Muhammad is deeply revered by millions of Muslims globally. And I’ve had Muslims say to me that they find it disrespectful and confusing when Christians don’t accept Muhammad as a prophet, while Muslims honour Jesus. In other words, our Muslim friends might ask: ‘we have an honoured place for Jesus in our beliefs. So why don’t you have one for Muhammad?’ The question matters because it forces us to take seriously both what we believe; and how we interact with the beliefs of others.
Below we’ll explore whether Christians should consider Muhammad a prophet. However, before doing so we must ask: are Muslims indeed showing enough honour to Jesus?
Who Is Jesus to Muslims?
According to Islam, Jesus is a great prophet sent to guide the people of Israel. He’s the son of Mary, the Messiah, and a miracle worker. He is often mentioned in the Qur’an and is considered a model of humility, purity and devotion to God. He will return at the end of time.
That certainly sounds like an honoured place is given to Jesus. But is he honoured enough?
Is he honoured enough?
In Islam, Jesus isn’t the final or greatest prophet; Muhammad is. Muhammad is the “Seal of the Prophets”. And many Muslims believe Jesus foretold Muhammad’s coming. While Jesus is for the children of Israel, Muhammad is for all people, completing and confirming Jesus’ message. Importantly Muhammad brings in the final testament, the only untainted revelation, the Qur’an.
For Christians, this falls short of the honour Jesus deserves. Jesus is the eternal Son of God who came from heaven itself to restore our relationship with God (John 1:1-2, 12-14). For us to have life, he had to give his life (Mark 10:45). He came first for the Jews, but he is for all people (Matthew 15:24; 28:19). He is the only way to the Father (John 14:6). He is the Son who listens to his Father (John 4:34; 6:38). Yet, at the same time, he is equal to the Father (John 5:19-23; 10:30). Jesus doesn’t only fill the pages of the New Testament, he fulfils the Old (Luke 24:27, 44; 2 Corinthians 1:20). Jesus as the very Son of God is the most honoured prophet (Deuteronomy 18:15); priest (Hebrews 4:14-16); and king (Revelation 19:16).
My point is that if Muslims feel disrespected when Christians don’t honour Muhammad, Christians could equally feel disrespected that Muslims don’t honour Jesus as the sin-bearing, resurrected, eternal Son of God, worthy of all our worship. Recognising this mutual tension is crucial before we evaluate Muhammad.
Why Don’t Christians Accept Muhammad As a Prophet?
From the Bible, God instructs his people to test prophets. While there are several key areas to consider, below are three central reasons why Christians cannot accept Muhammad as a prophet.
1. He Leads to a Different God
That is a controversial and weighty claim. Especially for those who believe that God has revealed himself differently to different people.
Hear what God says in Deuteronomy 13:1-3: “If a prophet or someone who has dreams arises among you and proclaims a sign or wonder to you, and that sign or wonder he has promised you comes about, but he says, ‘Let’s follow other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let’s worship them,’ do not listen to that prophet’s words or to that dreamer. For the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul.”
We are to reject any prophets that lead us to “other gods”.
But is the God of the Bible any different to the God of the Qur’an?
Fundamentally, Yahweh and Allah are not the same God.
As politically and religiously incorrect as this might seem, fundamentally Yahweh and Allah are not the same God. They can’t be. The God of the Bible is revealed as a Triune community from start (Genesis 1:26-27) to finish (Matthew 3:16-17; 28:19; Ephesians 1:3-14; Revelation 1:4-5), in increasing degrees of brighter revelation—especially as God the Son walks among humanity (John 1:18; 14:9).
Furthermore, the high point of Christian experience is the great forgiven assurance of knowing God as our Father, counted as his children (1 John 3:1; Ephesians 1:4-5), all because of his eternal Son. “Our Father in heaven” is what Jesus taught his followers to pray. It’s why several of the most significant creeds and confessions, including the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds, all begin by speaking about God the Father. Yet among Allah’s 99 names, “Father” isn’t one of them.
Allah is utterly one, without partners or sons. Some of that seeks to protect the deity of God—even in ways Christians would agree with. For instance, we don’t think that God can physically produce sons and daughters like we do on earth. Likewise, we don’t think that there are three gods; or that the Trinity comprises of God, Jesus and Mary. Those are what the anti-Trinitarian surahs in the Qur’an (Surah 4:171; 5:73; 5:116) seem to stand against, and Christians would agree.
But even despite areas of agreement, the Qur’an and Muhammad still lead you to a different God. Perhaps 600 years after the New Testament, the “final prophet and testament” collapses the eternal communion of the Father and Son and Spirit into a single solitary figure. One who must create to love, instead of being the God who is love because he has always been a community of persons. Under Muhammad, submission to Allah is the relationship of slaves to master. Under Jesus, submission to the Triune God is the relationship of children welcomed into the family (Galatians 4:4-7).
The difference hangs entirely on Jesus. As the apostle John writes: “no one who denies the Son has the Father; he who confesses the Son has the Father as well” (1 John 2:23). Christians accept Jesus and therefore cannot accept Muhammad because he leads us away from the Son, and thus, away from the Father.
2. He Points Away From Jesus’ Finished Work
Jesus himself warns us about which prophets to trust. “False messiahs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. Take note: I have told you in advance” (Matthew 24:24-25).
False prophets detract in some way from the finished work of Jesus.
