plea for mercy.- " 'But who will look after my
children, O Muhammad?' 'Hell,' he said."46
Asma, another poet, composed some lines on the folly of Medinans
who "obey a stranger who is none of yours." 47 She asked, "Is there no
man of pride who would attack Muhammad by surprise?"48 Biographer
Ishaq writes: "When the Apostle heard what she had said, he said, 'Who
will rid me of Marwan's daughter?' " 49 Umair heard him and murdered
 PERSONAL C O N D U C T 115

her that night as she slept with her infant. When told the next morning
at the mosque what had happened, Muhammad said to the assassin, "You
have helped God and His Apostle." 50 Muhammad responded to Umair's
anxiety over retribution from her five sons by assuring him that there
was no need to worry. 51
After describing Muhammad's execution of two Meccan prisoners
of war who had composed satires about him, Montgomery Watt com-
ments: "Throughout his career Muhammad was specially sensitive to
intellectual or literary attacks of this kind. They were for him an
unforgivable sin."52 Later, after his largely bloodless conquest of Mecca,
Muhammad ordered the killing of some women whose songs had pro-
voked him. 53 Exchanging death for insults, Muhammad exceeded the
Mosaic equal-retribution limitation. The prophet, who issued a general
anmesty toward his former Meccan enemies, appears inconsistent in his
treatment of poets who were unsympathetic toward him personally.

Lowliness and Children

JVluhammad's lowliness was influenced by revelations that were per-

sonally directed to him. The Quran instructed him to describe himself in
these ways: "I am only a mortal like yourselves",-54 "I am nothing more
than a mortal messenger",-55 and "I am no new thing among messengers,
nor do I know what will happen to me or to you ; I only follow what is
revealed in me." 56 Muhammad best expressed his humility in the body
language of prayer. In the movements accompanying that central act of
Islam, the cranium—which contains the highest in the human—
repeatedly touches the ground.
An ancient sage named Luqman imparted wisdom that Muhammad
valued: "Do not treat people with scorn, nor strut about the earth. God
does not love the arrogant and the boastful. Behave yourself modestly
and lower your voice. The harshest of all sounds is the braying of an
ass!"57 The Quran contains another vivid image for encouraging lowli-
ness: "Do not walk haughtily on the earth. . . . You can never rival the
mountains in height!" 58 Internalization of Quranic values is evident in
this saying of the prophet: "Do not eulogize me as the Christians
eulogize the son of Mary. Just say, 'God's servant and messenger.' " 59
An episode early in Muhammad's prophetic career taught him not
116 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

to shun those of low status. While he was trying to persuade a leading

Meccan citizen about the truth of Islam, he was annoyed when an
earnest blind man requested religious instruction. Afterward, Muham-
mad received this Quranic admonition: "He frowned and turned away
when the blind man approached him. . . . To the one who thought he
had no need you were attentive . . . but to him that came to you with
godly zeal, you disregarded." 60 Ishaq provides this paraphrase: "I (God)
did not specify one person to the exclusion of another, so withhold not
the message from him who seeks it, and do not waste time over one who
does not want it."61
Muhammad was content with the basic necessities of life, even
during the last years of his life when his wealth could have provided him
an earthly paradise comparable to what some Saudi princes now possess.
An early story about Muhammad illustrates his lowliness. An unbeliever
whom he invited to dinner "ate with seven stomachs." 62 Muhammad
then took the glutton to his guest room to recover. The visitor left the
room dirty the next day. On returning to pick up something left behind,
he found the prophet cleaning the room himself. Shamed by such
humility, the man became a Muslim. 63 There is another story of
Muhammad telling his people not to disturb a Muslim who was urinat-
ing in the mosque. After the prayer ritual was finished, the prophet
simply diluted the spot by pouring a bucket of water on it. 64
From early Muslim descriptions of Muhammad's austerity, 65 Ed-
ward Gibbon culled this description:

Mahomet despised the pomp of royalty,- the apostle of God

submitted to the menial offices of the family. . . . The interdic-
tion of wine was confirmed by his example,- his hunger was
appeased with a sparing allowance of barley-bread. He de-
lighted in the taste of milk and honey, but his ordinary food
consisted of dates and water. Perfumes and women were the
two sensual enjoyments which his nature required, and his
religion did not forbid. 66

Like Muhammad, Jesus preferred simplicity to luxury. He had little

respect for the vast treasures that King Solomon was reputed to have
accumulated,- wildflowers were more splendidly clothed than the
Hebrew Croesus in his dazzling robes. While recognizing that lilies are
only temporarily alive, Jesus found in them a more genuine beauty than
the permanent gleam of Solomon's gold. 67 In Jesus' leisure time, he
 PERSONAL C O N D U C T 117

separated from the vulgar human expressions of self-sufficiency in order

to sense the throb of nature. The Nazarene was appreciative of a variety
of commonplace out-of-door experiences-, grain being reaped, sheep
wandering from the fold, sparrows in the marketplace, vineyards being
pruned, and a ruddy evening glow filling the sky.
Seeking personal recognition by associating with socially promi-
nent persons did not interest Jesus. He criticized those who sought
respectful greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats at banquets
or in synagogues. 68 Jesus made fun of such self-promoters with this
parable:

When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not sit

down at the place of honor. A more distinguished person than
you may have been invited, and the host who invited both of
you may come and say, "Give this person your place." Then, to
your embarrassment, you would have to go and take the
lowest seat. Instead, when you are a guest, go and sit in an
inconspicuous place, so that when your host comes, he may
say, "Friend, move to a better place." Then all the other guests
will see the respect in which you are held. For all who pro-
mote themselves will be humbled, and those who humble
themselves will be promoted. 69

When Jesus overheard an argument among his disciples over who

had the most prestige, he responded with a paradoxical statement and a
visual presentation:

"Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and serve all."

Then he stood before them a child he had found. Putting his
arms around the child, he said, "Whoever receives a child like
this in my name receives me,- and whoever receives me, re-
ceives not only me but also the One who sent me." 70

Jesus said, "I am among you as one who serves,"71 and he illustrated
those words in a concrete manner. Having stated that his mission in life
was "not to be waited on but to wait on others," 72 he dramatized his
humble role by washing his disciples' feet at the Last Supper. 73 The
washing of men's feet is referred to in the Hebrew Bible as a handmaid's
function. 74 The Quran commends Jesus' lowly role: "Christ does not
disdain to be a servant of God." 75
118 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

Lowliness is characteristic not only of Jesus, but of the people who

most interested him. The earliest Gospel refers to them individually as
fishermen, lepers, women, and blind persons. There are also groups: the
hungry, the crowds, the children, the sick, the crippled, and the out-
casts. In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus is characterized as one who can assist
the "weary and overburdened" because he is "gentle and lowly in
heart." 76
Celsus, a second-century pagan scholar, claimed that Christianity
consisted of "only slaves, women, and little children." 77 Although he was
expressing contempt by that exaggeration, he pointed to an important
characteristic of the new religion. The movement Jesus initiated was
directed more toward the lowly than the lofty members of society.
Jesus' teaching on hospitality conveys his identification with street
people who are commonly overlooked. He recognized that there is a
quid-pro-quo expectation in customary party planning: invited guests
are viewed as potential hosts. To encourage hosts to befriend the
destitute and the disabled, he advised:

When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your

friends, or your brothers and other relatives, or rich neigh-
bors,- they will invite you back and repay your hospitality. But
when you entertain, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame,
and the blind. That is the way to happiness, because they have
no means to reciprocate. Your repayment will be given when
the good people rise from the dead. 78

Regarding Jesus' radical teachings about the restructuring of soci-

ety by giving significance to nobodies, Albert Nolan writes:

The kingdom of God . . . will be a society in which there will

be no prestige and no status, no division of people into
inferior and superior. Everyone will be loved and respected,
not because of his education or wealth or ancestry or author-
ity or rank or virtue or other achievements, but because he like
everybody else is a person. 79

Both Jesus and Muhammad rejected the role of the priesthood,

which was presumed to control the channel by which the common
person could gain access to God. Bernard Shaw thought that Muslims
 PERSONAL C O N D U C T 119

do a better job than the Anglican Church in avoiding the priesthood.

He writes-.

In some ways it is easier to reconcile a Mahometan to Jesus

than a British parson, because the idea of a professional priest
is unfamiliar and even monstrous to a Mahometan,- and Jesus
never suggested that his disciples should separate themselves
from the laity: he picked them up by the wayside, where any
man or woman might follow him. For priests he had not a civil
word,- and they showed their sense of his hostility by getting
him killed as soon as possible. He was, in short, a thorough-
going anti-Clerical. 80

"Son of man," Jesus' favorite self-designation, may have been his

modest way of identifying himself with other mortals. 81 Rather than
being a title for an eschatological judge, as later interpreted by the early
Church, it probably had for him a connotation similar to what it had in a
Hebrew poetic couplet. When overwhelmed by the awesomeness of
cosmic creation, a psalmist asks God: "What is a mere mortal that You
are mindful of him? / A son of man (ben adam) that You care for him?" 82
The psalmist is amazed that humans have been made "a little lower than
God, crowned with glory and honor." 83 John Meier, after reviewing
recent interpretations of the enigmatic "son of man" phrase that fre-
quently appears in the Gospels, concludes that it was Jesus' way of
referring to himself "as the lowly yet powerful servant of God's King-
dom." 84 Similarly, John Crossan says regarding "the son of man": "an
unchauvinistic English translation would be 'the human one.' " 85 The use
of that expression in the Gospels reinforces the idea that Jesus shared a
common destiny with the destitute. 86
The early Church thought of Jesus as sinless, 87 but is there a basis
for thinking that he considered himself perfect? He humbly differenti-
ated between himself and superlative goodness, as well as between
himself and God, in a reply to someone who addressed him as "Good
Teacher." "Why do you call me good?" Jesus asked,- "No one is good
except God alone." 88 If Jesus believed he had no imperfections, could he
have honestly said those words? Jesus' feeling of solidarity with sinners is
also evident in his decision to become baptized. John instituted baptism
to symbolize the forgiveness of those who were repentant. 89
Moreover, could Jesus have avoided having a self-righteous
120 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

estimation of himself if he were unaware of unrighteous behavior in his

life? He treated self-righteousness as a debilitating personality flaw and
taught that truly good persons do not contemplate their own good-
ness. 90 One of Jesus' parables characterizes the righteous as having no
self-consciousness of their own virtuous deeds. 91 Both Jesus and
Muhammad wanted people to distinguish between the imperfect mes-
senger and the sublime message.
Muhammad frequently displayed a fondness for children. He com-
forted a boy whose pet nightingale had died. Once he teased his wives
by showing them a piece of jewelry he had obtained for the one most
dear to him. After arousing hopes and anxieties, he gave it to Umamah,
his granddaughter. 92 He allowed her to sit on his shoulder when he was
leading in prayer and was not prostrated. 93 When chided for kissing a
grandchild, Muhammad countered, "What can I do if God has deprived
your hearts of all human feeling? God does not grant his mercy to those
who are not merciful."94
The fact that Muhammad knew his mother only as a widow and
was orphaned helps to explain his special concern for widows and
orphans. He went to the home of his cousin Ja'far to inform the children
and widow that their father and husband respectively, had been killed.
After putting his arms around them and weeping with grief, he arranged
for food to be brought to the household. 95 Muhammad once said: "One
who looks after and works for a widow and for a poor person is like a
warrior fighting for Gods cause, or like a person who fasts during the
day and prays all the night." 96 The Quran's imperatives include: "Op-
press not the orphan, refuse not the beggar,- but proclaim the bounty of
your Lord." 97 In particular, the Quran stipulates that children are to be
nursed by their mothers for up to two years following a divorce, during
which time their clothing and maintenance are the responsibility of the
biological father.98
Jesus' disciples had difficulty understanding their rabbi's affection
for children. They attempted to keep children away from him, presum-
ing that he did not want to spend time with those who had so little status
in the community. Angered by his disciples' attitude, he told them: "Let
the children come to me ; do not stop them, for the Kingdom of God
belongs to the childlike." 99
The notion of children being more than breathing pieces of paren-
tal property is more properly associated with modern democracy than
with the ancient world. Full personhood for children is lacking in the
Hebrew Bible. Unlimited retaliation was permitted toward a child who
 PERSONAL C O N D U C T 121

expressed anger toward a parent in word or action. 100 Parents were

advised to have "a stubborn and rebellious son" stoned to death. 101
The harsh treatment that adults often inflicted upon children trou-
bled Jesus. He directed his most outspoken criticism toward verbal or
physical child abuse:

If any of you puts a stumbling block before one of these little

ones who has faith in me, it would be better for you to be
drowned in the deep sea with a large millstone fastened
around your neck. . . . Be careful not to treat with contempt a
single one of these little ones. 102

One of Jesus' many paradoxical teachings states: those who desire a

fulfilled life must "become like children." 103 What did he mean when he
associated personal development with reviving characteristics of the
young? To avoid sentimentality, a distinction between being childish
and being child-like is needed. To be childish is to pout, to have temper
tantrums, and to be selfishly concerned for one's own pleasure. One of
Jesus' parables is about children who sulk, a characteristic he did not
admire. 104 It describes children who are determined not to join in a
musical game unless they can call the tune. They squabble and end up
not playing at all. Jesus probably had observed peevishness at Nazareth
among his brothers and sisters. 105 He was talking about something quite
different from child/sJmess when he commended childlikeness.
What child-like qualities can be extracted from episodes in the
Gospels? Consider first that children tend to express themselves sponta-
neously. The gospel tells of boisterous children who were shouting
praises in the temple. Whereas the religious leaders were indignant over
such loud behavior at the most sacred Jewish shrine, Jesus commended
their uninhibited enthusiasm. 106
A second characteristic of the young is that they seek out fresh
experiences and are not likely to be fully satisfied with the religious
practices of their elders. Many Jewish adults contentedly sang, in effect:
Give me that old-time religion,- if it was good enough for Moses, it is
good enough for me. Jesus compared settled religious routines to old
leather,- they were inflexible, dry, and faded in vitality. He recognized
that if the fermenting "new wine" of his message were poured into old
wineskins, an undesirable explosion would occur. "Fresh skins for new
wine!" he exclaimed. 107 Jesus proclaimed "good news" for a new day, as
Isaiah had at the end of the Babylonian exile. 108
122 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

Most of Jesus' disciples were probably teenagers because he ad-

dressed them as "children."109 Also, it is unlikely that students would
have been older than their rabbi, and, according to the Gospel, Jesus was
"about thirty years old."110 He probably selected youth to launch his
movement on the presumption that their minds, like new wineskins,
would stretch with challenging ideas and experiences.
Simple trustfulness is a primary child-like characteristic. A human
infant is the most helpless creature on earth for the longest period of
time. Naturally, children ask their parents to satisfy their basic needs. To
convey his unsophisticated faith, Jesus unconventionally addressed God
as Abba,ul the intimate term for father in Aramaic. That the child in
Jesus never died is displayed in his last words.- "Abba, into your hands I
commit my spirit."112 That prayer comes from a psalm that was used as a
bedtime prayer in Jewish homes.113 While dying on the cross, Jesus
trusted in Gods care as he had done nightly over the years, confident
that life would be his again when he awakened.
The basic virtues of faith, hope, love, and joy are often better
displayed in children than in adults. Perhaps this is what Jesus had in
mind in this prayer: "I thank you Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for
revealing to little children what you have hidden from the learned and
the clever."114

Temptation and Self-Discipline

According to the theological ethics of the Quran, humans have the
potential for doing either good or evil.115 Disliking this freedom of
choice, the angels protested to God at the time of human creation: "Will
You put there one who will do harm and shed blood?"116 Like Adam,
Eve, and Cain, all humans are weak when they rely on their own
resources. The Quran does not maintain that humanity is under a curse
because of the disobedience of primal humans. They were penalized,
but their sin did not cause a congenital moral defect in the human
species.
In describing temptation, the Quran personifies the power of evil.
Satan, or the Devil (this English transliteration and the Arabic iblis are
from the Greek term diabolos, which is often used in the New Testament),
is not a rival deity but a being who works within limits established by
 PERSONAL C O N D U C T 123

God. After fashioning a clay figure and breathing into it, God com-
manded Satan to join the angels in bowing respectfully to the human.
Satan refused, viewing the human as merely stuff made of dirt. Affronted
by Satan's failure to show dignity to humans, God cursed him but
allowed him to be a tester of humans.117 Even those who rely on divine
assistance are not immune from temptation. The Quran asks: "Do peo-
ple imagine that once they say 'We believe/ that then they will be left
alone and not tested?"118
Muhammad was presumably exposed to more than the usual
amount of temptation by Satan and his legions. The Quran asserts: "To
every prophet We have assigned opponents—the devils among humans
andjww—who inspire in one another attractive talk intended to deceive.
Had your Lord willed, they would not have done so."119 Muhammad
endured what other prophets before him had experienced.120 To defend
against difficult moral dilemmas, the Quran advises.- "If Satan tempts
you, seek refuge in God who hears all and knows all."121 When Muham-
mad accused jealous Aisha of being possessed by the Devil, she asked
her husband if he had similar struggles. He replied: "Yes, but God has
helped me against him so that I may be safe."122
The Quran contains a puzzling comment about the Meccans who
tempted Muhammad: "They strove hard to beguile you away from Our
revelations, hoping to tempt you to invent something against Us. They
would then have accepted you as a friend. Had We not strengthened
your faith, you might have made some compromise with them."123 How
was Muhammad tempted early in his prophetic career? According to
Ishaq s account, as incorporated in some subsequent early biographies of
Muhammad,124 Meccan leaders swayed him to issue a conciliatory
oracle about their traditional religion, thereby diminishing their antago-
nism toward him. He legitimized the adoration of Allat, Aluzza, and
Almanat, regarded by the Arabs as "daughters of Allah/' and worshiped
at three shrines near Mecca. Muhammad allegedly proclaimed that
these so-called goddesses are angelic beings who can intercede with
God. Muslim persecution then subsided in Mecca, and some exiles
returned from Ethiopia.125 Muhammad soon realized that he had mis-
taken God's message and substituted another revelation, which super-
seded the earlier one.126 The Devil had corrupted the initial revelation,
"but God abrogates what Satan interposes."127
Jesus' wilderness temptations, which were examined in dealing
with his early life, prove that testing of prophets can be intense. In a
picturesque manner, Jesus' temptations express Hebrew psychology.
124 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

Each person has within, so it was thought, both an evil and a good
impulse (yetzer), which can be personified, respectively, as a devil and an
angel in battle. 128 In the Hebrew Bible, Satan is not presumed to be a
rival deity. According to the prologue in Job, Satan makes cynical
judgments and initiates ideas on testing those presumed to be faithful to
God, but he can do so only with divine permission. The stories of Eve
arguing with a serpent, as well as those of Jacob wrestling with an angel,
might be interpreted as examples of what Freudian psychology ex-
presses more prosaically and secularly as the ego's confrontation with
the id and superego. The horned figure with a forked tail and pitchfork,
wearing scarlet leotards and residing in Hell, is not derived from the
ancient Judeo-Christian tradition but from later European folklore. 129
Throughout history, the majority of adults tend toward literalism in
interpreting literature, but some serious students grasp a more in-depth
meaning. Some Jews did not interpret Satan in a literal manner. One
sage, Jesus ben Sirach, made this demythologizing clarification: "When
a godless person curses Satan, he really curses himself."130 Similarly,
Jesus ben Joseph affirmed that evil does not come from outside but from
within a person. 131 When Peter attempted to dissuade Jesus from risking
death by going to Jerusalem, Jesus assumed that his disciple was express-
ing not his godly impulse, as he had earlier,132 but his devilish impulse.
Jesus said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan." 133 While Jesus was wrestling
in Gethsemane to overcome the internal temptation to avoid drinking
the cup of suffering at Jerusalem, he counseled his disciples: "Stay awake
and pray that you may be spared the test,- the spirit is eager, but human
nature is weak." 134
Self-discipline for both Muhammad and Jesus began with honing
receptivity skills. Whereas neither was recorded as urging their disciples
to learn to speak persuasively, both men emphasized the need for
auditory, visual, and mental openness toward other humans and God.
Both would have found this Quranic assessment of the insensitivity of
many humans insightful: "They have hearts but do not understand; eyes
but do not see,- ears but do not hear."135 In the Semitic as well as some
other ancient cultures, the "heart" was considered the seat of the per-
sonality, corresponding to "mind" in modern culture.
The Quran stresses the need for mental discipline in these admoni-
tions: "Be not like those who say 'We hear' but do not listen. The worst
creatures in God's sight are those whose minds are utterly closed", 136
"Do not pursue things of which you have no knowledge. The hearing,
the sight, and the heart—all these will be held responsible", 137 and "Call
 PERSONAL C O N D U C T 125

people unto the path of your Lord with sound reasoning and wise
exhortation." 138
As a boy, Jesus learned from Jewish teachers by combining ques-
tioning with listening, 139 and he encouraged curiosity and receptivity
among those who observed him as an adult. He told them a parable
about different kinds of soils, symbolizing types of human receptivity.
The sowers seed, representing sound teaching, was wasted on the hard,
the shallow, and the crowded soils,- the sower's effort was made worth-
while only by the soft, deep, and clean soil. Jesus interprets his parable
in this way: "The seed that fell in good soil stands for those who hear the
message and retain it in an honest and generous mind and, with pa-
tience, become productive." 140 While telling that story, Jesus urged:
"You have ears, so listen! . . . Take care how you hear."141
Muhammad advocated physical as well as mental self-discipline.
For example, he became increasingly aware of its need in regard to
intoxicants. Over the years of Quranic revelation, there was a shift from
praise to prohibition of strong drink. The earliest reference comes from
Muhammad's Meccan years: "We give you . . . the fruit of the date-palm
and the grapevine from which you obtain an intoxicant and good
nourishment." 142 After Muhammad moved to Medina, the revelation
changed to this: "They inquire from you about intoxicants and gam-
bling. Say: 'In both there is great harm and some benefit, but the harm is
greater than the benefit.' " 143 The latest revelation contains still more
change: "Intoxicants . . . are an abomination, the handiwork of Satan.
Avoid them altogether." 144 Fazlur Rahman, the distinguished Pakistani
scholar, comments on this reversal of revelation: "The use of alcohol was
apparently unreservedly permitted in the early years. Then offering
prayer while under the influence of alcohol was prohibited. . . . Finally, a
total ban was proclaimed." 145
The Quran acknowledges that fasting had long been a religious
requirement. 146 In the Jewish tradition, Moses fasted during the weeks
he was on Mount Sinai, and fasting was required annually on the Day of
Atonement. 147 In the Christian tradition, Jesus fasted for about a month
at the beginning of his ministry, 148 and monastic fasts were noted for
their rigor. The Quran imposes a fast during the daylight hours of the
month of Ramadan,- eating, drinking, and marital intercourse are permit-
ted from nightfall to sunrise only. When the lunar calendar causes
Ramadan to fall during the summer, abstaining from liquids on long and
hot days can be quite an ordeal. The primary purpose of the temporary
deprivation is to intensify the faithful's awareness of God's presence.
126 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

Meditation on the Quran is emphasized because that revelation origi-

nated during Ramadan. The faithful find nights of the fast an especially
appropriate time for slowly reciting long passages of the Quran, thus
fulfilling one of its directives. 149
Another purpose of fasting is to feel, even if only briefly, the pangs
of those who hunger and thirst, thereby cultivating more sympathy for
the needy. The Quran curtails the severity of fasting by recognizing that
excessive hardships can be counterproductive. Those who are sick or on
a journey are permitted to fast at some other time. An alternative to
fasting is to feed the poor. 150 Many make the fast less stressful by
sleeping more during the day and working more at night. Some Muslims
may consume as much food during Ramadan as during other months
because of nocturnal feasting,- a large break-fast dinner in the evening is
combined with a smaller predawn begin-fast. When the sliver of a new
moon signals the end of the sacred month, a sensuous celebration takes
place.
Muhammad was confronted with monastic asceticism, the most
prominent feature of Byzantine Christianity in his day.151 Basil, the
fourth-century father of Greek monasticism, considered pleasurable
activities to be products of the Devil's workshop, and even claimed that
Jesus never laughed. 152 With regard to celibacy and other renunciations
that were championed in monasticism, the Quran offers the following
revelations: "Those of you who are single shall marry", 153 "Who dared to
forbid you to enjoy good things of God's bounty? . . . My Lord has
forbidden only indecencies", 154 and "As for monasticism, it was invented
by Jesus' followers who sought to please God. We did not ordain it and
they did not observe it rightly. We rewarded only those who were true
believers, but many of them were evil-doers." 155
The Quran accurately separates Jesus from the monastic movement
that began centuries after his death. He affirmed the goodness of the
world and was neither hedonistic nor ascetic. Jesus advised his disciples.-
"Do not worry about your life and what you will eat or drink, or about
your body and what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the
body more than clothing?" 156 He drank wine but cautioned against
overindulgence. He contrasted his enjoyment of wedding parties with
that of teetotaler John the Baptist. 157 Jesus was criticized for not having
his disciples fast frequently, as some other Jewish groups were doing. He
responded that the religious life should be associated more with feasting
than with fasting. 158 Even so, Jesus thought there was a place for fasting
if the motivation was not to show off. He advised:
 PERSONAL C O N D U C T 127

When you fast, do not look miserable like the hypocrites, for
they neglect their faces to let everyone know they are fasting.
Believe me, they have received in full their reward. But when
you go without eating, take care of your hair and wash your
face so that no one will know you are fasting except your
Father who sees all that is done in secret. 159

In sharp opposition to the monks, Muhammad had a positive view

of sexual and other pleasurable passions. He regarded marital sex as a
gift from God for both pleasurable and procreative purposes. The
prophet once encountered a man who told of removing one of his eyes
with an arrow because a temptation to sin came through that eye. That
man was interpreting literally this hyperbole of Jesus: "If your right eye
causes you to sin, tear it out." 160 Muhammad responded: "Our law does
not sanction the plucking out of the eye with which one has looked on a
forbidden thing,- rather do we teach that one should ask God for pardon,
and afterwards take care to avoid the sin."161 As a guard against illicit sex,
Muhammad ruled that "whoever is able to marry, should marry."162
Regarding his acceptance of hilarity, Ishaq comments: "He laughed so
that one could see his back teeth." 163 His moderate approach is ex-
pressed in this saying: "Is it true . . . that you watch through the night
and fast through the day? . . . Your eye, your guests, and your wife have
claims on you." 164

Getting and Giving

A m o n g the early revelations in the Quran are those pertaining to

riches. One states: "Woe to those . . . who think that hoarding wealth
will render them immortal." 165 Another one describes Hell as the des-
tiny of those whose preoccupation throughout life is multiplying
wealth. 166 A Quranic verse describes the hoarder on the Day of Resur-
rection as having a fetter hung on him. 167 Elaborating on this, Muham-
mad commented: "A poisonous snake will encircle the neck of the
greedy and bite him over his cheeks and say, 'I am your wealth.' " 168
Muhammad's attack on the misuse of wealth caused more hostility
in Mecca than his denunciation of idols. Montgomery Watt describes
the highest good at that time: "To increase one's wealth and power
128 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

became the great aim in life, not only for the few very rich men in
Mecca, but also for the great majority of the population who aped them
from a distance." 169
While working with Meccan caravans, Muhammad was a steward,
or financial manager. He probably realized that a borrowers fee for the
use of private property was essential for that capitalistic enterprise. A
Quranic verse commends prosperity, but it also states: "Believers, do not
live on usury, doubling your wealth many times over."170 On his final
pilgrimage, Muhammad said: "All usury is abolished, but you have your
capital."171 Some Muslims equate taking any profit on capital with
unlawful usury (riha), so there is no consensus on how the Quran should
be interpreted on this point. Exorbitant increases on investments have
been condemned in Islam, but a modest rate of interest has usually been
permitted. 172
While Muhammad did not presume that being rich was in itself
bad, he criticized forgetting the needy and the haughtiness that often
accompanies having wealth. He retold the story of a rich man who was
properly denounced for stealing a ewe (Bathsheba) belonging to a poor
man (Uriah), even though the rich man (King David) had a whole flock
(harem) from which to choose for satisfying his needs. 173 One of the
earliest revelations Muhammad received affirms that genuine religion is
measured by helping the needy in a material way: "Have you thought of
those who defy religious duty? It is those who turn away the orphan and
have no urge to feed the poor. Woe to those who pray but are heedless
in their prayer,- who make a show of piety but withhold contributions
from the destitute." 174
Responsible stewardship is an aim of the Quran: "Be neither extrav-
agant nor grudging in spending, but follow a middle path." 175 More
specifically: "Give to the near of kin, to the destitute, and to the
wayfarers,- but do not squander your substance wastefully. . . . If you lack
the means to assist them, then at least speak to them kindly."176 Giving
to the needy should be viewed as a dividing of wealth that does not
ultimately belong to the human giver. The Quran enjoins: "Spend on
others out of that which He has made you trustees." 177 A salutary
reminder is given to accomplish this before it is too late. God will not
grant a reprieve to those who pray to delay their death until they can
share with others the riches they have received. 178
The giving of alms became recognized as a foundational "pillar" of
Islam. One of Muhammad's sayings shows the significance of contribut-
ing continually and generously.- "Only two men are really to be envied,
 PERSONAL C O N D U C T 129

namely, a man to whom Allah has given Scripture and who sits up at
nights with it, and a man to whom Allah has given wealth, which he
distributes in charitable alms day and night." 179 Making contributions is
obligatory not only because the recipients need help, but also because it
improves the character of the giver. This latter quality is displayed in
zakat, the Arabic word that refers to almsgiving, which means purifica-
tion. 180
The Quran recognizes that the motivation for almsgiving varies.
Some who contribute to charity are as shallow as soil that is washed off
bedrock by a rainstorm, but those who give to the needy out of religious
devotion have depth like soil that becomes fruitful after a rainstorm. 181
The spirit in which alms are given is addressed in this revelation:
"Believers! Do not nullify your charitable deeds by embarrassing others,
as do those who give just to make a public show. . . . It is better to give in
hidden ways. God has knowledge of what you do." 182 Another verse in
the Quran treats almsgiving as a profitable investment: "Men or women
who spend in charity give a loan to God that will double for them,
providing a generous repayment." 183
Giving and receiving should express sincere gratitude to God and
kindness toward the recipients. As the Quran explains: "God sends the
winds as bearers of good things that you may taste His mercy, sail your
ships at His command, seek His favor, and render Him thanks", 184 "Eat
only of that which has been consecrated in the name of God", 185 and "A
kind word with forgiveness is better than almsgiving followed by in-
sult."186 Aware of the interrelation between gratitude to God and hu-
mans, Muhammad succinctly affirmed: "He who does not thank people
does not thank God." 187
According to the Quran, ingratitude is a common human fault:
"God is bountiful toward humans, but most of them show no grati-
tude." 188 They show little appreciation for God's agricultural benefits:

A sign for them is the dead earth that We revived, from which
We brought forth grain for their sustenance. We laid out
gardens of date palms and grape vines. We caused springs of
water flow to provide fruit for food. Their hands did not make
all this, so why do they not give thanks? 189

Divine assistance can be found at sea as well as on land, yet some

who seek God's help when in dangerous waters express no thanksgiving
after returning safely to shore. 190 Another Quranic revelation declares:
130 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

God brought you forth from your mothers' wombs devoid of

all knowledge, and gave you ears, eyes, and hearts, so that you
might give Him thanks. . . . They (the Meccans) recognize
God's favor and then they deny it. Most of them are ungrate-
ful.191

One should derive more joy in life from recognizing God's mercy
than from being aware of one's financial holdings. 192
Thankfulness was also a core value of Jesus. Before having a meal
with a crowd or with his disciples, he expressed gratitude to God. 193
After healing ten men of a skin disease, he noticed that only one was
thankful. Jesus then announced that only that man had full bodily and
spiritual wholeness. 194
Both Jesus and Muhammad presumed that the quality of a commu-
nity can be measured by how it treats its most vulnerable, the orphans
and widows. In a society in which about one-third of the children died
by the age of six, those without parents would have the smallest chance
for survival. Jesus once noted that a widows offering of small coin for
religious purposes can be more sacrificial than a large sum of money
from a rich person. 195 Jesus' mother may have become widowed during
his adult years, so he may have been the breadwinner for a sizable
family. For most of his life, Jesus was a laborer who knew what it meant
to struggle for a living. "Caring for orphans and widows in their distress"
is the main component of the only definition of religion in the New
Testament. 196 In one of the earliest accounts of a Sunday gathering for
the remembrance of Jesus, Justin Martyr tells of offerings taken for
"orphans, widows, those who are in need because of sickness or any
other cause, those who are in prison, and strangers who are on a
journey." 197 For those Christians, the essence of the Gospel was not
professing faith but practicing it in accord with the teachings of Jesus.
Jesus was not opposed to having adequate personal property. He
associated with both the well-to-do and the down-and-out, and affluent
women who traveled with him helped to supply the disciples' needs. 198
Regarding Joanna, Susanna, and anonymous other women, Ernest Re-
nan notes: "Some were rich, and by their fortune enabled the young
prophet to live without following the trade which he had until then
practiced." 199 That comment could also apply to Khadija's relation to a
later young prophet.
In sequential chapters, Luke tells of the way different rich men
interacted with Jesus. He tested a ruler who claimed to have kept God's
 PERSONAL C O N D U C T 131

commandments in order to see if money or God had supreme value in

his life. Upon finding the ruler unwilling to sell his property and
distribute the proceeds to the poor, Jesus exclaimed: "How hard it is for
those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" 200 In a later
misinterpretation, some monks cited that episode as giving the basis for
making poverty a universal requirement for first-class citizenship in
God's kingdom. Luke also tells a similar story about another rich man
who was fully accepted even though he did not take a vow of poverty.
After wealthy Zacchaeus's values were transformed from swindling to
sharing equitably, Jesus said: "Today health has come to you and your
family, for you are a true son of Abraham." 201
Both Jesus and Muhammad admired Abraham, who was recognized
in the Bible as "very rich in livestock, silver, and gold." 202 In one of the
Gospel parables, Abraham is a prominent person in Paradise. 203 Jesus'
comparative values are concisely expressed in this saying: "Happiness
lies more in giving than in getting." 204 He regarded wealth as one of the
good things for people to receive if they find greater enjoyment in
sharing it with those who are less fortunate.
While making benevolence a priority, Jesus occasionally enjoyed
receiving gifts. An unidentified woman once came uninvited into a
home where he was having dinner and gave him a flask of perfume: "She
wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. She covered his
feet with kisses and poured on them the myrrh." 205 Jesus then expressed
appreciation for what she had lovingly administered and chided his host
for neglecting the customary hospitality toward a guest. 206 Another
Gospel tells a similar story of a woman who poured expensive ointment
over Jesus' head. Some present reproached her for wasting what could
have been sold to benefit some charity. Jesus disapproved of their
indignation and remarked: "She has done a beautiful thing for me." 207
Through those examples, Jesus taught his disciples that graciousness and
humility are sometimes better expressed by being a recipient of kind
gestures,- continually doing for others may prevent bonding with those
who want to share.
Nearly half of Jesus' parables pertain to the use and abuse of riches.
He had more to say about the psychology of wealth than about prayer
or faith. Some parables feature stewards who manage the business
operations of an estate. 208 While describing one steward who was
dishonest, Jesus was still able to commend him for prudential plan-
ning. 209 Similarly, Jesus taught that humans were given the liberty to
invest their talents and money in accord with divinely established
132 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

policies. 210 Even though the father in another parable assures a son
working on his estate that "all that I have is yours", 211 humans are
supposed to recognize and appreciate their privileges. Jesus also taught
that his disciples should live by the following voluntary principle:
"Having received freely, give freely."212 Humans are accountable for
using what they have been loaned from the Lord's land to benefit all
people. Those who are wasteful and dishonest in their stewardship will
be held responsible.
Jesus told the parable of the rich fool to illustrate that "an abun-
dance of things does not give a person true life."213 He surprised his
listeners by describing a highly successful farmer and then denouncing
him:

There was a rich man who, having had a bountiful harvest,

thought to himself, "What shall I do, for I have nowhere to
store my crops? I know what 1 will do.- I will tear down my
barns and build bigger ones where I can store my grain and all
my other goods. Then I can say to myself, Man, you have
great wealth laid up for years to come,- relax, eat, drink, and be
merry!" But God said to him, "You fool!"214

This parable concludes with the observation that those who pile up
perishables tend to forget that they will soon die and leave these goods
behind. Overtones of this story appear in a Quranic parable about the
owner of an abundantly producing vineyard who deceived himself into
thinking that his wealth would never cease. Because of his feeling of self-
sufficiency and his neglectfulness of the Creator, his vineyard became a
wasteland. 215
Jesus also taught that equating the good life with having more
possessions is perilous. Becoming absorbed in one's possessions does not
increase one's lifespan and, in fact, may decrease it. 216 In contrast to the
squirrel-like rich fool, wise people are like the ravens: "They neither sow
nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds
them." 217 Birds are not an example of idleness because few other crea-
tures work harder for the necessities of life. They neither wait in their
nests for food to be tossed in, nor do they seem to worry about their
supply of food running out.
Estate building is deceptive, Jesus believed, because it tends to
increase anxieties rather than security. The cure for being emotionally
consumed with personal property is immersing oneself in causes associ-
 PERSONAL C O N D U C T 133

ated with the rule of God. Psychic wellness can come through sublima-
tion,- tensions can be released by participation in more significant en-
deavors. 218
Recognizing that the hoarding of wealth is unsafe and stressful,
Jesus recommended putting valuables in a highly secure enterprise. This
is his prescription for eliminating worries: "Sell your possessions, and
give to those in need. Provide for yourselves purses that never wear out,
an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief steals and no moth
destroys. Your heart is wherever your treasure is." 219 As shown earlier,
the theme of making an everlasting investment in Gods causes also
appeared in the teachings of Muhammad. A wry saying of his pertains to
where wealth is stored: "When a man dies the angels ask what he has
sent ahead, but the sons of Adam ask what he has left."220 Perhaps both
prophets were inspired by this maxim: "Whoever is generous to the poor
lends to the Lord and will be repaid for the kindness done." 221 That
assurance was published in an ancient collection of proverbs gathered
from Arab, Hebrew, and other cultures.
Jesus observed that those who are money grubbers tend to become
possessed by their possessions. He said to those with that obsession:
"No one can belong to two masters,- a servant will either despise the one
and love the other. . . . You cannot serve both God and Money (mam-
mon)."222 Mammon is an Aramaic word for money personified as a deity.
Money-theism—to coin a term—is the idolatry that concerned Jesus.
Like all idols, money is a dumb, lifeless object that its worshipers hope
will save them from the ills of life.
Jesus recognized that some people can be fastidious about religious
rituals and miss the essentials. He described their personalities in this
graphic manner: "You clean the outside . . . but inside you are full of
greed and wickedness." 223 Jesus associated cultic cleanliness with alms-
giving rather than with ceremonial washings. 224 But charitable giving
can be tainted by the urge to impress others with one's piety. Jesus
advised: "Whenever you give alms, do not blow your own horn. That is
what religious playactors do in meeting places and on the streets so as to
win applause." 225
Jesus gave priority to the ethical over the ceremonial, 226 although
he did not object to occasional sanctuary gifts to convey reverence.
Animal sacrifices for cultic purposes became a minor part of the religions
of both Jesus and Muhammad. This Quranic revelation conveys their
outlook: "It is not the sacrificed flesh and blood, but your devotion
which reaches God." 227
134 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

In encouraging an open hand to the needy, Jesus did not advocate

coddling those who might be exploiting the people who support them.
On the one hand, Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount: "Give to
anyone who begs and do not turn your back on anyone who wants to
borrow."228 He balanced that hyperbole with the following proverb:
"Do not give what is holy to dogs and do not throw pearls to pigs, lest
they trample on them and then turn and maul you."229 In the earliest
collection of Christian teachings outside the New Testament, Jesus is
represented as advising regarding beggars: "Let your donation sweat in
your hands until you know to whom to give it."230
For Jesus and Muhammad, personal morality was a by-product of
theological conviction. Their prayer habits enabled them to avoid arro-
gance and have child-like dispositions. These prophets believed that
temptations strengthened them to cope with adversity. Muhammad and
Jesus were keenly aware that devotion to God is a sham if it does not
result in the decent treatment of those who are the most vulnerable
members of society. Both prophets believed that sharing one's wealth
with the needy is the sine qua non of true religion.
 CHAPTER SEVEN

SOCIAL TEACHINGS

Gender Relationships

Clisabeth Fiorenza and some other biblical scholars have plausibly ar-
gued that Jesus is responsible for the egalitarianism in early Christianity.1
He countered a custom that Jews shared with most traditional cultures,
namely that a woman's fulfillment is inseparable from her homemaking
role. He alarmed his friend Martha by encouraging her sister to learn
from a rabbi, properly a male role, rather than serve food.2 Some female
learners were included in his traveling band,3 and women were later sent
out as agents to convey his message.4 Jesus had high regard for the
initiative and wisdom of the Queen of Sheba. He found qualities in this
gentile ruler that were lacking in some of his compatriots.5
Jesus discarded the widespread double standard of sexual morality.
When some Pharisees charged that a woman had been detected in "the
very act of adultery/'6 Jesus was indignant that those men had appre-
hended only one member of the liaison. The Jewish law they were
referring to penalized both parties.7 It is ludicrous to presume that
witnesses saw only one person engaging in sexual intercourse. Obvi-
ously, the accusing men had indulgently winked at the male participant.
Jesus admonished them: "Let him who is without sin among you be the
first to throw a stone at her."8 He spoke sternly to the self-righteous male
accusers but gently to the adulterous woman, although he did not
condone her behavior.9

135
136 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

Jesus helped women as well as men regain their physical and

mental health. To honor one whom he had healed, he called her "a
daughter of Abraham." 10 Along with the "sons of Abraham," a designa-
tion for men who belonged to the Hebrew covenant, Jesus dignified a
hunchbacked woman by including her among God's chosen. Some
women who traveled with him felt indebted to him for their restored
health. 11
Toward the end of Jesus' earthly life, he singled out an unnamed
woman for exceptional praise. She stands in contrast to his male disci-
ples, who had been uncomprehending when he repeatedly warned them
that he would be rejected in Jerusalem and then be killed.12 When the
woman anointed his body with ointment that could be used to prepare
corpses for burial, Jesus said: "Wherever the good news is proclaimed in
the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of
her."13 John Crossan thinks that she might have been the author of the
Gospel now designated as that of "Mark."14
The Torah declares a woman to be "impure" during her menstrual
period and "whoever touches her shall be unclean until the evening." 15
Moreover, a woman with a discharge beyond her regular period con-
tinues to be untouchable indefinitely.16 Jesus disregarded that purifica-
tion law of Moses when he accepted a woman with incessant bleeding
who touched him. He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you
well."17 Jesus did not believe that religious defilement came from physi-
cal conditions. Giving personal encouragement to a stigmatized hemor-
rhaging woman was probably the primary therapy he rendered. By
addressing her as "daughter," he included her in his new family that was
not based on kinship ties. As Jewish scholar Claude Montefiore notes,
"There can be little doubt that in Jesus' attitude toward women we have a
highly original and significant feature of his life and teaching." 18
Empathy with various situations women faced is revealed in a
number of Jesus' parables: the ten bridesmaids, the woman working with
yeast, and the widow confronting an unjust judge. 19 Jesus attempted to
counteract economic discrimination against women,- he denounced reli-
gious leaders who "devour widows' houses and for the sake of appear-
ance say long prayers." 20 His frequent reference to the plight of widows
may have been prompted by his own mother's situation. His father
probably died before his public ministry began because Joseph is last
mentioned when Jesus was a boy
Divorce was exclusively a male prerogative in the ancient Jewish
culture. According to Mosaic law, a husband could write "a divorce bill"
 SOCIAL TEACHINGS 137

if he found "something obnoxious" about his wife.21 But a wife could not
divorce her husband even if he were cruel, lecherous, or otherwise
irresponsible. The Mishnah states that a wife can be "put away with her
consent or without it."22 No hearing was required before a court of
justice.
Because of this sexist situation, Jesus was asked, "Is it lawful to
divorce one's wife for any cause?"23 The point of that inquiry is con-
tained in the phrase "for any cause." The Jews disputed not whether
divorce per se is right or wrong but what should be legitimate grounds
for a husband taking this action. At issue in Jesus' era was what type of
conduct made a woman so "obnoxious" that she could be ousted by her
husband and separated from her children. Shammai contended that "a
husband may not divorce his wife unless he has found unchastity in
her."24 But Hillel affirmed that a husband had the right to divorce his
wife for any cause—"even if she spoiled a dish for him." 25 Some other
rabbis argued that divorce should be permitted if a wife scolds so loudly
inside her house that neighbors hear her voice or if she goes out with her
hair unbound. 26
At a time when the sanctity of marriage was being denigrated by a
widespread flippant attitude toward divorce, Jesus declared what he held
to be the Creator's reason for making two genders. Focusing on Moses'
ordinance was myopic, he reasoned, because the divorce law should be
viewed in light of the creation principle. Rather than citing the grounds
for divorce championed by Shammai, Hillel, or Moses, Jesus directed
his interlocutors to the treatment of the purpose of marriage in a
creation story of his culture. Significantly, Jesus considered the last word
on marriage to be the first word; he referred to the story of the Garden of
Eden that stresses companionship as the reason for marriage. 27 "The two
shall become one flesh"28 is Jesus' quotation from the climax of an
episode celebrating monogamous companionship. He extracted from
the Eden story the concept that the woman was half of holy matrimony,
not that she was the source of sin.
Jesus then stated that the Torah permitted divorce because of
"hardheartedness." When such insensitivity persists in one or both
spouses, legal controls for divorce are needed. However, Jesus did not
find the Mosaic law acceptable. He acknowledged the Roman practice
that permitted either spouse to initiate a divorce. 29 Thus, in his discus-
sion of the permanence of marriage, Jesus rose above the legal question
to focus on the Eden ideal that had been neglected. While not denying
the need for divorces, he was not satisfied with the Mosaic divorce law.
138 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

