Muslims and Jesus

MUSLIMS love Jesus. We also love Abraham, Moses, and Noah, to name just a few other Prophets Muslims revere. May God's peace be upon all of these great messengers of God.

Muslims also love the mother of Jesus, the Virgin Mary. We believe she was a pious and noble woman chosen over all of the women of the world.

Muslims believe that Jesus was born miraculously of a virgin mother and no father. His birth is miraculous like the birth of Adam, the first human being, who was created with neither mother nor father.

Muslims do not believe that Jesus was the son of God. God is so powerful and self-sufficient that He does not need a son or any kind of partner.

In Arabic Bible the name for God is Allah. Therefore all Arab Christian call God Allah as Muslim do as well.

Jesus did not die on the cross. Rather, God saved  him as his enemies were confused about him. Jesus was taken up by God to Heaven.

Jesus is called Isa (pronounced Eesa) in Arabic.

Jesus performed miracles by the Will of God, like healing the blind and those with leprosy.

Jesus prayed to the same God as all Prophets and we pray to.

Jesus will return before the end of the world.

 John: A Prophet of Islam 

Amongst the 25 Prophets mentioned by God in the Quran, one name is Prophet John (peace be upon him). In Arabic, his name is Yahya. He is also a Prophet who figures prominently in Christianity, where he is known as John the Baptist. His story in the Christian tradition is described in Bible Luke 1:5-22.

  His miraculous birth 

Prophet Jesus was not the only Prophet who was born miraculously. By miraculous, we mean outside of the normal process of human reproduction Allah has ordained which requires a man and a woman to conceive a child. In the case of Jesus, this meant being born of a mother but no father.

But Prophet Adam (peace be upon him)'s birth was even more miraculous in this sense since he was created with no mother or father. Similarly, Hawwa or Eve (may Allah be pleased with her) was created from a man, her husband, and no parents. 

The birth of Prophet John is miraculous because he is the offspring of a barren mother and an elderly father. His father, it should be noted, was also a Prophet named Zecheriah.

"'Zecheriah, We bring you the good news of the birth of a son whose name shall be John, one whose namesake We never created before.' He said: ‘My Lord! How can I have a boy when my wife is barren and I have reached an extremely old age?' He answered: ‘So shall it be.' Your Lord says: ‘It is easy for Me', and then added: ‘For beyond doubt, I created you earlier when you were nothing' (Quran 19:7-9).

"Zecheriah exclaimed: ‘My Lord! How shall I have a son when old age has overtaken me and my wife is barren?' He said: ‘Thus shall it be; Allah does what He wills'"(Quran 3:40).

With the birth of John, Allah granted Zecheriah his desire for an heir.

"And We bestowed favor upon Zecheriah, when he cried to his Lord: ‘Lord! Leave me not solitary [without any issue]. You are the best Inheritor.' So We accepted his prayer and bestowed upon him John, and We made his wife fit (to bear a child). Verily they hastened in doing good works and called upon Us with longing and fear, and humbled themselves to Us" (Quran 21:89-90).

  The beautiful qualities of John 

Allah did not just miraculously grant Zecheriah a son. He made this child a blessing for his parents and beautiful in character. Prophet John is described in the Quran as chaste and righteous.

"Then Zecheriah prayed to his Lord: ‘O Lord! Grant me from Yourself out of Your grace the gift of a goodly offspring, for indeed You alone heed all Prayers. As he stood praying in the sanctuary, the angels called out to him: ‘Allah gives you good tidings of John, who shall confirm a command of Allah, shall be outstanding among men, utterly chaste, and a Prophet from among the righteous" (Quran 3:38-39).  

"'O John! Hold fast the Book with all your strength. We had bestowed wisdom upon him while he was still a child; and We also endowed him with tenderness and purity; and he was exceedingly pious and cherishing to his parents. Never was he insolent or rebellious. Peace be upon him, the day he was born, and the day he will die, and the day he will be raised up alive. (Quran 19: 12-15).

  Part of a line of honored Prophets

Finally, as mentioned above, Prophet John is one of the Prophets Muslims must believe in. He is one of the 25 mentioned in the Quran.

  The other Ansar: Companions of Prophet Jesus

 (A note for non-Muslim readers of this article: In the Muslim understanding, all Prophets of God and their true followers are those who have submitted to God, and are thus considered Muslim. Furthermore, with the passage of time, a number of beliefs and practices have been added to the original message of Godthat has been revealed to humans through various Prophets which have diluted the original pure message of belief in One God. This understanding serves as a common ground for Muslims and those of other faiths, since there is recognition of the Divine nature of other faiths).

If you say the word "Ansar" (helper) to many Muslims, they will most probably point to the city of Madinah in modern day Saudi Arabia and talk about a group of remarkable individuals of early Islamic history.

They'll tell you about these people of this blessed city who accepted Islam and opened their homes, wealth, families, and most importantly, their hearts, to fellow Muslims in need, the Muhajirs.