The prophets of the Old Testament anticipated Jesus’ sacrificial death along with our need for it. The Gospels record his life, death and resurrection in our place. And the rest of the New Testament speak of how we can live out of the life he gives us. False messiahs and prophets will, particularly after Jesus’ full revelation, detract in some way from the finished work of Jesus. They may offer dazzling proofs and shining miracles. But in the end they will reject the cross and resurrection of Jesus. This is precisely what Muhammad does. Speaking on behalf of Allah, he says that Jesus surely didn’t die (Surah 4:157).
This strikes at the very heart of Christianity, the cross and resurrection of Jesus. Consider:
- The Gospel accounts. At least a quarter of the space of these eye-witness biographies is given to Jesus’ death and the days leading up to it. If Jesus didn’t die, then this is wasted space. Yet the focus instead of the Gospel accounts is on the Jesus who lived to die for us.
- Jesus’ words, where he explicitly predicted his death and resurrection (Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:33-34; Matthew 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:17-19). He came knowing he would die for us. “Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).
- How Jesus’ death relates to the lives and living of Christians. Through Jesus’ cross we come to have life (1 Peter 2:24); from Jesus’ cross we live our lives (Galatians 2:20).
Muslims and Muhammad point away from Jesus’ finished work. But there is no good news to believe or proclaim without it. Is that not deeply disrespectful? Jesus’ followers know of God’s love because God showed his love in the Son of God dying for them. What’s more, discounting Jesus’ death suggests that there is another way, perhaps many ways; and that Jesus didn’t need to die. To deny Jesus’ death is to deny God’s central saving act—the Father’s plans and purposes, centring on his Son’s sin-bearing death. Christians cannot accept this claim. Nor should they accept any prophet who proclaims it.
3. He Claims a Final and Better Revelation
Islam teaches a sequence of revelation from Allah of the Old Testament, to New Testament, and finally to the Qur’an. Muhammad’s book is seen as the final, fuller, uncorrupted testament.
But the commonly held tradition of the Bible being corrupted is confused by the claims of the Qur’an itself. For instance, Muhammad himself is told to “ask those who read the Book before you” (Surah 10:94). This assumes that the earlier scriptures (that is, the Bible) are reliable. We could make a similar point using Surah 5:47 or 5:68.
This raises a question: when, according to Islam, were the Christian scriptures corrupted? There are just two options:
- If after the time of Muhammad, then why do we possess manuscripts from before his time?
- If before the time of Muhammad, how can Muslims after Muhammad be good Muslims in believing the previous revelation in the Bible (Surah 2:136)?
Outside of the Bible, Muslims don’t have access to the preserved words of the earlier prophets. To put it another way: while Christians have the witness and words of dozens of prophets, Muslims at best have the witness and words of just one.
The Qur’an claims to confirm the revelation that has come before (Surah 3:3, 5:48). However, the story that Muhammad tells in the Qur’an is different to the story we read from the Old and New Testaments. While there are similarities, if you read both the Qur’an and Bible in full the differences loom much larger. We need only return to the points above, concerning God’s nature and the place of Jesus.
If Allah sent the previous revelations, and they are now corrupted, wasn’t he able to sovereignly preserve all of it (Surah 5:48)? But Christians live under the reality that the Spirit, who worked through more than one prophet (2 Peter 1:20-21; Hebrews 1:1), ensures that God’s full revelation of his ways and his will are still present for us today (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Isaiah 40:7-8; Hebrews 3:7). This revelation consistently centres on Jesus, especially the necessity of his sufferings and glories, spoken of in the Old Testament (Luke 24:25-27, 44-47).
Jesus’ Apostles warn us to continue testing the spirits and their prophets. “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1).
Christians don’t accept Muhammad as a prophet because he claims a better and final revelation. A revelation that depends on the Bible to make sense yet simultaneously contradicts it in content and purpose.
Handling Disagreement Between Muslims and Christians
Muslims may feel disrespected when Christians don’t honour Muhammad. Christians may feel the same when Muslims don’t honour Jesus as the eternal Son of God. In that sense, we can all feel disrespected together. But is there space to disagree? Do we have to absolutely agree with each other’s beliefs in order to show respect to each other?
I’d argue that unless we absolutely and sincerely agree with someone’s convictions, it is neither respectful nor loving to say we do. Taking each other’s convictions seriously enough means acknowledging the real differences rather than watering them down or completely ignoring them.
Christians don’t always disagree well. We can be too defensive and overly harsh.
Christians don’t always disagree well. We can be unkind, defensive, and overly harsh with our words. We are works in progress—saved and continuing by God’s grace. In fact, the security of our relationship with God means we can admit that; and, by his grace, work at growing in how we disagree with others. When necessary, our aim ought to be to disagree gently and respectfully, while holding firmly to Jesus and the Bible. We want to grow in communicating both what we believe (the content), and how we do so (the tone). How someone then responds is up to them.
Conversations between Christians and Muslims aren’t merely intellectual; they’re deeply personal. And they deserve patience and gentleness, genuine listening. However, as I’ve argued above, Christians cannot accept Muhammad as a prophet. This isn’t out of disrespect. Rather it is out of deep convictions concerning Jesus is; what he has done; and how God has spoken. Because we hold these convictions sincerely, we must disagree both sincerely and gently with those we seek to love.
