Short answer
No. Critics often compare them: both said an angel brought them God's (﷾) word, and both founded a community. But two men can share a claim and still differ on every test of it. The Qur'an was recited aloud, memorised and written down while the Prophet (ﷺ) lived, and its text has not changed. The plates of the Book of Mormon were taken back by an angel. Some of Joseph Smith's revelations were rewritten after printing. The Qur'an foretold the Romans' victory "within a few years", and it came. Joseph Smith said a temple in Missouri would be built "in this generation", and it was not. Judge each claim by its evidence, not by its outline.
Full explanation
The comparison
Some critics of Islam say Muhammad (ﷺ) was a prophet like Joseph Smith. Both said an angel came to them. Both brought a new scripture and founded a community that grew after them.
Joseph Smith said an angel told him of gold plates. The Qur'an says of its Prophet (ﷺ): "Nor does he say (aught) of (his own) Desire. It is no less than inspiration sent down to him" (53:3-4).
The angel said there was "a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent", holding "the fulness of the everlasting Gospel".
“Nor does he say (aught) of (his own) Desire. It is no less than inspiration sent down to him:”
A shared outline proves nothing
A true prophet and a false one can make the same kind of claim. That is why the Bible gives a test, not a list of shapes. If a prophet foretells something and "the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken" (Deuteronomy 18:22).
So the question is not whether two stories look alike. It is whether each one's evidence holds. Four tests follow.
“When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.”
Test 1: can the source be examined?
The Qur'an was recited aloud as it came, memorised by many companions, and written down in the Prophet's (ﷺ) lifetime. Pages radiocarbon dated to between 568 and 645 CE match it today.
Joseph Smith wrote that the angel "called for" the plates and he "delivered them up to him". The Church's essay says he dictated the book with a seer stone in a hat. No one can examine its source.
Two parchment leaves carrying parts of Surahs 18 to 20 in early Hijazi script. In 2015 the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit dated the parchment to between 568 and 645 CE, with 95.4 per cent probability, a span that covers the Prophet's (ﷺ) lifetime (c. 570-632). Apart from small points of spelling, the text on the leaves is the text of those surahs as the Qur'an has them today.
Joseph Smith received the plates on 22 September 1827. When his work was done, "the messenger called for them, I delivered them up to him; and he has them in his charge until this day" (2 May 1838).
The essay says that, according to the accounts, Joseph Smith placed either the interpreters or the seer stone in a hat, pressed his face into the hat, and read the words aloud. It quotes Emma Smith that the plates "often lay on the table without any attempt at concealment, wrapped in a small linen table cloth." It also says that as a young man he "used a seer stone to look for lost objects and buried treasure."
Test 2: did the words stay the same?
The Qur'an says its Prophet (ﷺ) had no right to change it: "It is not for me, of my own accord, to change it: I follow naught but what is revealed unto me" (10:15). Its text has not changed.
Some of Joseph Smith's revelations of 1833 were rewritten for the edition of 1835. In the Book of Mormon, "the mother of God" (1830) became "the mother of the Son of God" (1837).
“But when Our Clear Signs are rehearsed unto them, those who rest not their hope on their meeting with Us, Say: "Bring us a reading other than this, or change this," Say: "It is not for me, of my own accord, to change it: I follow naught but what is revealed unto me: if I were to disobey my Lord, I should myself fear the penalty of a Great Day (to come)."”
“...and he has a gift to translate the book, and I have commanded him that he shall pretend to no other gift, for I will grant him no other gift.”
Joseph has "a gift to translate the plates", and is commanded to "pretend to no other gift until my purpose is fulfilled in this; for I will grant unto you no other gift until it is finished."
“Behold, the virgin which thou seest, is the mother of God, after the manner of the flesh. ... behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Eternal Father!”
Mary is now "the mother of the Son of God", and Jesus "the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father!" The 1837 edition (Kirtland), pp. 31-32, already reads "the Son of" in both verses.
Test 3: did the prophecies come true?
When the Persians had beaten the Romans, the Qur'an said: "they, (even) after (this) defeat of theirs, will soon be victorious- Within a few years" (30:2-4). Within a few years the Romans won back their lands.
In 1832 Joseph Smith gave a revelation about a temple in western Missouri. It said the temple "shall be reared in this generation. For verily this generation shall not all pass away until an house shall be built unto the Lord" (Doctrine and Covenants 84:4-5). That generation passed, and no such house was built.
