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Jesus in Islam (part 1 of 3)
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Description: The first of a three-part article discussing the Islamic concept of Jesus: Part 1: His birth and miracles.
By M. Abdulsalam (© 2006 IslamReligion.com)
- Published on 16 Jan 2006 - Last modified on 19 Feb 2008
Viewed: 20420 - Rating: 3.5 from 5 - Rated by: 27
Printed: 742 - Emailed: 58 - Commented on: 0
Category: Articles
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_001.jpg) The Islamic view of Jesus lies between two extremes. The Jews, who
rejected Jesus as a prophet, called him an imposter, while the Christians, on
the other hand, considered him to be the son of God and worship him as such. Islam
considers Jesus to be one of the greatest and most forbearing of prophets, in
addition to Noah, Abraham, Moses and Muhammad, may God praise them. Jesus is
also considered to be the Messiah as well. This is in conformity with the
Islamic view of the Oneness of God, the Oneness of Divine guidance, and the
complementary role of the subsequent mission of God’s messengers.
The message of God to humanity, which is to worship God
and God alone and to live according to His instruction, was revealed to Adam
(peace be upon him), who passed it on to his children. All the subsequent
revelations to Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and, finally, Muhammad are in
conformity with that message. Thus, Islam views any contradictions among
revealed religions as man-made elements introduced into these religions. The
position of Jesus in the three major creeds- Judaism, Christianity, and Islam-
is not an exception.
Although the Quran does not present a detailed
life-story of Jesus, it highlights the important aspects of his birth, his
mission, his ascension to heaven. It also passes judgment on the Christian and
Jewish beliefs concerning him. We will look at some of the truths which God
revealed about Jesus in the Quran.
Born of a Virgin Mother
Like Christians, Muslims believe that Mary, Maria in
Spanish, or Maryam as she is called in Arabic, was a chaste, virgin woman, who
miraculously gave birth to Jesus. Jesus’ birth in itself was a miracle in that
he had no father. God describes his birth in the Quran as follows:
“And mention in the Book (the Quran), Mary, when she withdrew
in seclusion from her family to a place facing east. She placed a screen (to
screen herself) from them; then We sent to her a spirit from Us, (the angel
Gabriel), and he appeared before her in the form of a man in all respects. She
said: ‘Verily, I seek refuge with the Most Gracious (God) from you, if you do
fear God.’ (The angel) said: ‘I am only a messenger from your Lord, (to
announce) to you the gift of a righteous son.’ She said: ‘How can I have a
son, when no man hath touched me, nor am I unchaste?’ He said: ‘So (it will
be), your Lord said That is easy for Me (God): And (We wish) to appoint him as
a sign to mankind and a mercy from Us (God), and it is a matter (already)
decreed (by God).’” (Quran 19:16-21)
This fact, however, does not necessitate that Jesus is divine
in essence or spirit, nor is he worthy of worship, for Adam’s existence was
more miraculous than that of Jesus. If his miraculous birth were a proof that
Jesus was God incarnate or His son, then Adam would have more right over this
divinity than him. Rather, both are prophets who were inspired with revelation
from God Almighty, and both were servants to Him living according to His
commandments.
“Indeed, the likeness of Jesus with God is as the likeness of
Adam. He created him of dust, then He said to him: ‘Be!’ and he was.’” (Quran
3:59)
Miracles
Muslims, like Christians believe that Jesus performed
miracles. These miracles were performed by the will and permission of God, Who
has power and control over all things.
“Then will God say: ‘O Jesus the son of Mary! Recount My
favor to you and to your mother. Behold! I strengthened you with the Holy
Spirit (the angel Gabriel) so that you did speak to the people in childhood and
in maturity. Behold! I taught you the Book and Wisdom, the Torah and the
Gospel. And behold: you make out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, by
My leave, and you breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by My leave, and you
heal those born blind, and the lepers by My leave. And behold! You bring
forth the dead by My leave. And behold! I did restrain the Children of Israel from (violence to you) when you did show them the Clear Signs, and the unbelievers
among them said: ‘This is nothing but evident magic.’” (Quran 5:110)
God sent all prophets with miracles specific to the
nation to whom they were sent to prove the veracity of their message. These
miracles were not performed of their own accord; rather, they were only
manifest in their hands by God's will. The miracles performed by Jesus were no
different. The Jews were well advanced in the field of medicine, and the
miracles which Jesus brought were of this nature, proving the truth of His
message and in order to convince the Jews.
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Jesus in Islam (part 2 of 3)
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Description: The second of a three part article discussing the Islamic concept of Jesus: Part 2: The question of his divinity and mission.
By M. Abdulsalam (© 2006 IslamReligion.com)
- Published on 16 Jan 2006 - Last modified on 19 Feb 2008
Viewed: 11018 - Rating: 3.3 from 5 - Rated by: 8
Printed: 508 - Emailed: 13 - Commented on: 0
Category: Articles
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> Jesus
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His Divinity
Muslims believe in the Absolute Oneness of God, Who is a
Supreme Being free of human limitations, needs and wants. He has no partners
in His Divinity. He is the Creator of everything and is completely separate
from His creation, and all worship is to be directed towards Him alone.