In his view, it provided an easy way for a husband to escape from the
difficult task of seeking reconciliation with a wife.
How do Muhammad's views of relationships compare with those of
Jesus? He ruled that a guardian of an unmarried woman, whether a virgin
or a previously married woman, should not arrange a marriage without
obtaining her permission, which was indicated by her saying nothing.
This custom is displayed in the patriarchal tradition that influenced both
Jesus and Muhammad. When Abraham's servant found Isaac a bride,
Rebekah's consent was obtained before she went forth to be the wife of
someone she had never met. 30 Mutual parent-daughter acceptance of a
groom was required. The prophet said: "If any woman marries without
the consent of her guardian, her marriage is void."31
According to the Quran, God's purpose in instituting marriage was
mutual happiness: "He created partners for you that you might comfort
one another, and He ordained between you love and kindness." 32 The
Quran may also give a mutual-orgasm directive: "Leave not your wife in
suspense." 33 However, the mutuality is lost sight of in another verse:
husbands are told that "wives are fields to seed as you please." 34 One
Muslim translator uses another horticultural image "Your women are
fruits for you ; take them and enjoy them whenever you wish." 35
Muhammad explained that this revelation means that a husband may
have vaginal intercourse with his wife from in front or behind. 36
Muslim warriors occasionally took along their wives on an expedi-
tion for several purposes: to provide conjugal relief, to cook for them,
and to assist those wounded in battle. Some who had no wives with
them on an expedition asked Muhammad if they should have them-
selves castrated. He granted them licence to arrange temporary mar-
riages while away from home if they gave each woman a garment as a
dowry. 37
The Quran permits polygyny if a difficult condition is met and
allows men as many slave concubines as they can afford. According to
Aisha, her husband established the arrangement of multiple wives and
abolished polyandry. 38 The reason, in part, why Muhammad approved
of men taking several wives simultaneously was to provide husbands for
the many widows after heavy Muslim fatalities at the Uhud battle. The
Quran permits limited polygyny as an alternative to monogamy only if
each wife is treated equitably.- "Marry two, three, or four women who
seem good to you,- but if you fear you cannot maintain equality with so
many, marry only one." 39 The same chapter, however, tells husbands:
"You will never be able to treat your wives impartially, no matter how
 SOCIAL TEACHINGS 139

much you try."40 Another relevant verse elsewhere in the Quran states:
"God has not provided two hearts in the body of any man."41
A tacit endorsement of monogamy emerges when Quranic verses
pertaining to the permissible number of wives are juxtaposed. But in the
early centuries of Quranic interpretation, monogamy was not endorsed
as the preferred pattern for a just social order. A prohibition of polyg-
amy was found there by Syed Ali, a prominent Muslim modernist, in his
1922 publication. 42 Fazlur Rahman maintains that "monogamy is cer-
tainly the ideal form" in the Quran even though polygamy is a permis-
sible accommodation to certain social situations. 43 Ahmed Ali
comments that the Quran "virtually restricts the number of wives to one,
for treating even two with absolute equality is well-nigh impossible." 44
Karen Armstrong also thinks that the Quranic qualification regarding
polygamy "means that no Muslim should really have more than one
wife."45
The Muslim penalty for illicit sex could be severe. The Quran
legislates that a woman convicted of adultery be confined to her house
until she dies or "until God decrees some other way for her." 46 In this law
nothing is said about the husband who commits adultery. Unless there is
confession, adultery cases would be difficult to bring to trial because
four male or eight female witnesses to the sex act are required. If public
testimony is not available, the male accuser can swear four times that he
is telling the truth, and the female accused can counter by swearing
denial four times. 47 That Quranic law against the adulteress may conflict
with another one, which is usually translated: "The adulterer and the
adulteress shall each be given a hundred lashes. 48 The subject of that
sentence can also be read, "the fornicator and the fornicatress." In early
Muslim tradition, the inconsistency between the two laws was resolved
by presuming that the whipping law pertained to illicit sex between the
unmarried. 49
Stoning became a penalty for adultery even though it is not sanc-
tioned by the Quran. Some rabbis tested Muhammad's fidelity to Moses
by taking a couple before him who was convicted of adultery. The rabbis
realized that Muslim punishment for adultery was more lenient than the
one the Torah prescribes. After consulting with the two adulterers,
Muhammad had them stoned at the door of his mosque. Ishaq tells of
their poignant execution: "When the Jew felt the first stone he crouched
over the woman to protect her from the stones until both of them were
killed."50 Muhammad allegedly said: "I am the first to revive the order of
God and his Book, and to practice it."51
140 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

Beating was the common penalty for rebellious wives. Their fear of
harsh treatment was intended to encourage mutual reconciliation. 52 The
Quran gives theological and economic reasons why husbands can disci-
pline their spouses:

Men are in charge of women because God has so ordained,

and because they spend of their wealth to support women.
Good women are obedient, protecting their unseen parts as
God has guarded them. As for those whose disobedience you
suspect, admonish them and send them to separate beds and
beat them. If they cease their insubordination, take no further
action against them. 5 3

In his farewell speech at Mecca, Muhammad reiterated that hus-

bands have the right to put wives in separate rooms or to beat them
without severity if they "defile" the bed or "behave with open unseemli-
ness": "They are prisoners with you (husbands), having no control of
their person," Muhammad asserted. 54 If wives are obedient, they have
the right to food and clothing. They should be kindly treated as a "trust
from God" who has provided them for personal enjoyment. 55 On one
occasion, Muhammad said: "None of you should beat his wife as he
beats a slave, for you may have intercourse with her before the end of
the day."56
While the Quran permits divorce, it advises mutual counseling for
solving marital disagreements: "If you fear a breach is developing be-
tween a husband and his wife, appoint an arbiter from his kin and
another from hers. The all-knowing and wise God will bring them
together again, if they wish to be reconciled." 57 Husbands are granted
unilateral divorce power, which can be used without giving reason or
notice. As with the Torah law, no judicial authority is needed for them to
repudiate wives. Muslim husbands should divorce pagan wives and take
back the dowries given them. 58 Three menstrual periods should pass
without cohabitation before a divorce is finalized. If a pregnancy is
discovered during those months, then divorce is delayed until maternal
delivery. 59 Regarding mutual believers, encouragement is given to re-
newing the marriage during that time. The repudiated Muslim wife can
take with her whatever she possesses. Although a wife has no right to
divorce, she might be able to purchase it with inherited wealth. 60
Remarriage is permitted when divorce is completed by the passing of
sufficient time to eliminate the possibility of paternity confusion.
 SOCIAL TEACHINGS 141

In his personal life, Muhammad appears to have lived by the Quran

advocacy of forgiveness in family disputes. 61 There is no indication that
he divorced or beat any of his wives. Muhammad's personal practice
appears to be conveyed in this wry advice: "Treat your women-folk
kindly, for woman was created out of a crooked rib; if you try to
straighten a rib, you will break it."62
Muhammad chose one or more wives to accompany him on mili-
tary campaigns. On one such trip, Aisha was inadvertently left behind
when she was searching for a piece of jewelry. She was accused of
scandalous behavior because she accepted a camel ride back to Medina
from a helpful soldier. 63 Muhammad cleared Aisha from the charge of
adultery once he received a special revelation. 64
In domestic situations, Muhammad appears to have been remark-
ably helpful. Aisha provided this information on her husband's lifestyle:

The Prophet, . . . when he was at home used to be at the

service of his household, that is, he used to act as servant to
them. He used to delouse his own clothes and patch them,
mend his own sandals and serve himself. He used to see to the
feeding of his own domestic camel, sweep the house with a
broom, hobble the camel, eat with the servant and help her
knead her dough, and used to carry his own purchases home
from the market. 65

Of the thirty-seven years that Muhammad was married, he was

monogamous for all but the last ten years. After moving to Medina, he
acquired about one new wife per year. He did not marry any Medinan
women, possibly because they did not accept Islam's condoning of
polygyny and its curtailment of their right to inheritance. 66 Muhammad
provided ordinary housing for each wife: a hut that contained a single
room with a clay floor and a roof thatched with palm branches. Muham-
mad, like Solomon, did not limit his wives to those who practiced his
religion. The Quran states-. "You are permitted to marry women who are
believers and women who have received the scriptures before you." 67
Muslim men are free to marry Jews and Christians,- by contrast, Muslim
women can marry only coreligionists.
Muhammad's own marriages illustrate the inability of husbands to
give equal consideration to multiple wives. One wife divulged to an-
other wife what Muhammad intended to be kept secret, and the ensuing
squabble is echoed in the Quran. 6 8 He treated Aisha as his "first lady,"
142 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

giving his only virgin bride more personal attention than any other
wife.69 Just to be in her presence inspired him to higher things. Muham-
mad said: "If the revelation comes to me when I am under the coverlet of
a woman, it is only when I am with Aisha."70 In an excellent biography
of Aisha, Nabia Abbott tells of ways in which Muhammad's favoritism
contributed to continual jealousies in the harem.71 Even though
Muhammad preferred Aisha over his other living wives during his last
decade of life, he irked her by rating Khadija as the best of his wives.
Aisha protested: "Why do you have to be always remembering that
toothless old Quraishite with her red mouth? Fate made her die and God
has replaced her with someone better!"72
Muhammad was personally exempted from some general Quranic
regulations pertaining to women. He alone was permitted to have
unlimited wives as well as concubines.73 Also, the Quran reveals to
Muhammad: "You are free to refrain as you wish from any of your
wives . . . and may all be pleased with anything you give them."74 Taking
sexual turns was the customary expectation in multiple-wife marriages,
but Muhammad was at liberty to consort with only wives whom he
desired.75
The Quran requires that women not be forced from their homes
during the first year of their widowhood and that provisions for their
welfare be supplied.76 The Quranic expectation of kindness to widows
explains some of Muhammad's marriages. His practice of multiple mar-
riages provided a social security for widows. A few months after Khadija
died, Muhammad married Sauda, the widow of a Muslim who died in
Ethiopia. Probably one reason for marrying Sauda was to have her help
in carrying for his young children. Several years later he married Umm-
Salama, a war widow,- Hafsa, Zainab, and Umm-Habiba were also
widows. Umm-Habiba's first husband became a Christian after migrat-
ing to Ethiopia and died there.77
Another reason for Muhammad's polygyny was to strengthen polit-
ical alliances. He married Aisha, Abu Bakr's daughter, to show apprecia-
tion for his most loyal male follower. Aisha became Muhammad's wife in
Mecca when she was seven, but continued to live with her parents there
and in Medina. He consummated the marriage when Aisha was just
nine,- she brought her toys when she came to live with him.78 Later
Muhammad married Hafsa, the daughter of Umar, his top military
officer. She was literate and helped to record and collect Quranic verses.
The prophet's marriage to Umm-Habiba, the daughter of his arch-
enemy, Abu Sufyan of Mecca, diminished the threat her father posed.
 SOCIAL TEACHINGS 143

Several of Muhammad's marriages appear to have been principally

intended as a further humiliation of vanquished enemies. After the
Quraiza massacre, he took Jewess Raihana as a concubine during his
fifty-eighth year. That same year he married Juwairiya, the daughter of a
tribal chief defeated by a raiding party that Muhammad led. Ishaq
reports that her exceptional beauty "captivated every man who saw
her." 79 Safiya, the teenaged widow of the vanquished Jewish chief at
Khaibar, was subsequently selected as his tenth wife. Muhammad threw
his mantle over that spoil of war after discerning that she did not appear
to grieve as she was led past the corpses of her husband and father. He
rejected the other woman who was brought with Safiya, calling her a
she-devil because she shrieked on seeing the sight of her slain spouse. 80
Muhammad said: "A woman is married for four things: her wealth,
her family status, her beauty, and her religion."81 This saying expresses
some of the reasons why the prophet married: he was probably influ-
enced by Khadija's wealth, Umm-Habiba's family status, Safiya's beauty,
and Aisha's religion.
Gazing at the prophet's wives was prohibited, and addressing them
was permitted only if done through a curtain. 82 Since Muhammad's
wives' bedrooms opened onto the mosque courtyard, that regulation
helped him to deal with the numerous men who frequently gathered
outside. Subsequently, the practice of secluding the prophet's wives was
applied widely and became the basis of purdah.
Apart from Muhammad's wives, women were not required to speak
to men through a veil. The Quran directs women to lower their gaze and
cover their bosoms modestly, displaying their "charms" only to family
members and to their eunuch slaves. For protection against public
molestation, younger women are instructed to draw their outer gar-
ments closely around themselves. 83 Furthermore, they should not stomp
their feet so as to call attention to their private parts. 84 Belly dancing,
which developed for men's entertainment in Muslim culture, appears to
have been a spectacle intended only for a husband to view in his harem.
Sexual desire was a significant ingredient in some of Muhammad's
marriages, and his sexual drive remained strong even when he was
advanced in years. Abbott's biography of Aisha begins with this sen-
tence: "Muhammad, the prayful and perfumed prophet of Islam, was
avowedly a great lover of the ladies." 85 The Muslim tradition maintained
that Muhammad was able to have intercourse with all nine wives in one
day. In sexual potency, "the Prophet was given the strength of thirty
men." 86
144 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

Muhammad appears to have relaxed this Quranic prohibition:

"Keep away from menstruating women until they are clean again." 87 On
this topic, Al-Bukhari reports.-

God's messenger said: "Do everything except sexual inter-

course." . . . Aisha said, "When I was menstruating the
Prophet would order me to wrap myself up and would em-
brace me. . . . She also said, "I would drink when I was men-
struating, then hand it to the Prophet, and he would put his
mouth where mine had been and drink. . . . The Prophet
would recline on my lap when I was menstruating, then
recite the Quran. 88

Fatima Mernissi discusses Muhammad's relations with the wife of a

member of his immediate family to illustrate that the physical beauty of
women was, in at least one case, the prime factor in marriage. 89 At fifty-
six, Muhammad fell in love with a woman named Zainab, whom he had
earlier wedded to his adopted son, Zaid. Muhammad found her sexually
attractive on seeing her revealingly clad in her home. When Zaid
returned, Zainab reported on his father's visit. Zaid, who was obliged to
Muhammad for emancipating him from slavery, then divorced Zainab
so that Muhammad could marry her. 90
Divorces violated no mores in pre-Islamic Arabia, but the taking of
a son's wife was prohibited. 91 Montgomery Watt comments on the
impact of the traditional taboo on the Medinan community: "There is no
evidence that the Muslims thought this allegedly sensual and voluptuous
behavior inappropriate for a prophet. Frequent divorce, too, was quite
normal. What was criticized in this marriage was its incestuous charac-
ter."92 The dispute over Muhammad's marriage to Zainab was settled
when Muhammad received a special oracle explaining that an adopted
son was no longer to be regarded as a biological son. 93
The Quran gives instructions in manners for Muhammad's parties:

Do not enter the house of the Prophet unless permission is

given. If invited to a meal, do not come before the proper
time. Disperse after you have eaten, lingering not to talk. That
would annoy the Prophet, but he would be reluctant to ask
you to leave. 94

According to Muslim tradition, this revelation pertains to the

wedding feast for Muhammad and Zainab. Eager to lower the curtain
 SOCIAL TEACHINGS 145

and be alone with his gorgeous bride, Muhammad was impatient with
several guests who tactlessly delayed their departure too long. 95
Muhammad's advice to youth gives some insight into his marital
outlook:

Young men who can support a wife should marry, for it keeps
you from looking at strange women and preserves you from
immorality,- but those who cannot should devote themselves
to fasting, for it is a means of suppressing sexual desire. 96

When a man told the prophet that he had married a woman who
had previously been married, Muhammad said: "Why did you not marry
a virgin with whom you could sport and who could sport with you?" 97 In
this regard he also counseled: "Marry virgins, for they have the sweetest
mouths, the most prolific wombs, and are most satisfied with little." 98 In
addition, Muhammad's collected sayings on marriage state:

After fear of God a believer gains nothing better for him than
a good wife who obeys him if he gives her a command, pleases
him if he looks at her, is true to him if he adjures her to do
something, and is sincere toward him regarding her person
and his property if he is absent. 99

Even though most of Muhammad's wives had been married previ-

ously, apparently his preference was for fresh brides. He probably
realized that older women were less likely to become pregnant. Anxiety
over having a son to follow him must have been a concern as Muham-
mad grew older, especially since the Quran declares that having sons is
one proof of God's goodness. 100 Furthermore, many Arabic men died in
fighting, so having numerous children was a biological duty.
Muhammad had several exceptional privileges with respect to his
wives, and several exceptional restrictions were imposed on them. In
addition to those already discussed, the wives who survived his death
were not permitted to remarry.101 Regarding one wife who was widowed
at eighteen, Abbott observes: "Aisha, with her zest for a full life . . . was
destined to outlive her one aged husband by nearly half a century, to be
spent in childless widowhood in a still much-married society."102
Scholars have long debated as to whether Muhammad raised the
status of women in the Muslim community. On one hand, Edwin Burtt, a
non-Muslim without vested interests, asserts that "Muhammad achieved
146 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

a vast improvement in the accepted rights of women."103 Karen Arm-

strong, who also has a Christian background, argues in a recent biogra-
phy that "the emancipation of women was dear to the Prophets
heart."104 She describes the pre-Islamic period this way:

Like slaves, women were treated as an inferior species, who

had no legal existence. In such a primitive world, what
Muhammad achieved for women was extraordinary. The very
idea that a woman could be a witness or could inherit any-
thing at all in her own right was astonishing.105

Muhammad received these instructions regarding inheritance:

As for children, God decrees that a son gets twice as much as a

daughter. If there are more than two daughters, they get two-
thirds of the inheritance,- if there is only one, she shall inherit
half. . . . Your wives shall inherit one-fourth of your estate if
you die childless,- if you leave children, your wives shall
inherit one-eighth of your estate after the payment of legacies
and debts.106

When a wealthy Muslim asked Muhammad if he should leave all

his property to charity since his only heir was a daughter, he replied that
two-thirds of it should be given to her.107
Rahman, along with most other Muslims, finds nothing negative in
Muhammad's treatment of women and maintains that "the Quran im-
mensely improved the status of the woman."108 To support his belief that
Muhammad favored sexual equality, Maulana Ali quotes from the
Quran. "The Magna Charta of woman's franchise" is Ali's label for a verse
that he translates in this way: "Women shall have the same rights over
men as men have over them."109 Ali claims that this revelation came to
an Arab people saturated with misogyny. However, a more accurate
rendering of that Quranic verse might be-. "Women and men have similar
rights, although mens rights take precedence."110
Compared with the situation of women in pre-Islamic Arabia,
discussed in an earlier chapter, evidence suggests that Muhammad im-
proved women's dignity in some ways and lowered it in others. Poor
Arabs had considered infanticide to be an acceptable means of popula-
tion control.111 Since it was less likely that a male child would be an
economic burden on a family, the killing of babies was directed more
 SOCIAL TEACHINGS 147

toward eliminating females. This was the case not only in Arabia but also
among the pagans in the ancient Mediterranean culture. 112 For example,
a letter written at the time of Jesus by an Egyptian husband to his
pregnant wife advises her to discard their baby if it is a girl.113 The
Quran discloses:

When told of the birth of a daughter, a (pagan) father is

angered and he chokes inwardly. Because of the embarrassing
news he hides from the sight of people and ponders whether
he should keep the girl, in spite of the humiliating disgrace, or
bury her in the dust. 114

However, the Quran also warns that an infant girl who has been
buried alive will ask on Judgment Day why she was murdered. 115
Unwanted females who were not killed in pagan Arabia were
frequently sold as sex slaves. Although the Quran approves of concu-
binage, it requires that a choice be given: "If your slave-girls desire to
preserve their chastity, do not force them into prostitution in order to
enrich yourself."116 Muhammad's concern for improving the lot of girls
may have been prompted by his own family situation. He had four
daughters to whom he was devoted, only one of whom survived her
father.
Gender valuation and feminine stereotypes are exposed in some
Quran texts that express sarcasm toward idolatry. Meccans who worship
three daughters in the pantheon are described in this manner: "They
assign daughters to God . . . but they desire them not for themselves"117
and "They associate with God females who adorn themselves with finery
and are tediously argumentative!"118 Thus, Muslim scripture shows that
Arabs who adored female gods were inconsistent by not relating such
theology to human relationships.
The Quran lists the following virtues for both women and men:
reverence, sincerity, truthfulness, patience, humility, generosity, self-
control, and modesty. 119 Women as well as men are included among
"believers" who should safeguard each other's dignity. The Muslim
slogan, "Believers are a brotherhood," was not intended to connote that
Islam is a society in which there is male bonding to the exclusion of
women. 120 Women are permitted to participate in the Meccan pil-
grimage that aims to promote Muslim solidarity.
Some changes in marital customs by the Quran raised women's
status. The levirate was discontinued, so a widow was no longer
148 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

transferred without her consent to her husbands next of kin.121 A dowry

was no longer given to the guardian to purchase the bride, but was
instead given to the woman to protect her should she be divorced or
encounter other perils.122 That dowry could be as little as what a man
could quickly earn.123
According to the Quran, gender is no barrier to eternal reward:
"Righteous believers, whether male or female, shall enter Paradise."124
Even so, there seems to be an inbalance between the sexes in the two
afterworld areas. Muhammad observed: "I looked into Paradise and saw
that most of its inhabitants were the poor, and I looked into the Fire and
saw that most of its inhabitants were women."125 The reasons the
prophet gave for the preponderance of women in Hell are that they are
ungrateful to their husbands, that their menstruation interferes with
their religious duties, and that their intelligence is deficient.126
The information given in the Quran about Noah's wife and the
Queen of Sheba reveals that Muslim scripture has a lower estimate of
them than the Hebrew Bible does. The earlier record discloses no
misconduct on the part of Noah's wife, but it discusses her husband's bad
conduct in the final episode of his life. After getting drunk, he curses an
innocent grandson and introduces slavery to his people as the means for
punishing him.127 In contrast, many passages in the Quran, including an
entire chapter named "Noah," are devoted to describing Noah's unde-
viating piety. His wife, however, is portrayed as having no positive
qualities and is sent to Hell for betraying her husband.128
The Queen of Sheba is represented in the Hebrew Bible as making
a dignified state visit to King Solomon. She praises the God of Israel,
and the two monarchs exchange gifts.129 In the Quran, Solomon gives
that queen, a sun worshiper who has been seduced by Satan, an ulti-
matum to surrender to him, and she is humiliated until that is accom-
plished.130 When Muhammad was told that the Persians had a queen
who was sovereign, he said: "People who make a woman their ruler will
never prosper."131
Some scholars conclude that the overall impact of the coming of
Islam was to increase male superiority. Abbott considers Muhammad a
reformer who improved the status of women, but he left "woman forever
inferior to man, placing her one step below him."132 Swedish historian
of religion Tor Andrae states in his widely respected book on Muham-
mad: "The strict patriarchal system and the restriction of woman's
freedom of movement which he attempted to enforce would seem to
 SOCIAL TEACHINGS 149

imply a retrogression as compared with the freedom frequently enjoyed

by Arabian women." 133 Use Lichtenstadter asserts: "In pre-lslamic Ar-
abia, women had played a part in the life of their tribe and had exercised
an influence which they lost only later in the development of Islamic
society."134 Through a careful examination of Arabic sources pertaining
to gender, Ahmed contrasts women's disempowerment after Muham-
mad assumed social control with the earlier freedom of Arabian women.
She finds evidence of that pre-lslamic autonomy in Khadija's economic
independence and employment of Muhammad, in her proposal of mar-
riage to him, and in their subsequent monogamous relationship. With
the beginning of the Islamic era after Khadija's death, women's liberty to
initiate and terminate marriage was eliminated. Muhammad abolished
the polyandry that had been previously permitted. 135 Also, women no
longer had the right to serve as priests, prophets, satirical poets, battle-
field participants, and shrine keepers. 136 Ahmed concludes that Muham-
mad intended to transform his society's mores in order to vouchsafe "the
absolute empowerment of men in relation to women in all matters
relating to sexuality."137
Although there is no dispute that Jesus rejected the denigration of
women in his culture, the Quran is ambiguous as to whether the genders
shared an equal status. Early Muslim tradition generally represents
Muhammad as expressing the usual patriarchal sentiments. For example,
in one of his sermons, he said: "Women are the snares of the devil. . . .
Put women in an inferior position since God has done so." 138

Outsiders and Violence

Jesus recognized that his religious tradition had long encouraged love
toward other Israelites while condoning hatred for foreigners who had
been unfriendly to his people. 139 The Torah commands: "You shall not
take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your kinfolks,- you shall
love your neighbor as yourself."140 But contempt for some outsiders is
also commanded:

Even to the tenth generation, Ammonites and Moabites

(trans-Jordan peoples) shall not be included among the Lord's
150 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

people because they did not provide food and water for the
Israelite exodus from Egypt. . . . You shall never promote their
welfare or their prosperity as long as you are a nation. 141

Gentiles were belittled in the culture in which Jesus was raised.

They could not be excluded entirely from Israelite worship because
King Solomon, in dedicating the first temple, had encouraged foreigners
to come there to pray. 142 A marble tablet recovered from ancient
Jerusalem shows that ethnic segregation at the Herodian temple was
enforced by the threat of capital punishment. The tablet had been on
the wall separating the outer from the inner precincts. Its inscription
reveals intense Jewish animosity: "Let no foreigner enter within the
screen and enclosure surrounding the sanctuary. Whoever is appre-
hended so doing will be responsible for his own death, which shall take
place immediately."143
Norman Perrin points out that most Jews of Jesus' era presumed
gentiles to be "beyond the pale of God's mercy."144 Even Jews in gentile
employment—tax collectors, for example—were considered to be de-
filing the houses of other Jews when they entered these residences. 145
Considerable disdain is expressed in this injunction: "An Israelite mid-
wife may not aid a gentile woman in childbirth since she would be
assisting to bring to birth a child for idolatry."146
The statement of gentile Luke that Jesus developed socially and in
other ways 147 suggests that he grew beyond his inherited culture. After
struggling with intrinsic ethnocentrism, he transcended it and inter-
nalized a prophet's vision for Israel. Isaiah had urged his people to
endure suffering as God's "servant"148 in order to "establish justice on
earth." 149 As the servant from Nazareth moved beyond a nationalist
mentality, he became "a light to the gentiles." 150
Mark's Gospel contains a lengthy episode about a psychotic whom
Jesus healed while visiting in a gentile region on the eastern side of the
lake of Galilee. 151 It then tells of a Greek woman living in Phoenicia who
provided a consciousness-raising experience for Jesus. 152 His initial
response to her plea for help for her deranged daughter displayed both
ethnic and gender prejudice. He gave her the silent treatment because
Jewish men shunned talking with women in public. 153 Commenting to
his disciples, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,"154
Jesus insulted the woman by telling her that it would not be proper for
him to throw to gentile "dogs" what belongs to Jewish "children."155
 SOCIAL TEACHINGS 151

When she responded to Jesus' contemptuous remark in a gracious but

determined manner, he came to realize her depth of faith. He then
provided therapy for the girl, after recognizing that females in a foreign
land are as worthy of his concern as males in Israel.
This story about Jesus with the Phoenician woman provides the
only record of anyone causing him to change his mind. A broadening of
ethnic concern can be detected in the Gospel of Matthew by comparing
Jesus' outlook before and after the Phoenician episode. In this Gospel,
which is the one most oriented toward the Jews, Jesus charged his
apostles to "go nowhere among the gentiles" on an evangelistic mis-
sion, 156 but later he commissioned them to "go and make disciples of all
peoples (ethna)."157
Jesus' generous approval of gentiles on many occasions is echoed in
Luke's Gospel. Astonished by a Roman centurion's love for Jews and
concern for a sick servant, Jesus declared that he had not found such
faith among his own people. 158 Non-Jewish Samaritans are heroes in a
parable and in an encounter that took place during one of Jesus' jour-
neys. 159 He asserted repeatedly that gentiles are generally more accept-
able to God than other Jews because the former, although less aware of
the expectations of the one true God, have responded better to their
partial knowledge. 160 The purpose of Luke's list of Jesus' ancestors is
more theological and anthropological than historical. After the geneal-
ogy names many of his Jewish paternal grandfathers, Jesus is declared
(unlike the list at the beginning of the Gospel of Matthew) to be a son of
Noah and ultimately a "son of Adam, son of God." 161
Jesus and Muhammad both provided guidance about how to deal
with inhospitable outsiders. A Samaritan village once refused to provide
accommodations for Jesus' traveling band. Some of his disciples ex-
pressed their frustration by asking this question, "Lord, do you want us
to bid fire come down from heaven and consume them?" 162 Jesus re-
buked his disciples' confrontational impulse and led them to another
village. In a comparable situation, this exchange took place between a
Muslim and Muhammad:

"You send us out and we come to people who do not give us

hospitality, so what is your opinion?" He replied, "If you come
to people who order for you what is fitting for a guest, accept
it,- but if they do not, take from them what is fitting for them to
give to a guest." 163
152 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

Ernest Renan, the famed French interpreter of Jesus in the nine-

teenth century, discerned that Jesus' view of outsiders revealed his
conception of God as a gentle parent:

The God of Jesus is not that tyrannical master who kills us,
damns us, or saves us, according to his pleasure. . . . The God
of Jesus is not the partial despot who has chosen Israel for his
people and specially protects them. He is the God of human-
ity. Jesus was not a patriot, like the Maccabees. . . . Boldly
raising himself above the prejudices of his nation, he estab-
lished the universal fatherhood of God. 164

The Quran also affirms monogenism: "Humans, We have created

you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, so
that you might get to know one another." 165 Muhammad Asad com-
ments on this verse:

All belong to one human family, without any inherent superi-

ority of one over another. . . . Men's evolution into "nations
and tribes" is meant to foster rather than to diminish their
mutual desire to understand and appreciate the essential hu-
man oneness underlying their outward differentiations,- and,
correspondingly, all racial, national or tribal prejudice is
condemned—implicitly in the Quran, and most explicitly by
the Prophet: . . . "Behold, God has removed from you the
arrogance of pagan ignorance with its boast of ancestral glo-
ries. Man is but a God-conscious believer or an unfortunate
sinner. All people are children of Adam, and Adam was cre-
ated out of dust." 166

All humans shared a common religion as well as the same family,

according to the Quran. Descendants of idolaters will not be able to plea
on Judgment Day that they were following the ways of ancestors who
had no opportunity to know the true Lord because children of Adam
once acknowledged Him. 1 6 7
During the two decades of Muhammad's prophetic ministry, Mus-
lims moved from being scorned as disreputable to shunning those who
maintained social relationships with people of other religions. A revela-
tion from the Medina period counsels: "Believers, take neither Jews nor
Christians for your friends. They are friends of one another and whoever
 SOCIAL TEACHINGS 153

seeks their friendship becomes one of them. God does not guide such
wrongdoers." 168
The Quran assures Muslims that they are superior to all other
peoples: "You are the best community that humanity has produced. You
command decency, forbid evil, and believe in God. Some of the scrip-
tural people are true believers but most of them are perverse." 169 To
enhance the status of the new Muslim religion, a large area around the
Ka'ba became forbidden to non-Muslims. 170 Jacques Jomier provides a
sketch of a massive inscribed stone that is still used to prohibit non-
Muslims from entering the sacred region of Mecca. 171 The restricted
precinct extends for a radius of several miles from the Grand Mosque.
Michael Cook points out that the Quran promotes both equality
and inequality:

Human inequality is a common theme in the Koran, both

inside and outside the community. Yet if we leave aside the
inferior status of women and slaves, the Koran endorses no
inequalities among the believers other than those of religious
merit. Thus it emphasizes that those who do not participate in
holy war cannot be considered the equals of those who
do. . . . But there is nothing here to underwrite a privileged
position for an aristocracy or priesthood, and the political
atmosphere is strikingly lacking in pomp and ceremony 1 7 2

Throughout most of Arabian history, the institution of slavery has

been sanctioned. Most of the slaves have been of African origin, pre-
dominantly girls who became concubines. The Quran makes a categori-
cal difference in status between chattel and free people:

God has favored some more than others. Those who are so
favored will not allow their slaves an equal share of what they
possess. . . . On the one hand there is the helpless slave, the
property of his master. On the other, the man on whom We
have bestowed Our bounty, so that he gives of it both in
private and in public. 173

In spite of that divinely approved social and economic distinction, the

Quran encourages the emancipation of slaves who have shown poten-
tial. 174
Neither Muhammad nor Jesus was an abolitionist, nor did either
154 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

man condemn slavery. Muhammad was a slaveholder who was con-

cerned about the treatment of his possessions. 175 After he apprehended
the murderers of his slave shepherd, "he cut off their hands and feet and
gouged out their eyes." 176 Regarding a slave's rights, Muhammad said: "If
anyone beats a servant for an offense he did not commit, or slaps him,
the atonement due from him is to set him free."177 Jesus apparently
possessed only his own clothing,- however, Jesus praised one slave-
holder's attitude and did not suggest that he free slaves he owned. 178
Jesus commended slaves who served their masters diligently. 179 Both
Jesus and Muhammad attempted to lessen the inhumaneness of the
social institution. Jesus subverted the foundation of slavery by giving
high dignity to the servant role. 180
Jesus not only respected gentiles and slaves, but he was notorious
for accepting unrefined Jews who disregarded the "tradition of the
elders."181 Pharisees criticized him for eating with those who neglected
the rituals they had prescribed, whom they scornfully called "sin-
ners." 182 Jesus did not accept the Pharisees' view that "the masses, who
do not know the law, are accursed." 183 Jacob Neusner, a leading contem-
porary authority on early Judaism, finds plausible the assertions in the
Gospels that the Pharisees stressed eating the right foods with the right
people. 184
Jesus and Muhammad responded in different ways to the outlook
on warfare that had long prevailed in the Semitic culture. Moses, who
delivered the unconditional command "You shall not kill" in God's name,
assumed that some peoples were not included in the prohibition. 185 One
such outside group was a shepherd people called Midianites, into whose
Arabian territory Moses had led his fellow Israelites after escaping from
Egyptian bondage. Believing that the wiles of Midianite women had
corrupted Israelite men—perhaps because he had earlier married one—
Moses ordered, as the Lord's spokesperson, vengeance against them.
According to one legend, twelve thousand warriors attacked the enemy
when signaled by a priest's trumpet. Moses was furious after the battle
because only the Midianite men had been annihilated. He commanded
that all women and children be slain, with this exception: "All the young
girls who are virgins, keep alive for yourselves." 186 According to Israelite
tradition, Joshua continued Moses' ethnic-cleansing policy when he
invaded Canaan. Joshua announced that Jericho was "devoted to the
Lord for destruction" and so, with the exception of harlot Rahab's family,
all men, women, children, and domestic animals were killed. 187
Although Jesus' Hebrew name was Joshua, his outlook on violence
 SOCIAL TEACHINGS 155

was completely different from that of this warrior. Jesus condoned

neither the plunder nor the piety of holy-war ideology. He also rejected
the milder "tooth for a tooth" rule of jurisprudence, which had long been
practiced in western Asia. Mesopotamian King Hammurabi had codified
the limited-revenge principle in the name of sun-god Shamash, and
Moses later reiterated the law in the name of Yahweh for offenses among
Israelites. 188 The justice system that Jesus favored was not based on
retaliation and did not aim at "getting even." Returning good for evil, a
minor theme in the Hebrew Bible, became a major theme in the New
Testament. 189
The founder of Christianity was inspired by an Israelite who de-
clared that God sanctioned neither macroviolence nor microviolence.
As Jesus read the scroll of Isaiah, he found there a denunciation of
murderous activity within Jerusalem followed by a vision of a world
where "nation shall not lift up sword against nation, nor learn war any
more." 190 Quietly assuming the irenic messianic role that Isaiah forecast,
Jesus proclaimed "a gospel of peace."191 He aimed at extending recon-
ciliation beyond the bounds of his own Jewish people. Rather than
advocating hatred and destruction of so-called enemies, Jesus radically
commanded his disciples to love and assist all types of people.
Jesus asserted that God's children should be peacemakers, 192 and
he related that principle to a personal situation. After Peter cut off an ear
of an officer who had come to arrest his teacher, Jesus commanded: "Put
your sword back into its place,- for all who take the sword will perish by
the sword." 193 The early Christians found a basis for rejecting warfare in
these gospel teachings. Tertullian, the first leader of Latin Christianity,
asserted that "the Lord unbelted every soldier when he disarmed Pe-
ter."194 While recognizing that Joshua and other Israelites led armies
into battle, Tertullian declared military service to be incompatible with
Christianity. 195 Church historian Roland Bainton states, "Until the time
of Constantine the church was pacifist in this sense: that no Christian
writer whose work is extant condoned Christian participation in war-
fare."196 The early Christians' attitude toward violence is aptly com-
pared to that of the Quakers in modern times by Arnold Toynbee. 197
During the fourth century, Constantine became the first Roman
emperor to call himself a Christian. He claimed to have been inspired by
a vision of Jesus' cross on which a banner was inscribed, "In This Sign
Conquer." 198 The emperor then attributed a victory to marching into
battle with the cross standard held high. 199 Consequently, the formerly
persecuted Christian sect was soon established as the official religion of
156 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

the Roman empire. Christian rulers from Constantine onward have been
as interested in legitimizing war as in making peace. Motivated by pious
belligerence, many medieval and modern church members have shifted
the direction of the cross. The upright piece that had been stuck in the
ground has, in effect, been made into a crude spear for slaughtering.
More moderate Christians have followed Augustine's just-war principles
and have sanctioned only defensive warfare. 200
Those who maintain that human sin makes wars inevitable criticize
Jesus for advocating a nonviolent ethic that even most Christians have
disregarded. Seyyed Nasr, Professor of Islamic Studies at George Wash-
ington University and the first Muslim to be included among the pres-
tigious Gifford lecturers in Britain, faults Jesus for his alleged unrealistic
assessment of ordinary human nature. He observes:

Christian ethics is seen by Muslims as being too sublime for

ordinary human beings to follow, the injunction to turn the
other cheek being meant only for saints. . . . Christian people
over the centuries . . . have not shown any more restraint in
war than have non-Christians. . . . The ideal preached and the
practice followed have often little to do with each other. 201

The medieval Crusades did almost irreparable harm to the religion

of the Prince of Peace. On one occasion, King Richard of England
massacred more than two thousand Muslim prisoners of war in Pal-
estine. Bishop Stephen Neill writes of the Crusades: "The halo of
martyrdom was set upon death in an ostensibly Christian cause. For
those who survived, there was the hope of considerable material re-
wards." 202 The values of glory, gore, and greed eclipsed the values Jesus
championed.
In the Quran, believers are frequently urged to strive (jihad) for
God's way. Peaceful means are occasionally presumed for the accom-
plishment of jihad. For example, a revelation at Mecca commands:
"Worship your Lord and do good, so that you may succeed. Strive for
God's cause in a manner which is right." 203 Violence is not associated
with this injunction delivered in Medina either: "Believers . . . strive for
God's cause with their wealth and their lives." 204 After a battle, Muham-
mad is reported to have said: "We have returned from the lesser jihad to
the greater jihad,"205 meaning that military success is secondary to
winning the internal fight. The latter pertains to the struggle to achieve
self-control by replacing bad impulses with spiritual attitudes and moral
 SOCIAL TEACHINGS 157

actions. 206 Muhammad also said: "The most excellent jihad is when one
speaks a true word in the presence of a tyrannical ruler."206
When Muhammad began his movement, he advised a nonviolent
response to Meccan persecution. Hoodlums sometimes broke up meet-
ings he preached at, and for a period of time the embryonic community
was under virtual house arrest in a section of the city. Muhammad's
advice to avoid retaliation was pragmatically appropriate because the
weak band of Muslims might have been eliminated had they then been
militant. The Quran promises Muslims that they will peacefully over-
come their adversaries: "Return evil with good, and in so doing your
enemy will become a close friend. Patience is needed to attain this." 207
After a decade, the Muslims discontinued their nonviolent ap-
proach because fresh revelations Muhammad received shortly before he
went to reside in Medina changed the primary method of jihad. As a
result, the Quran affirms that "those who avenge themselves when
wronged incur no guilt." 208 It is better to endure patiently, but "if you
retaliate, do so proportionately to what has been inflicted on you." 209
Muhammad's earliest biographer comments:

The Apostle had not been given permission to fight or al-

lowed to shed blood before the second Aqaba (at the time of
the hijra). He had simply been ordered to call men to God and
to endure insult and forgive the innocent. The Quraish had
persecuted his followers, seducing some from their religion
and exiling others from their country. They had to choose
whether to give up their religion, be mistreated at home, or to
flee the country, some to Ethiopia, others to Medina. When
the Quraish became insolent toward God, . . . He gave per-
mission for His Apostle to fight and protect himself against
those who wronged them and treated them badly. 210

Shortly after the hijra, Muhammad received a revelation that pro-

vides a way of interpreting conflicting messages: "Any verse {ayah) We
abrogate (nasakha) or cast into oblivion, We replace it with a better one
or one similar."211 This chapter also announces that God permits killing
those who provoke hostilities-. "Fight for God's sake those who fight you,
but do not attack them first. God does not like aggressors. Slay them
wherever you encounter them and drive them out of the places from
which they expelled you. Oppression is worse than killing."212 The
exiled Muslims interpreted this to mean that they were justified in going
158 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

to war against their pagan persecutors in order to regain the property

they had lost in Mecca.
Various punishments for aggressors against Islam are sanctioned in
the Quran: "Those that make war against God and His Apostle and
persist in their corrupt ways in the land shall be put to the sword, or
hanged, or have a hand on one side and a foot on the other side
amputated, or be expelled from the country." 213 In addition, sterner
punishment is promised in the afterlife.214
In a broader context, armed resistance was now permissible for
defending the freedom of religion. The just-war concept is explained in
this Quranic revelation:

Some have been driven from their dwellings for no other

reason than they affirmed, "Our Lord is God." Had God not
defended some people by the might of others, places where
God's name is celebrated—monasteries, churches, syna-
gogues, and mosques—would have been demolished. God
will help those who come to His aid. 215

Captive soldiers were treated as spoils of war and could be either

ransomed or freed. 216 Although the Quran does not address the situa-
tion of noncombatants in war, Muhammad followed a just-war principle
of prohibiting the killing of captive women, children, and decrepit old
men. 217 Those who were granted this immunity could, however, be
enslaved. 218
After the Muslims became established as a power in Medina,
another shift in the meaning of jihad emerged. At the Badr battle, God
allegedly fought against the Meccans: "You (Muslims) did not kill them,
but God did,- you (Muhammad) did not shoot, but God did." 219 The
irenic tolerance of adversaries in earliest Islam, or the subsequent martial
endeavor only in defense, is superseded by aggressive holy war. The
word from on high now declares: "When you battle unbelievers, strike
their necks until you have defeated them. . . . As for those who are slain
in pursuit of God's cause, . . . He will admit them to Paradise." 220 The
Quran also exhorts: "O Prophet! Stir up the believers to fight. . . . One
hundred of you who are steadfast shall rout a thousand unbelievers." 221
One of the latest Quranic revelations contains this statement:

When the sacred months are passed, take the sword to poly-
theists wherever you find them. Capture them, besiege them,
 SOCIAL TEACHINGS 159

and ambush them wherever you can. But if they convert,

perform the prayer ritual, and pay the welfare tax, let them go
their way, for God is forgiving and merciful. 222

Most major interpreters of the Quran agree that verses urging mili-
tary conquest replaced verses that are irreconcilable with them. 2 2 3 The
earliest commands were repeatedly to "repel evil with good," 224 as noted
earlier. Faruq Sherif points out that those exhortations were cancelled:

By far the greatest number of verses held to have been abro-

gated are those which counsel the Prophet to be patient with
the unbelievers and to remember that he is no more than a
warner, leaving the punishment of recalcitrants to God. The
abrogating verses, on the other hand, are those which com-
mand the Prophet and the faithful to fight and kill. 225

Sherif also shows that the Quran sometimes justifies fighting in-
vaders only, but more often it advocates taking the initiative with the
sword. He quotes many Quranic verses in support of this statement,
including: "The duty to fight idolaters, unbelievers, and infidels until
they surrender to Islam is absolute and not conditional on any act of
violence having been committed by the unbelievers." 226
Contemporary Muslim extremists, who are relatively small in num-
ber, have no difficulty finding verses in the Quran that support their acts
of mass violence. For example, Sheik Omar Rahman, who was the
religious leader of a group convicted of bombing a New York skyscraper,
allegedly responded in this way to the charge that he was part of a
terrorist group: "We welcome this accusation. And we have to be
terrorists'. . . . The Great Allah said, 'Against them make ready your
strength to the utmost of your power including steeds of war, to strike
terror into the enemies of Allah and your enemies.' " 2 2 7
Moderate modern Muslims consider the following Quranic saying
a favorite: "There is no compulsion in religious matters." 228 It is often
not explained that some Muslim authorities think that this verse was
replaced by a revelation sanctioning the strongest kind of coercion. 229
Also, the saying may have been a comment on human obstinacy, that
people cannot be compelled to alter their beliefs. 230
After the Muslim domination in Arabia had been accomplished and
Muhammad was at the climax of his career, pagans were not the only
ones against whom ruthless action was advocated:
160 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

Fight those who have been given the Scripture but do not
believe in God or the Last Day those who do not forbid what
God and his Apostle have prohibited, those who do not
embrace the true faith. Fight them until they become com-
pletely subdued and pay the tax. 231

Gustave von Grunebaum explains that the replacement of earlier

sympathetic judgments regarding biblical people with this harsh rheto-
ric was psychological preparation for Muhammad's final campaign. To
justify the expedition against Byzantine Christians to the north of
Arabia, negative descriptions of those being invaded helped to prepare
the Muslim troops. 2 3 2 The Quranic chapter under consideration assures
that warriors who engage in jihad will go directly to Paradise, while their
enemies will be destined for Hell. 2 3 3
Comparing the early history of Christianity and Islam, David
Margoliouth observes: "The Christian martyr is the man who dies
professing his faith, but not resisting,- the Moslem martyr is one who dies
for his faith on the battlefield." 234 Muhammad said: "I would love to
fight in God's cause, and then get martyred, and then resurrected, and
then get martyred again." 235 As a tribute to martyrdom, the slain soldier
is buried without the customary corpse-washing and in the same blood-
stained clothing he wore in battle. 2 3 6 It is believed that on Judgment
Day, which will follow immediately for martyrs, the clothing can be
exhibited as evidence of heroic merit.
An early Quranic revelation commends some sixth-century people
of Najran in southwestern Arabia who chose Christian nonviolent mar-
tyrdom rather than submit to a Yemen tyrant's demand that they re-
nounce their religion. When one Najranite responded affirmatively to
the question, "Are you a Christian?" his right hand was cut off.237
Subsequently, the same answer to the same question resulted in a
progressive loss of his other limbs before he died. 238 In addition to
individual butchery, a Najran church was burned with many Christians
inside. 239 That massacre provoked this judgment in the Quran: "Cursed
be the diggers of the trench, who lighted the consuming fire and sat
around it to watch the faithful being tortured . . . only because they
believed in God." 240
The principal meaning of jihad in both the Quran and the hadith is
concisely given in a recent Muslim encyclopedia: "A Divine institution
of warfare to extend Islam into non-Islamic territories or to defend Islam
from danger." 241 Every able-bodied man is not only permitted to fight
 SOCIAL TEACHINGS 161

but is ordered to fight.242 The Quran castigates those who prefer not to
participate in an offensive war against a foreign city. Those who dislike
the heat of desert warfare are reminded that they risk facing the more
intense heat of Hell. 2 4 3
There are Muslim parallels between the army Alexander the Great
led and the Muslim army Muhammad and his successors led. The Quran
seems to have adopted the rams-horn symbol that the Greeks (on their
coins) and the Jews had used for that ancient Greek conqueror. 244 'The
Two-Horned One" is depicted in this way.- "We made him mighty in the
land and gave him means to achieve all things. He followed a road until
he reached the place of the setting sun. . . . He then followed another
road until he reached the place of the rising sun." 245 According to early
Muslim tradition, God gave Alexander this assurance-. "I will make you
able to encompass what I have imposed on you. . . . I will increase your
understanding so that nothing will terrify you, and I will spread every-
thing before you so that you can destroy everything." 246 Alexanders
army rapidly spread Greek values over much of western Asia and North
Africa.
Alexander made no plan for his successor before he died, so his
generals took control of his vast conquests. Similarly, Muhammad did
not groom anyone to carry on his leadership, so his death precipitated a
national crisis. No disciple had been prepared to assume charge of the
newly formed Muslim state of Arabia. Regarding the vacuum left by
Muhammad's death, Kenneth Cragg writes:

To the numbed and distraught faithful in Medina and beyond,

to the new and sometimes dubious adherents throughout the
peninsula, some of whom were ready to withdraw in pagan
reassertion, it was as if some giant oak that filled the landscape
had been felled, making a great void that left the very scheme
of things shorn and unfamiliar. 247

