Editing Jesus in Islam (section)

== Islamic theology ==
{{Jesus|in Islam}}
[[File:Persian miniature of Jesus and Mary.jpg|thumb|upright|Jesus and Mary in a 16th-century [[Persian miniature]]]]

{{Blockquote
 |quote = Muslims do not worship Jesus, who is known as Isa in Arabic, nor do they consider him divine, but they do believe that he was a [[prophet]] or messenger of God and he is called the Messiah in the Quran. However, by affirming Jesus as Messiah they are attesting to his messianic message, not his mission as a [[Christology#Crucifixion and Resurrection|heavenly Christ]].{{nbsp}}[...] Islam insists that neither Jesus nor Mohammed brought a {{em|new}} religion. Both sought to call people back to what might be called "[[Abrahamic religions|Abrahamic faith]]." This is precisely what we find emphasized in the [[Epistle of James|book of James]]. Like Islam, the book of James, and the teaching of Jesus in [[Q source|Q]], emphasize {{em|doing}} the will of God as a demonstration of one's faith.{{nbsp}}[...] Since Muslims reject all of the [[Pauline Christianity|Pauline affirmations]] about Jesus, and thus the central claims of [[Jesus in Christianity|orthodox]] [[Christianity]], the gulf between Islam and Christianity on Jesus is a wide one.
 |source = Professor [[James D. Tabor]] in his book ''[[The Jesus Dynasty]]''<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tabor |first1=James |title=The Jesus Dynasty: The Hidden History of Jesus, His Royal Family, and the Birth of Christianity |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |date=August 28, 2017 |orig-year=1st pub. 2006 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/jesusdynastyhidd00tabo/page/315 315–316] |chapter=Conclusion: RECOVERING LOST TREASURES |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CKFUFtnnffgC&pg=PA315 |isbn=978-0-7432-8723-4  |url=https://archive.org/details/jesusdynastyhidd00tabo/page/315 }}</ref>}}

Jesus is described in various ways in the Quran. The most common reference to Jesus occurs in the form of {{transliteration|ar|Ibn Maryam}} ('son of Mary'), sometimes preceded with another title. Jesus is also recognized as a {{transliteration|ar|nabī}} ('prophet') and {{transliteration|ar|rasūl}} ('messenger') of God. The terms {{transliteration|ar|'abd-Allāh}} ('servant of God'), {{transliteration|ar|wadjih}} ('worthy of esteem in this world and the next') and {{transliteration|ar|mubārak}} ('blessed', or 'a source of benefit for others') are all used in reference to him.<ref name="EoI-Isa"/> According to Islam, Jesus never claimed to be divine.{{sfn|Cook|1983|pp=32–33}}

Jesus' role in Muslim theology falls roughly under four types:<ref>{{cite book |last=Cook |first=David |author-link=David Cook (historian) |editor-last1=Grypeou |editor-first1=Emmanouela |editor-last2=Swanson |editor-first2=Mark N. |editor-last3=Thomas |editor-first3=David Richard |year=2006 |chapter=New Testament Citations in the Hadith Literature and the Question of Early Gospel Translations into Arabic |title=The Encounter of Eastern Christianity With Early Islam |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nTjRzNwZEWAC |type=Papers from a workshop held in June 2003 in Erfurt |series=The History of Christian-Muslim Relations, ISSN 1570-7350, volume 5 |location=Leiden |publisher=Koninklijke Brill NV |pages=190–191 |isbn=978-9-0041-4938-0 |access-date=10 February 2025}}
</ref>
* a perception based on fragments of the New Testament
* anti-Jewish, exposing thieves, criminals, and liars (usually identified with Jews)
* an ascetic, based on monastic tradition; prevalent particularly in [[Sufism|Sufi literature]]
* an Islamic messenger, exercising polemics against Christians and predicting the coming of Muhammad (as Surah 61:6)

