Jesus Christ in The Quran
Jesus Christ in The Quran
Jesus Christ
in
The Quran
By
Arafat Elashi
Stoney Creek, Ontario
Canada
2007
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In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most
Merciful
Jesus Christ in the Quran
Introduction:
An increasing number of people today ask Muslims about the
position of Jesus Christ in the Quran, the Muslim Holy Book .The
same position is also adopted by many young Muslims living in
the West.
It is true that some Muslim scholars versed in English have already
written about this subject before, but each writer has his own
approach and thus for the benefit of people in the West both
Muslims and non Muslims, the present writer thought it a good
idea to introduce the following brief account about Jesus Christ in
the Quran interspersed with some relevant comments wherever
deemed necessary.
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Chapter One
What the Quran has to say:
In fact, the Holy Quran has a lot to tell about Jesus Christ and his
mother Virgin Mary. If we contemplate this Holy Book we will
find that two main chapters speak about them in some detail .They
are: chapter three called “Al Imran” meaning the family of Imran,
which is the name of the family of Mary, mother of Jesus Christ,
and more specifically chapter nineteen called “Mary” referring to
Jesus Christ’s mother herself.
The book of guidance:
As a book of guidance, the Quran mentions parts of many stories
that would serve the purpose of the message meant to be conveyed.
So, we have in the above two chapters the brief history of Jesus
Christ and his mother Mary. If we gather both of the two parts in
the said two chapters, we will first not find any repetition; and,
second, they complement each other.
The actual status of Jesus:
The Quran, on the other hand, also reveals in some detail what it
considers as the actual faith and status of Jesus Christ especially in
chapter four called “AL nisaa” meaning women and chapter five
called “AL Maidah” meaning the table ,both of which refer in clear
terms to the Islamic creed in Jesus Christ, and thus some miracles
performed by Jesus Christ are narrated in the Quran as much as in
the Bible, with one difference, namely that he always made it clear
that he does not do those miracles ascribing them to himself,but
always asserts that he could only do them by the leave and power
of God. We will see this when we come to such miracles.
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The Quranic description of Jesus Christ:
Before we embark on quoting the Quranic verses about Jesus
Christ and his mother, it may be interesting to know how the
Quran describes Jesus and his mother. This can be clear in the
following verses:
“The example of Jesus with God is like that of Adam: He created
him from dust and said to him be and he was.” (3-59)
In chapter four we read:
“Jesus, son of Mary, is nothing but a messenger before whom
messengers existed and passed; his mother was a chaste woman;
they both used to eat food .Look how We clarify to them the
revelations, then look where their attention is turned away”
Three things are asserted here:
1-Jesus Christ was a messenger before whom other messengers
passed.
2-His mother Mary was a chaste woman
3-They both used to eat food.
This is further confirmed with a different logic that cannot be
denied as in chapter four verse 171 where we read the authentic
perspective of Jesus Christ:
“The Messiah Jesus son of Mary was no other but God’s
messenger and His word whom He delivered to Mary and a spirit
from Him .So believe in God and His messengers; say not three.
Desist from this ;that is better for you ;for God is only One God,
glory be unto Him that He should have a son ; for unto Him belong
what is in the heavens and in the earth and God is sufficient as a
disposer of affairs “.(4-171)
To analyse the above verse, it confirms the following:
1-Jesus son of Mary was God’s messenger
2-He was God’s word which is that He said to him be and he was
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3-He was a spirit of God. In fact every human being is a spirit of
God; in the case of Jesus he was an inspired spirit of God.
A remark:
One remark about the Quranic version on Jesus Christ and his
mother Mary is that in the two main chapters speaking about their
history, there is first a brief account about another messenger of
God i.e. Zachariah, who was a frail old man who never had any
children and his wife was barren .We shall leave the Quran to
speak about them; then we will mention part of the story of Mary
and Jesus Christ that follows.
In other words if we look closely at the verses we would notice
that the story of Zachariah and his wife is part and parcel of the
story of Mary and her son Jesus. It is, in fact, a prelude to it.
Not only this, but in chapter three we find first a quick mention of
the family of Mary and how God chose them along with some
other families and preferred them to all else.
This is what the Quran says:
“God has selected Adam, Noah, the family of Ibrahim and the
family of Imran above all worlds.”(3:33)
Chapter Two
The first account:
Here is the first account on the subject:
In chapter three called “Al Imran “the Quran says:
“God has chosen and preferred Adam and Noah and the family of
Ibrahim (Abraham) and the family of Imran above the worlds; they
were descendants one of another; and God is Hearer, Knower.
When the wife of Imran said:” My Lord! I have vowed unto You
that which is in my belly will be a consecrated (offering).So accept
it from me; You, only You, are the Hearer, the Knower.
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“When she delivered her she said: My Lord! I am delivered of a
female child; and the male child is not as the female one; and I
have named her Mary; and I crave Your protection for her and her
offspring from the outcast devil.