Even so, to follow Cragg's simile, there was rapid growth of several
saplings beneath the great tree, and their limbs were soon to extend over
a much wider area than Muhammad had known. Companions who had
been with the prophet the longest were presumed to be those who could
best administer to the burgeoning Muslim community. According to
Muslim doctrine, no one could succeed Muhammad as the divine
spokesperson. The office of caliph was instituted to carry out his ruler
and warrior roles. Although the term "caliph" means successor, the office
162 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

paralleled that of Joshua, who carried on only the political and military
functions of Moses. The selection of caliph was made from members of
Muhammad's extended family. Since none of the prophet's sons survived
their father, and since wives and daughters were not considered worthy
of having authority over men, Abu Bakr became the first caliph. He was
Muhammad's father-in-law, although he was younger than his son!
Abu Bakr died after being caliph for only two years. In rapid
succession, two other in-laws of Muhammad served as the second and
third caliphs. Umar attempted to fulfill Muhammad's dying request that
only Muslims be permitted to live in Arabia. Since there are records of
Christians at Najran for centuries after the rise of Islam, he evidently
exempted them from expulsion because of Muhammad's treaty with
them. 2 4 8 Umar strengthened his support by allowing Arab tribal chiefs
to distribute the enormous loot that Muslims had seized. 249 Jerusalem
submitted to the Muslims during his caliphate, and the Dome of the
Rock was constructed there before the seventh century ended. Built on
the site of Hebrew temples from Solomon onward, that mosque com-
memorated the point of departure for Muhammad's alleged nocturnal
ride through the heavens when he resided in Mecca.
Ali became the fourth caliph because he was married to Fatima,
Muhammad's only surviving offspring. At that time, the partisans (shi'ah)
began to separate from the traditionalists (sunnah), who placed their final
authority in the first-generation Muslim community. The Shi'ites fol-
lowed the living prayer-leader (imam), a descendant of Ali and Fatima.
Throughout the centuries, the Sunnis have accepted the validity of the
first three caliphs, but the Shi'ites have believed that Ali should have
been appointed immediately after Muhammad's death. Ali was assassi-
nated, and his son Husain succeeded him for a few years. The greatest
martyr for the Shi'ites has been Muhammad's grandson Husain. He was
killed when leading his troops against other Muslims at Kerbala, Iraq.
Annually, his tomb there is the focus of flagellation and other forms of
ascetic piety. Husain's violent death launched a tradition of martyrdom
that has profoundly affected the Shi'ites ever since.
The war-weariness of people living in the Fertile Crescent west and
north of Arabia made conditions ripe for easy conquest by the caliphs.
Persia had taken control away from Byzantium in Palestine, Egypt, and
Turkey,- Emperor Heraclius then successfully led a holy war and re-
gained lands that had been lost to Persia. Neither kingdom was left with
much power, so the Muslims moved with astonishing rapidity and
subdued vast territories without major battles. Beginning with Ali, the
 SOCIAL TEACHINGS 163

capital of the mushrooming Dar al-lslam (House of Islam) shifted from

Medina to Damascus.
By the end of their first century, the Muslims had brought the
Middle East and most of the lands around the Mediterranean under one
rule for the first time since the Greco-Roman era. The area was even
bigger than that captured by the Romans, who had established the
largest of all previous empires. Islam became the Asian response to
Alexander's Hellenism, spreading Semitic values over North Africa and
southern Europe. The Muslims not only had a political and religious
impact, but also brought the teachings of Alexander's tutor, Aristotle,
back to Europe.
The Middle East favored the territorial jihad that Muhammad
launched. Montgomery Watt sums up the historical situation:

There was the social unrest in Mecca and Medina, the move-
ment towards monotheism, the reaction against Hellenism in
Syria and Egypt, the decline of the Persian and Byzantine
empires, and a growing realization by the nomadic Arabs of
the opportunities for plunder in the settled lands round
them. 2 5 0

Those factors in themselves would not have transformed the Mus-

lim community into a world empire and world religion. Watt concludes
with this appropriate tribute to Muhammad:

Circumstances presented him with an opportunity such as few

men have had, but the man was fully matched with the hour.
Had it not been for his gifts as seer, statesman, and administra-
tor and, behind these, his trust in God and firm belief that
God had sent him, a notable chapter in the history of mankind
would have remained unwritten. 251
 CHAPTER EIGHT

assiso

SANCTIONS

The Nature oj God

In Semitic religions, God's omnipresence, omnipotence, and omni-
science are the ultimate sanctions for human behavior. Divine omni-
presence is expressed succinctly in this Quranic verse: "Wherever you
turn, East or West, there is the face of God."1 Thus, a disoriented person
not knowing the direction of Mecca need not be anxious,- ritual prayer is
efficacious regardless of the direction in which the worshiper is bowing.
The almightiness of the divine is emphatic in the Quran: "God has
created seven heavens and like aspects of the earth. His commanding
word descends through them, so that you may know that He has power
over everything." 2 An oft-quoted Quranic verse affirms God's universal
sovereignty: "His throne is as vast as the heavens and the earth, and the
preservation of both does not weary Him. He is the Exalted, the
Tremendous." 3 God's astral omnipotence is expressed in this way: "Hal-
lowed is He who decked the sky with constellations and set among them
a beacon and a shining moon." 4 A corollary to this power is the rejection
of astrology: "Do not worship the sun and the moon, but worship God
who made them." 5
The Muslim doctrine of omnipotence should be distinguished from
the fatalism that was prominent in pre-lslamic religion. According to the
Quran, pagans have this melancholy outlook: "We have nothing but this

165
166 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

life,- we die and we live, and only fate (dahr) destroys us."6 Here, fate
means, to use Fazlur Rahman's words, "a blind force that 'measured out'
or predetermined matters" 7 but the Quran replaced it with the concept
of "an all-powerful, purposeful, and merciful God." 8 According to the
Quran, a person's death is fixed by God, not by impersonal fate.9
Abraham, the Muslim exemplar, gave up the fatalism of Mesopotamia
that was derived from the precise movement of heavenly bodies. 10
Some verses in the Quran seem to champion a doctrine of God
being the sole agent for everything that happens. Artificial and natural
catastrophes are attributed to God: "Every calamity occurring on earth
or in your own selves is ordained before We cause it to happen."11 Such
verses appear to endorse extreme predestination, but a preponderance
of texts affirms a moderate predestination that allows for human free-
dom of choice. 12 The following verse is an example of the latter: "God
does not change a peoples situation unless they change themselves."13
The Quran claims divine guidance for those who are responsive to the
will of God, but those who do wrong must accept responsibility for their
actions. God is reported to have said: "Whoever goes astray, does so at
his own peril. 1 am not your guardian."14
God's creative power pertains at least as much to ongoing happen-
ings as to cosmic origins. For example, the Quran refers to God's
continual creation of human life in the uterus. 15 God's abiding concern
for the welfare of creation is conveyed in this verse-. "It is He who makes
the night a cloak for you and sleep a rest. He makes each day a
resurrection." 16 The divine Sovereign effects His will by decreeing now,
as in the beginning, " 'Be' and it is."17 Forgetting this, a person may ask:
"When I am dead, how can I be raised to life?" The Quran replies: "Does
he not remember that We have created him once, and that he was
nothing then?" 18
Providence is a pervading Quranic theme: "God has given you
houses to dwell in, and animal skins for tents. . . . God has given you
shelter from the sun. He has fashioned hills to afford you a refuge,
garments to protect you from heat, and armor to shield you in battle." 19
While persecuted in Mecca, Muhammad and Abu Bakr hid in a cave.
Muhammad assured his companion: "Do not despair, God is with us." 20
The account then states that the peace of God descended upon them
and gave them strength. 21 Divine concern is not limited to humans:
"Many animals cannot fend for themselves, but God provides for them
and for you." 22
Divine omniscience is also related to all of creation: "God knows
 SANCTIONS 167

well the evil-doer. He has the keys of all that is hidden. . . . He knows all
that land and sea contain: every leaf that falls is known to Him." 23 Such
omniscience provides God with an intimate awareness of ideas pre-
sumed to be altogether private: "No three persons confer secretly but
He is the fourth among them. . . . Then, on Judgment Day, He will tell
them of their doings" 24 "We know persons' innermost thought, for We
are closer than the jugular vein." 25
An extended theological analogy is drawn from the olive-oil lamp
on which the people of western Asia depended:

God is the light of the heavens and the earth. His light may be
compared to a lamp set in a niche, encased in glass, which
shines with star-like brilliance. It is kindled from the blessed
olive tree, which is confined neither to the east nor to the
west. Its oil almost glows without being touched with fire.
Light upon light,- God guides to His light whom He will. God
speaks in metaphors to humans. 26

A paradox of the Quran is found in this declaration: "Nothing

resembles God ; He hears and sees." 27 On one hand, God completely
transcends the sphere of earthlings, yet an analogy from animals' ears and
eyes is used to describe some functions of God. The Arabic proverb,
"Metaphor is the bridge to reality," is amply illustrated in the Quran:
human attributes and appearances are occasionally used as a means for
understanding God. In this regard, Muhammad said: "When any of you
fights he must avoid the face, for God created Adam in His own image. 28
The anthropomorphisms of the Quran are similar to those of the
Hebrew Bible. Physical images are prohibited in Islam as in the Israelite
religion, but certain verbal images reoccur. Like a potter, God fashions
creatures out of clay with both hands and then breathes into them. 2 9 He
speaks to Moses and writes on tablets for him. 30 Standing watchfully
over everyone, God notes the schemes of Muhammad's adversaries and
smites them. 31 One of Muhammad's sayings suggests that the divine is
also like a parent: "God's pleasure is a fathers pleasure and God's displea-
sure is a father's displeasure."32
The biblical leitmotif of God as king is continued in Islam. In both,
God has been seated on his throne ever since the six days during which
He created the universe. 33 Whereas the Israelite King of Kings is
pictured as an elderly, woolly-haired monarch, 34 early Islamic tradition
portrays God as youthful. Muhammad described God in this bold way:
168 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

"I saw my Lord in a most beautiful form like a youth with exuberant hair,
sitting on the throne of grace, surrounded by a golden carpet. He put
His hand between my shoulder-blades, and I felt its coolness in my
liver."35
The God Muhammad worshiped seemed to use both the stick and
carrot approaches to enforcing His will. Betty Kelen notes the fluctua-
tions in the prophets revelations:

The general tone of the Quran is rather chastising, ranging

from mild rebuke through heavy scolding to furious
invective—the wrath of God, vibrant and alive. There are
also passages of high philosophy and poetry of surpassing
loveliness, exhortations to virtue, reminders of God's compas-
sion, and here and there some rather witty comments on the
human scene. 36

Love is an attribute of God as well as of humans. "My Lord is

compassionate and loving," the Quran affirms.37 Almost every chapter
begins with acknowledging "compassion" (rahman) as a quality of God.
Sometimes "The Compassionate One" (Ar-Rahman) is used as a synonym
for God. 3 8 In a Medina sermon, Muhammad declared: "Love what God
loves. Love God with all your hearts, and weary not of the word of God
and its mention. Harden not your hearts from it. . . . Carry out loyally
towards God what you say with your mouths. Love one another in the
spirit of God." 39
Human obedience is the condition for receiving God's love. The
Quran declares: "God loves the righteous," 40 "God loves those who act
equitably," 41 and "God loves the steadfast"42 who fight with the Apostle
"in the way of God." 43 According to Muslim tradition, Muhammad
conveyed this message from God: "My love belongs by right to those
who love one another in Me, to those who sit together in Me, to those
who visit one another in Me." 44 Unconditional love, however, is not in
the Quran because "God does not love the unbelievers." 45 Believers are
warned: "If any of you become renegades, God will replace you by
others who love Him and are loved by Him." 46
A century after Muhammad, an Iraqi named Rabia was distressed to
realize that many other Muslims acted morally mainly to obtain a
satisfactory afterlife for themselves. An intrinsic motivation to express
what God valued was lacking in their ethical decision making. Conse-
quently, Rabia went into a street in Basra with a jug of water in one hand
 SANCTIONS 169

and a flaming torch in the other. When asked what she was doing, she
replied: "I am going to quench Hell and set fire to Paradise so that God
may be adored and loved for Himself and not for His rewards." 47
An ethic of response to the goodness of God is occasionally found
in the Quran: "Be kind to others as God has been kind to you." 48 In other
words, forgive others in imitation of Gods mercy, 49 or help the needy in
response to God's generosity. 50 The good person is described as "one
who does good works for the sake of the Most High only, seeking no
thanks from the recipient." 51 Those who love God "give food to the
destitute, the orphan, and the captive." 52
The similarities of the theologies heralded by Muhammad and
Jesus are numerous. Neither spokesperson is systematic in his teachings
about God; each introduces divine attributes in an occasional manner to
fit the consideration at hand. Neither the Quran nor the Gospels
contain an attempt to prove the existence of God. Few if any of those to
whom Jesus and Muhammad spoke were atheists because they accepted
the existence of at least one God. Both prophets believed in a God of
history who created the world and governs the course of human events
with both power and benevolence. Both men also believed that one's
public and private life should be affected by the rule of the divine
King. 53 However, Jesus did not think of God's rule as necessarily subver-
sive to pagan Roman rule.
God is known by many names in the Quran, 5 4 and Muhammad
gave ninety-nine of them for Muslims to remember as their passport to
Paradise. 55 Most of the personal and impersonal names he lists would
also be appropriate for describing the biblical understanding of God.
Like the multiple designations for God in the Quran, Jesus refers to Him
as "Lord," "Wisdom," and "the Most High." 56 Jesus also alludes to God in
an impersonal way through the use of "Power," "Rock," and "Heaven." 57
Also like Muhammad, Jesus viewed God as ubiquitous. One need
not go to the holy mountain in Samaria or to the temple in Jerusalem to
worship because "God is spirit" and can be found anywhere. 58 To those
eagerly awaiting the future coming of God's reign, Jesus asserted that the
King's sovereignty should presently be realized within and among
them. 5 9 God is not aloof but is involved in the lives of mortals and is
their bountiful benefactor. "Closer is He than breathing, and nearer than
hands and feet," wrote Alfred, Lord Tennyson. 60 That poet's image of
divine omnipresence aptly expresses the outlook of both Jesus and
Muhammad.
Sovereign-subject relations predominate Quranic theology, but
170 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

parent-child relations abound in the Gospels. "1 thank you, Father," Jesus
prayed, "because You have revealed to the childlike what You have
hidden from the learned."61 Although the conception of God as a parent
had been occasionally expressed in the Hebrew tradition,62 it was
unusual. Jesus' favorite image for God made plain that unapproachable
transcendence should not be viewed as a characteristic of the divine. His
designation, "Holy Father",63 shows that God is separated from human
defilement but is not remote.
Theology and ethics were inseparable for Jesus. He expressed this
by culling from the 613 Torah laws what he regarded as the two greatest
commandments. The first one pertained to loving God with the whole
of one's being.64 The second was "You shall love your neighbor as
yourself."65 Jesus widened the definition of "neighbor" to include not
only a person from one's neighborhood but also the scorned tax collec-
tor, the immoral adulterer, the shunned leper, and the strange alien. To
illustrate that one's neighbor is anyone in need from any nation, Jesus
told the parable of the Good Samaritan.66
Jesus likened ideal human inclusiveness to the operations of the
God of nature. His Sermon on the Mount states: "Love your enemies
and pray for your persecutors, so that you may show yourselves true
children of your Father in heaven. He makes the sun shine on bad and
good people alike, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."67 Even
as the cosmic sun does not discriminate among what it shines on, so the
heavenly Father shows no favoritism among His multi-ethnic children.
God loves those who are disobedient to his directives while hating their
sins. Humans should also unconditionally love the disreputable as well
as the respectable. Jesus concludes this teaching on love's boundlessness
with this imperative: "Be all-embracing, as your heavenly Father is all-
embracing."68
Jesus' God is like a shepherd who knows each member of his flock
and is ready to go out into the dark to bring back any who has strayed.
No creature is so insignificant as to escape God's agonizing concern.
After telling a parable of the shepherd who rejoices over a restored lost
sheep, Jesus concludes: "Likewise there will be more joy in Heaven over
one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do
not need to repent."69 Those words were ironically addressed to self-
righteous persons because Jesus did not believe that the behavior of any
human could not be changed for the better.
In another teaching, Jesus uses an animal comparison to stress the
worth of individuals to God: "Are notfivesparrows sold for two pennies?
 SANCTIONS 171

Yet not one of them is overlooked by God. . . . Fear not: you are of more
value than many sparrows!"70 As Jesus watched people purchasing the
cheapest meat in the marketplace, he may have reflected on words
attributed to God in the Hebrew Bible: "I know every bird in the air, and
I care for all life in the fields."71 The reasoning is this: If God is aware of
even each bird, how enormous must be the worth of all humans who are
created to reflect the character of God.
According to Jesus, human compassion should be a by-product of
theological reflection: "Be merciful, as your Father is merciful."72 Jesus'
story of the father of two sons best conveys his hope that Gods
disposition will be imitated. The younger son misused his personal
freedom by demanding his inheritance while his father was still alive and
by living irresponsibly in "a far country." 73 After "he squandered his
wealth in dissolute living,"74 the prodigal became a scavenger among
pigs. He then realized that he was destroying himself and contemplated
how even his father's servants were better off than he was. The prodigal
son then took the initiative to return home and admit that he had done
wrong. The father, who had patiently awaited for the alienation of his
younger son to cease, "was filled with compassion." 75 The father then
ran to meet him, profusely expressed forgiveness, and acted to restore
him to the household and celebrate his return.
The righteous elder brother resented his father's acceptance of his
younger brother. He thought that each individual should receive exactly
what he or she deserved. Fairness demanded that punishment be the
compensation for bad conduct and that rewards be reserved for those
who had worked hard for the father. The father reminded his older son
of the full share he had received and that he should rejoice that the
family is reunited. 76 The story illustrates that Jesus thought of God as
not being bound by the conventional reward-and-punishment system of
justice.
Regarding the nature of God, Jesus' emphasis differs from that of
Muhammad. The Quran is similar to the Hebrew Bible in the attention
devoted to God's love ; the theme can be found in both scriptures after
much searching, but God's severity is stressed. When the texts pertain-
ing to Moses, the main revealer of God in the Hebrew Bible, are
examined, it is apparent that only a few focus on God's love. Frederick
Sontag provides this discerning comparison:

Muhammad outlines a divinity closer to the God in parts of

the Old Testament rather than to the New. . . . A war-like
172 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

atmosphere pervades: "Do not falter or sue for peace when

you have gained the upper hand" ( Q 47:35). Such statements
make it hard to see the Quran as a purified revelation of
Christianity, when the known words and actions of Jesus have
such a different tone. . . . War is said to be the medium of
eliminating idolatry ( Q 8:39), but before we accept this we
must first decide if what is divine uses war and destruction as
an instrument. Certainly not according to Jesus. 77

Earthly Rewards and Punishments

In Semitic religions, God is sovereign over history and uses the interna-
tional clashings of His creatures as sanctions to effect His will. The
Quran refers to two armies from outside Arabia that had been defeated
by divine decree. During the year of Muhammad's birth, Ethiopian
Christians attacked Mecca on elephants, hoping to destroy the Ka'ba
with its idols. They retreated after this aerial bombardment: "Did God
not confound them by sending against them flocks of birds that pelted
them with stones, leaving them like withered plants?" 78 The Quran also
announces that the Byzantines would regain control of Palestine from
the Persians and comments on this warring situation.- "God is powerful
and gives victory to whomever He wishes. 79
Theocracy is the theory of government in the Quran,- God decides
state as well as interstate matters. Consequently, secular rule has no
legitimacy, and in traditional Islam there is no separation between the
religious community and the political community. In the Quran, "obey
God" is often joined with "and His Apostle." Social control comes from
the top down: "It is not for believers—men or women—to have any
choice in their affairs if God and His Apostle decree otherwise" 80 Also,
Muhammad said, "He who obeys me has obeyed God." 81
Other humans are occasionally recognized in the Quran as a part
of the governance when obedience is prescribed to "those charged with
authority among you." 82 From that hierarchy come laws that cover all
aspects of corporate life. But the intended result is not a dictatorship
dedicated to giving special privileges to an elite governmental adminis-
tration. Rather, those in the divine-human chain of authority should be
motivated by social justice for all the people. Muhammad warned:
 SANCTIONS 173

"Anyone who is asked by God to take charge of subjects and does not
protect them with good counsel will not smell the fragrance of Para-
dise." 83
Islam deviated radically from its traditional Arabic culture by re-
ducing the significance of the extended family Quranic texts state that
what really matters is acting with moral integrity regardless of the
customary social sanctions: "Resolutely do justly as witness to God, even
though it be against yourselves, your parents, or your kinfolk";84 and "Be
steadfast witnesses for God in equity Do not let your hatred for any
people cause you to pervert justice. Deal justly, for God is aware of what
you do." 85 From this political theory came a quick loyalty shift at
Medina. John Glubb notes:

Young Muslims had been remarkably callous where family ties

were concerned, and had even urged their fellow-Muslims to
kill their own fathers, if they met them in battle. Yet this very
callousness had been an extraordinary tribute to the per-
suasiveness of the Prophet's teaching. 86

Conflicts in Muhammad's own family resulted from his determina-

tion to place God's will over the wishes of his kinfolk. Not only were his
Uncle Abu Lahab and wife among his opponents, but also his Uncle
Abbas and son-in-law Abu'1-Aasi joined other Meccan idolaters to battle
against the Muslims at Badr.87 These estrangements illustrate well Jesus'
forecast that a "sword" will divide the household of those who take God's
call seriously 88
The Quran refers to only one particular biblical book and quotes
from it: "Truly We have written in the Psalms, 'My righteous servants
will eventually rule the earth.' " 89 This psalm affirms a common theme of
the Hebrew Bible: Those who trust in God will be given vindication,
security, prosperity, and abundance in a time of general deprivation. The
doctrine is tested in the Book of Job when its hero disputes the conven-
tional wisdom about such sanctions.
Islam endorses the prevailing simple theodicy of ancient Israel, that
God grants worldly success to faithful worshipers. Following God is
described as a profitable investment in the Quran: "When prayers are
ended, go out in quest of God's bounty. Remember God always, that you
may prosper",-90 and "Those who recite the Book of God, attend to their
prayers, give alms both secretly and openly, may hope for gains that will
not fail. He will pay them their rewards and enrich them from His own
174 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

abundance." 91 Karen Armstrong observes that Christianity's forte is

enabling people to cope with adversity, whereas for Muslims worldly
success is an outward sign of God's inward grace. 92
Muhammad believed that too little or too much rain in a region is a
consequence of religious disobedience. He proclaimed in God's name: "If
My servants obey Me, I shall send down rain by night and cause the sun to
shine upon them by day, and I shall not let them hear the sound of
thunder." 93 An irrigation dam burst in southern Arabia in the sixth cen-
tury, causing a productive agricultural area to revert to a wilderness. The
Quran interprets the devastation as a result of apostasy: "Sheba turned
away, so We sent against them a flood. We replaced their gardens. . .with
tamarisk bushes and a scattering of nettle shrubs, punishing them for
their unbelief. Do We ever punish any but the unbeliever?" 94
In contrast to Muhammad and to portions of his Hebrew scrip-
tures, Jesus believed that what individuals regard as destructive or bene-
ficial forces of nature operate independently of just desserts. Not only
does needed rain fall on the crops of bad persons, but floods hit the good
and bad indiscriminately 95 Jesus advised his disciples to prepare for the
amoral fluctuations of nature, so that they would be able to cope when
adverse weather arrives.
According to the Quran, penalties for misconduct, even if severe,
can be beneficial,- they may cause reformation before a person is con-
fronted with his or her eternal destiny. The Quran states: "We will inflict
on them the lesser punishment in this world before the greater punish-
ment in the world to come, so that they may return to the right path." 96
To deter stealing, the Quran asserts: "As for the man or woman who is
guilty of theft, cut off their hands." 97 However, following that verse is
one that sounds this merciful note: "Whoever repents after doing evil
and makes amends shall be pardoned by God." 98 Muhammad decided
that an amputation was an appropriate penalty for stealing something
worth at least as much as a shield. 99 Exceptions were made for those
who take fruit off of a tree, who snatch a cloak, or who plunder while on
a war-like expedition. 100 Most who have been convicted of thievery
have kept their hands by providing restitution to their victims.
The Quran does not abolish blood revenge, but it provides some
alternative penalties. Compensation should be paid for unintentional
homicide. 101 For intentional homicide, the next of kin has the right to
equal retaliation. 102 Revenge is limited to killing a freeman for a freeman
killed, a slave for a slave, and a woman for a woman. 103 In writing to the
 SANCTIONS 175

people of Yemen, Muhammad also permitted that a man be killed in

retaliation for murdering a woman. 104 While the Quran acknowledges
the Torah law of "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and a wound for a
wound," it encourages pardoning as an act of charity 1 0 5 Muhammad
gave these options: "If a relative of anyone is killed . . . he may retaliate,
or forgive, or receive compensation." 106
One of the most frequent morality teachings in the Quran pertains
to God's destruction of Sodom because of male homosexual activity in
that biblical city, where Lot, Abraham's nephew, lived. 107 Accordingly,
Muhammad taught: "God who is great and glorious will not look at a
man who has intercourse with a man or a woman through the anus", 108
and "If you find anyone doing as Lot's people did, kill the one who does
it and the one to whom it is done." 109
In Jesus' era, the "unnatural" conduct of Sodomites was also de-
nounced. 110 But, the Gospels suggest that Jesus viewed homosexual
practice as of secondary importance. Although Jesus' extant teachings
contain no explicit mention of homosexuality, he did declare that the
people of Sodom would fare better on Judgment Day than the Galilean
towns that had not responded well when the Gospel was proclaimed. 111
Jesus thought that revenge—limited or unlimited—was bitter, not
sweet. Inspiration for the difficult task of removing vindictiveness
should arise, he believed, from reflecting on God's kindness. In one
parable, God is pictured as a king who agrees to liquidate an enormous
debt owed by a servant. This generosity is displayed with the expecta-
tion that the servant will show a similar attitude toward others. How-
ever, the pardoned servant treats harshly a fellow servant who had
borrowed from him a relatively insignificant sum and who pleas for more
time to repay the debt. On learning of this, the royal creditor became
angry and cancelled his agreement to be merciful.112 The parable shows
the peril of isolating God's nonretaliation from human relationships.
For Jesus, the reward for acting with integrity and as a peacemaker
is not material. Regardless of outward conditions, those with such
ethical conduct will enjoy a spiritual vision ("see God") or have the
satisfaction of being part of the faithful family of God. 113
176 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

Afterlife Retributions
bemitic religions have been significantly influenced by some views on
life after death held by non-Semitic people. Scenes depicted on ancient
Egyptian funerary monuments occasionally show a god presiding over a
post-mortem court of final judgment. Each individual is judged to
determine if there is a balance between his or her records of personal
merits and demerits. After reviewing the evidence, the god decides the
eternal destiny of the one on trial. A crocodile god awaits to consume
the bodies of the wicked. Those who are declared righteous are ushered
into a place filled with material delights that the wealthy have been
accustomed to. The Egyptians even believed that wives as well as lands
would bear abundantly in an afterlife.114
When some Jews were in Babylonian captivity, they encountered
Zoroasterianism, which contributed profoundly to the mythology they
later developed on individual life after death. 115 Prophet Zoroaster had
stressed eschatological angels, both good and bad, and had introduced
the Persian term "paradise," meaning pleasure park, into religious vo-
cabulary. The sensuousness of that cool, colorful, and fragrant garden,
Zoroaster believed, replicates earthly experiences for the righteous.
The opposite sensations were experienced by the wicked in an infernal
place.
Muhammad was apparently influenced more immediately by the
Jewish tradition that conveys the first expression of personal immor-
tality in the Bible. An apocalyptic writer asserts.- "Many of those who
sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and
some to shame and everlasting disgrace."116 This verse, one of the latest
to be written in the Jewish scriptures, affirms a doctrine of individual
afterlife that was to become the norm in Judaism.
According to the Quran, there is an intermediate state of death
sleep between death and resurrection for all except jihad martyrs. Those
warriors go immediately to rejoice over what they have received from
their Lord. 117 Other righteous Muslims rest undisturbed for a time in
their graves, and the transition period seems brief.118 In the middle of a
night shortly before his death, Muhammad went to the Muslim ceme-
tery in Medina and said, "Peace upon you, O people of the graves!
Happy are you that you are so much better off than men here." 119
In contrast, the unrighteous will not "rest in peace" but will begin to
 SANCTIONS 177

receive their punishment shortly after burial. 120 Two black and blue
angels ask the deceased three questions: "Who is your God?", What is
your religion?" and,- "Who is its prophet?" Those who respond improp-
erly to this interrogation will be given a foretaste of Hell. Infidels will
be struck with a sledgehammer, causing them to utter cries that will be
heard everywhere. Muslim tradition also tells of Muhammad and the
mule on which he was riding hearing the moans of the tortured dead as
they pass by a graveyard. 121 The tradition also indicates that punish-
ment in the grave could be for something as small as soiling one's clothes
with urine. 122
After the Badr battle, Muhammad surprised his warriors by address-
ing dead Meccans whose bodies had been thrown in a common grave:
"The Muslims said, 'Are you calling to dead bodies?' He answered: 'You
cannot hear what I say better than they, but they cannot answer me.' " 123
Muhammad asked each enemy by name if he now recognized the truth
of God's message. 124 The prophet offered another apropos saying:
"Ninety-nine dragons will be given power over unbelievers in their
graves, biting them until the Day of Resurrection." 125 Those undergoing
such agony beg to be sent back to their earthly life for a second chance
to perform good deeds, but they learn about an insurmountable barrier
(barzakh) that prevents their return. 126
Since the corpse is believed to be conscious of pain, cremation is
no more acceptable in Islam than burning a living person at the stake.
Muhammad said: "The breaking of the bones of a corpse is the same as
doing it in life. . . . It is not fit for anyone to punish with fire but God." 127
Using white cloth similar to the type pilgrims wear to Mecca, the corpse
is shrouded after being washed. 128 After prayers for God's mercy are said
over the unembalmed body, it is quickly carried to the graveyard where
a few verses from the Quran are recited. 129 Coffins are usually omitted
so that the faithful can sit up on Judgment Day when Gabriel blows his
horn. Mourners frequently throw earth into the grave and quote what
the Quran attributes to Moses: "From the earth We created you and into
it We return you ; out of it We will bring you forth again."130 Muhammad
prohibited grave markers on the assumption that cemeteries, literally
"sleeping places," were not a permanent abode for the bodies of de-
parted Muslims. 131
At a time that God determines, history will end eventfully. The
Quran asserts: "With a blast of the trumpet, the dead will rise up from
their graves and hasten to their Lord."132 While recognizing the promi-
nent roles of Adam, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus on Resurrection Day,
178 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

Muhammad asserts that he will be "the first to rattle the knocker of

Paradises (gate) . . . and stand at the right of the throne (of God)." 133
A sermon of Muhammad provides more graphic description of that
final Day: "You will be assembled barefoot, naked, and uncircum-
cised. . . . Abraham will be the first to be clothed." 134 The Quran de-
clares: "All will be justly weighed on that Day", 135 and "Those whose
good deeds weigh heavy in the balance will dwell in bliss, but those
whose deeds are light will go to the fiery Abyss." 136 For Muhammad, the
most foolish attitude possible is to be unconcerned about Judgment Day.
The Quran describes the empty life of those who are flippant about their
final outcome: "The life of this world is only a sport and idle talk, a
passing show and boasting among you of riches and children. Their
growth pleases the cultivator but soon they wither and become stub-
ble." 137
Jane Smith and Yvonne Haddad, who have made a thorough study
of the resurrection views of classical Islam, state that "the vast majority
of believers" 138 interpret eschatology literally rather than meta-
phorically. Muslims have "understood the realities of the Garden and the
Fire to be real and specific, anticipating them with terror or with joy." 139
The physical nature of resurrection for Muhammad is revealed in a
remark he made about his son Ibrahim, who died in infancy: "He has two
foster mothers who will complete his suckling in Paradise." 140 In spite of
this comment, Muhammad generally shared Augustine's assumption that
the age of the resurrected will be about thirty. 141
Ancient peoples who believed in physical resurrection had differ-
ent notions on how it could be achieved. The procedure of Egyptian
morticians was to dehydrate the flesh and then make mummies. In
contrast, the Jewish rabbis believed that the power of God is sufficient to
accomplish a resurrection from unembalmed remains. The former body
could be reconstructed even if only a single bone was left.142 Prophet
Ezekiel's dry-bones vision, which originally pertained to his hope for a
revived Jewish community, 143 was later used to affirm and describe the
resurrection of individuals. After death and burial, bones that had been
dismembered would be rejoined in the proper order. A fresco on the wall
of a third-century Mesopotamian synagogue depicts a valley where
strewn parts of human corpses are being reconnected. 144
The outlook on the physical resurrection that had developed in
Judaism is reflected in these Quranic verses: "We will reassemble bones,
even to the fingertips"145 and "We will raise the bones and cover them
with flesh."146 Endorsing a rabbinical viewpoint, the early Muslims made
 SANCTIONS 179

this claim: "There is nothing of the human body that does not decay
except one bone,- that is the little bone at the end of the coccyx of which
the human body will be recreated on the Day of Resurrection." 147
When Muhammad proclaimed this resurrection doctrine, he pro-
voked ridicule among the Meccans: "They say: 'If you are telling the
truth, bring back our ancestors.' " 148 Ishaq records this exchange be-
tween Muhammad and an Arab skeptic:

Ubayy took to the Apostle an old bone, crumbling to pieces,

and said, "Muhammad, do you allege that God can revivify
this after it has decayed?" Then he crumbled it in his hand and
blew the pieces in the Apostle's face. The Apostle answered:
"Yes, 1 do say that. God will raise it and you, after you have
become like this. Then God will send you to Hell." 149

Regarding eschatology, the pagan Arabs responded to Muhammad

and to the Jews in much the same way. A Jew in Arabia at that time spoke
about "the resurrection, the reckoning, the scales, Paradise, and Hell." 150
That outlook precipitated this incredulity-. "Good gracious, man! Do
you think that such things could be that men can be raised from the dead
to a place where there is a garden and a fire in which they will be
recompensed for their deeds?"151
Ascertaining accountability in the Quran is by means of a ledger,
which is similar to those used for business in Mecca and in other trading
centers. Guardian angels keep a record of the virtues and vices of each
person. 152 After the ledger is opened, it is placed in the defendant's right
hand if the balance shows a credit, and in the left if there is a debit. 153
On Judgment Day, God announces:

We have written in this record all you have ever done. Those
who believed and did good works, will be admitted into the
Lord's mercy. . . . (To the unbelievers it will be said.) "Were
not Our revelations proclaimed to you?". . . The evils they
have done will be made apparent to them and what they
scoffed at will befall them. We shall say: "This Day We forget
you, even as you forgot that you would meet this Day. The
Fire will be your home and none will help you." 154

Some of the Judgment Day imagery in the Quran parallels that of

the Bible. Daniel dreamed of God presiding on his throne when "the
180 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

court sat in judgment, and the books were opened." 155 An early Chris-
tian apocalyptic book contains this vision: "I saw the dead, great and
small alike, standing before the throne while the books lay open. . . .
The dead were judged according to their works, as recorded in the
books." 156 Paul tells of the dead being raised in a changed form at the
sound of the last trumpet. 157 On that occasion, the New Testament
repeatedly states, Jesus will be at God's right hand because he has the
highest rank apart from God. 158 In the heavenly court Jesus will ac-
knowledge all Christians and make intercession for them. 159
According to the Quran, those who appear before God after death
are involved in deciding their own guilt or innocence. He will say to
every person: "Read your record! You are this Day a sufficient witness
against yourself."160 As Huston Smith explains:

What death burns away is self-serving defenses, forcing one to

see with total objectivity how one has lived one's life. In the
uncompromising light of that vision, where no dark and hid-
den corners are allowed, it is one's own actions that rise up to
accuse or confirm.161

When the final accounting is made, incriminating evidence is given

by one's bodily parts,- they expose the persons who are attempting to
hide from their record. Consider this example: "Ears, eyes, and skins will
testify to their misdeeds. And they will say to their organs, 'Why have
you spoken against us?' " 162 Also, the weak will tell about the devious
schemes of powerful individuals. 163
Rahman offers this interpretation:

(What is) so poignantly portrayed as occurring on the Day of

Judgment is what the Quran really desires to take place here
in this life,- for a man who can x-ray himself effectively and
hence diagnose his inner state has nothing to be afraid of if his
inner being goes public. . . . The central endeavor of the
Quran is for man to develop this keen sight here and now,
when there is opportunity for action and progress, for at the
Hour of Judgment it will be too late to remedy the state of
affairs.164

Muhammad is described in the Quran as a proclaimer of the gospel

(injil, the Arabicized form of the Greek euaggelios).165 The good news is
 SANCTIONS 181

that Paradise is ahead for believers. One of its joys is a fuller awareness
of God: "On that Day there will be radiant faces, looking toward their
Lord." 166 Muhammad claimed that the resurrected will be able to see
God as they would the sun at midday in a cloudless sky 1 6 7 The prophet
also likened the beatific vision of God to solar light, which, although it
cannot be directly seen at night, is gloriously reflected from the full
moon. 168 According to Muhammad's gospel, God will announce: "I have
prepared for My upright servants what eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
nor has entered into the heart of man." 169 That saying is quite similar to
these words attributed to Jesus-. "I will give you what no eye has seen, no
ear has heard, no hand has touched, and what has not arisen in the heart
of man." 170
Another eschatological teaching of Muhammad paraphrases one of
Jesus' parables. Muhammad said:

God will say on the Day of Resurrection: "O son of Adam, I

was sick and you did not visit Me." He will reply: "My Lord,
how could I visit You, when you are the Lord of the universe?"
God will say: "Did you not know that My servant so and so
was ill, and yet you did not visit him? Did you not know that if
you had visited him, you would have found Me with him?"171

This saying, repeated for giving food to the hungry and drink to
the thirsty, parallels a parable of Jesus that motivated, among others,
monasteries to serve as hospices. 172 The core of that parable pertains to
the basis on which eternal life is granted:

The righteous will answer him, "Lord, when did we see you
hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when
did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and
clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and
visit you?" And the king will answer them, "Truly, I tell you, as
you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my
family, you did it to me." 173

On Resurrection /Judgment Day, Muslims believe that damnation is

imposed for murder, lying, corruption, luxurious living, failure to help the
poor, and for disbelief in God's revelations. 174 The hypocrite will have an
appropriate retribution. Muhammad said: "He who is two-faced in this
world will have two tongues of fire on the Day of Resurrection."175 The
182 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

inhabitants of Hell will include all who had been idolatrous, including
family members who died before their parents became monotheists.
When Khadija inquired about the destiny of her two children who died
while she was a pagan, Muhammad informed her that they were in Hell.
She then asked: "Messenger of God, what about my son whom I had from
you?" 176 Muhammad replied: "Believers and their children are in Paradise
and polytheists and their children are in Hell." 177
The harshest criticism of the Quran is reserved for those who "love
wealth with boundless love" and do not care for the orphans or feed the
poor. On beholding the punishment before them in Hell, those greedy
people will lament on Judgment Day: "Would that we had sent before us
some provision for life!"178 At a barrier separating the saved from the
damned, the latter will cry out to those on the other side: "Pour on us
some of the water God has provided you. . . . Could we but live our lives
again, we would act otherwise." 179 To those who plead for a reincarna-
tion when they would be generous, God says, "No, my revelations came
to you but you denied them." 180
A parable of Jesus contains lines that echo this scenario. A rich man
who had little concern for a sick beggar, so the story goes, ends up as a
beggar in Hades. He asks Abraham for some cooling water but is refused.
The former rich man then requests permission to return to earth to inform
his family of the dire consequences of their behaving as he did. Abraham
recognizes that the Jewish man had already had plenty of opportunity to
respond to social-justice messages. When rejecting the rich man's plea,
Abraham asserts: "If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither
will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead."181 Neither
Jesus nor Muhammad thought that supernatural acts were likely to trans-
form the values of people who claimed to see them.
Muslims who qualify for Paradise are taken to a place strikingly
different from the Arabian environment. The Quran gives assurance that
they will reside "where rivers flow of unpolluted water, unspoiled milk,
delicious wine, and clearest honey. They shall eat of every fruit and
receive forgiveness from their Lord."182 Muhammad added: "In Paradise
there is a tree so big that in its shade a rider may travel for a century
without being able to cross it."183 Desert people must have been espe-
cially dazzled by the promise of perennial water springs and verdant
gardens with clusters of fruit ready to gather. With the restoration of the
senses in resurrection, the faithful can physically enjoy Paradise, and the
faithless can feel the torture of Hell.
Those who feast in Paradise will not suffer any undesirable after-
 SANCTIONS 183

effects. The following exchange took place between Muhammad and a

curious individual: " T h e inhabitants of Paradise will eat and drink in it,
but they will not spit, or pass water, or void excrement, or suffer from
catarrh.' " Asked what would happen to the food, he replied, " 'It will
produce belching and sweat like musk.' " 184
Muhammad promised the faithful that they will enjoy the pleasures
of the affluent in the afterlife. He pointed to the advantages of delayed
gratifications: "Do not wear silks and satins, and do not drink or eat from
gold and silver vessels, for others have them in this world but you will
have them in the next." 185 The prophet also said: "He who drinks wine
in this world and does not repent of it will be forbidden it in the world to
come." 186 While abstinence from intoxicants helps gain admission to
Paradise, the Quran guarantees the elect that "they will be served the
finest wine" after arriving there. 187
The Quran promises eternal rewards for both genders: 188 "You and
your spouses will enter Paradise and be glad. You will be served with
golden plates and goblets. Everything the heart desires and that pleases
the eye will be there, where you will abide forever.189 These immortals
will be clothed in silks and fine brocade while they recline under shady
trees on green cushions with carpets beneath.
Men will also enjoy virgins with lovely eyes and swelling
breasts. 190 Muhammad received these revelations about the beautiful
maidens when he was singularly married at Mecca to a woman consid-
erably older than him. Smith and Haddad provide more detail on the
girls who are called hur in the Quran-.

The man takes his turn with each of his consorts, and none
shows any jealousy in waiting for him to return to her. With
each he drinks wine but there is no drunkenness. Sleep is
unnecessary, the hur do not get pregnant (in fact, they never
lose their virginal state, despite the clear indication of the
physical nature of the union with their husbands), there is no
menstruation, the hur do not spit or blow their noses, and they
are never sick."191

Some interpreters presume that family life is not part of the

Quranic picture of the afterlife. For example, Ronald Bodley writes.-

Nothing so tedious as marriage is mentioned as a phase of

future life. What Mohammed did offer his followers was a
184 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

final resting place where they would find all that they had
missed on earth: rivers, and lakes and green grass,- and fruit
trees with fruit always ripe,- and wine to drink which exhila-
rated. . . . Black-eyed girls of resplendent beauty, of virgin
purity and exquisite sensibility would be at the disposal of
every Moslem believer. 192

Bodley rightly judges the hur to be different from female Muslims,

but he wrongly presumes that there are no older females or family
bondings in the Quranic Paradise. Puzzlement over elderly Muslim
women vis-à-vis Paradise is addressed in this teasing story: 'The Prophet
said to an old woman, 'No old woman will enter Paradise/ . . . She asked
him, 'What is wrong with them?' He replied, 'Do you not recite the
Quran, 'We have created them and made them virgins?' " 193
The Quran refers to the presence of believers' wives and children
with their husbands and fathers in Paradise. 194 Smith and Haddad tell
how Muslim tradition has dealt with earthly wives who are judged
worthy of Paradise:

These women, often referred to as the daughters of Eve to

distinguish them from the hur, are usually said to have one
husband each (the men of faith are often portrayed as having
all of their earthly wives plus seventy or more of the hur). If the
woman had more than one husband on earth, the situation is
unclear,- sometimes it is said that she will get the last one as
husband in the Garden, sometimes the best one, and some-
times it is reported that she will have her choice. 195

Al-Ghazali, the preeminent Muslim theologian, claimed that the

promise of sexual pleasures was "a powerful motivation to incite men . . .
to adore God so as to reach Heaven." 196 John Glubb comments on the
impact of the sensuous Quranic eschatological mythology on Muslim
imperialism:

The most powerful factor in promoting Arab conquests,

which were soon to follow, was the promise of the immediate
admission to Paradise to all Muslims who fell in battle against
non-Muslims. Moreover the detailed descriptions of that
Paradise with its cool, flowing streams, delicious fruits, and
above all its houris, beautiful virgins perpetually young, were
 SANCTIONS 185

precisely such as to tempt the poor bedouins, whose lives

were an endless struggle against physical hardships. 197

The Quranic Paradise parallels the fantasizing of Ephraim, the

renowned preacher of the fourth-century Syrian Christians. His para-
disaical imagining was especially appealing to other monks because it
pictured a life that compensated for present sensual deprivations.
Ephraim wrote:

I saw the dwelling places of the just, and they themselves,

dripping with ointments, giving forth pleasant odors,
wreathed in flowers and decked with fruits. . . . When they lie
at the table, the trees offer their shade in the clear air. . . . It is
a feast without effort, and the hands do not become tired. . . .
Think, O aged one, of Paradise! When its aroma refreshes you
and its pleasant odors renew your youth, your blemishes will
vanish. . . . Whoever has abstained from wine on earth, for
him do the vines of Paradise yearn. . . . And if a man has lived
in chastity, the women receive him in a pure bosom, because
he as a monk did not fall into the bosom and bed of earthly
love. 198

Tor Andrae states as "irrefutable fact" that the Quran's paradisaical

description of rejuvenated youth and verdant nature was inspired by
Ephraim's ideas. 199 Muhammad was not an ascetic who dreamed of
being released from self-imposed mortifications, but he may have
longed for a reversal of the privations of his desert environment.
If Paradise is an exquisite oasis, its opposite also shows the influ-
ence of the Arabian landscape. Hell resembles the desert at its worst,
scorching winds and no shield from the relentless heat. Some torture is
graphically depicted: the precious metals of hoarders will be heated in
Hell and used to brand their bodies. 200
The Quran appropriately refers to Muhammad as a "warner" of the
consequences of evil action because Hell is a main theme of his preach-
ing. The threat of Hell is given more attention (367 verses) than the
delights of Paradise (312 verses). Retribution is explained to the infernal
inmates in this way:

On the day when unbelievers are exposed to the Fire, it will be

said: "You squandered your good things in your earthly life
186 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

and took your fill of pleasure. Now you are rewarded with
humiliating punishment because you were disdainful and un-
just."201

Jahannam, the main Quranic designation for the place for evil
people, comes from the Hebrew word cjehinnom. This term, usually
translated into English as "Hell," referred in ancient times to the valley
(^e) belonging to the Hinnom family. Located on the southern outskirts
of Jerusalem, it was considered defiled because children of pre-Israelite
Jerusalem residents had been sacrificed there to the god Molech.202 The
ravine became a trash dump where unburied corpses were inciner-
ated.203 Fire was continuous there, accounting for the rapid decomposi-
tion, and worms were ever feasting on the organic wastes.
Recognizing that a fierce fire would soon destroy a physical body,
the Quran claims that the damned will be supplied new flesh: "Those
who deny Our revelations, We will roast in afire.As often as their skins
are consumed We will give them fresh skins, so that they may taste the
torment."204 The Quran rejects the opinion that wicked individuals will
be burned for only a few days205 and asserts that the doomed will suffer
in Hell "as long as heaven and earth endure."206
Compared to Muhammad's message, Jesus' teachings have little to
do with assurances of a celestial abode for the righteous dead and Hell
for the wicked. In the Gospels' only use of "Paradise," the dying Jesus
says to the repentant thief on a cross next to him, "I promise you that
today you will be with me in Paradise."207 He may have been speaking
about a spiritual condition in which God and humans are one rather
than a physical place in the cosmos. Judging from this saying of Jesus, he
did not believe in an intermediate state, or purgatory, before the final
state.
Jesus' gospel is primarily oriented toward the present world. That
note was sounded at the beginning of his ministry: "Jesus came to
Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God and saying, The time is
fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the
good news.' " 208 The Gospel of Matthew, which replaced Mark's phrase
"kingdom of God" with "Kingdom of Heaven," misleads some modern
readers into thinking that Jesus frequently focused on the hereafter.
"Heaven" is a circumlocution in a Gospel addressed principally to Jews
who might be offended by the uttering of the divine name. Jesus was
interested in teaching about God's reign on earth, not about some
territory in the sky.
 SANCTIONS 187

Jesus' outlook on eschatology is rooted in the Hebrew view that

eternal life is natural to God alone. In contrast, death is the natural final
end for mice and men. According to the story of the Garden of Eden,
humans lose spiritual life forever when they separate themselves from
God. Because of self-determinism, there is nothing in their future but
dusty death. 2 0 9 God shares the realm of deathless life with those who
desire godly virtues. Thus, each human has the option of "passing on" or
passing out of existence. Those who devote themselves to spiritual
growth during their physical lives will be given the opportunity for
further development after physical death. Life after death is seen as a
continuation of the spiritual life that one can begin to enjoy during one's
mortal life. For Jesus, as for Muhammad, eternal life depends on just one
earthly life,- neither suggested the possibility of reincarnation cycles.
Jesus did not adopt the Greek view that the soul {psyche) is inher-
ently immortal. He believed that the ultimate result of rejecting the
divine gift of eternal life is the destruction of the self's immortale
potentiality, which concludes at death. 210 Jesus used several images to
picture the extinction option for the ungodly. 211
Jesus continually taught his disciples that God should be thought
of as a caring parent, so any notion of his dispensing cruel and vindictive
punishments must be rejected. Jesus presented this lesser-to-greater
logic:

Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread,
will give a stone? Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a
snake? If you then, bad as you are, know enough to give your
children what is good for them, how much more will your
heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him. 212

Like Muhammad, Jesus occasionally used a Hebrew term when

referring to an eschatological place of punishment. Gehinnom becomes
geenna in the Greek Synoptic Gospels. The Jews drew a metaphor for the
final liquidation of the unrighteous from the geographical gehinnom. In
the Mishnah, for example, murderers and deceitful persons "inherit
gehinnom and go down to the pit of destruction" whereas the righteous
"inherit the Garden of Eden and the world to come." 213 The Jews did not
presume that an everlasting Paradise for the good must be balanced by
an everlasting torment for the bad. Jesus used gehinnom as a figure for
disgraceful annihilation, and once he explicitly associated it with the
complete destruction of all that makes one a human being. 214 It is
188 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

unlikely that Jesus intended to describe a literal spot on earth, beneath

the earth, or separate from the earth, where the damned are perpetually
burned. Paul's letters, in which he never mentions gehinnom, assists in
explaining Jesus' ideas on divine retribution. For the apostle, Hell was
not the payoff for living an evil life. He states: "The wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life."215
In Jesus Before Christianity, Albert Nolan writes perceptively:

The imagery of fire and worms is derived from the rubbish

dump of Gehenna. It should be noted that according to this
imagery it is the worms that never die and the fire that is
perpetual or eternal. Everything and everybody else in Ge-
henna dies, decomposes and is destroyed. Gehenna is the
image of complete destruction, the extreme opposite of
life. 216

Jesus' most insightful teaching on life after death was given in

response to a reductio ad absurdum question pertaining to Torah interpreta-
tion. Included in the record of Jesus' last week in Jerusalem is this
episode:

Some Sadducees—who deny that there is a resurrection—

came to him and inquired: "Teacher, Moses prescribed for us
that if there are brothers, and one dies leaving a wife but no
child, the next must take the widow to have children for his
brother's sake. Now there were seven brothers,- the first took a
wife and died childless. The second took the widow, and he
too died childless,- it was the same for all seven. Finally the
woman died. At the resurrection, when the dead rise to life,
whose wife will she be?" 217

The priestly party of Sadducees raised this question because they

were enraged by Jesus' denunciation of temple commercialization,
which was their source of wealth. Rather than seeking information, they
wanted to trap him into advocating publicly an absurd idea. To ridicule
the notion that corpses revive and carry on what formerly had been their
customary life, the Sadducees modified an old Jewish tale of a woman
with sequential husbands. 218
The Sadducees recognized that Moses had sanctioned polygyny
but not polyandry. A husband could have multiple spouses concurrently,
 SANCTIONS 189

and the remarriage of a childless widow to her deceased husband's

brother was required. 219 Being strict constructionists with respect to the
Torah, the Sadducees found in it no basis for an afterlife doctrine.
According to Josephus, they believed that "the soul perishes with the
body and they disregarded the observation of anything except what the
Law enjoins." 220
Jesus' interlocutors presumed that anyone accepting a resurrection
doctrine must think in a literalistic way. The term that is translated
"resurrection" in this passage, as well as elsewhere in the New Testament,
is a compound Greek word meaning "up" (ana) plus "stand" (stasis). Thus,
"resurrection of the dead" literally means the standing up of corpses that
had been recumbent. Belief in a reanimation of relics on the day of God's
final judgment was popular in apocalyptic Judaism. 221
Jesus' view of the afterlife differed from the prevailing views of his
time. He believed in a life-after-death doctrine that could be supported
by the nature of God as revealed in the Torah. To the Sadducees, Jesus
charged: "You know neither the scriptures nor the power of God." 222 He
twitted them by asking if they had read the "passage about the bush" 223
from a scroll they accepted as the word of God. Jesus then quoted from
the burning-bush story about God's call to shepherd Moses-. "I am . . .
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." 224
Regarding that verse, Jesus commented: "God is not God of the
dead but of the living; you are quite wrong." 225 Jesus claimed that God,
being faithful and powerful, does not permit the covenant He has
established to be severed by the physical death of "those who are judged
worthy." 226 Hence the present tense—"I am"—is used to prove that the
Hebrew patriarchs, who had physically died centuries before the time of
Moses, continue to have a personal relationship with God. To be dead to
humans does not necessarily mean to be dead to God, and to be alive to
humans does not necessarily mean to be alive to God. By stressing the
undying presence of God, Jesus followed the verbal emphasis of an
Exodus writer. After inquiring about God's name, Moses received this
disclosure: "Say to the Israelites, 'I AM has sent me . . . the God of
Abraham. . . .' " 2 2 7 Jesus chided the priestly party for lacking a contex-
tual understanding of their scriptures. The Sadducees did not compre-
hend the way in which the character of the eternal God they professed
implied a doctrine of human-life continuance.
Contrary to the outlook of some Jews who had been influenced by
Egyptian and Zoroastrian notions of resurrection, Jesus believed that the
postmortem existence is not a revival and extension of physical life.
190 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

Jesus affirmed: "Those who are judged worthy of a place in the other
realm and in the resurrection from the dead take neither husband or
wife." 228 One purpose of marriage is removed because "they can no
longer die." 229 Reproduction is needed only in a mortal society that must
replace the perpetually dying in order to avert biological extinction.
Of course, partners enjoy sharing in one another's company quite
apart from procreation. Jesus suggested that personal interaction in the
afterlife would have a quality similar to that of divine messengers. 230
Angels communicate as spirits in ways that mortals find difficult to
imagine. The intense communion now widely experienced in marriage
could be a distant simulation of the relationships in the transformed
heavenly community.
Jesus envisaged an ultimate family in which biological and marital
ties are transcended. Although "loved ones" are often defined as spouse,
children, parents, siblings, and other kin, Jesus did not think of eternal-
life companions here or hereafter as primarily one's relatives. 231 He
valued those who serve God faithfully more than those bonded by
marital covenant or by blood relationship. 232
Temporal as well as spatial considerations are irrelevant in the
eternal community. Even as the Hebrew patriarchs are alive to God
while long dead to earthlings, so Abraham and his children are in living
fellowship with other mortals who lived in a different age. To convey
this idea, Jesus told a parable that pictured a recently deceased beggar
leaning on the "bosom" of Abraham. In this fictitious story, intended to
express nonliteral truth, Jesus also showed that class differences do not
ultimately matter because poor Lazarus and wealthy Abraham share the
same status. 233 Elsewhere, Jesus taught that at the end of time "many will
come from east and west and feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." 234
Individuals who once were spread across centuries, continents, and
classes are together in a timeless, egalitarian community. Fidelity to the
will of the divine Host is the glue binding them together.
 CHAPTER NINE

ENLARGEMENTS

Of Muhammad
D u r i n g the last years of his life, Muhammad was treated in an awesome
manner that distinguished him from others in his community. The
Quran establishes this protocol:

Believers, do not raise your voices above that of the Prophet,

nor speak loudly to him as you would to one another, lest all
your works miscarry without your perceiving it. Those who
speak softly in the presence of God's Apostle are those whose
hearts have passed God's test for reverence. Forgiveness and
an immense reward await them. 1

Several Quranic verses commanded Muhammad to say to his peo-

ple: "If you love God, follow me ; then God will love you and forgive
your sins",-2 "He that obeys the Apostle obeys God",-3 and "In the Apostle
of God you have a noble pattern of conduct." 4 By equating devotion to
God with allegiance to Muhammad, he became the ultimate human
authority before his death.
Since Muhammad had been exalted far above his companions even
during his lifetime, it is understandable that the reverential trend would
continue afterward. Popular Muslim tradition transformed Muhammad
into the prototype of all human perfection. Josef van Ess describes the

191
192 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

eclipsing of the historical Muhammad "That the Prophet had been a

mere human being was not, in the end, enough. That he had been a
pagan himself for forty years was completely hushed up; that he was
capable of sinning was no longer believed."5
Muhammad was presumed to be the exemplar par excellence of
how one ought to live. He transposed abstract principle into concrete
personality. Accordingly, devout Muslims began to revere anything that
had come into contact with him. When Muhammad returned to Mecca
as a hero, companions treated him in this way: "Whenever he performed
his ablutions they ran to get the water he had used,- if he spat they ran to
it/ if a hair of his head fell they ran to pick it up."6 Annemarie Schimmel
has researched the role of Muhammad in the lives of devoted Muslims.
She notes:

Veneration of the Prophet and the interest in even the small-

est details of his behavior and his personal life grew in the
same measure as the Muslims were distanced from him in
time. They wanted to know ever more about his personality,
his looks, and his words in order to be sure that they were
following him correctly. The popular preachers enjoyed de-
picting the figure of the Prophet in wonderful colors, adding
even the most insignificant details.7

Maxime Rodinson provides the following information on Muham-

mad, the saint:

A multitude of relics of him are preserved everywhere: hairs,

teeth, sandals, his cloak, his prayer rug, a sword hilt, an arrow
used by him. Constantinople, when it had become the capital
of the Muslim world, boasted of the number of these relics to
be found there. Two hairs from his beard were kept there in
forty bags sewn one inside the other, and were solemnly
shown to worshipers once a year.8

Al-Ghazali, the most outstanding theologian in the history of

Islam, not only championed Muhammad's religious principles but also
imitated meticulously even his grooming habits. Al-Ghazali wrote in the
eleventh century:
 ENLARGEMENTS 193

He (God) said: "What the Apostle has brought you, receive,-

and what he has forbidden you, refrain from" (Q59:7). So you
must sit while putting on trousers and stand while putting on a
turban. . . . When cutting your nails . . . you must begin with
the little toe of the right foot and finish with the little toe of
the left.9

Veneration for Muhammad in popular Islam is difficult to separate

from worship. The widely translated poem by Al-Busiri, a thirteenth-
century Berber, suggests that Muhammad is more worthy of adoration
than Jesus:

Muhammad, Lord oj the two worlds. . . surpassed the (other) prophets in

physical and moral Qualities,
Nor did they approach him in either knowledge or magnanimity. . . .
In him the essence oj goodness is undivided.
Leave aside what the Christians claim for their prophet.10

In the twentieth century, there has been no diminishing of adora-

tion of Muhammad. His name continues to be the most common male
name in Muslim culture. This tribute by Kamal al-Din is often reprinted:

History fails to point out any personality other than him

where we find the assemblage of all the virtues that consti-
tuted an evolved humanity. His simplicity, his humanity, his
generosity, his frugality, his broadmindedness, his forbear-
ance, his earnestness of purpose, his steadfastness, his firmness
in adversity, his meekness in power, his humility in greatness,
his anxious care for animals, his passionate love for children,
his bravery and courage, his magnanimity, his unbending
sense of justice. Volumes are needed to do justice to this
Superman.11

Commenting on contemporary conduct, Karen Armstrong writes:

"Just as Christians have developed the practice of the imitation of
Christ, Muslims seek to imitate Muhammad in their daily lives in order
to approximate as closely as possible to this perfection and so to come as
close as they can to God Himself."12 Armstrong notes that this results in
Muslims throughout the world sharing a particular lifestyle: "The way
194 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

they pray or wash, their table manners or personal hygiene follow a

common, distinctive pattern."13
Some also see Muhammad as the precursor of modern discoveries
about nature. Qassim Jairazbhoy argues that all science originated in
Muhammad's teachings.14 Robert Gulick claims that Muhammad's
knowledge was so advanced that "it took scientists a thousand years to
learn the truth of that which the Prophet had revealed."15 In his transla-
tion of the Quran, Ahmed Ali attempts to show that Muhammad re-
vealed what is now recognized as a sophisticated understanding of
genetics and geophysics.16
Growing up as an African during the past generation, Lamin San-
neh testifies that he offered intercessory prayer to Muhammad, fre-
quently addressing him as "the Lord of Mankind."17 Sanneh adds:
"Everywhere in the Muslim world the name of God and that of the
Prophet stand at the pinnacle of devotion and obligation. . . . Early
Muslims were first identified as the ummatu Muhammadiyah, "the Muham-
madan community."18 When Hamilton Gibb, the widely respected Is-
lamic scholar, entitled a text Mohammedanism,19 he was following a
development that is rooted in Muslim tradition.
Rafiq Zakaria, a prominent Muslim living in Bombay, discusses the
anger in Islamic nations over Salman Rushdies disrespectful characteriz-
ations of Muhammad in The Satanic Verses. Observing that some of his
fellow religionists hold Muhammad "dearer than God,"20 Zakaria agrees
with this assessment of Wilfred Smith: "Muslims will allow attacks on
Allah/ there are atheists and atheistic publications, and rationalist soci-
eties,- but to disparage Muhammad will provoke . . . a fanaticism of
blazing vehemence."21
Ninian Smart, an outstanding comparative religions scholar, ob-
serves.- "Although Islam regards attempts to deify the deadliest sin, in
practice he (Muhammad) is the supreme ethical idea and more closely
followed than Christ, partly because of the accumulation of biographi-
cal stories about him."22 By 1981, some 2,713 biographies of Muham-
mad existed.23 Many of the alleged life stories are not based on the
earliest records. As Rodinson observes: "Over the centuries, thousands
of ideas have been consecrated by being attributed to the Prophet:
although actually inspired by the spirit of the times and by the widest
cultural influences, they have nevertheless been blanketed with his
authority."24
Rodinson describes the way in which honor was given to the house
where Muhammad was allegedly born:
 ENLARGEMENTS 195

His birthplace in Mecca was turned into a mosque and was

especially honored. In 1184 the Spanish pilgrim Ibn Jubayr
came to marvel at the green marble slab ringed with silver,
which marked the exact spot. 'We rubbed our cheeks," he
wrote, "on that holy place where the most illustrious of new-
born babies dropped to the ground and which was touched by
the purest and noblest of all infants."25

The scene showing pilgrims at Muhammad's birthplace was proba-

bly influenced by what is enshrined in Bethlehem's Basilica of the
Nativity. A silver star on a marble slab of that fourth-century church
allegedly designates where Mary gave birth to Jesus. Even as the cele-
bration of Christmas began several centuries after the birth of Jesus,26 so
the annual commemoration of Muhammad's birthday was initiated in
the tenth century.27 A library now stands at the birthplace site in Mecca.
In many Muslim nations, a public holiday and a street celebration
has become customary for Mawlid an-Nabi (the Birthday of the Prophet).
Al-Busiri's laudatory poem (quoted above) is frequently recited at that
time.28 Rodinson provides these details-.

It was fixed arbitrarily for a Monday, the twelfth of the month

of Rabi I. . . . The festival differs in detail from one place to
another, but in most places there are torchlight processions,
free meals for the poor,- sweets are distributed to all. . . .
Children are dressed up in new clothes and people exchange
visits, let off fireworks, drench themselves in scent and show
themselves off on richly caparisoned horses. . . . Speakers
demonstrate how the world was plunged in darkness and
ignorance before the coming of Muhammad, and how he
brought the light of truth to shine in the hearts of men.29

Muhammad would have been embarrassed by the claims of some

followers that he possessed supernatural powers. He distanced himself
from the miracle workers of the past, even though the Quran relates—
and expands on—the marvelous deeds of some biblical figures from
Abraham to Jesus. For example, Moses engaged in magic to impress the
Egyptians and as proof of his office. And like the Bible, the Quran states
that Moses' staff became a snake when he threw it down.30 Although
according to the Bible Solomon did not perform any miracles, the
Quranic Solomon had a jinn army to instantaneously convey the Queen
196 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

of Sheba's throne to Jerusalem. When a pool of water was transformed

into an area of grass, she was converted to Solomons religion. 31
In spite of the historical Muhammad's candid acknowledgment that
he was no wizard, his own community soon attributed supernatural
marvels to him. Pious Muslims were not content with a wholly human
prophet, and within a century after Muhammad's death, fantastic stories
were accepted as part of the orthodox doctrine. Ali Dashti, who studied
to be a Muslim leader in Iran, explains what many Muslims have done to
Muhammad: "They have continually striven to turn this man into an
imaginary superhuman being, a sort of God in human clothes. . . . As the
years advanced, myth-making and miracle-mongering became more and
more widespread and extravagant." 32
The following statement from the Quran inspired one supernatural
tale: "The hour of doom is near, for the moon is split. Yet, when
unbelievers see a portent they turn away, calling it sorcery."33 Some have
imagined that when Muhammad made that pronouncement at Mecca,
the moon circled about the Ka'ba in two parts. 34 In another version of
this story, one part of the moon remained over the top of a mountain
while the other part went beyond the mountain. 35
Ishaq's biography describes a tree that responded to Muham-
mad's command to come to him and then return to where it had been
planted. 36 According to Tabari's biography, Muhammad proved his
prophethood by summoning to himself a cluster of dates from its
hanging place. With just a magical snap of his fingers, the cluster came
to him and reattached itself to the tree at his command. 37 When
Muhammad's camel wandered off, its return resulted from his clairvoy-
ance.- "God has shown me. It is in such-and-such a glen caught by its
rope to a tree." 38 And when diggers on a battleground were having
difficulty removing a large rock, Muhammad spit on it to cause it to
pulverize. He provided an abundant lunch for his troops by taking a few
dates in his hand, which then multiplied. 39 One legend is reminiscent of
stories about Moses who produced water in the desert by striking rocks
with his rod. 40 During Muhammad's last campaign, he rubbed a rock and
prayed, after which water burst forth for his famished troops. 41 Al-
Bukhari tells of Muhammad praying for rain during a drought. Suddenly
it rained for a week, causing houses to collapse. The prophet then
pleaded: "O God! Round about us and not on us." 42 So the sky became
clear at Medina but there was rain beyond his city. 43
Ironically, a miracle challenge that Muhammad rejected may have
been the origin of the most fascinating of all stories in the Muslim
 ENLARGEMENTS 197

tradition. At Mecca he told the Hebrew story of Jacob who dreamed of a

ladder reaching to heaven on which angels were descending and as-
cending. 44 Some Meccans then wanted Muhammad to produce what
Jacob had envisioned. 45 One challenger asserted: "1 will never believe in
you until you get a ladder to the sky and . . . four angels shall come with
you, testifying that you are speaking the truth." 46 Ishaq writes: "The
Apostle went to his family, sad and grieving . . . because of their es-
trangement from him." 47
That disappointing experience may have triggered in Muhammad
a dream of heavenly vistas and of persons who gave him encouragement.
Ishaq records that Muhammad, while asleep near the Ka'ba, had "a true
vision from God" in which his spirit soared while "his body remained
where it was." 48 To transport him on a night flight, Gabriel brought a
winged steed named Buraq, who was between a horse and donkey in
size. Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets assembled in Jerusalem
where Muhammad alighted, and he led them in prayer. 49 Starting at the
rock at the summit of Mount Moriah, where Solomon built the temple,
Gabriel took Muhammad up a grand ladder to multiple levels of outer
space. The vision follows the ancient cosmology of seven spheres
through which the soul ascends toward God. 5 0
In the lowest sphere, Muhammad joined Adam to view the horrors
of Hell. He beheld various tortures:

I saw men with lips like camels,- in their hands were pieces of
fire, like stones which they used to thrust into their
mouths. . . . I was told that these were those who sinfully
devoured the wealth of orphans. . . . Then I saw women hang-
ing by their breasts. These were those who had fathered
bastards on their husbands. 51

Muhammad also saw people who had scorned Muslims being

forced to eat the flesh of the damned. Wantons who tempted strangers
by exposing their hair are hanging by it. Women who were not docile
toward their husbands are being bitten by snakes. Poison is being
poured into the mouths of former winebibbers. Misers who failed to pay
their religious tithes have millstones hanging on their necks.
In Muhammad's space odyssey, highlights of other heavens in-
cluded encountering Jesus and his cousin John in the second; Joseph,
Enoch, Aaron, Moses, and Abraham were, in sequence, in the third,
fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh heavens. When Muhammad reached the
198 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

ultimate heaven, Paradise, Gabriel showed the prophet "a river whiter
than milk and sweeter than honey, with pearly domes on either side of
it."52 Abraham offered Muhammad either milk or wine and praised him
for being on the right path when he chose the nonalcoholic drink.53
The patriarch then escorted the Meccan to a damsel with dark-red lips
who belonged to his son Zaid. Details of a vision of God's throne are not
given.
On returning home at the end of the night, Muhammad reported:
"I have never seen a man more like myself than Abraham. Moses was a
ruddy-faced man, tall, thinly fleshed, curly haired with a hooked
nose. . . . Jesus, son of Mary, was a reddish man of medium height with
lank hair with many freckles on his face."54
Muhammad's out-of-body mystical experience has been associated
with the Quranic revelations about God, "who brought His servant by
night from the holy mosque to the distant mosque,"55 and about seven
heavenly spheres surmounted by God's great throne.56 Muslim ortho-
doxy has generally transposed the prophets flight of the imagination
into a physical journey, and details of his alleged experiences have
developed.
Sixty-one exquisite pictures of Muhammad's overnight ride were
produced in fifteenth-century Persia.57 Buraq has the body of a mule, the
face of a woman, and the hooves and tail of a camel. In the third heaven
he meets David and Solomon,- in the fifth heaven, he finds Ishmael and
Isaac in a golden chamber,- and in the sixth heaven, he sees Moses, who
is weeping because there are more Muslims than Jews in heaven.
As in Judeo-Christian apocalyptic literature, the number seven
symbolizes the ultimate level. In the seventh heaven, Muhammad sees
beautiful girls in flowering gardens. That sight is soon eclipsed by the
glory of God's throne, which is too brilliant for morals to behold. After
Muhammad came close to the throne and prostrated himself, God
placed his hand upon the prophets shoulder and said:

I take you as a friend. . . . I am appointing the earth for you. . . .

I am giving your community the right to booty which I have
given as provision to no previous community. I shall aid you
with such terrors as will make your enemies flee before you
while you are still a month's journey away. . . . I shall exalt your
name for you, even to the extent of conjoining it with My
name, so that none of the regulations of My religion will ever
be mentioned without you being mentioned along with Me. 58
 ENLARGEMENTS 199

The materialization of Muhammad's internal conceptualizing in

Muslim tradition parallels what has happened to an experience Jesus'
disciples had on a mountain in Lebanon. The Gospels tell of Jesus and
his disciples separating from the crowds at the Galilean lakeside and
heading for the hills of northern Palestine to relax. While there it seems
that one of his disciples, when "heavy with sleep," 59 had a dream about
Moses and Elijah talking with a transformed Jesus. Although Jesus called
this a "vision",60 Christian tradition has generally assumed that Moses
and Elijah came in a supernatural way from where they were residing in
Paradise and were literally present to confer with Jesus at a summit
conference. 61
Some of Muhammad's alleged miracles were probably generated to
combat criticism from Christians. Thomas Aquinas, for example, dis-
credits Muhammad because the Quran admits that he could not perform
miracles. According to Aquinas, a premier Christian theologian:
"Muhammad did not bring forth any signs produced in a supernatural
way, which alone fittingly gives witness to divine inspiration." 62 In order
to compete in an era when supernaturalism was rampant, Muslims
fabricated miracles. Mohamed al-Nowaihi, a Muslim professor from
Cairo, discusses this development in an address he gave at Harvard on
an occasion of Mawlid an-Nabi. He regards the attempts to associate
miracles with Muhammad's birth as denigrating to one who rejected
such. He likens them to weeds that have overgrown a valuable original
planting. Credulous Muslims love fantastic tales, some of which emulate
those of Christians. Among them, Al-Nowaihi notes, are stories of
Muhammad being created before any other human and of stars coming
near to earth at his birth. "They distract. . . from the true character and
merit of Muhammad," Al-Nowaihi concludes. 63
A story of Muhammad's mother is also similar to a birth story of
Jesus. Amina finds Abdullah, her husband, repulsive because he is dirty
from working with mud. When he returns after bathing to have sex,
another wife of Abdullah notices a white blaze between his eyes. This
brightness is transferred to what Amina conceives, resulting in this
comment: "As she was pregnant with him, she saw a light come forth
from her by which she could see the castles of Busra in Syria."64 The
light image is given more ultimacy in Muslim mysticism because God
creates Muhammad from a handful of light before the creation of the
world. 65 The motif of Muhammad's birth story is somewhat parallel to
Luke's nativity narrative. Gabriel informs Mary that the child she has
conceived will be exceptionally holy. 66 The story concludes with a
200 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

devout man recognizing in baby Jesus the fulfillment of Isaiah s proph-

ecy, when a glorious "light to the nations" would come. 6 7 The creche,
depicting mother and son surrounded with a radiating halo, has been
featured in Christmas traditions to express this holiness.
The source of one miracle story is this Quranic imagery regarding
Muhammad: "Did We not cause your breast to open and relieve you of
the burden that weighted you down." 68 From that verse, the following
tale is spun about angels performing open-heart surgery. Boy Muham-
mad tells a companion:

Two men in white raiment came to me with a gold basin full of

snow. They seized me and opened up my belly, extracted my
heart and split it; then they extracted a black drop from it and
threw it away,- then they washed my heart and my belly with
that snow until they had thoroughly cleaned them. 6 9

That operation was presumed to have made this testimony possible:

He grew up to be the finest of his people in manliness, the best

in character, most noble in lineage, the best neighbor, the
most kind, truthful, reliable, the furthest removed from filthi-
ness and corrupt morals, through loftiness and nobility, so
that he was known among his people as "the trustworthy"
because of the good qualities which God had implanted in
him. 70

The favorite lore from Muhammad's childhood tells of a holy man

from outside Arabia who was aware of the boy's future eminence. Bahira,
a Christian monk, invited Meccan caravanners to a meal while they were
in Syria. Muhammad was left to care for the camels, but the monk
insisted that the camel driver be brought in for examination. Bahira had
received a sign pertaining to a coming great prophet, and he found on
Muhammad's back, between his shoulders, a confirming supernatural
mark. 71
Islamic tradition has often attempted to hide Muhammad's feet of
clay. Even though the Quran treats him as no more divine than Moses,
devout Muslims often preferred to think of him as unfettered by human
limitations. When those miraculous trappings are discarded, the true
personality of Muhammad is seen more clearly.
 ENLARGEMENTS 201

Of Jesus

In the teachings of the Galilean apostles, Jesus was primarily presented

in the manner in which he understood himself: as God's suffering
servant. 72 Questioning the popular view that the Messiah was David's
descendant, Jesus suggested that he was not the heir of that prominent
king. 73 Regarding Jesus' self-understanding, Thomas Sheehan expresses
the consensus of contemporary Catholic and Protestant scholarship: "As
far as can be discerned from the available historical data, Jesus of
Nazareth did not think he was divine." 74
Within several decades of Jesus' death, Christians made efforts to
raise the Galilean peasant to a higher status. This attempt at elevation
can be detected in the Gospels, in which Jesus' nativity legends display a
desire to identify him with Jewish royalty. Luke declared that Mary's son
"will reign over the house of Jacob forever."75 In Matthew's lore, foreign
astrologers {magi) come to Judea, asking "Where is the child who has
been born king of the Jews?"76 It is unlikely that Jesus shared the
birthplace of Israel's greatest king, even though two Gospels claim that
he was born in Bethlehem, the town of David's origin. 77
Both the earliest Gospel, Mark, and the latest Gospel, John, assume
that Nazareth was the place of Jesus' origin. Both refer to it as Jesus'
native place or fatherland (patris).78 That small town had no importance,-
it is not even mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Josephus does not refer to
Nazareth even though his historical writings tell of numerous Galilean
towns in Jesus' day. John suggests that Jesus originated as a Galilean
rather than as a Judean,- Nathanael asks, "Can anything good come out
of Nazareth?" 79 Responding to that question, Philip does not reply that
Jesus was from a famed town in Judea. Also, some critics asked the
following about Jesus: "Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee,
does he? Has not the scripture said that the Messiah is descended from
David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?"80 No
attempt is made to inform the questioners that Jesus indeed was born in
Bethlehem, probably because that was not John's understanding.
Bethlehem was a more prestigious place to be born: not only was it
associated with the most noted of the earlier anointed rulers and with his
ancestress Ruth, but Micah had prophesied that a future Messiah will
originate in the birthplace of David. 81 For political and theological
202 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

reasons, Luke wished to contrast the reigning Caesar, known as lord and
savior to his subjects, with Jesus, the true lord and savior.82 In his gospel,
Luke refers to a regional census, ordered by Augustus and administered
by Roman Governor Quirinus, which has been dated about 6 CE. The
custom was to register people where they lived, not in their ancestoral
homes,- the purpose of the enrollment was not to satisfy genealogical
curiosity but to form a tax roll.
The earliest Christian writings contain no happenings that can
only be explained by divine causation interrupting the regular operation
of nature, whether physical or psychical. The letters of the apostle Paul,
which were written about a decade before the earliest Gospel, do not
suggest that God interferes with the natural order. In his letters, Paul
disappointedly writes that "Jews demand signs",-83 that is, they crave
supernatural happenings. Fascinated by the legends of magical acts by
Moses, Elijah, and Elisha, they hoped that a new prophet would perform
likewise. 84 The Jewish authorities of Jesus' day associated religious proof
with the occurrence of something known to be impossible, such as a
man escaping from crucifixion by tearing out the binding nails and
subduing the armed executioners surrounding him. 85 For Paul, however,
the wonder-working of God is not displayed in erratic marvels but in
Jesus' suffering humanity. 86
Soon after the beginning of Christianity, embellishments of the
biography of Jesus the adult grew rapidly. By Jewish reckoning, Elisha
performed sixteen miracles, including curing a leper, opening blind
eyes, restoring the dead to life, and multiplying a small amount of food
to feed a multitude. Accordingly, as portrayed by Mark, Jesus also
performs sixteen miracles, some of which are quite similar. When Mat-
thew expanded on Mark's earlier Gospel, he heightened the super-
naturalism in some episodes. 87 In Mark, for example, Jairus tells Jesus
that his daughter is dying and requests that she be healed. But in
Matthew, Jairus states that she has died and requests that she be resur-
rected. 88 Again, Elijah is alleged to have miraculously supplied food for
a woman and revived her dead son. Luke's Jesus, as a greater Elijah,
produces a meal for thousands from five loaves and two fish, and raises
two youth from the dead, one of whom was a widow's son. 89
Such enhancements of Jesus' powers in the New Testament Gos-
pels are mild in comparison to the fantastic stories from the second and
later centuries that are found in the New Testament Apocrypha. In
contrast to the Gospel account of Jesus' boyhood, which contains
nothing supernatural, the Apocrypha includes fabrications that com-
 ENLARGEMENTS 203

pletely misrepresent both Jesus' outlook and actions. For example, when
irritated by a boy who brushed against him, a revengeful Jesus said
words that caused the boy to drop dead. In another instance, Jesus
assisted in Joseph's carpentry shop by creating out of nothing additional
length for boards that were too short. 90
In medieval folklore, Jesus had powers now associated with Super-
man. Even as a child, he assisted his family in their journey across the
Sinai desert. While they traveled, Joseph said to him, "Lord, we are
being roasted by this heat.". . . Jesus replied, "Fear not, Joseph, I will
shorten your journey, so that what you were going to traverse in the
space of thirty days, you will finish in one day."91 While this was being
said, behold, they began to see the mountains and cities of Egypt. 92
Milo Connick's observation about ancient cultures applies to both
Jesus and Muhammad: "Miracle stories clustered like grapes about the
stem of historical personages. Their aim was to inflate the personal status
of the hero. It was even considered legitimate to manufacture miraculous
tales for this purpose." 93 In prescientific cultures, people have generally
believed that the more contrary an event is to the perceived natural
pattern, the more it indicates the presence of divine power.
Even before the New Testament era ended, a tendency arose in
gentile Christianity to minimize the human nature of Jesus. Some
thought that he only appeared to have the qualities of full humanity.
Thus, rather than developing through a human childhood, Jesus was
presumed to be omniscient from infancy onward. He must have only
pretended to suffer because a divine being must be above such passion.
Basilides, a Gnostic teacher who lived in Alexandria during the second
century, was convinced that Jesus did not get involved in the material
realm. Since matter is evil, the good Jesus could not have had a real
physical body. Basilides changed Jesus' last earthly narrative in this way-.
"Simon of Cyrene was constrained to bear Jesus' cross for him. It was
Simon who was crucified. . . . People thought he was Jesus, while Jesus
took on the appearance of Simon and stood by and mocked them." 94
Only the first sentence of this quotation conforms to the Gospel
record. 95
Basilides was judged to be a heretic of the docetic variety. "Doce-
tic," from the Greek verb dokein "to seem," means that Basilides thought
of Jesus as seeming to be human while in reality he was purely divine.
The majority position crystallizing in the Church maintained that a
fully human Jesus confronted temptations and "suffered under Pontius
Pilate." 96 Even so, doceticism was more easily condemned by the
204 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

orthodox than eliminated. The mainstream of Christian tradition has

been frequently sidetracked by doceticism from Basilides's time onward.
In the third century, Mani endorsed the docetic heresy that Jesus had a
phantom body that could not be crucified.97
Many in the Eastern Church did not accept the Christological
definition of the fifth-century Council of Chalcedon that Jesus was
paradoxically both fully human and fully divine. They were called
monophysites because of their contention that Jesus had only one
nature, which was entirely divine. Believing that his body was made of a
substance different than that of other human bodies, the monophysites
continued the heterodoxy of the docetics. The monophysites disre-
garded the Gospels' accounts of Jesus experiencing hunger, thirst, weari-
ness, and weeping. In the century before the rise of Islam, the
monophysites had considerable influence from Ethiopia to Syria.98 The
sixth-century bishops of Arabia were monophysites.99 Thus, Jesus' hu-
man personality was belittled by most of the Christians to whom
Muhammad was exposed.
The Quran, in spite of its determination to deny that Jesus was a
deity, accepts some of the tales that were invented to prove the oppo-
site. The stories of baby Jesus performing miracles, as well as the denial
of Jesus' crucifixion, were perverse ideas transmitted by Christians with a
docetic orientation. Their view is apparent in this Quranic statement
about Jesus: "They (the Jews) did not kill him or crucify him, but it
appeared so to them."100
A deputation of monophysite Christians came to Medina from
Najran in southern Arabia to discuss the status of Jesus with Muhammad
Biographer Ishaq writes:

They argued that he is God because he used to raise the dead,

and heal the sick, and declare the unseen,- and make clay birds
and then breathe into them so that they flew away. . . . They
argued that he is the Son of God in that they say he had no
known father,- and he spoke in the cradle.101

Muhammad had no difficulty accepting the amazing miracles that

the Najran Christians believed Jesus performed. This conformed to the
revelation Muhammad received regarding Jesus. God had declared: "He
shall be a sign to humanity and a token of Our mercy."102 Muhammad
also accepted that Moses performed miracles, but agreed with Jews and
 ENLARGEMENTS 205

Christians that Moses was not God. Muhammad disagreed with the
Najran Christians about their "Jesus is God" conclusion.
What happened in the course of early Christianity that caused the
shift from the assumption that Jesus is subservient to God to equating
Jesus with God? A full answer to this question requires an extensive exam-
ination of the development of Christian doctrine during several centuries.
In the earliest Gospel, Jesus affirms the Shema, which was and continues
to be the basic creed of the synagogue.103 The Shema expresses devotion
to a single deity, "the Lord," even more strongly than the Ten Command-
ments do. The First Commandment, "You shall have no other gods before
me,"104 is actually a statement of henotheism, the worship of one god
without denying the existence of other gods. During the early history of
Christianity, the simple monotheism of Jesus acquired much complexity,
and multiple gods emerged in some heretical developments.105
The ambiguity of the word "lord" in ancient languages (adon in
Hebrew, Kurios in Greek), which continues in modern languages, has
caused problems in understanding the role of Jesus. The term has both a
secular and a religious significance. Kurios could designate the owner of a
vineyard106 or of a house107, as in the English expression "landlord."
Kurios was also a term of polite address, as when a son responds to his
father, "I go, sir."i0S Adon also had the same commonplace meanings in
the Hebrew culture.109 Complications began when that term was substi-
tuted ioryhwh in the reading of the Hebrew scriptures. As a protection
against violating the Mosaic commandment that prohibits the use of
Yahweh in an irreverent manner, Jewish scribes before the time of Jesus
hallowed that covenantal name by reading Adonai ("my Lord") wherever
Yahweh occurred.
Jesus is represented in the Gospels as discussing the meanings of
"lord" in interpreting a line from the Psalms, then commonly assumed to
have been written by David.110 Consider the puzzling verse: "The Lord
(God) said to my lord, 'Sit at my right hand.' " n i Who is "my lord," who
functions as Gods right-hand man? The early Christians identified the
"lord" with Jesus and considered him to be the primary human agent
through whom the will of God is accomplished on earth. Presumably,
Jesus expressed that meaning of "lord" when he asked his disciples to
borrow a donkey so the kurios could demonstrate the nonviolent nature
of his kingdom.112 When the earliest Christians confessed "Jesus is
Lord," they meant that he, not some other ruler, was the one who had
control over their lives.
206 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

The non-physical nature of God was assumed in both the Hebrew

Bible and the New Testament. A Hebrew prophet succinctly separates
God from humans in this oracle-. "I am God and no mortal." 113 Conse-
quently, the theological use of "Son" or "Father" was metaphorical. An
Israelite scribe represented God as declaring with regard to a Jewish
king: "I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. When he
commits iniquity, I will punish him."114 A psalmist, praising the messi-
anic covenant, has God say to a Jewish king: "You are my son,- today I
have fathered you."115 Another psalmist has a king exclaim: "You are my
Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation!"116 Although God is
literally neither a father or a rock, deity has benevolence like a caring
parent, and permanence like a hard rock.
Regarding the messianic hope in Judaism at the time of Jesus, Hans
Kung comments:

A successor of David was expected, who as "Son" of God

would ascend the ancestral throne and establish the Davidic
rule over Israel forever. This title is now applied to Jesus. . . .
Originally therefore the title of "Son of God" had nothing to do
with Jesus' origin hut with his legal and authoritative status. It is a
question of function, not of nature. Originally the title did not
mean a corporeal sonship. . . . "Son of God" therefore did not
designate Jesus any more than the king of Israel as a superhu-
man, divine being, but as the appointed ruler.117

Jesus' self-designations included "son of man"118 and "servant",119

but probably not "Son of God." At his trial in Jerusalem, he was asked if
he was the "Son of God," but the Gospels are unclear as to whether he
accepted that designation. 120 In any case, "Son of God" is symbolic
language similar to "sons of light," an expression Jesus used in his
teaching. 121
Orthodox Christians do not think of themselves as idolaters when
they speak of Jesus as God's Son, even though outsiders may view this as
polytheism. It is a means of expressing that one human has become
uniquely close to God and that all have the potentiality of becoming
adopted children of God. 122 Similarly, Islam does not intend to be
idolatrous when it exalts the Quran as infallible, even though it may
appear as bibliolatry to outsiders.
The commonplace, traditional understanding of "Trinity" may have
 ENLARGEMENTS 207

obscured rather than clarified the relation of Jesus to God. The term
"Trinity" wrongly suggests that Christians are tritheists. To avert the
erroneous idea of triple gods, a "u" should be placed in the midst of
"Trinity." Tri-unity" (from the Latin tria, threefold, plus unus, one) more
accurately preserves the oneness notion the fourth-century ecumenical
councils intended than "Trinity" does. The official formulation of Chris-
tian doctrine rejects tritheism, like the Quran does.
Muslims have often presumed that Christians worship separate
gods. One African Muslim whom I encountered jovially commented that
the main difference between his religion and mine was that he had several
wives and one God, but I had one wife and several gods! Although that
Muslim held Jesus in high regard, he was scornful of Christianity because
he believed it espoused polytheism. His outlook is similar to that of
Muhammad, who thought that Christians believe in three different de-
ities, one being the goddess Mary who was impregnated by intercourse
with the father God. 123 Muhammad may have inferred this notion from
observing the piety of some Christians. He did not realize that monothe-
ism is affirmed in the Nicene Creed, the Christian core doctrine. Its
beginning, "We believe in one God," 124 parallels the first article of the
Muslim creed, "There is no god but God," 125 and the Jewish Shema, "The
Lord is our God, the Lord alone." 126
Misrepresentations of the Christian doctrine of God by outsiders
may have arisen from the confusion of beliefs of many early Church
members, as well as from the consequent efforts of Christians to resolve
puzzling questions arising from their oral and written traditions. Was
the God of the Old Testament a different God from the God of the New
Testament? Did One have no beginning and the other have His nativity
in Palestine? Was the God of law separate from the God of grace? Were
divine beings sent from heaven to earth like relay runners, one carrying
on after another one finished? Also, if Jesus is God and if God is non-
physical Spirit, does that mean that Christ never really was flesh and
blood? There is no full discussion of these questions in the Bible, the
acknowledged source of Christian doctrine. Consequently, conflicting
answers were given to these theological questions, and Christians them-
selves were in a dilemma as to what to believe.
Beginning with Sabellius's effort in the third century, attempts have
been made to provide simple, natural analogies to assist in comprehend-
ing the Christian doctrine of God. Sabellius, a Greek Christian leader,
illustrates his theology via the sun and its rays.-
208 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one and the same being,
in the sense that three names are attached to one substance. A
close analogy may be found in . . . the sun-, it is one substance,
but it has three manifestations, light, heat, and the orb it-
self.127

Thus, there is the transcendent God who, like the solar disk, is too
brilliant to be gazed at directly,- there is Jesus who is "the Light of the
World," 128 and there is the warmth of the Holy Spirit within believers.
Comparing God to the material sun is deficient, however, because
an impersonal analogy is inadequate for pointing to a personal God.
More helpful is an analogy drawn from classical drama, in which one
actor often wore masks to play several roles. Those masks were called
per-sonas, literally, "through which the sound comes." Sabellius also con-
ceived of a succession of divine impersonations sent forth from heaven
to earth during three acts of the cosmic theater. During the Israelite act
there was God the Creator,- then during the Gospel act there was
Emmanuel, "God with us",- and after both the Holy Spirit came on stage.
Constantine, the first Christian emperor, decided that the prob-
lems over the relationship between the Creator and Jesus must be
resolved. Constantine had converted to Christianity hoping that the
religion would help to unite his Roman government, which was disin-
tegrating from civil wars. However, he found that Christians themselves
were much divided over questions of doctrine. In an effort to settle this
matter, he called together leaders from the entire Church. In the year
325, he gathered hundreds of bishops at a central city named Nicea to
debate theology and agree on a creed. It is called the First Ecumenical
Council because representatives from churches in Asia, Africa, and
Europe were there.
Two months of discussion centered on the difference made by one
iota, that is, the Greek letter "i." One group maintained that the Son and
the Father were of the "same" (homo) substance, and another group
argued that they were of a "similar" (bomoi) substance. At last, the bishops
at Nicea voted on the relationship, and the majority approved of the
former position. A second Ecumenical Council then met in Constan-
tinople to deal with the relationship of the Holy Spirit to the Father and
the Son. What all orthodox Christians call the Nicene Creed contains
an additional paragraph about the Holy Spirit that was added in 381. 129
In contrast to Sabellius, the Nicene council ruled that the three
expressions of the divine substance are simultaneous, not sequential.
 ENLARGEMENTS 209

Consider several roles that a woman can play on the stage of life. To her
parents, she is a daughter,- to her employers, she is a worker,- and to her
spouse, she is a partner. Daughter, worker, and partner are quite distinct
roles, but all three can be simultaneous expressions of her true self.
To provide a rational explanation of the settled Christian doctrine
of God, Augustine, the preeminent fifth-century bishop, uses a botanical
analogy:

The root is wood, the trunk is wood, and the branches are
wood, while nevertheless it is not three woods that are thus
spoken of, but only one. . . . (Thus) no one should think it
absurd that we should call the Father God, the Son God, the
Holy Spirit God, and that these are not three gods in the
Trinity, but one God and one substance. 130

A medieval diagram often found in cathedral windows expresses

the gist of the Nicene formulation. A central ring is featured within an
equilateral triangle. The ring affirms the single essence of God, and the
points of the triangle show the equality of three simultaneous expres-
sions of the divine substance.
There is a profound complexity in the orthodox Christian doctrine
of God, but it is not incomprehensible. Although humans do not have a
full understanding of God—or of anything else that is profound—a
reasonable basis for belief in the triune God exists. Since this doctrine
has been repeatedly thought through over the centuries to express
genuine monotheism, it is hoped that it will not continue to impose a
bewildering barrier to ecumenical understanding. Indeed, Christians
share with Judaism, Islam, and some other world religions more that
theologically unites them than separates them.
For Christians who have misunderstood their own monotheistic
doctrine, the Quran's criticism of some Christological developments is
helpful. Orthodox Christians would agree completely with this salutary
corrective: Unbelievers say, "God is the third of three." There is but one
God. . . . God said: Jesus, son of Mary, did you say to the people,
"Worship me and my mother as gods apart from God?" He (Jesus) said:
"It is not for me to say what is not true."131 Jesus is then quoted in the
next verse as saying: "Worship God, my Lord and your Lord."132 To say
that "Jesus is God" is to affirm a creed that goes beyond the New
Testament, as well as to impose a barrier to understanding the historical
Jesus.
210 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

The Quran is somewhat like the New Testament in that it does not
analyze the relationship between Jesus and God. In the Quran Jesus is
the only one who is closely associated with "the Holy Spirit." Also, Jesus
is referred to as the Messiah eleven times. But the meanings of those
terms are not explained in the Quran. Discussing Jesus' "divinity," a term
from pagan Greco-Roman theology, is not helpful for comprehending
either the New Testament or the Quran.
Muhammad's affirmation of Jesus' roles may have been closer to the
New Testament than some doctrines that were championed in churches
of his day. The italicized part of a saying of Muhammad illustrates this
point:

If anyone testifies that there is no god but God alone, that

Muhammad is His servant and messenger, that Jesus is God's
servant and messenger, the son of His handmaid, His word which He cast
into Mary and a spirit from Him, and that Paradise and Hell are
real, God will cause him to enter Paradise no matter what he
has done. 133

There is a parallel between the function of cardinal names for deity

in Muslim and Christian theology. The Quran states: "Call on God (Al-
lah) or call on the Compassionate One (Ar-Rahman). To whomever you
pray, it is the same,- His names are the most beautiful."134 Those names
do not refer to two different gods but to different attributes of divine
oneness. Similarly, in Christianity, the Tri-unity is not a triple-headed
monstrosity with three centers of divine consciousness, but a recogni-
tion of different aspects of godness.
After the bishops at Nicea had agreed upon a formulation pertain-
ing to the nature of Jesus vis-à-vis God, another theological problem
demanded attention. The Greek title Theotokos, meaning "God-bearer" or
"Mother of God," was becoming a popular designation for Mary of
Nazareth. This elevation came as Asian shrines of the earlier widely
adored mother goddesses of paganism were being closed. In the wake of
that development, Mary was worshiped by some women who were
known as Collyridians. The name of the sect came from offering cakes
(killyrida) to Mary, probably in imitation of a ritual for Demeter, the
grain goddess. Epiphanius, a fourth-century patriarch of Constantino-
ple, wrote a letter to refute those who "wished to exalt the Ever-Blessed
Virgin and put her in the place of God." 135 Epiphanus, a Byzantine
bishop who came from Palestine, states that the Collyridians spread into
 ENLARGEMENTS 211

