Who are the True Followers of Jesus: Christians or Muslims?

Was Jesus a Jew or a Christian? If he was a Jew, how do you reconcile that the “founder” of Christianity was not a Christian himself? Why do 1.6 billion Muslims around the globe think Jesus and his disciples were actually Muslims- but not in the way Muslims are traditionally viewed.

Jesus, known as Isa in the Quran, is considered a Prophet, a lawgiver, and in fact one of the 5 most exalted Prophets in Islam. (The other four being Noah, Abraham, Moses and Muhammad-peace be upon them all). Like the Quran was revealed to Muhammad and Torah to Moses, Gospel or Injil as it is known in the Quran, was revealed to Jesus.

When mentioning him, Muslims don’t call him just Jesus, and as a sign of utmost respect and in the Islamic tradition, typically add ‘peace be upon him’ after saying Isa. (Isa Ulehis Salam)

Both Injil and Gospel mean ‘glad tidings’ or ‘good news’. According to the teachings of the Quran, the Gospel was revealed to Jesus and is considered guidance and light to the believers. In a verse that follows verses outlining many previous prophets, the Qur’an confirms the divine origin of the Gospel.

And We sent, following in their footsteps, Jesus, the son of Mary, confirming that which came before him in the Torah; and We gave him the Gospel, in which was guidance and light and confirming that which preceded it of the Torah as guidance and instruction for the righteous. And let the People of the Gospel judge by what Allah has revealed therein. And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed—then it is those who are the defiantly disobedient.5:46-47

 

It is also important to point out that Muslims believe that the Gospels as we read today are not the same exact literal word of God revealed to Jesus, a belief shared by many other Christian and secular scholars such as Bart Ehrman, Professor of Religious Studies at University of N. Carolina, Chapel Hill. Though considered altered from the original, it does not mean that the Gospels as we see them now should not be respected as scriptures. The subject of alteration is complex and too detailed to be covered here. I just wanted to mention it for the sake of covering both sides of the equation.

Believing in all prophets and the revelations are incumbent upon the Muslims. The following passage refers to Islam as the religion of Abraham- the father of the monotheistic religions of the world.

And they say: ‘Be Jews or Christians, you will be on the right course.’ Say: ‘No (we follow) the religion of Abraham, the upright (true), and he was not one of the polytheists.’ Say: ‘We believe in God and (in) that which had been revealed to us, and (in) that which was revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes, and (in) that which was given to Moses and Jesus, and (in) that which was given to the prophets from their Lord, we do not make any distinction between any of them, and to Him do we submit.’2:135–136