Her Lord accepted her:
“Thus her Lord accepted her with good acceptance and vouchsafed
to her a goodly growth; and made Zachariah her guardian.
Whenever Zachariah would enter upon her the sanctuary, he would
find with her a provision ( some food) ; upon which he would ask:
“O Mary! Where did you get this from? She would answer: It is
from God .For God gives without stint to whom He will.”
Look how the two stories are inter-related.
“Zachariah, then, prayed to his Lord and said:”My Lord! Grant me
of your bounty a goodly offspring, for, indeed, You are the Hearer
of supplications. The angels, then, called to him as he stood
praying in the sanctuary that “God gives you glad tidings of “John”
as a confirmation of a word from God, lordly, chaste and a prophet
of the righteous.”
“He said: My Lord! How can I have a son when old age has
already overtaken me, and my wife is barren? He (the angel)
answered: So it will be. God does what He will.
“He said: My Lord! Appoint a token for me .He (the angel) said:
Your token shall be that you shall not be able to speak to mankind
for three days except by signs .And remember your Lord much and
glorify ( Him) in the early hours of night and morning.
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Mary and the angels:
“And when the angels said: O Mary! God has chosen you and
purified you and preferred you above all women of the worlds. O
Mary! Submit humbly to your Lord and prostrate yourself and bow
with those who bow (in worship)”
After this initial contact with Mary, the Quran addresses
Muhammad, the receiver of this Quran from God Almighty saying:
“This is part of the news of the unseen which We reveal to you
(Muhammad).You were not present with them when they threw
their pens which of them would be the guardian of Mary ; nor were
you present with them when they disputed ( concerning this )”
The Quran here reminds its reader that what is narrated is part of
the unseen known only to God and His prophets.
The glad tidings:
The Quran then adds:
“When the angels said: O Mary! God gives you the glad news of
a word from Him whose name is “the Messiah”, son of Mary,
illustrious in the world and the Hereafter, and one of those who are
close ( to God) .He will also speak to people in the cradle and in
his manhood and will be one of the righteous.”
Taken by surprise, and never expecting this to happen, Virgin
Mary said:
“My Lord! How can I have a son when no mortal has ever touched
me .He (the angel) said: So (it will be); for God creates what He
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will. Whenever He decrees a thing, He says to it only: Be! And it
is.
The angel, then, continued his message to Mary:
“And He will teach him the Scripture and wisdom, and the Torah
and the Gospel; and will make him a messenger to the children of
Israel: that I come to you with a sign from your Lord; that I would
fashion to you out of clay the likeness of a bird; I, then,would
breathe into it and it would become a bird by God’s leave.”
So the Quran mentions how Mary conceived of Jesus Christ,
though a virgin, in the context of miracles the promised child will
be able to perform by the grace and the permission of God. As if to
indicate that as much as Jesus could perform miracles, his very
birth was itself a miracle. Was he not born from a virgin mother
without a father? His birth itself witnesses another miracle namely
that the freshly delivered baby could speak words of consolation to
his devastated mother. Meantime this does not remove his human
capacity but rather confirms the glory of God Almighty Who can
do everything.
Jesus Christ said:
The Quran then quotes Jesus Christ as saying to his people:
“And I would heal him who was born blind, and the leper; and I
would raise the dead, by God’s leave; and I would tell you about
what you eat and what you store up in your houses; for herein,
surely, is a portent for you, if you are (really) believers.”
Jesus Christ, then, justifies his message to the children of Israel in
the following words of the Quran:
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“And (I come) confirming that which was before me of the Torah,
and to make lawful to you some of what has been forbidden for
you .And I have come to you with a sign from your Lord; so fear
God and obey me.”
Jesus Christ then makes the following comment which is, in fact,
the reason behind the whole story when he clearly and in no mixed
terms says:
“God is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him .This is a straight
path.”
The reader might ask here: what exactly happened after this? What
was the attitude of the children of Israel to this message of Jesus
Christ peace be upon him?
It is a rule that is asserted time and time again in the Quran,
namely that most people believe not; that most people know not
and that most people follow not. This is exactly what happened to
Jesus Christ.
The response to Jesus Christ:
Again the Quran provides us with the answer when it says:
“When Jesus felt their disbelief, he asked (in agony): Who will be
my helpers in the cause of God? The disciples said: We are God’s
helpers .We believe in God and bear you witness that we are
Muslims.”
What a monumental testimony expressed here on behalf of the
disciples of Jesus Christ who, then, made the following
supplication to God Almighty:
“Our Lord! We believe in that which You have revealed and
followed the Messenger so enroll us among the witnesses.”
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God’s comment:
Then the Quran reveals the following comment from God, the
source of this Quran where He says:
“And they plotted and God plotted, but God is the best of
schemers.”