Arabia. Some Arab Mariolatrists took over a shrine formerly used to

worship Ashtaroth, the female consort of Baal.136
Nestorius, a fifth-century patriarch of Constantinople, attempted
to curb the excessive veneration of Mary by replacing Theotokos with
Christotokos ("mother of Christ"). 137 He wished to avoid making her
appear to be a goddess, or Jesus appear to be an incomplete human.
However, Nestorius was unable to stem the tide of Marian devotion, and
the Ephesus Council made Theotokos part of church dogma in the year
431. After Nestorius was deposed, he returned to his home region of
Syria, where he continued to emphasize Jesus' humanity. The Nestorian
Church remains in the Middle East to this day. Ironically, "heretic"
Nestorius may have been closer to original Christianity about the role of
Mary than the ecumenical council that opposed him.
Significantly, that ecumenical council met in Ephesus where the
worship of virgin goddess Artemis or Diana had been centered. After
vanquishing the "Queen of Heaven" cult, the most developed in the
Mediterranean culture, this affection was transferred to Mary, who was
also called the Queen of Heaven. Reviewing the history of devotion to
one who still carries the "God-bearer" title, the Vatican II Council
observed: "After the Council of Ephesus the cult of the People of God
toward Mary wonderfully increased in veneration and love." 138 Kung
points out that theologians have distinguished the "hyper-veneration"
proper for Mary from the worship due God, "but in practice Mary's
createdness and humanity often played a very slight role." 139
In Ethiopia, there was an "unbounded cult of the Virgin Mary" that
reflected the worship of an ancient goddess. Many centuries earlier,
Jeremiah had censured the worship of the "Queen of Heaven," an astral
deity who was given cakes by devoted women. 140 The pagan Arabs
called her Al-Lat.141 Thus, Mary arose like a phoenix from the ashes of
banished goddesses. Some of the earliest Muslims became aware of that
form of Christianity when they spent some time in Ethiopian exile
before returning to Mecca.
Muhammad came from a background of paganism, and he was
probably a polytheist himself for half of his life. Myths about copulating
divine couples and the godlings they sired were common in ancient
Asia. Muhammad was told to taunt the Meccans in this way: "It is a lie to
claim that God has fathered children. Would He prefer daughters to
sons? What ails you that you should judge so badly?" 142 That pro-
nouncement was prompted by those who spoke of their idols as "God's
daughters." 143 The Quran frequently denounces polytheists who ascribe
212 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

partners to God, including those who engage in Jesusolatry and Mar-

iolatry.
Understandably, Muhammad interpreted biblical and church doc-
trine according to the pagan Arabian pattern of thought. Unschooled in
trinitarian scholarship, he presumed that "persons" of God were individ-
ual personalities within a celestial pantheon. From the prominent adora-
tion given to Mary in Ethiopia, the nearest Christian nation to Mecca,
he concluded that she was a member of the divine family that Christians
worshiped. Khuda Bukhsh relates this to the Quran: "As for Jesus, He is
always mentioned in connexion with Mary—in fact, there is a tendency
to exalt Mary as the chief character. Nor is this altogether surprising, for
in Arabia the Collyridians invested her with the name and honors of a
goddess." 144 Even though the Quran describes Mary in a sublime way,
the thought of God originating in her body would have been blas-
phemous to Muhammad after he became a monotheist.
Christian theology, as Muhammad received it, must have seemed
to parallel the mythology of Egyptian husband Osiris and wife Isis
producing Horus as their divine offspring. He may have talked with
Christians like one a Muslim encountered in Jerusalem later during the
medieval era. Usamah tells of a Christian showing a picture of Mary
with the infant Jesus and provides this explanation: "This is God as a
child." 145
The Greeks had no difficulty picturing father Zeus physically
siring offspring, but Muhammad thought that it was proper only for
humans to procreate sexually. The Quran occasionally speaks of humans
conceiving by means of the implantation of physical semen in a woman's
body. For example: "The sperm drop is placed in a womb and created
into tissue. This is fashioned into bone, then clothed with flesh, thus
bringing forth a creature." 146 The notion of God developing from a baby
or performing sexually like a human father was unacceptable to Mu-
hammad.
The Quran treats "Son of God" in a literal manner,- therefore,
Christians who use that title for Jesus are sometimes presumed to be
guilty of shirk.147 Shirk is frequently denounced in the Quran as the
supreme and unforgivable sin. 148 A murderer would have more chance
of avoiding eternal punishment than a shirk-er. The sin consists of
ascribing divine qualities to anyone or anything beside God. Shirk has
been committed even if a human is regarded as an associate rather than
as a co-equal of God.
Misunderstandings are conveyed in this Quranic curse-.
 ENLARGEMENTS 213

The Jews say, "Ezra is the Son of God," while the Christians
say, "Christ is the Son of God." In such assertions they follow
previous unbelievers. God damn them! How perverse they
are! They make lords besides God of their rabbis, monks, and
Christ, Mary's son, though they were commanded to worship
only one God. 149

Given this literary heritage, it is difficult for Muslims to think of

"son" in a symbolic manner. Muhammad possibly heard some Jews call
Ezra "God's son," but the idiom surely did not mean that they treated the
respected priest as divine. Rather it meant that Ezra, along with other
worthies of the Hebrew tradition, was close to God because he was a
pious human. 150 To assume that Jews or Christians believed that any of
their holy men were physically procreated by God would be to grossly
misunderstand biblical literature. Just as "son of a gun" or "son of a bitch"
in the modern vernacular have a completely nonliteral meaning when
applied to humans, so "son of God" in Hebrew psalms or Christian
prayers simply means one who is in unity with the purposes of God.
In the Fourth Gospel, Jesus prayed to his "Father" the night before
his execution that his disciples "may be one, as we are one." 151 This
comparison illuminates what Jesus meant by theological oneness. The
bond he hoped for among his disciples was not metaphysical. Much as
Jesus thought of marriage as two becoming one, 152 so he longed for
close working relationships among his companions after his physical
departure. While recognizing that their separate personalities would not
be obliterated, Jesus prayed that they would unite by sharing the love
and joy of God.
In light of the perennial tendency to misrepresent admired leaders
by glorifying them, those interested in historical biography must imitate
art restorers who carefully flake away paints and varnishes added to
great paintings during subsequent centuries. For example, well-meaning
but uninspired painters have attempted to brighten and preserve "The
Last Supper," Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece on a dining room wall in
Milan. In recent years, layers of glossy overlays have been carefully
removed, and some splendid soft pastels of the original fresco have been
exposed. Likewise, when the pious but abusive enlargements of Muham-
mad and Jesus are eliminated, one can better glimpse the genuine
portraits of their earliest biographers. The intrinsic glory of those hu-
mans can best be seen without the supernatural glow and unauthentic
halos.
214 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

In at least one way, Jesus' image has suffered more than that of
Muhammad. Since both prophets came from the same global region, it
is likely that they resembled one another in general physiognomy. In
accord with biological evolution of Homo sapiens, their skin pigmentation
would have been lighter than that of people of central Africa but darker
than that of people originating in northern Europe. The men's hair type
and eye color would probably have been like those of Jordanians today.
According to early Muslim tradition, Muhammad was of medium
height, his skin was neither light nor dark, his eyes were large and black,
and his hair had little curl.153 When European artists wanted to paint
Jesus, they lacked both historical descriptions of his appearance and
knowledge of the typical features of a Palestinian. Consequently, Jesus
has often been represented as a blond, blue-eyed, white-skinned person
from their culture, and God has been similarly portrayed. Thanks to
Islam's prohibition of human depictions of the prophets and God,
Negroid and Mongoloid Muslims can contemplate God without such
anthropomorphic limitations.
Any hero naturally attracts accretions from followers that often are
a disservice to the humanity of the adored person. For example, there is
the familiar lore about young George Washington, who chopped down
a cherry tree and then confessed, "Father, I cannot tell a lie." The
inventor of that story was attempting to separate the savior of the
American Republic from the very human tendency to be deceptive.
Likewise, the boyhood and adulthood legends of Jesus and Muhammad
display the deifying fiction of hagiographers.
Neither Christianity nor Islam has originated most of the super-
naturalism with which they have been associated over the centuries.
The adoration of divine men who claimed to perform wonders that were
contrary to the natural order was commonplace in ancient Mediterra-
nean cults.154 Astrology began in the Middle East many centuries before
Moses by people who were fascinated with alleged astral deities who
could determine destiny.155 The Torah rejects the consulting of diviners
who predict events by gazing at the positions of planets on auspicious
occasions.156 Both Christianity and Islam inherited that Hebrew legacy.
Much of what is called New Age spirituality, with its attention to
self-deification, horoscopes, crystal gazing, seances, and other irrational
magic, is just a current phase of Old Age superstition that is global in
scope. Many people, longing for simple ways of guaranteeing happy
outcomes, find reality too complex, too demanding, and too tragic. The
continual human dilemma has not been primarily about choosing to be
 ENLARGEMENTS 215

religious or non-religious. Rather, it has been about choosing the reli-

gion that focuses on learning to live within the Creator's order and to
assist the vulnerable, or choosing the religion that presumes that indi-
vidual agendas can be accomplished by manipulating rituals. Muham-
mad and Jesus opted for the former, but many of their followers have
preferred the latter.
 CHAPTER TEN

CONCLUSION

Theological Differences

Significant differences as well as similarities between Muhammad and

Jesus in the area of social teachings and practices have been discussed. In
addition, there are two major theological differences. The first one,
which also involves a historical judgment, is starkly expressed by
Seyyed Nasr an acclaimed contemporary Islamic scholar:

The Quran . . . does not accept that he (Jesus) was crucified,

but states that he was taken directly to heaven. (4:157-58)
This is the one irreducible "fact" separating Christianity and
Islam, a fact which is in reality placed there providentially to
prevent a mingling of the two religions.1

If the Apostles' Creed had been revised on the basis of Quranic

revelation, then "Born of the Virgin Mary" would be followed by "He
ascended into heaven." The in-between affirmations would be consid-
ered false: "He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was
buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again."2 In
addition, "He will come again to judge the living and the dead" con-
forms to Quranic revelation. 3 Muhammad is reported to have taught the
following: "The son of Mary will descend as a just judge, and will break

217
218 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

crosses. . . . Spite, mutual hatred and jealousy will certainly depart, and
when he summons people to accept wealth not one will do so."4 Another
saying attributed to Muhammad provides these personal details: "Jesus,
son of Mary, will marry, have children, and remain forty-five years, after
which he will die and be buried along with me in my grave."5
Maulvie Ali, following the doctrine of the Ahmadiya sect of Islam,
has modified the early Muslim understanding of the end of Jesus' life. At
the Jerusalem execution site, Ali claims, Jesus "was likened to one dead
and thus escaped with his life, afterwards dying a natural death." 6
Originating in India in the nineteenth century, the Ahmadiyas believe
that Jesus recovered from his crucifixion wounds and migrated to Kash-
mir. After teaching there successfully for several generations, he died at
the age of 120 and was buried at Srinagar. Ghulam Ahmad, the sect's
founder, claimed that he found Jesus' tomb there and that he was a
reincarnation of Jesus.
The Quran presupposes that God, being omnipotent, will not
usually allow true prophets to be destroyed by their foes. Exceptions are
admitted because some prophets have unjustly been killed by the un-
godly. 7 A Muslim remembered Muhammad telling about an unidentified
prophet who was treated much like the way found in the New Testament
records of Jesus' last hours. 8 He recalled: "I can see myself looking at
God's messenger when he was telling of a prophet who, when his people
beat him and covered him with blood, was wiping the blood from his
face and saying, 'O God, forgive my people, for they do not know.' "9
Jesus should have had a triumphant entry into Jerusalem like the
one Muhammad had in Mecca, with the streets lined with kowtowing
former enemies, intimidated by his overwhelming power. If Jesus was
trapped by the opposition, a deus ex machina, like that in classical Greek
drama should have intervened. The thought of the humiliation and
torture of Jesus through naked exposure on a cross in a prominent public
place is completely unacceptable in Islam. The Quran alleges that at the
last moment, God swept Jesus away up to the sky to confound those
who plotted evil.
The Quran's treatment of Jesus' last earthly day is consistent with
what it tells about other biblical prophets. From Noah onward, the
theme is that God rescues the innocent. 10 Regarding Abraham and
Moses, the Quran states: "We gave them help so that they became
victorious."11 In spite of much initial tribulation, the two prophets
eventually succeeded in their mission before they died. Of John the
Baptist, the Quran affirms: "Blessed was he on the day of his birth and on
 CONCLUSION 219

the day of his death." 12 In the several Quranic references to that

prophet, no mention is made of how he died even though the Grand
Mosque in Damascus claims to possess his head, which King Herod
removed. As Muhammad reflected on his own career, as well as that of
God's earlier spokespeople, he had difficulty accepting that earthly
defeat should be the destiny of any of the faithful. His own career
climaxed with a happy ending when he removed the idols at the Ka'ba.
Jesus was realistically aware of prophets' lack of success in their
own eras. He spoke of "the blood of all the prophets shed since the
foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of
Zechariah, who was murdered between the altar and the sanctuary."13
He displayed solidarity with all who had been victimized unjustly,- by
undergoing torture designed for rebellious slaves, he exposed the sadis-
tic treatment that is often inflicted on the innocent. Jesus found it ironic
that after righteous prophets are killed, the responsible religious author-
ities show delayed appreciation by decorating their tombs. 14
In his letters Paul observes that Jesus' crucifixion is "a stumbling
block to Jews and foolishness to gentiles."15 According to the Torah,
"anyone hung on a tree is under God's curse"16 because such capital
punishment is sanctioned only for criminals. Some Jews would have
preferred a Superman in a rabbinic robe. Like Muhammad, most Jews
associated fine rewards, not horrible suffering, with devout conduct.
Their general view is captured in their proverb: "No harm happens to
the righteous, but the wicked have nothing but trouble." 17 Unable to
accept both Jesus and his crucifixion, the Jews rejected the former, and
the Muslims rejected the latter.
A crude graffito illustrates what Paul wrote about the customary gen-
tile response to the notion of good persons being tortured to death. The
oldest extant crucifix was scratched on a Roman wall two centuries after
Christianity began. Jesus on the cross is graphically depicted as a human
body with an ass's head. Beside that monstrosity is a youth with a hand
raised in praise. "Alexamenos worships his God" is sarcastically scribbled
beneath. !8 Sharing some of the sentiments of fellow gentiles, Muhammad
thought that God would not have permitted one of his best prophets to
suffer what Cicero called a punishment too barbaric to describe. 19
For the first several centuries of the Church, Christians were noted
more for their suffering and martyrdom than for their worldly success.
As pacifists, they focused on reconciliation rather than on retaliation.
After Constantine became emperor, many Christians gained political
power and became a part of the ruling structure. From the fourth century
220 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

onward, Christians have arguably been at least as militant as Muslims

and have to a large measure lost a distinctive quality of their religion.
When popes held sway over both church and state, or when Muham-
mad or the caliphs dominated the government and the religious commu-
nity, the gains in coercive control often came at the expense of social
justice.
French philosopher Blaise Pascal offers this telling contrast:
"Muhammad chose the way of human success,- Jesus Christ that of
human defeat."20 Kenneth Cragg draws this historical parallel: "Muham-
mad rode into a prostrate Mecca and by that victory clinched the
submission of the tribes. Jesus in Jerusalem chose to refuse external
patterns of success. . . . He suffered outside its walls."21 Although self-
destruction was not Jesus' aim, he was willing to pay whatever price was
demanded to adhere to his principle of love. Antagonism increased
throughout his public ministry: he was denied, betrayed, and deserted
by his companions,- he was tortured, condemned, and executed by his
adversaries. Muhammad, in sharp contrast, after a period of loneliness
and deprivation, ended life successfully. Further, he lived twice as long as
Jesus did.
Hans Kung finds that the last hours of these two prophets reveal
well their contrasting styles of life. He makes this somewhat exagger-
ated comparison:

Muhammad, after he had thoroughly enjoyed the last years of

his life as political ruler of Arabia, died in the midst of his
harem in the arms of his favorite wife. Here (in the Gospels)
on the other hand we have a young man of thirty, after three
years at most of activity, perhaps only a few months. Expelled
from society, betrayed and denied by his disciples and suppor-
ters, mocked and ridiculed by his opponents, forsaken by men
and even by God, he goes through a ritual of death that is one
of the most atrocious and enigmatic ever invented by man's
ingenious cruelty.22

Niccolo Machiavelli, the grand master of power politics, may have

had Muhammad and Jesus in mind when he made this famous observa-
tion: "Armed prophets conquer and unarmed prophets fail."23 Within a
century of Muhammad's death, those whom he inspired subdued nations
from Spain to India, more area than Christian missions gained after
many centuries. Military force rapidly established outward control, but
 CONCLUSION 221

it was less effective in transforming the spiritual values of the peoples

affected. Neither Machiavelli nor Muhammad grasped the paradox that
failing to establish political control might in the long run win greater
allegiance.
Max Weber, the stellar sociological theorist, observes regarding
Islam: "The most pious adherents of the religion in its first generation
became the wealthiest, or more correctly, enriched themselves with
military booty." 24 Today, piety and opulence continue to be juxtaposed,
but the force of natural resources has largely replaced the force of arms
as the means for achieving wealth in the Middle East. Because of the
enormous petroleum resources that are largely controlled by Muslims,
religion and material success appear to be wedded in Muhammad's
homeland.
The rejection of Jesus' crucifixion in the Quran would seem to
come from a moral as well as a theological presupposition. Rejecting any
value in vicarious suffering, it repeatedly states: "He who finds the right
path does so on his own account, and he who goes astray does so at his
own peril. No one bears another's burden." 25 This outlook stands in bold
contrast to Isaiah's description of the Lord's ideal servant:

He was wounded for our transgressions,

beaten for our iniquities.
Upon him jell the punishment that reconciled us,
and hy his bruises we are made whole.26

The Quranic rejection of suffering for the good of others subverts

the basic Christian doctrine that humans express divine love by endur-
ing undeserved punishment inflicted by unenlightened people. Cragg
discusses how the Muslim denial of Jesus' crucifixion vitiates his main
purpose in life:

This final and inclusive encounter Jesus faced, in full loyalty to

his own doctrines, not rendering evil for evil, nor countering
hatred with guile. . . . A coalition of dark but representative
human sins accomplished the death of Christ. There were
political and personal sins of convenience and security in
Pilate,- ecclesiastical sins of prestige and pride in the chief
priests,- social sins of compromise and brutality in the
mob. . . . Here we find a quality of love which makes an end of
evil because it freely takes all its consequences upon itself. In
222 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

revenge and hatred evil is perpetuated. In pardon and long-

suffering it finds its term. 27

Another reason given for the rejection of Jesus' crucifixion comes

from the report in two Gospels that, after he was nailed to a cross, he
cried, "My God, why have you forsaken me?" 28 "This is a blatant
declaration of disbelief," writes M. T. Al-Hilari,- he claims that a true
believer could not utter these words. 29 The Quran affirms that Jesus was
continuously a true prophet, so an account displaying his loss of faith
cannot be accepted.
Christians also acknowledge that there was no lapse in Jesus'
devotion to God, but the cry of dereliction is interpreted differently. As
pointed out earlier in the discussion of Jesus' use of Hebrew poetry, he
was quoting from Psalm 22 of his prayer book. The context of that psalm
reveals that it was composed by a person who did not reject trust in God
while in dire distress. The psalm concludes with the sufferer's affirmation
that God's cause would triumph in the future.
The repeated New Testament claim that Jesus was crucified is also
accepted by ancient non-Christian writers and modern scholars. Among
the multiple attestations of Jesus' execution are the records kept by
Jewish historian Josephus and Roman historian Tacitus. 30 John Crossan,
a historical Jesus specialist, treats many of the stories about Jesus from
his nativity to his resurrection as fictional mythology but argues convin-
cingly that his crucifixion "is as sure as anything historical can ever be." 31
Using standards of modern historiography, Montgomery Watt, the
leading European authority on Muhammad's life, finds Jesus' crucifixion
as certain as the fact that Muhammad proclaimed the religion of Islam in
Mecca in the early seventh century. 32 The crux of Jesus' life is literally
his crucifixion, a fact as firm as any of ancient social history.
It is possible for Muslims to take a position that is both faithful to
the Quran's claim that Jesus did not fail and to accept the historical fact of
Jesus' crucifixion. Recognizing the dual meaning of "dead" in the Quran
might allow them to accept that Jesus was victorious even if he were
executed. The literal meaning is expressed in a Quranic verse in which
Jesus contemplates "the day I die." 33 Elsewhere, the Quran states that
Jesus' enemies did not really kill him, but they thought they did. 34 Could
the Quran be treating Jesus as a nonmilitant martyr here? If so, the treat-
ment of the death of martyrs elsewhere in the Quran might be germane to
understanding the earthly end of Jesus' life. There are verses in which
"dead" refers to ultimate defeat rather than to the cessation of breathing:
 CONCLUSION 223

"Do not say that those who are killed in the way of God are dead; they are
alive even though you are not aware of them",-35 and "Never think of
those who are slain in God's cause as dead; rather, they are well supplied
by their Lord." 36 Sayyid Qutb comments on the status of martyrs:

They are with their Lord, well provided, rejoicing in God's

grace and bounty, and anticipating with joy the people of
faith who are to join them. They watch with interest the
happenings in the lives of their brethren. Why should they
be mourned when they are alive and in close contact with the
living, beside the great bounty and high status which they
have attained with God? 3 7

The second major theological difference between Muhammad and

Jesus pertains to their doctrines of scriptural inspiration. Muhammad's
view is set forth in these Quranic words: "This Book is not to be
doubted." 38 That opening sentence of the first Quranic chapter follow-
ing the brief introduction seems to call for a theory of Quranic inerrancy.
Those who doubt or scorn the revelation given to Muhammad "will not
enter Paradise until a camel passes through the eye of a needle." 39 The
Quran does not permit listeners or readers to question what it states
because its presumed Author personifies absolute truth. Since God is
inerrant, the book that contains His ideas, as channeled through Muham-
mad, is literally the word of God. Most Muslims believe that the Arabic
text prepared by the commission of the third caliph contains exactly the
revelation that God gave Muhammad. Understandably, critical inquiry
has no place among Muslims who study their scripture in accord with the
doctrine of inerrancy. If it is believed that Muhammad proclaimed pre-
cisely what God wrote in Arabic on a heavenly tablet and that the oral
transmission was recorded without error in the official Uthmanic text,
then the task of scholars is simplified. They should memorize as many
Quranic verses as possible, learn to chant Arabic eloquently, and apply
the teachings of the Quran to particular situations.
Following the logic of Quranic inerrancy, Muslims have tradi-
tionally believed that truth in the Torah or Gospels is only what con-
forms to the Quran. Thus, the canonical Gospels are deficient because
they neglect to report that the baby Jesus performed miracles. Also, the
entire New Testament errs in stating that Jesus was crucified. There is no
truth in the Bible that Muhammad was not to reveal later, so it only
confuses the truth seeker to study Jewish or Christian scriptures.
224 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

Within both Judaism and Christianity, there are influential groups

who have a doctrine of scriptural inerrancy similar to that of Islam.
Religious unity has been hindered by those confessional bodies that
focus on a particular prophet who supposedly pronounced absolute
truth. For example, the Torah does not declare Moses' teaching to be
final, but Orthodox Judaism affirms that it is God's last word. According
to twelfth-century credal formulator Maimonides, the Law revealed to
Moses is immutable.40
Beginning early in the twentieth century, a Christian group whose
members call themselves "Fundamentalists" have defended five princi-
ples, the chief of which is the verbal infallibility of the Bible.41 For them
it is blasphemous to presume that the Bible could contain fallible ideas of
mortals as well as God's truth. Fundamentalism is the response of those
in search of certainties amid the bewildering new ideas of science and
the dilemmas of modern culture. Its simple stance is expressed on this
bumpersticker: "God said it, I believe it, and that's that." Slavery, patri-
archy, and genocide can all be justified by this approach. Christian
fundamentalism probably has stronger support in the United States than
in any other nation, but even there its support is declining. A Gallup
survey indicates that now about one-third of Americans believe the
Bible is "the actual word of God."42 The text to which Fundamentalists
generally appeal is the original Hebrew and Greek autographs, all of
which have been lost, but those who are less educated have used the
King James version as their ultimate authority.
Fundamentalists' protests notwithstanding, a discerning reader can
occasionally find errors in the Holy Writ. For example, the New
Testament assertion that only Eve was led astray in the Garden of Eden
and sinned is shown to be false by both the Genesis story and another
New Testament letter.43 Also, scribes of all religious traditions
have tampered with scriptures. For example, there appears to be an
addition to a Hebrew wisdom book by a dissenting copyist who warns
readers not to take the skeptical message of that writing seriously.44
Likewise, some scribe, living a century after the writer of Mark's
Gospel, added an ending that misrepresents Jesus as daring his disci-
ples to prove their faith by handling snakes and drinking poison
without being hurt.45
Human errors by Muhammad may also be the reason for some of
the Quran's deviations from the accounts of the Bible. For example, the
Arabic name "Miriam" is shared by Mary, the mother of Jesus, and
another Israelite who lived more than a millenium earlier,- probably
 CONCLUSION 225

because of this, Jesus' mother is confused with the daughter of Amram,

the sister of Moses and Aaron. 46
What should be done about the apparent errors that occasionally
can be found in the Quran? If Muslims wish to claim that the heavenly
Quran is infallible, that presupposition causes no earthly problem. In
Semitic religious traditions, God is the source of total truth/ the manner
in which it is stored in the courts above is independent from its transmis-
sion to humans. Muslims accept the maxim "To err is human," and the
Quran explicitly states that even Muhammad was not perfect. "God
knows the truth," a common saying among Muslims, is used in recogni-
tion of human fallibility. Pagan Arabs had developed the language of the
Quran, and it has its share of the limitations of human words to express
ideas. These factors should convince most reasonable people that any
speech or writing by humans cannot be infallible. Even if the Divine
Author utters only what is true, human contamination occurs as it comes
down to any society. The Quran is as much the book of Muhammad as
Deuteronomy is the book of Moses. The early Muslims, who were aware
of the process of the final editing of the Quran, seemed to prefer a
doctrine of abrogation to a doctrine of inerrancy. Both cannot be
logically accepted because the abrogated texts were not all deleted, as
demonstrated in earlier chapters.
Both the Bible and the Quran teach that humans should be aware of
their shortcomings, especially in the spiritual aspects of their lives.
Accordingly, it is befitting humility to say that the Bible and the Quran
contain the ideas of humans with all their foibles, as well as some
infallible ideas of God. The arduous task of scholarship is to separate
what is eternal from what is temporally bound. God speaks only through
what has been created, and the difficulty is attempting to distill the
Spirit's message out of human and natural happenings.
Jesus belonged to a culture in which the religious writers did not
think of themselves as passive instruments through which God dictated.
The biblical scribes never claimed that they were reproducing a heav-
enly record written in Hebrew by God. The writer of Deuteronomy, for
example, recorded the oral tradition containing Moses' sermons long
after his death. Although Jesus frequently quoted his Bible as authorita-
tive, he also stated views that he recognized as independent of, and even
contradictory to, that written record. In the Sermon on the Mount, he
repeatedly substituted personal judgment for biblical authority, auda-
ciously countering some laws attributed to Gods revelation to Moses
with "but I say to you." 47
226 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

Some writers, such as Luke, were not aware that they were record-
ing pages that would in subsequent generations be treasured as Holy
Scripture. His two-volume work, which later editors labeled the Gospel
of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, begins with this clarifying opening
sentence-.

Since many have undertaken to set down a narrative of the

events that have been fulfilled among us, as delivered to us by
those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and minis-
ters of the word, I too decided, after investigating everything
carefully from the first, to write an orderly account for you,
most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the re-
liability of the things about which you have been instructed.48

Luke did not sit down and take dictation as the Holy Spirit's
secretary, as some Christian art has misrepresented the process. Rather,
as any good researcher, he consulted the best written and oral sources he
could find and then used his mind to record it as orderly and as
accurately as he could.
Far from demeaning God, this fallibility-of-human-authors ap-
proach can reveal a more sublime and moral deity. Consider, for exam-
ple, how this theory helps in interpreting historically those passages
examined earlier from the Bible and the Quran that command the
extermination of idolaters. Today few Jews, Christians, or Muslims favor
the liquidation of polytheistic Hindus who treasure images of their
deities. Likewise, this fallibility theory enables the reader of the New
Testament to recognize its writers as culturally bound humans who may
for example, express patriarchal prejudices. A broadening of religious
understanding comes from recognizing that it is some male chauvinist,
not God, who speaks through this text:

I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man,-

she is to keep silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and
Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and
became a transgressor. Yet she will be saved through child-
bearing.49

Devotion to the view that some records made by humans con-

tain God's ipsissima verba blocks genuine dialogue between Muslims and
non-Muslims, even as it does between fundamentalist and non-
 CONCLUSION 227

Fundamentalist Jews, Christians, and Muslims. If what is deemed to be

scripture is essentially an eternal and infallible document rather than a
historical and human document, then the standard approaches of schol-
arship are invalid. Fundamentalism leads to bibliolatry, the worship of a
book, which may be no improvement over other idol adorations. Blind
credulity may display more fanaticism than faithfulness to the dictates of
the divine.

Paths oj Commitment
Th e Quran declares that "the true faith in God's sight is islam"50 and that
Muhammad is "the first of the muslimun."51 The "mu" prefix refers to one
who is an adherent to the religion that has "s-l-m" as its basic Arabic
consonants. According to the usual English translations, the name of
Muhammad's religion means "submission" or "surrender." Today some
scholars prefer "commitment," which Thomas Irving uses in his 1985
translation of the Quran. Huston Smith succinctly explains why he
prefers this alternate version: "In addition to being exempt from military
associations, commitment suggests moving toward rather than giving
up." 52 "Submission" and "surrender" have the additional deficiency of
suggesting groveling before a superior force that has not captured one's
voluntary allegiance.
Also originating in the pregnant "s-l-m" root is salam, the common
Arabic greeting, meaning "peace." Thus, the basic meaning of "s-l-m" is
"peace through commitment." Unexpressed but understood by Muslims is
that the commitment is directed toward God and that the peace is a theo-
logical by-product. Islam is, therefore, the religion of those who attempt to
express Muhammad's full commitment to God as well as who receive the
accompanying peace with God from that relationship. In this regard, the
Islamic Society of North America provides this summary statement:

Islam is an Arabic word which means peace, purity, accep-

tance and commitment. . . . A Muslim is one who freely and
willingly accepts the supreme power of God and strives to
organize his life in total accord with the teachings of God. He
also works for building social institutions which reflect the
guidance of God. 5 3
228 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

The Quran has contributed to interfaith dialogue by giving cen-

trality to the word "Islam." Muhammad declared in the last revelation
given during his final year of life: "I (God) have approved Islam for your
religion." 54 Accordingly, the prophet is the only founder of a great
religion to name his community. Outsiders who are ignorant of the
original names Islam and Muslim have insensitively coined the name
Muhammadanism and Muhammadan. Muslims dislike being called by
names that suggest that they worship Muhammad as Christians worship
Christ.
Had Moses and Jesus taken the opportunity to select names for
their movements, they might also have chosen ones that focus on
religious content rather than ethnic pride. "Muslimun" is more adequate
than "Israelite," meaning a descendant of Jacob, and is preferable to
"Judaism," meaning associated with the tribe of Judah that survived the
invaders of Palestine. Judaism is certainly not the worship of a descen-
dant of Abraham. "Muslim" is also arguably more descriptive of church
members than "Christian," which is derived from "Xristos," the Greek
translation of "Meshicha," which is the Aramaic term meaning "anointed
one." That nickname, which may have been coined by opponents of
Jesus' followers, literally means "belonging to the party of the Jewish
Messiah." "Masihi" is the Arabic designation for people who in Europe
were called "Xristianos." Calling the Jesus movement "Christian" was
probably once as derisive as it originally was to call George Fox's
followers "Quakers."
Muhammad enhanced the legitimacy of his religious community
by an appeal to pristine history. He identified his mission with the
Abraham he had come to know in Arabic tradition. The patriarch had
given up the polytheism of his parents after being overwhelmed by a call
to worship one God. 5 5 Muhammad also gave up the idolatry engaged in
by his tribe and tried to persuade his people to accept a new commit-
ment.
The pivotal point in the careers of both Abraham and Muhammad
came when those middle-aged men emigrated from their native cities.
The exiles settled in new areas and, after initial hardships, the commu-
nities they formed became secure and powerful. Abraham and Ishmael
are said to have constructed a "House of God" at the place where
Muhammad would later assist in its reconstruction. At the initial dedica-
tion of the Meccan sanctuary, Abraham and Ishmael prayed: "Accept
this House from us, Lord. . . . Make us muslimun to You and make our
 CONCLUSION 229

descendants a nation of muslimun. . . . Lord, raise up among them a

messenger of their own who will declare to them Your revelations." 56
Even as the Bible tells of God promising that Abraham would be a
blessing to all people, 57 the Quran proclaims that Muhammad has been
sent out to witness to all humanity. 58
Muhammad was not the first to solicit support from Abraham for
establishing the validity of a particular group. Isaiah of Babylonia, eager
to restore a sense of dignity to a disheartened Jewish community, recalls
the first Hebrews:

Look to the rock from which you were hewn,

and to the Quarry from which you were dug.
Look to Abraham your father
and to Sarah who hore you.59

Some centuries later, some Jews assumed that they could rely on
the faith of Abraham to guarantee approval for all who claimed kinship
with him. To those who boasted in that manner, John the Baptist
advised: "Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to
yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor.' " 60
New Testament writers were bold to call even gentile Christians
honorary descendants of Abraham. According to the apostle Paul,
Abraham is "the father of all who believe,"61 whether they are circum-
cised or uncircumcised. To counter charges of novelty, Paul portrays his
gospel as being in line with the best of early Hebrew tradition. In his
writings, he argues that Moses and "all who rely on the works of the
law"62 have deviated from the Abrahamic faith. Christians were urged to
give priority to God's covenant with Abraham rather than to adhere to a
subsequent covenant that emphasized the Law of Moses. 63 Another
New Testament writer, after defining faith as a commitment to unseen
hopes, commends Abraham, along with Sarah and their offspring, as a
spiritual ancestor for Christians:

By faith he settled as an alien in the promised land . . . because

he was looking for the city with solid foundations, designed
and built by God. . . . Therefore, since we are surrounded by
this large group of witnesses, . . . let us run with determination
the race that lies ahead of us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the
leader and completer of faith. 64
230 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

Muhammad agreed with the biblical judgment that some religious

leaders after Abraham corrupted the original purity of his primordial
monotheism. The Quran repeatedly discusses the involvement of
Moses' brother Aaron in the golden-calf idolatry of the Israelites. 65 It
also charges Christians with apostasy and claims that only Islam con-
serves the oldest and the best religious tradition. "Abraham was neither
Jew nor Christian/' 66 the Quran points out, but was a "muslimun." In
spite of others who have fallen away, Muhammad adhered to Abraham's
faith. 67 The Quran places Islam in the direct line of Abrahamic religion,
which avoids the aberrant paths of the Israelites and the Christians.
The opening sentence of the New Testament gives prominence to
Abraham in reference to Jesus' genealogy. The Gospel of Matthew,
which is particularly interested in demonstrating that Jesus is the fulfill-
ment of Israelite prophecy, affirms that Abraham is the first ancestor in
Jesus' family tree. Similarly, at the beginning of Muhammad's earliest
biography, Ishaq enhances his subject's prestige by tracing his geneal-
ogy through Ishmael back to Abraham. 68
Muhammad was faithful to the facts of history in asserting that
Abraham's faith was different from the subsequent religions of Judaism
or Christianity. It would be anachronistic to say that Abraham observed
the Sabbath or practiced baptism. But he was also far from some of the
basic doctrines of Muhammad. For example, in the Genesis saga,
Abraham affirms no belief in personal immortality and Paradise. For him
and his fellow patriarchs, producing offspring who would survive and
carry on the Hebrew culture fulfilled their hopes.
Religions have not followed Abraham without deviation, and this
may display ethical and theological improvement. The Quran tells of an
occasion when Abraham lied to conceal his destruction of idols in his
home town. 69 Also Muhammad retold a biblical story of when the
patriarch called his wife his sister.70 To protect himself, Abraham
schemed deceptively to pass Sarah off to Pharaoh's harem. 71 Also, there is
no indication that Abraham informed his wife of his plan to sacrifice her
only son. 72 Abraham's unquestioning willingness to kill his innocent son
in devotion to God displays the outlook of persons who are now called
psychopaths. 73 What later prophet would have thought it proper to have
Abraham's attitude toward human sacrifice? After criticizing those who
had attempted to placate God by sacrificing their children, the prophet
Micah proclaimed: "The Lord requires you to act justly, to love loyalty,
and to walk humbly with your God." 74 Both Jesus and Muhammad
enthusiastically endorsed that higher standard of religious behavior.
 CONCLUSION 231

Similarities between Muhammad and Jesus can also be found by

examining the metaphor for picturing true religion used most frequently
in the Quran. Its opening and preeminent chapter conveys the image that
true religion is walking a path without going astray. The Quran associates
the path with the great prophets, beginning with Noah: "We (God) chose
them and guided them to a straight path." 75 This same image is used in
the Hebrew Bible: "Noah walked with God." 76 The Quran treats subse-
quent walkers along the path in this way: "My Lord has guided me along a
straight path to a right religion, to the faith of Abraham, who was no
idolater." 77 Moses avoided the crooked, repressive way of the Pharaoh
and followed God's straight and outward road from Egypt. 78 Jesus' mes-
sage is given this Quranic summary: "God is my Lord and your Lord;
therefore serve Him, for such is the straight path." 79 True prophets
recognized that one's walk speaks more loudly than one's talk. Because of
the Quranic emphasis on following the path or way (sunna) of previous
authentic prophets, most Muslims have called themselves Sunnis.
Following the straight path presumes avoiding the alternate way of
many who lack rectitude. "You shall not follow a majority in wrong-
doing," Moses proclaimed at Sinai. 80 Jesus associated the pursuit of the
most popular way with false prophets. 81 As the Quran puts it: "To follow
the majority would lead you away from God's path." 82 The metaphor is
developed elsewhere in the Quran:

Have We not brought you where two roads diverge? Yet you
have not climbed the steep path. The ascent is freeing the
slave, feeding the starving orphaned relative or the poor
wretch in misery. . . . Those who do this will stand on the
right hand; those who deny Our revelations will stand on the
left, with Hell fire close b y 8 3

An early name for Jesus' movement was "Those of the Hodos,"

meaning "way" or "road".84 The name may have resulted from several
Gospel associations. John the Baptist envisioned a straight highway with
the coming of "one who is more mighty than I."85 Appropriating a
prophecy of Isaiah as his theme, John proclaimed:

Prepare the way oj the Lord,

make straight his paths. . . .
The crooked shall he made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth.86
232 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

Jesus developed the notion, found earlier in his scriptures, of two

contrasting paths: "Enter through the narrow gate,- for the gate is wide
and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who
take it. For the gate is narrow and the path is rough that leads to life, and
there are few who find it."87 What Jesus was planning to accomplish in
Jerusalem is related to Moses' out-trekking (ex-hodos) from Egypt.88 The
Fourth Gospel attributes these words to Jesus: "Walk while you have the
light, so that the darkness may not overtake you; if you walk in
the darkness, you do not know where you are going. . . . I am the way,
the truth, and the life."89
Followers of Jesus understandably have thought of religion as a
difficult way of life. They view their faith not so much as ideas about
God but more as the practice of holy suffering love. "Walk in newness of
life,"90 writes Paul in exhorting Christians to identify themselves with
the martyred Jesus. Another New Testament writer tells of Jesus' life and
death providing "a new and living way" for his followers.91 Pilgrim's
Progress by John Bunyan is one of the more influential books in the course
of Christian history. In this allegory, a vision guides a man named
Christian while on a treacherous journey The goal of the venture, the
city of God, becomes clearer en route.
Current theologians are renewing the walking metaphor. In
Charles Swezey's inaugural address at Union Theological Seminary, he
shows that walking the way continues to be the most adequate image for
uniting ethics and theology. He concludes: "Through encounters with
pitfalls and dangers, the identity of the Christian community is formed
and the vision of God gains clarity."92 Jurgen Moltmann selected The
Way oj Jesus Christ as a book title because it contains a metaphor that is
ethical as well as dynamic. He thinks of Christians as being guided along
their quest by Jesus the pathfinder.93 Paul Van Buren has been writing a
multivolume treatment of Judeo-Christian-Muslim theology, using
"walking in the way" as his lead motif. He asserts: "Faith is not primarily a
matter of thinking, but of walking in a certain way"94
"The Paths of Those Committed to God" might be a good ecu-
menical name for religions with the Semitic heritage. "Way Walkers"
might be a simple designation for those so committed. With a fuller
comprehension of common roots, the past eagerness to supplant the
other would be replaced by the determination to supplement one an-
other. The three Semitic religions could at last affirm the common creed
the Quran advocates-. "We believe in what has been revealed to each of
our communities. We are committed (muslims) to the one God of all."95
 CONCLUSION 233

Beyond this general orientation, people can walk along their varied
roads to the same destination. One route might be more direct, one
more scenic, one more of an obstacle course, but all would demand
steadfast commitment until the goal is reached. Those who endanger
others and themselves by jaywalking or by not honoring any paths
would not be respected.
Each tradition contains an ideal embodiment of one who has been
the pathfinder par excellence. Moses' way, Jesus' way, and Muhammad's
way would be appropriate road markers for the questers. Along with
other monotheists, I am encouraged by the Quran to include myself
among the muslitns. I can join with Jesus' disciples who are reported to
have said: "We are God's helpers! We have faith in God, bearing witness
that we are muslims."96
What are the main vistas that one might expect along Muhammad's
and Jesus' paths? In post-Quranic tradition, Muslims defined themselves
by five basic pillars.97 The commitments resemble a desert tent, with
one center pole surrounded by four shorter poles. The first pole is the
creed, "There is no god but God, and Muhammad is his Apostle."98 The
other supports are daily prayer, generous almsgiving, holy-month fast-
ing, and making a pilgrimage to Mecca. Jesus requested certain commit-
ments from his followers, but there is no classic statement of a given
number. They include seeking the just rule of God, forgiving as well as
accepting forgiveness, and loving others in accord with the love Jesus
exemplified. Those who venture with him are promised joy but no more
success than Jesus himself had along the roads of Palestine.

Tolerance of Diversity

Religious intolerance is not a part of the core commitments of either

Islam or Christianity. Quranic revelations echo and scorn the smugness
that has been characteristic of the Judeo-Christian tradition: "The Jews
and the Christians say: 'We are God's children and his favorites' ",-" and
"Scriptural people have said: 'Only Jews and Christians will be admitted
to Paradise.'. . . The Jews say, There is nothing in the Christian faith,'
while the Christians say, There is nothing in the Jewish faith.' Both cite
the Scripture"100,- and "If an afterlife with God is for you alone, to the
exclusion of all other people, then you should long for death!"101
234 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

According to the Quran, no religious group can presume that God has
elected it irrevocably. The Quran asserts: "Let the scriptural people
know that they have no control over the grace of God,- that grace is in
His hands alone, and that He grants it to whomever He will. God's grace
is infinite."102 According to Fazlur Rahman, the Quran is "absolutely
unequivocal" that "no community may lay claims to be uniquely guided
and elected."103
Muhammad used a bold family metaphor to convey his view of the
close relationship among prophetic religions: "I am the nearest of kin to
Jesus, son of Mary, in this world and the next. The prophets are brothers,
sons of one father by co-wives. Their mothers are different but their
religion is one."104 The Quran gives this instruction to Muhammad::

Say-. "We believe in God and the revelation given to us, and to
Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Israel and the tribes,- we believe in
what was given to Moses, Jesus, and to all other prophets from
the Lord. We make no distinction among them, and we com-
mit ourselves to God."105

Other Quranic texts display an even wider openness to other

monotheistic faiths. One of them declares: "Believers (Muslims), Jews,
Christians, and Sabians—whoever believes in God and the Last Day
and does what is right will be rewarded by their Lord,- they have nothing
to fear."106 The Sabians were probably followers of John the Baptist and
may be identified with the Mandaeans who still live in Iraq.107 The
Zoroastrians are included in the listing of approved faiths elsewhere in
the Quran.108 Another verse is even more inclusive: "All who commit
themselves to God and do good, shall be rewarded by their Lord."109
Muhammad Asad comments that this text shows that salvation "is open
to everyone who consciously realizes the oneness of God, surrenders
himself to His will and, by living righteously, gives practical effect to
this spiritual attitude."110 These texts illustrate John Hick's comment on
covenantal relationships: "Religious pluralism implies that those who are
on the other great ways of salvation are no less God's chosen people,
although with different vocations."111
Muhammad expressed a live-and-let-live outlook even toward idol-
aters when he addressed the Meccans in an early revelation: "Unbe-
lievers, I do not worship what you worship, nor do you worship what I
worship. I will never worship what you worship, nor will you ever
worship what I worship. You have your religion and I have mine."112
 CONCLUSION 235

Lamentably, the Quran is not consistent in its tolerance teachings.

