Jesus in the Quran

The name ‘Jesus’ occurs in the sacred texts of both Islam and Christianity.
However, the controversy about the personality of Jesus is what mainly sets
the two religions apart. Muslims regard Jesus Christ as a great prophet of
God and love and respect him as much as they love and respect Abraham, Moses,
and Muhammad. Christians, on the other hand, consider Jesus as God or Son of
God, a concept that Muslims cannot accept. God is Ever-Living and neither
begets nor is begotten. The Quran sets forth a true concept of Him that does
not in any way diminish, confine, or limit Him.

"He is God, the Single; God the Self-Existing and Besought of all. He
begets not, nor is He begotten; and there is none like unto Him"(112:2-5)

Although Islam respects all religions, Muslims consider Christianity’s view
of Jesus to be a misguided one. The Quran, the last of the Divine Books,
revealed by the Creator to Prophet Muhammad, is a source of knowledge about
Jesus that is not generally known to most students of Christianity. The Quran
leads us towards a better understanding of who he was, and through that
understanding, it increases our respect and love for him. The Quran gives us
that unique perspective which no other source can provide.

Although the Quran does not present a detailed life-account of Jesus, it is
very specific as to his: purpose; how he appeared on earth (his birth); who
he was; and just as important, who he was not; and how his mission ended. In
this article, I will attempt to clear any misconceptions regarding the
aspects of Jesus mentioned in the previous sentence using the ultimate proof
and evidence -- the QURAN.

The Birth of Jesus

The Quranic account of Jesus starts with his miraculous birth to his mother,
the Virgin Mary. God chose Mary, purified her, and raised her above all other
women of the world (3:42-43). The angels brought her glad tidings of the
birth of Jesus. This is best described by the following verses of the Quran:

"(Remember) when the angels said: "O Mary! Verily, God gives you the glad
tidings of a Word from Him, whose name will be the Messiah, Jesus son of
Mary, held in honor in this world and in the Hereafter, and will be one of
those who are near to Allah. He will speak to the people, in the cradle and
in manhood, and he will be one of the righteous." She said: "O My Lord! How
shall I have a son when no man has touched me." He said: "So (it will be) for
God creates what He wills. When He has decreed something, He says to it only:
"Be!" and it is. And He will teach him the Scripture and Wisdom, the Torah
and the Gospel, and will make him a Messenger to the Children of Israel,
(saying): I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, that I design for
you out of clay, a figure like that of a bird, and breath into it, and it
becomes a bird by Allah’s Leave; and I heal him who was born blind, and the
leper, and I bring the dead to life by Allah’s Leave.  And I inform you of
what you eat, and what you store in your houses. Surely, therein is a sign
for you, if you believe. And I have come confirming that which was before me
of the Torah and to make lawful to you part of what was forbidden to you, and
I have come to you with a proof from your Lord. So fear Allah and obey me.
Truly, Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him (Alone). This is the
Straight Path." (3:45-51)

Concerning the birth itself, the Quran says (19:16-34) that Mary withdrew
from her family and went into a state of privacy (for prayer and devotion).
The Holy Spirit (Angel 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, so in reply, she pointed to the child. Incredulously, they
said they could not communicate with an infant in a cradle but the infant
answered them as follows:

He said: "Verily, I am the servant of God, He has given me the Scripture
and made me a Prophet; He has made me blessed wheresoever I be, and has
enjoined on me Prayer and Alms-giving, as long as I live. And (has made me)
dutiful to my mother, and made me not arrogant, unblest. Peace be on me the
day I was born, and the day I shall be raised alive!"
"Such was Jesus, son of Mary. (It is) a statement of truth, about which
they doubt (or dispute) ." (19:30-34)

The Mission of Jesus
	
Jesus was a link in a long chain of prophets and messengers sent by God to
various societies and nations wherever they needed guidance or deviated from
the teachings of God. Thus, this was Jesus’ main mission: to set his people
on the right path. It is interesting to note that even the New Testament
confirms that Jesus was a messenger (Apostle) of God, at Hebrews 3:1:
"Consider Jesus, the Apostle." The New Testament greek work
‘apostolos’ corresponds exactly with the arabic word ‘rasul’.

