Jesus In Islam

jesus in islam and judeo-christian tradition (a comparative analysis) jesus (peace be upon him) in islam, an issue i have been wanting to write about for a while, since i am also working on a booklet about the crucifixion i think this article fits somewhere in the context. many christians have been made to believe that muslims do not believe in jesus christ (pbuh) at all, it is also said that we do not believe in god at all. missionaries and those who teach non-muslims about islam have spread this in order that people who claim to love and revere jesus think twice about islam. let us embark on a journey to see where jesus (pbuh) fits in islam. this is in no way an insult or an attack on any other religion mentioned in this article, as many christians who i have discussed with seem to find anything against what they believe (whether the answer lies in the bible or not) as an attack on their faith. this is in no way intended to discredit any faith it rather shows the position of prophet jesus (pbuh) in islam as compared to judaism and christianity. in my first article "what is islam and who are muslims" as you may have read, islam is based on 5 pillars. primary islamic belief: the first being the two declarations of faith (belief in the one true god), in arabic referred to as the shahadatain. the belief that there is none worthy of worship except allah the one true god and belief that mohamed (peace be upon him) is his last and final messenger. this is the first and foremost pillar of islam. this pillar carries with it 6 fundamental prerequisites, any of which if one denies, he is not a muslim. the 6 pre-requisites of faith are as follows. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

faith in allah the one god faith in his angels. faith in his books. faith in his messengers. (all of them) faith in the day of judgment faith in pre destiny, that allah destined every thing. whether is good or bad.

as you can see i have bolded pre-requisite number 4 which says clearly that muslims as a tenet of faith should believe in all the prophet without exception from prophet adam, way through to prophet mohamed (peace be upon them all) including the prophet jesus and in many places in the bible he is referred to as a prophet. so a muslim cannot consider himself a muslim if he does not believe in jesus (pbuh). so we can see that this is just a lie and deception from some people who, may be, out of the fear of the spread of islam have made it out to be anti jesus. this here is evidence that this claim is baseless and has no leg to stand on. having cleared this issue we have to also clarify that many deviant people again in order to make islam look anti jesus (pbuh), have taken jewish belief and ascribed it to muslim belief and the person who is ignorant of islam is non the wiser, thus believes that islam does not believe in jesus (pbuh) or to be more appropriate that islam, rather

than revere him, they make out islam has no place for him and despises the prophet jesus (pbuh).our dear prophet mohamed (pbuh) said: (v.5:46) narrated abu hurairah [radhi-yallâhu 'anhu]: i heard allâh's messenger [sal-allâhu 'alayhi wa sallam] saying, "i am the nearest of all the people to the son of maryam (mary), and all the prophets are paternal brothers, and there has been no prophet between me and him [i.e., 'Îsâ (jesus)]." [sahih al-bukhâri, 4/3442 (o.p.651)]

let us make a little comparison between what jewish scriptures say about the dear prophet jesus (pbuh)) before we move forward to where jesus peace be upon him fits in islam. what the talmud says about jesus (pbuh): according to the jewish talmud, a scripture that is revered by the jews, far greater than the torah. this study is based on the jewish-authorized, english translation of the babylonian talmud: the soncino edition. unless otherwise indicated. here is the link i advise to check for your selves, as i know many may no agree with here and think i am attack the jewish religion. http://www.come-and-hear.com/tcontents.html

according to the jewish talmud jesus was referred to as balaam (belo'-am [denotes without the people] belo'am, i.e., he has no portion in the future world together with other people), ( balah'am, (or [h] bala'-'am, 'he devoured the people,' aruch). in many places he was referred to as ben pandera or ben stada as well as balaam.

rabbinical sources also regard jesus as the “son of pandera” [hebr.], although it is noteworthy that he is called also “ben stada” [hebr.] (shab. 104b; sanh. 67a).