As David Margoliouth, an Oxford Arabic professor, notes, its utterances
vary "from large-minded tolerance to extreme fanaticism."113 Consider
the traditional way Muslim theologians interpret the verse quoted above
that expresses openness toward Jews, Christians, and Sabians. That
verse was later superseded by this one-. "Anyone who chooses a religion
other than Islam will not be acceptable and will be one of the lost in the
next world."114 Other verses, such as the following, are more explicit:
"Scriptural people who disbelieve, together with idolaters, will abide in
the fire of Hell ; they are the dregs of all creation." 115 In a Quranic
chapter that discusses Jews and Christians, this charge is made:

They attempt to extinguish the light of God with the words

they mouth,- but God will perfect His light, no matter how
much disbelievers may dislike it. He has sent His Apostle with
guidance to make the true religion victorious over all other
religions. 116

In Muslim tradition, Muhammad becomes not merely a prominent

prophet but the prophet, who is destined to defeat even monotheists
whose rituals and ethics are different. Jews and Christians are, at best,
merely to be tolerated until the Judgment Day if they pay whatever tax
the dominant Muslims levy.117 Muhammad said: "Do not greet Jews and
Christians before they greet you, and when you meet one of them on
the road force him to go to the narrowest part of it."118 Al-Bukhari
discusses another record that pertains to Christians who are refused
admission to Paradise: "They will say, 'We used to worship Jesus, the Son
of God.' It will be said to them, 'You are liars, for God has never taken
anyone as a wife or a son.' "119
Many participants in the tradition of biblical religion have often
disregarded an anti-exclusivism theme. Prophet Amos declared that
Israel's covenantal relationship with God does not provide that nation
with irrevocable divine protection from heathen invaders. 120 As God's
spokesperson, Amos proclaims: "People of Israel, I think as much of the
Ethiopians as I do of you. I brought the Philistines from Crete and the
Syrians from Kir, even as I brought you out of Egypt."121 Amos was bold
to claim that God's care extended to Africans as well as Asians, and even
to the migrations of Israel's enemies.
God's universal sovereignty is also affirmed in a Hebrew poem
about an ideal metropolis personified as Mother Zion. Discounting the
236 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

special election of one people, Psalm 87 envisions the "city of God" as

having an international progeny:

Of Zion it will be said,

"All nations belong there/'
The God above all gods will strengthen her.122

Among those who know God, the psalmist includes peoples of

different pigments, the Ethiopians and the Lebanese. The register of
Zion's children encompasses Israel's prominent pagan foes: the Egyp-
tians, Babylonians, and Philistines. Conversion to the psalmist's religion
is not a prerequisite to being among the cosmopolitans who sing and
dance in Zion.
Psalm 87 inspired the title of the most influential medieval non-
biblical book, The City of God.123 Ironically, Bishop Augustine narrowed
the family of Mother Zion to include only baptized Catholics who have
not lapsed into some heresy or other form of wickedness. 124 Augustine's
myopic vision dominated Christian thought for many centuries. Inde-
pendent of Augustine, modern Zionism has arisen and has been identi-
fied more with Jewish exclusivism than with the multiethnic children of
Zion that the psalmist imagined.
Even within the era of the Hebrew Bible, a counter-tolerance
theme had developed. After the Babylonian exile, the Jewish survivors
were led by Nehemiah and Ezra who promoted exclusivism. Nehemiah
boasted: "I purified the people from everything foreign."125 Ezra per-
suaded the Jews to separate themselves from their foreign wives. 126
Some of those wives, like Ruth, may have adopted the religion of their
husbands. In contrast, no divine disapproval was expressed when Judah,
Joseph, and Moses had married pagan women earlier. 127
Jesus emphasized the inclusive motif contained in the Hebrew
tradition. When his disciples asked him to denounce a healer who did
not belong to their group, Jesus replied: "Do not stop h i m ; . . . for
whoever is not against us is for us." 128 As long as people are being helpful
to others, Jesus thought that they should be treated with respect.
Historical data does not support the idea that either Jesus or
Muhammad thought of himself as God in the flesh or as one who had
heavenly preexistence. Despite the Christocentricity of some early
Christians, Jesus thought of the rule of God as central. He did not
promote himself by saying, "I am the incarnation of God"; rather, he
announced that "the kingdom of God is at hand." 129 Both Jesus and
 CONCLUSION 237

Muhammad were theocentric,- they thought of themselves as subordi-

nate to God, the Creator and Governor of the world. Geza Vermes
comments: T h e religion Jesus preached was substantially different from
what Christianity has become. Jesus preached a totally God-centered
religion, whereas Christianity is Christocentric." 130
Most of those who have called themselves followers of Jesus for the
past two thousand years have neglected his breadth of tolerance and
have divided all people into Christians who are "saved"—that is, ac-
cepted by God for eternal life—and non-Christians who are damned.
C. S. Lewis, the spokesperson for many conservative Christians, asserts:
"Where Christianity differs from other religions, Christianity is right
and they are wrong." 131 Karl Barth is the most influential twentieth-
century Christian representative of the exclusivist position. According
to that Swiss theologian, God's revelation is confined to Jesus, and true
religion is especially manifested in Protestantism. 132 Lutheran theo-
logian Carl Braaten currently defends Barth's monopolistic doctrine at
length and asserts that "Jesus Christ is the one and only light that brings
life to the world." 133 Braaten has little to say about the Quranic revela-
tion other than the untruthful claim that it refers to Jesus' resurrection
from the dead. 134
Other Christians go even further than Lewis, Barth, and Braaten to
contend that their particular denomination or sect knows not only the
truth about God but exclusively the whole truth. They see their confes-
sional group as uniquely favored by God. Reflecting on this arrogance
and on the New Testament affirmation that "we know only in part," 135
Reinhold Niebuhr formulates this paradox: "The truth, as it is contained
in the Christian revelation, includes the recognition that it is neither
possible for man to know the truth fully nor to avoid the error of
pretending that he does." 136
Religious exclusivism is the natural stance of those who have
experienced only one culture. Many Jews, Christians, and Muslims
never rise to the threshold of discovering perceptions of truth beyond
the boundaries of their own tradition. John Bunyan was unusual in being
troubled over exclusivism. This seventeenth-century Baptist leader ex-
pressed his concerns in the following questions.-

How can you tell that the Turks may not have as good
scriptures to prove their Muhammad as the Savior as we have
to prove our Jesus? Could 1 think that tens of thousands in
many countries and kingdoms should be without the knowl-
238 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

edge of the right way to heaven . . . and that we only, who live
in a corner of the earth, should alone be blessed therewith?
Everyone thinks his own religion is right, whether he is a Jew,
or a Muslim, or a polytheist.137

The term "pluralism" is increasingly popular among students of

world religions to express an approach that values both tolerance of
other faiths and commitment to their own faith. Pluralists hold to one
faith while entering into dialogue with those adhering to other faiths.
Meaningful dialogue involves both the honest facing of basic differ-
ences and a common searching for a truth that no group completely
possesses. The goal of pluralists is not to arrive at a uniform super-
religion, but to improve the faith of participants by understanding the
commitments of others and sometimes adapting beneficent values
proven effective elsewhere.
The logical circles of the following diagram show the conceptual
structure of pluralism vis-à-vis religious truth:

Total Religious Truth

Circles A, B, and C
represent religions,
which contain
some truth and
some non-truth.

Truth:

1 1 Common to A, B, and C

• llllllll Common to A and B

Common to B and C

Distinctive to A, B, or C

Logical Circles Relating Truth to Religion

 CONCLUSION 239

The largest circle symbolizes the total religious truth, so every-

thing outside that circle is false. God's truth is frequently referred to in
the Hebrew Bible as emeth, in the New Testament as aletheia, and in the
Quran as hagg. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all maintain that God is
much greater than humans' ideas of God. This common doctrine nur-
tures the humility needed for opening doors to greater illumination.
Regarding human understanding, the Bible states: "My thoughts are not
your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord."138 The Quran
also affirms.- "He (God) knows all that is present before humans and
everything about them that is yet to be. They comprehend only that
part of His knowledge that He wills."139 In accord with this, there is
much agreement in Semitic religions on how to answer the question
"Who is God?" All three faiths would probably regard the following
traditional catechism answer as an adequate summary: "God is a Spirit,
infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holi-
ness, justice, goodness, and truth." 140
The three smaller circles represent particular religions A, B, and C.
The truth portions of A + B + C do not fill up even half of the total
religious truth. Many other religions are not represented here, and God's
truth may also be partially expressed by non-religious groups. The
diagram also shows that what A, B, and C teach is, from a divine
perspective, about half false. Those within the groups are unaware of
just which parts of their doctrines are ultimately true. Perhaps they
become more aware of the amount of God's truth they possessed on the
other side of death.
The differing sizes of A, B, and C represent different amounts of
truth, but participants are unable to have certain knowledge of where
they belong. Given the three options, all religious participants presume
that their religion is A, and have more ample means of salvation than the
others. Were that not the case and given the choice, the believer would
abandon it and adopt the religion that appears to contain more truth.
Unless individuals who think of themselves as A circle members are
open and positive toward all other circles, they will be deprived of fuller
knowledge of religious truth. However, those who claim that all reli-
gions are equally true may be more empty-minded than open-minded,-
various religions do contain some opposing principles that may not be
acceptable as mutually true.
Perceptive readers have discerned that I evaluate Jesus as having
more of God's truth than Moses and Muhammad do. I like to think of
myself as participating in a serious religious debate in which others will
240 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

examine my outlook, not for the purpose of debunking it, but for
advancing their perspectives in a dialectic aimed at obtaining a larger
portion of the truth. I have learned much from the scriptures and
personal testimonies of those who are convinced that another prophet is
in the A circle, and I acknowledge that they indeed may have assimilated
more truth about God than Christians have. Some devotees of one
prophet are largely ignorant of the life and teachings of other prophets,
but some have studied other religions and are still convinced that more
truth is revealed by their favorite prophet.
The religious and marital bond can be compared regarding ulti-
macy. Many spouses genuinely believe that they are individually paired
with the best persons that exist, and total affirmation is given to the "one
and only" who appears to be the closest approximation of the ideal
spouse. A wife may think of her husband as the only man who is just
right for her, and a husband may think that their unique relationship has
been predestined. But if the spouses had been raised in another environ-
ment, they would have somewhat different personalities and thus would
be destined for other partners.
Relationships among world religions are also similar to ethnic
commitments. Each of us is born into and accepts without choice a
particular cultural group. Thus, for example, African-Americans grow up
believing that black is beautiful, and Native Americans learn to take
pride in their distinctive heritage. This healthy ethnic appreciation does
not have to degenerate into a tribalism in which members of one group
claim absolute superiority over all others.
We deceive ourselves if we think we can be totally objective. As in
all areas of human experience, unavoidable biases are apparent to others
even when we believe that subjectivity has been avoided. Like sailboat-
ing, the stimulating sport of thrusting first in one direction and then
another leads to the destination of fuller truth. Sailing directly into the
wind is impossible, and moving toward divine truth without honestly
examining the positions of others may also be impossible.
The extensive overlapping of the three particular religions on the
logical diagram accurately represent Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Common elements of all three include accepting Moses as a prophet,
praying to one just and merciful God, giving to the needy, and endors-
ing most of the Ten Commandments. All three advocate honoring
parents and forbid polytheism, idolatry, murder, adultery, stealing,
lying, and greed. Common elements of two include singing psalms
 CONCLUSION 241

(Judaism and Christianity), proselytizing people of other cultures

(Christianity and Islam), and circumcising for cultic purposes (Judaism
and Islam). Distinctions include lamenting during Yom Kippur, making
pilgrimages to Mecca, and being baptized.
The diagram is intended to counter the arrogance that causes
particular groups to claim finality for their world religion. It does not
follow logically to say that if my religion contains a great deal of truth,
other religions cannot have as much or more truth than mine. To say,
as many others honestly can, that there is more truth and challenge in
my religion than I can ever put into practice is not the same as saying
that truth is limited to what is expressed in the scriptures and traditions
of my religion. People who testify that their religion possesses "the
whole truth, and nothing but the truth" display an unbecoming lack of
humility.
In an effort to purge exclusive-mindedness from religions, Arnold
Toynbee reasons:

One can be convinced of the essential truth and Tightness and

value of what one believes to be the fundamental points in
ones own religion—and can believe that these tenets have
been received by one as a revelation from God—and at the
same time not believe that I, my church, my people, have the
sole and unique revelation. 141

There is a parallel between pluralism in science and in religion.

Some astrophysicists are now involved in a cooperative search for the
truth about the original state of the universe before the development of
the major physical forces and elements that are now known. Teams of
scientists in different laboratories pursue different hypotheses and rely
more on the quantum theory or more on the wave theory for under-
standing atomic energy. Similarly, some theologians are pursuing truth
that transcends the doctrinal understanding of their particular expres-
sions of faith. While these have some commonalities, there is consider-
able diversity in both interpretation and method. The competition
among the scientific communities is often mutually enriching. Each
hopes that its research will provide a step toward the ultimate truth of
nature. Isaac Newton, the most brilliant astrophysicist, expressed the
spirit needed in both religion and science in this statement: "I seem to
have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself
242 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than

ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before
m e "142 y^is humble genius pursued truth about gravitational force and
about One whom he referred to as omnipotent, omniscient, and omni-
present. Regarding the latter pursuit, Newton said: "As a blind man has
no idea of colors, so have we no idea of the manner by which the all-
wise God perceives and understands all things." 143
The truth of God is not confined to the historical Jesus or Muham-
mad, or to the Israelite religion that led up to them. The New Testament
refers to Jesus as the true one and the Quran refers to Muhammad in the
same way. 144 Yet it would go beyond those scriptures to maintain that all
of God's truth was exhaustively contained in what either prophet ex-
pressed. The Spirit of God "blows where it chooses" 145 and is not limited
to the synagogue, church, or mosque. In his writings, the apostle Paul
confesses that divine love transcends human understanding. 146 Enthusi-
astic appreciation of one revealer does not demand that other prophets
be denigrated. Indeed, the more secure one is, the more one can be
tolerant of the different commitments of others. Hick uses an astro-
nomical metaphor in his advocacy of pluralism:

We have to make what might be called a Copernican revolu-

tion in our theology of religions. . . . We have to realize that
the universe of faiths centres upon God, and not upon Chris-
tianity or upon any other religion. He is the sun, the origina-
tive source of light and life, whom all the religions reflect in
their own different ways. 147

Wilfred Smith, an eminent comparative-religions scholar, chal-

lenges fellow Christians who "insist that Christ is the center of their
lives . . . (to) rediscover that God is the center of the universe."148 With
Christocentricity there is the danger of Jesusolatry, the idolizing of the
Nazarene savior. Smith affirms that God's truth is the convergent point
for all religions. He finds this expressed in Allabu akbar, the familiar cry of
Muslims, that acknowledges God to be greater than all human theolo-
gizings.
Those accepting the theocentric paradigm no longer measure an-
other's religion by its distance from their own. Pluralistic Muslims and
Christians depend primarily on their particular scriptures, traditions,
community worship, and individual experiences for learning about God,
but they acknowledge that all of God's wisdom is not expressed in these.
 CONCLUSION 243

While recognizing Muhammad or Jesus as significantly unique, the

exhaustive divine truth is not identified with either revealer. Each
prophet might best be seen as a shining planet that provides an indirect
light from the divine source.
One of the healthiest theological developments of the twentieth
century has been the rejection by the world's largest religious denomina-
tion of the claims that its church is the sole depository of essential
religious truth and that all other religions are false. In 1442, the Ecu-
menical Council of Florence made this "infallible" pronouncement:

The holy Roman Church . . . proclaims that outside the Cath-

olic Church no one, neither heathen nor Jew nor unbeliever
nor schismatic, will have a share in eternal life, but will, rather,
be subject to the everlasting fire which has been prepared for
the Devil and his angels, unless he attaches himself to the
Catholic Church before his death. 149

In contrast, the Vatican II Council of the Roman Catholic Church

recognized in 1965, as did the early Christians centuries ago, that
different religions contain rays of the "true Light that enlightens every-
one." 150 The splendor of the divine is enhanced, not diminished, by this
variety. Regarding non-Christian religions, the Vatican II Council also
stated:

The Catholic Church rejects nothing which is true and holy in

these religions . . . Upon the Muslims, too, the Church looks
with esteem. They adore one God. . . . They strive to submit
wholeheartedly even to His inscrutable decrees, just as did
Abraham, with whom the Islamic faith is pleased to associate
itself. Though they do not acknowledge Jesus as God, they
revere him as a prophet. . . . They prize the moral life, and give
worship to God, especially through prayer, almsgiving, and
fasting. Although in the course of the centuries many quarrels
and hostilities have arisen between Christians and Muslims . . .
let them make common cause of safeguarding and fostering
social justice, moral values, peace, and freedom.151

Catholic priest Hans Kung, whose writings were one of the causes
of the Vatican II Council, articulates well the contemporary spirit of his
Church:
244 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

The Christian who wishes to engage in dialogue with the

Muslim acknowledges from the outset his or her own convic-
tion of faith that for him or her Jesus is the Christ and so is
normative and definitive, but he or she also takes very seri-
ously the function of Muhammad as an authentic prophet. . . .
Anybody who makes such a basic attitude his or her own,
whether as a Christian or not, can combine commitment to
faith and readiness to understand, religious loyalty and intel-
lectual honesty. He or she has a critically reflective tie to his or
her as well as to the other community of faith not only to
interpret something afresh but to change it—with a develop-
ing ecumenical community in view. 152

An evolution in the use of "ecumenical" (literally, "household")

parallels changes in religious outlook. Traditionally, the term pertained
to councils of the Catholic Church from Nicea onward. It first referred
to interfaith dialogues among Protestants in the twentieth century.
Subsequently, the term was prominently used to describe cooperative
efforts among the Roman Catholics, the Eastern Orthodox, and the
Protestants. The "household" term has been used in the past generation
to describe the quest for Jewish-Christian unity. As a result of the "tri-
alogue" that is now surfacing, Christians, Jews, and Muslims may even-
tually feel comfortable residing in Dar-Islam, the household of those
committed to God. "Ecumenical" pertains not only to what is inclusive
of all Christians or of all biblically oriented people, but also to the wider
household of ethical monotheists.
When this unifying effort becomes more apparent, Jews, Chris-
tians, and Muslims may mutually appreciate new divine spokespersons.
As demonstrated, the New Testament recognizes male and female
prophets who lived after Jesus, so Christians should not think that God
has been speechless since the time of the Nazarene. Jews and Christians
recognize Jeremiah as a true prophet, but they are not likely to so
recognize Muhammad. Similarly, the Quran recognizes Moses and Jesus
as prophets, but not Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Perhaps the horizons of these
three religions could be broadened to accept prophets since Muham-
mad. Among those who might be ranked as authentic spokespersons for
God are Al-Ghazali (died 1111), Joan of Arc (martyred 1431), Baruch
Spinoza (died 1677), Sarah Grimké (died 1873), Baha'u'llah (died 1892),
Martin Luther King (martyred 1968), and Archbishop Oscar Romero
(martyred 1980).
 CONCLUSION 245

Christians and Muslims have both been given the imperative to

propagate their faith. In this regard, a text from the Quran has inspired
action: "It is He who has sent forth His Apostle with guidance and the
true faith to make it triumphant over all religions." 153 Correspondingly,
many Christians have been profoundly influenced by Jesus' command
that initiating baptisms be performed and that his teachings be transmit-
ted so as to "make disciples of all nations." 154 Recognizing the benefit of
any religion engaging in missionary activity, Jacques Jomier asks: "Is it
not a deeply human reaction to want to share with others that which
gives one's own existence all its meaning and appears as the height of
what human beings can have in this world: faith in the God who loves
them and whom they love?"155
According to the Quran, God addresses Jews, Christians, and
Muslims, suggesting that there is virtue in competing communities-.

We have revealed to you the Book with truth, confirming the

Scriptures which came before it. . . . For each of you We have
ordained a Law and a Way. Had God pleased, He could have
made all of you a single community. However it is His will to
test you by the revelation given you, so compete in goodness.
To God you will all return and He will resolve your dis-
putes. 156

In religious competitions, only poor sports compare one's ideals

with another's practices. For example, some Christians enjoy contrasting
Jesus' acceptance of other ethnics with military conquests by early
Muslim leaders. In return, some Muslims contrast their ideal of a com-
mon humanity with the holy wars of Christians. But fairness demands
on-the-level comparisons. If ideals were compared with ideals and prac-
tices with practices, invidious comparisons would diminish.
Jesus advocated the good-works test of prophetic movements:
"By their fruits you shall know them." 157 Children of Abraham should
get beyond asserting that Moses, Jesus, or Muhammad is the greatest,
and let the impact of their messages be the standard for evaluation.
Independent of Moses' personal lifestyle, some of the commandments
that he proclaimed have had a positive influence on civilization. The
same might be said for later prophets in the Judeo-Christian-Muslim
tradition.
Gotthold Lessing, a philosopher during the German Enlighten-
ment period of the eighteenth century, wrote an intriguing play about a
246 MUHAMMAD AND JESUS

dying sultan who loved each of his three sons equally He could not
decide who should be willed his opal ring, the potent symbol of his
authority. Consequently, he had two duplicate rings made so that each
son would inherit an opal ring. In appearance, the three rings could not
be distinguished from one another. After their father's death, the sons
went to a wise man to ascertain who possessed the authentic ring. This
advice was offered: "Let each think his own is the true ring. Possibly the
father wished to tolerate no longer in his house the tyranny of just one
ring." 158 The sage encouraged each son to emulate his father's "unpre-
judiced affection" with "gentleness, a heart-felt peacefulness, good
works, and deep submission to God's will."159 In essence, then, each son
should aim at genuine piety and high morality, without disparaging the
striving of the others. In a future age, the "powers of the stones" would
reveal which is authentic by the quality of the descendants. 160
Lessing provided a parable of pluralism. The story does not convey
relativism, however, because all rings are not of equal worth. In the end,
the family of one offspring may be universally recognized as the best
expression of the will of God. The determination will not come by the
pronouncement of some authority after the development of a new
scientific test to distinguish replicas from the original. Rather, recogni-
tion will come pragmatically by people discerning a different quality in
the lives of their neighbors and judging that some live more in accord
with the character of the One bestowing the gift than others do. In real
life, both Muslims and Christians highly respected a prophet who once
offered this test: "Anyone who resolves to do the will of God will know
whether the teaching is from God." 161
 NOTES

CHAPTER 1: Introduction
1. Quran (henceforth cited as "Q") 2:253.
2. Genesis 11:10-32.
3. Q 19:31, 29:30.
4. Q 2:87, 4:171.
5. Rendei Harris, "Sayings of Jesus from Moslem Sources," The Expositor 16
(1918): 151-60.
6. Q 3:45,- Washington Post (December 16, 1990): Kl.
7. W. Montgomery Watt, Muhammad at Mecca (Oxford: Clarendon Press,
1953), p. 52.
8. Genesis 25:6.
9. Sanhedrin 91a.
10. Esther Rabbah 1, 17.
11. Galatians 4:29-30; Genesis 21:10.
12. Sozomen, Church History 6, 38.
13. Seyyed Nasr, "Islamic Conception of Intellectual Life," Dictionary of the
History of Ideas (New York: Scribner's, 1973).
14. John of Damascus, The Fount of Knowledge 2, 101, in Daniel Sahas, John of
Damascus on Islam (London.- Brill, 1972), p. 133.
15. Harry Turtledove, The Chronicle of Theophanes (Philadelphia: University of
Pennsylvania Press, 1982), p. 35.
16. Song of Roland part 1, poem 71, in Charles Eliot, ed., Harvard Classics 49 (New
York: Collier, 1910), p. 127.
17. Song of Roland part 1, poems 143, 223 in Eliot, pp. 159, 197.
18. James Kritzeck, Peter the Venerable and Islam (Princeton: Princeton University
Press, 1964), p. 132.
19. James Waltz, "Muhammad and the Muslims in St. Thomas Aquinas," The
Muslim World 66 (4/76): 88-89.
20. Aquinas, Summa contra Gentiles 1, 6.
21. Aquinas, Summa contra Gentiles 1, 6.
22. Dante Alighieri, Divine Comedy: Inferno 28.
23. Miguel Asin, Islam and the Divine Comedy (New York: Dutton, 1926).

247
 248 NOTES

24. Marie-Rose Seguy, The Miraculous Journey of Mahomet (New York: Braziller,
1977), p. 19.
25. Revelation 9:13-19,- Theodore Bachmann, ed., Luther's Works 35 (Phila-
delphia: Muhlenberg Press, I960), p. 404.
26. Jaroslav Pelikan, ed., Luther's Works 15 (St. Louis.- Concordia, 1966), p. 340.
27. Robert Schultz, ed., Luther's Works 46 (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1967), p. 179.
28. Gustav Wienche, ed., Luther's Works 43 (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1968),
p. 238.
29. Jaroslav Pelikan, ed., Luther's Works 8 (St. Louis: Concordia, 1966),
p. 187.
30. D. Martin Luthers Werke 53 (Weimar, 1920), pp. 395-96.
31. Paul Lunde, "The Lure of Mecca," Aramco World Magazine 25, 6 (1974):
14-15.
32. Norman Daniel, Islam and the West (Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh
Press, 1960), p. 32.
33. William Shakespeare, I Henry VI1, 2, 140-41.
34. Francis Bacon, "Of Boldness."
35. Voltaire, Mahomet the Prophet, or Fanaticism (1742) 5, 4.
36. Voltaire, "Mahometans," Dictionaire Philosophise, in Ben Redman, ed., The
Portable Voltaire (New York: Penguin, 1977), p. 163.
37. Redman, p. 164.
38. Sigismund Koelle, Mohammed and Mohammedism (London: Rivington, 1889),
pp. 468-69.
39. Samuel Zwemer, Islam (New York: Layman's Missionary Movement, 1909),
p. 44.
40. Duncan Macdonald, Aspects of Islam (New York: Macmillan, 1911), pp. 72,
74.
41. Marius Baar, The Unholy War (Nashville.- Nelson, 1980), pp. 71, 155.
42. The Intermountain (January 12, 1981).
43. The Intermountain (January 12, 1981).
44. Salman Rushdie, The Satanic Verses (New York: Viking, 1989).
45. Robert Burns, "The De'il's Awa."
46. W. Young, Patriarch, Shah, and Caliph (Rawalpindi: Christian Study Centre,
1974), p. 203.
47. George Sale, The Koran (New York: Warne, 1891), p. xii.
48. Sale, p. vii.
49. Sale, p. x.
50. Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1788), chapter 50.
51. Gibbon, chapter 50, note 159.
52. Thomas Carlyle, On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History (1840),
lecture 2.
53. Thomas Carlyle, On Heroes (London: Oxford University Press, 1968), p. 57.
 NOTES 249

54. Carlyle, On Heroes, p. 57.

55. Carlyle, On Heroes, p. 85.
56. Johann Doellinger, Muhammed's Religion (1838), p. 3, in The Moslem World 34
(1944): 96.
57. Kenneth Cragg, The Call of the Minaret (New York: Oxford University Press,
1964), pp. 9 4 - 9 5 .
58. Guilio Basetti-Sani, The Koran in the Light of Christ (Chicago: Franciscan
Herald Press, 1977), p. 186.
59. Genesis 17:20.
60. Alfred Guillaume, Islam (Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1954), p. 53.
61. Will Durant, The Age of Faith (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1950), p. 174.
62. Michael Hart, The ioo-. A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History (New
York: Hart, 1978), p. 33.
63. Hart, p. 33.
64. Religion demographer David Barrett estimates that there are 1,833 million
Christians, or 33 percent of the world population, and 971 million Mus-
lims, or 18 percent of the world population,- in "Religious Statistics,"
Daphne Daume, ed., Britannica Book of the Year (Chicago: Encyclopaedia
Britannica, 1993).
65. Francis Peters, "The Quest of the Historical Muhammad," International
Journal of Middle East Studies 23 (1991): 291-307.
66. A. Roy Eckardt, Reclaiming the Jesus of History (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992),
pp. 6 - 8 ; E. P. Sanders, Jesus and Judaism (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1985), p. 2.
67. Ahmed Ali, Al-Qur'an (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1988),- Ar-
thur Arberry, The Koran Interpreted (London: Oxford University Press, 1982),-
Kenneth Cragg, Readings in the Quran (London: Collins, 1988),- N. J. Da-
wood, The Koran (New York: Penguin, 1991),- Thomas Irving, The Quran
(Brattleboro, V T Amana, 1985),- Mohammed Pickthall, The Meaning of the
Glorious Koran (New York: Mentor, 1953),- Hanna Kassis, A Concordance of the
Quran (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983).
68. Alfred Guillaume, The Life of Muhammad: A Translation oflbn Ishacj's Sirat Rasul
Allah (Lahore: Oxford University Press, 1955),- Muhammad Khan, trans.,
Sahih al-Bukhari (Chicago: Kazi Publishers, 1979), 9 vols.,- James Robson,
trans., Mishkat Al-Masabih (Lahore: Muhammad Ashraf Publishers, 1973), 2
vols.,- Martin Lings, Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources (New York:
Inner Traditions International, 1983).
69. Fazlur Rahman, Islam (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979); Hans
Kung and Jurgen Moltman, Christianity Among World Religions (Edinburgh:
Clark, 1986).
70. Karen Armstrong, Muhammad (San Francisco: Harper, 1991); Marcus Borg,
Jesus-. A New Vision (San Francisco: Harper, 1987).
71. Maulana Ali, Muhammad and Christ (Madras: SPCK, 1921).
 250 NOTES

72. Claus Schedi, Muhammad und Jesus (Wien: Herder, 1978).

73. Maxime Rodinson, Mohammed (New York: Vintage, 1974), p. 313.
74. William Phipps, The Wisdom and Wit of Rabbi Jesus (Louisville: Westminster/
John Knox, 1993), pp. 117-24.
75. Dagobert Runes, ed., Dictionary of Philosophy (Ames, IA: Littlefield, Adams,
1958).
76. The Westminster Shorter Catechism (London, 1647), question 1.
77. John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion (1559) 2, 2, 15.
78. Johann Goethe, Kunst und Altertum (1832).
79. Mark 10:11-12.
80. Paul Knitter, No Other Name? (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1985), p. 225.

CHAPTER 2: Antecedents

1. Numbers 13:27.
2. Josephus, Antiquities 17, 295.
3. Genesis 37:25.
4. 1 Kings 10:14-15.
5. 1 Kings 9:26-27.
6. Ezekiel 27:22.
7. DeLacy O'Leary, Arabia Before Muhammad (London: Kegan Paul, 1927),
pp. 182-88.
8. Procopius, History of the Wars 1, 20, 9.
9. Use Kohler-Rollefson, "Camels and Camel Pastoralism in Arabia," Biblical
Archaeologist 56 (December 1993): 183-84.
10. Judges 6:2-6, 11,- 8:24.
11. 2 Chronicles 21:17.
12. Ammianus Marcellinus, History 14, 3-4.
13. Irfan Shahid, "Pre-Islamic Arabia" in P M. Holt, ed., The Cambridge History
of Islam (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1970), vol. 1, p. 24.
14. Q 2:183,- Ishaq, Sirat Rasul Allah, p. 105 of Guillaume's translation (hence-
forth cited as "I").
15. I, p. 9.
16. Mircea Eliade, Patterns in Comparative Religion (New York: Sheed & Ward,
1958), pp. 227-28.
17. Maxime Rodinson, Mohammed (New York: Vintage, 1974), pp. 39-40.
18. I, p. 35.
19. Joseph Henninger, "Pre-Islamic Bedouin Religion," in Merlin Swartz, ed.,
Studies on Islam (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981), p. 13.
20. I, p. 9.
21. Chaim Bermant and Michael Weitzman, Ebla (New York: Times Books,
1979), p. 165.
 NOTES 251

22. William Phipps, Genesis and Gender (New York: Praeger, 1989), p. 2.
23. Walther Eichrodt, Theology of the Old Testament (Philadelphia: Westminster,
1961), p. 185.
24. Arthur Arberry, Aspects of Islamic Civilization (Ann Arbor: University of
Michigan Press, 1967), p. 23.
25. Fazlur Rahman, Islam (Chicago. University of Chicago Press, 1979),
p. 34.
26. 2 Kings 13:23.
27. Q 11:61.
28. Q 11:62.
29. Q 29:61-63.
30. Q 29:65, 31:32.
31. Wilhelm Schmidt, The Origin and Growth of Religion (London: Methuen,
1935), p. 193.
32. Herodotus, History 3, 8.
33. "Al-Lat," in The Encyclopaedia of Islam (London: Brill, 1986).
34. John Lawlor, The Nabataeans in Historical Perspective (Grand Rapids.- Baker,
1974), p. 121.
35. Lawlor, p. 121.
36. Epiphanius, Pararion 51 in John Trimingham, Christianity Among the Arabs in
Pre-Islamic Times (London: Longman, 1979), p. 80.
37. Jack Finegan, The Archeology of World Religions (Princeton: Princeton Univer-
sity Press, 1952), p. 483.
38. Exodus 3:6,- Mark 12:26.
39. I, p. 84.
40. Morris Seale, Quran and Bible (London.- Croom Helm, 1978), p. 16.
41. John Glubb, The Life and Times of Muhammad (New York: Stein & Day, 1970),
p. 243.
42. William Albright, The Biblical Period from Abraham to Ezra (New York: Harper,
1963), p. 5.
43. Genesis 16:1-17:20.
44. Genesis 17:25.
45. Genesis 21:9-21.
46. Genesis 25:12-18.
47. Trimingham, pp. 10-11, 313.
48. Louis Ginzberg, Legends of the Bible (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1956),
p. 124.
49. Gordon Newby, A History of the Jews of Arabia (Columbia: University of
South Carolina Press, 1988), pp. 18-19, 33-34.
50. Sozomen, Church History 6, 38.
51. Josephus, Antiquities 1, 214 and 221.
52. Acts 2:11.
53. Philostorgius, Church History 3, 5.
252 NOTES

54. Hartwig Hirschfeld, Jewish Quarterly Review 1 (1910): 447.

55. Newby, A History of the Jews of Arabia, p. 75.
56. Newby, A History of the Jews of Arabia, pp. 48-49, 75.
57. Heinrich Graetz, History of the Jews (Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication
Society, 1902), vol. 3, pp. 53-54, 60.
58. "Bible: Arabic," Encyclopaedia Judaica (Jerusalem: Keter, 1971).
59. Gordon Newby, The Making of the Last Prophet (Columbia: University of
South Carolina Press, 1989), p. 12.
60. Rodinson, p. 64.
61. I, p. 99.
62. I, p. 100.
63. Rodinson, pp. 15-16.
64. I, p. 66-68.
65. "Dahr", The Encyclopaedia of Islam (London: Brill, 1965).
66. Rodinson, Mohammed, p. 18.
67. Tarafa, Mu'allacj, in Trimingham, p. 244, and in Seale, p. 15.
68. Theodor Noeldeke, "Arabs (Ancient)," James Hastings, ed., Encyclopaedia of
Religion and Ethics (New York: Scribner's, 1928).
69. Q 44:35.
70. Job 7:9, 14:12.
71. Morris Seale in Arnold Toynbee, ed., Life after Death (New York: McGraw-
Hill, 1976), p. 123; Emil Homerin, "Echoes of a Thirsty Owl: Death and
Afterlife in Pre-Islamic Arabic Poetry," Journal of Near Eastern Studies 44
(1985): 165-184.
72. Noeldeke, "Arabs (Ancient)."
73. Toshihiko Izutsu, Ethio-Religious Concepts in the Quran (Montreal: McGill
University, 1966), p. 86.
74. Izutsu, pp. 51-52, 75-104.
75. Dwight Donaldson, Studies in Muslim Ethics (London: SPCK, 1953), p. 7.
76. E. g., Matthew 9:13, cp. Hosea 6.6; Mark 4:12, cp. Isaiah 6:9-10,- Luke 7:22,
cp. Isaiah 35:5-6.
77. Matthew 21:16; Psalm 8:2.
78. Mark 14:26.
79. Mark 15:34, cp. Psalm 22:1 ; Luke 23:46, cp. Psalm 31:5.
80. William Phipps, Assertive Biblical Women (Westport, C T Greenwood, 1992),
pp. 3 - 5 .
81. Sirach 25:24, 42:13-14.
82. Aboth 2:7.
83. Josephus, Life 10; Against Apion 200.
84. Shabbat 2, 5b.
85. Mekilta Exodus 21, 7 and 20, cp. Exodus 21:7.
86. Berakoth 3:3.
87. Josephus, Against Apion 2, 103.
 NOTES 253

88. Sotah 3:4.

89. Nedarim 4:3.
90. Judith Wegner, Chattel or Person (New York: Oxford, 1988), p. 162.
91. Wegner, p. 198.
92. Leviticus 15:19
93. Niddah 4:7.
94. Niddah 7-A.
95. Mikwaoth 8:5.
96. Numbers 5:11-28.
97. Sotah 1:5-6.
98. Sotah 3:4.
99. Elise Boulding, The Underside oj History (Boulder, C O : Westview, 1976),
pp. 286-96.
100. Nabia Abbott, "Pre-Islamic Arab Queens," American Journal of Semitic Lan-
guages and literatures 58 (1941): 1-22.
101. Nabia Abbott, "Women and the State on the Eve of Islam," American Journal
of Semitic languages and literatures 58 (1941): p. 259.
102. Abbott, pp. 261-262.
103. Stanley Lane-Poole, The Speeches and Tahle-Talk of the Prophet Mohammad
(New York: Macmillan, 1905), p. xv ; the poetry was translated by
C. J. Lyall and published in Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (1877).
104. Lane-Poole, p. xvi.
105. William Smith, Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia (London: Black, 1903),
pp. 96, 104-105.
106. Genesis 34:12.
107. Deuteronomy 25:5-10.
108. Leila Ahmed, "Women and the Advent of Islam," Signs 11 (1986): p. 680.
109. Geoffrey Parrinder, Sex in the World's Religions (New York: Oxford, 1980),
p. 158.
110. Smith, pp. 82-86, 147-79; Ira Lapidus, A History of Islamic Societies (Cam-
bridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988), p. 29.
111. Ammianus Marcellinus, History 14, 4.
112. Use Lichtenstadter, Women in the Aiyam Al-Arah (London: Royal Asiatic
Society, 1935), p. 86.
113. Gustave von Grunebaum, Classical Islam (London: Unwin, 1970), pp. 2 4 -
26.
114. Reuven Firestone, Journeys in Holy lands (Albany: State University of New
York Press, 1990), pp. 158-89.

CHAPTER 3: Early Life

1. 1 Corinthians 15:3-8.
2. In Tor Andrae, Mohammed (New York-. Harper, 1960), p. 34.
254 NOTES

3. I, pp. 58, 73, 79-81.

4. Quoted in Alfred Guillaume, Islam (Baltimore: Penguin, 1954), p. 26.
5. Guillaume, p. 26.
6. I, pp. 82, 792.
7. Ehsan Yar-Shater, ed., The History of al-Tahari (Albany: State University of
New York Press, 1988), vol. 6, p. 49.
8. 1, p. 83.
9. Q93:8.
10. Alfred Guillaume, New Light on the Life of Muhammad (Manchester: University
of Manchester Press, 1960), p. 27.
11. I, p. 84-86.
12. I, p. 102, 105.
13. Q97:l.
14. Q 53:7-10.
15. Q96:l.
16. Q 96:1-5.
17. Jeremiah 1:4-6.
18. Jeremiah 20:7-9.
19. Q 28:86.
20. I, p. 106.
21. I, p. 106.
22. I, p. 107.
23. I, p. 107.
24. Q 10:94.
25. Q 53:36-37.
26. Fatima Mernissi, The Veil and the Male Elite (New York: Addison-Wesley,
1991), p. 103.
27. I, p. 155.
28. I, p. 121.
29. Luke 3:2-9 ; Acts 2:14-24.
30. Q 106:3-5.
31. Q 8 : 3 5 , 37.
32. Q 10:15-16.
33. I, p. 119.
34. I, p. 119.
35. Q 68:51.
36. Q 8 : 3 0 , 34.
37. Q 34:43.
38. I, p. 131.
39. I, p. 131.
40. I, p. 131.
41. I, p. 131.
42. I, p. 131.
 NOTES 255

43. I, p. 133.
44. I, p. 134.
45. Q21:5.
46. Q 17:90.
47. Q 10:5-6.
48. Al-Bukhari, Sahih 18, 1; Mishkat 4, 51.
49. Q25-.8.
50. Q6:7.
51. Q 29:50.
52. Q 29:51.
53. Huston Smith, The World's Religions (San Francisco: Harper, 1991), p. 227.
54. I, pp. 143-45, 159-60.
55. I, pp. 114-15.
56. I 155-58.
57. Mishkat 21, 4.
58. Mishkat 22, 1.
59. I, p. 151.
60. I, p. 152.
61. I, p. 167.
62. I 161.
63. Q 111.1-4.
64. Q9:23.
65. Q9:24.
66. I, p. 192.
67. I, p. 193.
68. I, p. 193.
69. Gordon Newby, A History oj the Jews oj Arabia (Columbia: University of
South Carolina Press, 1988), pp. 40, 47.
70. I, p. 198.
71. I, pp. 201-08.
72. I, p. 94.
73. I, p. 259.
74. I, pp. 221-27.
75. Matthew 2:13-14, 19-21.
76. Josephus, Antiquities 17, 305-11; 18, 117; Mark 6:17-29.
77. Kiddushin 76b.
78. Genesis 17:12,- Luke 2:21.
79. Leviticus 12:8; Luke 2:22-24.
80. Letter of Aristeas 184-86.
81. Matthew 1:16; 13:55; Luke 2:33; 4:22.
82. Matthew 1:19.
83. Luke 1:51-53.
84. George Moore, Judaism (New York: Schocken, 1971), vol. 1, pp. 303-4, 316-18.
256 NOTES

85. Zechariah2:12.
86. Ezekiel 5:5f William Phipps, "Cultural Commitments and World Maps,"
Focus 41 (1991): 7 - 8 .
87. Luke 11:31.
88. Deuteronomy 16:16.
89. Leviticus 15.
90. Psalm 26:6.
91. Acts 21:24.
92. Psalm 122:1-6.
93. Luke 2:52.
94. Aboth 5:15
95. Aboth 5:15
96. William Phipps, Was Jesus Married? (New York: Harper, 1970), pp. 34-70.
97. Genesis 1:28, 2:24.
98. KiààushinA, 13.
99. Matthew 3:9-10.
100. Luke 13.-3-9.
101. Isaiah 6:1-5.
102. 1 Kings 22:19-22,- Isaiah 6:8-13,- Ezekiel 1-3.
103. Mark 1:10-11.
104. Deuteronomy 8:3 ; Luke 4:3.
105. Psalm 91:5-8.
106. Psalm 91:11-12.
107. Q 8.-9-13.
108. Mark 1:7.
109. 2 Kings 21:1-23:29.
110. Josephus, Antiquities 18, 190-92.
111. Deuteronomy 6:16.
112. Exodus 17:2-7.
113. Matthew 13:52.
114. Mark 2:22.
115. Hosea 6.6, Matthew 12:7.
116. Isaiah 40:9, 42:1-4, 49:6, 53:3-5.
117. Isaiah 53:3-5.
118. Mark 2:16-17.
119. Mark 1:15.
120. Mark 1:34, 3:2, 6.5.
121. Mark 5:34, 10:52.
122. Mark 6:5-6.
123. "Leprosy," George Buttrick, ed., The Interpreter's Dictionary oj the Bible
(Nashville: Abingdon, 1962).
124. Leviticus 13-14.
125. Mark 1:40-41.
 NOTES 257

126. Mark 14:3.

127. Luke 4:43.
128. Mark 1:21-22.
129. George Bernard Shaw, Complete Plays with Prefaces 5 (New York: Dodd,
Mead, 1962): 345-46.
130. Mark 8:29-33; 14:29-31, 66-72.
131. Matthew 16:18.
132. Acts 5:29.
133. Luke 14:28-30.
134. Gospel of Thomas 82.
135. Luke 9:57-58.
136. Matthew 10:36,- Micah 7:6.
137. Mark 3:21-35.
138. Luke 3:17.
139. Luke 7:19.
140. Luke 7:21-22; Isaiah 35:5-6.
141. Luke 4:18-19,- Isaiah 61:1-2.
142. 1 Kings 16:31, 17:8-24.
143. 2 Kings 5:1-14.
144. Luke 4:22-28.
145. Luke 4:28-30.
146. Luke 4:24; Mark 6:4.

CHAPTER 4: Later Life

1. I, p. 228.
2. Q 24:58; Al-Bukhari, Sahih 3, 7.
3. Q62:9.
4. Al-Bukhari, Sahih 11, 30.
5. Al-Bukhari, Sahih 11, 1.
6. Mishkat 4, 5.
7. I, p. 232.
8. I, p. 232.
9. I, pp. 231-33.
10. Q 88:21-22; 42:47.
11. Q 26:108.
12. W. Montgomery Watt, Muhammad (London: Oxford, 1964), p. 85.
13. I, p. 255.
14. Q 2:125, 142; I, p. 259.
15. Watt, p. 114.
16. Q 2:217.
17. Q 8.1, 41.
18. I, pp. 299, 304.
258 NOTES

19. I, p. 300.
20. I, p. 300.
21. I, p. 308.
22. Ehsan Yar-Shater, ed., The History ofal-Tabari 9 (Albany: State University of
New York Press, 1990): 154,- "Dhu'l Fakar," Encyclopaedia oj Islam (London:
Brill, 1965).
23. Q62:5.
24. I, p. 363.
25. I, p. 363.
26. Q 3:12-13.
27. I, p. 751.
28. Watt, pp. 130-31.
29. I, p. 361.
30. I, pp. 437-38.
31. Q 59:3-4.
32. I, p. 369.
33. I, pp. 381-83, 389.
34. I, p. 385.
35. I, p. 386.
36. I, p. 386.
37. Q 3:152-53.
38. I, p. 450.
39. I, p. 452.
40. I, p. 454.
41. Ali Dashti, Twenty-Three Years (London: Allen & Unwin, 1985), p. 107.
42. I, p. 462.
43. I, p. 464.
44. I, p. 466.
45. Q 33:26-7.
46. Maxime Rodinson, Mohammed (New York: Vintage, 1974), p. 214.
47. Q 6:92, 42:7.
48. I, p. 502.
49. 1, p. 504.
50. I, p. 507.
51. I, p. 438.
52. Al-Bukhari, Sabih 53, 26.
53. I, pp. 515-17.
54. I, p. 531.
55. I, pp. 546-52.
56. I, p. 530.
57. Genesis 28:18-19.
58. Joshua 24:26.
59. I, pp. 552-53.
 NOTES 259

60. Q 110:1-2,- I, p. 628.

61. Q 49:14.
62. Dashti, p. 197.
63. Rodinson, pp. 268-69.
64. Fazlur Rahman, Islam (Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1979) pp. 2 4 -
25.
65. I, p. 605.
66. I, p. 607.
67. Q 9:38, 42.
68. I, pp. 659-60.
69. I, pp. 678-79.
70. Q3:97.
71. Mishkat 11, 3.
72. Q 2:158.
73. Q 2:198.
74. I, p. 651.
75. Q 22:36, 37:107.
76. Q 2:196-97, 203.
77. I, pp. 678-82.
78. I, p. 689.
79. Al-Bukhari, Sahih 8, 55.
80. Mishkat 21, 5.
81. Mishkat 5, 6.
82. Mishkat 25, 3.
83. I, p. 682.
84. I, p. 683.
85. Q 3.144.
86. I, p. 688.
87. Robert Ellwood, Many Peoples, Many Faiths (Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice-Hall, 1976), pp. 320-21.
88. Mark 2:1, 3:19.
89. Luke 3.19-20,- Leviticus 20:21.
90. Josephus, Antiquities 18, 119.
91. Mark 6:17-28.
92. Josephus, Antiquities 18, 109-17.
93. Mark 6:15.
94. Luke 7:16.
95. Mark 6:14-16.
96. Luke 13:31.
97. Mark 3:6.
98. Mark 6:7-13.
99. Mark 8:34-36.
100. Josephus, Antiquities 17, 295.
260 NOTES

101. Luke 9:23.

102. Luke 13:33.
103. Psalm 118:25, 27.
104. Mark 11:10.
105. Psalm of Solomon 17:23-27.
106. Mark 10:37.
107. Acts 12:2.
108. Mark 10:42-45.
109. Psalm 2:9.
110. Joel 3:10-16.
112. Isaiah 2:4, 9:6.
113. Jeremiah 27:2-13.
114. Jeremiah 38:4.
115. Luke 21:20-21.
116. Luke 13:34.
117. Jeremiah 22:5,- Matthew 23:38.
118. Matthew 21:1-11.
119. Zechariah 9:9-10.
120. Zechariah 14:21.
121. Luke 19:41-44.
122. Jeremiah 26:12-13.
123. Marcus Borg, Jesus-. A New Vision (San Francisco: Harper, 1987), p. 174.
124. Jeremiah 7.11-14; Mark 11:17, 13.1-2.
125. Isaiah 56:6-7; Mark 11:17.
126. Mark 11:27-12:12.
127. Mark 12.14.
128. Mark 12:17.
129. Mark 13:2.
130. Howard Kee and Franklin Young, Understanding the New Testament (En-
glewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1957), p. 159.
131. Mark 11:18; 14:1-2, 10.
132. John Crossan, Jesus (San Francisco.- Harper, 1994), pp. 132-33, 196.
133. Jeremiah 31:27-34; 1 Corinthians 11:12.
134. Mark 14:22.
135. Mark 14:24.
136. Isaiah 53:12.
137. Mark 14:43-48.
138. Mark 14:61.
139. Mark 14:65.
140. Mark 14:53-65.
140. Jeremiah 26.11, 37.15.
141. John 18:31.
142. Mark 15:2.
 NOTES 261

143. Mark 15:10-15.

144. Claude Montefiore, The Synoptic Gospels (New York: Ktav, 1968), vol. 1,
p. 352.
145. Raymond Brown, The Death of the Messiah (New York: Doubleday, 1994),
vol. 1, pp. 515-47.
146. Mark 15:16-26.
147. Robert Funk, The Five Gospels (New York: Macmillan, 1993), p. 549.
148. David Flusser, Jesus (New York: Herder & Herder, 1969), p. 70.
149. Matthew 5:10, 6:33.
150. Mark 15:31.
151. Mark 14:50, 15:40-47.
152. John 19:40.
153. 1 Corinthians 15:3-5.
154. Psalm 118:22.
155. Mark 12:10-11; Ephesians 2:19-22,- 1 Peter 2:4-7.
156. Psalm 118:23.

