Jesus: Man, Messenger, Messiah · 2. God in Islam
Jesus in Islam: man, messenger, messiah
In short
- 1.The Qur'an affirms the virgin birth of Jesus (PBUH) explicitly [3:47, 19:20-21].
- 2.It calls him al-Masih, the Messiah — a title the Qur'an gives to no one else [3:45].
- 3.It affirms his miracles: healing the blind and leper, and raising the dead, by God's permission [3:49].
- 4.It affirms his second coming as a sign of the Hour [43:61].
- 5.No Muslim's faith is valid without believing in Jesus (PBUH) — denying him is disbelief [2:136, 4:150-151].
The claim being examined
Muslims are frequently assumed to disrespect Jesus (PBUH) because they deny his divinity.
The Islamic position
Islam holds Jesus (PBUH) in the highest honour: born of a virgin, a worker of miracles by God's permission, the Messiah, and one of the five greatest messengers — a man, not a deity.
Analysis
The Islamic position is not a diminished Jesus (PBUH) but a differently located one: fully honoured within prophethood rather than absorbed into divinity. The Qur'an's Jesus (PBUH) performs greater miracles than most prophets, is supported by the Holy Spirit, and is honoured in this world and the next — yet remains a servant of God. This is the natural conclusion of : the greatness of a messenger is measured by his obedience, not by his identity with the One who sent him.
From the Qur'an
إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُبَشِّرُكِ بِكَلِمَةٍۢ مِّنْهُ ٱسْمُهُ ٱلْمَسِيحُ عِيسَى ٱبْنُ مَرْيَمَ وَجِيهًۭا فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا وَٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ
inna l-laha yubashiruki bikalimatin min'hu us'muhu l-masīḥu ʿīsā ub'nu maryama wajīhan fī l-dun'yā wal-ākhirati
God gives you good tidings of a word from Him, whose name is the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, distinguished in this world and the Hereafter.
وَرَسُولًا إِلَىٰ بَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ أَنِّى قَدْ جِئْتُكُم بِـَٔايَةٍۢ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ ۖ أَنِّىٓ أَخْلُقُ لَكُم مِّنَ ٱلطِّينِ كَهَيْـَٔةِ ٱلطَّيْرِ فَأَنفُخُ فِيهِ فَيَكُونُ طَيْرًۢا بِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ وَأُبْرِئُ ٱلْأَكْمَهَ وَٱلْأَبْرَصَ وَأُحْىِ ٱلْمَوْتَىٰ بِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ وَأُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا تَأْكُلُونَ وَمَا تَدَّخِرُونَ فِى بُيُوتِكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ فِى ذَٰلِكَ لَـَٔايَةًۭ لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ
warasūlan ilā banī is'rāīla annī qad ji'tukum biāyatin min rabbikum annī akhluqu lakum mina l-ṭīni kahayati l-ṭayri fa-anfukhu fīhi fayakūnu ṭayran bi-idh'ni l-lahi wa-ub'ri-u l-akmaha wal-abraṣa wa-uḥ'yī l-mawtā bi-idh'ni l-lahi wa-unabbi-ukum bimā takulūna wamā taddakhirūna fī buyūtikum inna fī dhālika laāyatan lakum in kuntum mu'minīna
I design for you from clay the form of a bird, then I breathe into it and it becomes a bird by permission of God.
مَّا ٱلْمَسِيحُ ٱبْنُ مَرْيَمَ إِلَّا رَسُولٌۭ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِن قَبْلِهِ ٱلرُّسُلُ
mā l-masīḥu ub'nu maryama illā rasūlun qad khalat min qablihi l-rusulu
The Messiah, son of Mary, was not but a messenger; other messengers have passed on before him.
From the Bible
τὸν μόνον ἀληθινὸν θεόν, καὶ ὃν ἀπέστειλας Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν
…the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
Read it in their BibleFrom the Sunnah
The Prophet said: I am the nearest of all people to Jesus son of Mary. The prophets are paternal brothers; their mothers are different, but their religion is one.
Sources
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