# What do Christians believe about Muhammad? > Christians do not receive Muhammad as a prophet. They confess that Jesus is God, that he was crucified and raised, and that this gospel was already public before Muhammad was born. - Canonical: https://apologetics.wiki/islam/what-do-christians-believe-about-muhammad - Religions: Islam - Denominations: none - Beliefs: none - Tags: islam, muhammad - Updated: 2026-10-09 - Author: [Paul Ambrose](https://apologetics.wiki/author/hi-its-paul) ([GitHub](https://github.com/hi-its-paul)) Christians do not receive Muhammad as a prophet. The church confesses that Jesus is God, that he was crucified and raised, and that this was already being preached before Muhammad was born. ## Key points - [Qur’an 33:40](https://quran.com/33/40) calls Muhammad the seal of the prophets. Christians do not share that sentence. - [Qur’an 4:157](https://quran.com/4/157) says Jesus was not killed and was not crucified. The Gospels say he was. [Did Jesus die on the cross?](/islam/did-jesus-die-on-the-cross) - [John 1:1](/bible/john/1/1) says the Word was God. [John 20:28](/bible/john/20/28) records Thomas calling the risen Jesus Lord and God. - [Qur’an 46:9](https://quran.com/46/9) has Muhammad say he does not know what will be done with him. [Sahih al-Bukhari 1243](https://sunnah.com/bukhari:1243) has him say the same about himself while calling himself God’s messenger. - Thomas Aquinas judged Muhammad’s message by proofs and by arms. The quotation below is his. The Christian confession beside it is the older one: Jesus is Lord and God. ## What Muslims claim for him [Qur’an 33:40](https://quran.com/33/40) (Saheeh International) says: > Muḥammad is not the father of [any] one of your men, but [he is] the Messenger of Allāh and seal [i.e., last] of the prophets. And ever is Allāh, of all things, Knowing. [Sahih al-Bukhari 4416](https://sunnah.com/bukhari:4416) (Muhammad Muhsin Khan) says: > Narrated Sa`d: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) set out for Tabuk. appointing `Ali as his deputy (in Medina). `Ali said, "Do you want to leave me with the children and women?" The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Will you not be pleased that you will be to me like Aaron to Moses? But there will be no prophet after me." That report is Sunni hadith. [Which Muslims accept which hadith?](/islam/which-muslims-accept-which-hadith) The Qur’an verse is the shared book. [Qur’an 46:9](https://quran.com/46/9) (Saheeh International) has him say: > Say, "I am not something original among the messengers, nor do I know what will be done with me or with you. I only follow that which is revealed to me, and I am not but a clear warner." ## What he said about Jesus [Qur’an 4:157](https://quran.com/4/157) denies the crucifixion the Gospels report. [Qur’an 5:72](https://quran.com/al-maidah/72) (Saheeh International) says: > They have certainly disbelieved who say, "Allāh is the Messiah, the son of Mary" while the Messiah has said, "O Children of Israel, worship Allāh, my Lord and your Lord." Indeed, he who associates others with Allāh - Allāh has forbidden him Paradise, and his refuge is the Fire. And there are not for the wrongdoers any helpers. Christians grant the Qur’an’s honor for Jesus as Messiah and as born of Mary, and they do not grant that denial. [Sahih al-Bukhari 1243](https://sunnah.com/bukhari:1243) (Muhammad Muhsin Khan) has him say, of himself: > By Allah, I too wish him good, but by Allah, I do not know what Allah will do with me though I am Allah's Messenger (ﷺ). [Jesus in the Qur’an and the Gospels](/islam/jesus-in-the-quran-and-the-gospels) [Was Jesus a Muslim?](/islam/was-jesus-a-muslim) ## The Christian confession [John 1:1](/bible/john/1/1) (King James Version): > In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [John 20:28](/bible/john/20/28) (King James Version): > And Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God. [The Trinity](/christianity/the-trinity) is the confession that the one God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. [The deity of Christ](/christianity/deity-of-christ) is the confession that Jesus is that Son. [The resurrection of Jesus](/christianity/resurrection-of-jesus) is the confession that he was raised. Those pages were the church’s claim centuries before the Hijra. ## A medieval Christian judgment Thomas Aquinas, in the Summa contra Gentiles, Book I, chapter 6, wrote a harsh paragraph. It is his sentence, quoted here so the judgment is his and not a paraphrase. This page does not take his verb as its own word for Muhammad. > The point is clear in the case of Muhammad. He seduced the people by promises of carnal pleasure to which the concupiscence of the flesh goads us. His teaching also contained precepts that were in conformity with his promises, and he gave free rein to carnal pleasure. In