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The Islamic view of Jesus lies between two extremes. The Jews, who rejected Jesus as a Prophet of God, called him an imposter. 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 great Prophets of God and respects him as much as Ibrahim (Abraham), Moses, and Mohammed. 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 essence of Islam - willing submission to the will of God - was revealed to Adam, who passed it on to his children. All following revelations to Noah, Ibrahim, Moses, Jesus, and finally Mohammed were in conformity with that message, with some elaboration to define the relation between man and God, man and man, man and his environment, and living according to God's instructions. Thus, any contradictions among revealed religions is viewed by Islam as a man-made element introduced into these religions. The position of Jesus in the three major religions - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam should not be 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, and passes judgements on the Christian beliefs concerning him. The Quranic account of Jesus starts with the conception of his mother, Mary, whose mother, the wife of lmran, vowed to dedicate her child to the service of God in the temple. When Mary became a woman, the Holy Spirit (the Archangel Gabriel) appeared to her as a man bringing her the news of a son. We read the following dialogue in the Quran between Mary and the angel: "When the angel said, 'Mary, God gives you a good tidings of a Word from Him whose name is messiah, Jesus, son of Mary,- high honored shall he be in this world and the next, near stationed to God. He shall speak to men in the cradle, and of age, and righteous he shall be. 'Lord' said Mary 'How shall I have son, seeing no mortal has touched me?' Even so, he said, 'God creates what He will.' When He decrees a thing He does but say to it, "Be", and it is. (Al- lmran 3:45-47) In a chapter (Surah) entitled "Maryam" (Mary), the Quran tells us how Mary gave birth to her son, and how the Jews accused her when she brought the child home: "Then she brought the child to her folk, carrying him, and they said, 'Mary, you have surely committed a monstrous thing, Sister of Aaron, your father was not a wicked man, nor your mother a woman unchaste. Mary pointed to the child,- but they said, 'How shall we speak to one who is still in the cradle, a little child. And he said, I am God's servant,- God has given me the Book and made me a Prophet. Blessed He has made me a Prophet. Blessed He has made me, wherever I may be; and He has enjoined me to pray, and to give the alms, so long as I live, and likewise tocherish my mother,- He has not made me arrogant or wicked. Peace be upon me, the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I am raised up alive. (Maryam 19:29-33) In the same chapter, following the above quotation, God assures Mohammed, and through him the whole world, that what is told above is the TRUTH about Jesus, although the Christians might not accept it. Jesus is NOT the Son of God: he was, obviously enough, the son of Mary. The verses continue: "That is Jesus, son of Mary, in word of truth, concerning which they are doubting. It is not for God to take a son unto Him. Glory be to Him, He but says to it, 'Be, and it is. (Maryam 19:34-35) After this strong statement about the nature of Jesus, God directed Mohammed to call the Christians to worship the one God: "Surely God is my God, and your God, so serve him. This is the straight path. " (Maryam 19:36) The rejection of the very idea of God having a son is re-stated later in the same chapter with even stronger words: " And they say, The All- merciful has taken unto Himself a son. You have indeedadvanced something hideous. At it the skies are about to burst, the earth to split asunder and the mountains to fall down in utter ruin for that they have attributed to the All-merciful a son; and itbehooves not the All-merciful to take a son. None is there in the heavens and earth but comes to the All-merciful as a servant " (Maryam 19:88-93) The Quran recognises the fact that Jesus had no human father, but this does not make him the Son of God, or God Himself. By this criterion, Adam would have been more entitled to be the son of God, because he had neither a father nor a mother, so the Quran draws attention to the miraculous creation of both in the following verses: "Truly the likeness of Jesus, in God's sight, is as Adam's likeness; He created him of dust, then He said unto him, 'Be' and he was. (Al- Imran 3:59) The Quran rejects the concept of the Trinity God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit - as strongly as it rejects the concept of Jesus as the son of God. this is because GOD IS ONE. Three cannot be one. The Quran addresses Christians in the following verses from the Surah entitled "An-Nisaa " (The Women): "People of the Book, do not go beyond the bounds in your religion, and say naught as to God but the Truth. The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, was only the Messenger of God, and his Word (fulfillment of His command, through the word "Be", for the creation of Jesus ) that He committed to Mary, and a spirit originating from Him (was givenlife by God). So believe in God and His Messengers, and say not 'Three' ' Refrain, better is for you. God is only One God. Glory be to Him that He should have a son! To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and in the earth; God suffices for aguardian. The Messiah will not disdain to be a servant of God, neither the angels who are close to Him. Whosoever disdains to serve Him and waxes proud, He will assuredly muster them to Him, aII of them. As for the believers, who do deeds of righteousness, He will pay them their rewards in full, and He will give them more, of His bounty,- as for them who disdain and wax proud, them He willpunish with a severe punishment, and they shall not find for them, apart from God, a friend or helper." (An-Nisaa 4:171-173) The denial of Jesus's divinity (and, for that matter, of Mary's divinity) is presented in the Quran in the form of a dialogue, at the Day of Judgement, between the Almighty and Jesus. All the messengers and their nations will be gathered before God and He will ask the messengers how they were received by their people and what they said to them. Among those who will be questioned is Jesus: "And when God said, 'O Jesus, son of Mary, did you
say unto men, "Take me and my mother as gods, apart from God"? He
said, 'To you be glory! It is not mine to say what I have no right to.