who is balaam? now, who was balaam who "practised enchantment by means of his membrum"? originally, the old testament balaam was a prophet from the heathen tribes who was hired to curse the israelites on their journey from egypt (numbers 22-24). balaam refused that commission, blessing the israelites instead. later, he earned the wrath of the israelites and was slain by them (numbers 31:8). mention of balaam occurs thereafter in the books of deuteronomy, joshua, nehemiah, and micah, sometimes as a wicked man, sometimes as good. in the opinion of many modern rabbinical scholars, "balaam" was often used by the sages as an alias or code word for jesus of nazareth. for example, consider this statement about balaam from the prestigious jewish encyclopedia: henceforth he became the type of false prophets seducing men to lewdness and obscene idolatrous practices (rev. ii. 14; ii peter ii. 15; jude 11; abot. v. 19). the name 'nicolaitanes,' given to the christian heretics 'holding the doctrine of balaam' (rev. ii. 6, 15), is probably derived from the grecized form of balaam, [hebr. char.] = [greek char.], and hence also the pseudonym given to jesus in sanh. 106b and git. 57a.

the jewish encyclopedia's article on jesus contains much information about various pseudonyms used for jesus in the talmud, including "balaam," "son of pandera," and "ben stada." why would the sages use a code word for jesus of nazareth? perhaps to avoid confrontations with the christian establishment. by disguising unflattering remarks about jesus, only those inside the circle of talmud believers would understand; christians, if they ever saw the material, would miss the significance. an example is given by rabbi rodkinson in his book, the history of the talmud. in 1239 a.d., jewish apostates brought charges in rome that the talmud contained sacrilegious sayings about jesus and his mother. rabbi jechial answered the charges (in part) by denying that the talmud contained any mention of jesus of nazareth: let us see what it has to say about jesus. may i warn you that some of the stuff said about the prophet jesus in the talmud is not very pleasant at all as we shall see. read the footnotes that accompany each of the quoted verses. in tractate sanhedrin folio 105a it says: balaam denotes that he corrupted a people. the son of beor [denotes] that he committed bestiality. further it says: now only balaam will not enter [the future world], but other [heathens] will enter. r. eliezer said, the wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget god, the wicked shall be turned into hell. it continues: now, that wicked man [balaam] too gave a sign for himself [that he would not enter the future world by saying, let me die the death of the righteous32 — meaning, if i die the death of the righteous [i.e., a natural death], my last end will be like his;33 but if not [i.e., if i die a violent death], then behold i go unto my people. r. johanan said: balaam limped on one foot, as it is written, and he walked haltingly. it also says in the same section; he practised enchantment by means of his membrum. (penis) and also in the footnotes it says: it was stated, mar zutra said: he practised enchantment by means of his membrum. mar the son of rabina said: he committed bestiality with his ass. the view that he practised enchantment by means of his membrum is as was stated. the view that he committed bestiality with his ass in sanhedrin 106 a it refers to mary the mother of jesus as playing the harlot with carpenters r. papa observed: this is what men say, 'she who was the descendant of princes and governors, played the harlot with carpenters.'42( 'shipdraggers,' (v. rashi). herford, christianity in

the talmud, p. 48, suggests that balaam is frequently used in the talmud as a type for jesus (v. also pp. 6470). though no name is mentioned to shew which woman is meant, the mother of jesus may be alluded to, which theory is strengthened by the statement that she mated with a carpenter. (the munich ms. has [h] in the margin instead of [h], i.e., singular instead of plural.) )

tractate sanhedrin106b goes on to mock the prophet jesus who according the judeochristian beliefs died at the young age of 33 years old: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days,4 [it follows that] he was thirty-three or thirty-four years old. in tracate shabbat 104 b it refers to jesus as mentioned above as son of stada( ben stada), this is what is says: he who scratches a mark on his flesh, [etc.] it was taught. r. eliezer said to the sages: but did not ben stada bring forth witchcraft from egypt by means of scratches18 [in the form of charms] upon his flesh?19 he was a fool, answered they, and proof cannot be adduced from fools.20

in tractate sanhedrin 43a it says: it was taught: on the eve of the passover yeshu34 was hanged. for forty days before the execution took place, a herald went forth and cried, 'he is going forth to be stoned because he has practised sorcery and enticed israel to apostacy. any one who can say anything in his favour, let him come forward and plead on his behalf.' but since nothing was brought forward in his favour he was hanged on the eve of the passover!