Belief in	What Christians Believe	What Muslims Believe
God	God is three gods merged into one God. This one God is called a Trinity. However, to say that God is three is a blasphemy of the highest order. All three parts of the Trinity are “coequal” “co-eternal” and “the same substance.” For this reason, this doctrine is described as “a mystery.”	God is one God in the most basic, simple, and elementary meaning of the word. He has no children, no parents nor any equal. In Islam God is known by the name “Allah” and more than 99 other venerated names, such as “the Merciful,” “the Gracious,” “the All-Powerful,” etc.
Jesus	The second member of the Triune God, the Son of the first part of the Triune God, and at the same time “fully” God in every respect.	A very elect and highly esteemed messenger of God. No Muslim is a Muslim if he does not believe this.
The Holy Spirit	The third member of the Triune God, but also “fully” God in every respect.	He is the angel Gabriel. The angel Gabriel is highly esteemed as the “Trustworthy Spirit”
Mary the mother of Jesus	A chaste and pious human woman who gave birth to Jesus Christ, the second member of the Trinity, the Son of God, and at the same time “fully” God Almighty in every respect.	A chaste and pious human woman who was chosen, purified, and preferred over all of the women of creation to be the one to give birth to Gods elect messenger Jesus through the command of God without any father whatsoever.
The Word	Part of God which was “with” God but also “fully” God and then became Jesus the Son of God.	God’s command “Be!” which resulted in Jesus’ conception in the womb of Mary without the need for a human father.
Previous prophets	All accepted, respected, and believed.	All accepted, respected, and believed.
The Bible	Accepted as 100% the faultless word of God	Muslims believe in the books of the previous prophets including the “Torah” which was sent to Moses, the “Zaboor” (Psalms) which were given to David, the “Injeel” (Gospel) which was given to Jesus, and the Qur’an which was given to Muhammad However, Muslims are told that the previous scriptures were tampered with by mankind and the Bible should only be accepted in as far as it is confirmed by the Qur’an. It is to be treated with respect, however any statements which clearly oppose those of the Qur’an are to be rejected as the work of mankind.
Muhammad	Varying beliefs. Some believe that he was a liar, some believe he was a lunatic, some believe he was the False Messiah, and yet others claim he was deceived by the Devil.	The last messenger of God to all of humanity. He was known as “The Truthful, the Trustworthy” before he received his first revelation. He was sent by God as a mercy to all creation. He was a human being but performed a number of miracles during his lifetime by the will of God.
The Qur’an	Varying beliefs ranging from it being a copy of the Bible to it being the work of Muhammad (pbuh), to it’s being the work of Christians and Jews who were conspiring with Muhammad.	The last book of God sent to mankind. It was given the distinction of being personally guarded by God from human tampering. It is on a literary level never before seen by mankind. No Arab to this day has ever been able to meet it’s challenge to “write a work similar to it.” It shall remain safe from the tampering of mankind till the day of Judgment as a guidance for all Humanity.
Message of Jesus	That he was sent by God (who was at the same time “fully” Jesus) in order to die on the cross and save all mankind from the sin of Adam. Without this sacrifice all of humanity was destined to perish in the sin of Adam. After the crucifixion all that is required of humanity is faith without any works.	That he was sent by God as a messenger to the Jews in order to return them to the pure and true religion of Moses, and to relieve them of some of the regulations which had been placed upon them in ancient times. He taught them to have faith as well as works. Neither one can stand alone.
Jesus’ giving life to the dead, healing the blind and the lepers	All accepted. He performed them because he was the Son of God and also at the same time “fully” God and the “incarnation” of God.	All accepted. They were performed through the will of God just as Moses, Noah, and all other prophets did so in ancient times through the will of God.
The crucifixion	Jesus was given over to the Jews. He was spat on, cut, humiliated, kicked, striped, and finally hung up on the cross and killed very slowly and painfully.	Jesus was not forsaken to the Jews to be abused and killed, however, it was “made to appear so to them.” God saved Jesus by raising him up unto Himself.
The second coming of Jesus.	Accepted. Originally expected to happen during the lifetime of the first disciples, many predictions have been made later and he is still expected at any moment. He is currently anticipated to arrive around the turn of the century (2000 C.E.)	Accepted. Jesus did not die but was raised up into heaven by God. He shall return to earth just before the Day of Judgment in order to kill the “False Messiah” and to establish peace and justice on earth. He will kill the pigs, break the cross, and call all humanity to Islam.
The original sin	All of humanity has inherited the sin of Adam. Only the death of the sinless offspring of God could erase this sin. No one is born clean, no matter if his life is only for a single day. Only baptism and faith in the death of Jesus can save one from this destiny.	There is no such thing. Humanity is created by God destined for heaven unless they chose to disobey Him and refuse His mercy. God can very trivially and effortlessly forgive the sins of all of Humanity no matter if they were to fill the lofty regions of the sky. Such a matter would be trivial and inconsequential for Him since He has already done much more than that such as creating everything we can ever see, hear or imagine. He loves to bestow His mercy and forgiveness on His creation and rewards the most trivial acts with the most tremendous rewards. In order to achieve God’s reward one must have faith as well as works
The atonement	The sin of Adam was so great that God could not forgive it by simply willing it, rather it was necessary to erase it with the blood of a sinless innocent god named Jesus who was also “fully” God.	Adam “atoned” for his sin by saying “My Lord I have sinned and if you do not forgive me and have mercy upon me then I shall indeed have lost.” So God forgave him. Similarly, all human beings have the door to forgiveness left open to them by God until the day they die. There are no intermediaries between mankind and God. If they sincerely repent to God, ask His forgiveness, and forsake their evil deeds before their hour comes then He shall forgive them and there is nothing more pleasing to Him than to forgive the sins of one who comes to Him in sincere repentance.
The path to salvation	If you have faith in the atonement of Jesus for the sin of Adam which you have inherited then you shall be saved. You only need faith. No work is necessary.	If you have faith in God, believe in His messengers, and obey His commands then He shall multiply every single good deed that you do many, many times and erase your evil deeds, until on the Day of Judgment His mercy shall cause your good deeds to far outweigh your evil deeds and grant you passage into an ecstasy and Paradise so great that we can not even imagine it, to abide there eternally. In the Hereafter there is only reward and no work.