Jesus was especially readied by God to be sent to the Jews who had deviated
from the teachings of Moses and other Messengers. Neither Muhammad nor Jesus
came to change the basic doctrine of the belief in One God, brought by
earlier prophets, but to confirm and renew it. He was also supported by the
numerous miracles, mentioned previously, to prove he was definitely a
Messenger of God. Nonetheless, the majority of Jews rejected his teachings:

"And when the son of Mary is quoted as an example, behold, your people cry
aloud (laugh out) and say: "Are your gods better or is he?" They quoted not
the above example except for argument. Nay! But they are a quarrelsome
people. He was not more than a servant. We granted Our Favor to him, and We
made him an example for the Children of Israel." (43:57-59)

Another of Jesus’ missions was to inform his people about the coming of a
final prophet, who is none other than Muhammad (swas), after him. This is
mentioned clearly in the Quran:
		
And (remember) when Jesus, son of Maryam, said: "O Children of Israel! I
am the Messenger of Allah unto you, confirming the Torah (which came) before
me, and the giving glad tidings of a Messenger to come after me, whose name
shall be the Praised One (translation of the Arabic word 'Ahmad', one of
Prophet Muhammad’s names)." But when he (Muhammad) came to them with clear
proofs, they said: "This is plain magic."

The New Testament also speaks of the coming of a "Comforter" after the
preaching of Jesus.

"If you love me; keep my commandments. And I will pray the father and He
shall give you another Comforter that he may abide with you forever." (John:15-16)

Muslim theologians have said that "another comforter"  refers to Muhammad,
the Messenger of Allah; and for him to "abide forever" means the
everlastingness of his laws and ways of life (Shariah) and the Quran which
was revealed to him and still followed by Muslims all around the world.

It should be mentioned here that while the Muslims believe that Jesus was
given God’s "Good News" (Injeel), they do not recognize the present "Four
Gospels" in the Bible to be the sayings of Jesus. Even the Church agrees that
the "Four Gospels" were written by four different men, but they reason 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 accounts of the life of Jesus.
Also, the "Four Gospels" were written 35-65 years after Jesus died, and
represent only a fraction of the so-called "Gospels" written at that time,
the others were rejected by the Church.

Jesus is not the Son of God and Never Claimed Divinity

The Church holds that Jesus was the "Only Begotten Son" of God, and also God
Himself, since the doctrine of Trinity considers God as Son, as the Father,
and as the "Holy Ghost" all at the same time! Catholics go even further and
say that Mary is the "Mother of God". Of course, Muslims totally reject these
facts; it is committing Shirk (association with Allah). We know that God has
no father, mother, daughter, or son. He is Self-Capable. There are many
instances in the Quran where Allah refutes the claim of the non-believers.
Here are several verses regarding this:

"And they say: Allah has taken to Himself a son. Be He glorified! No! But
whatever is in the heavens and the earth is His, and all surrender with
obedience(in worship) to Him. The Originator of the heavens and the earth!
When He decrees a thing. He says to is only: Be! and it is." (2:116-117)

"And the Jews say: Ezra is the Son of God and the Christians say: The
Messiah (Jesus) is the son of God. That is their saying with their mouths.
They imitate the saying of those who disbelieved of old. God (Himself)
opposes them. How perverse are they!"(9:30)    

"And they say: The Most Gracious (Allah) has begotten a son. Indeed you
have brought forth a terrible evil thing and whereby the heavens are almost
torn, and the earth is split asunder, and the mountains fall in ruins, that
they ascribe a son to the Most Gracious (Allah). But it is not suitable
for the Most Gracious that He should beget a son. There is none in the
heavens and the earth but comes unto the Most Gracious as a servant"
(19:88-93)

Muslims believe that the virgin birth of Jesus without a father was not
anymore supernatural than the creation of Adam without a father or
mother. The Quran says:

"Truly the likeness of Jesus, in God’s Sight, is as Adam’s likeness; He
created him of dust, then said He unto him, "Be", and he was." (3:59)

The Quran rejects the Concept of Trinity as strongly as it rejects the
sonship of Jesus. This is because God is One. This is the basis of all
monotheistic religions. Three, obviously by mathematics and by reason, is not
one. Allah says:

"Oh people of the Book! Do not exceed the limits in your religion, nor say
of Allah aught but the truth. The Messiah Jesus, son of Mary, was (no more
than) a Messenger of Allah and His Word, which He bestowed on Mary and a
Spirit created by Him; so believe in Allah and His Messengers. Say not:
Trinity! Cease! (it is) better for you. For Allah is (the only) One God,
glory is to Him (Far Exalted is He) above having a son. To Him belongs all
that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth. And Allah is
All-Sufficient as a Disposer of affairs." (4:171-173)

