Islam is the irreducible religion of God, which was delivered by the prophets of the Most Holy since man was sent down to this earth. The Qur'an, the word of God, and the first and absolute source of Islam, directly acknowledges the prophets before Muhammad. It relates their missions and struggles in the societies to which they were sent and reports their stories with accuracy and reverence.



Concerning our belief, we are commanded by God to believe in all prophets, without discrimination. But it should be noted that the Qur'an does make distinctions between God's messengers, except on the basis of their suffering and forbearance. All prophets command our love and reverence. But those who underwent particular hardship and particular suffering command our special love and reverence. Jesus stands among that number with Muhammad.


Jesus, like Muhammad after him, called his people to bear witness to the prophets who preceded him.
Furthermore, he declared the prophethood of his contemporary John the Baptist. Jesus' mission was declared by John,
who bore witness to him as a prophet, but not as a Son of God.


Our belief in the prophets is accompanied by our belief in the Holy Scriptures, for as Muslims we hold that all of these Holy Books are the word of God, and originated from Him. The books named in the Qur'an are as follows: The Scroll revealed to Abraham, Az-Zabur revealed to David, the Torah revealed to Moses, the Gospel revealed to Jesus and the Qur'an revealed to Muhammad. I would like to note in passing that some of these books are lost, such as Abraham's Scroll, and that others were subject to corruption and distortion.


A Muslim's belief in Jesus must equal his belief in Muhammad himself. Whenever the name of Jesus is mentioned in the Qur'an a Muslim's eyes become full of tears and his heart full of affection. Indeed, this feeling runs so deep that we give to our children the names of Jesus and Mary.


But exactly who is Jesus in whom every Muslim must believe? Is he Jesus the Christ? The suffering Messiah? Is he the eternal Son of God? The third of the triad? The one who was crucified? Is he God incarnate? Is he the Redeemer?


I do say that Jesus of the Qur'an is also of reality and not just
one of the previously mentioned designations. I will therefore have
to repeat my question: Who is Jesus?

Jesus in the Qur'an


Judging by the number of verses and amount of details, the information given in the Qur'an about Jesus is extensive.
I would venture to say that, as a Qur'anic figure he is portrayed with more comprehensiveness than any other. It should be made clear that the Qur'an is not a historical or biographical work in a literal sense. In other words the information given about Jesus,


for example, was given through Revelation, to the unlettered Muhammad, who without being an academic historian, corrected the position of Jesus as previously understood, whether by Jews or Christians.


In the Qur'an there are five things which are given special concern, especially in terms of creation. God speaks of His creation of the world in ordered sequence whereas the other four areas are of central importance
To the subject of this book; they are: Adam and his children, John the Baptist and Jesus himself.


Because the making of Adam differs from that of the world, the process of his creation is recorded in great detail in the Qur'an, as in 15:29 and 38:72.(1) Moreover the making of Adam's children shows another, different, process of creation from clay, { Then We created of the sperm-drop a clot, then We created of the clot a tissue, then We created of the tissue bones, then We garmented the bones in flesh; thereafter We produced him as another creature. So blessed be God, the Fairest of creators!} (23: 12-14).



In this context we may refer to the making of Eve, who in Genesis (2:21-22) was formed of Adam's rib but in the Qur'an is created from a single soul of mankind:

{ O Mankind, fear your Lord who created you of a single soul, and from it created its mate, and from the pair of them scattered abroad many men and women. }


(4:1)


This brief survey of the creational process indicates clearly that the world was created out of nothing; Adam was created out of the world, Eve out of him and Adam's offspring out of coition between Adam and Eve. It must be quite clear that all of these were created by God and God alone. Moreover it is explicit that all things were created by God and not out of God.


I mention this because the Christian belief holds that, as in John, chapter I, verse 1, "the world was created through Jesus out of the word of God." I mention this because it illustrates the power of God and the variety of creation.

