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Muslims respect and revere Jesus (pbuh) and await his Second Coming. They
consider him one of the greatest of God's messengers to mankind. A Muslim
never refers to him simply as 'Jesus', but always adds the phrase 'upon
him be peace'. The Quran confirms his virgin birth (a chapter of the Quran
is titled 'Mary'), and Mary is considered the purest woman in all
creation. The Quran describes the Annunciation as
follows:
"Behold!" the Angel said, "God has chosen you, and purified you, and
chosen you above the women of all nations. O Mary, God gives you good news
of a word from Him, whose name shall be the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary,
honored in this world and the Hereafter, and one of those brought near to
God. He shall speak to the people from his cradle and in maturity, and
shall be of the
righteous."
She said: "O my Lord! How shall I have a son when no man has touched
me?" He said: "Even so; God creates what He will. When He decrees a thing,
He says to it, "Be!" and it is.'(Quran,
3:42-7)
Jesus (pbuh) was born miraculously throught he same power which had
brought Adam (pbuh) into being without a
father:
Truly, the likeness of Jesus with God is as the likeness of Adam. He
created him of dust, and then said to him, 'Be!', and he
was.(3:59)
During his prophetic mission Jesus (pbuh) performed many miracles. The
Quran tells us that he
said:
I have come to you with a sign from your Lord: I make for you out of clay,
as it were, the figure of a bird, and breathe into it and it becomes a
bird by God's leave. And I heal the blind, and the lepers, and I raise the
dead by God's
leave.(3:49)
Neither Muhammad (pbuh) or Jesus (pbuh) came to change the basic doctrine
of the belief in One God, brought by earlier prophets, but to confirm and
renew it. In the Quran Jesus (pbuh) is reported as saying that he
came:
To attest the law which was before me. And to make lawful to you part of
what was forbidden you; I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, so
fear God and obey
Me.(3:50)
The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)
said:
Whoever believes there is no god but God, alone and without partner, that
Muhammad (pbuh) is His messenger, that Jesus (pbuh) is the servant and
messenger of God, His word breathed into Mary and a spirit emanating from
Him, and that Paradise and Hell are true, shall be received by God into
Heaven. (Hadith from Bukhari) .
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