Jesus: AWord of God

The Quran on Jesus

In the Quran, God informs the Holy Virgin Mary (peace be upon her) about the birth of Jesus (peace be upon him), that she would be the blessed bearer of a word of God.

“(And remember) when the angels said: O Mary! Lo! Allah giveth thee 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 Allah)”.Holy Quran [3:45]

“And he shall speak to the people when in the cradle and when of old age, and (he shall be) one of the good ones.”Holy Quran [3:46]

God goes on and stresses Jesus’ miraculous birth and describes Jesus as a messenger of God (a word of God) capable of doing miracles through God’s permission.

Holy Mary said: "O my Lord! How shall I have a son when no man hath touched me?" He said: "Even so: Allah createth what He willeth: When He hath decreed a plan, He but saith to it, 'Be,' and it is!Holy Quran [3:47]

“And He (Allah) will teach him the Book and the wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel.”Holy Quran [3:48]

“And (make him) a messenger to the children of Israel: That I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, that I determine for you out of clay the likeness of a bird, then I breathe into it and it becomes a bird with Allah's permission and I heal the blind and the leprous, and bring the dead to life with Allah's permission and I inform you of what you should eat and what you should store in your houses; most surely there is a sign in this for you, if you are believers.”Holy Quran [3:49]

The Quran tells us a lot of virtuous and noble characteristics of Jesus (strengthened by Allah with the Holy Spirit). As a result, believers in the Quran love Jesus, honour him, and believe in him. In fact, no Muslim can be a Muslim unless he or she believes in all the prophets of God which includesJesus (peace be upon him).Furthermore, Muslims regard Jesus as being from the 5 most highly elevated prophets of God (Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad).

Just as the Quran describes the miracles of Jesus (pbuh) as being through the leave of God, Jesus also explicitly mentions it in the bible:

“By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.”[John 5:30]

Or, through the declaration of Peter:

“Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know”[Peter 2:22]

Teachings of Jesus

Below are some teachings that have been transferred to mankind through Prophet Mohammad and by his pure family so that we may learn from the virtues of Jesus (peace be upon him)

Jesus (pbuh) and the blind man

Jesus passed by a man who was blind, leprous and paralytic, and Jesus heard him giving thanks and saying, “Praise be to Allah Who has protected me from the trials with which He afflicts the majority of men.” Jesus (pbuh) said, “What trial remains which has not been visited upon you?” He said, “He protected me from a trial which is the greatest of trials, and that is disbelief.” Then Jesus touched him, and Allah cured him from his illnesses and beautified his face. Then he became a companion of Jesus andworshipped God with him.

Jesus and the dead dog

It is narrated that Jesus (pbuh) and his companions were walking and came across a dead dog on the street. The dog had been dead for a long time as its body had started to rot and a very unpleasant smell ruled over the atmosphere. So, the companions started making remarks about the heavy smell and the disfiguration of the animal until Jesus told them to look how white the dog’s teeth were.

Jesus’ humility and kindness

One time, Jesus (pbuh) served a meal to the Apostles, and when they had eaten it, hehimself washed them, and another time he stood up and washed their feet. They said, “It would have been more proper for us to have done this, O Spirit of Allah.” He said, “Verily, it is more fitting for one with knowledge to serve the people. Indeed, I humbled myself only so that you may humble yourselves among the people after me even as I have humbled myself among you.”

Sayings of Jesus

Jesus the son of Mary (peace be upon her) said: “Blessed is he whose silence is contemplation, the sight of whom is an admonition, whose house suffices him, who cries over his mistakes, and from whose hand and tongue people are safe."(Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 14, p. 319, no. 23)

“In truth I say to you, whoever looks at a snake that intends to strike his brother and does not warn him until it kills him, he will not be secure from partnership in his murder. Likewise, whoever looks at his brother doing something wrong, and does not warn him of its consequences until it encompasses him, he will not be secure from partnership in his sin.”

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Jesus never died

Jesus promises the coming of Prophet Mohammad

“I (God) will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren*, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth**; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.”[Deuteronomy 18:18]

* It is referred to the brethren of the Jews (i.e. The Arabs).
** A prophet like Moses whom God will put His words in his mouth (i.e. the Quran which is the word of God). Prophet Mohammad does not add anything to it, he simply repeats what God says.

“And remember, Jesus, the son of Mary, said:O Children of Israel! I am

the Messenger of Allah (sent) to you, confirming the Law (which came)

before me, and giving Glad Tidings of a Messenger to come after me,

whose name shall be Ahmad.” Holy Quran [61:6]

Allah Rescues Jesus from the Jews

The birth of Jesus (pbuh) was a miracle. His departure from this world to the heaven, alive, was also a miracle. It is stated that Jesus was kept in custody in a room during the night following which he was to be crucified in the morning. At daybreak, Judas the hypocrite companion, who had betrayed Jesus to the Roman soldiers, went into the room to escort Jesusto the place of crucifixion. As soon as he entered the room, he was miraculously transformed into a person who resembled Jesus. When Judas came out of the room the Roman soldiers took him to the cross and crucified him, in spite of his loud and desperate protestations.

“That they (the Jews) said (in boast), We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah”; but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not. Nay, Allah raised him up unto Himself; and Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise.”Holy Quran [4:157-158]

In the bible we find Jesus (pbuh) asking the Lord why He had forsaken him:

“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me"[Matthew 27:46]

However, Jesus was the spirit of God, therefore he was not forsaken. Also,a man forsaken by God cannot be a prophet of God.

While reading about the crucifixion of Jesus, the following elements must be kept in mind:

  1. Those who came to arrest Jesus, in the darkness of night, had never seen his face
  2. It was Judas who, standing beside Jesus, identified him
  3. Judas' features were very much like Jesus'
  4. As the light was very dim, their faces could not be seen clearly
  5. The soldiers were afraid of the people, who certainly would have started a struggle at any moment and made their task difficult, so they were in a great hurry
  6. It was Judas who was crucified
  7. The crucified body was brought down from the cross in the early hours of dawn
  8. The disciples ran away from the scene and did not witness the burial
  9. The grave, in which the crucified body was buried, was found empty
  10. The only witness of the resurrection was Mary Magdalene whose versions, given in the four gospels, differ from each other. In some, she was there when Jesus rose from the grave; and in some, when she approached the grave, she was told by another unknown witness that her Lord was raised to heaven
  11. Jesus was seen by the disciples after the resurrection
  12. His disciples gave currency to the idea of his crucifixion so that the Jews remained assured of his death; else they would have gone in his pursuit
  13. The Roman soldiers also kept quiet in order to avoid the blame of killing a wrong person and also the certain punishment for not executing Jesus
  14. Finally, the early Christians did not believe in Jesus' crucifixion

Ascension of Jesus to the Heavens

“Behold! Allah said: O Jesus! I will take thee and raise thee to myself and clear thee (of the falsehood) of those who blaspheme; I will make those who follow thee superior to those who reject Faith, to the Day of Resurrection: then shall ye all return unto Me, and I will judge between you of the matters wherein ye dispute.”Holy Quran [3:55]