Islam sees Jesus as human, sent as the [[Prophets and messengers in Islam#Prophets and messengers|last]] prophet of Israel to [[Jews]] with the [[Gospel in Islam|Gospel]] scripture, affirming but modifying the [[Mosaic Law]].<ref>{{cite book |last1= Sakura|first1= Muham|title= The Great Tale of Prophet Adam & Prophet Jesus In Islam|publisher= [[United Submitters International]]|date= 11 November 2017|orig-date= December 2015|page= 6|chapter= Preface|isbn= 9783739635736|chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=UzKDCwAAQBAJ}}</ref><ref name="Akhtar 2017">{{cite book |last1= Akhtar|first1= Shabbir|title=T he Quran and the Secular Mind: A Philosophy of Islam|publisher= [[Routledge]]|date= 24 October 2017|orig-date= October 2007|page= 31|chapter= PART 1: Quranic Islam and the secular mind|chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=wa1HRjA0AgEC&pg=PA31|isbn= 978-0-203-93531-6}}</ref><ref name="HH">{{cite book |last1= Al-Qaradawi|first1= Yusuf|title= The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam (Al-Halal Wal Haram Fil Islam)|publisher= American Trust Publications |date= 30 January 2018|orig-year= 30 January 1999|pages= 5|chapter= INTRODUCTION|chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=v21NCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA5|title-link= The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam|isbn= 9780892590162|author1-link= Yusuf al-Qaradawi}}</ref> Islamic accounts have rejected any divine notions of Jesus being God, or the begotten Son of God, or of the [[Trinity]]. Islamic theology teaches such beliefs constitute {{transliteration|ar|[[Shirk (Islam)|shirk]]}} (the "association" of partners with God) and thereby a rejection of his divine oneness ({{transliteration|ar|[[tawhid]]}}) as the sole unpardonable sin.<ref name=multiple>See:
*{{harvp|Esposito|2002|pp=32, 74}}
*{{harvp|Fasching|deChant|2001|p=241}}
*{{harvp|Markham|Ruparell|2001|p=348}}</ref> According to Islamic theology, Jesus received an original message, containing references to Muhammad, but which became distorted later under Jewish and Roman influence.<ref>Thomas, David. "The encounter of Eastern Christianity with early Islam." The Encounter of Eastern Christianity with Early Islam. Brill, 2006. p. 191</ref> Rather than being divine or a savior, Jesus  confirms to the Islamic concept of prophetic mission.{{sfn|Barker|Gregg|2010|p=90}}
The strict monotheism of Islam rejects any [[Christological]] debate which conflates Jesus in any way with Allah or with God the Father, precluding any divinity in Jesus and avoiding the subtleties of [[Trinitarianism]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Afayori |first=Robert |date=11 February 2021 |chapter=5.3 Islamic Christology in ther Light of the ''Tawhid'' |title=Christology in Christian-Muslim Dialogue: The Hermeneutics of Interreligious Learning for the Promotion of Common Values |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o-IdEAAAQBAJ |publisher=Novum Pro Verlag |page=206 |isbn=978-3-9910-7294-2 |access-date=10 February 2025 |quote=The ''Tawhid'' [...] leaves no room for any Islamic theologizing about God outside the confines of strict monotheism.}}</ref>

A frequent title of Jesus mentioned is {{transliteration|ar|[[Masih (title)|al-Masīḥ]]}}, which translates to 'the Messiah', as well as '[[Christ (title)|Christ]]'. Although the Quran is silent on its significance,<ref name="Akhtar 2017, p. 32">{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=wa1HRjA0AgEC&pg=PA32|title= The Quran and the Secular Mind: A Philosophy of Islam|first= Shabbir|last= Akhtar|date= 31 October 2007|publisher= Routledge|via= Google Books|isbn= 9781134072569}}</ref> Muslim scholars{{Who|date=March 2018}} disagree with the [[Messiah#Christianity|Christian concepts]] of the term "Messiah", and lean towards a [[Messiah in Judaism|Jewish]] understanding. Muslim exegetes explain the use of the word {{transliteration|ar|masīh}} in the Quran as referring to Jesus' status as the [[Anointing|one anointed]] by means of blessings and honors; or as the one who helped cure the sick, by anointing the eyes of the blind, for example.<ref name="EoI-Isa"/>

