Muslim Voices on Jesus - Discovery Website

Muslim Voices on Jesus

Concerning his person, nature and character

Behold, the angel said, 'Oh, Mary, God giveth thee glad tidings of a word from Him. His name will be Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honor in this world and the hereafter, and the company of those nearest to God. He shall speak to the people in childhood and in maturity. He shall be of the company of the righteous.'

Qur’an
Sura 3.45-46


The world sighs out for Happiness, and saith
"The very desert liveth: where is Death?"
The hand of Moses blooms on many a bough,
And every breeze is sweet with Jesus' breath.

Omar Khayyam (1048-1131)Persian philosopher, mathematician and poet
Rubaiyat translated Edward Winfield 1883


Considered in his mortal form, one might say that he is the son of Mary. Considered in the form of humanity, one might say that he is of Gabriel, while considered with respect to the revival of the dead one might say that he is of God as Spirit. Thus one might call him the spirit of God, which is to say that life is manifest into whomsoever he blows.

Ibn al-Arabi (1076-1148) Andalusian Islamic scholar
al-Arabi, Fusus al-bikam, The Bezels of Wisdom, trans. R. W. J. Austin (New York: Paulist Press 1980), p. 174-8 and quoted by Mona Siddiqui in Christians, Muslims and Jesus (New Haven: Yale University Press 2013), p. 142.


When someone asks you 'How did Christ quicken the dead?' Then give me a kiss in his presence. 'Thus!'

Jalal al-din Rumi (1207-1273) Persian Sufi poet and theologian
Quoted by Mona Siddiqui in Christians, Muslims and Jesus (New Haven: Yale University Press 2013), p. 144.


Jesus, Son of Mary (on whom be peace) said: The World is a Bridge, pass over it, but build no houses upon it. He who hopes for a day, may hope for eternity; but the World endures but an hour. Spend it in prayer, for the rest is unseen.

Emperor Akbar (1542-1605) Third Mughal Emperor (1556-1605)
Inscription placed on the Gate of Victory near Agra


We, as Muslims deeply revere Jesus Christ as one of the great messengers of Allah Almighty. His teachings and his message of love and peace is as relevant to us as it is to our Christian brethren. Indeed, his message of love, compassion and sacrifice is relevant to the entire humanity.

Mamnoon Hussain (1940-) President of Pakistan (2013-)
Daily Times of Pakistan December 25, 2013
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/national/25-Dec-2013/president-and-pm-greet-christians-on-christmas


Jesus Christ was sent to this world as symbol of peace, brotherhood and respect for the entire humanity. … He not only healed the ailing humanity but preached the divine values of tolerance, love and compassion.

Nawaz Sharif (1949-) Pakistani Prime Minister (1990-93, 1997-99, 2013 - )
Daily Times of Pakistan December 25, 2013
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/national/25-Dec-2013/president-and-pm-greet-christians-on-christmas


I have been told that Your Excellency follows the teachings of Jesus (peace be upon him) and believes in the divine promise of the rule of the righteous on Earth. We also believe that Jesus Christ … was one of the great prophets of the Almighty. He has been repeatedly praised in the Koran.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (1956-) President of Iran (2005-2013)
Letter to George W. Bush, May 8, 2006
lt http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Ahmadinejad's_2006_letter_to_Bush


If Jesus was here, do you think Jesus would show me any love? Do you think Jesus would love me? I'm a Muslim, but do you think Jesus would love me ... I think Jesus would have a drink with me and discuss ... why you acting like that? Now, he would be cool. He would talk to me.

Mike Tyson (1966-) American boxer
Interview, May 1, 2002 http://boxing.about.com/od/records/a/tyson_timeline_5.htm


Concerning his words and teaching


We believe in God and … and what was revealed to Moses, Jesus, and the Prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction among them and to God we have submitted ourselves.

Qur’an
Surah 2:136


We gave Jesus the Gospel, containing a guidance and light, confirming the Torah which was before it.  Let the people of the gospel [the followers of Jesus] judge according to what God has revealed in it. And whoever judges not by what God has sent down, those are the transgressors.

Qur’an
Surah 5:46-7


O People of the Book, you have nothing to stand upon until you establish the Torah and the Gospel and what has been sent down to you from your Lord.

Qur’an
Surah 5:46-7


The Messengers who lived before you were also accused of lying, but they exercised patience. They were cruelly persecuted before We gave them victory. No one can change the words of God.

Qur’an
Surah 6:34 (see also 6.115)


No change can there be in the words of Allah.

Qur’an
Surah 10:64


Do not argue with the People of the Book [Christans and Jews] except only by the best manner, except the unjust among them. Tell them, "We believe in what is revealed to us and to you. Our Lord and your Lord is one. We have submitted ourselves to His will".

