Is Prophet Muhammad superior to Jesus?
Question:
My Filipino Christian colleagues believe (1) that Jesus will return, but Muhammad will not, and (2) they say that Jesus is with God as His son, while your Prophet Muhammad has died. Why did Muhammad not ascend like Jesus? Therefore, they conclude that Jesus is the Son of God and also our God. How can I explain this to them?
– J. Abubakkar, Jeddah
Answer:
The belief that Jesus is the Son of God stems from two key points:
- He was born without a father, and
- He is believed to be alive to this day.
However, even the Bible itself mentions that these unique characteristics are not exclusive to Jesus.
The Bible outlines specific attributes of God, and yet it states that Jesus does not possess these attributes. You should cite verses from the Bible to clarify this.
For instance, in the following verses, not just Jesus, but many others—and even all of humanity—are referred to as “sons of God”:
- Exodus 4:22
- Psalms 2:7
- 2 Samuel 7:14
- Jeremiah 31:9
- Psalms 68:5
- Deuteronomy 14:1
- Matthew 6:14-15
- Matthew 5:9
- Matthew 23:9
- Luke 6:35
- Acts 17:29
- Romans 8:16
From these verses, it becomes clear that the term “son” is used in a metaphorical sense, not to imply divinity.
In the following verses, Jesus himself declares that he is the “Son of Man”:
- Matthew 8:20
- Matthew 9:6
- Matthew 9:8
- Matthew 16:13
- Matthew 16:27
- Matthew 17:12
- Matthew 17:22
- Matthew 19:28
- Matthew 20:18
- Matthew 20:28
- Matthew 26:24
- Matthew 26:45
Even the Bible mentions others who were born without a father, just like Jesus. For example:
- Luke 3:38
- Genesis 2:21-22
- Hebrews 7:3-4
Similarly, the Bible states that others have remained alive to this day, just like Jesus:
- Genesis 5:24
- Hebrews 11:5
- 2 Kings 2:11
Furthermore, the following verses highlight that Jesus did not possess divine attributes and exhibited purely human characteristics:
- Ezekiel 28:9
- Psalms 121:4
- Matthew 3:13
- Matthew 4:1
- Matthew 4:12
- Matthew 8:20
- Matthew 8:24
- Matthew 15:17
- Matthew 17:27
- Matthew 19:28
- Matthew 23:33
- Matthew 26:38
- Matthew 26:67
- Matthew 27:29
- John 1:18
- John 8:59
- John 13:5
- John 19:28
- Luke 2:21
- Luke 11:27
- Luke 24:38-40
- Luke 24:42
- Mark 14:33-34
These verses and many more clearly show that Jesus did not possess any divine qualities. Instead, he had all the attributes of a human being.
Additionally, numerous verses in the Bible declare that Jesus is a servant and a messenger of God, not His son.
We have discussed this topic in detail in our publication “Is Jesus the Son of God?”