NOTE:  The above table is taken from the book, “What Did Jesus Really Say”.

 In this book it was demonstrated (by God’s will), through the words of the Bible and some of history’s most eminent conservative Biblical scholars and references only, how most of the founding beliefs of Christianity today were indeed inserted by mankind into the message of Jesus long after his departure. Jesus (pbuh) himself never had anything whatsoever to do with them. These beliefs include:

• The “Trinity.”
• The claim that Jesus (pbuh) is the Son of God in the later “orthodox” sense.
• The “original sin” of Adam which mankind is alleged to have inherited.
• The “atonement,” or death of Jesus (pbuh) on the cross in order to erase this sin of Adam.
• The “incarnation” of God in the form of a human being, namely, Jesus (pbuh).

It will further be demonstrated that the true message of Jesus (pbuh) was:

• That God is One. He is indivisible. He has no equal.
• God has no children nor parents. There is no other god in existence other than God Himself.
• Jesus (pbuh) was a human being. He was not God, but only an elect messenger of God.
• God does not hold anyone responsible for the sin of anyone else, nor does He forgive the sins of one man by sacrificing another.
• God does not give preference to a certain race, color, nation, lineage or anything else above any other. Only a person’s individual actions and worship will distinguish them in the eyes of God.
• God’s justice refuses that any human being bear the sin of any other.
• God is a merciful god who bestows His forgiveness without a price or asking for any compensation.
• Entering into heaven requires both faith and work. Neither one can stand alone.

 

Muslims are taught that throughout the ages, God sent messengers to all tribes and nations all over the earth beginning with Adam (pbuh), the first prophet of God as well as the father of humanity. Every time a messenger of God would pass away, his people would begin to fall back on their evil deeds until a few generations later they would have managed to have completely corrupted His original message to them. When God’s message was in danger of being completely obliterated by these people, He would chose from among them a new messenger to receive the original, uncorrupted message and convey it to them. Some of them would listen. Others would not. However, the message would always be available for those who wanted it. In this manner, God made sure that all of mankind would always have access to His true religion, no matter where or when they lived. It would then be up to them to seek out this knowledge.

 

Muslims are further taught that each messenger was sent only to his own people. His message was then fine-tuned to suit them. Thus, the basic message would be the same for all messengers: “God is one!, Worship Him alone!” However, the details of each people’s worship would be molded to suit their lifestyle, state of knowledge, and so forth. This was also true for Jesus (pbuh). Jesus was sent specifically to the Jews, and only to the Jews. It shall be demonstrated how one of the most fundamental reasons which led up to the loss of his message was that those who came after him attempted to preach it to those for whom it was never intended, namely, the Gentiles. The Gentiles eventually managed to introduce into the message of Jesus many aspects of their own beliefs which ultimately led up to the loss of the message of Jesus.

The book demonstrates how the diversion of the religion of Jesus (pbuh) from it’s original teachings progressed in the following stages:

 