sanhderin107b in the footnotes also claim: ii kings v, 27. the uncensored edition continues: what of r. joshua b. perahjah? — when king jannai slew our rabbis, r. joshua b. perahjah (and jesus) fled to alexandria of egypt. on the resumption of peace, simeon b. shetach sent to him: 'from me, (jerusalem) the holy city, to thee, alexandria of egypt (my sister). my husband dwelleth within thee and i am desolate.' he arose, went, and found himself in a certain inn, where great honour was shewn him. 'how beautiful is this acsania!' (the word denotes both inn and innkeeper. r. joshua used it in the first sense; the answer assumes the second to be meant.) thereupon (jesus) observed, 'rabbi, her eyes are narrow.' 'wretch,' he rebuked him, 'dost thou thus engage thyself.' he sounded four hundred trumpets and excommunicated him. he (jesus) came before him many times pleading, 'receive me!' but he would pay no heed to him. one day he (r. joshua) was reciting the shema', when jesus came before him. he intended to receive him and made a sign to him. he (jesus) thinking that it was to repel him, went, put up a brick, and worshipped it. 'repent,' said he (r. joshua) to him. he replied, 'i have thus learned from thee: he who sins and causes others to sin is not afforded the means of repentance.' and a master has said, 'jesus the nazarene practised magic and led israel astray.' for a full discussion of this passage and attempted explanation of this anachronism making jesus a contemporary of king jannai (104-78 b.c.e.). v. herford, op. cit. 51ff. [the tradition of an early jesus was also known to epiphanius

tractate sanhedrin folio 56a 7. the whole day [of the trial] the witnesses are examined by means of a substitute for the divine name, thus, 'may jose smite jose.'1 the witnesses, in giving testimony, do not state that they heard the accused say, 'may he slay himself', uttering the actual divine name, but use the word 'jose' as a substitute for the divine name. 'jose' is chosen as a substitute, because it contains four letters, like the actual tetragrammaton, which must have been used by the blasphemer for him to be punished. moreover, the numerical value of 'jose' is the same as of elohim [81]. according to levy, s.v. [h], the first jose [h] stands for jesus ([h], son), and the second is an abbreviation of [h], joseph, the father, by which, however, god was to be understood. the

witnesses were accordingly asked whether the accused in his blasphemy had set jesus above god. (r. joshua b. karha, the author of this saying, lived at a time when judeo-christians ascribed more power to jesus than to god.)

tractate gittin folio 57a claims balaam (jesus is burning in boiling hot excrement) he then went and raised balaam by incantations. he asked him: who is in repute in the other world? he replied: israel. what then, he said, about joining them? he replied: thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days for ever.1 he then asked: what is your punishment? he replied: with boiling hot semen.2 he then went and raised by incantations the sinners of israel.3 he asked them: who is in repute in the other world? they replied: israel. what about joining them? they replied: seek their welfare, seek not their harm. whoever touches them touches the apple of his eye. he said: what is your punishment? they replied: with boiling hot excrement, since a master has said: whoever mocks at the words of the sages is punished with boiling hot excrement. the jewish encyclopedia vol.vii http://www.come-and-hear.com/je/je_170.html jesus (continued) it is the tendency of all these sources to belittle the person of jesus by ascribing to him illegitimate birth, magic, and a shameful death. it was necessary for the jews to insist on the illegitimacy of jesus as against the davidic descent claimed by the christian church. magic may have been ascribed him over against the miracles recorded in the gospels; and the degrading fate both on earth and hereafter of which the legends speak may be simply directed against the ideas of the assumption and the resurrection of jesus. the earliest authenticated passage ascribing illegitimate birth to jesus is that in yeb. iv. 3. the mysterious phrase (“that man”) cited in this passage as occurring in a family register which b. simeon ben azza is said to have found seems to indicate that it refers to jesus the mysterious phrase (“that man”) cited in this passage as occurring in a family register which b. simeon ben azza is said to have found seems to indicate that it refers to jesus (see derenbourg in “r.e. j.” i. 293), and here occur also the two expressions so often applied to jesus in later literature—[hebr.] (= “that anonymous one,” the name of jesus being avoided) and [hebr.] (= “bastard”: adding that the seducer was a soldier by the name of panthera the incident of jesus concerning the dispute with the scribes was copied by the rabbinical sources…all the ‘toledot” editions contain a similar story of a dispute which jesus carried on with the scribes, who, on the ground of that dispute, declared him to be a bastard. so far, according to what we have read, i myself as muslim would not be happy and be offended with way the prophet jesus is being referred to here. this is not at all the way islam portrays the prophet jesus(pbuh). i am sure many will share the same opinion and may be some may not. again i repeat this is not intended to attack any body’s faith or belief, but just a comparative analysis.

