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The
Islamic and Christian Views of Jesus: A Comparison
The person of Jesus or Isa in Arabic
(peace be upon him) is of great significance in both Islam and Christianity.
However, there are differences in terms of beliefs about the nature and
life occurrences of this noble Messenger.
Source of information about Jesus
in Islam
Most of the Islamic information about
Jesus is actually found in the Quran.
The Quran was revealed by God to Prophet
Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and memorized and written
down in his lifetime. Today, anyone who calls him or herself a Muslim
believes in the complete authenticity of the Quran as the original revealed
guidance from God.
Source of information about Jesus
in Christianity
Christians take their information
about Jesus from the Bible, which includes the Old and New Testaments.
These contain four biblical narratives
covering the life and death of Jesus. They have been written, according
to tradition, respectively by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. They are placed
at the beginning of the New Testament and comprise close to half of it.
Encyclopedia Britannica notes that
none of the sources of his life and work can be traced to Jesus himself;
he did not leave a single known written word. Also, there are no contemporary
accounts written of his life and death. What can be established about
the historical Jesus depends almost without exception on Christian traditions,
especially on the material used in the composition of the Gospels of Mark,
Matthew, and Luke, which reflect the outlook of the later church and its
faith in Jesus.
Below are the views of Islam and Christianity
based on primary source texts and core beliefs.
ISLAM
1. Do Muslims believe he was a Messenger
of One God? YES
Belief in all of the Prophets and
Messengers of God is a fundamental article of faith in Islam. Thus, believing
in Prophets Adam, Jesus, Moses, and Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon
them) is a requirement for anyone who calls him or herself a Muslim. A
person claiming to be a Muslim who, for instance, denies the Messengership
of Jesus, is not considered a Muslim.
The Quran says in reference to the
status of Jesus as a Messenger:
"The Messiah (Jesus), son of Mary,
was no more than a Messenger before whom many Messengers have passed away; and
his mother adhered wholly to truthfulness, and they both ate food (as other
mortals do). See how We make Our signs clear to them; and see where they are
turning away!" (Quran 5:75).
2. Do Muslims believe he was born
of a Virgin Mother? YES
Like Christians, Muslims believe Mary,
Maria in Spanish, or Maryam as she is called in Arabic, was a chaste,
virgin woman, who miraculously gave birth to Jesus.
"Relate in the Book the story
of Mary, when she withdrew from her family, to a place in the East.
She screened herself from them; then We sent to her Our spirit (angel
Gabriel) and he appeared before her as a man in all respects. She
said: I seek refuge from you in God Most Gracious (come not near)
if you do fear God. He said: Nay, I am only a Messenger from your
Lord, to announce to you the gift of a pure son. She said: How shall
I have a son, when no man has ever touched me, and I am not unchaste?
He said: So it will be, your Lord says: ‘That is easy for Me;
and We wish to appoint him as a sign unto men and a Mercy from Us':
It was a matter so decreed" (Quran 19:16-21).
3. Do Muslims believe Jesus had a
miraculous birth? YES
The Quran says:
"She (Mary) said: ‘O
my Lord! How shall I have a son when no man has touched me.' He (God)
said: ‘So (it will be) for God creates what He wills. When He
has decreed something, He says to it only: ‘Be!'- and it is"
(3:47).
It should also be noted about his
birth that:
"Verily, the likeness of
Jesus in God's Sight is the likeness of Adam. He (God) created him
from dust, then (He) said to him: ‘Be!'-and he was" (Quran
3:59).
4. Do Muslims believe Jesus spoke
in the cradle? YES
"Then she (Mary) pointed
to him. They said: ‘How can we talk to one who is a child in
the cradle?' He (Jesus) said: ‘Verily! I am a slave of God, He
has given me the Scripture and made me a Prophet; " (19:29-30).
5. Do Muslims believe he performed
miracles? YES
Muslims, like Christians believe Jesus
performed miracles. But these were performed by the will and permission
of God, Who has power and control over all things.
"Then will God say: ‘O
Jesus the son of Mary! recount My favor to you and to your mother.
Behold! I strengthened you with the Holy Spirit (the angel Gabriel)
so that you did speak to the people in childhood and in maturity.
Behold! I taught you the Book and Wisdom, the Law and the Gospel.
And behold: you make out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird,
by My leave, and you breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by My
leave, and you heal those born blind, and the lepers by My leave.
And behold! you bring forth the dead by My leave. And behold! I did
restrain the children of Israel from (violence to you) when you did
show them the Clear Signs, and the unbelievers among them said: ‘This
is nothing but evident magic' (5:110).