• Jesus (pbuh) came to show the Jews how their religion had been changed from that preached to them by Moses and their previous prophets (pbut).
• Jesus (pbuh) called the Jews back to the true religion of God sent down upon their previous messengers. Jesus himself observed every single aspect of the religion of Moses (pbuh) steadfastly and uncompromisingly. He fasted as Moses (pbuh) fasted, he worshipped as Moses (pbuh) worshipped, he refrained from tasting a single pig, he believed in circumcision and himself was circumcised, he observed the Sabbath, never having violated it. He did this up until the crucifixion. It was only after the crucifixion, according to the Bible, that he allegedly returned in “visions” to Paul in order to nullify the law he had spent his whole life upholding. The Bible actually bears witness that during his lifetime, Jesus commanded his followers to follow the religion of Moses (pbuh) and threatened severe retribution from God for all of his followers who would forsake a single aspect of this religion until the end of time (see below).
• Jesus (pbuh) departed from this earth and his apostles continued to follow his teachings religiously. They too followed the religion of Moses (pbuh) as Jesus (pbuh) had done before them and commanded them to do. For the first three decades after the departure of Jesus (pbuh), the followers of Jesus would merely be Jews who affirmed that Jesus (pbuh) was their promised Messiah. For the first three decades after the departure of Jesus (pbuh), his followers would continue to worship in the synagogues and Temple of the Jews and observe all of the aspects of the religion of Moses (pbuh) without exception.
• Shortly after the departure of Jesus (pbuh), a Jew named Saul of Tarsus persecutes Jesus’ followers every way he knows how. By his own admission, he does his utmost to utterly waste the Church and to wipe the religion of Jesus from the face of the earth and the minds of men. He has never met Jesus (pbuh) in person.
• Suddenly Saul claims to be receiving “visions” from Jesus (pbuh). The apostle Barnabas takes him under his wing, and through Barnabas he is accepted by the rest of the apostles. Barnabas then travels with him extensively until his reputation as a persecutor and killer of Christians is replaced with one of a true convert.
• Now Saul parts ways with the apostle of Jesus (pbuh), Barnabas, and decides to preach to the Gentiles. He claims that the apostles of Jesus (pbuh) are lazy, misguided, hypocrites. He claims that it was necessary for him to constantly guide the apostles out of their ignorance into the truth of God which he was receiving in his “visions.” He openly claims that he learned nothing from the apostles, and every single word he preached was from direct divine inspiration. The neighboring gentiles hated the Jews with such a passion that he found it all but impossible to convince them to accept the Judaism that Jesus (pbuh) practiced his whole life and taught his apostles to carry on after him until the end of time.
• Saul readily admits in the Bible in many places that he was willing to do anything without exception in order to convert the gentiles. He claims that everything has been made lawful for him. For this reason, Saul begins to compromise with the pagan gentiles and simplify the religion of Jesus for them in order to make it more appealing to them that they might convert.
• Saul continues to compromise with the gentiles and mold the religion of Jesus (pbuh) closer and closer to their established beliefs in order to gain their conversion. In the end, all that he requires of them is “faith” without work. The pagan gentiles he is preaching to worship many “sons of almighty Jupiter or Zeus” and other such gods. Among them are such as Attis, Adonis, Dionysus, etc. They believe that these pagan gods had died for their sins and been resurrected. Saul now explains to them that Jesus (pbuh) was not merely a normal human prophet but a “Son of God” and that this “Son of God” died in atonement for the sins of all mankind. The Gentiles immediately see the parallels and the great degree of similarity with that which they already believe. All they have to do is change a few labels. In this manner, Saul manages to convince the Greeks (and other gentiles) to accept the “religion of Jesus.” This is because, unlike the Jews, the religion of the Greeks already accepts “Trinities,” and “father gods” and “son gods,” and the death of gods, and the resurrection of gods, and the incarnation of gods, and divine savior gods, and the eating of the flesh of gods, and the drinking of the blood of gods…etc. All of these concepts are old news to them. He becomes a great leader among them and is named “Saint Paul.”
• “Saint Paul” now writes extensively and gains more and more converts.
• Once his converts begin to exceed the number of converts to the more strict and demanding religion of the apostles of Jesus (pbuh), they begin to kill the followers of the apostles, persecute them, and burn their Gospels.
• The followers of “Saint Paul” are challenged to prove their claims of “son of God,” “original sin,” ..etc. through the scriptures and prove that Jesus (pbuh) or God had anything to do with them. They cannot. There are too many verses which declare that there is only ONE God in existence and that He does not hold mankind responsible for the sin of any man. Examples of these verses are available to this day (e.g. Isaiah 43:10-11, Ezekiel 18:19-20, Deuteronomy 24:16…etc.). Thus, it becomes necessary for them to recognize that God is a “Trinity” similar to the ancient “Trinities” of the Greeks and Romans so that they can have three Gods but claim that they only worship one. The ancient “Trinities” of Greek philosophy are redefined with new labels and applied to God Almighty in order to define this new doctrine of “three gods in one.” Once again, the “Trinity” could not be proven through the Bible, so the Church began to receive divine inspiration from God commanding them to clarify their Bible so that the “Trinity” could be seen clearly (see for example section 1.2.2.5). These “clarifications” would only be discovered by the scholars of Christianity centuries later. They would later provide irrefutable proof of how, when, and by whom these “clarifications” were inserted into the Bible. In the twentieth century, Thirty two conservative biblical scholars of the highest eminence backed by fifty cooperating denominations would justly throw out 1 John 5:7 as a fabricated insertion of the church. Many other fabrications would be discovered by them.
• For the first four centuries CE Christianity is split into innumerable sects of countless divergent beliefs. Countless gospels of varying degrees of authenticity begin to spring up. These sects bitterly fight among one another with each one claiming that they alone possess the “true” religion of Jesus and the “true” Gospel. All of these sect vie for the backing of the Roman pagans in order to gain the upper hand over the other sects and silence them once and for all.
