World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Quotations from the Qur'an
Say: 'O People of the Scripture (Jews and Christians):
Come to a word that is just between us and you, that we worship none
but God (Alone); that we associate no partners with Him;
and that none of us shall take others as Lords, besides God.
Then, if they turn away, say: 'Bear witness that we are Muslims'.
(Qur'an 3:64)
They (Jews, Christians and Pagans) say:
'God has taken to Him a son.' Glory be to Him. He is
all-sufficient; to Him belongs all that is in the heavens and in
the earth; you have no authority for this. Do you say against God
what you do not know?
(Qur'an 10:68)
People of the Book!
"O people of the Scripture! (Jews and
Christians): Why do you disbelieve in God's
signs, while you (yourselves) bear witness (to
their truth)
(Qur'an 3:70)
People of the Book!
"O people of the Scripture (Jews and
Christians): Why do you mix the truth with
falsehood and conceal the truth knowingly?
Abu Hurairah reported Allah's Messenger (PBUH# )
as saying
I am the nearest of kin to Jesus, son of Mary, in this world
and the next. The prophets are brothers, sons of one father by co-wives.
Their mothers are different but their religion is one. There has been no prophet
between us.
.(Bukhari and Muslim)
Abu Hurairah reported Allah's
Messenger (PBUH) as saying,
By Him in whose hand my soul
is, surely (Jesus), the son of Mary will soon descend amongst you
(Muslims) and will judge mankind justly by the law of the
Qur'an (as a just ruler). He will break crosses,
kill pigs and abolish the Jizyah (a tax payable by a
community which accepts the protection of a Muslim ruler
but whose members do not embrace Islam), and
wealth will pour forth to such an extent that no one will accept it,
and one sajda (the position in Muslim's prayer where
the forehead is placed on the ground), will be better than
the whole world and what it contains.
The controversy about the
personality of Jesus Christ is the major difference between Islam and Christianity1.
This difference keeps the followers of the two religions apart. Muslims look at
Jesus Christ as a great Prophet of God and love and respect him as much as
they love and respect Abraham, Moses and Muhammed. Christians, [The Christian Church covers a wide range of denominations and the views ascribed broadly to Christians in this article do not necessarily apply, in whole or in part, to all Christians. - Webmaster] on the other hand, consider Jesus as God or son of God, a concept that Muslims cannot accept.
Islam teaches that Jesus never made such a claim for himself. As a matter of fact all the
cardinal doctrines of Christianity that are rejected by Islam center around the personality
of Jesus. Specifically these are:
The Trinity
The Divinity of Jesus
The Divine Sonship of Christ
Original Sin, and
Atonement.
It is clear that
all these dogmas are the result of over-exalting Jesus Christ above
what God wants him to be. These differences focusing on the personality
of Jesus have overshadowed the many similarities between Christianity and
Islam. Some examples are the moral system and the emphasis on humane
principles. They have even over-shadowed the beliefs that Muslims
associate with Jesus Christ such as the Virgin Birth of Jesus, being able
to speak in the cradle, performing miracles, and the second coming of
Jesus Christ.
The following
two articles aim at presenting a true picture of Jesus in Islam and explaining why the
Christians deviated from his original teachings. The first article also indicates that
many scholars and thinkers, who are still within the fold of Christianity, are gradually
coming to agree with the Islamic points of view about Jesus, in many cases without
realising it. This corresponds to my conviction that the more scientific and biblical
studies advance, the more they will agree with Islam. In other words, the Islamic
truth is more evident with the passage of time. God in the Holy Qur'an
hints to this in the following verse:
We shall show them our signs in the horizons and in themselves, till it is
clear to them that it is the truth.
The Islamic view of Jesus lies between two extremes. The Jews, who rejected
Jesus as a Prophet of God, called him an impostor. The Christians1
on the other hand, consider him to be the Son of God and worship him as such.