In the Qur'an Jesus is called by name and is also designated the Messiah by attribute, son of Mary by human ascription,


a servant of God by obedience, a prophet by the office of
prophethood, a messenger by mission, a word of God by the way he was
created and likewise a spirit from Him (God).


Some Christians use these last two titles to support Jesus' divinity.


For example John of Damascus (c. 675-749), says that: But since you (Muslims) say Christ is the word of God and spirit how can you revile us ...? If it (is outside God) the word then according to you, God is without a word and without mind. Therefore while you avoid giving God a partner, you divine Him.(2) The author of this quotation while purporting to represent the Muslim view seems closer to a description of the Christian concept, and fails to understand the basic Islamic tenet that the word cannot be divided from God.


Very recently David W. Shenk has said in A Muslim and Christian Dialogue: "When a Christian looks at the Prophet Muhammad, he needs to evaluate Muhammad in the light of the total Biblical witness culminating in Jesus the Messiah. To the extent that the Prophet Muhammad accepts the total Biblical witness and the central significance of Jesus the Messiah, and not to the extent that the life and teachings of Muhammad give witness to the revelation of suffering redemptive love which we perceive in Jesus the Messiah, Christians should appreciate and affirm Prophet Muhammad." (3)


I find it necessary to comment on this statement, but very briefly. Rather, it seems to me that Shenk is saying if the Muslims are willing to say that Muhammad and the Qur'an accept the whole Bible and its


claims as scripture, then Christians can accept the witness of Muhammad to the correctness of Christianity and need not denounce him. This is still a propaganda play, but it doesn't mean that Shenk necessarily thinks


Muhammad or the Qur'an accept the whole Bible as scripture. Shenk said: "Muhammad accepts the total Biblical witness', but this is completely erroneous. First this phrase shows Muhammad as one who can accept or reject in terms of his own humanity. As a matter of fact the Revelation given to Muhammad recognizes some Biblical statements and by its very nature refutes others. In our view as Muslims Jesus was not the culmination of prophethood, but Muhammad, as he himself declared, was. It is also our belief that our Prophet was foretold in the Torah, and we also believe in the two books just mentioned in which our Prophet was foretold. We believe in Moses and Jesus who bore witness to our Prophet. In other words we do not believe in anything that does not foretell Muhammad.

Jesus' titles in the Qur'an and the Gospels


The Qur'an gives Jesus several titles to which I have already referred;
here I should like to shed some light on at least some of them.

First: The Word of God and a Spirit from Him


Jesus is called in the Qur'an "the word of God" (4:171),
and according to another verse "a word from Him" (3:45). It should be noted that all the Revelations like the Torah, the Gospel and the Qur'an are called the word of God. Imam al-Haramayn al-Juwayni


(d. 478 A.H.) informs us that some Christian apologists assert that Jesus is the word of God and the word according to Muslims is uncreated and this is exactly the same as the Christian faith in Jesus. Al-Juwayni says that Muslims indeed agree to call Jesus a word or the word, he supports his view by referring also to the Qur'an in several places,
then he goes on to say that the word means also God's decree,


i.e., that God had created Jesus directly with his word Kun Fayakun "Be and it is". He draws the following from the Qur'an:

{Indeed the likeness of Jesus in God's eyes is as Adam's likeness, He originated him from dust, then said He unto him, "Be" and he was.} (3:59).(4)


Imam al-Haramayn suggests that the verse that calls Jesus Kalimah


a word from God, should be studied in connection with the other passages in the Qur'an which deny the doctrine of incarnation and condemn its adherents.(5)


Al-Bukhari stated that the distinction between Jesus and the word could be understood on fundamental linguistic grounds. Jesus is masculine in gender, but the "word" is feminine, as all Arab philologists agree. Thus Jesus was created by God through the agency of the word, but is not Himself the word. The English translation of the Qur'anic verse 4:171 states: {His word that He committed to Mary. }(6)


In Arabic, however, the word "that" is feminine in gender, standing for "word". Thus in linguistic terms, "word", being of feminine gender, cannot be the equivalent of Jesus. The word is entrusted to Mary by Gabriel (Qur'an 3:45).