• In the fourth century CE., the followers of the “Trinity” manage to enlist the aid of the pagan Roman empire. They wield the power of this pagan nation to “cleanse” the earth of the “heretical” and “blasphemous” followers of the apostles. They later launch campaigns of “inquiry” to “convert” them.
• “Trinitarian” beliefs are touted as the only truly correct religion of Jesus (pbuh). The writings of Paul are collected and today they form the majority of the books of the new testament. The books of the apostles are burned. They are all labeled “apocryphal” lies. The list of “truly inspired” books of the Bible that we have in our hands today was not officially sanctioned until the year 367C.E. The “Bibles” in the hands of the first three hundred years of Christians was very drastically different than the ones in our hands today. Within the span of a three centuries the Trinitarians manage to “recognize” that all of the books that were considered inspired and divine during the very first centuries CE were indeed all lies and apocrypha. Only those books that were considered apocryphal during these very first centuries CE are now recognized to be canonical, authentic, and divine. Those who are found concealing the original books of the apostles are now burned to death with their books. Paul’s followers obtain copies of the Gospels of the apostles. They copy them but with drastic modifications to the doctrine found therein. They claim that the apostles wrote them. These books are attributed to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The additions to these books will continue for many more centuries. Only centuries later will Christian scholars begin to see the evidence that the claimed authors did not write these books.
• Since the general populace of Christendom is perceived by the Church to be too backward and heathenistic to understand such sacred scriptures, therefore it becomes necessary for the Church to horde the Bible for their own personal use. Anyone who wishes to learn what the Bible says must come to the Church and ask them. The Church then through a combination of divine inspiration and verses of the Bible will tell them what they need to know.
• Six hundred years after Christ, Muhammad (pbuh) is born. He follows the religion of Abraham (pbuh) which was handed down to him and all Arabs from the father of the Arabs, Ishmael, the eldest son of prophet Abraham (pbut). Upon reaching the age of 40, God sends the angel Gabriel to Muhammad to teach him His final message, the message of Islam. He tells him that the “people of the book” have changed the religion of Jesus (pbuh) and have altered it from a religion of submission to one God to a religion where multiple gods are being worshipped. He is told that he will be the final messenger, and that his message is to be directed to all of mankind including the Jews and Christians.
• The Jews and Christians claim that Muhammad (pbuh) is a liar, a lunatic, deceived by the Devil, and a false prophet. They claim that he has just copied the Bible in order to write his Qur’an. Just as many Jews refused to accept Jesus (pbuh) as a true messenger of God, so too do many Jews and Christians refuse to believe Muhammad (pbuh).
• Muhammad (pbuh) passes away. The Trinitarians continue with their burning at the stake any Christian who opposes the “Trinity” or openly speaks about the discrepancies in the Bible. They launch campaigns of “inquiry” to cleanse the earth of all remnants of believers in one (monotheistic) God. They slaughter the Jews at every opportunity. The sentences of death by these inquisitions become so unbounded in their nature that whole nations are sentenced to death. A single holy decree of the Trinitarian church in 1568 would later condemn three million men women and children of the Netherlands to the scaffold as heretics. In the end, over twelve million people were put to death through the authority of the “Inquisitions.”
• The Church loses its power to the scientists and is pushed into a dark corner. Without the threat of death hanging over their heads, many Christian scholars begin to publish countless books exhibiting detailed examples of contradicting verses and evidence of modification and tampering with the text of the Bible. The ancient manuscripts of the Christian society are studied in detail and slowly, the previous picture begins to come together. Countless excuses are made by the Church and those who’s livelihood and power depend on these established beliefs. They now begin to give practically every single verse of the Bible “abstract” meanings. They tell their flock to have blind faith. They convince their flock that they can not understand the Bible without the interpretation and holy inspiration of the Church. They tell their flock that Jesus (pbuh) never means what he says and that every reference he makes to following the religion of Moses (pbuh) is not meant to be taken “literally” but was meant by Jesus (pbuh) to have “hidden” meanings totally in opposition to the obvious meanings. Only they can tell you what these hidden meanings of Jesus (pbuh) were.
• Copies of the original Gospels of the apostles of Jesus (pbuh) begin to surface. They are found, of all places, hidden away in the capital of Christianity, the Vatican itself. These Gospels (Such as the “Gospel of Barnabas”) confirm the teachings of the Qur’an. Copies of these Gospels have a tendency to disappear mysteriously. They are labels false Gospels and lies written by Muslims. Suddenly, in 1947, the Dead Sea Scrolls are discovered. For close to forty five years, they are hoarded in Israel and hidden from the masses. When they are finally forced out into the open, an amazing discovery is made. They too confirm the Qur’an! They foretell the coming of not one but TWO Messiahs. They claim that these two Messiahs will be announced by an eschatological prophet. The dual prophesy is very clear and prevalent throughout the scrolls. The scrolls claim that the first Messiah will be betrayed by one of his followers but will not be forsaken by God to die, rather, the one who betrayed him shall be taken in his place. The scrolls specifically state that no nail shall touch the Messiah. There is so much in the Dead Sea Scrolls that parallels the teachings of the Qur’an, however, once again it is all explained away with abstract meanings. We are told that the fact that the Jews who lived 100 years before Jesus (the authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls) were expecting TWO Messiahs does not mean that they were expecting two different Messiahs, but rather, they must have been expecting a single Messiah with two different personalities. Thus, we are told, Jesus (pbuh) is BOTH Messiahs. On the other hand, the Jews explain that both prophesies refer to past or future occurrences and neither one could possibly refer to Jesus (pbuh) or Muhammad (pbuh).