The Quran, then, provides its readers with more information about
Jesus Christ’s safety from the plots of his enemies as in the
following words:
Jesus Safety:
“And when God said: O Jesus, I am gathering you and causing you
to ascend unto Me, and cleansing you of those who disbelieve; and
I am making those who follow you above those who disbelieve
until the Day of Resurrection. Then unto Me you will (all) return;
and I shall judge between you concerning that wherein you used to
differ.”
A scene from the Hereafter:
The Quran, then, provides us with a scene from the Hereafter
concerning the dispute about Jesus Christ when it says:
“As for those who disbelieve, I shall chastise them with a heavy
chastisement in both the world and the Hereafter; and they will
have no helpers. And as for those who believe, and do good works,
He will pay them their wages in full; and God loves not wrong
doers.”
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This part of the story of Jesus Christ is, then, concluded by the
following words:
One conclusion:
“This that We recite unto you (Muhammad) is part of the
revelation and the wise reminder; the likeness of Jesus is as the
likeness of Adam: He created him from dust; then He said unto
him: Be! And he was; (it is) the truth from your Lord (O
Muhammad); so be not of those who waver.”
The challenge:
Then comes the verse that settles the dispute through challenge and
arbitration as in the following words:
“Thus whoever should dispute with you concerning him after the
knowledge that has come unto you, then say: Come! Let us
summon our children and your children, our women and your
women, and our selves and yourselves ,then let us pray humbly
(unto God) and invoke the curse of God upon those who lie” (3:61)
“This, surely, is the true narrative; for there is no god except God;
and God is the Almighty, the Wise.So, should they turn away, then
God is Aware of the mischief mongers.” (Chapter 3: 33-63)
The Quranic message:
Now before we move to the other segment of the Quran where the
story of Jesus Christ is revealed, we should listen to the Quran
addressing the people of the Book, who have a different view of
Jesus Christ.
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What the Quran has to share:
“O People of the Scripture! Come to a straight agreement between
us and you: that we shall worship none but God; and that we shall
ascribe no partners unto Him; and that none of us shall take each
other for lords apart from God. But if they turn away, then say:
Bear witness that we are Muslims (submitters to God).”(3:64)
Thus ends so decisively the first account about Jesus Christ and his
virgin mother Mary as it is narrated in chapter three of the Quran;
which is so clear and logical that no one who has the slightest
scratch of reason and common sense would ever reject or doubt in.
No chance for doubt:
In fact, such an account would have been more than enough to
clarify the Quran’s position on Jesus Christ and his mother; but
since God in the Quran does not leave the chance for any
speculation or doubt on any issue, He tackles this complicated but
clear issue once again in another chapter namely chapter nineteen
called “Mary” as in the following words that shed more light on
the subject.
Before we quote this second part allow me to make the following
comment:
A passing comment:
For the second time as it occurred in chapter three, the Quran also
here in chapter nineteen starts the story of Mary and Jesus Christ
with the story of Zachariah and John. This is to indicate, among
other things, that as John was born through a miracle to two barren
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parents; one of whom was very frail and old (the father) while the
other was barren (the mother) ; and this has been accepted by all
and sundry; so also we should all accept the miraculous birth of
Jesus from a mother without a father .It is the will of God
Almighty that made both events take place through a Divine
miracle.
Chapter Three
After such an appropriate introduction, the Quran starts the story of
Mary and Jesus Christ thus:
The second account:
“This is a mention of the mercy of your Lord unto His slave
Zachariah; when he cried unto His Lord a cry in secret. He said:
My Lord! The bones of me wax feeble and my head is burning
with grey hair and I have never been wretched in my prayer toYou,
my Lord.
And I fear my kinsfolk after me , since my wife is barren ;so grant
me from Your presence a successor ,who shall inherit me and
inherit the house of Jacob; and make him ,my Lord, acceptable
(unto You).
“(God said): O Zachariah! We bring you the tidings of a boy
whose name is John: We have given no one before him the same
name.
He (Zachariah) said: My Lord! How can I have a son when my
wife is barren, and I have reached infirm old age ?
(God) said: It is easy for me, even as I created you before, when
you were nothing.
He said: My Lord! Appoint for me some token.
(God) said: Your token is that you shall not speak to mankind for
three straight nights with no bodily defects.”
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“He, then, emerged unto his people from the sanctuary, and
indicated to them: Glorify your Lord at day break and night fall.
Zakariah’s prayer granted:
(God said) : O John! Hold the scripture with might;
and We gave him wisdom while still a child.(We granted him)
compassion from Our presence, and purity, and he was devout,
dutiful toward his parents ; he was not arrogant nor rebellious.
“Peace is upon him the day he was born, the day he dies, and the
day he shall be raised alive.”
