Islamic view of Jesus

Islam holds Jesus ( `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. ().

Etymology

The name Jesus is derived from the Latin Iēsus, which in turn comes from the Greek (Iēsoûs). The Greek is a Hellenized form of the Aramaic name Yēšua (ישוע), a short form of Hebrew Y^ehōšua (יהושע). Isa is also a given name for Arab Muslim men, equivalent to Jesus (a name given in many Christian cultures for male children). Y^ehōšua (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.

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." (, ) The Qur'an rejects the idea that virgin birth implies that Jesus is divine. Sahih Bukhari records that John was a cousin to Jesus.Sahih Bukhari 4.55.640

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. Sahih Bukhari 4.55.645

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."

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

As God or Son of God

Muslims do not believe Isa is God (Arabic: Allah), 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 separates the status of humans from the status of Allah.

However, Muslim theologians still prove that the sonship of God is not equivalent 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.

Death

Non-Muslims believe Jesus was crucified but the vast majority of Muslims believe he was raised to heaven without dying. God transformed another person, probably Judas Iscariot or Simon of Cyrene, to appear exactly like Jesus to deceive the Romans and be crucified in Jesus' stead. The basis of this belief is one verse in the Qur'an:

"Jews 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 . . . Nay, Allah raised him up unto Himself . . ." ()

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. Another minority interprets that Jesus was not crucified but died in another way. God elevated him in status and honor, not physically. The secular swoon hypothesis has recently gained popularity; in this view, Jesus plotted to fool the Jews by surviving the crucifixion.

Second Coming

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

A hadith in Abu Dawud () 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 () 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 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 imply that Jesus was not killed; Verse 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 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)..." ()

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" ()

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." ()

Miracles

The Qur'an states that Jesus performed miracles. He spoke while a baby and made birds from clay, healed the blind, lepers, and raised the dead . Some Christians interpret this to mean that Jesus was greater than Muhammad who never performed a miracle except the Qur'an itself.

Minor Beliefs

The Hadith contain additional information about Jesus.

There were no prophets between Jesus and Muhammad. 4.55.651
Muhammad describies Jesus as he appeared in a dream, and during Muhammad's ascension to Heaven. Jesus is medium in height with a red complexion and long, brown hair. , , and
On one occasion, when he witnessed a man stealing who denied it by swearing to God, Jesus suspected his eyes rather than disbelieve his swear. Sahih Bukhari 4.55.653
In one narration, sins of several prophets are mentioned but nothing is mentioned of Jesus' sins.Sahih Bukhari 6.60.3 This has caused some to believe Jesus was more righteous than other prophets, including Muhammad.
John was a cousin to Jesus.Sahih Bukhari 4.55.640

External links

References to Jesus in the Qur'an

Appraisal of Mary, daughter of Imran: 3:37, 3:42, 3:43, 3:45, 5:75, 23:50, 66:12
Purity and virginity of Mary: 3:47, 4:156, 19:20, 21:91, 66:12
Appraisal of Jesus: 2:136, 3:45, 3:48, 4:163, 4:172, 6:85, 19:19, 19:21, 19:30, 19:31, 19:32, 19:33, 19:34, 23:50, 43:59, 43:63, 57:27
Pregnancy of Mary and birth of Jesus: 3:45, 3:47, 3:59, 21:91, 66:12
Jesus as. Kalimat Allah dan RahmatNya: 3:45, 4:171, 21:91
Jesus spoke while he was still a baby: 3:46, 5:110, 19:29, 19:30, 19:31, 19:32, 19:33
Jesus was helped by the Holy Spirit (Arabic Ruh al quds): 2:87, 2:253, 5:110
Jesus' miracles: 3:46, 3:48, 3:49, 5:110
Jesus' attributes: 3:45, 3:46
Jesus was sent to the Israelites: 3:49, 3:50, 5:46, 5:78, 5:110, 43:63, 43:64, 61:6, 61:14
The followers of Jesus asked for table's spread: 5:112, 5:113
Plans to murder Jesus: 4:157
Jesus was raised: 3:55, 4:158
Jesus will return at the end of the world: 4:159
Christians worshipped Jesus as God: 5:17, 5:72, 5:77, 5:116, 9:31, 43:58, 43:65
Jesus is not God: 5:72, 5:75, 43:59
Jesus didn’t claim to be God: 5:116, 5:117
Suggestion not to follow the Christians: 2:120, 2:145, 3:105, 5:51, 57:16
Antipathy between Christians and Jews: 2:113, 2:145, 5:14
The Gospel was revealed to Jesus: 2:87, 2:253, 3:3, 5:46
Mentions of the Gospel: 3:3, 3:48, 3:65, 5:47, 5:66, 5:68, 5:110, 7:157, 9:111, 48:29, 57:27

References

Aqidah | Jesus

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