Jesus is also associated both with a word from God and with a spirit.<ref>{{qref|4|171|c=y}} - "The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, was no more than a messenger of Allah and the fulfilment of His Word through Mary and a spirit ˹created by a command˺ from Him."</ref> The interpretations are collected by the [[Tafsir|Quran exegete]] [[Mahmud al-Alusi]]: Jesus is the embodiment of God's word uttered at the moment of his conception (9:169, 14:30, 3:42), announced in the "word of God", prophesied preached by preceding prophets; Jesus is the word of God because he speaks on behalf of God; or that Jesus is a word of God because Jesus is, in his own person, “good news”.<ref>Anawati, G.C. (2012). ʿĪsā. In P. Bearman (ed.), ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'' New Edition Online (EI-2 English). Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0378</ref>

Muhammad described himself as the "nearest of all people to Jesus".{{Sfn|Abdullah|2014|p=124}}

=== Similitude with Adam ===
The Quran emphasizes Allah's creation of Jesus: "The case of Jesus in the eyes of God is like that of Adam. He created him from earth and then said to him, 'Be!' And he is." (Q:3:59),<ref name="Akhtar 2017, p. 32"/> through his similitude with [[Adam]] in regards to the absence of human origin. Muhammad often used to compare the births of Adam and Jesus.{{sfn|Robinson|1991|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ht1hpisBQF0C&pg=PA12 12]}}

Islamic exegesis extrapolates a logical inconsistency behind the Christian argument of divine intervention, as such implications would have ascribed divinity to Adam who is understood only as creation.<ref name="Akhtar 2017, p. 32"/>

=== Precursor to Muhammad ===
{{Six Islamic Prophets}}

In Islam, Jesus is believed to have been the precursor to the Islamic prophet [[Muhammad in Islam|Muhammad]]. According to the Quran, the coming of [[Muhammad in Islam|Muhammad]] was predicted by [[Jesus]] in {{qref|61|6|pl=y}}. Through this verse, early Arab Muslims claimed legitimacy for their new faith in the existing religious traditions and the alleged predictions of Jesus.<ref>{{Cite journal|last= Virani|first= Shafique N.|year= 2011|title= Taqiyya and Identity in a South Asian Community|url= https://www.academia.edu/36996009|journal= The Journal of Asian Studies|volume= 70|issue= 1|pages= 99–139|doi= 10.1017/S0021911810002974|issn= 0021-9118|s2cid= 143431047}} p. 128.</ref> Muslims believe that Jesus was a precursor to Muhammad, and that he prophesied the latter's coming.<ref>{{cite book|last= Klauck|first= Hans-Josef Klauck|author-link = Hans-Josef Klauck|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=WoqXMHPY5EgC&pg=PA18|title= The Apocryphal Gospels: An Introduction|date= 2003|publisher= Bloomsbury T&T Clark|isbn= 978-0567083906|location= London|page= 18}}</ref><ref name="Leirvik 2010, p. 59-60" /> This perspective is based on a verse of the Quran wherein Jesus speaks of a messenger to appear after him named "Ahmad".<ref>Quran 61:06</ref> Islam associates [[Ahmad#Interpretations and meaning of Ahmad|Ahmad]] with Muhammad, both words deriving from the ''[[Ḥ-M-D|h-m-d]]'' [[Semitic root|triconsonantal root]] which refers to praiseworthiness. Muslims assert that evidence of Jesus' pronouncement is present in the [[New Testament]], citing the mention of the [[Paraclete]] whose coming is foretold in the [[Gospel of John]].<ref>{{Cite web|title= Jesus' Omen about the Paraclete {{!}} Supporting Prophet Muhammad website|url= https://rasoulallah.net/en/articles/article/222/|access-date= 28 July 2021|website= rasoulallah.net}}</ref>

Muslim commentators claim that the original Greek word used was {{transliteration|grc|periklutos}}, meaning 'famed', 'illustrious', or 'praiseworthy'—rendered in Arabic as {{transliteration|ar|Ahmad}}; and that this was replaced by Christians with {{transliteration|grc|parakletos}}.<ref name="EoI-Isa"/>{{sfn|Watt|2013|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=_qxlAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA33 33]}} This idea is debated, asking if the traditional understanding is supported by the text of the Quran.

