The Jesus of the Qur'an
Christian and Mr Hussain talk at the book table about the Jesus of the Qur’an — and how the things the Qur’an itself says about him reach beyond any other prophet.
Mr Hussain: Asalaamu Alaikum, my friend! Good to see you again. My wife wanted to come and say hello - she sees all these ladies here and is curious. We were just saying, you Christians talk a lot about Isa. I love the prophet Isa too, you know.
Christian: Good afternoon Mr Hussain - and welcome, Mrs Hussain. I’m so glad you came over. You’re right, Jesus is at the heart of everything for us. Can I ask you - when you think of the prophet Isa, what stands out to you about him?
Mr Hussain: He is a great messenger of Allah. A righteous man, born of the virgin Maryam. He did many miracles, by Allah’s permission. We honour him very much.
Christian: That’s beautiful, and I agree with all of it. Can I show you something I find fascinating? When I read your own scriptures, the Qur’an doesn’t describe Isa the way it describes the other prophets. Have you ever noticed that? Look at how the angel announces him to Maryam. “When the angels said: O Mary! Allah gives you glad tidings of a Word from Him, whose name is the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, illustrious in this world and the Hereafter, and one of those brought near (to Allah).”
Quran 3.45 Quran 3:45(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).
Mr Hussain: That verse is from Ali 'Imran - I'm impressed you've been reading the Qur'an.
Christian: Notice three things there. He’s called “a Word from Him” - a Word from Allah. He’s “illustrious in this world and the Hereafter.” And he is “brought near” to Allah. None of the other prophets are introduced like that. Is Musa called a Word from Allah? Is Ibrahim?
Mr Hussain: No... not in that way. “Word” is just a title of honour. In reality Jesus from created like Adam was: Allah said “Be” and he was, just like Adam - that's verse 59 (
Quran 3.59).
Quran 3:59Lo! the likeness of Jesus with Allah is as the likeness of Adam. He created him of dust, then He said unto him: Be! and he is.
Christian: That’s the verse people point to, and it’s worth looking at honestly. But hold the thought, because the Qur’an keeps going further. Look at how Surah an-Nisa describes him - this is one of the clearest verses. “The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, was only a messenger of Allah, and His Word which He conveyed unto Mary, and a Spirit from Him...”
Quran 4.171 Quran 4:171O People of the Scripture! Do not exaggerate in your religion nor utter aught concerning Allah save the truth. The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only a messenger of Allah, and His word which He conveyed unto Mary, and a spirit from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers, and say not "Three" - Cease! (it is) better for you! - Allah is only One Allah. Far is it removed from His Transcendent Majesty that He should have… read full verse
Mr Hussain: Wow, (smiling) you have been reading lots!
Christian: Do you see it? In the same breath that it says “only a messenger,” it calls him “His Word” and “a Spirit from Him.” Those two titles are given to no one else in the whole Qur’an. Not Musa, not Ibrahim, not even Muhammad. Doesn’t that strike you as strange, if he is only a messenger like the others?
Mr Hussain: Hmm. I had not thought about it like that. But the prophets all did miracles too - Musa with his staff, Sulaiman with the wind.
Christian: True - but look at the kind of miracles Isa does. Read this one slowly. “I fashion for you out of clay the likeness of a bird, and I breathe into it and it becomes a bird by Allah’s leave. I heal the blind and the leper, and I raise the dead by Allah’s leave...”
Quran 3.49 He gives life to clay and raises the dead. Think about that. In the Qur’an, who is the one who gives life and takes it? Who breathes the spirit into Adam? These are things Allah does. The other prophets are given signs - but Isa is given the power over life itself. Even spoken from the cradle in
Quran 19.29-30.
Mr Hussain: Yes, this is one of the great miracles, that he spoke as a baby. We teach this to our children. It shows he is special among the prophets, chosen by Allah.
Christian: Special - yes, exactly. And here is what I keep coming back to, Mr Hussain. The Qur’an says he is only a messenger. But it gives him a virgin birth, the title ‘Word of Allah,’ the title ‘Spirit from Allah,’ power to create life and raise the dead, sinless purity - look, the angel even calls him a faultless boy. “He said: I am only a messenger of your Lord, that I may bestow on you a faultless son.”
Quran 19.19 The hadith too confirm that only Jesus was sinless... (See
Bukhari 3286,
Bukhari 6565) have you read those Hadith?
Quran 19:19He said: I am only a messenger of thy Lord, that I may bestow on thee a faultless son.
Bukhari 4.54.506Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, "When any human being is born. Satan touches him at both sides of the body with his two fingers, except Jesus, the son of Mary, whom Satan tried to touch but failed, for he touched the placenta-cover instead."
Bukhari 8.76.570Narrated Anas: Allah's Messenger said, "Allah will gather all the people on the Day of Resurrection and they will say, 'Let us request someone to intercede for us with our Lord so that He may relieve us from this place of ours.' Then they will go to Adam and say, 'You are the one whom Allah created with His Own Hands, and breathed in you of His soul, and ordered the angels to prostrate to you; so please intercede for us… read full verse
Mr Hussain: I've read some of Bukhari, but I don't remember those ones in particular.
Christian: And Mr Hussain, there is more... At the end, Isa isn’t buried like the others - he is taken up to Allah, and he will return. Every other prophet died and stayed in the ground. So my honest question is this: that is an enormous amount of glory for someone the Qur’an wants to call ‘just a messenger.’ It’s as if the description is far too big for the box. He seems... overqualified. Why would Allah give all of that, and that alone, to one man - unless that man is more than the title suggests?
Mr Hussain: My friend, you have given me a lot to think about. I have read these verses many times but never lined them up together like this. I cannot say I have an answer for you today.
Christian: And I’m not trying to trap you - I’m asking the same questions I had to ask myself. Could I make a suggestion? You’ve seen what your scriptures say about Isa. Would you read what the eyewitnesses who walked with him wrote? Just one of the Gospels - Mark is the shortest. Because the Jesus they describe is exactly this Jesus: the one with authority over life, death, sickness, even sin. The titles in the Qur’an become a whole picture in the Gospel.
Mr Hussain: I would like that. And you must let me tell you about my faith too - and perhaps your friends here could meet my wife, she would like the company. We have a young family, it can be lonely for her.
Christian: I’d be honoured on both counts. Let’s get a Gospel into your hands, and let’s introduce Mrs Hussain to some of the women here. Same time next week?
Mr Hussain: Insha’Allah. Thank you, my friend. God bless you - and now I am wondering which God I should be asking to bless you back!