One of the things that is absolutely different in stories of Jesus and Muhammad is that it is believed by the followers of Christ that he was resurrected after the death, while Muhammad had died and was buried as any other normal person.

In case of Jesus Christians of various confessions believe that his death on the cross was redemptive sacrifice which is the source of humanity’s salvation and the atonement for sin which had began through Adam. Therefore, by his death Jesus paid the debt of human kind which we have to God. The resurrection of Jesus is also seen by Christians as a promise of future resurrection of all true believers that will come when Jesus will return to earth to judge the living and the dead. In overall, in Christian religion the death and resurrection of Jesus serve as symbols of the destruction of death and forgiveness of sins for all followers of the Christ.

On the contrast, in Islam there are no believes of Muhammad’s resurrection or possible coming back. It is simply believed that Muhammad had lived and died as a normal person, although he had been the messenger of God and the greatest prophets of all his prophets. In the final years of his life Muhammad had managed to unite all the Arabian tribes under a single Islam religion. So the greatest impact of Muhammad’s death on his followers was the necessity to elect the next person who would carry on the tradition and mission of Muhammad. Abu Bakr, collaborator and friend of Muhammad, was chosen as such a person and was made the first caliph.

Ways in which Jesus and Muhammad are worshipped / regarded

The major difference at this part is that in Islam Muhammad is not worshipped in the sense that Christians worship Jesus Christ. Muslims love and respect Muhammad as a prophet and messenger of God. However, he is regarded to be a mortal man though a very extraordinary and wonderful human being. The only one who is being worshipped in Islam is God, Muslims believe in his oneness. Muslims view Muhammad as a restorer of the original, uncorrupted monotheistic faith of Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and others. In Muslim tradition, Muhammad is viewed as the last and the greatest in a series of prophets – as the man closest to perfection, the possessor of all virtues (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2009).

On the other hand, in Christianity Jesus is regarded to be the Son of God, meaning the second person in the divine Trinity. He is also worshipped as a Messiah, whose coming to the earth was prophesized in the Old Testament, and who came to provide salvation and reconciliation with God by his death for human sins. There are also such beliefs about Jesus that Christians continue to preserve as virgin birth, performance of miracles, ascension into heaven and a future second coming.

Massages of Jesus and Muhammad in the modern world

In their days both Muhammad and Jesus were the creators of new religions – Islam and Christianity, and today these two religions have grown to be the most numerous in the world, with the largest number of followers and covering the largest land territories. For instance, today the number of Christians (of various denominations) ranges between 1.5 and 2.1 billion people, which makes it the world’s largest religion (Adherents, 2007). In its turn, Islam is followed by around 1.3 to 1.8 billion people (Adherents, 2007). But it is quite obvious that since the times of Muhammad and Jesus a lot have been changed in their initial messages and religions themselves have undergone through serious metamorphosis.

The greatest difference that can be seen between the initial message of Muhammad and its present interpretation is connected with the jihad. Initially, jihad means “to strive or to struggle”. There are different categories of jihad based on the object or goal of the struggle. But the most important among them– as it was regarded by Muhammad to be the “greater jihad” – pertains to spiritual self-perfection. However, most Muslims today interpret jihad as a form of warfare oriented on the external struggle to defend against non-Muslim combatants and to expand the Islamic state.

Today the message of Jesus is followed and worshipped in churches throughout the whole world, as well as in the daily lives of many Christians. Words and teachings of Jesus can be found in the Holy Bible’s New Testament. Muhammad is not worshipped by Muslims, as he is believed to be simply the messenger of God. But his teachings, which can be found in Qur’an, are still followed today by Muslims all over the world.