after seeing the jewish belief concerning the prophet jesus (pbuh) intensively let us have a look at what the bible says: what the bible says about prophet jesus (pbuh): if we look into the ot we see 2 very important verses that when they are complemented with the new testament verses could reveal something crucial about the bible says about jesus (pbuh). some people may not agree with me on this but i am sure many would too. the ot says: de 21:22 and if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: de 21:23 his body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of god;) that thy land be not defiled, which the lord thy god giveth thee for an inheritance. looking at these two verses from the ot we go to the nt in the book of acts where peter refers to jesus (pbuh) as being hung on a tree: acts 5 29 then peter and the other apostles answered and said, we ought to obey god rather than men. 30 the god of our fathers raised up jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. 31 him hath god exalted with his right hand to be a prince and a saviour, for to give repentance to israel, and forgiveness of sins. acts 10 38 how god anointed jesus of nazareth with the holy ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for god was with him. 39 and we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the jews, and in jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree: 40 him god raised up the third day, and shewed him openly; acts 13 28 and though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they pilate that he should be slain. 29 and when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre. 30 but god raised him from the dead: 1 peter 2 23 who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: 24 who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. 25 for ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the shepherd and bishop of your souls.

then st paul in galatians reminds us that jesus was hung on a tree and the one hung on a tree is cursed. ga 3:13 christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree. the relevance here is not whether jesus (pbuh) was crucified on a tree or cross, but the issue of the curse on those who are. why would paul have to make such a statement to the galatians, where he insinuates that one of the greatest prophets who walked this earth was cursed? he specifies too that it is written making reference to the verses in the ot. for me as a muslim i find such a statement outrageous about the dear prophet jesus, can anyone even entertain the idea that prophet jesus was cursed to even think about such outrage even for a minute is not acceptable. can a christian accept the idea that according to their belief their god or the son of their god (as they put it) was cursed? muslims do not agree that he was crucified at all let alone hung on a tree and if, as the bible puts it, for he that is hanged is accursed of god or cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree. it is rather odd that the religion that he was supposedly have preached, in the book that those who say they follow him, actually claim he was cursed. you may not agree with me or may be you will, if i say that this concept comes from paul’s jewish upbringing and his jewish belief as we can read above what they jews of his time thought and wrote about him. i am certain, paul, being a jew must have had talmudic teachings form his teacher gamael that he should bring up such a statement in his gospel. as we see below the same statement is in the gemara of the talmud (sanhedrin 45b) gemara. our rabbis taught: [scripture states,] and if he be put to death, then thou shalt hang him on a tree:45 i might think that all who are put to death are to be hanged: therefore scripture states, for he is hanged [because of] a curse against god.46 thanks for the reminder st paul so i insist in not believing the prophet jesus (pbuh) was crucified or hung in anyway what so ever because if hanging in anyway made him accursed then i suppose even the christian would feel better at heart to accept the muslim view that he could not have been cursed. again i repeat this is not a means of discrediting the christian faith or any other faith, but just facts that many people do not know and need to know. at this point let us analyse what the quran says about the prophet jesus (pbuh). the islamic view: before we proceed any further let me mention that as you may have noticed that every where, where i have mentioned the name of any prophet including the prophet jesus (pbuh) i have added next to it either (peace be upon him) or (pbuh) which is the abbreviation. this adds to the explanation above muslims revering all the prophets as part of the pre requisites of faith and proves that muslims cannot be muslims without believing in jesus as well as all other prophets. every time their name is mentioned we send peace and blessing upon them, in other words we ask god to send peace and blessings upon them. concerning the title of prophet given to jesus (pbuh) as i keep referring to him as, even the staunchest christian cannot deny he was a prophet, as the bible says

