이슬람에서는 선지자 무하메드가 세계적인 왕으로서의 역할이 없다. 무슬림에 따르면 무하메드는 단순히 선지자로써 하나님의 말씀을 선포했으며, 무슬림 공동를 세웠을 뿐이다. 무하메드는 단순히 하나님의 명령에 순종했으며, 그 내용을 따랐을 뿐이다. 그러나 그는 아랍반도의 정치적, 종교적인 지도자였음에도 불구하고 왕은 아니었다.

무슬림에게 예수님은 이슬람 이전의 형태를 선포했던 단순한 선지자에 불과하며, 그는 하나님의(使者)로서 단순히 하나님의 명령에 순종했다고 믿는다. 무슬림은 전통적으로 예수님은 아주 선한 선지자였으며, 무하메드와 함께 매우 중요한 선지자라고 믿는다. 성경에 따르면, 예수님이 선지자였으며, 그러나 선지자보다 더한 분이었다는 것은 사실이다. "내가 그들의 형제 중에 너와 같은 선지자 하나를 그들을 위하여 일으키고 내 말을 그 입에 두리니 내가 그에게 명하는 것을 그가 무리에게 다 고하리라."(신명기 18장18절, 그리고 요한복음 6장14절, 7장40절).

Rabb 혹은 주님

아브라함의 하나님을 의미하는 아랍어 "Rabb" 혹은 "Lord" 는 코란에서 1,000번 넘게 사용되고 있다. 이는 무슬림이 일반적으로 하나님은 세계를 지배하시는 정의로신 분이라는 의미한다. "권능의 왕이신 하나님이여 당신은 당신의 뜻대로 권능을 주시기도하고, 권능을 빼앗기도 하시며,"(수라 3:26). 창조주로서의 주님을 인정하면서 무슬림은 하나님의 메시야의 죽음과 죽음에서 부활하신 것을 믿지 않는다.

유다

무슬림은 일반적으로 하나님은 예수님과 같은 선한 선지자가 악한 방법으로 죽임을 당하는 것을 허락하지 않으셨다고 믿는다. 일부 무슬림은 이러한 믿음과 함께 예수님은 죽지 않았으며, 십자가에 죽은 것처럼 보였을 뿐이라고 코란을 인용해 주장하고 있다. 많은 무슬림은 유다가 십자가에 죽으면서 예수님과 같이 보였을 뿐이라고 믿고 있다. 그리고 아주 소수의 무슬림은 예수님의 죽음에 연관된 놀라운 상황에 대하여 자세하게 배운 사람들도 있고, 이로인해 예수님 당시의 백부장은 "이 사람은 확실하게 죄 없는 사람이었다"(마태복음 23장47절, 27장54절). 코란은 예수님의 부활에 대한 내용이 전혀 없다.

믿음의 고백

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Of Prophets and Kings

In Islam the prophet Mohammed does not have a role as a worldwide king. According to Muslims, Mohammed was simply proclaiming God's message as a prophet and organising Muslim society. Mohammed was to be obeyed and imitated, but he is not a king though he had a role in political and religious leadership in Arabia.

For Muslims, Jesus is also seen as only being a prophet who was preaching a previous form of Islam; He is to be obeyed as God's messenger. Muslims typically believe that Jesus was a very good prophet - indeed, for them He was the most important one besides Mohammed! According to the Bible, it is true that Jesus was a prophet (though it also shows He is more than a prophet): "I will raise up for them a Prophet like you (Moses) from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him" (Deut 18:18; see also John 6:14 and 7:40).

Rabb or Lord

The Arabic word "Rabb" or "Lord" referring to the God of Abraham is used over 1,000 times in the Qur'an. This shows that Muslims generally have a significant sense that God is the rightful ruler of the world. "Say O Allah! King of all kingdoms, You give sovereignty to whom You will, and You take away sovereignty from whom You will"  (Surat 3:26). Yet while acknowledging the Creator as Lord, Muslims deny that God's Messiah died and was raised from the dead.

Judas

Muslims generally believe that God could not have allowed such a good prophet as Jesus to be killed in such an evil way. Some support this belief with statements from the Qur'an that Jesus did not die but only appeared to die on the cross. Many believe that Judas the traitor was transformed into Jesus' likeness and actually was the one who died on the cross. Very few Muslims have learned much about the remarkable circumstances surrounding Jesus' death, which even caused the centurion to say "Certainly this man was innocent" (Matt 23:47 and 27:54). The Qur'an has nothing to say about Jesus' resurrection.

A key issue for Muslim salvation is centred around the confession of faith. When making their profession of faith Muslims name Mohammed as the prophet of the Allah. The English translation is "I bear witness that there is no deity [none truly to be worshipped] but Allah, and I bear witness that Mohammed is the messenger of Allah." This statement of faith is called the "Shahada", and is one of the "five pillars" of Islam. To say this phrase with faith makes one a Muslim.

The Messiah

Christians also have a confession of faith. We proclaim publicly that Jesus, who was raised from the dead, is Lord (Rom 10:9). Jesus is much more than just a prophet. He is the Messiah, a king from the royal family of David (Luke 23:2). The risen Jesus will and does reign over the whole world. Isaiah says: "There shall be a root of Jesse [David's father]; And He who shall rise to reign over the nations, In Him the nations shall hope (Rom 15:12)." He is Emmanuel, "God with us." Jesus is the chosen one who is to reign over the nations.

Prayer points:

* Pray that Muslims would have opportunities to learn about the details of Jesus' death and resurrection. Christians need to have wisdom and real perseverance in telling the story.

* Pray for Muslims to be able to see clearly that Jesus is more than just a prophet. He is indeed Lord of all the earth. He is the Messiah, a king. Islam and Christianity are strikingly different on this point.

* Pray that former Muslims would know how to honour Mohammed as a great man while giving their full allegiance to Jesus the Lord of heaven and earth.