Al-Bukhari thus sees no difference between the creation of Adam and the creation of Jesus.


The phrase "The word of God" is used in the Qur'an in singular and plural forms Kalimatu Allah and Kalimaatu Allah, and it expresses different meanings, but its use as a title of Jesus can be explained in several ways, e.g., Kalimah means the prophecy or the glad tidings or the good news that God promised or foretold the prophets. One of our great Muslim scholars, ash-Sharif ar-Radi (d. 407 A. H. = 1016 A.C.) suggests


that God calls Jesus Kalimah, meaning a word in a metaphorical way, i.e., that God guides people through Him as He guides them with His word, a view also held by the Mu' tazili Abu 'Ali aj-Jubba'i.

Second: Servant

Like all prophets Jesus is called 'Abd, a servant, to God:


{Mary pointed to the child; but they said, how shall we speak to one who is still in the cradle, a little child? He said: I am God's servant; God has given me the Book and made me a prophet. Blessed He has made me, wherever I may be; and He has enjoined me to pray and to give the alms, so long as I live. }


(19:29-31)


The word "Abd _here is used as a mark of honor and servility to the will and commandment of God:


The Qur'an says:


{And behold Allah will say: O Jesus the son of Mary! Didst thou say unto men, Take me and my mother for two gods besides Allah?' He will say: Glory to Thee! Never could I say what I had no right (to say). Had I said such a thing. Thou wouldst indeed have known it. Thou knowest what is in my heart, though I know not what is in Thine. For Thou knowest in full all that is hidden. }


(5: 116)


Muhammad and all the prophets (peace be upon them all) were called 'Ibad (servants) of God:


{And they say: The Most Gracious has taken a son." Glory to Him! They are (but) servants raised to honor. }


(21:26)


The pious people were honored by God who named them His 'Ibad:


{ And the servants of Allah, Most Gracious are those who walk on the earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say: Peace. }


(25: 63)



It indicates the human nature of the prophets including Jesus;


the same title is also given to him in the New Testament


The Christians' interpretation of the Old Testament prophecies


can serve as an example here. The prophet Isaiah says (53:11):


"My servant, many shall he claim for his own, [he shall] win


their acquittal, on his shoulders bearing their guilt." (7)


I would like to note in passing that this prophecy refers to a man and not to a God or Son of God, more clearly the prophet Isaiah never dreamt of speaking of a God or Son of God in his foretelling. It seems interesting to bring to your notice that the Jews rejected the Christian interpretations of the Old Testament prophecies altogether, but it is beyond the scope of this book to deal with the interpretation of the prophecies of the Old Testament.

The biographical details we have of Jesus show that he acted exactly as a servant to a master, he commenced his mission at a certain time,


i.e., when he was about 30 years old, and this indicates that


he followed a commandment and did not begin preaching according to his own will. Otherwise why did he wait until that time? Why did he not begin according to his own will? Why did he not begin earlier or later than that time? And why did he commence his Divine activities with the baptism; why did the Divine and sinless need the remission of sin through baptism? Christians find it difficult to answer this question. I do think that Jesus went to John not only to be baptized by him, but also to show himself to John and seek his witness and this was in itself a sign of the Baptist's death. The swift death of John lends support to my point of view: The gospels show that these two personages, i.e., Jesus and John, never came in contact before they met in the River Jordan.


This is also supported by the confusion surrounding the relationship between the two figures.

When Jesus was praying to God seeking His help. He acted precisely as servant to his Lord, when he expressed his inferior power to that of God.


When he was asked by a lady to accommodate her two sons in his kingdom, one on his right hand and the other on his left, Jesus said:


"You don't know what you are asking. Are you'able to drink the cup that I am to drink? They said to him, 'We are able.' He said to them, 'You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and to my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.'"


(Matthew 20:20-23)


When he requested God to deliver him from the cup of death, he acted exactly in the same manner as a creature controlled by his God.