Islam considers Jesus as one of the great Prophets of God and respects
him as much as Abraham, Moses and Muhammed. This is in conformity
with the Islamic point of view of the oneness of God, the oneness of Divine
guidance, and the complimentary role of the subsequent messages of
God's messengers. The essence of Islam, which is the willing
submission to the will of God, was revealed to Adam who passed it on
to his children. All following revelations to Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus
and finally Muhammed were in conformity with that message in addition to
some elaboration to define the relation between Man and God, man and man,
man and his environment, and to live according to God's instructions. Thus,
any contradiction among revealed religions is viewed by Islam as a man-made
element introduced into these religions. The position of Jesus in the three major
religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam, should not be an exception.
Although the Qur'an does not present a detailed life-account of Jesus,
it highlights the important aspects of his birth, his mission, and his ascension to
heaven and passes judgements on the Christian beliefs concerning him.
The Qura'nic account of Jesus starts with the conception of his mother, Mary.
The wife of Imran, Mary's mother, vowed to dedicate her child to the service
of God in the temple. Zacharia, who took charge of Mary, used to find food with
Mary. When he asked her how she got it she answered that it was from God.
The Qur'anic verses reads:
When the wife of Imran said, 'Lord; I have vowed to you, in dedication,
what is within my womb. Please accept it from me, you are the
Hearer and knower'. And when she gave birth to her she
said, 'Lord, I have given birth to her, a female... And I
have named her Mary and commend her to you with her seed,
to protect them from the accursed Satan'. Her Lord
received the child with gracious favour, and by His goodness
she grew up comely, Zakariyya (Zachariya) taking
charge of her. Whenever Zakariyya went to her in the Sanctuary,
he found her provisioned. 'Mary" he said, 'how comes
this to you?' 'From God" she answered. Truly
God provisions for whomsoever He will without reckoning.
When Mary became a woman, the Holy Spirit (the Archangel Gabriel)
appeared to her as a man bringing her the news of a son. We read the following
dialogue in the Qur'an between Mary and the angels:
(Remember) When the angels said, 'O Mary, God gives
you the glad tidings of a Word from Him whose name is Messiah
Jesus, son of Mary; high honoured shall he be in this world and the
next, near stationed to God. He shall speak to people in the cradle,
and in manhood, and righteous he shall be. She said "O Lord!,
'how shall I have a son when no men has touched me. '
He said: "So (it will be) for God creates what
He wills.' When He decrees a thing, He says to it only:
"Be!'" and it is'.
(Qur'an 3:45- 7)
Mary conceived the child miraculously and retired to a distant place
where she awaited her delivery. The Qur'an in a chapter
entitled 'Mary' tells us how Mary felt and what the Jews
told her when she brought the child home:
She conceived him and withdrew with him to a distant place (i.e.
Bethlehem valley about 4-6 miles from Jerusalem). And the
birth pangs surprised her by the trunk of the palm-tree. She said,
"would I had died before this, and become a thing forgotten."
The one from below her called to her, "Do not grieve; see, your Lord
has set below you a rivulet. Shake also toward you the palm trunk, and
there shall come tumbling upon you dates fresh and ripe. Eat therefore,
and drink, and be comforted; and if you should see any mortal say, I
have vowed to the All-Merciful a fast, and today I will not speak
to any human being."
Then she brought the child to her folk carrying
him; and they said, "Mary, you have surely committed a monstrous
thing. Sister of Aaron, your father was not a wicked man, nor was your
mother a woman unchaste." Mary pointed to the child; but they said,
"How shall we speak to one who is still in the cradle, a little
child?" He (Jesus) said, "Lo, 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, and likewise to cherish my mother;
he has not made me arrogant or wicked. Peace be upon me, the day I
was born, and the day I die, and the day I am raised up alive.
*Back
Muslims use the phrase "peace be upon him" or the abbreviation (pbuh) whenever any prophet's
name is mentioned; this is an expression of respect and reverence for him.
1Back
The Christian Church covers a wide range of denominations and the views ascribed
broadly to Christians in this article do not necessarily apply, in whole or in part, to all Christians. Webmaster
