“Jesus in the Quran” by Mohamed Khaled Mohamed Sayed

Every year, Christmas brings the commemoration of Prophet Isa, the name of Jesus for Muslims, in which millions of Christians celebrates his birth. Yet, Isa is significant not only for Christians but also for Muslims. The Quran, the sacred scripture for Muslims, venerates Isa and his mother Mariam, Virgin Mary, and appreciates their piety and struggle for the sake of God.

Isa’s name (Jesus) is mentioned in the Quran five times more than the number of times the name of the prophet of Islam (Muhammad) is mentioned, which indicates the importance of Isa as a figure for Muslims. Mariam is mentioned thirty-four times which exceeds Muhammad and Isa combined. The frequency of mentioning a story or a person in the Quran reflects the importance of them and draws Muslims’ attention to benefit from their example.

Unlike Christianity in which Isa was considered of a divine nature, Isa is a human prophet for Muslims. However, the Quran talks about a spirit breathed into Mariam to conceive Isa, which would be understood to be divine and identical to the Holy spirit that is ascribed to Isa in Christianity. Therefore, Muslim scholars offer various interpretations for the nature of the spirit that is mentioned in three places in the Quran. Two of them attribute the spirit to God, i.e., God breathed from his spirit into Mariam: “the Messiah, Isa, son of Mariam, was nothing more than a messenger of God, His word, directed to Mariam, a spirit from Him” (Quran 4:171). For Muslim commentators, the word and the spirit here are separate objects created by God, but they are not part of God. In other words, that Isa is the word of God means that when God decreed the creation of Isa, He said only, ‘Be,’ and he was. So, it is not a holy hypostasis that is part of God.

The same explanation would apply to the spirit that it is a creation of God not a holy part from him. Muslim commentators argue that if the spirit or the word which are mentioned in the Quran would imply a divine nature for Isa, Adam also would deserve the same status as God breathed into him from His spirit (Quran 15:28). They also argue that God stated the creation of Isa is the same as the creation of both, they were created from dust, God said to them, ‘Be’, and they were (Quran 3:59).

Mariam is also very important figure for Muslims. The story of Isa starts with the birth of Mariam and her service in the temple. This story is narrated in a chapter named after the family name of Mariam, Aal Imran (Quran 3). The Quran describes the blessings of God upon Mariam when she was young under the guardianship of Zachariah. This inspired Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist, to pray God to bless him like Mariam and give him the long-awaited kid even though it was a far-reaching demand for him.

The chapter of Mariam in the Quran adds more details to this story of the conception. In this chapter, the task of breathing the soul was through Angel Jibril who is referred to as Our spirit^[1] (Quran 19:17). The verses describe how Mariam was terrified of the Angel coming in the form of a man who brought her the shocking news of the conception. Mariam questioned the possibility of the conception, yet she is still virgin and was never touched by a man. This unexpected miraculous pregnancy forced Mariam to withdraw to a distant place until she felt the pain of childbirth. This pain brought her to a palm tree to which she clung, then she received the command to refrain from talking and remain worry free as God will make a way out for her and will respond on her behalf. When her people were struck by the fact that she is carrying her baby, they exclaimed “how could you do that, yet your parents are righteous?” (Quran 19:28). All Mariam did was to point at her baby who miraculously spoke in his cradle announcing that he is a worshiper of Allah who will receive the scripture and become a prophet.

Muslims also believe in the miracles performed by Jesus as they are mentioned in the third, the fifth, and the nineteenth chapters of the Quran. His conception and that he spoke right after his birth are some of his first miracles. Later, after being sent to his people, Isa performed several other ones as proof of his holiness. God gave Isa the power to bring life to a bird after shaping it from clay, as well as bringing dead to life again. Isa had the power to heal the blind and the leper, and to prophesize what his people eat and store at their homes. The Quran also mentions the request of Isa’s followers to have a table spread sent to them from the heavens. Then Isa asked God to send the table so that it would be a day of celebration and a sign that strengthen the faith of his followers. So, the table was sent from God, but with a warning for those who disbelieve after they see the miracle. Moreover, Muslims also believe in the coming of Isa at the end of the time. Overall, there is overlap but also substantial differences in the understanding of Isa [Jesus] and his holy status between Islam and Christianity in both of which he is respected highly.

This blog is only a mere attempt to share with the reader the great significance that Isa (Jesus) holds for Muslims, and how Muslims in general perceive him considering the holiday season that we are in right now. I hope you enjoyed and found it informative. I wish you all a happy holiday season!

FOOTNOTES:

Title Note: The author used M.S. Abdelhaleem: The Quran in translating verses from the Quran.

^[1] This is, one of Angel Jibril’s titles in the Quran is the spirit.

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Mohamed Khaled Sayed is a Ph.D. candidate at Indiana University of Bloomington and a researcher of religions and Islamic studies at the office of the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar.
Mohamed is a graduate of the school of Islamic and Arabic studies at Al Azhar University. In addition to his postgraduate studies in Islamic Studies at Cairo University, Mohamed earned an English for Religious Purposes diploma at the American University in Cairo. In May 2018, Mohamed obtained an MA of Religions from Temple University in Philadelphia, USA, sponsored by the renowned Fulbright Scholarship. Before working for the office of the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar as a researcher, he worked as a lecturer and trainer delivering courses of Islamic studies for International Imams, and chaplains at the World Association for Al Azhar Graduates. Mohamed has an Ijaza (license) for Hafs mode of recitation, and led Taraweeh at many masjids in the US, UK, and Egypt. Mohamed’s areas of interest include classic and modern Muslim political thought, Middle Eastern politics, fiqh and usul al-fiqh.