all this, as is not unexpected, he was obeyed by carnal men. As for proofs of the truth of his doctrine, he brought forward only such as could be grasped by the natural ability of anyone with a very modest wisdom. Indeed, the truths that he taught he mingled with many fables and with doctrines of the greatest falsity. He did not bring forth any signs produced in a supernatural way, which alone fittingly gives witness to divine inspiration; for a visible action that can be only divine reveals an invisibly inspired teacher of truth. On the contrary, Muhammad said that he was sent in the power of his arms—which are signs not lacking even to robbers and tyrants. Aquinas measured the message by supernatural signs and by the claim of arms. The Christian claim on this page is the one the Gospels state: the Word was God, and the risen Jesus received the words “My LORD and my God.” ## If you're talking with a Shia Muslim The seal of the prophets is [Qur’an 33:40](https://quran.com/33/40), which Shia and Sunni Muslims share. “No prophet after me” in [Sahih al-Bukhari 4416](https://sunnah.com/bukhari:4416) is a Sunni collection. Shia Muslims also confess Muhammad as the prophet of Islam and Ali as the leader who should have followed him. They do not confess Jesus as God. [What do Shia Muslims believe?](/shia-islam/what-do-shia-muslims-believe) [What do Sunni Muslims believe?](/sunni-islam/what-do-sunni-muslims-believe) ## Frequently asked questions ### Do Christians say Muhammad did not exist? No. [Who was Muhammad?](/islam/who-was-muhammad) treats him as a man of Mecca and Medina. The disagreement is whether he was a prophet of the God who raised Jesus. ### Did Christians invent this objection later? [John 20:28](/bible/john/20/28) is in the Gospel. The Hijra is 622. The confession is older than Muhammad’s preaching. ### Where are the life, the wives, and the battles? [How many wives did Muhammad have?](/islam/muhammads-wives) [What happened at the Battle of Badr?](/islam/battle-of-badr) [What happened to the Banu Qurayza?](/islam/banu-qurayza) [How did Muhammad die?](/islam/how-did-muhammad-die) ## Passages quoted on this page ### Qur’an 4:157 Saheeh International. [Open on quran.com](https://quran.com/an-nisa/157) > And [for] their saying, "Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, the messenger of Allāh." And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain. ## Sources Numbered to match the HTML References list. Item 1 is `#ref-1` under `#references`. Scripture links to the King James Version on this site. 1. [Qur’an, 33:40; 46:9; 4:157; 5:72](https://quran.com/33/40) (Saheeh International, as published on Quran.com. The link is the first passage, 33:40.) 2. [Gospel of John, 1:1; 20:28](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/1/1). King James Version 3. [Thomas Aquinas, Summa contra Gentiles, Book I, chapter 6](https://isidore.co/aquinas/english/ContraGentiles1.htm) (English translation by Anton C. Pegis. The quotation is Aquinas’s judgment. This page does not adopt his verb as its own.) 4. [Sahih al-Bukhari, 4416](https://sunnah.com/bukhari:4416) (English translation by Muhammad Muhsin Khan.) 5. [Sahih al-Bukhari, 1243](https://sunnah.com/bukhari:1243) (English translation by Muhammad Muhsin Khan.) ## See also - [How did Muhammad die?](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/how-did-muhammad-die) — Muslim sources say Muhammad died in Medina in 632, at sixty-three, and that in his last illness he still felt the poison from a sheep he had eaten at Khaybar. - [How many wives did Muhammad have?](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/muhammads-wives) — The Qur’an permits Muhammad more wives than the four it allows other men. Muslim historians name Khadijah first, and Sunni hadith name Aisha among those who followed. - [How Old Was Aisha When She Married Muhammad?](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/how-old-was-aisha) — In Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, Aisha says she was married at six and that the marriage was consummated at nine. Those reports also say she remained with him nine years, until his death at sixty-three. - [Is Muhammad the Paraclete or Ahmad?](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/is-muhammad-the-paraclete) — Some Muslims hear Muhammad in Jesus' promise of the Comforter, and in the name Ahmad in Qur'an 61:6. John 14–16 says who that person is. - [Is Muhammad the Prophet of Deuteronomy 18?](https://apologetics.wiki/islam/is-muhammad-the-prophet-of-deuteronomy-18) — Qur'an 7:157 says the unlettered prophet is written in the Torah and the Gospel. Deuteronomy 18 is the passage most often offered. ## History [View history on GitHub](https://github.com/Apologetics-Wiki/apologetics-wiki/commits/main/src/content/articles/what-do-christians-believe-about-muhammad.md)