Jesus in Islam

CHRISTIANITY IS NOT the only religion that venerates Jesus Christ. There are many non-Christian religions that believe in Him. Islam is primary among them which considers Jesus (commonly transliterated as Isa) is one of God's important prophets and the Messiah. Belief in Jesus is a fundamental part of Islamic theology. Muslims believe Jesus was the bringer of scripture and was born of a virgin, but was not the son of God. The Holy Quran asserts that Jesus never claimed divinity. Most Muslims do not believe that He was crucified, but that He was physically raised into Heaven by God. 

The Ahmadi sect of Islam emphasizes the belief that Islam is the final dispensation for humanity as revealed to Muhammad and the necessity of restoring it to its true intent and pristine form, which had been lost through the centuries. Its adherents consider Ahmad to have appeared as the Mahdi—bearing the qualities of Jesus in accordance with their reading of scriptural prophecies—to revitalize Islam and set in motion its moral system that would bring about lasting peace. They believe that upon divine guidance He purged Islam of foreign accretions in belief and practice by championing what is Islam's original precepts as practiced by Muhammad and the early Muslim community. Ahmadis thus view themselves as leading the propagation and renaissance of Islam.

 In mainstream Islam, Isa ibn Maryam or Jesus is understood to be the penultimate prophet and messenger of Allah, with a new revelation: al-Injīl (Arabic for "the Gospel") The Holy Quran mentions Jesus  more than 180 times directly or indirectly. 

 The Quran and most Hadith (testimonial reports) mention Jesus to have been born a "pure boy" (without sin) to Mary as a result of virginal conception. Jesus is believed to have performed many miracles, several being mentioned in the Quran such as speaking as an infant, healing various ailments like blindness, raising the dead to life, making birds out of clay and breathing life into them. Like all prophets in Islamic thought, Jesus is also called a Muslim (one who submits to the will of God).

 Jesus is described by various means in the Quran. The most common reference to Jesus occurs in the form of "Ibn Maryam" (son of Mary), sometimes preceded with another title. Jesus is also recognized as a prophet (nabī) and messenger (rasūl) of God. The terms wadjih ("worthy of the esteem in this world and the next"), Mubarak ("blessed", or "a source of benefit for others"), 

Abd-Allāh (servant of God) are all used in the Quran.

 Another title frequently mentioned is al-Masī (the Messiah), the Messiah. But this does not correspond to the Christian concepts of Messiah. Jesus' mission was to the people of Israel, to pronounce judgment and challenge the Jews to return to God.  Islam traditionally regards all prophets, including Jesus, to be mortal and without any share in divinity. Muslim exegetes explain the use of the word masīh in the Quran as referring to Jesus' status as the one anointed by means of blessings and honors; or as the one who helped cure the sick, by anointing the eyes of the blind, for example. Like Christianity, Islam also considers Jesus to be the Jewish Messiah of the Hebrew scripture

 Quranic verses also employ the term "kalimat Allah" (Word of God) as a descriptive term for Jesus, which is interpreted as a reference to the creating Word of God, uttered at the moment of Jesus' conception; or as recognition of Jesus' status as a messenger of God, speaking on God's behalf.

 Jesus is believed to have been the precursor to Muhammad. Islam believes that Jesus was not God incarnate, nor the Son of God. The Christian view of Jesus' death and crucifixion is widely denied and not believed to have occurred. Jesus was condemned to crucifixion but miraculously saved from execution. The mainstream Muslim belief is that Jesus didn't suffer death but was instead raised alive to heaven. Jesus will return to earth near the Day of Judgment to restore justice and to defeat al-Masih ad-Dajjal (antichrist).

 Jesus and His teaching conformed to the prophetic model: a human, as with previous prophets, sent by God to a certain people at a certain time, to present both a judgment upon humanity for worshipping idols and a challenge to turn to the one true God. The miracles of Jesus and the Quranic titles attributed to Jesus demonstrate the power of God rather than the divinity of Jesus—the same power behind the message of all prophets.