ac 2:30 therefore being a prophet, and knowing that god had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up christ to sit on his throne; joh 4:19 the woman saith unto him, sir, i perceive that thou art a prophet. joh 4:44 for jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country. joh 7:40 many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, of a truth this is the prophet. and there are many other references in the bible that jesus (pbuh) son of mary was a prophet. so by referring to jesus as just a prophet, is in no way belittling him (as i have been accused of many times in the past). allah says in the quran: [004:171] o people of the scripture (christians)! do not exceed the limits in your religion, nor say of allâh aught but the truth. the messiah 'Îsâ (jesus), son of maryam (mary), was (no more than) a messenger of allâh and his word, ("be!" – and he was) which he bestowed on maryam (mary) and a spirit (rûh) created by him; so believe in allâh and his messengers.

jesus (pbuh) in islam is referred to as issa (his arabic name) son of mary, evidently he was not the son of joseph and nor that of god, he had no father so it is rightly so to call him the son of his mother mary. the quran compares issa son of mary to adam (peace be upon them all) because god created jesus just like adam and jesus (pbuh) did not create himself. the noble quran: [003:059]

verily, the likeness of 'Îsâ (jesus) before allâh is the likeness of adam. he created him from dust, then (he) said to him: "be!" – and he was.

islam reveres the prophet jesus (pbuh) even before his birth; his mother mary is held in high esteems in islam and is considered among the greatest women of paradise. the fact that she was pious, god had chosen her out of all women to carry and give birth to one of the greatest prophets and it was going to be a miraculous birth. [003:042] and (remember) when the angels said: "o maryam (mary)! verily, allâh has chosen you, purified you (from polytheism and disbelief), and chosen you above the women of the 'Âlamîn (mankind and jinn) (of her lifetime)." [003:043] "o maryam (mary)! submit yourself with obedience to your lord (allâh, by worshipping none but him alone) and prostrate yourself, and bow down along with ar-râkî'ûn (those who bow down)."

the quran shares the same opinion as the bible on the issue that she was visited by the angel gabriel and given the glad tiding of bearing a child. just like many other verses from the quran where we can find similarities in the bible too. unlike the talmudic claim of here being a whore who lay with carpenters. lu 1: 30 and the angel said unto her, fear not, mary: for thou hast found favour with god.

31 and, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name jesus. 32 he shall be great, and shall be called the son of the highest: and the lord god shall give unto him the throne of his father david: 33 and he shall reign over the house of jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.then said 34 mary unto the angel, how shall this be, seeing i know not a man? [003:045] (remember) when the angels said: "o maryam (mary)! verily, allâh gives you the glad tidings of a word ["be!" – and he was! i.e. 'Îsâ (jesus) the son of maryam (mary)] from him, his name will be the messiah 'Îsâ (jesus), the son of maryam (mary), held in honour in this world and in the hereafter, and will be one of those who are near to allâh." [003:047] she said: "o my lord! how shall i have a son when no man has touched me." he said: "so (it will be) for allâh creates what he wills. when he has decreed something, he says to it only: "be!" – and it is. so we see the reverence of jesus and his mother from the islamic point of view, starts way before his birth, in the quran there is even a whole chapter dedicated to mary mother of jesus(pbut) but we will not go into all that now. also the quran reveres prophet jesus (pbhu) to such an extent that according to the quran he performs miracles by the will of god, some that are not even mentioned in the bible. according to islam he performed miracles from his birth by the will of allah. bearing in mind his birth itself was a great sign a great miracle from god [003:046] "he will speak to the people, in the cradle and in manhood, and he will be one of the righteous." [003:048] and he (allâh) will teach him ['Îsâ (jesus)] the book and al-hikmah (i.e. the sunnah, the faultless speech of the prophets, wisdom), (and) the taurât (torah) and the injîl (gospel).