If I indeed said it, you would have known it, knowing what
is within my heart, though I do not know your knowledge; you know
the things unseen. I only said to them what you did commands
me: "Serve God, my God and your God. " (Al-Maida 5:116)
Given that the Quran denies the Trinity and the sonship
of Jesus, what, according to the Quran, was the real mission of Jesus?
The answer is that Jesus was a link in a long chain of prophets and messengers
sent by God to various nations and societies whenever they needed guidance
or deviated from His teachings. Jesus was especially prepared by God to
be sent to the Jews, who had deviated from the teachings of Moses and other
messengers. 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 ministry.
In another verse of the Quran, Jesus confirmed the validity of the Torah which was revealed to Moses, and also conveyed the glad tidings of a final messenger who would follow him: "And when Jesus son of Mary said, 'Children of Israel, I am indeed the Messenger to you, confirming the Torah that is before me, and giving good tidings of a Messengerwho shabe the praised one. " (As-Saff 61:6). Note that "praised one" is a translation of "Ahmad" -the
Prophet Mohammed's name. Careful study of the New Testament shows that
Jesus refers to the same prophet in John 14:16-17: "And I will give you
another Counselor (The Prophet Mohammed), to be with you for ever, even
the Spirit of Truth".
The usual explanation of this prophecy is that the counselor
referred to is the Holy Spirit, but this explanation is excluded by a previous
verse in John: "Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage
that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to
you."
The characteristics of this counselor, as can be derived
from the prophecy, are that he will stay forever with believers, he will
glorify Jesus; and he will speak what he hears from God. All four characteristics
apply to the Prophet Mohammed. He came six centuries after Jesus. He came
with a universal and everlasting message, fulfilling the prophecy that
the counselor will stay for ever with the faithful. He glorified Jesus
as a great Prophet. The Quran attributes to Jesus miracles not mentioned
in the Bible. Prophecies in the Bible's Old and New Testaments, as well
as specific verses in the Quran, show how the Prophet Mohammed is rejected
by Jews and Christians out of prejudice and misunderstanding, rather than
careful study of the Bible.
It is a sad fact of history that not many are following
the "straight path" to which people were called by Jesus. He was only followed
by a few disciples inspired by God to support him. The nonbelievers plotted
- as they would against Mohammed, six centuries later - to kill Jesus.
But God had a better plan for him and his followers, as the Quran tells
us:
"And when Jesus perceived their unbelief, he said, 'Who will be my helpers in the cause of God? The apostles said, 'We are Gods helpers. We believe in God,- so bear witness of our submission. God, we believe in that you have sent down, and we follow the Messenger. Inscribe us therefore with those who bear witness.' And they devised, and God devised, and God is the best of devisors. When God said, 'Jesus, I will take you to Me and will raise you to Me, and I will purify you (of the falsehoods) of those who do not believe. I will make your followers above the unbelievers till the Resurrection Day." (Al-Imran 3:52-55) As the above verses indicate, Jesus was taken and raised
to heaven. He was not crucified. It was certainly the plan of the enemies
of Jesus to put him to death on the cross, but God saved him and someone
else was crucified:
"And for their unbelief, and their uttering againstMary
a grave false charge, and for their saying, 'We killed the Messiah,
Jesus son of Mary, the Messiah of God"... yet they did not slay
him, neither crucified him, only a likeness of that was shown to
them. Those who are at variance concerning him aresurely in doubt
regarding him, they have no knowledge of him, except the following
of conjecture; and they did not kill him of certainty…no indeed;
God raised him up to Him; God is Almighty,Allwise. There is not one of
the people of the Book but will assuredly believe him before his
death and on the Resurrection Day he will be a witness againstthem"
' (An-nisaa 4:156-159)
The Quran does not explain who was the person crucified
instead of Jesus, nor elaborate on the Second Coming of Jesus. However,
explanators of the Quran have always interpreted the last verse of the
above quotation to mean that Jesus will return, and that all Jews and Christians
will believe in him before he dies. This understanding is supported by
authentic sayings (Hadith) of the Prophet Mohammed may the peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him and upon all His messengers.
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