CHAPTER 5: Scriptures
1. John 1:14.
2. Rifiq Zakaria, Muhammad and the Quran (New York: Penguin, 1991), pp. 19,24.
3. John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion (1559), 1, 13, 11.
4. Q43:4.
5. Q 85:21-22.
6. Q 56:78.
7. Q 46.12.
8. Q 39:28.
9. Q 10:37.
10. Q 42.51.
11. Q2:97.
12. Zakaria, p. 3.
13. Al-Bukhari, Sahih 1, 2.
14. Mishkat 1, 6.
15. Cyril Glasse, "Koran," in The Concise Encyclopedia of Islam (San Francisco:
Harper, 1989).
16. Q 42:15; 2:213.
17. Q5:68.
18. Q 3:3-4.
19. Reuven Firestone, Journeys in Holy Lands (Albany: State University of New
York Press, 1990), p. 156.
20. Q 6:84-87.
21. H. Freedman, ed., Midrash Rahbah (London: Soncino, 1939), vol. 1,
pp. 310-11.
262 NOTES

22. Q 21:65-71.
23. Genesis 1:26, 3:22, 11:7; Isaiah 6:8.
24. Genesis 21:14-15.
25. I, p. 45.
26. Q3:96.
27. Psalm 84:6.
28. I, p. 62.
29. Q 2:124-133.
30. Al-Bukhari, Sahih 55, 9.
31. Q 22:26-28.
32. Firestone, pp. 135-51, 170-78,- Isaac is named as the intended victim in
Mishkat 14, 3,- Ishmael is named by Ishaq in Gordon Newby, The Making of the
Last Prophet (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1969), p. 76.
33. Q 37:101-06.
34. Francis Peters, Children of Abraham (Princeton: Princeton University Press,
1982), pp. 197-98.
35. W. Montgomery Watt, Muhammad (London: Oxford, 1964), pp. 117-18.
36. Ql2:3.
37. Robert Bellah, Beyond Belief (New York: Harper, 1970), p. 150.
38. Q 20:11-13.
39. Exodus 3:5.
40. Exodus 34:29-35.
41. Q 73:1; 74:1.
42. Exodus 8:1.
43. Q 10:108.
44. Q6L5.
45. Guilio Basetti-Sani, The Koran in the Light of Christ (Chicago: Franciscan
Herald Press, 1977), p. 205.
46. Q 17:23.
47. Q 17:23-39.
48. Q 6:154.
49. Q 4:160.
50. Leviticus 11:4.
51. Q 16:123-24.
52. Exodus 17:9; Q 5:21-24.
53. Richard Bell, The Origin of Islam in Its Christian Environment (London: Cass,
1968), p. 160.
54. Q 33:25-27.
55. Martin Lings, Muhammad-. His Life Based on the Earliest Sources (New York: Inner
Traditions International, 1983), p. 232.
56. Deuteronomy 20:12-14.
57. Glasse, "Qurayzah."
58. Q 2:251.
 NOTES 263

59. Q3.13.
60. Q 2:249,- cp. Judges 7, 1 Samuel 17.
61. Q 28.38; cp. Esther 3.1, Genesis 11.1-9.
62. I, p. 552.
63. Q 66.12.
64. Q3:47.
65. Q 32:7-9.
66. Q3:59.
61. Q3:37.
68. Newby, p. 207.
69. Q 19:23.
70. Q 19:24-26.
71. Q 19:30-32.
72. Q3:49.
73. Q 5:112-113.
74. Q 5:114.
15. Q 5:115.
16. Al-Bukhari, Sahih 92, 25.
11. John Kelsay, Islam and War (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1993),
p. 24.
78. Q 3 : 4 5 .
79. Q 4:171.
80. Q 2 : 8 7 , 253.
81. Mark 1:7.
82. John 3:30.
83. Q 6 L 6 .
84. John 16:7.
85. I, p. 104.
86. Newby, pp. 209-10.
87. Newby, p. 210.
88. Newby, p. 150.
89. Q 2:173.
90. Q 22:36.
91. Mishkat 1, 6.
92. Q 13:39.
93. Q 16:101.
94. Muhammad Asad, The Message of the Quran (London: Brill, 1980), p. 23,-
Ahmed Ali, Al-Qur'an, in Q 2:106.
95. Daniel 6:10; Q 2:142-45.
96. Q 7:157.
97. Q 3:20, 15; Ahmed Ali, Al-Qur'an (Princeton: Princeton University Press,
1988), p. 153.
98. I, pp. 231, 656.
264 NOTES

99. Q 25:4-5.
100. Q 16:103.
101. Maxime Rodinson, Mohammed (New York: Vintage, 1974), p. 61.
102. Mishkat 26, 5 ; David Halperin, T h e Ibn Sayyad Traditions," Journal of the
American Oriental Society 96 (1976): 213-25.
103. David McKain, ed., Christianity-. Some Non-Christian Appraisals (New York:
McGraw-Hill, 1964), p. 244.
104. Q 33:40.
105. Mishkat 21, 2.
106. John 6:27.
107. W. Montgomery Watt, Islam and Christianity Today (London: Routledge and
Kegan Paul, 1983), p. 38.
108. I, p. 649.
109. I, p. 649.
110. I, p. 377; Watt, Muhammad, p. 225.
111. John Trimingham, Christianity Among the Arabs in Pre-Islamic Times (London:
Longman, 1979), p. 142.
112. Mani, Shabuhragan in Francis Burkitt, The Religion of the Manichees (Cam-
bridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1925), p. 37.
113. Al-Bukhari, Sahih 61, 23.
114. Al-Bukhari, Sahih 61, 3.
115. Charles Adams, "Quran," in Mircea Eliade, ed., The Encyclopedia of Religion
(New York: Macmillan, 1987).
116. Peters, pp. 39-40.
117. Nadeem Khan, The Bulletin of Christian Institutes of Islamic Studies 4 (1981): 159.
118. Khan, p. 158.
119. Mark 4:11-12.
120. Luke 15:11-32.
121. Mark 12:30.
122. Luke 11:9.
123. Matthew 16:15.
124. Matthew 16:16.
125. Matthew 16:17.
126. Psalms 8:3, 19:1.
127. Luke 12:22-27.
128. Q 16:68-69.
129. Q 2 : 2 0 .
130. Luke 4:18-19.
131. Leviticus 25:10.
132. Mark 10:42-45.
133. Q 28:4-6.
134. Mark 12:26.
135. Mark 2:25-26, 7:6-7.
 NOTES 265

136. Luke 7:26-28.

137. E.g., Genesis 32.26-30; Exodus 3:3-6 ; Isaiah 6.
138. E.g., Genesis 6:13; 1 Samuel 15:10,-Jeremiah 1:4-5.
139. Mark 1:10-11.
140. Millar Burrows, An Outline of Biblical Theology (Philadelphia-. Westminster,
1946), p. 32.
141. Matthew 13:17.
142. Matthew 5:21-22.
143. Exodus 20:1, 21:24.
144. Matthew 5:21-38.
145. John Meier, The Vision of Matthew (New York: Crossroad, 1991) pp. 64, 133.
146. Deuteronomy 6:1, 23:1.
147. Isaiah 56:4-5.
148. Philip Sigal, The Halakhah of Jesus of Nazareth According to the Gospel of Matthew
(Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1987), p. 16.
149. Q3:50.
150. Mark 7:18-22.
151. Mark 13:32.
152. Mark 13:33-37.
153. Q 7:187.
154. Matthew 7:15.
155. Mishkat 25, 6.
156. Deuteronomy 18:15.
157. Acts 3:22, 7:37.
158. I, p. 160.
159. Matthew 10:19-20.
160. John 16:13.
161. Acts 21:9; 1 Corinthians 11:5.
162. 1 Corinthians 12:28.
163. 1 Timothy 4:14,- Justin, Dialogue with Trypho 82 ; Eusebius, Church History 5,
17.
164. Numbers 27:1-11,- Deuteronomy 21:15-17.
165. Q 4:11-12.
166. Luke 12:13-21.
167. Luke 5:39.
168. Q 5:104.
169. Luke 6:39.
170. Luke 11:52.
171. Luke 11:47-48.
172. Luke 11:42, 46.
173. Shabbat7-.2.
174. 1 Samuel 21:1-6.
175. Leviticus 24:5-9.
266 NOTES

176. Mark 2:27.

177. Acts 8:14, 11:1-2.
178. Ahoth 2:8.
179. Gospel of Thomas 108.
180. Q3:36.
181. Al-Bukhari, Sahih 60, 54.
182. Q3:42.
183. Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776), chapter 50.
184. Quoted in Mahmoud Ayoub, The Quran and Its Interpreters (Albany: State
University of New York Press, 1992), vol. 2, p. 191.
185. Ayoub, vol. 2, p. 191.
186. Q 5:82-83.
187. I, p. 271.
188. William Hone, ed., The Lost Books of the Bible (New York: Bell, 1979), p. 38.
189. Hone, p. 53.
190. Mark 3:31-35,-John 2:2-4.

CHAPTER 6: Personal Conduct

1. Q 73:20, 76:26.
2. Q62:9.
3. Q6:121.
4. Al-Bukhari, Sahih 19, 12.
5. Q5:6.
6. I, p. 112.
7. Q 48:29.
8. Wisdom of Solomon 16:28; Psalm 88:13.
9. Qumran Community Rule 11:10.
10. Mark 1:35.
11. Mark 6:46.
12. Mark 11:25, 14:35; Luke 22:41.
13. Mark 6:41, 14:22.
14. Luke 5:33.
15. Mark 14:36.
16. Q 18:23-24.
17. Matthew 6.5.
18. Mark 7:6-7,-Isaiah 29:13.
19. Q 4:142.
20. Q4.-43.
21. Al-Bukhari, Sahih 9, 13.
22. Q 48:29.
23. Q 14:24-26.
24. Luke 8.8-15, 13.18-19.
 NOTES 267

25. Q 1:1-7.
26. Luke 11:1-4.
27. Psalm 103:13.
28. Ignaz Goldziher, Muslim Studies (Albany: State University of New York
Press, 1971), p. 350.
29. Matthew 6.12.
30. Matthew 5:23-24.
31. Matthew 18:21-22.
32. Luke 23:34.
33. Q 24:22.
34. Mishkat 12, 9.
35. Mishkat 16, 1.
36. Mishkat 13, 18.
37. Frithjof Schuon, Dimensions of Islam (London: Allen and Unwin, 1970),
pp. 13-29,- William Phipps, Wisdom and Wit of Rabbi Jesus (Louisville:
Westminster/John Knox, 1993), pp. 9 0 - 9 3 , 197.
38. Q 28:16; cp. Exodus 2:11-12.
39. Q 7:151; cp. Exodus 32:32.
40. Q48:2.
41. Mishkat 10, 3.
42. Q 47:19.
43. Q3:16.
44. Q60:4.
45. Q60:8.
46. I, p. 308.
47. I, p. 676.
48. I, p. 676.
49. I, p. 676.
50. I, p. 676.
51. I, p. 676; William Muir, The Life of Mahomet (London: Smith, Elder, 1894),
p. 232.
52. W. Montgomery Watt, Muhammad (London: Oxford Press, 1964), p. 123.
53. I, p. 551.
54. Q 18:110, 41:6.
55. Q 17:93.
56. Q46:9.
57. Q 31:18-19.
58. Q 17:37.
59. Mishkat 24, 13.
60. Q 80:1-6.
61. I, p. 167.
62. Annemarie Schimmel, And Muhammad Is His Messenger (Chapel Hill: Univer-
sity of North Carolina Press, 1985), p. 47.
268 NOTES

63. Schimmel, p. 47.

64. Al-Bukhari, Sahib 4, 60.
65. Misbkat 25, 1 and 2.
66. Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776), chapter 50.
67. Luke 12:27-28.
68. Mark 12:38-39.
69. Luke 14:8-11.
70. Mark 9:35-37.
71. Luke 22:27.
72. Mark 10:45.
73. John 13:5.
74. 1 Samuel 25:41.
75. Q 4:172.
76. Matthew 11:28-29.
77. Celsus, On the True Doctrine (New York: Oxford, 1987), p. 73.
78. Luke 14:12-14.
79. Albert Nolan, Jesus Before Christianity (Maryknoll, NY Orbis, 1978), p. 58.
80. Bernard Shaw, Complete Plays (New York: Dodd, Mead, 1962), vol. 5, p. 422.
81. Charles H. Dodd, The Founder of Christianity (New York: Macmillan, 1970),
pp. 110-12.
82. Psalm 8:4.
83. Psalm 8:5.
84. James Charlesworth, ed., Jesus' Jewishness (New York: Crossroad, 1991),
p. 100.
85. John Crossan, The Historical Jesus (San Francisco: Harper, 1991), p. 243.
86. John Crossan, Jesus (San Francisco: Harper, 1994), p. 51.
87. 2 Corinthians 5:21,- 1 John 3:5; 1 Peter 2:21-24; Hebrews 4:15.
88. Mark 10:18.
89. Mark 1:4.
90. Matthew 6:1-18 ; Luke 18:9-14.
91. Matthew 25:37-39.
92. W. Montgomery Watt, Muhammad in Medina (Oxford: Clarendon, 1956),
pp. 322-23.
93. Mishkat 4, 20.
94. Al-Bukhari, Al Adah 18.
95. I, p. 535.
96. Al-Bukhari, Sahih 72, 25.
97. Q 93:9-11.
98. Q 2:233.
99. Mark 10:14.
100. Exodus 21:15, 17; Leviticus 20:9.
101. Deuteronomy 21:18-21.
102. Matthew 18:6, 10.
 NOTES 269

03. Matthew 18.3.

04. Matthew 11:17.
105. Mark 6.3.
106. Matthew 21:15-16.
[07. Mark 2.22.
[08. Isaiah 40:9, 42:9.
109. Mark 10:24,-John 21:5.
110. Luke 3:23.
111. Mark 14:36.
112. Luke 23:46.
113. Psalm 31:5.
114. Luke 10:21.
115. Q 91:8-10.
116. Q 2 : 3 0 .
117. Q 15:28-43.
118. Q 2 9 : 2 .
119. Q 6:112.
120. Q 22:52.
121. Q 7:200.
122. Mishkat 13, 15.
123. Q 17:73-74.
124. Rafiq Zakaria, Muhammad and the Quran (New York: Penguin Books, 1991),
p. 12.
125. Ehsan Yar-Shater, ed., The History of al-Tabari (Albany: State University of
New York Press, 1988), vol. 6, p. 109.
126. Q 53:19-23, I, p. 166.
127. Q 22:52.
128. Genesis 6-.5; Berakoth 9.5.
129. Jeffrey Russell, Satan (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1981), pp. 219-30.
130. Sirach 21:27.
131. Mark 7:21.
132. Matthew 16:17.
133. Matthew 16:23.
134. Mark 14:38.
135. Q 7:179.
136. Q 8:21-22.
137. Q 17:36.
138. Q 16:125.
139. Luke 2:46.
140. Luke 8:15.
141. Luke 8:8.
142. Q 16:67.
143. Q 2:219.
270 NOTES

144. Q5:90.
45. Fazlur Rahman, Islam (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979), p. 38.
46. Q 2.183.
.47. Deuteronomy 9:9 ; Leviticus 16:29.
48. Matthew 4:2.
49. Q 73:2-6, 20.
50. Q 2:184-87.
51. David Knowles, Christian Monasticism (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1969),
pp. 124-34.
52. Basil, Ascetic Works, The Long Rules, 17.
53. Q 24:32.
54. Q 7:32-33.
.55. Q 57:27.
56. Matthew 6:25.
57. Luke 7:33-34, 21:34.
58. Mark 2:18-19.
59. Matthew 6:16-17.
60. Matthew 5:29.
161. Goldziher, pp. 359-60.
162. Al-Bukhari, Sahih 62, 2.
163. I, p. 675.
164. Goldziher, p. 358.
165. Q 104:1-3.
166. Q 102:1-6.
[67. Q 3:180.
168. Al-Bukhari, Sahih 60, 66.
169. Watt, Muhammad, pp. 51-52.
[70. Q 3:130.
171. I, p. 650.
172. Maxime Rodinson, Islam and Capitalism (London: Penguin, 1974), p. 14.
173. Q 38:21-25,- 2 Samuel 12:1-7.
174. Q 1 0 7 .
175. Q 25:67.
176. Q 17:26, 28.
177. Q 5 7 : 7 .
178. Q 63:10-11.
179. Arthur Jeffery, ed., A Reader on Islam (The Hague: Mouton, 1962), pp. 8 3 -
84.
180. Q 2:184; I, pp. 235-36.
181. Q 2:264-65.
182. Q 2:264, 271.
183. Q 57:18.
184. Q 30:46.
 NOTES 271

185. Q 6:118.
186. Q 2:263.
187. Mishkat 12, 17.
188. Q 10:60.
189. Q 36:32-35.
190. Q 17:67.
191. Q 16:78, 83.
192. Q 10:58.
193. Mark 6:41, 14:22-23.
194. Luke 17:12-19.
195. Mark 12:41-44.
196. James 1:27.
197. Justin, Apology 1, 67.
198. Luke 8:3.
199. Ernest Renan, The life of Jesus (London: Dent, 1927), p. 103.
200. Luke 18:24.
201. Luke 19:9/ soteria, now commonly translated as "salvation," meant restora-
tion to wholeness and was translated as "health" by Wycliffe and Tyndale.
202. Genesis 13:2.
203. Luke 16:22-30.
204. Acts 20:35.
205. Luke 7:38.
206. Luke 7:40-47.
207. Mark 14:3-6.
208. Luke 12:42-44/ Matthew 20:8.
209. Luke 16:8.
210. Matthew 25:14-25.
211. Luke 15:31.
212. Matthew 10:8.
213. Luke 12:15.
214. Luke 12:16-19.
215. Q 18:33-43.
216. Luke 12:25.
217. Luke 12:24.
218. Luke 12:22-31.
219. Luke 12:32-34.
220. Mishkat 25, 1.
221. Proverbs 19:17.
222. Luke 16:13.
223. Luke 11:39.
224. Luke 11:41.
225. Matthew 6:1.
226. Matthew 12:7.
272 NOTES

227. Q 22:37.
228. Matthew 5:42.
229. Matthew 7:6.
230. Didache 1:5-6.

CHAPTER 7: Social Teachings

1. Elisabeth Fiorenza, In Memory of Her (New York: Crossroad, 1983), pp.
140-54,- Leonard Swidler, Biblical Affirmations of Woman (Philadelphia:
Westminster Press, 1979), pp. 163-328, 352-56; Rosemary Ruether, Reli-
gion and Sexism (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1974), pp. 137-42.
2. Luke 10:38-42.
3. Luke 8:1-3; Mark 15:40-41.
4. John 20:17-18; Romans 16.1-7.
5. Luke 11:31.
6. John 8:4.
7. Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:23-24.
8. John 8:7.
9. John 8:2-11.
10. Luke 13:16.
11. Luke 8:2.
12. Mark 8:31-33, 9:30-32, 10:32-37.
13. Mark 14:9.
14. John Crossan, Jesus (San Francisco: Harper, 1994), p. 192.
15. Leviticus 15.19.
16. Leviticus 15:25-27.
17. Mark 5:25-34.
18. Claude Montefiore, The Synoptic Gospels (New York: Ktav, 1968), vol. 1,
p. 389.
19. Matthew 2 5 : l - 3 ; Luke 13:21, 18:1-5.
20. Mark 12:40.
21. Deuteronomy 24:1.
22. Yebamoth 14:1.
23. Matthew 19:3.
24. Gettin 9:10.
25. Gettin 9:10.
26. Ketuboth 7:6.
27. Genesis 2.18.
28. Mark 10:8.
29. Mark 10:5-12.
30. Genesis 24.
31. Mishkat 13, 3.
32. Q 30:21.
 NOTES 273

33. Q 4:129.
34. Q 2:223.
35. Ismail Faruqi, The Great Asian Religions (New York: Macmillan, 1969), p. 314.
36. Mishkat 13, 6.
37. Mishkat 13, 4.
38. Leila Ahmed, Women and Gender in Islam (New Haven: Yale University Press,
1992), pp. 4 4 - 4 5 .
39. Q4:3.
40. Q 4:129.
41. Q33:4.
42. Syed Ali, The Spirit oj Islam (London: Chatto and Windus, 1964), p. 246.
43. Fazlur Rahman, Islam (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979), p. 29.
44. Ahmed Ali, Al-Qur'an (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1988), p. 73.
45. Karen Armstrong, Muhammad (San Francisco: Harper, 1992), p. 191.
46. Q4:15.
47. Q 24:6-8.
48. Q24:2.
49. Mishkat 26, 1.
50. I, p. 267.
51. I, p. 267.
52. Q 4:128.
53. Q4:34.
54. I, p. 651.
55. I, p. 651.
56. Al-Bukhari, Sahih 62, 132.
57. Q4:35.
58. Q 60:10.
59. Q65:4.
60. Q 2:228-29, 4:11.
61. Q 64:14.
62. Al-Bukhari, Sahih, 55, 1; 62, 80.
63. I, pp. 493-94.
64. Q 24.11-20.
65. Arthur Jeffery, ed., A Reader on Islam (The Hague: Mouton, 1962), p. 332,-
Mishkat 26, 20.
66. Ahmed, pp. 5 2 - 5 3 .
67. Q5:5.
68. Q66:3.
69. Nabia Abbott, Aishah (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1942), pp. 38,
45, 67.
70. Quoted in Charles Eaton, Islam and the Destiny oj Man (Albany: State
University of New York Press, 1985), p. 123.
71. Abbott, pp. 61-66.
274 NOTES

72. Al-Bukhari, Sahih 73, 20.

73. Q 33:50.
74. Q 33:51.
75. Fatima Mernissi, The Veil and the Male Elite (New York: Addison-Wesley,
1991), p. 174.
76. Q 2:240.
77. I, p. 99.
78. Mishkat 13, 3,- Ehsan Yar-Shater, ed., The History of al-Tabari (Albany: State
University of New York Press, 1990), vol. 9, p. 131.
79. 1493.
80. I 515, 517.
81. Al-Bukhari, Sahib 62, 16.
82. Q 33:53.
83. Q 24:60, 33:59.
84. Q 24:31.
85. Abbott, p. vii.
86. Al-Bukhari, Sahib 5, 13.
87. Q 2:222.
88. Mishkat 3:13; Al-Bukhari, Sahih 6, 7.
89. Mernissi, p. 104.
90. W. Montgomery Watt, Muhammad (London: Oxford Press, 1964), pp.
156-57.
91. William Smith, Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia (London: Black, 1903),
p. 52.
92. Watt, p. 158.
93. Q 33:37.
94. Q 33:53.
95. Al-Bukhari, Sahib 60, 241.
96. Mishkat 13:1.
97. Mishkat 13:1.
98. Mishkat 13:1.
99. Mishkat 13:1.
100. Q 74:13.
101. Q 33:53.
102. Abbott, Aisbab, p. 66.
103. Edwin Burtt, Man Seeks the Divine (New York: Harper, 1970), p. 411.
104. Armstrong, p. 191.
105. Armstrong, p. 191.
106. Q 4:11-12.
107. Mishkat 12, 20.
108. Rahman, p. 38.
109. Maulana Ali, Muhammad the Prophet (Lahore: Ahmadiyya Press, 1924), p. 28.
110. Q 2:228,- see the translations by Ahmed Ali and N. J. Dawood.
 NOTES 275

111. Q 17:31.
112. Sarah Pomeroy, Goddesses, Whores, Wives and Slaves (New York: Schocken
Books, 1975), pp. 140, 228.
113. Oxyrhynchus Papyri 4:744.
114. Q 16:58-59.
115. Q 81:8-9.
116. Q 24:33.
117. Q 16:57.
118. Q 43:18-19.
119. Q 33:35.
120. Q 49:10-11.
121. Q4:19.
122. Q4:4, 20.
123. Mishkat 13, 8.
124. Q 4:124, 40:40.
125. Al-Bukhari, Sahih 76, 51.
126. Jane Smith and Yvonne Haddad, "Women in the Afterlife," Journal of the
American Academy of Religion, 43 (1975): 4 4 - 4 5 .
127. Genesis 9:21-25.
128. Q 66:10.
129. 1 Kings 10:1-13.
130. Q 27:22-44.
131. Mishkat 17, 1.
132. Nabia Abbott, "Women and the State in Early Islam," Journal of Near Eastern
Studies 1 (1942): 107.
133. Tor Andrae, Mohammed (New York: Harper and Row, 1960), pp. 78-79.
134. Use Lichtenstadter, Women in the Aiyam Al-Arah (London: Royal Asiatic
Society, 1935), p. 81.
135. Al-Bukhari, Sahih 62, 37.
136. Ahmed, pp. 42, 53,62.
137. Leila Ahmed, "Women and the Advent of Islam," Signs 11 (1986): 668-91.
138. Mishkat 25, 1.
139. Matthew 5:43.
140. Leviticus 19:18.
141. Deuteronomy 23:3-6.
142. 1 Kings 8:41-45.
143. Howard Kee, The New Testament in Context (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-
Hall, 1984), p. 203.
144. Norman Perrin, Rediscovering the Teaching of Jesus (New York: Harper, 1967),
p. 94.
145. Tohoroth 7:6.
146. Ahodah Zarah 2:1.
147. Luke 2:52.
276 NOTES

148. Isaiah 49:3-6.

149. Isaiah 42:4.
150. Matthew 12:15-21,-Luke 2:32.
151. Mark 5:1-20.
152. Mark 7:24-30,- cp. Matthew 15:21-28.
153. Ahoth 1:5.
154. Matthew 15:24.
155. Matthew 15:26.
156. Matthew 10:5.
157. Matthew 28:19.
158. Luke 7:1-10.
159. Luke 10:29-37, 17:11-19.
160. Luke 10:13-15, 11:29-32, 12:48.
161. Luke 3:38.
162. Luke 9:54.
163. Mishkat 20, 2.
164. Ernest Renan, The Life of Jesus (London: Dent, 1927), p. 70.
165. Q 49:13.
166. Muhammad Asad, The Message of the Quran (London: Brill, 1980), p. 794.
167. Q 7:172-73.
168. Q5:51.
169. Q 3:110.
170. Q9:28.
171. Jacques Jomier, How to Understand Islam (New York: Crossroad, 1989), p. 15.
172. Michael Cook, Muhammad (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983), p. 56.
173. Q 16:71, 75.
174. Q 24:33, 90:10-16.
175. Mishkat 16, 1.
176. I, p. 678.
177. Mishkat 13, 18.
178. Luke 7:2-9.
179. Luke 12:37, 43.
180. Mark 10:43-44.
181. Mark 7:1-5.
182. Luke 5:29-30, 15:2.
183. John 7:49.
184. Jacob Neusner, From Politics to Piety (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall,
1973), p. 80.
185. Cp. Exodus 20:3 with 17:16.
186. Numbers 31:18.
187. Joshua 6:17-21.
188. James Pritchard, ed., Ancient Near Eastern Tests (Princeton: Princeton Uni-
versity Press, 1955), pp. 175-78,- Deuteronomy 19:21.
 NOTES 277

189. Genesis 50:15-21,- Proverbs 20:22; 25:21-22; Romans 12:17-21.

190. Isaiah 1:21-23, 2:4.
191. Acts 10:36.
192. Matthew 5:9.
193. Matthew 26:51-52.
194. Tertullian, On Idolatry 19.
195. Tertullian, On Idolatry 19.
196. Roland Bainton, Christian Attitudes Toward War and Peace (Nashville:
Abingdon, 1960) p. 66.
197. Arnold Toynbee, Christianity Among the Religions of the World (New York:
Scribner's, 1957), p. 68.
198. Eusebius, Life of Constantine 1, 28.
199. Eusebius, Life of Constantine 1, 28.
200. William Phipps, Death-. Confronting the Reality (Atlanta: John Knox, 1987),
pp. 106-08.
201. In Hans Kung andjurgen Moltmann, eds., Christianity Among World Reli-
gions (Edinburgh: Clark, 1986), p. 7.
202. Stephen Neill, A H/'sfory of Christian Missions (New York: Penguin, 1990), p. 96.
203. Q 22:77-78.
204. Q 49:15.
205. Cyril Glasse, "Sword of Islam," The Concise Encyclopedia of Islam (San Fran-
cisco: Harper, 1989),-1 have been unable to find this greater jihad saying in
the hadith.
206. Mishkat 17, 1.
207. Q 41:34-35.
208. Q 42:41.
209. Q 16:126.
210. I, p. 213.
211. Q 2:106.
212. Q 2:190-91.
213. Q 5 : 3 3 .
214. Q 5 : 3 3 .
215. Q 22:40.
216. Q 8:67-70, 47:4.
217. Mishkat 5, 5.
218. John Kelsay, Islam and War (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press,
1993), p. 62.
219. Q8:17.
220. Q 47:4, 6.
221. Q 8 : 6 5 .
222. Q 9 : 5 .
223. Those Muslim interpreters are named in "Quran," Thomas Hughes, ed., A
Dictionary of Islam (Clifton, NJ: Reference Books Publishers, 1965).
278 NOTES

224. Q 28:54, 23:96.

225. Faruq Sherif, A Guide to the Contents of the Qur'an (London: Ithaca Press,
1985), p. 39.
226. Sherif, pp. 95, 113-114.
227. Q 8:60,- The Washington Post 5/15/94, p. Al2.
228. Q 2:256.
229. Mahmoud Ayoub, The Qur'an and Its Interpreters (Albany: State University of
New York Press, 1984), vol. 1, p. 253.
230. Josef van Ess in Hans Kung, Christianity and the World Religions (Garden
City, NY: Doubleday, 1986), p. 105.
231. Q 9 : 2 9 .
232. Gustave von Grunebaum, Classical Islam (London: Unwin, 1970), p. 48.
233. Q 9 : 2 1 , 73.
234. David Margoliouth, The Early Development of Mohammedanism (London: Wil-
liams and Norgate, 1914), p. 2.
235. Al-Bukhari, Sahih 90, 1.
236. Al-Bukhari, Sahih 23, 71.
237. Axel Molberg, ed., The Book of the Himyarites (Lund: Gleerup, 1924), p. 9.
238. Molberg, p. 9.
239. John Trimingham, Christianity Among the Arabs in Pre-Islamic Times (London:
Longman, 1979), pp. 298-99.
240. Q 85:3-8.
241. Glasse, "Jihad."
242. Q 48:16-17.
243. Q 9 : 8 1 .
244. Daniel 8:5-8.
245. Q 18:84-90.
246. Gordon Newby, The Making of the Last Prophet (Columbia: University of
South Carolina Press, 1989), pp. 193-95.
247. Kenneth Cragg, The Call of the Minaret (New York: Oxford, 1964), p. 91.
248. John Trimingham, Christianity Among the Arabs in Pre-Islamic Times (London:
Longman, 1979), p. 307.
249. Francis Peters, Children of Abraham (Princeton: Princeton University Press,
1982), p. 64.
250. Watt, p. 236.
251. Watt, p. 237.
CHAPTER 8: Sanctions
1. Q2:115.
2. Q 65:12.
3. Q 2:255.
4. Q 25:61.
 NOTES 279

5. Q 41:37.
6. Q 45.24.
7. Fazlur Rahman, Major Themes oj the Quran (Chicago: Bibliotheca Islamica,
1980), p. 12.
8. Rahman, p. 12.
9. Q 3:145.
10. Q 6:74-79.
11. Q 57:22.
12. Rahman, p. 15.
13. Q 13:11.
14. Q 10:108.
15. Q 23:12-14.
16. Q 25:47.
17. Q 16:40.
18. Q 19.66-67.
19. Q 16:80-81.
20. Q 9 : 4 0 .
21. Q 9 : 4 0 .
22. Q 29:60.
23. Q 6 . 5 9 .
24. Q 5 8 : 7 .
25. Q 50:16.
26. Q 24:35.
27. Q 42:11.
28. Mishkat 15, 3.
29. Q 15:29; cp. Genesis 2:7-8.
30. Q 4:164,- 7:145; cp. Exodus 3:4, 34:1.
31. Q 13:33, 4:81, 8:17; cp. Psalm 2.
32. Max Muller, ed., Sacred Books oj the East (Oxford: Clarendon, 1895), vol. 6,
p. 26,- cp. Deuteronomy 32:6.
33. Q 7:54; cp. Genesis 1; Isaiah 6:1-5.
34. Daniel 7:9.
35. Josef van Ess, "The Youthful God: Anthropomorphism in Early Islam,"
Annual Lecture in Religion (Arizona State University, 1988), p. 10.
36. Betty Kelen, Muhammad (Nashville: Nelson, 1975), p. 106.
37. Q 11:90.
38. E.g., Q 19:18, 26, 58, 61, 75, 87, 91, 92, 93, 96.
39. I, p. 231.
40. Q 3 : 7 6 .
41. Q 4 9 : 9 .
42. Q 3:146.
43. Q 3:146.
280 NOTES

44. William Graham, Divine Word and Prophetic Word in Early Islam (The Hague:
Mouton, 1977), p. 142.
45. Q 3 : 3 2 .
46. Q 5 . 5 4 .
47. Jacques Jomier, How to Understand Islam (New York: Crossroad, 1989), p. 93.
48. Q 28:77.
49. Q 24:22.
50. Q 93:6-10.
51. Q 92:19-20.
52. Q 7 6 : 8 .
53. Matthew 5:35; Q 59:23.
54. Q 7:180.
55. Mishkat 10, 1.
56. Mark 5:19,- Luke 6:35, 11:49.
57. Mark 14:62; Luke 6:48, 15:18.
58. John 4:20-24.
59. Luke 17:21.
60. Alfred, Lord Tennyson, The Higher Pantheism (1869), stanza 6.
61. Matthew 11:25.
62. Psalm 103:13; Isaiah 64:8; Malachi 2:10.
63. John 17:11.
64. Mark 12:29; Deuteronomy 6.5.
65. Mark 12:31,- Leviticus 19:18.
66. Luke 10:29-37.
67. Matthew 5:44-45.
68. Matthew 5:48.
69. Luke 15:7.
70. Luke 12:6-7.
71. Psalm 50:11.
72. Luke 6:36.
73. Luke 15:13.
74. Luke 15:13.
75. Luke 15:20.
76. Luke 15:25-32.
77. Frederick Sontag, "Moon, Mohammad and Jesus," Asia Journal of Theology 3
(1989): 425, 427.
78. Q 1 0 5 .
79. Q 30:1-5.
80. Q 33:36.
81. Mishkat 17, 1.
82. E.g., Q 4:59.
83. Mishkat 17, 1.
84. Q 4:135.
 NOTES 281

85. Q 5 : 8 .
86. John Glubb, The Life and Times of Muhammad (New York: Stein & Day, 1970),
p. 194.
87. I, pp. 312-13.
88. Matthew 10.34.
89. Q 21:105,-Psalm 37:29.
90. Q 62:10.
91. Q 35:29-30.
92. Karen Armstrong, Muhammad (San Francisco: Harper, 1992), pp. 250, 264.
93. Mishkat 25, 5.
94. Q 34.16-17.
95. Matthew 5:45, 7:25.
96. Q 32:21.
97. Q 5 : 3 8 .
98. Q 5 : 3 9 .
99. Al-Bukhari, Sahih 81, 14.
100. Mishkat 16, 2.
101. Q 4 : 9 2 .
102. Q 17:33.
103. Q 2:178.
104. Mishkat 15, 2.
105. Q 5 : 4 5 .
106. Mishkat 15, 1.
107. Genesis 19; Q 7:80-84, 11:78-83, \5-.67-77, 26:165-173, 27:54-58,
29:28-31, 54:33-38; see Khalid Duran, "Homosexuality and Islam" in
Arlene Swidler, ed., Homosexuality and World Religions (Valley Forge: Trinity,
1993), pp. 181-184.
108. Mishkat 16, 1.
109. Mishkat 16, 1.
110. Jude 7; 2 Peter 2-.6-7 ; 2 Esdras 2:8.
111. Luke 10:13-15.
112. Matthew 18:23-25.
113. Matthew 5:6-9.
114. J. Hamilton-Patterson and C. Andrews, Mummies (New York: Viking,
1979), p. 65.
115. William Phipps, Death (Atlanta: John Knox, 1987), pp. 163-66.
116. Daniel 12:2.
117. Q 3:169-70.
118. Q 10:45.
119. I, p. 678.
120. Al-Bukhari, Sahih 23, 85.
121. Mishkat 1, 5.
122. Al-Bukhari, Sahih 23, 87.
282 NOTES

123. I, p. 306.
124. I, p. 306.
125. Mishkat 1, 5.
126. Q 23:100.
127. Mishkat 5, 6 ; 14, 5.
128. Mishkat 5, 4.
129. Mishkat 5, 5-6.
130. Q 20:55.
131. Cyril Glasse, "Tombs," The Concise Encyclopedia oj Islam (San Francisco:
Harper, 1989).
132. Q 36:50.
133.. Mishkat 26, 18.
134. Mishkat 26, 10.
135. Q7.-8.
136. Q 101:6-11.
137. Q 57:20.
138. Jane Smith and Yvonne Haddad, The Islamic Understanding oj Death and
Resurrection (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1981), p. 84.
139. Smith and Haddad, p. 84.
140. Mishkat 26, 20.
141. Augustine, City oj God 22, 15,- Mishkat 26, 13.
142. George Moore, Judaism in the First Centuries oj the Christian Era (New York:
Schocken, 1971), vol. 2, p. 385.
143. Ezekiel 37:1-14.
144. Benjamin Mazar, ed., Views of the Biblical World (Jerusalem: International
Publishing, 1960), vol. 3, p. 195.
145. Q 75:3-4.
146. Q 2:259.
147. Al-Bukhari, Sahih 60, 332.
148. Q 45:25.
149. I, p. 165.
150. I, p. 94.
151. I, p. 94.
152. Q 82:10-12.
153. Q 69:19-25.
154. Q 45:29-34.
155. Daniel 7:10.
156. Revelation 20:12.
157. 1 Corinthians 15:52.
158. E.g., Ephesians 1:20-21; Acts 7-.55; Hebrews 12:2.
159. Luke 12:8; Romans 8:34.
160. Q 17:14.
161. Huston Smith, The World's Religions (San Francisco: Harper, 1991), p. 242.
 NOTES 283

62. Q 41:20-21.
63. Q 34:33.
64. Rahman, p. 120.
165. Q 34:28.
166. Q 75:22-23.
167. Al-Bukhari, Sahih 60, 80.
168. Mishkat 26, 14.
169. Mishkat 26, 13.
170. Gospel of Thomas 17.
171. Mishkat 5, 1.
172. William Phipps, "The Origin of Hospices/Hospitals," Death Studies 12
(1988): 94.
173. Matthew 25:37-40.
174. Q 4:93; Smith and Haddad, The Islamic Understanding oj Death and Resurrec-
tion, p. 86.
175. Mishkat 24, 10.
176. Mishkat 1, 4.
177. Mishkat 1, 4.
178. Q 89:24.
179. Q 7-.50, 53.
180. Q 39:59.
181. Luke 16:19-31.
182. Q 47:15.
183. Al-Bukhari, Sahih 76, 51.
184. Mishkat 76, 13.
185. Mishkat 20, 4.
186. Mishkat 16, 7.
187. Q 83:25.
188. Q 4:124, 33:73.
189. Q 43:70-71.
190. Q 44:54, 52:20, 55:72-76, 56:34-37, 78:33.
191. Jane Smith and Yvonne Haddad, "Women in the Afterlife," Journal of the
American Academy of Religion 43 (1975): 49.
192. Ronald Bodley, The Messenger (New York: Greenwood, 1946), p. 96.
193. Q 56:35-36,- Mishkat 24, 12.
194. Q 13:23, 40:8.
195. Smith and Haddad, The Islamic Understanding of Death and Resurrection, p. 165.
196. Cited in Fatima Mernissi, Beyond the Veil (Cambridge, MA: Schenkman,
1975), pp. 2 - 3 .
197. John Glubb, A Short History of the Arab Peoples (New York: Stein & Day,
1969), p. 34.
198. Ephraim, Hymns of Paradise 3.
199. Tor Andrae, Mohammed (New York: Harper, 1960), pp. 87-88.
284 NOTES

200. Q 9:34-35.
201. Q 46:20.
202. Jeremiah 32:35.
203. Jeremiah 7:32-33; Isaiah 66:24.
204. Q4:56.
205. Q2:80.
206. Q 11:106-7.
207. Luke 23:43.
208. Mark 1:14-15.
209. Genesis 3:19, 22.
210. Mark 8:36; John 3:16.
211. William Phipps, The Wisdom and Wit of Rabbi Jesus (Louisville: Westminster/
John Knox, 1993), pp. 128-31.
212. Matthew 7:9-11.
213. Aboth 5:22.
214. Matthew 10:28.
215. Romans 6:23 ; William Phipps, Paul Against Supernaturalism (New York:
Philosophical Library, 1987), pp. 7 4 - 8 3 .
216. Albert Nolan, Jesus Before Christianity (Maryknoll, N Y Orbis, 1978), p. 89.
217. Mark 12:18-23.
218. Tobit 3:8.
219. Deuteronomy 25:5.
220. Josephus, Antiquities 18, 16.
221. E.g., Apocalypse of Baruch 50:2.
222. Mark 12:24.
223. Mark 12:26.
224. Exodus 3:6.
225. Mark 12:27.
226. Luke 20:35.
227. Exodus 3:14-15.
228. Luke 20:35.
229. Luke 20:36.
230. Mark 12:25.
231. Mark 3:21, 31-35.
232. For an expansion of this exposition, see William Phipps, "Jesus on Mar-
riage and the Afterlife," The Christian Century 102 (1985): 327-28.
233. Luke 16:20-22.
234. Matthew 8:11.

CHAPTER 9: Enlargements

1. Q 49.2-3.
2. Q3:31.
 NOTES 285

3. Q 4 . 8 0 .
4. Q 33:21.
5. Hans Kung, Christianity and the World Religions (Garden City, NY: Double-
day, 1986), p. 18.
6. I, p. 503.
7. Annemarie Schimmel, And Muhammad Is His Messenger (Chapel Hill: Univer-
sity of North Carolina Press, 1985), p. 32.
8. Maxime Rodinson, Mohammed (New York: Vintage, 1974), p. 308.
9. Al-Ghazali, Ihya Ulum al-Din, book 20, trans. James Robson in The Muslim
World 45 (1955): 327.
10. Al-Busiri, Burdah 34, 38, 4 2 - 4 3 in Arthur Jeffery, ed., A Reader on Islam (The
Hague: Mouton, 1962), pp. 609-10.
11. Kamal al-Din, Ideal Prophet (Woking, England: Muslim Mission and Literary
Trust, 1956), p. 155.
12. Karen Armstrong, Muhammad (San Francisco: Harper, 1992), p. 262.
13. Armstrong, p. 263.
14. Qassim Jairazbhoy, Muhammad "A Mercy to All the Nations" (London: Luzac,
1937), p. 344.
15. Robert Gulick, Muhammad the Educator (Lahore: Institute of Islamic Culture,
1961), p. 95.
16. Ahmed Ali, Al-Qur'an (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1988), pp. 96,
239, 311.
17. Lamin Sanneh, "Muhammad, Prophet of Islam, and Jesus Christ, Image of
God: a Personal Testimony," International Bulletin of Missionary Research (Octo-
ber 1984): 170.
18. Sanneh, p. 170.
19. Hamilton Gibb, Mohammedanism (London: Oxford, 1949).
20. Rafiq Zakaria, Muhammad and the Quran (New York: Penguin Books, 1991),
p. 7.
21. Wilfred Smith, Modern Islam in India (Lahore, 1947), p. 24.
22. Ninian Smart, The World's Religions (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall,
1989), p. 279.
23. C. L. Geddes, Guide to Reference Books for Islamic Studies (Denver: American
Institute for Islamic Studies, 1985), p. 102.
24. Rodinson, p. 299.
25. Rodinson, p. 308.
26. Chrysostom, Homilies 31.
27. Francis Robinson, Atlas of the Islamic World (New York: Facts on File, 1982),
p. 191.
28. Cyril Glasse, "Mawlid an-Nabif" The Concise Encyclopedia of Islam (San Fran-
cisco: Harper, 1989).
29. Rodinson, pp. 310-11.
30. Exodus 4:3,-Q 7:107.
286 NOTES

31. Q 27:22-44.
32. Ali Dashti, Twenty-Three Years (London: Allen & Unwin, 1985), pp. 1, 26.
33. Q54:l.
34. Glasse, "Moon."
35. Al-Bukhari, Sahih 60, 287.
36. I, p. 178.
37. Ehsan Yar-Shater, ed., The History oj al-Tahari (Albany: State University of
New York Press, 1988), vol. 6, p. 67.
38. I, p. 246.
39. I, pp. 451-52.
40. Exodus 17:5-6; Numbers 20:11.
41. I, p. 605.
42. Al-Bukhari, Sahih 17, 13.
43. Al-Bukhari, Sahih 17, 13.
44. Q 70:3-4; Genesis 28:12.
45. Q 17:92-93.
46. I, p. 135.
47. I, p. 135.
48. I, p. 183.
49. Mishkat 26, 23.
50. Celsus, On the True Doctrine (New York: Oxford, 1987), p. 95.
51. I, pp. 185-186.
52. Yar-Shater, vol. 6, p. 79.
53. Al-Bukhari, Sahih 55, 43.
54. I, pp. 182-86.
55. Ql7:l.
56. Q 23:86.
57. The paintings are published in Marie-Rose Seguy, The Miraculous Journey oj
Mahomet (New York: Braziller, 1977).
58. Arthur Jeffery, ed., Islam-. Muhammad and His Religion (New York: Bobbs-
Merrill, 1958), p. 45.
59. Luke 9:32.
60. Matthew 17:9.
61. See, for example, John Calvin, Commentary on a Harmony oj the Evangelists
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1949), vol. 2, pp. 310-11.
62. Aquinas, Summa contra Gentiles 1, 6.
63. Mohamed al-Nowaihi, "Toward a Re-evaluation of Muhammad," The Mus-
lim World 60 (1970): 300-1.
64. I, p. 69.
65. Glasse, "NurMuhammadi."
66. Luke 1:35.
67. Luke 2:25-32,- Isaiah 49:6.
68. Q 94.1-3.
 NOTES 287

69. I, p. 72.
70. I, p. 81.
71. I, p. 80.
72. Acts 3:13, 26,- 4:27 ; 1 Peter 2:13-25.
73. Mark 12:35-37.
74. Thomas Sheehan, The First Coming (New York: Random House, 1986), p. 5.
75. Luke 1:33.
76. Matthew 2:2.
77. Michael Grant, Jesus (New York: Scribner's, 1977), p. 72,- John Meier, A
Marginal Jew (New York: Doubleday, 1991), p. 407 ; Sheehan, p. 52.
78. Mark 6:1; John 4:44.
79. John 1:46.
80. John 7:41-42.
81. Micah5:2.
82. Luke 2:1, 11; 23:25 ; Acts 25-.26; George Buttrick, ed., The Interpreter's
Dictionary of the Bible (Nashville: Abingdon, 1962), vol. 4, p. 177.
83. 1 Corinthians 1:22.
84. William Phipps, Paul Against Supernaturalism (New York: Philosophical
Library, 1987), pp. 21-22.
85. Mark 15:32; Luke 23:8.
86. 1 Corinthians 1:18-24.
87. Phipps, pp. 2 3 - 3 5 .
88. Mark 5:22-23; Matthew 9:18.
89. 1 Kings 17:8-24; Luke 7:11-16, 8:49-56, 9:14-16.
90. Infancy Gospel of Thomas 4, 13.
91. The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew 22.
92. The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew 22.
93. C. Milo Connick, Jesus, the Man, the Mission, and the Message (Englewood
Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1963), p. 281.
94. Irenaeus, Against Heresies 1, 24, 4.
95. Mark 15:21.
96. "Apostles' Creed," in John Leith, ed., Creeds of the Churches (New York:
Doubleday, 1963), p. 24.
97. Francis Burkitt, The Religion of the Manichees, (Cambridge, England: Cam-
bridge University Press, 1925), p. 41.
98. Kenneth Latourette, A History of Christianity (London: Eyre and Spot-
tiswoode, 1954), pp. 2C2-83, 319-22.
99. John Trimingham, Christianity Among the Arabs in Pre-Islamic Times (London-.
Longman, 1979), p. 85.
100. Q 4:157.
101. I, p. 271.
102. Q 19:21.
103. Mark 12:29-30,- Deuteronomy 6:4-5.
288 NOTES

104. Exodus 20:3.

105. Latourette, pp. 43, 122-89.
106. Mark 12:9.
107. Mark 13:35.
108. Matthew 21:30.
109. E.g., Genesis 24:9, 43:20.
110. Mark 12:36-37.
111. Psalm 110:1.
112. Mark 11:3.
113. Hosea 11.9.
114. 2 Samuel 7:34.
115. Psalm 2:7.
116. Psalm 89:26.
117. Hans Kung, On Being a Christian (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1976)
p. 390.
118. E.g., Mark 8:31, 9:31, 10:33-34; Matthew 8:20.
119. Mark 10:45; Luke 22:27,-John 13:14-16.
120. Cp. Mark 14:61-62 with Matthew 26:64 and Luke 22:70.
121. Luke 16:8,-John 12:36.
122. Romans 8:16-23.
123. Q 5.116.
124. Leith, p. 30.
125. Glasse, "Adhan."
126. Deuteronomy 6.5.
127. Epiphanius, Against Heresies 61, 1; quoted in Henry Bettenson, Documents of
the Christian Church (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1947), p. 54.
128. John 8:12.
129. Latourette, pp. 152-64.
130. Augustine, On Faith and the Creed 9, 17.
131. Q 5 : 7 3 , 116.
132. Q 5:117.
133. Mishkatl, 1.
134. Q 17:110.
135. Epiphanius, Panarion 79.
136. Epiphanius, Panarion 79.
137. Nestorius, Bazaar of Heracleides 1, 3.
138. Walter Abbott, ed., The Documents of Vatican II (New York: Association
Press, 1966), p. 94.
139. Hans Kung, On Being a Christian, p. 461.
140. Jeremiah 44:19.
141. James Hastings, ed., "Abyssinia," Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics (New
York: Scribner's, 1928).
142. Q 37:152-54.
 NOTES 289

143. Q 53:21.
144. David McKain, ed., Christianity: Some Non-Christian Appraisals New York:
McGraw-Hill, 1964), p. 244.
145. James Ross and Mary McLaughlin, eds., The Portable Medieval Reader (New
York: Viking, 1949), p. 451.
146. Q 23:13-14.
147. Muhammad Asad, The Message of the Quran (London: Brill, 1980), p. 262.
148. E.g., Q 4:116, 6:14-15, 10:66-70.
149. Q 9:30-31.
150. Gordon Newby, A History of the Jews of Arabia (Columbia: University of
South Carolina Press, 1988), p. 61.
151. John 17:11.
152. Mark 10:8.
153. Mishkat 26, 19.
154. E. R. Dodds, Pagan and Christian in an Age of Anxiety (New York: Norton,
1970, pp. 124-46.
155. Morris J astro w, The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria (Boston: Ginn, 1898),
pp. 356-73.
156. Deuteronomy 4:19, 18:10.