so according to the talmud his mother committed adultery with carpenters, this is narrated in the quran too how after she had given him birth and came back to her people how they (the jews) accused her of such a horrendous crime and sin. islam gives the answer to this. how can one of the most pious women who they all knew she was a virgin, have committed adultery? [004:156] and because of their (jews) disbelief and uttering against maryam (mary ['alayhas-salâm]) a grave false charge (that she has committed illegal sexual intercourse); [019:027] then she brought him (the baby) to her people, carrying him. they said: "o maryam (mary)! indeed you have brought a thing fariyy (a mighty thing). (tafsir at-tabari) [019:028] "o sister (i.e. the like) of hârûn (aaron)! your father was not a man who used to commit adultery, nor your mother was an unchaste woman." i just need to point out that (v.19:28) this hârûn (aaron) is not the brother of mûsâ (moses), but he was another pious man at the time of

maryam (mary).

[019:030] he ['Îsâ (jesus)] said: "verily, i am a slave of allâh, he has given me the scripture and made me a prophet;" [019:031] "and he has made me blessed wheresoever i be, and has enjoined on me salât (prayer) and zakât (obligatory charity), as long as i live." [019:032] "and dutiful to my mother, and made me not arrogant, unblest.

so as we can see in chapter 19:30 that he spoke in the cradle to defend his mother against those horrendous false charges of adultery. we also have another miracle mentioned in the quran which exalts the position of the prophet jesus (pbuh) as a great prophet that performed miracles by the will of god alone. [005:110] (remember) when allâh will say (on the day of resurrection): "o 'Îsâ (jesus), son of maryam (mary)! remember my favour to you and to your mother when i supported you with rûh-ul-qudus [jibrâîl (gabriel)] so that you spoke to the people in the cradle and in maturity; and when i taught you writing, al-hikmah (the power of understanding), the taurât (torah) and the injîl (gospel); and when you made out of the clay, a figure like that of a bird, by my permission, and you breathed into it, and it became a bird by my permission, and you healed those born blind, and the lepers by my permission, and when you brought forth the dead by my permission; and when i restrained the children of israel from you (when they resolved to kill you) as you came to them with clear proofs, and the disbelievers among them said: 'this is nothing but evident magic."' so there it is the prophet jesus (pbuh), according to the quran, apart from all the other miracles it mentions and that the bible mentions too, which he performed by the leave of god alone, he also designed birds out of clay and blew life into them. these two miracles are not found anywhere in the bible or shall we say the canonized gospels, however if we look in to the apocrypha (the hidden books and texts which many christians do not believe in) we ca see a similarity of these verses there.

the infancy gospel of thomas greek text a ii. 1 this little child jesus when he was five years old was playing at the ford of a brook: and he gathered together the waters that flowed there into pools, and made them straightway clean, and commanded them by his word alone. 2 and having made soft clay, he fashioned thereof twelve sparrows. 4 and joseph came to the place and saw: and cried out to him, saying: wherefore doest thou these things on the sabbath, which it is not lawful to do? but jesus clapped his hands together and cried out to the sparrows and said to them: go! and the sparrows took their flight and went away chirping. greek text b: says the same thing too: iii. 1 now jesus made of that clay twelve sparrows: and it was the sabbath day. and a