Muhajirs were Muslims who had left their homes, livelihoods and in many cases, their families in the city of Makkah, for the sake of Allah and migrated to Madinah after enduring extreme suffering and hardship simply because they had chosen Islam over the polytheism of their ancestors.

The Muhajirs were homeless and more or less penniless in Madinah. They needed help.

  Enter the Muslims of Madinah 

These Muslims became the Ansars (helpers) of their Muhajir brothers and sisters in faith. The Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, instituted a system whereby one Muhajir and one Ansari were teamed up. They become brothers and sisters not just in material things, but in their hearts as well.

Allah talks about these Ansar in the Quran: 

"And of those who led the way-the first of the Emigrants (Muhajirun) and the Helpers (Ansar), and those who followed them in the best possible manner-Allah is well-pleased with them and they are well-pleased with Allah. He has prepared for them Gardens beneath which rivers flow; therein they will abide for ever. That is the supreme triumph (Quran 9:100).

"Surely Allah has relented towards the Prophet, and towards the Muhajirun (Emigrants) and the Ansar (Helpers) who stood by him in the hour of distress when the hearts of a party of them had well-nigh swerved. (But when they gave up swerving from the right course and followed the Prophet) Allah relented towards them. Surely to them He is Most Tender, Most Merciful" (Quran 9:117).

But the term Ansar is used in the Quran to describe another group of people, who lived hundreds of years before the time of Prophet, but who were also Muslims.

The Ansar of Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him)

"And when Jesus perceived their leaning towards unbelief, he asked: ‘Who will be my helpers in the way of God?' The disciples said: ‘We are the helpers of God. We believe in Allah, and be our witness that we have submitted ourselves exclusively to God. Our Lord! We believe in the commandment You have revealed and we obey the Messenger; make us, then, one of those who bear witness (to the Truth)' (3:52-53).

In his explanation of these two verses of the Quran, Syed Abul Ala Mawdudi notes that the word "Hawari" means almost the same thing as "Ansar" in the Islamic tradition. In the Bible, the usual terms are ‘apostles' and ‘disciples'. Jesus' chosen disciples were called apostles in the sense that they had been entrusted with a mission by him rather than in the sense of having been entrusted with a mission by God.

  These Ansar were also Muslims 

These earlier Ansar, like the later ones of the Prophet's time, submitted to the Truth: the Oneness of God and obedience to His commands, which has been the message of all Prophets from the time of the first Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) until the last one, Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. By submitting to the Truth, they were witnesses to it. Those who submit to the Truth are also called Muslims.

In fact, God describes these earlier Ansar clearly as Muslims.

"And when I (Allah) put in the hearts of the disciples (of Jesus) to believe in Me and My Messenger, they said: ‘We believe. And bear witness that we are Muslims'" (Quran 5:111).

As followers of the true message of Prophet Jesus, they were, as all the Prophets are, Muslims.

  Seeking a strengthening of faith 

The Ansar of Jesus, like thousands of individuals of the past and present, wanted proof to strengthen their belief in Allah and the message He had sent through Jesus. Their request was for food (Maidah). This word is the title of the fifth chapter of the Quran, in which this request is discussed.

They said: ‘We wish to eat thereof and to be stronger in Faith, and to know that you have indeed told us the truth and that we ourselves be its witnesses.'

Jesus, son of Mary, said: ‘O Allah, our Lord! Send us from heaven a table spread (with food) that there may be for us-for the first and the last of us-a festival and a sign from You; and provide us sustenance, for You are the Best of sustainers.'

Allah said: ‘I am going to send it down unto you, but if any of you after that disbelieves, then I will punish him with a torment such as I have not inflicted on anyone among (all) the mankind and Jinns (Quran: 112-115).

Interestingly, these disciples of Prophet Jesus consider him just that: a Messenger, and the son of Mary. They never refer to him as God, or son of God. Nor do they ask him for a miracle. They know that all power is with Allah alone.

Victory without battle

The Ansar at the time of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, fought a number of battles against the disbelieving Makkans, after having endured years of severe persecution and attack. Ultimately, Allah granted them victory over their enemies and they reentered Makkah in a triumph for Truth and Justice.

The earlier Ansar were also granted victory. However, this was done with no formal war on the battlefield. God says in the Quran:

"O you who believe! Be you helpers (in the Cause of) Allah as said Jesus, son of Mary, to the disciples: ‘Who are my helpers (in the Cause of Allah)?' The disciples said: ‘We are Allah's helpers. Then a group of the Children of Israel believed and a group disbelieved. So We gave power to those who believed against their enemies, and they became the uppermost" (61:14).

  Lessons from the two Ansars  

Faith in the face of difficulties and seeking and supporting the Truth: these are characteristics of both groups of Ansar. These committed individuals took a stand to support of One Message-the Oneness of God and obedience to Him. They also supported the Messengers who brought them the Truth in their times, in spite of the hostility and enmity of their contemporaries. May Allah make our faith strong like that of these blessed Ansar.