The Birth of Jesus
Jesus was the blessed Prophet of God who was sent to return the people of Israel to the true worship of God. He was an apostle (messenger) of God, His servant and Prophet, to be held in honor in this world and in the Hereafter. He was miraculously born of the virgin Mary (Peace be upon her).
The Qur'an states that God chose Mary, purified her and raised her above all other women of the world (3:42,43). The Angels brought her the glad tidings of the birth of Jesus. This is best described by the beautiful verses of the Qur'an (translated as follows):
"Behold! The Angels said: O Mary! God giveth thee glad tidings of a Word from Him, whose name is the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, illustrious in this world and the Hereafter, one of the company of those nearest to God. He will speak unto mankind in his cradle and his manhood, and he is among the righteous ones. She said: My Lord! How can I have a child when no mortal hath touched me? He said: so (it will be). God createth what He will. If he decreeth a thing, He hath only to say "Be!" and it is. And He will teach him the Scripture and Wisdom, the Torah and the Gospel, and will make him a messenger unto the children of Israel, (saying): Behold! I come unto you with a sign from your Lord, I fashion for you from clay the likeness of a bird, by God's leave. I heal him who was born blind, and the leper, and I raise the dead, by God's leave. And I announce unto you what ye eat and what ye store up in your houses. Behold! Herein verily is a portent for you, if ye would believe. And (I come) confirming that which was forbidden unto you. I come unto you with a sign from your Lord, so keep your duty to God and obey me, God is my Lord, so worship Him. That is a straight path." (3:45-51)
Concerning the birth itself, the Qur'an says (19:16-34) that Mary withdrew from her family and went into a stae of privacy (for prayer and devotion). The Holy Spirit (i.e. Gabriel) appeared to her as a man bringing news of a son. She conceived the child miraculously and retired to a distant place. After the child was born, she brought him to her people. They accused her of being unchaste. In reply, she made a sign to the infant, whereupon they said that they could not converse with an infant in the cradle! But the infant answered them as follows:
"He spoke: Behold! I am the servant of God. He hath given me the Scripture and hath appointed me a Prophet. He hath made me blessed wheresoever I may be, and hath enjoined upon me prayer and alms-giving so long as I remain alive. And (hath made me) dutiful toward my mother, and hath not made me arrogant, unblest. Peace be upon me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the Day I shall be raised alive!"
"Such was Jesus, son of Mary; (this is) a statement of the truth concerning which they doubt." (19:30-34)
The Mission of Jesus
The Qur'an says that God sent Muhammad, the Prophet, with evident signs and miracles to set mankind on the right path. Jesus was similarly one of the messengers or Prophets of God. This is mentioned at four places in the Qur'an. At one point it declares:
"And we caused Jesus, son of Mary, to follow in their footsteps, confirming that which was (revealed) before him, and We bestowed on him the Gospel, wherein is guidance and light, confirming that which was (revealed) before it in the torah--a guidance and an admonition unto those who ward off (evil). Let the People of the gospel judge by that which God hath revealed therein. Whoso judgeth not by that which God hath revealed, such are evil-livers." (5:49-50)
It should be mentioned here that while Muslims believe that Jesus was given God's "Good News," they do not recognize the present "Four Gospels" as the utterances of Jesus. Even the Church agrees that the "Four gospels" were written by four different men, but they maintain that they were divinely inspired. This idea is rejected by Muslims. It can be argued that if the four writers were divinely inspired, then why are there so many serious discrepancies and omissions in their individual accounts of the life of Jesus? Moreover, the "Four Gospels" were written some 35 to 65 years after the ministry of Jesus, and represent merely a fraction of the so-called "Gospels" written at that time, the others being rejected by the Church.
Another of Jesus' missions was to tell people about the coming of a final Prophet after him.
"And when Jesus, son of Mary, said: O children of Israel! Behold! 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 cometh after me, whose name is the Praised One (translation of the Arabic Ahmad, one of the Prophet Muhammad's names). But when he hath come unto them with clear proofs, they say: This is mere magic." (61:6)
The New Testament also speaks of the coming of a "Comforter" after the ministry of Jesus. The church interprets the promised "Comforter" as the Holy Spirit, but this view cannot be successfully maintained when the word is considered in its origional context along with the meaning given by the different sects of Christianndom. The Muslims, therefore, believe that this term "Comforter" of necessity refers to Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him)! (See Qur'an 21:107, where Muhammad is called a "Mercy to all creatures.")
The Miracles of Jesus
As mentioned earlier, Jesus performed miracles by God's will. He could heal the blind, cure the leper, and bring back the dead to life. he performed miracles, even with simple things like food, causing provisions to come miraculously from heaven (Qur'an 5:112-115). Miraculous also were his virgin birth and his speach while an infant in the cradle.
