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Jesus in Islam

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Main article: Jesus

Islam holds Jesus (Template:Lang-ar `Īsā) to have been a messenger and a prophet of God and the Masih. According to the Qur'an, he was one of God's (Arabic Allah) most beloved messengers, a precursor to Muhammad, and was sent to guide the Children of Israel. He was strengthened by the Holy Spirit, another name for Gabriel.

Christian comparison

In the Qur'an, Zachariah is Mary's adopted guardian but in the Bible they are relatives. In both accounts, Jesus is born to Mary while she is a virgin. The Qur'an makes no mention of Mary's fiance, Joseph. Unlike in the Bible, Jesus performs several miracles as an infant and child.

Jesus then goes on to teach, perform miracles, be rejected by the Jews and ascends to heaven. See Qur'anic narration of the Jesus story for further information.

Muslims reject the mainstream Christian belief that Jesus was the Son of God, regarding it as a blasphemous denial of tawhid, the singularity of God. The Qur'an states repeatedly that Jesus was only a human.

Muslims believe that God gave a Direct Revelation to Jesus, the Injil, which is understood to be a book comparable to the Qur'an. However, some parts of it have been misinterpreted, misrepresented, passed over, and/or textually distorted over time. The New Testament no longer accurately represents the original revelation. Nevertheless, the Qur'an calls this book revealed to Jesus a light and a divine scripture and calls Jews and Christians to remain faithful to the book they do have. ([Quran 5:45]).

Etymology

The name Jesus is derived from the Latin Iēsus, which in turn comes from the Greek Template:Polytonic (Iēsoûs). The Greek is a Hellenized form of the Aramaic name Yēšua (ישוע), a short form of Hebrew Yehōšua (יהושע). Isa is also a given name for Arab Muslim men, equivalent to Jesus (a name given in many Christian cultures for male children). Yehōšua (יהושע) is the name by which Moses called his successor as leader of the Israelites, known in English as Joshua; it means 'the Lord is salvation', or literally 'Yahweh saves'. Some claim the Arabic name Isa is related to the biblical Esau, but it is also similar in the vowels to the Aramaic version of Jesus, viz. Eesho (Aramaic forms of the name, however, still have the voiced pharyngeal `Ayn consonant at the end of the name). Arabic-speaking Christians refer to Jesus as Isa or Yasu`a, which is the same name as Joshua. Persian-speaking Christians refer to Jesus as Isa.

Jesus's birth

Muslims believe in the virgin birth of Jesus through Mary, which is recounted throughout several passages in the Qur'an. In the Qur'anic story an angel appears before Mary to announce her the gift of a holy son. Mary is surprised and answers the angel that she is virgin. The angel replies "So (it will be): Thy Lord saith, 'that is easy for Me: and (We wish) to appoint him as a Sign unto men and a Mercy from Us':It is a matter (so) decreed...when He determines a matter, He only says to it, 'Be', and it is." ([Quran 19:21], [Quran 19:35]) The Qur'an rejects the idea that virgin birth implies that Jesus is divine. Sahih Bukhari records that John was a cousin to Jesus.[1]

Soon after his birth, Jesus speaks as an infant to defend Mary from accusations of adultery. Two other infants are noted to have spoken as infants. [2]

Soon after his birth, Jesus speaks as an infant to defend Mary from accusations of adultery. Two other infants are noted to have spoken as infants. [3]

Other relevant verses from the Qur'an:

"And (remember) her who guarded her chastity: We breathed into her of Our spirit, and We made her and her son a sign for all peoples." [Quran 21:91]

Other references in hadith are

When any human being is born. Satan touches him at both sides of the body with his two fingers, except Jesus, the son of Mary, whom Satan tried to touch but failed, for he touched the placenta-cover instead. Sahih Bukhari 4.54.506

Isa not God nor the Son of God

Muslims do not believe Isa is Allah (God), nor was he the Son of God but only human; this differs from Christianity, which believes Jesus is both human and God.

There is confusion that the sonship of God and divinity are the same in the Bible. In the Bible, sonship of God signals a special relationship with God. According to 1 John 3.1a, all Christians are children of God and in Exodus 4:22 the nation of Israel is the son of God. This is not a physical relationship but a metaphor for a spiritual relationship.

However, the Qur'an seems to understand "son of God" as a physical relationship. This idea neccessitates that Allah was a physical being and required a woman, Mary, to have a son. Allah is believed to be neither physical nor requiring any help. The Qur'an may have either referred to Christian heretics or misunderstood the Bible.