Muslims are told that when God created mankind, He gave them “The Choice.” They were told that they could either live their lives then die and fade out of the picture, like the animals do. Or they could elect to be held accountable for their actions. If they accepted the accountability, then the potential reward will be great. The potential retribution would be equally great.

 

With mankind’s acceptance of this accountability came their free will. God gave mankind a free will to chose to either worship Him or to disobey Him. Out of God’s infinite mercy, He then assisted mankind with many factors in order to guide them to His true path and the ultimate reward. Firstly, He sent the messengers. In this manner, no matter how much mankind tried to corrupt His religion, it would always be available to those who searched for it.

 

Secondly, He supplied mankind with minds. He gave them these minds in order to be able to distinguish between right and wrong using their intellect. If they see someone worshipping fire, and they see that the fire can not hear their prayers nor answer their calls, then no matter how much these fire-worshippers “spititualize” their worship and tell them of the great miracles the fire has worked for them and how it has answered their prayers, and how it “loves” them, their intellect will refuse to believe these concoctions.

 

Finally, God gave mankind an inborn sense called in Arabic “Fitrah” (instinct). This “Fitrah” is the small voice inside each one of us which tells us “this doesn’t feel right.” When we pick up a gun for the first time in order to kill someone, we have to fight mightily in order to overcome our “Fitrah” which tells us that killing is wrong. In a similar manner, all mankind is born automatically knowing that “God is one.” They must really fight themselves for a long time and be continually persuaded by those who are around them to believe otherwise. This is how they end up worshipping fire, stones, statues, multiple gods, and other things. It is forced upon them in spite of their “Fitrah” as they grow up.

 

This book goes back to the arguments of the original apostles. We will start with the “Trinity” and work our way backwards through history. We will see that there is absolutely no basis whatsoever for the “Trinity” in the Bible. Once the “Trinity” has been disproved we will see how the rest of these fabricated beliefs will unravel one by one till we return to the original teaching of Jesus (pbuh). All of this will be done in chapter one. After that, it will be demonstrated how Muhammad (pbuh) was indeed prophesied by both Jesus (pbuh) and the previous prophets, as claimed in the Qur’an over 1400 years ago. I pray that you will find this information illuminating.