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Jesus Was Not Put to Death on the Cross
Muslims believe that Jesus was not crucified. It was the intention of his enemies to put him to death on the cross, but God saved him from their plot. The Qur'anic text bears it out thus:
"And because of their saying : 'We slew the Messiah Jesus, son of Mary, Allah's messenger.' They slew him not, nor crucified him, but it appeared so unto them; and behold! those who disagree concerning it are in doubt thereof; they have no knowledge thereof save pursuit of a conjecture; they slew him not for certain. But God took him up unto Himself, God is ever Mighty, Wise." (4:157-168)
Jesus Was Not the Son of God
The Church maintains that Jesus was the "Only-begotten Son" of God, and also God Himself, since the doctrine of the Trinity considers God as the Son, as the Father, and as the "Holy Ghost" all at the same time! Catholics further emphasize the divinity of Mary as the "Mother of God." Islam rejects all these concepts in toto.
First of all, Muslims maintain that the virgin birth of Jesus without a father was not any more supernatural than the creation of Adam without a father or mother. The Qur'an says:
"Behold! The likeness of Jesus before God is the likeness of Adam. He created him of dust, then He said unto him, "Be!" and he was." (3:59)
Refuting the idea that Jesus was the "Son of God," the Qur'an declares:
"And the Jews say: Ezra is the son of God, and the Christians say: The Messiah is the son of God. That is their saying with their mouths. They imitate the saying of those who disbelieved of old.. God (Himself) opposed them. How perverse are they!"(9:30)
The Qur'an repeatedly emphasized the fact that Jesus was a human being. The Qur'an declares:
"The Messiah, son of Mary, was no other than a messenger (apostle), messengers (the like of whom) had passed away before him. And his mother was a saintly woman. And they both used to eat (earthly) food. See how God doth make His Signs clear to them; yet see in what ways they are turned away!"(5:78)
The Qur'an condemns the Trinity dogma at several places (eg. 4:171), and says that Jesus never claimed divinity, and that he would assert on the Day of Judgement that he always taught the worship of One, Almighty God. This is described in the following verses from the Qur'an:
"And when God saith (namely, unto Jesus on the Day of Judgement): O Jesus, son of Mary! Didst thou say unto mankind: take me and my mother for two gods beside God? He saith: (God) be glorified! It was not mine to utter that to which I had no right. If I used to say it, then Thou knowest it. Thou knowest what is in my mind, and I know not what is in Thy mind. Behold, Thou, only Thou art the Knower of Things Hidden. I speak unto them only that which Thou commandest me, (saying): Worship God, my Lord and your Lord. I was a witness of them while I dwelt among them, and when Thou tookest me Thou wast the Watcher over them. Thou art Witness over all things." (5:119,120)
Contradictory Statements in the Gospels Concerning Jesus' Divinity
According to the verses quoted above, Muslims believe that Jesus not only will disavow any claim to divinity, but he will also assert that he never preached such a doctrine to his disciples when he was with them. Fortunately, the narrative of Jesus as reported in the "Four Gospels," though, contains sufficient evidence to support this belief. The following few selected verses from the New Testament clearly show that Jesus does not claim divinity or identity with God: (Jesus says):
"I do nothing of myself." (John 14:28)
"My Father is greater than I." (John 14:2)
"The Lord, our God, is one Lord." (Mark 12:29)
"My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" (Matt. 27:46)
"Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit." (Luke 23:46)
"But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father." (Mark 13:32)
It is also written about Jesus:
"Behold my servant, whom I have chosen," (Matt. 12:18)
"God...glorified His servant, Jesus." (Acts 3:13)
"Thy holy servant, Jesus, whom thou didst anoint as Messiah." (Acts 4:27)
It might be noted that the N.T. Greek word for "servant" is pais or paida, which corresponds to the Arabic ghulam: "boy, son, servant, attendant." Further, the term "Father" as used by Jesus corresponds more closely to the Arabic term Rabb, i.e., one who nourishes and sustains, so that in Jesus' doctrine, God is "Father" (Nourisher and Sustainer) of all men.)
These expressions, among others, confirm to a great extent the Islamic notion of Jesus, namely that he was a true servant and messenger of God, and one of His humble creatures.
Christians and the Divinity of Jesus
Since the 4th century, christian doctrine has been that Jesus is God, the second member of a "Trinity," and Catholics also believe in the divinity of Mary. However, from time to time, there have arisen "heretics" in the Christian church who refuted the doctrine of Jesus' divinity. For instance, Sale mentions that long before Prophet Muhammad was born, certain sects of Christians--the Corinthians, the Basilidians, and the Carpocratians--believed that Jesus was not crucified, but that one of his followers, looking very much like him, was put on the cross. The Corinthains and Basilidians, in addition, asserted that Jesus was a mere man. The early Christians who did not accept Jesus as God were harshly suppressed by the Church hierarchy. Chadwick cites several instances of individuals who were burned alive for not accepting this doctrine. The last incident of this kind took place as recently as 1612 in England. At the present time, Christian sects such as the Unitarians, Christadelphians, and Jehovah's Witnesses reject the doctrines of the divinity of Jesus and Trinity.
Conclusion
To reiterate, the Qur'an asserts in the clearest terms that Jesus was a true servant and messenger (apostle) of God. Muslims hold Jesus in the highest reverence. he was miraculously born of a virgin; he was endowed with the power to perform many miracles, and he was sent to preach the true worship of God, and to announce the coming of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) after him.