This was the same message brought by all prophets of
God, including Jesus. He never claimed any qualities of divinity, nor did he
claim that he deserved to be worshipped. He did not say that he was the “son”
of God or part of the “Trinity”, but rather that he was only a servant of God
sent to the Jews to bring them back to the true religion, worshipping One God
and following his instruction. The majority of the verses in the Quran which
mention Jesus discuss this aspect. They prove that he was only taken as an
object of worship as a result of lies which people invented against him. It
confirms accounts of his life where Jesus himself clearly denies that he deserved
any worship, and it supports the notion that the parables and examples which
God has given showed his mortal nature, not his divinity or filial relationship
to God. God narrates of Jesus in the Quran:
“They have certainly disbelieved who say, ‘God is the Messiah,
the son of Mary’ while the Messiah has said, ‘O Children of Israel, worship God, my Lord and your Lord...’” (Quran 5:72)
God says about the belief that Jesus is part of a
“Trinity”:
“They have certainly disbelieved who say, ‘God is the third of
three.’ (Rather) there is none worthy of worship except One (God). And if they
do not desist from what they are saying, there will surely afflict the
disbelievers among them a painful punishment. So will they not repent to God
and seek His forgiveness? And God is Forgiving and Merciful. The Messiah
(Jesus), son of Mary, was no more than a Messenger before whom many Messengers
have passed away; and his mother adhered wholly to truthfulness, and they both
ate food (as other mortals do). See how We make Our signs clear to them; and
see where they are turning away!” (Quran 5:73-75)
And also:
“O People of the Book (Jews and Christians)! Do not exceed
the limits in your religion, and attribute to God nothing except the truth. The
Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, was only a Messenger of God, and His command that
He conveyed unto Mary, and a spirit from Him. So believe in God and in His
Messengers, and do not say: ‘God is a Trinity.’ Give up this assertion; it
would be better for you. For God is indeed (the only) One God. Far be it from
His glory that He should have a son. To Him belongs all that is in the heavens
and in the earth. And God is sufficient for a guardian.” (Quran 4:171)
God deems this belief as an enormity against His
Essence:
“And they say: ‘The Most
Merciful (God) has taken (for Himself) a son.’ Assuredly you utter a
hideous thing, whereby almost the heavens are torn, and the earth is split asunder
and the mountains fall in ruins; That they ascribe unto the Most Merciful a
son, when it is not suitable for (the Majesty of) the Most Merciful that He
should take a son. There is none in the heavens and the earth but comes unto
the Most Merciful as a slave.” (Quran 19:88-93)
On the Day of Judgment, Jesus again will free himself
from this false attribution. God gives us a glimpse of what he will say when
he is asked about why people worshipped him:
“And (beware the Day) when God will say, “O Jesus, Son of
Mary, did you say to the people, ‘Take me and my mother as deities besides God?’”
He will say, ‘Exalted are You! It was not for me to say that to which I have
no right. If I had said it, You would have known it. You know what is within
myself, and I do not know what is within Yourself. Indeed, it is You who is
Knower of the unseen. I said not to them except what you commanded me – to
worship God, my Lord and your Lord…’” (Quran 5:116-117)
In these verses, God proclaims that ascribing to Jesus the
attribute 'son of God' or 'part of a Trinity' is indeed a great
blasphemy. The reason for this returns to the key fundamental assertion that
God is Unique and unlike any of his creation; as well as in His Essence, He is
Unique in His Divinity, His Attributes and His Lordship. All of the above make
up the strict monotheism which He revealed in His Scriptures, from them the
first of the Ten Commandments:
“I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out
of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other
gods before me.” (Exodus 20:1-3)
Ascribing a son to God is in clear opposition to that
principle for which He created the Creation and sent prophets. God says in the
Quran:
“And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship
Me.” (Quran 51:56)
He also said:
“And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger, (saying),
‘Worship God and avoid all false objects of worship…’” (Quran 16:36)
His Mission
As discussed earlier, the Quran clearly affirms that
Jesus was a prophet, as well as the fact that he was no more than that. Prophets
are indeed the best of creation. They are those whom God chooses to receive His
revelation, yet at the same time, they are mere emissaries of God and do not
deserve to receive worship. Jesus, as mentioned in the Quran, is no different
than any of them in this respect.
Throughout the Quran, Jesus is identified fundamentally
as a prophet of God sent to the Jews who had over time deviated from the
teachings of Moses and other messengers.
“And (remember) when Jesus, son of Mary, said: ‘O Children of Israel, I am the Messenger of God sent to you, confirming the Torah (which came) before me...’”
(Quran 61:6)
Jesus Christ, the son of Mary, was the last in the line
of Jewish prophets. He lived according to the Torah, the Law of Moses, and
taught his followers to do likewise. In Matthew 5:17-18, Jesus stated:
“Think not that I have come to abolish the law and
the (way of) the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them.”
In this aspect, he and his message was no different than
the previous prophets chosen by God, who all called to the worship of God and
God alone, as well as to obedience to His commandments. As he was miraculously
supported by God in his conception, birth, and childhood, he was also supported
by numerous miracles to prove that he was a messenger from God. However, the
majority of the Jews rejected his prophethood.