“The Roman Empire has been defeated- In a land close by; but they, (even) after (this) defeat of theirs, will soon be victorious- Within a few years. With Allah is the Decision, in the past and in the Future: on that Day shall the Believers rejoice-”
A history of the Roman (Byzantine) emperor Heraclius. It records the Persian conquests of Roman lands, including Jerusalem in 614, and Heraclius' counter-campaigns from 622, which ended with his victory near Nineveh in 627 and the Persian surrender of the conquered lands.
The New Jerusalem is to be built at the temple lot in western Missouri (verse 3), "which temple shall be reared in this generation. For verily this generation shall not all pass away until an house shall be built unto the Lord".
The reply about the temple
Latter-day Saints point to a later revelation, of 1841. It says that when enemies stop people doing a work God (﷾) commanded, He accepts their offerings instead. It names the city and house in Jackson County, Missouri (Doctrine and Covenants 124:49-51).
When God commands a work and enemies hinder those who try to do it, "it behooveth me to require that work no more" and "to accept of their offerings." It names the city and house "in Jackson county, Missouri".
Why the reply does not settle it
The 1832 words were not only a command. They were a prediction: "this generation shall not all pass away until" the house is built. A later revelation excused the people, but it did not make the prediction come true. By the Bible's own test, that matters.
The New Jerusalem is to be built at the temple lot in western Missouri (verse 3), "which temple shall be reared in this generation. For verily this generation shall not all pass away until an house shall be built unto the Lord".
“When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.”
Test 4: did the messenger gain from it?
The Qur'an warns that if the Messenger invented sayings in God's (﷾) name, God (﷾) would "cut off the artery of his heart" (69:44-47). The Prophet (ﷺ) lived and died simply. When he died, his armour was held by a Jewish man as security for thirty measures of barley.
“And if the messenger were to invent any sayings in Our name, We should certainly seize him by his right hand, And We should certainly then cut off the artery of his heart: Nor could any of you withhold him (from Our wrath).”
Aisha reports that when the Prophet (ﷺ) died, his armour was held by a Jewish man as security for thirty measures of barley.
| Test | Joseph Smith | Muhammad (ﷺ) |
|---|---|---|
| Can the source be examined? | No: plates taken back | Yes: memorised and written |
| Did the words stay the same? | No: some rewritten after printing | Yes |
| A dated prophecy | A temple within that generation: not built | The Romans to win within a few years: they did |
Islam's answer
Islam does not ask anyone to accept a prophet because his story sounds like others. It asks for the tests God (﷾) Himself gave. The Qur'an was kept, its words did not change, and its prophecy came true. Its Prophet (ﷺ) did not grow rich from it.
The Qur'an's own challenge stands: "Had it been from other Than Allah, they would surely have found therein Much discrepancy" (4:82). Islam invites every reader, Latter-day Saint or critic, to apply it.
“Do they not consider the Qur'an (with care)? Had it been from other Than Allah, they would surely have found therein Much discrepancy.”
Two parchment leaves carrying parts of Surahs 18 to 20 in early Hijazi script. In 2015 the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit dated the parchment to between 568 and 645 CE, with 95.4 per cent probability, a span that covers the Prophet's (ﷺ) lifetime (c. 570-632). Apart from small points of spelling, the text on the leaves is the text of those surahs as the Qur'an has them today.
“The Roman Empire has been defeated- In a land close by; but they, (even) after (this) defeat of theirs, will soon be victorious- Within a few years. With Allah is the Decision, in the past and in the Future: on that Day shall the Believers rejoice-”
Aisha reports that when the Prophet (ﷺ) died, his armour was held by a Jewish man as security for thirty measures of barley.
Perspectives
Critics
Muhammad (ﷺ) and Joseph Smith made the same kind of claim: an angel, a new scripture and a new community. So neither should be believed.
Both said an angel brought them new scripture.
Rebuttal
A shared outline proves nothing; the Bible tests prophets by whether their words come true. On the source, the text, the prophecies and the man, the two claims differ.
Latter-day Saint
Joseph Smith was a prophet. Unfulfilled commands, such as the Missouri temple, were excused because enemies hindered the Saints.
God accepted the Saints' offerings when enemies stopped them building the temple.
Rebuttal
The 1832 revelation also predicted that the house would be built before that generation passed. An excuse for the people does not fulfil a prediction.
The Islamic perspective
Muhammad (ﷺ) passed the tests a true prophet must pass: a book kept unchanged, prophecies fulfilled, and no riches for himself.
The Romans would be victorious within a few years of their defeat.
The Prophet (ﷺ) died with his armour pawned for barley.