An end and a prelude:
That was the end of the story of Zachariah and his son John which
is also the introduction to the story of Mary and her son Jesus
Christ that begins directly after this comment in the following
words:
”And mention in the scripture Mary, when she had withdrawn
from her people to a place towards the east. She imposed a barrier
upon herself from them. Then We sent unto her Our spirit who
assumed for her the likeness of a perfect man.”
At this moment the following argument took place between Mary
and Angel Gabriel, the spirit of God:
“She said: “I seek refuge from you in the Beneficent, if you are
God fearing. He said: “I am the messenger of your Lord to bestow
upon you a pure son.
She said:” How can I have a son when no mortal has ever touched
me, neither have I been a prostitute!”
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Why Jesus Christ:
To pacify Mary and justify this miracle, the angel said:
“So (it will be).Your Lord says: It is easy for Me; and so that We
may make of him a miracle for people ‘and a mercy from Us. Thus
it was a matter decreed.”
The Quran then continues:
Mary suffers:
”She conceived him, and so she withdrew with him to a distant
place. The pangs of childbirth drove her unto the trunk of the palm
tree. She said: Oh! Would that I had died before this and had
become a thing forgotten and out of sight.”
Grieve not:
“Then he cried unto her from below her, saying: Grieve not! Your
Lord has placed a stream beneath you; so shake the trunk of the
palm tree toward you , it will cause ripe dates to fall upon you .So
eat and drink and be contented .Should you see any human say : I
have vowed a fast unto the Beneficent; thus I shall not speak ,this
day ,to any mortal.”
The decisive moment:
We come now to the decisive moment of confrontation between
Mary and her family members, which was also a test for Mary. The
Quran says:
“She brought him to her folk, carrying him.
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They said: O Mary! You have committed a grave (unprecedented)
thing. O sister of Aaron! Your father was not a wicked man, nor
was your mother a harlot.”
Continuing to observe her silence all what Mary did was only that:
“She pointed to him. They said: How can we talk to one who is in
the cradle, a little child?
He spoke:
“He said: I am the slave of God .He has given me the Scripture and
made me a Prophet. And has made me blessed wheresoever I may
be, and has enjoined upon me prayer, and almsgiving so long as I
remain alive. And (has made me ) dutiful toward my mother ,and
has not made me arrogant,unblessed.Peace be on me the day I was
born, the day I die and the day I shall be raised alive.”
A relevant comment:
Commenting on this clear and decisive miracle the Quran says:
“That was Jesus, son of Mary ,a statement of the truth concerning
which they doubt. It befits not (the majesty of) God that He should
take unto Himself a son. Glory be unto Him! When He decrees a
thing, He says to it: Be! And it is .And God is my Lord and your
Lord, so worship Him. This is a straight path.”
Instead of surrendering to this Divine command from God, the
Quran tells us what happened when this took place and how people
reacted to that absolute and clear event:
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People’s reaction:
“The parties among them differed; so woe unto disbelievers from
witnessing an awful Day. How much they will see and hear on the
Day when they will come to Us! Yet evildoers are today in error
manifest. And warn them on the Day of Lament, when the decree
has been decided, while they are still in a state of oblivion, and
they believe not. It is We, indeed We, who will inherit the earth
and all that is on it, and unto us they will be returned.
Thus ends the second account of the story of Mary and Jesus in the
Quran.
Why this birth?
It may be asked here after we reviewed the two main accounts in
the Quran about Jesus Christ and his miraculous birth from a virgin
mother without a father: how can we understand this extraordinary
birth; and why at all did this happen?
To begin with, scholars of the Quran justified this birth in the
following logic: they said that we all notice that Adam came into
existence through a strange miracle. He was created without
parents i.e. he had no father or mother. God simply said to him be
and he was.
Secondly Eve, his wife, had another miraculous birth. She was
born through a father only and without a mother.
Thirdly, scholars of the Quran continue, every one of us is born
through a father and a mother.
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The answer:
So it is reasonable to say that God wanted to prove through this
birth of Jesus from a mother without a father that He is the creator
in all situations. In other words, he creates without a father and a
mother, as in the case of Adam; He also creates with a father and
no mother like Eve; and He is the creator even with a father and a
mother like each one of us. For no parents can claim that they
create their own children; for if that was the case, then why do we,
sometimes, have parents trying to have children but they fail to
achieve it. Some one else should be the creator; and the Quran
asserts that God is the only creator.
One cycle missing:
So based on this and if you look closely before the miracle of the
creation of Jesus Christ, you will find one cycle in the series of
creation missing, namely to create with a mother without a father;
and that has been achieved through the creation of Jesus Christ.
Thus it has been conclusively proven that God creates in all
situations.
In other words, the creation of Jesus Christ that way, was both a
restorer of belief in God and a test for people whether they would
believe or disbelieve .Few, however, believed ;and the majority
disbelieved.