One of our great Muslim scholars in the 11th century looked at Jesus' prayer and anguish before the crucifixion and on the cross as reported in Matthew 26:39, Mark 14:36, and Luke 22:41-44.


Ibn Hazm remarks: Is this the character of a deity or god? Does god pray to be kept away from death? Does god sweat because of the hardship he suffers when he is certain that death is all too imminent? Or when he must face his fatal end? Does god abandon god? Is this not absurd? (8)

Third: Prophet and Messenger

The Qur'an depicts Jesus as prophet and messenger of God. As an example, God says:


{ And when Jesus son of Mary said: Children of Israel, I am indeed the messenger of God to you, confirming the Torah


that is before we, and giving good tidings of a Messenger who shall come after me, whose name shall he Ahmad. } (61:6)


Also, Jesus' humanity is clearly stressed in the following Qur'anic statement:


{ The Messiah, son of Mary, was only a messenger, messengers before him passed away, his mother was a just woman, they both ate food (i.e., they were human), behold, how we make clear the signs to them, then behold how they are perverted! Say: Do you worship, apart from God, that which cannot hurt or profit you? God is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. }


(5: 75-76)


On the Christian side we have a good number or references to Jesus as prophet, e.g., according to Matthew 10:40, Jesus addressed his disciples saying


"He who gives you welcome gives me welcome, and he who gives me welcome gives welcome to Him that


sent me. He who gives a prophet the welcome due to a prophet shall receive the reward given to prophets."


In John 12:47 Jesus says:


"If anyone hears my sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him: for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world."


This clearly puts Jesus in a context of a prophet and not a god, since he came to save as all prophets do, but not to pronounce judgment over the people. In the Qur'an God says to Muhammad:


{ Whether We show thee a part of that We promise them, or We call thee to Us, it is time only to deliver the message, and Ours is the reckoning. }


(13:40)


Also, God says to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him):


{ Then remind them! Thou are only a reminder, thou are not charged to oversee them. }


(88:21-22)


In John 12:45-46 moreover we read:


"And he who sees me sees him who sent me. I have come as light into the world, that whoever believe in me may not remain in darkness."


This passage speaks of Jesus as a prophet sent by God to guide his people. It deserves special attention to note that Jesus called himself here "a light into the world." And God says about Muhammad, {0 Prophet, we have sent thee as a witness, and light} (33:44). Also God describes the Qur'an itself as "guidance and light" and says about Torah, {Surely we sent down the Torah, wherein is guidance and light } (5: 44), and also God says the same about the Injil: { We gave to him the Gospel wherein is guidance and light. } (5:46)


With reference to the above information, Jesus cannot be exempted from the prophetic tradition, or distinguished from the other prophets.


As God says:


{Jesus the son of Mary was no more than a messenger, many were the messengers that passed away before him. }


(5:75)


Luke makes the following statement:


"While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, 'What is this conversation which you are holding with each other as you walk?' And they

stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, 'Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?' And he said to them. 'What things?' And they said to him, 'Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in people.'"

(Luke 24: 15-19)


Those who believe in him declared that he was accounted a prophet by God.


Before we conclude this chapter it should not be overlooked to point out


that Jesus is also designated in the Qur'an as "Son of Mary" as already referred


to above. This is perhaps the Qur'anic formal of the Biblical "Son of Man".


Endnotes


1- For example compare with Genesis 1:27) See J.W. Sweetman, Islam and Christian Theology, vol. 2, p. 91.


2- B. Kateregga and D. Shenk, Islam and Christianity, first published Kenya, Uzima Press Ltd., 1980, p. 47.


3- See M. Abu Laylah, Christianity from the Islamic Point of View, Ph.D. Thesis pp. 279 f.


4- See the thesis pp. 279 f.


5- Ibid . 281.


6- B. Kateregga and D. Shenk, Islam and Christianity, first published Kenya, Uzima Press Ltd., 1980, p 127.


7- Al-FaisaL vol. 2, p. 66.


8- Al-FaisaL vol. 2, p. 66.