Now, lets look in detail at Mohammed’s dream journey into the heavens. While this may seem similar to what one might see in the Book of Enoch or other Jewish literature, it is actually an attempt to further lower the status of Christ even as a human and prophet.
Persian depiction of the ascension of Mohammed. Public Domain.
Mohamed gets up one night while visiting his cousin Umm Hani, the sister of Ali and Ja’far. He goes to recite the Koran and goes back to sleep. He is awoken by Gabriel who takes him to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. There he meets with Moses, Jesus and other prophets to pray. Afterwards he is shown a ladder and he and Gabriel climb it and ascend through the seven heavens. On each level they meet an important person.
- At the bottom, Level 1, is Adam.
- Level 2 is both Christ and John the Baptist.
- Level 3 is Joseph,
- level 4 is Enoch,
- level 5 is Aaron
- level 6 is Moses.
- Finally, in level 7 he meets Abraham and then is given instructions by Allah.¹
There is more to this story but I think what has been shown makes an obvious point. At each level of Heaven Mohamed comes closer to God. Each level has a person of greater significance (in Islam) as he gets closer and closer to God with Abraham, the first Patriarch, being closest. Christ is only at level 2 and is below Joseph, Enoch, Aaron, Moses, and Abraham.
Also, Jesus isn’t alone on the second level of Heaven. He is there with John the Baptist. In Christianity John the Baptist prophesied the imminent coming of the Messiah. According to Mark 1:7 “John announced:
“Someone is coming soon who is greater than I am–so much greater that I’m not even worthy to stoop down like a slave and untie the straps of his sandals.”
By placing both Christ and John the Baptist on the same level Islam is saying that while John the Baptist was a great prophet on the level of Jesus he wasn’t prophesying about Christ. Yet again, Islam is recognizing Jesus as a person but diminishing His status from member of the Godhead to human prophet (and one not particularly high on the totem pole).
Modern Day Damascus, Syria. Image is in the Public Domain.
The final group of teachings in Islam involving Jesus revolve around the end times. In Islam, in the final days a final champion of Allah unites the entire world under Islam. At some point his forces are gathered in Damascus, Syria for Friday prayers. Before the prayers Jesus descends with the assistance of two angels. The Mahdi acknowledges him and offers to let him lead the prayers. Jesus refuses, asserting that the Mahdi is greater. After this point Jesus works to dispel the Christian “misunderstandings and convert them to Islam. He destroys all crosses and takes control of the armies of the Mahdi. He eventually marries and passes away after living a full human life.
In these times Islam teaches that there will also be a Masih ad-Dajjal, or false messiah. This figure will unite the remaining Jews who will declare him to be the Messiah. In the final battle Islam teaches that Jesus will defeat the Jews and kill the Masih ad-Dajjal with a sword. Afterwards, the remaining Jews are rounded up and killed even the trees and rocks letting the Muslims know if a Jew is hiding behind them. A hadith by Abul Husain Muslim bin al-Hajjaj al-Nisapuri states:
“Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: The last hour would not come unless the Muslims will fight against the Jews and the Muslims would kill them until the Jews would hide themselves behind a stone or a tree and a stone or a tree would say: Muslim, or the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him; but the tree Gharqad would not say, for it is the tree of the Jews.” ²
So, instead of the Son of God, Prince of Peace, the Messiah and the Savior of Mankind, Islam turns Jesus Christ into a prophet of Allah (but not as great as several others) as well as a great general that conquers the world for Islam while beheading those that refuse to convert. Islam does indeed incorporate Jesus Christ into their teachings, but in doing so the intent is at best to remove everything that distinguishes Christianity and therefore move the christian into becoming a willing convert of Islam. At worst, these teachings pervert the Good News of Christ and lead the individual away from salvation. I write this article out of sincere love for the Muslim individual. The devout soul that is searching for God. I write this so that Christians can engage their Muslim neighbors in sincere discussion about the nature of Christ, the miracle of the cross, and the teachings of the Old and New Testaments.
¹ Porter, J. (1974). Muhammad’s Journey to Heaven. Numen, 21(1), 64-80. doi:10.2307/3269714
² “Sahih Muslim Book 041, Hadith Number 6985.” Hadith Collection, www.hadithcollection.com/sahihmuslim/169-Sahih%20Muslim%20Book%2041.%20Turmoil%20And%20Portents%20Of%20The%20Last%20Hour/15311-sahih-muslim-book-041-hadith-number-6985.html.