What happened next:
What in fact happened was that those who opposed Jesus among
his own people, insisted that they killed Jesus who was the product
of adultery and who was a false prophet .So he deserved to be
crucified; while, on the other hand, those who said we are
supporters of Jesus Christ especially his disciples asserted his
prophethood and confirmed the safety miracle. Thus they and their
supporters were wiped out and completely eliminated. Then came
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those who said that since Jesus Christ was born through a miracle,
then he must be the son of God, nay they even said he is God
incarnate. Thus the creed of the disciples no more existed.
Why the Quranic account:
So the Quran came to fill the gap and to prove that despite the
miraculous birth of Jesus Christ, and despite all the miracles he
could perform during his life, he was neither the son of God nor
God incarnate. The Quran also refuted the claim that Jesus was the
son of an unchaste woman who committed a grave sin by bearing
him outside marriage. Thus the Quran establishes the middle path
in this respect. It asserts the virginity and purity and chastity of
Mary; and establishes the fact that Jesus was a miracle just like
Adam and Eve and like the recurrent miracle of the birth of every
child.
The simple logic:
Not only this, but since the Quran always connects the birth story
of Jesus Christ with that of the birth of John the Baptist ,who was
born to an old, frail father and a barren mother, as we must have
seen in the two accounts of the story as it is narrated in the Quran,
thus through this simple and clear logic every body should accept
the miraculous birth of Jesus as a miracle of God without
attributing any thing Divine to Jesus Christ himself; and that is the
crux of the matter.
Now let us see what happened, in point of fact, after the birth and
the stormy life and disappearance of Jesus Christ from the worldly
scene. Instead of accepting this miracle and restoring their faith in
God, most of the contemporaries of Jesus Christ denied this birth
miracle and accused Virgin Mary, the chaste, of adultery and
plotted to kill Jesus Christ while a few of his contemporaries went
to the other extreme and believed in him as a miracle of God, but
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most of them took a step further and claimed that he must be the
son of God or God incarnate.
A Divine surprise:
The situation did not stop there; but as the opponents of Jesus
Christ tried to arrest him and crucify him, God Almighty
interfered, according to the Quran, and did two things: one is that
when the troops of Jesus’ opponents were led to his hiding place
by a former disciple of his called Yahoda the Iscariot or the traitor
as he was known after that, God laid the likeness of Jesus on the
latter and raised Jesus Christ alive unto Himself in Heaven.
The Quran speaks:
This is what the Quran asserts as in the following verses:
“As a result of their breaking their covenant and their disbelief in
the miracles of God ,and due to their killing prophets without right
,and their saying our hearts are sealed ( against belief); in point of
fact, however, God has stamped them due to their disbelief and so
they believe not except a few.
“Indeed, due to their disbelief and their calumny against Mary a
grievous calumny; and their saying: “we killed the Messiah, Jesus
son of Mary, the messenger of God .For surely they killed him not;
nor did they crucify him, but it so appeared to them. They had no
knowledge about him except following guess work .indeed they
killed him not; but God raised him unto Himself and God is
Almighty Wise.” (Chapter 4-155 to 158)
Further details:
So what really happened, according to the Quran, was that when
Yahoda the Iscariot entered the room in which Jesus Christ was
hiding with the other disciples, Jesus disappeared being taken to
Heaven by God and Yahoda the Iscariot suddenly looked exactly
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like Jesus Christ. So when he emerged from the room, the troops
besieging it arrested him, taking him for Jesus Christ, and crucified
him. This is the meaning of the final part of the above verse that
says:”It so appeared to them”
Then the Quran goes a step further in the following verse where it
says:
“None of the people of the Book but will believe in him before he
dies and, on the Day of Judgment, he will be a witness against
them.”(4-159)
Chapter Four
A question:
A quick comment is essential here. For it may be asked by some
skeptics: “You Muslims say that Jesus Christ was raised alive to
Heaven, which should support the view of those who say he must
be God; for since he has been raised alive to the Divine in Heaven,
then he must be Divine too. How can Muslims answer this?”
The Muslim answer:
The Islamic creed concerning Jesus Christ and his virgin mother
Mary is based on two sources: the Quran and the traditions of
Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him.
We are told in these two sources that Jesus was raised alive to
Heaven through a Divine miracle which should not qualify him to
be Divine. Let us prove this by similar cases among the Prophets
of God. Abraham or Ibrahim as he is called in the Quran, was the
father of several prophets who appeared after him. God made him
perform some miracles .Does this mean that we should call him
God?
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Ibrahim, as we shall refer to him here, smashed the idols
worshipped by his people after they refused his message to them.
Thus they started a huge fire and threw him into it alive. God, also
interfered and saved him .We read this in the Quran where God
says:
“We said: O fire be coolness and peace upon Ibrahim.”
So, he was the first person in history who survived a huge fire
although he was thrown in it. He had neither safety jacket nor any
material thing to protect him from fire. That was then a miracle.
Should we then say he was God as those who claimed Jesus Christ
to be God ?