6. Do Muslims believe in the Trinity?
NO
Muslims believe in the Absolute Oneness
of God, Who is a Supreme Being free of human limitations, needs and wants.
He has no partners in His Divinity. He is the Creator of everything and
is completely separate from His creation.
God says in the Quran regarding the
Trinity:
"People of the Book (Jews
and Christians)! Do not exceed the limits in your religion, and attribute
to God nothing except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary,
was only a Messenger of God, and His command that He conveyed unto
Mary, and a spirit from Him. So believe in God and in His Messengers,
and do not say: ‘God is a Trinity.' Give up this assertion; it
would be better for you. God is indeed just One God. Far be it from
His glory that He should have a son. To Him belongs all that is in
the heavens and in the earth. God is sufficient for a guardian"
(Quran 4:171).
7. Do Muslims believe that Jesus
was the son of God? NO
"Say: "God is Unique! God,
the Source [of everything]. He has not fathered anyone nor was He
fathered, and there is nothing comparable to Him!" (Quran 112:1-4).
The Quran also states:
"Such was Jesus, the son
of Mary; it is a statement of truth, about which they vainly dispute.
It is not befitting to the majesty of God, that He should beget a
son. Glory be to Him! When He determines a matter, He only says to
it, ‘Be' and it is" (Quran 19:34-35).
8. Do Muslims believe Jesus was
killed on the cross then resurrected? NO
“They did not kill him, nor did they
crucify him, but they thought they did.” (Quran 4:156) “God lifted
him up to His presence. God is Almighty, All-Wise” (Quran 4:157) .
CHRISTIANITY
1. Do Christians believe
Jesus was a human being and Messenger of God? YES & NO
With the exception of Unitarian
Christians, who like all the early followers of Jesus, still do not believe
in the Trinity, most Christians now believe in the Divinity of Jesus, which
is connected to the belief in Trinity. They say he is the second member of the
Triune God, the Son of the first part of the Triune God, and at the same time
"fully" God in every respect.
2. Do Christians believe
he was born of a Virgin Mother? YES
A chaste and pious
human woman who gave birth to Jesus Christ, the second member of the Trinity,
the Son of God, and at the same time "fully" God Almighty in every respect.
Christians believe however,
that while she was a virgin, she was married to a man named Joseph (Bible: Matthew:1:18).
According to Matthew 1:25, Joseph "kept her a virgin until she gave birth
to a Son; and he called His name Jesus".
3. Do Christians believe
he had a miraculous birth? YES
"Now the birth of Jesus
Christ was as follows. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before
they came together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit"
(Bible: Matthew 1:18)
4. Do Christians believe
he performed miracles? YES
"And now,
Lord, look upon their threats, and grant to thy servants to speak
thy word with all boldness, while thou stretches out thy hand to heal,
and sign and wonders are performed through the name of thy holy servant
Jesus (Bible: Acts 4:30).
Christians believe that
Jesus performed these miracles because he was the Son of God as well as the
incarnation of God.
5. Do Christians believe
in the Trinity? YES
With the exception
of the Unitarian Christians, who do not believe in the Divinity of Christ,
the Trinity, according to the Catholic encyclopedia, is the term used
for the central doctrine of the Christian religion. The belief is that
in the unity of the Godhead there are Three Persons, the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit. These three Persons or beings are distinct from each
another, while being similar in character: uncreated and omnipotent.
The First Vatican Council
has explained the meaning to be attributed to the term mystery in theology.
It lays down that a mystery is a truth which we are not merely incapable of
discovering apart from Divine Revelation, but which, even when revealed, remains
"hidden by the veil of faith and enveloped, so to speak, by a kind of darkness"
(Const., "De fide. cath.", iv). The First Vatican Council further defined that
the Christian Faith contains mysteries strictly so called (can. 4). All theologians
admit that the doctrine of the Trinity is of the number of these. The Catholic
Encyclopedia notes that of all revealed truths, this is the most impenetrable
to reason.
6. Do Christians
believe that Jesus was the son of God? YES
"For God
so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes
in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son
into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might
be saved through Him (Bible: John 3:16).
However, it is interesting
to note that the term "son of God" is used in other parts of the Bible
to refer to Adam (Bible: Luke 3:38), Israel (Bible: Exodus 4:22) and David (Bible:
Psalms 2:7) as well. The creatures of God are usually referred to in the Bible
as children of God.