How could it be that (Allah) should have a child without there ever having been a mate for Him - since it is He who has created everything, and He alone knows everything? Qur'an 6:101

The Qur'an may also reject the title "Son of God" because it implies that Jesus is the greatest of the prophets (saying the son instead of a son) whereas Muhammad is the greatest prophet in Islam. It also carries a conotation of greatness similar to Allah and Islam greatly seperates the status of humans from the status of Allah.

However, Muslim theologians still prove that that the sonship of God is not equialent with divinity. For example Bible refers to earlier (non-divine) figures such as David (Psalm 2:7) or Israel personalized (Exodus 4:22-23, Deuteronomy 14:1, Hosea 11:1-2 etc.) as "son of God." However, according to Christian theologians the title of "son of God" in Psalm 2:7 for example, does not refer to David because David died and next verses in this Psalm mention that every nation will belong and shall give him honour to the person with the title "son of God". They also note the Qur'an states that although Isa was born miraculously without a human biological father, this does not imply that he is the Son of God by nature since when God wills something he says to it "Be" and it is.

Jesus neither crucified nor killed

The following passage may appear to some to say that the Qur'an differs from the Gospels in stating that Jesus was neither crucified nor killed:

"That they said (in boast), 'We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah';- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not:- Nay, Allah raised him up unto Himself; and Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise;-" ([Quran 4:157])

The Qur'anic passage above, together with the quotes attributed to Muhammad, is understood by most Muslims to mean that Jesus was not killed or crucified, but instead was raised into Heaven and remains there awaiting the time appointed by God to descend back to earth and live out his natural life. A minority interpretation of the verse holds similarly that Jesus was not executed by his enemies, but only appeared to be so, and that he was subsequently "raised" (in status and honor) by God. In this minority interpretation, no ascent to Heaven by Jesus is described in the Qur'an (see above). This position is similar to docetic Christology, and, again, to that of the Ahmadi.

The Ahmadiyya Community hold an entirely different view: that Jesus was crucified, but survived and subsequently migrated to Kashmir, where he took the name Yuz Asaf. Mainstream Muslims consider these views heretical.

Matthew 28:12–15 provides the reasoning behind such "not crucified at all" beliefs:

"When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, 'You are to say, "His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep." If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.' So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day."

Some Muslim scholars, notably Ahmad Deedat, share the Ahmadiya view that Jesus was hung on the cross but survived it (swoon theory) but then ascended bodily to heaven, while others say that it was actually Judas who was mistakenly crucified by the Romans. Thomas McElwain states that the context of the verse is clearly within the discussion of Jewish ridicule of Christians, not in context of whether or not Jesus died. He continues that the text could be interpreted as denying the death of Jesus at the hands of Jews rather than denying his death. He however adds that "the expressions against the crucifixion are strong, so that to interpret the meaning for Romans rather than Jews to have committed the act is also suspect" and that if this meaning is correct, "it would have been more effective to state that the Romans killed Jesus, rather than to empha­sise that the Jews were not in possession of the facts."

Jesus to return

Most Muslims believe that Jesus is alive in Heaven, and will return to Earth to defeat the Antichrist.

A hadith in Abu Dawud (Template:Abudawud) says:

"Narrated Abu Hurayrah: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: There is no prophet between me and him, that is, Jesus (peace be upon him). He will descent (to the earth). When you see him, recognise him: a man of medium height, reddish fair, wearing two light yellow garments, looking as if drops were falling down from his head though it will not be wet. He will fight for the cause of Islam. He will break the cross, kill swine, and abolish jizyah. Allah will perish all religions except Islam. He will destroy the Antichrist and will live on the earth for forty years and then he will die. The Muslims will pray over him."

After Jesus slays al-Masīh al-Dajjāl (literally "the Deceiving Messiah," loosely the Antichrist; often referred to simply as "Dajjāl") at the Gate of Ludd in Palestine, Muslims believe he will marry, die, and be buried in the Masjid al Nabawi. During his life, he will have revealed that Islam is the true word of God.

A hadith in Sahih Bukhari (Template:Bukhari-usc) says:

"How will you be when the son of Mary descends amongst you and he will judge people by the Law of the Qur'an and not by the law of the Gospel."