Another example:
On another occasion reported by God in the Quran, Ibrahim once
asked God to show him how he raises the dead back to life. So
God ordered him to take four different birds, cut them to pieces,
mix the pieces and divide them into four portions and put each
portion on top of a different mountain keeping the heads of the
birds with him. Then call them. Ibrahim did that and called the cut
birds back unto him and they did come running to him.
Commenting on this incident the Quran says:
“Know that God is Almighty, Wise.”
So should this miracle granted to Ibrahim qualify him to be God?
Not in the least.
Now the Islamic creed in Jesus Christ is the following:
The Quranic logic:
Jesus Christ peace be upon him was born through a miracle, was
raised to Heaven through another miracle, and will descend back to
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earth through a third miracle. We get this from the same verse
quoted above which I shall quote again and explain it.
The verse says:
”None of the people of the Book but will believe in him (Jesus
Christ) before his death (that is Jesus’s death) and on the Day of
Judgment he will be a witness against them”
The interpretation:
Interpreters of the Quran, led by Prophet Muhammad himself say:
That before the Day of Judgment Jesus Christ will descend to
earth, and will find Muslims performing their congregational
prayers behind a leader who will be one of them. So Jesus Christ
will join the prayer as a follower of that leader; then he will declare
himself a Muslim and will chase the anti-Christ until he will kill
him near
Luda town in Palestine near Tel Aviv.
This is the meaning of one tradition of Prophet Muhammad peace
be upon him.
We are also told by the same tradition, that Jesus will live a normal
life afterwards, will get married and have children. Then he will
die a normal death.
This is, in brief, the Islamic creed concerning Jesus Christ .So
neither he nor Ibrahim nor any other mortal, qualifies to be God or
son of God or God incarnate. This, no doubt, represented a
revolution in the domain of creeds and the Divine religions.
The Islamic Creed in Jesus Christ
It is, now time to review the Quranic creed concerning Jesus Christ
and how the Quran addresses those who claimed him Divine as
well as those who condemned him to be the product of evil. We
may repeat some of the portions of the story of Jesus Christ
mentioned earlier in this paper whenever it is relevant to do so.
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In chapter three the Quran says:
“(And remember) when the angels said: O Mary! Allah (God)
gives you glad tidings of a word from Him, whose name is the
Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, illustrious in the world and the
Hereafter, and one of those brought near (unto God).
He will speak unto mankind in his cradle and in his manhood, and
will be one of the righteous.
“She said: My Lord! How can I have a child when no mortal has
ever touched me? He said: So (it will be). For God creates what He
will. Whenever He decrees a thing, He says to it be and it is.
“And He will teach him the Scripture and wisdom, and the Torah
and the Gospel; and will make him a messenger unto the children
of Israel; saying: Lo! I come unto you with a sign from your Lord.
That I fashion for you out of clay the likeness of a bird, and I
breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by God’s leave; I will heal
him who was born blind, and I will heal the leper, and I will raise
the dead, by God’s leave; and I will announce unto you what you
eat and what you store up in your houses. Herein, surely , is a
portent for you, if you were believers.
“And (I come) confirming that which was before me of the Torah,
and to make lawful some of that which was forbidden for you .I
come to you with a sign from your Lord; so keep your duty
to God and obey me ;for God is my Lord and your Lord, so
worship Him .That is a straight path.
A remark:
Notice here two things:
One is that every time Jesus Christ performs a miracle he asserts
that he did it by God’s permission .He never attributed any miracle
to himself. The second remark is that Jesus Christ called upon his
people saying;”God is my Lord and your Lord so worship Him”
The Quran reports what happened afterwards:
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“But when Jesus became conscious of disbelief on their part, he
cried: Who will be my helpers in the cause of God? The disciples
said: We will be God’s helpers. We believe in God; and bear you
witness that we are submitters (Muslims).”
The disciples then continue in the words of the Quran:
“Our Lord! We believe in that which You have revealed; and we
have followed the Messenger; so enroll us among the witnesses.”
“And they schemed and God also schemed; but God is the best of
schemers.
God raised him:
“(And remember) when God said: O Jesus! I am gathering you and
raising you unto me; and I am cleansing you of those who
disbelieve; but I am setting those who follow you above those who
disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection. Then unto Me you will all
return; and I shall judge between you concerning that wherein you
used to differ.
“As for those who disbelieve, I shall chastise them with a heavy
chastisement in this world and the Hereafter; and they will have no
supporters. While as for those who believe and do good deeds, He
will pay them their wages in full; and God loves not wrong doers.”
The clearest logic:
Then the Quran uses the clearest logic when it says:
“This (that) We recite unto you (Muhammad) is part of the
revelation and the wose reminder. The likeness of Jesus in the sight
of God is as the likeness of Adam. He created him of dust, and said
to him: Be! And he was. This is the truth from your Lord; so be not
of those who waver.”