The Quran also states that Jesus never claimed divinity (godhood). In the
Semitic languages (Hebrew, Armaic, and Arabic), the phrase "Son of God" is a
common term used to describe pious people. In fact, this term is used over 83
times in reference to 38 different people in the Bible and thus, it is not
useful to use the phrase "Son of God" as an argument in favor of the divinity
of Jesus. On the Day of Judgment, Jesus will state that he always taught the
worship of One God. This is best described by the following verses, which is
a great warning to the Christians of the whole world:

"And (remember) when Allah will say (on the Day of Judgment): O Jesus, son
of Mary! Did you say unto men: ‘Worship me and my mother as two gods beside
Allah?’ He will say: "Glory is to You! It was not for me to say what I had no
right (to say). Had I said such a thing, You would surely, have known it. You
know what is in my inner-self though I do not know what is in Yours; truly,
You, only You, are the All-Knower of all that is hidden. Never did I say to
them aught except what You(Allah) did command me to say: ‘Worship Allah, my
Lord and your Lord.’ And I was a witness over them while I dwelt amongst
them, but when You took me up, You were the Watcher over them; and You are a
Witness to all things." (5:116-117)


Jesus was not Crucified

It is a sad fact of history that not many follow "the straight path", to
which people were called by Jesus. He was followed by a few disciples who
were inspired by God to support him. Not only that, but the non-believers
plotted (as they did against Prophet Muhammad six centuries later) to kill
Jesus. It was their intention to put him to death on the cross but God saved
him from their evil plans.

"And because of their disbelief and uttering against Mary a grave false
charge and because of their saying (in boast), ‘We killed Christ Jesus, son
of Mary, the Messenger of Allah,’ but they killed him not, nor crucified him,
but the resemblance of Jesus was put over another man (and they killed that
man), and those who differ therein are full of doubts. They have no (certain)
knowledge, they follow nothing but conjecture. For surely; they killed him no
son of Mary: But Allah raised him (Jesus) up unto Himself. And Allah is Ever
All-Powerful, All-Wise." (4:156-158)

As the above verses indicate, Jesus was raised to heaven before he died. This
means that according to the Quran he was not crucified. God saved Jesus and
somebody else who resembled him was crucified. Jesus will come back before
the Day of Judgment but the actual date of the Second Coming is not clearly
mentioned in the Quran.

Islam does not accept the notion that Jesus died to save humanity’s sin.
Furthermore, it does not accept the notion of Original Sin whereby Adam’s
original disobedience to God has been inherited by all his descendants. In
other words, it does not accept that all human beings on earth are sinful
because of Adam’s disobedience of God. The Quran states that when Adam and
Eve sinned, they requested and received Allah’s forgiveness. Muslims believe
all newborns are born pure and sinless. A baby does not bear the burden of a
sin committed by an ancestor. This would be a negation of God’s attribute of
justice and mercy.

To sum up, Islam considers Jesus as one of God’s great prophets. His mission
was to preach the Oneness of God and to lead man to his Lord. He never
claimed to be other than a servant and a Messenger of God. The Quranic
account of his life and mission is supported by overwhelming evidence. The
Muslims do believe in and are awaiting the Second Coming of Jesus. He will
come back not as God to judge the non-Christians, but as Jesus, God’s
servant. The purpose of his coming is to correct the misconception which
people have developed over his personality and mission. According to a saying
of Prophet Muhammad, he will stay for forty years which are going to be the
happiest years of life on this earth. At that time everybody will believe in
him as the Messenger, not the Son of God. Insha’Allah we will pray for this
time to come quickly seeing people today have become very confused and
ignorant! 


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More ayats concerning the People of the Book:

"If they argue with you, tell them, 'I have surrendered my whole self to
Allah and so have those who follow me.' And declare to the People of the Book
(Jews and Christians) and to those who don't know, 'Will you also surrender
yourself (to Allah)?' If they do then they will be on right guidance. But it
they turn away, your duty is only to convey the message. Allah sees all of
His servants." (3:20) 

"From the people who call themselves Christians We took an agreement. But
they forgot most of the Message that was sent to them. So We let them become
disunited in envy and hatred between each other up to the Day of Judgement.
Soon Allah will show them what they have done." (5:14)

"Woe to those who write the book with their own hands and then say, 'Here,
this is from Allah' to sell it for a miserable profit.'"(2:79)

"Don't they consider the Quran with care? Had it been from any other besides
Allah, they would have found many problems in it." (4:82)