Islamic theology claims Jesus had foretold another prophet succeeding him according to [[Sura 61]]:6, with the mention of the name 'Ahmad'. ([[Ahmad]] is an Arabic name from the same [[triconsonantal]] root [[Ḥ-M-D]] = [ح – م – د].) In responding to [[Ibn Ishaq]]'s biography of Muhammad, the [[Prophetic biography|Sirat Rasul Allah]], Islamic scholar [[Alfred Guillaume]] wrote:

{{blockquote|Coming back to the term "Ahmad", Muslims have suggested that Ahmad is the translation of periklutos, celebrated or the Praised One, which is a corruption of parakletos, the Paraclete of John XIV, XV and XVI.<ref>Liddell and Scott's celebrated Greek-English Lexicon gives this definition for periklutos: "heard of all round, famous, renowned, Latin inclytus: of things, excellent, noble, glorious".  Rev. [[James Morris Whiton]], ed. ''A Lexicon abridged from Liddell and Scott's Greek-English Lexicon''. New York: American Book Company, N.D. c.1940s, p.549. {{lang | grc | Periklutos}} occurs in ''The Iliad'' and in ''The Odyssey'', and in Hesiod's ''Theogony''.</ref>}}

=== Messianism ===
An alternative, more esoteric, interpretation is expounded by [[Messianism|Messianic]] [[Muslims]]<ref>{{cite journal|last= Travis|first= John|title= Messian Muslim Followers of Isa|journal= International Journal of Frontier Missions|year= 2000|volume= 17|issue= Spring|page= 54|url= http://www.ijfm.org/PDFs_IJFM/17_1_PDFs/Followers_of_Isa.pdf}}</ref> in the [[Sufism|Sufi]] and [[Ismailism|Isma'ili]] traditions so as to unite [[Islam]], [[Christianity]] and [[Judaism]] into a single religious [[Continuum (theory)|continuum]].<ref>{{cite web|last= Cumming|first= Joseph|title= Muslim Followers of Jesus?|url= http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/december/index.html|publisher= ChristianityToday|access-date= 20 November 2009}}</ref> Other Messianic Muslims hold a similar theological view regarding Jesus, without attempting to unite the religions.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.touchstonemag.com/archives/article.php?id=15-09-032-f|title= Touchstone Archives: Can Jesus Save Islam?|access-date= 17 October 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carl-medearis/muslims-who-follow-jesus_b_2436538.html|title= Muslims Who Follow Jesus|first1= Carl|last1= Medearis|website= [[HuffPost]]|date= 9 January 2013|access-date= 17 October 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2013/january-february/jesus-saves-religion-doesnt.html|title=Why Evangelicals Should Be Thankful for Muslim Insiders|date=15 January 2013 |access-date=17 October 2016}}</ref> Making use of the [[New Testament]]'s distinguishing between [[Jesus]], [[Son of Man]] (being the physical human Jesus), and [[Christ]], [[Son of God]] (being [[Holy Spirit#Islam|the Holy Spirit]] of God residing in the body of Jesus), [[the Holy Spirit]], being immortal and immaterial, is not subject to crucifixion – for it can never die, nor can it be touched by the earthly nails of the crucifixion, for it is a being of pure spirit. Thus, while the spirit of Christ avoided crucifixion by ascending unto God, the body that was Jesus was sacrificed on the cross, thereby bringing the [[Old Testament]] to final fulfillment. Thus Quranic passages on the death of Jesus affirm that while the [[Pharisees]] intended to destroy [[Jesus]] completely, they, in fact, succeeded only in killing [[Son of Man|the Son of Man]], being his {{transliteration|ar|nasut}} ('material being'). Meanwhile, [[the Son of God]], being his {{transliteration|ar|lahut}} ('spiritual being') remained alive and undying – because it is [[the Holy Spirit]].<ref>''Encyclopedia of Islam'', "Jesus" article. cf. L. Massignon, ''Le Christ dans les Évangiles selon Ghazali'', in REI, 1932, 523–36, who cites texts of the [[Rasa'il Ikhwan al-Safa]], a passage of [[Abu Hatim Ahmad ibn Hamdan al-Razi|Abu Hatim al-Razi]] (about 934), and another of the Isma'ili ''[[da'i]]'' [[Mu'ayyad fid-din al-Shirazi]] (1077).</ref>