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JESUS
IN THE QURAN
The
Quran, the last of the Divine Books,
which was revealed by the Creator to
the Last of the Messengers and has
come down to us uncorrupted, is a
source of knowledge about Jesus
which is not generally known to most
students of Christianity.The Quran
not only leads us towards a better
understanding of who he was, but
also, through that understanding, it
increases our respect and love for
him. The last Revelation, coming as
it does some six hundred years after
Jesus’s birth, tells us what is
important for us to know about his
life and teachings, and places his
role as Prophet in the vast
perspective that the Unitarians
realised lay behind prophecy itself.
The Quran gives that perspective
which no other source can provide:
And
truly We gave to Moses the
Book and We caused a train of
messengers to follow after
him, and We gave to Jesus, son
of Mary, clear proofs and We
supported him with the Pure
Spirit. (2:87)
The
following passage reminds us of the
line of messengers, of which Jesus
was a part. After mentioning
Abraham, it continues:
And
We bestowed on him Isaac and
Jacob; each of them We guided;
and Noah did We guide in an
earlier time, and of his seed
David and Solomon and Job and
Joseph and Moses and Aaron.
Thus We reward the good. And
Zechariah and John and Jesus
and Elias. Each one was of the
righteous. And Ishmael and
Elisha and Jonah and Lot. Each
one of them did We prefer
above the (other) creatures.
(6:84-86)
And
the list of the messengers is by no
means complete, for there are,
...messengers
We have mentioned to you
before and messengers We have
not mentioned to you...(4:164)
In
fact, Prophet Muhammad, peace of God
be upon him, said that Jesus was one
of the prophets, between whom there
is no cause for conflict or
argument. God tells His Messenger in
one passage of the Quran:
Say:
“We believe in God and what
is revealed to us and what was
revealed to Abraham and
Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob
and the tribes, and what was
entrusted to Moses and Jesus
and the prophets from their
Lord. We make no distinction
between any of them, and to
Him we have surrendered.”(3:84)
God
sent all the prophets with the same
purpose, and Jesus was not different
from them:
And
We caused Jesus, son of Mary,
to follow in their footsteps,
confirming what was before
him, and We bestowed on him
the Gospel wherein is guidance
and light, confirming that
which was before it in the
Torah - a guidance and an
admonition to those who are
careful.”(5:46) “...Jesus,
son of Mary, said: O Children
of Israel! See! I am the
messenger of God to you,
confirming what was before me
in the Torah, and bringing
good news of a messenger who
will come after me, whose name
is Ahmad (the Praised One).”
(61:6)
The
Quran relates the birth of Jesus:
(And
remember o Muhammad) when the
angels said: O Mary! 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 to mankind in his
cradle and in his manhood, and
he is one of the righteous.
She said: My Lord! How can I
have a child when no mortal
has touched me? He said: So
(it will be). God creates what
He wills. If He decrees a
thing, He says to it only: Be!
and it is. And he will teach
him the Book and the wisdom,
and the Torah and the Gospel.
And will make him a messenger
to the Children of Israel,
(saying): I come to you with a
sign from your Lord. See! I
fashion for you out of clay
the likeness of a bird, and I
breathe into it and it is a
bird, by God’s leave. I heal
him who was born blind, and
the leper, and I raise the
dead, by God’s leave. And I
announce to you what you eat
and what you store up in your
houses. Here truly is a
portent for you, if you are to
be believers. And (I come)
confirming what was before me
of the Torah, and to make
lawful some of what was
forbidden to you. I come to
you with a sign from your
Lord, so keep your duty to God
and obey me. God is my Lord
and your Lord, so worship Him.
This is a straight path. But
when Jesus became conscious of
their disbelief, he cried: Who
will be my helpers in the
cause of God? The disciples
said: We will be God’s
(cause’s) helpers. We
believe in God, and bear you
witness that we have
surrendered (to Him). Our
Lord! We believe in what You
have revealed and follow him
whom You have sent. Enroll us
among those who witness (to
the Truth). (3:45-53)
Such
was Jesus, son of Mary: (this
is) a statement of the Truth
concerning which they doubt.
It does not befit (the Majesty
of God) that He should take to
Himself a son. Glory be to
Him! When He decrees a thing,
He says to it only: Be! and it
is. And see! God is my Lord
and your Lord. So serve Him.
That is the right path.
(19:34-36)
They
say: God has taken a son.
Glorified be He! He has no
needs! His is all that is in
the heavens and all that is in
the earth. You have no warrant
for this. Do you tell
concerning God what you do not
know? (10:68)
They
indeed have unbelieved who
say: God is the Messiah, son
of Mary. Say: Who then can do
anything against God, if He
had willed to destroy the
Messiah, son of Mary, and his
mother and everyone on earth?
God’s is 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)
And
when God says: O Jesus, son of
Mary! Did you say to mankind:
Take me and my mother for two
gods beside God? he says: Be
glorified! It was not mine to
utter that to which I had no
right. If I used to say it,
then You know it. You know
what is in my mind, and I know
not what is in Your mind. You,
only You, are the Knower of
Things Hidden. I spoke to them
only what You commanded me,
(saying): Worship God, my Lord
and your Lord. I was a witness
of them while I lived among
them, and when You took me You
were the Watcher over them.
You are Witness over all
things. If You punish them,
they are Your slaves, and if
You forgive them (they are
Your slaves).You, only You are
the Mighty, the Wise.
(5:116-118)
And
the Jews say: Ezra is the son
of God, and the Christians
say: The Messiah is the son of
God. That is their saying with
their mouths. They imitate the
saying of those who
disbelieved of old. God
(Himself) fights against them.
How perverse are they! They
have taken as lords beside God
their rabbis and their monks
and the Messiah, son of Mary,
when they were ordered to
worship only One God. There is
no god except Him. (9:30-31)
O
people of the Book! Do not
exaggerate in your religion
nor utter anything concerning
God except the Truth. The
Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary,
was only a messenger of God,
and His word which He conveyed
to Mary, and a spirit from
Him. So believe in God and His
messengers, and do not say “Three”
- Stop! (it is) better for
you! - God is only One God, It
is far removed from His
transcendent majesty that He
should have a son. His is all
that is in the heavens and all
that is in the earth. And God
is enough as Defender. The
Messiah will never scorn to be
a slave to God nor will the
favored angels. Whoever scorns
His service and is proud, all
such will He assemble to Him;
then as for those who believed
and did good works, to them He
will pay their wages in full,
adding to them of His bounty;
and as for those who were
scornful and proud, them will
He punish with a painful doom;
and they will not find for
them, against God, any
protecting friend or helper.
(4:171-173)
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