CHAPTER 10: Conclusion

1. Seyyed Nasr, Islamic Life and Thought (Albany: State University of New York
Press, 1981), p. 209.
2. John Leith, ed., Creeds of the Churches (New York: Doubleday, 1963), p. 24.
3. Q 4:159.
4. Mishkat 26, 6.
5. Mishkat 26, 6.
6. Maulvie Ali, Muhammad and Christ (Madras: SPCK, 1921), p. 140.
7. Q 3:112.
8. Mark 15:15-20; Luke 23:34.
9. Mishkat 25, 5.
10. Fazlur Rahman, Major Themes of the Quran (Minneapolis: Bibliotheca Is-
lamica, 1980), pp. 86-87; Cyril Glasse, "Isa," Concise Encyclopaedia of Islam
(San Francisco: Harper, 1989).
11. Q 37:116.
12. Q 19:15.
13. Luke 11:50-51.
14. Luke 11:47.
15. 1 Corinthians 1:23.
16. Deuteronomy 21:23.
17. Proverbs 12:21.
290 NOTES

18. Tim Dowley, ed., The History of Christianity (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1977),
p. 57.
19. Cicero, Against Verres 66.
20. Blaise Pascal, Pensées 598.
21. Kenneth Cragg, The Call of the Minaret (New York: Oxford, 1964), p. 302.
22. Hans Kung, On Being a Christian, p. 335.
23. Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince 6.
24. Max Weber, The Sociology of Religion (Boston: Beacon, 1922), p. 262.
25. Q 17:15, 6:164, 53:38.
26. Isaiah 53:5.
27. Cragg, pp. 298-99.
28. Mark 15:34/Matthew 27:46.
29. M. T. Al-Hilari, "Biblical Evidence of Jesus Being a Servant of God," in
Muhammad Khan, ed., Sahih Al-Bukhari (Chicago: Kazi, 1979), vol. 1,
pp. lxi-lxiv.
30. Josephus, Antiquities 18:63/ Tacitus, Annals 15:44.
31. John Crossan, Jesus (San Francisco. Harper, 1994), p. 145.
32. W. Montgomery Watt, Islam and Christianity Today (London: Routledge and
Kegan Paul, 1983), p. 144.
33. Q 19:33.
34. Q 4:157.
35. Q 2:154.
36. Q 3:169.
37. Quoted in Mahmoud Ayoub, The Quran and Its Interpreters (Albany: State
University of New York Press, 1992), vol. 2, p. 379.
38. Q 2 : 2 .
39. Q 7 : 4 0 .
40. "Thirteen Principles of Faith," Cecil Roth, ed., The New Standard Jewish
Encyclopedia (New York: Doubleday, 1970).
41. William Sweet, The Story of Religion in America (New York: Harper, 1950),
p. 407.
42. George Gallup, "Americans and the Bible," Bible Review (June 1990): 37.
43. 1 Timothy 2:14/ Genesis 3:17; Romans 5:12.
44. Ecclesiastes 12:11-14/ Robert Gordis, The Wisdom of Koheleth (London: East
and West Library, 1950), p. 30.
45. Mark 16:18/ Bruce Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament
(New York: United Bible Societies, 1971), pp. 122-26/ Vincent Taylor, The
Gospel According to St. Mark (London: Macmillan, 1963), p. 160.
46. Cp. Q 3:35, 19:28-34 with Numbers 26:59.
47. Matthew 5:21-48.
48. Luke 1:1-4.
49. 1 Timothy 2:11-15.
 NOTES 291

50. Q3:19.
51. Q6:163.
52. Huston Smith, The World's Religions (San Francisco: Harper, 1991), p. 240.
53. "Islam at a Glance," (Plainfield, IN: Islamic Teaching Center).
54. Q5:3.
55. Q 21:51-71.
56. Q 2:127-29.
57. Genesis 12:3.
58. Q 34:28.
59. Isaiah 51:1-2.
60. Matthew 3:8-9.
61. Romans 4:11.
62. Galatians 3:10.
63. Galatians 3:7-18.
64. Hebrews 11:9-10, 12:1-2.
65. Q 4:153, 7:150, 20:88-94.
66. Q3.67.
67. Q3-.68.
68. I, p. 3.
69. Q 21:55-64.
70. Al-Bukhari, Sahih 55, 9.
71. Genesis 12:10-20.
72. Genesis 22:1-14.
73. William Phipps, Assertive Bihlical Women (New York: Greenwood, 1992), pp.
9-17.
74. Micah6:8.
75. Q6:87.
76. Genesis 6:9.
77. Q 6:161.
78. Q 10.89-90.
79. Q 19:36.
80. Exodus 23:2.
81. Luke 6.26.
82. Q 6:116.
83. Q 90-.8-20.
84. Acts 9:2.
85. Luke 3:16.
86. Isaiah 40:3-4,- Luke 3:4-5.
87. Matthew 7:13-14,- cp. Proverbs 14:2.
88. Luke 9:31.
89. John 12:35, 14:6.
90. Romans 6:4.
292 NOTES

91. Hebrews 10:20.

92. Charles Swezey, "Christian Ethics as Walking the Way," Affirmation (Fall
1991): 80.
93. Jurgen Moltmann, The Way of Jesus Christ (London: Student Christian
Movement, 1990), pp. xiii-xiv.
94. Paul Van Buren, Discerning the Way (New York: Seabury, 1980), pp. 3, 20.
95. Q 29:46.
96. Q 3 : 5 2 .
97. Al-Bukhari, Sabih 2, 1.
98. Cyril Glasse, "Adhan," The Concise Encyclopedia of Islam (San Francisco:
Harper, 1989).
99. Q5:18.
100. Q 2:111, 113.
101. Q 2 : 9 4 .
102. Q 57:29.
103. Rahman, p. 165.
104. Mishkat 26, 17.
105. Q 2:136.
106. Q 2 : 6 2 .
107. Muhammad Asad, The Message of the Quran (London: Brill, 1980), p. 14.
108. Q 22:17.
109. Q 2:112.
110. Asad, p. 24.
111. Leroy Rouner, ed., Religious Pluralism (Notre Dame: University of Notre
Dame Press, 1984), p. 195.
112. Q 1 0 9 .
113. James Hastings, ed., "Muhammad," Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics (New
York: Scribner's, 1928).
114. Q 3:85,- Ayoub, vol. 2, p. 241.
115. Q 9 8 : 6 .
116. Q 61:8-9.
117. Q 9 : 2 9 .
118. Mishkat 24, 1.
119. Al-Bukhari, Sahih 60, 80.
120. Amos 3:2.
121. Amos 9:7.
122. Psalm 87:5.
123. Augustine, The City of God 17, 16.
124. Augustine, The City of God 21, 20-21; Sermons on the Psalms 87, 1.
125. Nehemiah 13:30.
126. Ezra 10:10-12.
127. Genesis 38:2, 41:45/ Exodus 2:21.
128. Mark 9:39-40.
 NOTES 293

129. Mark 1:15.

130. Bible Review 10 (June 1994): 34.
131. Clive Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York: Macmillan, 1955), p. 29.
132. Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics (Edinburgh: Clark, 1956), vol. 1, part 2,
pp. 326, 343-44.
133. Carl Braaten, No Other Gospel. (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992), p. 57.
134. Braaten, p. 100.
135. 1 Corinthians 13:9.
136. Reinhold Niebuhr, The Nature and Destiny of Man (New York: Scribner's,
1949), part 2, p. 217.
137. John Bunyan, Grace Abounding (rewritten in modern English) paragraph 97.
138. Isaiah 55:8.
139. Q 2:255.
140. The Westminster Shorter Catechism (London, 1647), question 4.
141. Arnold Toynbee, Christianity Among the Religions of the World (New York:
Scribner's, 1957), p. 96.
142. David Brewster, Memoirs of Newton, (1855), vol. 2, ch. 27.
143. Isaac Newton, Principia Mathematica (1686), Bk. 3, General Scholium.
144. Revelation 3:7, Q 3:86.
145. John 3:8.
146. 1 Corinthians 13:12-13.
147. John Hick and Brian Hebblethwaite, eds., Christianity and Other Religions
(Philadelphia: Fortress, 1981), pp. 180-81.
148. Wilfred Smith, Toward a World Theology (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1981),
p. 177.
149. Quoted in Hans Kung, Christianity and the World Religions (Garden City, NY:
Doubleday, 1986), p. 23.
150. John 1:9,- Justin Martyr, Apology 2, 13.
151. Nostra Aetate, Walter Abbott, ed., The Documents of Vatican II (New York:
Association Press, 1966), pp. 662-63.
152. Hans Kung andjurgen Moltman, Christianity Among World Religions (Edin-
burgh: Clark, 1986), p. 124.
153. Q9:33.
154. Matthew 28:19.
155. Jacques Jomier, How to Understand Islam (New York: Crossroad, 1989),
p. 133.
156. Q5:48.
157. Matthew 7:20.
158. Gotthold Lessing, Nathan Der Weise act 3, scene 7.
159. Lessing, act 3, scene 7.
160. Lessing, act 3, scene 7.
161. John 7.17.
 INDEXES

SCRIPTURAL TEXTS

The Bible
Genesis 1, 167, 1:26, 84; 1:28, 47; 2 : 7 - 18:15, 102, 20:12-14, 89, 21:15-17,
8, 167; 2:18, 137; 2:24, 47 ; 3:17, 224 ; 102; 21.18-21, 121; 21:23, 219,
3:19, 187; 3:22, 84, 187, 6:5, 124, 2 2 : 2 3 - 2 4 , 135, 23:1,101; 2 3 : 3 - 6 ,
6:9, 231; 6:13, 100; 9 : 2 1 - 2 5 , 148, 150; 24:1, 137; 25:5, 189,- 2 5 : 5 - 1 0 ,
11:1-9, 90, 11:7, 84, 11:10-32, 1, 30; 32:6, 167
12:3, 229, 12:10-20, 230 ; 13:2, 131; Joshua 6:17-21, 154, 24:26, 66
16:1-17:25, 23, 17:12, 46; 19, 175, Judges 6:2-11, 19; 7, 90, 8:24, 19
21:9-21, 23, 21:10, 3, 21:14-15, 84, 1 Samuel 15.10, 100, 17, 90, 21:1-6,
2 2 : 1 - 1 4 , 230; 24, 138,- 24:9, 205 ; 103; 25:41, 117
25:6, 8; 25.12-18, 23,- 28:12, 197; 2 Samuel 7:34, 206, 1 2 . 1 - 7 , 128
28:18-19, 66, 3 2 : 2 6 - 3 0 , 100; 34:12, 1 Kings 8:41-45, 150, 9 : 2 6 - 2 7 , 18,
30; 37:25, 18, 38:2, 236, 41:45, 236 ; 10:1-13, 148, 10:14-15, 18, 16:31,
43:20, 205, 50:15-21, 155 55; 17:8-24, 55, 202,- 2 2 : 1 9 - 2 2 , 48
Exodus 2.11-12, 114, 2:21, 236, 3 . 3 - 6 , 2 Kings 5:1-14, 55; 13:23, 21, 2 1 : 1 -
100; 3:4, 167,- 3:5, 87, 3 : 6 - 2 2 , 189,- 23:29, 51
4:3, 195; 8:1, 88; 17:2-7, 51, 196, 2 Chronicles 21.17, 19
17:9, 88, 17.16,154, 20.1, 100, 20:3, Ezra 10:10-12, 236
154, 205; 21:7, 29; 21:15, 17, 121/ Nehemiah 13:30, 236
21:24, 100; 23:2, 231, 32:32, 114; Esther 3.1, 90
34:1, 167; 3 4 : 2 9 - 3 5 , 88 Job 7:9, 27, 14:12, 27
Leviticus 11:4, 88, 12:8, 46, 13-14, 52, Psalm 2, 167; 2:7, 206,- 2:9, 74,- 8:2, 28,-
15, 47, 15:19-29, 136, 16:29, 125, 8:3, 98; 8 : 4 - 5 , 119,- 19:1, 98,- 22.1,
19:18, 149, 170; 20:9, 121,- 20.10, 135, 28, 26:6, 47; 31:5, 28, 122,- 37:29,
20:21, 71; 2 4 : 5 - 9 , 103, 25:10, 99 173; 50:11, 171; 84:6, 85; 89:26, 206;
Numbers 5:11-28, 29, 13.27, 17, 20:11, 103.13, 112, 170; 110:1, 205; 118:22-
196; 2 7 . 1 - 1 1 , 102, 31:18, 154 27, 73, 80; 122:1-6, 4 7
Deuteronomy 4.19, 214, 6.1, 101, 6 : 4 - Proverbs 12:21, 219, 14:2, 232, 19:17,
5, 205; 6:5, 170, 207 ; 6:16, 51 ; 8:3, 133; 20:22, 155; 2 5 : 2 1 - 2 2 , 155
49, 9:9, 125, 16:16, 47, 18:10, 214, Ecclesiastes 12:11-14, 224

295
296 INDEX

Isaiah 1:21-23, 155, 2:4, 74, 155; 6, 100,- 75; 2 5 : 1 - 3 , 136; 2 5 : 1 4 - 2 5 , 132;
6 : 1 - 5 , 48, 167; 6:8, 84, 6:8-13, 28, 2 5 : 3 7 - 3 9 , 120, 181,- 2 6 : 5 1 - 5 2 , 155,
48, 9:6, 74, 29.13, 111, 3 5 : 5 - 6 , 54, 26:64, 206, 27:46, 222, 28:19, 151,
76, 4 0 : 3 - 4 , 232, 40:9, 51, 121, 4 2 : 1 - 245
4, 51, 150; 42:9, 121,- 49:6, 51, 200,- Mark 1:4, 119, 1:7, 51, 92, 1:10-11, 48,
5 1 : 1 - 2 , 229; 5 3 : 3 - 5 , 51; 53:5, 221; 100, 1:14-15, 186, 1:15, 52, 236, 1:21-
53:12, 78; 55:8, 239, 5 6 : 4 - 5 , 101; 22, 53; 1:34, 52, 1:35, 110, 1:40-41,
5 6 : 6 - 7 , 77; 6 1 : 1 - 2 , 54 ; 64:8, 170,- 52, 2.1, 71; 2.16-17, 52, 2:18-19,
66:24, 186 126; 2:22, 51, 121; 2:25-26, 135,- 2:27,
Jeremiah 1:4-6, 36, 100, 7.11-14, 76; 103; 3:2, 52; 3:6, 72 ; 3.19, 71 ; 3:21-
7 : 3 2 - 3 3 , 186; 2 0 : 7 - 9 , 36; 22:5, 75; 35, 54, 190; 3:31-35, 107, 4:11-12,
26:11, 78; 26:12-13, 76, 2 7 : 2 - 1 3 , 98, 4:12, 28, 5 : 1 - 2 0 , 150, 5:19, 169,
74, 3 1 : 2 7 - 3 4 , 78 ; 32:35, 186; 37:15, 5 : 2 2 - 2 3 , 202; 5:25-34, 136; 5:34,
78; 38:4, 74; 44:19, 211 52, 6:1, 201, 6:3, 121, 6:4, 55; 6:5-6,
Ezekiel 1-3, 48, 5:5, 46, 27:22, 18, 52; 6:7-16, 72; 6:17-29, 45, 71,
37:1-14, 178 6:41, 110, 130, 6:46, 110; 7:1-5, 154,
Daniel 6:10, 94, 7:9, 167, 7:10, 180, 7:6-7, 99, 111, 7:18-22, 101, 7:21,
8:5-8, 161, 12:2, 176 124, 7 : 2 4 - 3 0 , 150, 8 : 2 9 - 3 3 , 53, 136,
Hosea6:6, 28, 51, 11:9, 206 8:31, 206; 8:31-33, 136; 8 : 3 4 - 3 6 , 72 ;
Joel 3:10-16, 74 8:36, 187; 9 : 3 0 - 3 2 , 136, 9:31, 206,
Amos 3:2, 235, 9:7, 235 9 : 3 5 - 3 7 , 117, 9 : 3 9 - 4 0 , 236, 1 0 : 2 -
Micah 5:2, 201, 6:8, 230; 7:6, 54 12, 137, 10:8, 213, 10:11-12, 15,
Zechariah 2:12, 46, 9:9-10, 75, 14.21, 10:14, 120, 10:18, 119, 10:24, 122,
75 10:32-37, 136, 10:33-34, 206,
Malachi2:10, 170 10:37, 74; 10:42-45, 74, 99, 154,
Matthew 1:16-19, 46, 2:2, 201, 2 : 1 3 - 10:45, 117, 206, 10:52, 52, 11:3, 205,
21, 45, 3 : 8 - 9 , 229, 3:9-10, 48,- 4:2, 11:10, 73, 11:17, 76-77; 11:18, 78,
125, 5 : 6 - 9 , 175, 5:9, 155; 5:10, 79; 11:25, 110, 11:27-12:17, 77; 12:9,
5:21-22, 100, 5:21-38, 100, 225, 205; 12:10-11, 80; 12:18-23, 188,
5 : 2 3 - 2 4 , 113; 5:29, 127, 5:35, 169, 12:24, 189; 12:25, 190, 12:26, 99,
5:42, 134; 5:43, 149,- 5 : 4 4 - 4 5 , 170, 12:26, 22; 12:27, 189, 12:29, 170,-
174; 5:48, 170; 6:1, 133 ; 6:1-18, 120, 12:30, 98, 12:29-30, 205, 12:31, 170,
6:5, 111, 6:12, 113, 6:16-17, 127, 12:35-37, 201, 205, 12:38-39, 117;
6:25, 126, 6:33, 79, 7:6, 134, 7:9-11, 12:40, 136, 12:41-44, 130, 13:1-2,
187; 7:13-14, 232; 7:15, 102; 7:20, 76; 13:2, 77; 13:32-37, 101; 13:35,
245, 7:25, 174; 8:11, 190,- 8:20, 206; 205; 14:1-2, 78; 14:3, 52; 14:3-6,
9:13, 76; 9:18, 202, 10:5, 151, 10:8, 131, 14:9, 136; 14:10, 78 ; 14:22, 78,
132, 10:19-20, 102, 10:28, 187, 110, 1 4 : 2 2 - 2 3 , 130, 14:24, 78, 14:26,
10:34, 173, 10:36, 54, 11:17, 121, 28, 14:29-31, 53, 14:35, 110, 14:36,
11:25, 170, 11:28-29, 118; 12:7, 51, 111, 122; 14:38, 124; 14:43-48, 78 ;
133; 12:15-21, 150, 13:17, 100, 14:50, 80, 14:53-65, 78, 14:61-62,
13:52, 51; 13:55, 46 ; 15:21-28, 150, 206, 14:62, 169, 14:66-72, 53, 15:2-
16:13-19, 98, 16:17, 124, 16:18, 53, 15, 79, 15:15-20, 218, 15:16-26, 79,
16:23, 124, 17:9, 199, 18:3-10, 121; 15:21, 203; 15:31, 80; 15:32, 202;
18:21-22, 113; 18:23-25, 175, 19:3, 15:34, 28, 222; 15:40-47, 80, 135,
137; 20:8, 131; 21:1-11, 75, 21:15- 16:18, 224
16, 121, 21:16, 28; 21:30, 205, 23:38, Luke 1:1-4, 226, 1:33, 201, 1:35, 199;
 INDEX 297

1:51-53, 46; 2:1, 11, 202; 2:21, 45 ; 110, 22:70, 206, 23:8, 202, 23:25,
2 : 2 2 - 2 4 , 46, 2 : 2 5 - 3 2 , 200; 2:32, 202, 23:34, 113, 218; 23:43, 186,
150; 2:33, 46; 2:46, 125 ; 2:52, 47, 23:46, 28, 122
150; 3 : 2 - 9 , 38; 3 : 4 - 5 , 232; 3:16, 231; John 1:9, 243, 1:14, 81, 1:46, 201, 2 : 2 -
3:17, 54; 3:19-20, 71 ; 3:23, 121; 4, 107; 3:8, 242; 3:16, 187,- 3:30, 92,
3:38, 151; 4:3, 49, 4.18-19, 54, 99, 4 : 2 0 - 2 4 , 169, 4:44, 201; 6:27, 96,
4:22, 46 ; 4 : 2 2 - 3 0 , 55; 4:43, 53; 7:17, 246,- 7:41-42, 201 ; 7:49, 154,-
5 : 2 9 - 3 0 , 154; 5:33, 110; 5:39, 103 ; 8:2-11, 135; 8:12, 208; 12:35, 232;
6:26, 231, 6:35, 169, 6:36, 171, 6:39, 12:36, 206, 13:5, 117,- 13:14-16, 206,
103; 6:48, 169, 7.1-10, 151, 154, 14:6, 232, 16:7, 93, 16:13, 102, 17:11,
7:11-16, 202; 7:16, 72; 7:19-22, 54,- 170, 213, 18:31, 78; 19:40, 80; 2 0 . 1 7 -
7 : 2 6 - 2 8 , 100; 7:22, 28 ; 7 : 3 3 - 3 4 , 18, 135; 21:5, 122
126; 7 : 3 8 - 4 7 , 131; 8 : 1 - 3 , 135; 8:2, Acts 2:11, 24; 2:14-24, 38 ; 3:13, 201;
136; 8:3, 130, 8:8, 125,- 8:8-15, 111, 3:22, 102; 3:26, 201,- 4:27, 201, 5:29,
8:15, 125; 8 : 4 9 - 5 6 , 202 ; 9:14-16, 53; 7:37, 102, 7:55, 180; 8:14, 104,-
202; 9:23, 72; 9:31, 232,- 9:32, 199, 9:2, 231; 10:36; 155, 11:1-2, 104,
9:54, 151, 9 . 5 7 - 5 8 , 54, 10:13-15, 12:2, 74; 20:35, 131; 21:9, 102;
151, 175; 10:21, 122; 10:29-37, 151, 21:24, 47; 25:26, 202
170; 10:38-42, 135; 11:1-4, 112,- 11:9, Romans 4:11-12, 229, 5:12, 224,
98; 11:29-32, 151; 11:31, 46, 135,- 6:4, 232; 6:23, 188,- 8:16-23, 206,
11:39-41, 133, 11.42-52, 103, 11.47, 8:34, 180; 12:17-21, 155; 16.1-7, 135
219, 11:49, 169, 11:50-51, 219, 1 2 . 6 - 1 Corinthians 1:18-24, 202, 1.23, 219,
7, 171; 12:8, 180; 12:13-21, 103; 11:5, 102, 11:12, 78; 12:28, 102; 13:9,
12:15-19, 132; 12:22-31, 98, 133 ; 237; 13:12-13, 242; 15:3-5, 80;
12:24-25, 132, 12:27-28, 116; 15:3-8, 34; 15:52, 180
12:32-34, 133; 12:37, 43, 154,- 2 Corinthians 5:21, 119
12:42-44, 131; 12:22-27, 98,- Galatians 3:7-18, 229, 4 . 2 9 - 3 0 , 5
12.48, 151, 1 3 . 3 - 9 , 48, 13.16, Ephesians 1:20-21, 180, 2:19-22, 80
136; 13:18-19, 111, 13:21, 136, 1 Timothy 2:11-15, 226, 2:14, 224,
13:31, 72, 13:33, 73, 13:34, 75; 14:8- 4:14, 102
11, 117; 14:12-14, 118; 14:28-30, 53, Hebrews 4:15, 119, 10:20, 232, 11:9-
15:2, 154; 15:7, 170; 15:11-32, 98,
10, 229, 12:1-2, 180, 229
171; 15:18, 169; 15:31, 132,- 16:8, 131,
James 1:27, 130
206, 16.13, 133, 16:19-31, 182,
1 Peter 2 : 4 - 7 , 80 ; 2:13-25, 201 ; 2 : 2 1 -
16:20-22, 190, 16:22-30, 131,
24, 119
17:11-19, 151; 17:12-19, 130, 17:21,
2 Peter 2 : 6 - 7 , 175
169; 18:1-5, 136, 18:9-14, 120;
1 John 3.5, 119
18:24, 131; 19:9, 131; 19:41-44, 76;
Jude 7, 175
2 0 : 3 5 - 3 6 , 189-90; 2 1 : 2 0 - 21, 75;
Revelation 3:7, 242, 9.13-19, 5, 20:12,
21:34, 126; 22:27, 117, 206; 22:41,
180
The Quran
1:1-7, 112 4 : 3 4 - 3 5 , 140; 4:43, 111; 4:56, 186;
2:2, 223; 2:20, 99 ; 2:30, 122; 2:62, 234; 4:59, 172, 4:80, 191, 4:81, 167, 4:92,
2:80, 186; 2:87, 2, 92 ; 2:94, 233 ; 174; 4:93, 181; 4:116, 213; 4:124, 148,
2:97, 82, 2:106, 94; 2:107, 157; 2:111, 183; 4:128, 140; 4:129, 138, 139,
233; 2:112, 234; 2:113, 233; 2:115, 4:135, 173; 4:142, 111; 4:153, 230;
165; 2:124-133, 85 ; 2:125, 142, 59 ; 4:157, 204, 222; 4:159, 218 ; 4:160,
2 : 1 2 7 - 2 9 , 229; 2:136, 234,- 2 : 1 4 2 - 88; 4:164, 167; 4:171, 2, 92,- 4:172,
45, 94; 2:154, 223,- 2:158, 69 ; 2:173, 117
93; 2:178, 174; 2:183, 20, 125/ 2:184, 5:3, 228; 5:5, 141; 5:6, 110,- 5:8, 173;
129; 2 : 1 8 4 - 8 7 , 150 ; 2:190-91, 157; 5:18, 233; 5:21-24, 88,- 5:33, 158;
2 : 1 9 6 - 2 0 3 , 69, 2:213, 83, 2:217, 59 ; 5 : 3 8 - 3 9 , 174; 5:45, 175; 5:48, 245 ;
2:219, 125; 2:222, 144; 2:223, 138,- 5:51, 153; 5:54, 168,- 5:68, 83,- 5:73,
2 : 2 2 8 - 2 9 , 140, 146; 2:233, 120; 209; 5 : 8 2 - 8 3 , 107; 5:90, 125; 5:104,
2:240, 142; 2:249, 251, 90,- 2:253, 92,- 103; 5:112-115, 92; 5:116, 207,-
2:255, 165, 237; 2:256, 159; 2:259, 5:116-117, 209
178; 2 : 2 6 3 - 6 5 , 271, 129 6:7, 40, 6:14-15, 213; 6:59, 167, 6 : 7 4 -
3 : 3 - 4 , 83, 3:12-13, 61, 3:13, 90, 3:16, 79, 166, 6 : 8 4 - 8 7 , 83,- 6:87, 231;
114; 3:19, 227; 3:20, 94 ; 3:31, 191; 6:92, 64, 6:112, 123, 6:116, 231,
3:32, 168; 3:35, 225; 3:36, 106,- 3:37, 6:118, 129, 6:121, 109, 6:154, 88,
91; 3:42, 106; 3:45, 2, 92; 3:47, 49, 6:161, 231, 6:163, 227, 6:164, 221
91; 3.-50, 101; 3:52, 233,- 3:59, 91,- 7:8, 178; 7 : 3 2 - 3 3 , 126,- 7:40, 223;
3 : 6 7 - 6 8 , 230; 3:75, 94 ; 3:76, 168, 7:50, 53, 182; 7:54, 167; 7 : 8 0 - 8 4 ,
3:85, 235; 3:86, 242,- 3:96, 85; 3:97, 175; 7:107, 195; 7:145, 167; 7:150,
69; 3:110, 153; 3:112, 218; 3:130, 128; 230; 7.151, 114; 7:157, 96 ; 7 : 1 7 2 -
3:144, 70, 3:145, 166, 3:146, 168, 173, 152; 7:179, 124, 7:180, 169,
3:152-153, 63, 3:169, 223, 3 : 1 6 9 - 7:187, 102; 7:200, 123
170, 176; 3:180, 127 8:1, 60; 8:9-13, 50; 8:17, 158, 167;
4:3, 138, 4:4, 148; 4:11-12, 102, 140, 8:21-22, 124, 8:30, 34, 39, 8:35, 37,
146; 4:15, 139; 4:19, 148; 4:20, 148; 38,- 8:41, 60; 8:60, 159, 8 : 6 5 - 7 0 , 158

298
 INDEX 299

9:5, 159; 9:21, 160, 9:23-24, 43, 25:4-5, 95; 25:8, 40; 25:47, 166,
9:28, 153; 9:29, 160, 235, 9:30-31, 25:61, 165, 25:67, 128
213, 9:33, 245, 9:34-35, 185,- 9:38, 26:108, 58, 26:165-173, 175
42, 69, 9:40, 166, 9:73, 160, 9:81, 27:22-44, 130, 196; 27:54-58, 175
161 28:4-6, 99; 28:16, 114,- 28:38, 90,-
10:5-6, 40, 10:15-16, 38, 10:37, 82, 28:54, 159; 28:77, 169,- 28:86, 36
10:45, 176, 10:58, 130, 10:60, 129, 29:2, 123; 29:28-31, 175; 29:30, 2;
10:66-70, 213, 10:89-90, 231, 29:46, 232, 29:50-51, 40, 29:60,
10:94, 37, 10:108, 88, 166 166, 29:61-65, 21
11:61-62, 21, 11.78-83, 175, 11:90, 30:1-5, 172; 30:21, 138; 30:46, 129
168, 11:106-107, 186 31:18-19, 115, 31:32, 21
12:3, 87 32:7-9, 91; 32:21, 174
13:11, 166; 13:23, 184; 13:33, 167, 33:4, 139; 33:21, 191; 33:25-27, 89;
13:39, 94 33:26-27, 64; 33:35, 148, 33:36, 172;
14:24-26, 111 33:37, 144, 33:40, 95, 33:50-51,
15:28-43, 123,- 15:29, 167; 15:67-77, 142; 33:53, 143, 144, 145; 33:59, 143,-
175 33:73, 183
16:40, 166, 16:57-59, 147, 16:67, 125, 34.16-17, 174; 34:28, 180, 229; 34:33,
16:68-69, 99, 16.71, 75, 153, 16:78, 180; 34:43, 39
83, 130, 16:80-81, 166, 16:101, 94, 35:29-30, 174
16:103, 95, 16:123-124, 88, 16:125, 36:32-35, 129; 36:50, 177
125; 16:126, 157 37:101-106, 85, 37:107, 69, 37.116,
17:1, 198; 17:14, 180; 17:15, 221; 17:23- 219; 37:152-154, 211
39, 88; 17:26, 28, 128,- 17:31, 146, 38:21-25, 128
17:33, 174; 17:36, 124, 17:37, 115, 39:28, 81, 39:59, 182
17:67, 129; 17:73-74, 123; 17:90, 40; 40:8, 184, 40:40, 148
17:92-93, 197; 17:93, 115, 17:110, 41:6, 115, 41:20-21, 180, 41:34-35,
210 157; 41:37, 165
18:23-24, 111, 18:33-43, 132, 18:84- 42:7, 64; 42:11, 167; 42.15, 83; 42:41,
90, 161, 18:110, 115 157; 42:47, 58; 42:51, 82
19:15, 219; 19:18-96, 168; 19:21, 204, 43:4, 81; 43:18-19, 147; 43:70-71,
19:22-26, 91, 19:28-34, 225, 183
19:30-32, 91; 19:31, 2, 19:33, 222, 44:35, 252; 44:54, 183
19:36, 231, 19:66-67, 166 45:24, 165; 45:25, 179; 45:29-34, 179
20:11-13, 87, 20:55, 177, 20:88-94, 46:9, 115; 46.12, 81, 46:20, 186
230 47:4, 158, 47:6, 158; 47.15, 182; 47:19,
21:5, 40; 21:51-71, 228; 21:55-64, 114
230; 21:65-71, 84; 21:105, 173 48:2, 114; 48:16-17, 161, 48:29, 110,
22:17, 234; 22:26-28, 85; 22:36, 69, 111
93; 22:37, 133; 22:40, 158; 22:52, 49:2-3, 191, 49:9, 168, 49:10-11, 120;
123; 22:77-78, 156 49:13, 152; 49:14, 67, 49:15, 156
23:12-14, 166, 23:13-14, 212, 23:86, 50:16, 167
198; 23:96, 159, 23:100, 177 52:20, 183
24:2, 139; 24:6-8, 139, 24:11-20, 141, 53:7-10, 36; 53.19-23, 126, 53:21, 211,
24:22, 113, 169; 24:31, 143; 24:32, 53:36-37, 37; 53:38, 221
126; 24:33, 147, 154, 24:35, 167, 54:1, 196; 54:33-38, 175
24:58, 58; 24:60, 143 55:72-76, 183
300 INDEX

5 6 : 3 4 - 3 7 , 183, 5 6 : 3 5 - 3 6 , 184, 56:78, 82:10-12, 179

81 83:25, 183
57:7, 128; 57:18, 129; 57:20, 178; 85:3-8, 160; 85:21-22, 81
57:22, 166, 57:27, 126, 57:29, 234 88:21-22, 58
58:7, 167 89:24, 182
5 9 : 3 - 4 , 62, 59:7, 193, 59:23, 169 90:8-20, 231, 90:10-16, 154
60:4, 8, 114, 60:10, 140 91.8-10, 122
61:5, 88, 61:6, 92, 61:8-9, 235 92:19-20, 169
62:5, 61, 62:9, 58, 109; 62:10, 173 93:6-10, 169, 93:8, 35, 93:9-11, 120
63:10-11, 128 94:1-3, 200
64:14, 141 96:1-5, 36
65:4, 140; 65:12, 165 97:1, 36
66:3, 141, 66:10, 148, 66:12, 91 98:6, 235
68:51, 39 101:6-11, 178
6 9 : 1 9 - 2 5 , 179 102:1-6, 127
7 0 : 3 - 4 , 197 104:1-3, 127
73:1, 88; 73:2-6, 126, 73:20, 109, 126 105, 172
74:1, 88; 74:13, 145 106.3-5, 38
75:3-4, 178; 75:22-23, 181 107, 128
76:8, 169, 76:26, 109 109, 234
78:33, 183 110.1-2, 67
80:1-6, 116 111:1-4, 43
81:8-9, 147
 GENERAL

Limited to cross-references of names and t used more than once on different

pages.

Abbott, Nabia, 30, 142-43, 145, 148 Aquinas, Thomas, 5, 199

Abdullah, 21, 34, 199 Arabic, 2, 9, 11, 21, 44, 81, 97, 106, 112,
Abraham, 1, 3, 10, 2 3 - 2 5 , 37, 40, 46, 48, 122, 129, 149, 167, 173, 223-24, 2 2 7 -
69, 8 4 - 8 9 , 95, 114, 131, 136, 138, 166, 28
175, 177, 182, 189-90, 195, 197-98, Armstrong, Karen, 13, 139, 146, 174,
218, 2 2 8 - 3 1 , 234, 243 193
Abrogation, 94, 101, 107, 123, 157, 159, Asad, Muhammad, 152, 234
225, 235 Augustine, 156, 178, 209, 236
Abu Bakr, 39, 45, 5 7 - 5 8 , 60, 64, 70, 97,
142,162, 166 Bahr, 50, 6 0 - 6 2 , 90, 158, 173, 177
Abujahl, 45, 60 Borg, Marcus, 13, 76
Abu Lahab, 43, 173 Bunyan, John, 232, 237
Abu Sufyan, 62, 63, 66, 142 Byzantium, Byzantine, xi, 19, 68, 91, 126,
AbuTalib, 3 4 - 3 5 , 3 8 , 4 1 , 4 3 160, 162-63, 172, 210
Aisha, 70, 82, 110-11, 113, 123, 138, 141-
45 Camels, 17-19, 24, 45, 58, 64, 88, 93,
Al-Bukhari, 13, 25, 95, 144, 196, 235 141, 196, 198, 200
Al-Ghazali, 184, 192, 244 Children, 28, 117-18, 120-22, 137, 146,
Ali, 41, 162 158, 170, 182, 184, 187, 190, 193, 195,
Ali, Ahmed, 139, 194 206, 211, 230
Almsgiving, 42,128-29,133,173, 233, 243 Constantine, \55-56, 208, 219
Amina, 34, 199 Cragg, Kenneth, 9, 161, 220
Andrae, Tor, 148, 185 Crossan, John, 78, 119, 136, 222
Angels, 2, 50, 93, 106, 122-23, 133, 176- Crucifixion, 72, 7 9 - 8 0 , 93, 113, 155, 180,
77, 179, 190, 197, 200, 243 202-04, 217-23
302 INDEX

Dashti, Ali, 63, 67, 196 68, 93, 114, 116, 123, 127, 139, 143,
Dates, 17, 24, 63, 196 179, 196-97, 230
David, 60, 73, 90, 93, 99, 103, 128, 198, Ishmael, Ishmaelites, 3, 10, 24, 40, 8 3 -
201, 2 0 5 - 0 6 86, 198, 228, 230, 234
Isaac, 23, 89, 138, 190, 198, 234
Eastern Orthodoxy, 3, 244
Elijah, 54, 93, 199, 202
Equality, 135, 139, 146, 149, 152-53, 168, Jedda, xi, 18, 36
190,239 Jeremiah, 36, 7 4 - 7 6 , 211, 244
Ethiopia, Ethiopian, xi, 18-19, 4 2 - 4 3 , Jerusalem, xi, 24, 38, 45, 47, 7 3 - 8 0 , 94,
58, 68, 70, 123, 142, 157, 172, 204, 124, 136, 155, 162, 186, 188, 196, 206,
211-12,235-36 212, 218, 220, 232
Ezra, 213, 236 Jews, Judaism, 2, 2 4 - 2 5 , 37, 4 4 - 4 5 , 51,
5 8 - 5 9 , 61, 65, 70, 7 7 - 8 0 , 88, 9 4 - 9 5 ,
Fasting, 2 4 - 2 5 , 42, 120, 125-27, 145, 107, 110, 125, 135, 141, 143, 150-51,
233, 243 155, 161, 176, 178-79, 182, 186, 189,
Fate, 26, 165-66 198, 201-07, 209, 213, 219, 224, 2 2 6 -
Firestone, Reuven, 31, 83 30, 233, 235-39, 2 4 4 - 4 5
Forgiveness, 21, 113-15, 119, 129, 169, Jinn, 26, 37, 123, 195
171, 174-75, 191, 218, 222, 233 John the Baptist, 38, 42, 48, 50, 52, 54,
71-72, 90, 92, 99, 112, 119, 126, 197,
Gabriel, 5, 37, 60, 63, 82, 177, 197-99 218, 229, 231, 234
Gibbon, Edward, 9, 106, 116 Jomier, Jacques, 153, 245
Glubb,John, 23, 173, 184 Joseph ben Jacob, 87, 197, 236
Gratitude, 129-31, 169 Joseph of Nazareth, 4 6 - 4 7 , 194
Guillaume, Alfred, 10, 35 Josephus, 12, 24, 29, 71, 189, 201, 222
Justice, 51, 79, 99, 103, 155, 173, 182,
Hagar, 3, 10, 2 3 - 2 4 , 69, 8 4 - 8 6 193, 239
Healing, 42, 52, 151
Hell, 5, 38, 61-62, 114, 124, 127, 148, Ka'ba, 20-21, 26, 35, 38-39, 44, 64, 66,
160-61, 169, 177-82, 185-88, 197, 69, 80, 85-86, 90, 95, 153, 172, 196-
210,231,235 97, 219
Hick, John, 234, 242 Khadija, 35, 3 7 , 4 3 , 130, 149, 182
Hijaz, xi, 17, 24 Khaibar, xi, 61, 6 4 - 6 5 , 143
Hijra, 57, 65, 89, 157 Kung, Hans, 13, 206, 211, 220, 243
Hillel, 29, 137
Lichtenstadter, Use, 31, 149
Idolatry, 20, 35, 38, 42, 68, 70, 84, 127, Love, 8, 51, 79, 98, 103, 114, 122, 144,
133, 150, 152, 159, 172-73, 182, 206, 149, 151, 168, 170-71, 182, 191, 213,
210-11, 226-28, 230-31, 240, 242 220-21
Incarnation, 1, 81, 236 Lowliness, 115-19,241
Infallibility, 15, 82, 94, 97, 206, 2 2 3 - 2 7 ,
243 Mani, 96, 204
Intoxicants, 28, 35, 125-26, 183, 198 Marcellinus, Ammianus, 19, 31
Isaiah, 48, 51, 54, 7 7 - 7 8 , 99, 101, 111, Margoliouth, David, 160, 235
121, 150, 155, 200, 221, 229, 231 Martyrdom, 7 2 - 7 4 , 105, 156, 160, 162,
Ishaq, 13, 20, 34-39, 60, 6 2 - 6 3 , 65, 66- 176, 219, 222
 INDEX 303

Mary of Nazareth, 2, 42, 46, 9 0 - 9 1 , 95, Punishment, 135, 139-40, 150, 158, 171,
106-07, 199, 210-13, 217, 224 174, 186-87, 221
Mecca, Meccans, xi, 6, 18-26, 31, 3 4 -
45, 50, 55, 5 7 - 6 9 , 86, 93, 97, 115, Quraish, 34, 38-39, 42, 45, 59, 61, 64,
123, 147, 153, 162-65, 177, 179, 183, 66, 142, 157
192, 195-97, 211, 218, 220, 222, 234,
241 Ramadan, 20, 36, 125-126
Medina, Medians, xi, 6, 24, 30, 34, 44, Renan, Ernest, 130, 152
5 7 - 7 0 , 82, 86, 89, 93, 97, 106, 123, Roman Catholic, 3, 5, 7, 11, 236, 232-44
125, 141, 152, \56-57, 161, 163, 196, Rahman, Fazlur, 13, 21, 125, 139, 146,
204 166, 180, 234
Meier, John, 101, 119 Resurrection, 27, 34, 113, 127, 160, 176-
Messiah, 7 8 - 7 9 , 92, 98, 201, 206, 210, 81, 188-90, 202, 237
228 Revenge, 22, 2 7 - 2 8 , 60, 62, 100, 155,
Miracles, 6, 25, 34, 40, 51, 53, 91, 107, 157, 174-75, 185, 222
195-204, 223 Revelations, 36-39, 59, 63, 81-107, 123,
Mishnah, 29, 47, 137, 187 129, 133, 138, 144, 146, 156-59, 168,
Montefiore, Claude, 79, 136 172, 179, 182, 186, 198, 204, 217, 223,
Moses, 37, 49, 51, 61, 84, 86-90, 99, 225, 228, 237, 241, 245
101-02, 104, 114, 121, 125, 136-37, Rodinson, Maxime, 14, 2 5 - 2 6 , 64, 67,
139, 154-55, 160, 167, 179, 182, 188- 95, 192, 194-95
89, 195-200, 202, 205, 214, 218, 2 2 4 - Rushdie, Salman, 8, 194
25, 228-34, 236, 239-40, 245
Sacrifices, 25, 6 4 , 9 3 , 133, 230
Nabataea, xi, 18, 22, 24, 71 Saracens, 3, 19
Najran, xi, 160, 162, 2 0 4 - 0 5 Sarah, 3, 23-24, 2 2 9 - 3 0
Nasr, Seyyed, 156, 217 Seale, Morris, 22, 26
Nolan, Albert, 118, 188 Sexual intercourse, 110, 127, 138-39,
143, 145, 212
Paradise, 38, 44, 62, 70, 131, 148, 158, Semitic, 1, 30, 46, 80, 86, 89, 100, 104,
160, 169, 173, 176, 178-79, 181-86, 113, 124, 154, 163, 165, 172, 176, 225,
198-99, 210, 223, 230, 233, 235 232, 239
Paul, Apostle, 3, 34, 84, 180, 188, 202, Sheba, Queen of, 30, 135, 148, 196
219, 229, 232, 242 Shaw, George Bernard, 53, 118
Peace, 18, 47, 65, 7 4 - 7 6 , 113, 155, 166, Slavery, 29, 138, 140, 143-47, 153-54,
172, X75-76, 227, 243 174, 224, 231
Persia, Persians, xi, 19, 90, 148, 162-63, Smith, Hudson, 40, 180, 227
176, 198 Smith, Wilfred, 194, 242
Peter, Apostle, 38, 53, 98, 102, 104, 113, Solomon, 18, 116, 141, 148, 150, 162,
124, 155 195-98
Pharisees, 51, 7 2 - 7 3 , 99,101,103,135,154 Soothsayers, 26, 38
Pilgrimage, 19, 47, 59, 6 4 - 6 5 , 69, 147, Syria, Syrians, xi, 19, 35, 40, 44, 55, 61,
177, 233 69, 163, 185, 199, 200, 204, 211, 235
Prayer, 25, 28, 42, 46, 58, 64, 77, 109-
14, 122, 124, 128, 134, 165, 173, 177, Talmud, 3, 29, 45
213, 222, 233, 243 Temple (Jerusalem), 22, 29, 50, 66, 73,
Protestant, 3, 5, 9, 14, 244 76-79, 150, 169, 188, 197
304 INDEX

Temptation, 49-51, 122-24 Women, 28-31, 80, 111, 115-16, 130,

Tolerance, 15, 114, 158, 233-46 135-50, 154, 158, 174, 183-84, 188,
Toynbee, Arnold, 155, 241 197-98, 209, 212, 226

Umar, 7, 41, 62, 70, 97, 162 Yemen, xi, 18, 24, 46, 106, 160, 175
Uthman, 97, 223 Yom Kippur, 45, 59, 241

War, 2 3 - 2 4 , 44, 49, 6 0 - 6 3 , 65, 6 8 - 6 9 , Zaid ibn Amr, 26, 34-36, 41

71, 7 4 - 7 5 , 89, 103, 107, 138, 143, 153- - Zaid ibn Muhammad, 35, 41, 144, 198
61, 171-72, 208, 245 Zakaria, Rafiq, 82, 194
Waraqa, 25, 37, 41 Zechariah, 42, 90-91
Watt, W Montgomery, 2, 58, 86, 96, Zoroaster, Zorastrians, 96, 176, 189, 234
115, 127, 144, 163, 222
Wealth, 35, 43, 64, 122-34, 146, 182,
190