What Do Muslims Believe About Jesus?

Isa, or Jesus the son of Mary as he is more commonly known, is probably one of the most “famous” people in the world since many centuries.

Unbeknownst to most non-Muslims who revere and love Jesus, he is one of the many Prophets whom God has mentioned repeatedly and specifically in the Quran.

God has described many of his praiseworthy attributes in the Quran. Also the details of the events in his life, as well as those of his mother, Mary.

The Quran reveals details about the noble lineage of Prophet Jesus; about how his maternal grandmother, herself a devout worshiper of God, dedicated her unborn child to His service when she was pregnant.

She eventually gave birth to one of the most virtuous, chaste and honorable women who ever lived: Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Mary grew up to also become an extremely righteous woman. A dedicated and devout worshiper of God, she secluded herself in the mihrab to shy away from a society that was fast becoming morally decadent and steeped in sins.

There, God miraculously provided her with eatables and appointed Prophet Zakariyya as her guardian.

Because of her lofty virtue, God sent an angel to give her glad tidings of a righteous son. Initially appalled at the prospect because of her unmarried state, she eventually accepted this decree, and withdrew from her people to give birth alone in the woods – an enormous trial of her faith and forbearance that not just brought her immense fruit in the long run, but also further elevated her status in the eyes of God.

God described all of these events, as well as the following attributes and virtues of Prophet Jesus in the Quran:

A Slave of God and a Prophet

After Mary gave birth to Jesus and returned home cradling him, the people of her community were scandalized to hear the news, because she had hitherto been unmarried.

When they started demonizing her for giving birth to a son, accusing her of the worst that any chaste woman can imagine being accused of, God made the infant Jesus speak up from his cradle and defend her honor:

{He said: “Behold, I am a servant of God. He has given me the Scripture and made me a Prophet.} (19:30)

Since his infancy, therefore, Jesus was eloquent in defending the oppressed, marginalized and weak in society.

What is more important, however, is how he proclaimed in the above speech to first and foremost be a slave of God (“`abdullahi”in Arabic) and then His Prophet, without attributing any divinity to his own self.

A Blessed Worshiper of God

{And made me blessed wherever I may be; and He has enjoined upon me prayer and charity as long as I live.} (19:31)

Jesus made it clear from soon after his birth that God had not just made him a very blessed human being (which was glaringly obvious by the fact that he was talking as a newborn baby), but that he was also commanded to establish salah and to give charity as long as he lived.

Jesus was sent to not just be humble and compassionate towards God’s slaves on earth, but also to obey God’s commands and worship Him through prayer and charity, just like His other worshipers.

A Righteous Son

{And [has endowed me with] piety towards my mother; and He has not made me haughty or bereft of grace.} (19:32)

Prophet Jesus was merciful towards his mother, and the Quran mentions how, later on, he lived with her in a lofty, peaceful and amply-watered dwelling-place provided to them both by God Himself.

His status as the Prophet of God never undermined his humility towards other human beings, primarily his mother. She was an immensely strong and patient woman who endured tremendous emotional and physical difficulties and social persecution to birth him and raise him as a single parent.

The Quran thus testifies that Jesus was neither “jabbar” – tyrannical and oppressive- nor “shaqiyya” – wretched and unfortunate. On the contrary, he was extra forbearing and kind towards all of God’s creation, as I will expound further below.

Up till today, the name of Prophet Jesus is considered symbolic with love, mercy, compassion and humility; a pillar of forbearance and steadfastness in the face of adversities and persecution.

The Quran corroborates how Jesus used to perform miracles by the will and decree of God. He could bring clay birds to life by blowing on them (3:49) and with the will of God, he could also cure people suffering from illness, disability and disease, such as those who were born blind and those who were lepers, with the mere touch of his hand (5:110).

Care for People

The closeness of Prophet Jesus to his people and his concern for them also becomes apparent in those verses of the Quran which mention how he beseeched Allah to send down upon them a banquet from the sky, after his disciples (known as the “Al Hawari” in Arabic), requested him to ask God to.

The sunnah also confirms the forgiving attitude towards people that Prophet Jesus displayed:

Abu Hurairah narrated the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

“Jesus, seeing a man stealing, asked him, ‘Did you steal?’, He said, ‘No, by Allah, by the One besides Whom none has the right to be worshipped’.

Jesus said: ‘I believe in Allah and suspect my eyes’.” (Al-Bukhari)

The above incident clearly demonstrates the prohibitive stance that all the religions revealed through God’s Prophets hold regarding the sin of slander (falsely accusing an innocent person of committing a crime). When the man whom Jesus saw stealing swore by Allah’s name that he didn’t steal, Jesus gave him the benefit of the doubt and admitted that it was his own eyes that must have ‘lied to him’.

Prophet Muhammad and Prophet Jesus

The Quran confirms how Prophet Jesus predicted the coming of Muhammad as God’s next Prophet after him. (61:6)

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) also confirmed his closeness to Jesus, both, in terms of time and the consecutive succession of Prophets, as well as in terms of the relationship between them as Allah’s chosen Prophets who were sent with the same Divine message of monotheism:

Narrated Abu Hurairah, Prophet Muhammad said:

“Both in this world and in the Hereafter, I am the nearest of all the people to Jesus, the son of Mary. The prophets are paternal brothers; their mothers are different, but their religion is one.” (Al-Bukhari)

The Quran’s Praise for Jesus’ Followers

The Quran has not only described in numerous places the virtues of both Mary and her son Prophet Jesus, but has also mentioned two positive qualities of the people who ‘followed’ Jesus i.e. those who became followers of the religion that Jesus brought as the appointed Prophet of God before Muhammad (peace be upon them both):

{We sent after them Jesus the son of Mary, and bestowed on him the Gospel; and We ordained in the hearts of those who followed him compassion and mercy…} (57:27)

The Quran describes the hearts the followers of Jesus have as harboring “ra’fah” (compassion) and “rahmah” (mercy) as an ordainment from God Himself, which are qualities that lend immense softness and kindness to the people whose hearts harbor them.

In another verse of the Quran, God indicates that those who call themselves “Nasara”, an Arabic word that is equivalent to the term “Christian” in the contemporary world, are the closest among mankind in showing love to the Muslim believers:

{..And nearest among them in love to the believers will you find those who say, “We are Christians”, because amongst them are men devoted to learning and men who have renounced the world, and they are not arrogant.} (5:82)

Conclusion: Lessons for Us from Jesus’ Example

{Such was, in the words of truth, Jesus the son of Mary, about whose nature they so deeply disagree.} (19:34)

Islam endorses the authentic, divinely-revealed monotheistic teachings Prophet Jesus taught, as he was, according to the words of Prophet Muhammad himself, just like his paternal brother, with no other Prophet coming in between them in the line of succession.

Jesus the son of Mary inspires us to become a slave of, believe in, and worship only one God. He also inspires us to invite others towards only Him; to be devout towards our parents and to live with them honorably; to look out for the oppressed, marginalized and suffering members of society and to strive to remove their suffering; and to observe prayer and to give charity; and to take a stand for justice in the face of social persecution.

It is an obvious conclusion that non-Muslims should endeavor to deeply study a translation of the Quran to discover what God has Himself said about Jesus the son of Mary, as well as his honorable mother.

{Hence, peace was upon me on the day when I was born, and [will be upon me] on the day of my death, and on the day when I shall be raised to life [again]!} (19:33)