The role of Paul of
Tarsus in shaping this belief and the belief in Trinity
The notion of Jesus
as son of God is something that was established under the influence of
Paul of Tarsus (originally named Saul), who had been an enemy of Jesus,
but later changed course and joined the disciples after the departure
of Jesus.
Later, however, he
initiated a number of changes into early Christian teachings, in contradiction,
for instance, to disciples like Barnabas, who believed in the Oneness
of God and who had actually lived and met with Jesus.
Paul is considered
by a number of Christian scholars to be the father of Christianity due
to his additions of the following ideas:
-
that Jesus is
the son of God,
-
the concept
of Atonement,
-
the renunciation
of the Law of the Torah.
Paul did these things
in hopes of winning over the Gentiles (non-Jewish people). His letters
are another of the primary sources of information on Jesus according to
the Christian tradition.
The original followers
of Prophet Jesus opposed these blatant misrepresentations of the message
of Jesus. They struggled to reject the notion of the Divinity of Jesus
for close to 200 years.
One person who was
an original follower of Jesus was Barnabas. He was a Jew born in Cyrus
and a successful preacher of the teachings of Jesus. Because of his closeness
to Jesus, he was an important member of the small group of disciples in
Jerusalem who had had gathered together following the disappearance of
Jesus.
The question of Jesus's
nature, origin and relationship with God was not raised amongst Barnabas
and the small group of disciples. Jesus was considered a man miraculously
endowed by God. Nothing in the words of Jesus or the events in his life
led them to modify this view.
The Gospel of Barnabas
was accepted as a Canonical Gospel in the Churches of Alexandria till
325 CE Iranaeus (130-200) wrote in support of pure monotheism and opposed
Paul for injecting into Christianity doctrines of the pagan Roman religion
and Platonic philosophy. He quoted extensively from the Gospel of Barnabas
in support of his views. This indicates that the Gospel of Barnabas was
in circulation in the first and second centuries of Christianity.
In 325 (CE), a council
of Christian leaders met at Nicaea and made Paul's beliefs officially
part of Christian doctrine. It also ordered that all original Gospels
in Hebrew script which contradicted Paul's beliefs should be destroyed.
An edict was issued that anyone in possession of these Gospels would be
put to death.
The Gospel of Barnabas has
miraculously survived though.
7. Do Christians believe
he was killed on the cross? YES
This is a core Christian
belief and it relates to the concept of atonement. According to this belief,
Jesus died to save mankind from sin. However, this is not stated explicitly
in the four gospels which form the primary source texts of Christianity.
It is found, however, in Romans 6:8,9.
Christians believe
Jesus was spat on, cut, humiliated, kicked, striped and finally hung up
on the cross to endure a slow and painful death.
According, to Christian
belief, the original sin of Adam and Eve of eating from the forbidden tree was
so great that God could not forgive it by simply willing it, rather it was necessary
to erase it with the blood of a sinless, innocent Jesus.
Resurrection
The four Gospels and
the Epistles of St. Paul are the main sources of Christianity which discuss
the Resurrection of Jesus after his crucifixion. According to St. Matthew,
Jesus appeared to the holy women, and again on a mountain in Galilee.
Mark's Gospel tells a different story: Jesus was seen by Mary Magdalene,
by the two disciples at Emmaus, and the Eleven before his Ascension into
heaven.
Luke's Gospel says
Jesus walked with the disciples to Emmaus, appeared to Peter and to the
assembled disciples in Jerusalem. In John's Gospel, Jesus appeared to
Mary Magdalene, to the ten Apostles on Easter Sunday, to the Eleven a
week later, and to seven disciples at the Sea of Tiberias.
Another account of
the resurrection by St. Paul is found in Bible: Corinthians 15: 3-8.
According to Christian
belief, Resurrection is a manifestation of God's justice, Who exalted
Christ to a life of glory, as Christ had humbled himself unto death (Phil.,
2: 8-9). This event also completes the mystery of Christian salvation
and redemption. The death of Jesus frees believers from sin, and with
his resurrection, he restores to them the most important privileges lost
by sin (Bible: Romans 4:25).
More importantly, the belief
in the resurrection of Jesus indicates Christian acknowledgment of Christ as
the immortal God, the cause of believers' own resurrection (Bible: I Corinthians
4: 21; Phil., 3:20-21), as well as the model and the support of a new life of
grace (Bible: Romans 4: 4-6; 9-11).
Date/Time Last Modified: 12/3/2006 11:00:21 AM
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