Do Muslims view Muhammad as more important than Jesus?

Question

Do muslims view Muhammad as more important than Jesus?

If they view them as being on the same 'level', how come there have been negative reactions from Muslims against cartoon depictions of Muhammad but not against cartoon depictions of Jesus?

Answer 1

Actually, it is true that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is the best of prophets. We do not differentiate between the prophets (PBUT) in the sense that we do not say one's message is superior to another's (they all came with the same message). However, the prophets do not all belong to the same level. Take a look at the following hadith,

Narrated Abu Sa'eed: that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "I am the master of the children of Adam on the Day of Judgement, and I am not boasting. The Banner of Praise will be in my hand, and I am not boasting. There will not be a Prophet on that day, not Adam nor anyone other than him, except that he will be under my banner. And I am the first one for whom the earth will be opened for, and I am not bragging."

http://sunnah.com/urn/734770

I'm sure that all Muslims would condemn insults to any prophet of God. But if you're asking specifically about the Muslims who reacted violently, then you should direct this question to them in particular...

Finally, this might be one reason why they reacted differently (this is just my opinion)...when they insult the Prophet Jesus (PBUH), they are actually intending to insult Christianity and not Islam. It is true that both Christianity and Islam believe in the Prophet Jesus (PBUH)...however there are some differences between the Islamic and Christian descriptions of Jesus (PBUH), and the insults are generally directed to the Christian version of Jesus. However, when they insult the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), they are directly attacking Islam. In any case, this is just my opinion...you should really ask those Muslims who reacted that way to get a more accurate answer.

Answer 2

We're not allowed to compare Prophets, or view one as better than the other. This is actually forbidden.

The Prophet Mohamed is reported to have said:

لاَ تُخَيِّرُونِي مِنْ بَيْنِ الأَنْبِيَاءِ

"Do not give me preference to other prophets..." (al-Bokhari, Muslim)

It's quite unfortunate that we allow humiliation of other prophets and not ours. We should be reasonable and not react in an unethical manner as the Prophet Mohamed never became violent when someone insulted him.

So it's an issue within the Muslim community that needs to be resolved properly, without emotional impulses. but it's wrong to allow anyone to be insulted for entertainment, whether a person is a Prophet or not.

Answer 3

Short answer is, no, we cannot say that this prophet or that prophet is more important than other prophets. Because all of’-em are very important to us all, whether is prophet Muhammad or Adam, all of them are very important to us