child ran and told joseph, saying: behold, thy child playeth about the brook, and hath made sparrows of the clay, which is not lawful. 2 and he when he heard it went and said to the child: wherefore doest thou so and profaneth the sabbath? but jesus answered him not, but looked upon the sparrows and said: go ye, take your flight, and remember me in your life. and at the word they took flight and went up into the air. the first gospel of the infancy of jesus christ says: chapter 1 the following accounts we found in the book of joseph the high-priest, called by some caiaphas: 2 he relates, that jesus spake even when he was in the cradle, and said to his mother: 3 mary, i am jesus the son of god, that word which thou didst bring forth according to the declaration of the angel gabriel to thee, and my father hath sent me for the salvation of the world. so we can see here that the elevation and reverence given to the great prophet jesus (peace be upon him) in islam is not found in the christian nor jewish bibles but actually similarities are hidden away from the people in the apocrypha and many people are made not to believe them. as a christian would one not want to revere jesus even more and agree that he did perform these extra miracles by the will of god? why keep them hidden or even deny their authenticity. one might say that although as we see in the first infancy gospel he speaks in the cradle not to defend his mother as mentioned in the quran, but the idea and concept is there, similarities are there: [019:030] he ['Îsâ (jesus)] said: "verily, i am a slave of allâh, he has given me the scripture and made me a prophet;"

i am jesus the son of god, that word which thou didst bring forth according to the declaration of the angel gabriel to thee, and my father hath sent me for the salvation of the world. translations differed as times went by and some concepts were added and removed as far as the christian texts are concerned but outright the same message is there. jesus (pbuh) as others before were servants of god, they were sent to serve god son of god in hebrew means servant of god or close to god: luke: 69 and hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant david; joh 13:16 verily, verily, i say unto you, the servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. so again islam although, it does not believe in the concept of jesus being god or son of god but holds him in high esteem among the prophets. [002.136] say (o muslims): "we believe in allâh and that which has been sent down to us and that which has been sent down to ibrâhîm (abraham), ismâ'îl (ishmael), ishâq (isaac), ya'qûb (jacob), and to al-asbât [the offspring of the twelve sons of ya'qûb (jacob)], and that which has been given to mûsâ (moses) and 'isâ (jesus),

and that which has been given to the prophets from their lord. we make no distinction between any of them, and to him we have submitted (in islâm)."

in islam the prophet jesus (pbuh) has been given an important role, there are many more verses in the quran about him and his mother. there are chapters that cover these issues in full. the second coming of the prophet jesus (pbuh) too is one of the signs of the end of times. much is said in muslim scriptures (quran and hadeeth {traditions and teachings of the prophet mohamed (pbuh)}) about him when he lived on this earth and also about his second coming, to the extent of how he looks like too. too much for me to mention here. may be i can write more in the future on this issue alone. conclusion: so as we have seen above although muslims do not believe that jesus was the son of god nor god nor was he crucified, but we hold him in very high esteem and not believing what the bible says about him does not in any way belittle him. the claims that muslims do not believe in jesus (pbuh), as some would like others to believe is totally false and has no leg to stand on. muslims love, revere and are the true followers of the true message of jesus (pbuh). [002.087] and indeed, we gave mûsâ (moses) the book and followed him up with a succession of messengers. and we gave 'isâ (jesus), the son of maryam (mary), clear signs and supported him with rûh-ul-qudus [jibrâîl (gabriel) ['alayhis-salâm]]. is it that whenever there came to you a messenger with what you yourselves desired not, you grew arrogant? some you disbelieved and some you killed. [005:046] and in their footsteps, we sent 'Îsâ (jesus), son of maryam (mary), confirming the taurât (torah) that had come before him, and we gave him the injîl (gospel), in which was guidance and light and confirmation of the taurât (torah) that had come before it, a guidance and an admonition for al-muttaqûn (the pious. see v.2:2). [005:047] let the people of the injîl (gospel) judge by what allâh has revealed therein. and whosoever does not judge by what allâh has revealed (then) such (people) are the fâsiqûn [the rebellious i.e. disobedient (of a lesser degree) to allâh]. so until our next meeting i greet you, peace be with those who are righteously guided. aboo mohammad