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“Then those who dispute with you concerning him, after the
knowledge that has come to you, say then (to them):
Come! Let us summon our children and your children, our women
and your women, and ourselves and yourselves and let us humbly
and solemnly invoke the curse of God on liars.
Concluding this part, the Quran asserts:
The conclusion:
“This surely is the true narrative. There is no god save Allah
(God); and Allah is the Mighty, the Wise. Then if they turn aways,
then God (Allah) is aware of the corruptors.”
The Quranic message:
Being the final message of God, the Quran never loses hope in any
one .Thus it addresses the people of the Book in the following
words after this long story of Jesus and all its complexities:
“Say: O People of the Book! Come to an agreement between us
and you: that we shall worship none but God, and that we shall
ascribe no partners unto Him, and that none of us shall take others
as lords beside God. But if they still turn away, then say: Bear
witness that we are submitters (Muslims).
A warning:
The Quran then says:
“It is not for any human being unto whom God has given the
Scripture, wisdom and prophethood, that he should afterwards
,have said unto mankind: Be slaves to me instead of God ;but be
you faithful servants of the Lord, by virtue of your constant
teaching of the Scripture and by your constant study thereof.
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“And He does not command you to take angels and prophets for
Lords; would He force you on disbelief after you have become
Muslims? (3:79-80)
The message of all prophets:
The following verses clearly show that the Quran conveys the
message of all previous prophets as in the following words:
“When God made His covenant with the Prophets saying: Behold
that which I have given you of the Scripture and knowledge, and
afterward there will come to you a messenger, confirming that
which you possess. You shall believe in him and you shall support
him. He said: Do you agree and accept my covenant? They
answered: We agree .He said: then bear you witness and I will be a
witness with you.3:81-82
“Seek they other than the religion of God, when unto Him submits
whoever is in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly;
and unto Him they will be returned.
Say:
Say (O Muhammad) We believe in God and that which is revealed
unto us and that which was revealed unto Ibrahim, Ishmael, Isaac
and the tribes; and that which was vouchsafed unto Moses and
Jesus and the Prophets from their Lord .We make no distinction
between any of them and unto Him we have surrendered.
“And whoever seeks as religion other than Islam, it will not be
accepted from him; and, in the Hereafter, he will be one of the
losers.(3:82-85)
A message from the Quran:
The Quran then continues to address the people of the Book
concerning Jesus Christ when it says at the end of chapter four
called women starting with verse 171 as follows:
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“O people of the Book! Do not exaggerate in your religion nor say
any thing concerning God save the truth; the Messiah, son of Mary
was only a messenger of God and His word which He delivered to
May and a spirit from Him .So believe in God and His messengers;
say not three .Desist, it is better for you For God is only one God
.Far is it removed from His transcendent majesty that He should
have a son; unto Him belong all that is in the heavens and the
earth. And God is sufficient as the Defender.
Jesus will not disdain:
“The Messiah will never scorn to be a slave unto God nor will the
close angels. For whoever scorns to be His slave and is arrogant,
all such He will assemble unto Him.
“Then as for those who believed and did righteous deeds, unto
them will He pay their wages in full ,adding unto them out of His
bounty; but as for those who were scornful and arrogant, them will
He punish with a painful doom .”(4:171-176)
The Quranic answers to Christians:
We come now to the Quranic answers to some Christian creeds
foremost among which is the creed in trinity and the claim that
God is Jesus son of Mary. The Quran provides the following
answers to this creed that believes that God is three persons in one
or that He is Jesus Christ himself.
In chapter five verse 17 the Quran says:
“They indeed have disbelieved who say that God is the Messiah,
son of Mary. Say: who then can do anything against God if He
willed to destroy the Messiah, son of Mary and his mother and
every one on earth? Unto God belongs the sovereignty of the
heavens and the earth, and all that is between them. He creates
what He will; and God is able to do all things.” 5:17-18
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Then further in the same chapter, the Quran tackles the same issue
thus:
“They surely disbelieve who say: God is the Messiah, son of
Mary. The Messiah himself said: O Children of Israel! worship
God ,my Lord and your Lord. Whoever ascribes partners unto
God, for him God has forbidden Paradise, and his abode is the
Fire; for evildoers there will be no helpers.”
“They surely disbelieve who say: God is the third of three; when
there is no go save the One God. If they desist not from what they
say, a painful doom will fall on those of them who disbelieve. Will
they not rather repent unto God and seek forgiveness of him? For
God is Forgiving, Merciful.
“The Messiah, son of Mary was no other than a messenger, before
whom messengers had passed away; and his mother was a saintly
woman. They both used to eat food. See we make the revelations
clear for them; and see how they are turned away!