Not only did Jesus affirm the scriptures revealed before
him, but he also foretold of another prophet to come after him. God says:
“And when Jesus, son of Mary, said: ‘O Children of Israel! Indeed I am the messenger of God unto you, confirming that which was (revealed)
before me in the Torah, and bringing good tidings of a messenger who will come
after me, whose name is the Praised One.’” (Quran 61:6)
This fact is also mentioned in the New Testament. Careful
study shows that Jesus, peace be upon him, refers to the same prophet in John
14:16-17:
“And I will give you another Counselor (the Prophet
Muhammad, may God praise him), to be with you forever, even the Spirit of
Truth.”
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Jesus in Islam (part 3 of 3)
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Description: The final part of a three-part article discussing the Islamic concept of Jesus: Part 3: His crucifixion and second coming.
By M. Abdulsalam (© 2006 IslamReligion.com)
- Published on 16 Jan 2006 - Last modified on 01 Apr 2008
Viewed: 9119 - Rating: 3.5 from 5 - Rated by: 19
Printed: 542 - Emailed: 69 - Commented on: 0
Category: Articles
> Comparative Religion
> Jesus
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His Crucifixion
God clarified in the Quran that Jesus was not crucified;
rather, it was made to seem that way to the Jews, and that God raised him to
the Heavens. The Quran does not explain, though, who was the person crucified
instead of Jesus, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him.
“…They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but (another)
was made to resemble him to them…” (Quran 4:157)
“God lifted him up to His presence. God is Almighty, All-Wise.”
(Quran 4:158)
As such, Islam denies that Jesus came to this earth with
the purpose of sacrificing himself for the sin of Adam, Eve, and the rest of
humanity, freeing them from its burden. Islam strictly rejects the notion that
any person bears the sin of another. God says:
“No bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another.”
(Quran 39:7)
Also, Islam stresses the notion that God is able to and
forgive all sins, if a person truly repents and then refrains from repeating it.
God does not need any blood sacrifice for that, let alone descend in the form
of man himself and die for every man's sins. Rather, God’s mercy extends to
all creatures, believers and disbelievers alike. The door to forgiveness is
open to anyone who seeks it.
The Second Coming of Christ
As Christians do, Muslims also believe in the return of Jesus
the Messiah to earth, although his role and reason for his return does differ from
what the Christians propose. He will return to earth first and foremost to
prove his mortality and refute the false beliefs people held about him. He
will live a normal life, marry, and also die as any other human. At that
point, the matter will be clear concerning him, and all people will have
believed that he was truly mortal.
“There is not one of the People of the Scripture but will
believe in him (Jesus) before his death, and on the Day of Resurrection he will
be a witness against them.” (Quran 4: 159)
Jesus will also fight the false Christ, who will call people
to the belief that he is God, and who will appear just before he returns. Jesus
will defeat the antichrist, and all people will accept the true religion of God.
The world will see a type of peace and serenity unfelt in history, all
worshipping the same God, subservient to Him alone, and at peace with one
another.
Conclusion
What has preceded was just a brief introduction to the
truth which God revealed about Jesus in His final Book, the Quran, which he
revealed to Muhammad. There is only One God who created one race of human
beings and communicated to them one message: submission to the worship of God
and God alone and following His instruction – known in Arabic as Islam. That
message was conveyed to the first human beings on this earth, and reaffirmed by
all of the prophets of God who came after them throughout all the ages.
Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary, performed
miracles and invited the Israelites to the same message of submission (Islam)
as did all of the prophets who preceded him. He was not God, nor was he the ‘Son
of God’, but was the Messiah, an illustrious prophet of God. Jesus did not
invite people to worship himself; rather, he called them to worship God, Whom he
himself worshipped. He confirmed the laws of the Torah which Prophet Moses
taught; he lived by them, and instructed his disciples to follow them to the
finest detail, after allowing those things which the Jews made illegal upon
themselves. Before his departure, he informed his followers of the last
prophet, Muhammad of Arabia, who would come after him, and instructed them to
observe his teachings.
In the generations after Jesus’ departure from this
world, his teachings were distorted and he was elevated to the status of God. Six
centuries later, with the coming of Prophet Muhammad, the truth about Jesus
Christ was finally retold and preserved eternally in the last book of divine
revelation, the Quran. Furthermore, many of the laws of Moses, which Jesus
followed, were revived in their pure and unadulterated form and implemented in
the divinely prescribed way of life known as Islam, while many other aspects
and injunctions of the laws which had been brought by the earlier prophets were
lightened or dropped altogether.
Consequently, the reality of the prophets, their uniform
message, and the way of life which they followed, can only be found preserved
in the religion of Islam, the only religion prescribed by God for man. Furthermore,
only Muslims today actually follow Jesus and his true teachings. Their way of
life is much more in tune with the way of life Jesus practiced than any of the
modern day “Christians.” Love and respect of Jesus Christ is an article of
faith in Islam, and God stressed the importance of belief in Jesus in numerous
places in the Quran.
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