Do visit Mel’s YouTube site ‘Origins’ at: https://www.youtube.com/c/OriginsofIslam/videosMel asks the question concerning why today have Muslims elevated Muhammad so high that he even seems to be greater than their god, Allah?It’s clear in both Christianity and Islam that God is ONE, and that no one else is equal with him.In the Bible, in Matthew 6:33 Jesus says “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”Later, in Matthew 22:37 Jesus says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”This comes originally from Deuteronomy 6:5, and so represents what both Jews and Christians believe.If God must come first, then whatever we put first in place of him is an idol. The Qur’an agrees with this high view of god.In Surah 29:98 it is clear that those who equate anything or anyone with Allah are “fuel for hell”In Surah 5:72 it agrees that those who equate anyone with Allah will go to hell.In Surah 5:116 Allah suggests clearly that Isa would be committing ‘Shirk’ (equating someone with god) if he and his mother are worshiped as gods.In Surah 71:23-24 it states that those who worship idols above Allah are condemned.So, to equate anyone with God is condemned by both Christianity and Islam.Yet, this is exactly what Muslims have done with Muhammad.Mel goes through 5 areas where this has been the case historically.1) Muhammad is placed in a statue earlier on with a purple tunic, which depicts royalty.2) When we look at Islamic art we find the earliest paintings of Muhammad have his face clearly visible and recognizable, at least until the 16th century, and then afterwards we begin to find Muhammad’s face covered, out of respect for his holiness.3) In the 1300s Ibn Taymiyyah dictates that the penalty for insulting Muhammad is death, even if the person tries to repent later on.4) In modern times, when U.S. Muslims were poled on the matter 72% of them felt that the love of Muhammad was the most important premise for their faith, while only 59% of them considered the Qur’an and the Sunnah as important to their faith.5) When one looks at the names of Muhammad, they will find that there are the same number of names for him, 99, as their are for Allah, and that 40% of them are the same or similar names. 18 of them are directly the same, while 22 are similar. For instance the 50th name is that of ‘Nazareth’, the town of Jesus. The 76th and 77th names for Muhammad are “the first and the last”, the same given to Jesus in Rev.1:8, which delineate his divinity!So, why have Muslims elevated Muhammad so high, even making him above that of Allah?Jay thinks it’s because they want what we have in Christianity, a God who comes to earth, and who can relate to us face-to-face, like Jesus can and did, and continues to do so through the Holy Spirit.They have no one like Jesus, so they have elevated Muhammad over the centuries to compete with Jesus. Yet, it would be more simple to just give up Muhammad, and come home to Jesus, the only God who has come to earth, to love us and to die for us.It turns out that we have what all Muslims want, and His name is Jesus.© Pfander Centre for Apologetics – US, 2022(69,630) Music: “New Beginning” by Rafael Krux, from filmmusic-io