“Say: Worship you in place if God that which possesses for you
neither hurt nor benefit? And God is He Who is the Hearer, the
Knower.(5:72-76)
These verses are then concluded by an advice from God where He
says to the People of the Book:
“O People of the Book! Exaggerate not in your religion other than
the truth; and follow not the whims of some people who were
misled before, misled numerous others and they deviated from the
straight path.” 5:77
The peak of the story:
We come now to the peak of the story of Jesus Christ in the Quran.
It is a very special part that talks about the future being put before
the reader of the Quran. Let the verses speak for themselves. They
occupy the last two pages of chapter five called AL-Maidah
meaning the Table where we read:
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“The day when God will gather the messengers and ask: what was
the response you received? They said we have no knowledge. You,
indeed you, are the ever knower of all unseen.
“Remember when God said to Jesus son of Mary : remember my
grace upon you and your mother when I supported you with the
Holy spirit thus you could speak to people while still in the cradle
and as a young man; remember when I taught you the Book and
wisdom, the Torah and the Gospel; remember when you would
fashion from mud the shape of a bird by My permission and
breathe in it and it becomes a bird by My leave; and how you
would heal the born blind , and the leper with my permission; and
how you would raise the dead( from their graves) by my leave ;and
how I repelled the children of Israel and barred them from
(harming) you after you came to them with the clear signs; so the
disbelievers among them said :this is nothing but mere magic.”
”Remember also how I inspired the disciples (saying) : believe in
Me and in My messenger; they said : we believed and You bear
witness that we are submitters (Muslims)
Also remember when the disciples said: O Jesus son of Mary! Can
your Lord send down upon us a table from heaven? He said: Fear
God if you are believers. They said: We want to eat from it,
achieve contentment in our hearts, know that you tell us the truth,
and be among the witnesses to it.”
Jesus Christ’s prayer:
“Jesus, son of Mary, said: Our Lord! Send down upon us a table
from heaven that would be a feast for us from our first to our last
ones, and a sign from You, and provide for us for indeed You are
the best of all providers.
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God said: I am sending it upon you; but those of you who
disbelieve I am going to punish him a punishment no one else in
the worlds will ever suffer like it.
The Divine court:
Then comes the conclusion which is, in fact, the climax of the
whole story of Jesus Christ in the Quran. It reveals a scene of a
court which God will hold for Jesus Christ on the Day of
Judgment, but we are told about it now in this world. It is a unique
scene indeed.
The Divine charge:
“And remember when God said: O Jesus, son of Mary, did you tell
people: Take me and my mother as gods apart from God?
Jesus Christ defense:
He said: “Glory be to You! I have no right to say what is not my
right. If I said it, then You already know it; for You know what is
in myself while I know not what is in yours; for You ,indeed You,
are the ever Knower of all unseen. I did not tell them except that
which You ordered me:
Worship my Lord and your Lord; and I was a witness over them as
long as I tarried with them. Then when you terminated my
appointed term You, indeed You, were the Observer upon them;
and You are the witness over all things. Should You punish them,
they are Your slaves; and if You forgive them, then You, indeed
You, are the Almighty, the All- Wise.
God said:
God said: This is a day when honesty will benefit the honest ones;
they will have gardens underneath which rivers flow, to abide
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therein for ever. God is pleased with them and they are pleased
with Him. That is the greatest success. Unto God belong the
dominion of the heavens and the earth and all that is in them and
He is Capable of all things.” 5:109-120)
Thus ends the story of Jesus Christ in the Holy Quran the parallel
of which can be found no where else.
Arafat Elashi
Stoney Creek, On Canada
November 7, 2007
The table of contents:
Jesus Christ in the Quran
-Introduction
Chapter One:
-What the Quran has to say
-The book of guidance
-The actual status of Jesus Christ
-The Quranic description Of Jesus Christ
-A remark
Chapter Two:
-The first account-Her Lord accepted her
-Mary & the angels-The glad tidings
-Jesus Christ said-The response to Jesus Christ
-God’s comment-Jesus Christ’s safety
-A scene from the Hereafter-One conclusion
-The challenge-The Quranic message
-What the Quran has to share-No chance for doubt
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-A passing comment
Chapter Three:
-The second account-Zakariah’s prayer granted
-An end and a prelude-Why Jesus Christ
-Mary suffers-Grieve not-The decisive moment
He spoke-A relevant comment-People’s reaction
-Why is this birth-The answer-One cycle missing
-What happened next-Why the Quranic account
-The simple logic-A Divine surprise
-The Quran speaks-Further details
Chapter Four:
-A question-The Muslim answer
-Another example-The Quranic logic
-The interpretation-The Islamic creed in Jesus Christ
-A remark-God raised him-The clearest logic
-The conclusion-The Quranic message
-A warning-The message of all prophets
-Say-A message from the Quran
-Jesus Christ will not disdain
-The Quranic answer to Christians-The Peak of the story
Jesus Christ’s prayer-The Divine court
-The Divine charge -Jesus Christ’s defense- God said.
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