 According to the Quran, Mary was in the service of the Jewish Temple where Zachariah (father of John, the Baptist) was the priest. Jesus’ birth occurred in Bethlehem beside a palm tree with a manger. A Persian scholar and historian contributed to the Jesus birth narrative by mentioning envoys arriving from the king of Persia with gifts (similar to the “Magi from the east”) for the Messiah and a command to a man called Joseph (not specifically Mary's husband) to take her and the child to Egypt and later return to Nazareth. The virgin birth of Jesus is announced to Mary by the angel Gabriel while Mary was being raised in the Temple after having been pledged to God by her mother. Gabriel states she is honored over all women of all nations and has brought her glad tidings of a holy son.

 The angel declares the son is to be named Jesus, the Messiah, proclaiming He will be called a great prophet, being the Spirit of God and Word of God, who will receive al-Injīl or the gospels. The angel tells Mary that Jesus will speak in infancy and, when mature, will be a companion to the most righteous. Mary, responding how she could conceive and have a child when no man had touched her, was told by the angel that God can decree what He wills, and it shall come to pass.

 A hadith quotes Muhammad on Jesus:

 "Hardly a single descendant of Adam is born without Satan touching him at the moment of his birth. A baby who is touched like that gives a cry. The only exceptions are Mary and her son" 

 Islamic tradition confirms the family’s flight to Egypt and mentions they stayed there for 12 years. It is said that Jesus was once reading the Bible (Psalms) and found a verse “traced in characters of light” that said "You are my son and my beloved; I have chosen you for myself" and then Jesus claimed "today the word of God is fulfilled in the son of man".

 Islam rejects the idea of Jesus being God or the begotten Son of God. According to Islamic scriptures, the belief that Jesus is God or Son of God is shirk, an unforgivable sin. The Christian doctrine of the Trinity is rejected by Islam. Such notions of the divinity of Jesus are believed to be the result of human interpolations of God's revelation. Islam views Jesus as a human-like all other prophets before him, who preached that salvation came through submission to God's will and worshiping God alone.  Jesus is considered in Islam to have been a Muslim by the definition of the term (i.e., one who submits to God's will), as were all other prophets in Islam.

 

Quran teaches Jesus spoke of a messenger to appear after him named Ahmad. Islam associates Ahmad with Muhammad. Muslims also assert that evidence of Jesus' pronouncement is present in the New Testament, citing the mention of the Paraclete (Holy Spirit) whose coming is foretold in the Gospel of John. Muslim commentators claim that the original Greek word used was periklutos, meaning famed, illustrious, or praiseworthy—referring to Muhammad and this was replaced by Christians with parakletos.

 Islam says that the Gospel was also sent by God beforehand just like the Quran.  In Islam, Isa was a human prophet who, like all the other prophets, tried to bring the apostate children of Israel back to God.  Jesus is supposed to be one of the most important prophets of Allah, but no more than a human being. Although the Qur'an refers to the ‘gospel’ of Jesus, those specific teachings of Jesus are not mentioned. 

Judaism rejects the belief that Jesus was the awaited Messiah, arguing that he did not fulfill Messianic prophecies, and was neither divine nor resurrected. 

Messianic Jews believe that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah and "God the Son" (one person of the Trinity), and that the Tanakh and New Testament are the authoritative scriptures. Salvation in Messianic Judaism is achieved only through acceptance of Jesus as one's savior, and Jewish laws or customs which are followed do not contribute to salvation. Belief in the messiahship of Jesus, his power to save, and his divinity are considered by Jewish authorities to be the defining distinctions between Christianity and Judaism. Other Christian groups usually accept Messianic Judaism as a form of Christianity. Many adherents of Messianic Judaism are ethnically Jewish and argue that the movement is a sect of Judaism. Many refer to themselves Hebrew as maaminim (believers), not converts, and yehudim (Jews), not notzrim (Christians). Jewish organizations and the Supreme Court of Israel have rejected this claim and instead consider Messianic Judaism to be a form of Christianity.