A very few Islamic scholars reject all the quotes attributed to Muhammad (Hadith) that mention the second return of Jesus, the Dajjal and Imam Mahdi, believing that they have no Qur'anic basis. These scholars believe that the verb “mutavafika” in verse [Quran 3:55] implies that God caused the bodily death of Jesus, thus (3:55) should read as “O Jesus, I terminate your life, raise you to Me.” Others disagree with the implication of termination of Jesus’ life (for example Yusuf Ali’s translation reads: “O Jesus! I will take thee and raise thee to Myself”). Verses [Quran 4:157] imply that Jesus was not killed; Verse [Quran 19:33] implies that Jesus will die someday. The majority of Muslims believe that the bodily death of Jesus will happen after his second coming. Many classical commentators such as Ibn Kathir, At-Tabari, al-Qurtubi, Suyuti, al-Undlusi (Bahr al-Muhit), Abu al-Fadl al-Alusi (Ruh al-Maani) and many others clearly mention that verse [Quran 43:61] of the Qur'an refers to the descent of Jesus before the Day of Resurrection, indicating that Jesus would be the Sign that the Hour is close.

"And (Jesus) shall be a Sign (for the coming of) the Hour (of Judgment): therefore have no doubt about the (Hour)..." ([Quran 43:61])

The scholars that reject the second coming of Jesus argue that the knowledge of the Hour is only with God, and that the Hour will come suddenly. They maintain that if the second coming of Jesus were true, whenever it happens, billions of people would then be certain the Hour is about to come.

Another relevant verse from the Qur'an:

"And there is none of the People of the Book but must believe in him before his death" ([Quran 4:159])

As an example of a Qur'anic verse that is considered to refer to the end time events:

"Before this We wrote in the Psalms, after the Message (given to Moses): My servants the righteous, shall inherit the earth." ([Quran 21:105])

Jesus' physical appearance

Several Hadith quote Muhammad describing Jesus as he appeared in a dream, and during Muhammad's ascension to Heaven:

"While I was sleeping, I saw myself (in a dream), performing Tawaf (circumambulation of the House of God in Makkah). I saw a reddish-white man with lank hair, with water dripping from his head, I asked, "Who is this?" They replied, "The Son of Maryam (Mary)..." (Bukhari, Sahih Muslim)[citation needed]
"Narrated Abdullah: The Prophet mentioned...While sleeping near the Ka'ba last night, I saw in my dream a man of brown color the best one can see amongst brown color and his hair was long that it fell between his shoulders. His hair was lank and water was dribbling from his head and he was placing his hands on the shoulders of two men while circumambulating the Kaba. I asked, 'Who is this?' They replied, 'This is Jesus, son of Mary.'" (Bukhari Template:Bukhari-usc)
"Narrated Salim from his father: No, By Allah, the Prophet did not tell that Jesus was of red complexion but said, "While I was asleep circumambulating the Ka'ba (in my dream), suddenly I saw a man of brown complexion and lank hair walking between two men, and water was dropping from his head. I asked, 'Who is this?' The people said, 'He is the son of Mary.'" (Bukhari Template:Bukhari-usc)
"Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle said, "On the night of my Ascension to Heaven...I saw Jesus who was of average height with red face as if he had just come out of a bathroom." (Bukhari Template:Bukhari-usc)

Jesus' miracles

The Qur'an states that Jesus performed miracles including:

  • Speaking during infancy:
"At length she brought the (babe) to her people, carrying him (in her arms). They said: 'O Mary! truly an amazing thing hast thou brought! ... O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a man of evil, nor thy mother a woman unchaste!' But she pointed to the babe. They said: 'How can we talk to one who is a child in the cradle?' He said: 'I am indeed a servant of Allah: He hath given me revelation and made me a prophet...'" ([Quran 19:27])
  • Making live birds out of clay, curing blindness and leprosy, and raising the dead:
"And (appoint him) a messenger to the Children of Israel, (with this message): 'I have come to you, with a Sign from your Lord, in that 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 Allah's leave: And I heal those born blind, and the lepers, and I quicken the dead, by Allah's leave; and I declare to you what ye eat, and what ye store in your houses. Surely therein is a Sign for you if ye did believe...'" ([Quran 3:49])

See also

References to Jesus in the Qur'an

References

  1. ^ Sahih Bukhari 4.55.640
  2. ^ Sahih Bukhari 4.55.645
  3. ^ Sahih Bukhari 4.55.645
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