Key Islamic beliefs about Jesus

• He was born of a miraculous birth, without a father. The Qur’an gives a parallel with Adam’s birth.
• He was a Prophet and a messenger of God. He was the word of God, the spirit of God, and the Messiah. All people in this world will honor him, and he will be honored in the hereafter.
• However, he was neither divine nor the Son of God.
• He did not die on the cross, but rather God made him ascend to the heavens to protect his honor. He will return to earth before the Day of Judgment, bringing peace and justice to earth.
• Jesus preached the unity of God.
• He performed many miracles, as noted below, all of them by the will of God, and thus the ultimate power and supremacy lies with God

Jesus- The Messiah

Muslims consider Jesus as the Messiah. It is based on the teachings of the Quran. It is not an uncommon Muslim name. In fact I have Muslim friends named Isa and Masih (meaning Messiah).

Behold! The angels said: ‘O Mary! Allah gives you glad tidings of a Word from Him: his name will be Christ [masiyah, messiah] Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honor in this world and the Hereafter and of (the company of) those nearest to Allah; He shall speak to the people in childhood and in maturity. And he shall be (of the company) of the righteous.’ 3:45–46

Jesus-The Spirit of God

One of his nicknames in the Quran is Ruh Allah, meaning “the Spirit of God”. The spirit of God however does not denote the same meaning as the father, son and the Holy Spirit components in the doctrine of trinity. Jesus Christ was endowed with many unique miracles, reflecting some of God’s attributes, the likes of which are not seen before, or after him. God bestowed these miracles upon him as a sign to prove his prophecy.

Jesus- The Holy Spirit?

The Quran confirms that God strengthened Jesus with the Holy Spirit.

Those messengers We endowed with gifts, some above others: To one of them Allah spoke [referring to Moses]; others He raised to degrees (of honor); To Jesus the son of Mary We gave clear (Signs), and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit. 2:253

Once again, this Holy Spirit is not the same as the Holy Ghost in the Christian understanding. The Ruh ul Quds (The Holy Spirit) has been mentioned elsewhere in the Qur’an. The Quranic commentators believe that this refers to Archangel Gabriel as supported by the following verse.

Say [addressing Muhammad]: The Holy Spirit has revealed it [meaning the Qur’an] from your Lord with the truth, that it may establish those who believe and as a guidance and good news for those who submit. 16:102

Miracles of Jesus mentioned in the Quran

The Quran in various places mentioned the many miracles of Jesus, similar to the ones mentioned in the Gospels. The Qur’an also affirms that he performed these miracles with the will and permission of God.

• Jesus’s birth without a father was a miracle. Annunciation accounts in the Quran and the Gospel of Luke are strikingly similar.
• Jesus speaks as a newborn from his cradle to defend the honor of his mother, Mary, and to proclaim his prophethood. This has not been mentioned in any of the Gospels.
• He breathes life into clay and makes it into a bird.
• He cures the lepers.
• He cures the blind.
• He brings the dead back to life.

Muslim Jesus?

Jesus was a Jew ethnically but in the global sense was a Muslim. This belief is based on the fact that the Quran considers Biblical prophets as prophets of the same God who essentially brought the same simplified religion- viz a viz believing in One God and doing the good work to serve the humanity, though ritualistically there is wide divergence. Many would correctly argue that there are theological differences as well in the way God is viewed by many religions. This Muslim belief will be further clarified by the following discussion.

Islam-one religion

Most people, including Muslims, have the misconception that Islam was “founded” by Muhammad. However according to the teachings of the Qur’an, all prophets from Adam, to Noah, to Abraham, to Moses, Jesus and Muhammad brought the same basic religion, though the rituals and practices vary.

The same religion has He established for you [Muhammad] as that which He enjoined on Noah—that which We have sent by inspiration to you—and that which We enjoined on Abraham, Moses, and Jesus: Namely, that you should remain steadfast in religion, and make no divisions therein… 42:13

The Disciples were Muslims too

Unlike the Gospels, the Qur’an does not name the disciples or indicate their number but refers to them as believers and true followers of Jesus Christ.

When Jesus found unbelief on their part He said: ‘Who will be my helpers to (the work of) Allah?’ Said the disciples: ‘We are Allah’s helpers: We believe in Allah, and you bear witness that we are Muslims [Submitters].’ 3:52

Like so many other instances, the Qur’an uses the word Muslims in a more broad sense here than what is typically understood. It is worth reminding everyone that the word Islam means submission and Muslim means submitter (to the will of God). The same word (Muslim or its derivatives) has been used in the Quran for many other noble Biblical characters such as Abraham, Jacob and Joseph.

Funsho Abdulafeez Animashaun (Iqra)

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