Qur’an
29:46

[Christ’s] mission taught the people what they needed to learn whenever they sank into the stagnant abyss of lifeless literalism and petrified formalism. It taught them that doctrine is a matter of the mind (fikra)and the conscience (damīr), not one of literalism and formality. This was the mission of Christ in that era, which was contaminated as much by rigidity as by hypocrisy.

‘Abbas Mahmud al-‘Aqqad (1889-1964) Egyptian writer
Hayāt al-Masīh (1957), translated and edited by F. Peter Ford, Jr. (Binghamton, NY: Global Publications, 2001), p. 12. http://www.academia.edu/2550004/_Muhammad_Christ_and_Modern_Consciences_._Studies_in_Interreligious_D ialogue_2_2008_pp._12 9-152


That started me on a journey … I had to make a decision eventually when I saw the evidence mount. Would I, intellectually, be honest and say [concerning the New Testament]: ‘This is God’s Word, Jesus is who he claimed to be and the evidence for his resurrection is powerful and it’s compelling and it’s true’, or would I cop out and stay what I was for convenience’ sake, for comfort’s sake?

Abdu Murray, ex-Muslim and President of Embrace the Truth International Ministries
Interview with Brian Auten, 30 September 2013 http://www.apologetics315.com/2013/09/apologist-interview-abdu-murray.html?m=1


Concerning his death

And for their saying, 'We slew the Messiah, Isa [Jesus] son of Mary, the messenger of God' - yet they did not slay him, neither crucified him; only a likeness of that was shown to them. And those who are at variance concerning him are in doubt regarding him; they have no knowledge of him, except the following of surmise; and they slew him not of a certainty - no indeed; God raised him up to Him; God is Almighty and Wise.

Qur’an
Sura 4.157

Isa [Jesus] I am about to cause you to die and lift you up to me.

Qur’an
Sura 3.55


Peace be upon me, the day I was born, and the day I die, the day I am raised up alive.  

Isa [Jesus] in the Qur’an
Sura 19.33


Which of the two things would you be willing to admit? Was the Christ willing to be crucified or not? If He was willing to be crucified, the Jews who simply accomplished His will should not be cursed and despised. If, however, He was not willing to be crucified and He was crucified, He was weak and the Jews were strong. In this case, how can He be God, He who found Himself unable to deliver Himself from the hands of His crucifiers whose will appeared to be stronger than His? "

Muhammad ibn Mansur al-Mahdi (c. 744-785) Caliph of Baghdad
Woodbrooke Studies: Christian Documents in Syriac, Arabic, and Garshuni, edited and translated with a crritical apparatus by A. Mingana. Vol. 2: Timothy's Apology for Christianity (Cambridge: W. Heffer & Sons Limited 1928) pp. v-vii, 1-15. http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/timothy_i_apology_00_intro.htm


Jesus’ humanity (nāsut) was crucified and his hands were nailed to the cross. He was left there all day, given vinegar to drink, and pierced with a lance. He was taken down from the cross, wrapped in a shroud and laid in the tomb. Three days later he appeared to the disciples and was recognized by them. When the news spread that he had not been killed, the Jews opened up the tomb but did not find his mortal remains (nāsut).

Epistles of Ikhwan al-Safa ( Anonymous school of  10th century  Islamic philosophers  in  Basra ,  Iraq )
Quoted by Neal Robinson in Christ In Islam and Christianity, p. 56- 57.


Without doubt murder and crucifixion were inflicted upon his body. The pronoun (hu) since it appeared at the end of the words ‘murdered him’ ‘qataluhu’, or crucified him is a pointing letter to the spirit (huwiyya) of Jesus. So in this exists the evidence he who suffered death and crucifixion was not the spirit (huwiyya) of Jesus.

Abu Ya'qub Ishaq al-Sijistani (?-c. 971)Ismaili Neoplatonic Philosopher
Kitab Ithbat al-Nubuwat, Al-Matb'aa al-Kathulikiah, Beirut, Lebanon, 1966, p. 185. Quoted by David Waltz at http://articulifidei.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/does-quran-deny-crucifixion-and.html



Ibn Garir and Ibn Abi Hatem on the authority of Wahb said, 'God caused Jesus Son of Mary to die three hours then lifted him up.'' Ibn 'Asaker said on the authority of Wahb that 'God caused Jesus son of Mary to die for three days then God resurrected and lifted him up.' And al-Hakem said on the authority of Wahb 'God caused Jesus son of Mary to die for seven hours then restored his life.

Jalal al-Din al- Suyuti  (c.1445–1505) Egyptian Islamic scholar
Commentary on the Qur'an, 3:55, quoted by M. Anderson in http://answering-islam.org/Mna/frag4_2.html


From His eternal seat Christ comes down to this earth,
  where, ages ago, in the bitter cup of death He poured
His deathless life for those who came to the call and
  those who remained away.
He looks about Him, and sees the weapons of evil
  that wounded his own age. …
He presses His hand upon His heart; He feels that
  the age-long moment of His death has not yet ended,
  that new nails, turned out countless in numbers by
  those who are learned in cunning craftsmanship, pierce
  Him in every joint.
They had hurt Him once, standing at the shadow of
   their temple; they are born anew in crowds.
   From before their sacred altar they shout to the soldiers, 'Strike'
And the Son of Man in agony cries, 'My God, My God why hast Thou forsaken Me?'

Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) Bengali poet, novelist and Nobel Prize Winner
Collected Poems and Plays of Rabindranath Tagore (New York: Macmillan 1937), pp. 453-454, quoted by M. Anderson in http://answering-islam.org/Mna/frag4_2.html


Jesus, your way was mercy, love, perfection and peace to the world.
You were not a shedder of blood, and the weak and the orphans to you were not
  insignificant.
You who are the bearer of the world's sufferings, yet sufferings were multiplied
  in your name.
You made the world into one brotherhood, but in your name relationships are
  severed. ....
Shouts in the name of the cross are heard by those who are enemies of God and
   his Spirit.
They mixed your cross with knives, guns, and every tool of destruction and death.

Ahmad Shawqi (1868-1932) Egyptian Muslim poet
As-Shawqiyat, Poem al-Andalus al-Gadidah, Dar al-Kutub, al-'Elmeyah, Beirut p.179, quoted by M. Anderson in http://answering-islam.org/Mna/frag4_2.html


The idea of a substitute for Christ is a very crude way of explaining the Quranic text. They had explain a lot to the masses. No cultured Muslim believes in this these days. The text is taken mean that the Jews thought they had killed Christ but God raised him unto Him in a way we can leave unexplained among the several mysteries which we have taken for granted on faith alone.

Mohammad Kamel Hussein (1901-1977)
City of Wrong: A Friday in Jerusalem (Amsterdam: Djambatan, 1959), p.222.


The belief of the Muslims that Jesus did not die is based on Sura 4:157. [7] But it is clear that that verse does not give that understanding ... specially if we take into consideration the other verse in which God said, 'Isa [Jesus] I am about to cause you to die and lift you up to me', [3.55] and also the words, 'Peace be upon me, the day I was born, and the day I die, the day I am raised up alive'. [19.33] .... So the straight understanding becomes that the Christ was killed, then raised up. And that is what is pointed to by the words of God, 'and they slew him not of a certainty - no indeed', [4.157-158] which means that without any doubt they killed him, as they thought they did, but they slew him not of a certainty which is the same expression as 'they thought they did' [4.157] ... this meaning appears in the Qur'an in other places such as the words of God, 'you did not slay them, but God did, and when thou throwest, it was not thyself that threw, but God threw'. [8.17] And the meaning of that verse is that, when you killed them, it was not you who killed them, but it was God.

Mahmoud Mohammad Taha (1909-1985) Leader of the Republican Brotherhood in Sudan,
Al-Masih, first edition, 1981, al-'Ikhwan al-Gomhuriyun, 'Um Durman, Sudan, p.9-10, quoted by M. Anderson in http://answering-islam.org/Mna/frag4_2.html


Crucifixion in this era was a punishment that Rome reserved almost exclusively for crimes against the state, so you have to start with this notion that Jesus was crucified as a state criminal, that he was crucified for sedition, for rebellion, insurrection…his teachings addressed specific social ills, that his actions were a confrontation to specific political and religious powers. The man that arises from that understanding may not look like the man you expect.

Reza Aslan (1972-) Iranian-American writer and scholar
Discussion at Harvard Divinity School, 26 September 2013.
http://harvardmagazine.com/2013/09/reza-aslan-zealot-discussion


The Quran...does not deny the death of Christ. Rather it challenges human beings who in their folly have deluded themselves into believing that they would vanquish the divine Word, Jesus the messenger of God. The death of Christ is asserted several times and in various contexts, see for example S. 3:55; 5:117; 19:33.  

Mahmoud Ayoub (1938 - ) Lebanese Islamic scholar
‘Towards an Islamic Christology II’, in The Muslim World, Vol. LXX, April 1980, No. 2, p. 106. Quoted by David Waltz at http://articulifidei.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/does-quran-deny-crucifixion-and.html



Concerning his return


And he (Jesus) shall be a Sign (for the coming of) the Hour (of Judgment): therefore have no doubt about the (Hour), but follow ye Me (Follow the guidance and instruction of Allah): this is a Straight Way.

Qur’an
Sura 43.61



Men ask you about the hour; say: The knowledge of it is only with Allah, and what will make you comprehend that the hour may be nigh.

Qur’an
Sura 33.63



Abu Hurayrah narrates that the Messenger of Allah said, "By Him in whose hands my soul rests! It is definitely close in that time that Isa, Son of Maryam descends amongst you as a just ruler."

Hadith
Ahmad bin Hambal, al-Musnad, vol 2, p. 240. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_eschatology


What will be your reaction when the son of Mary (Jesus) descends and your Imam is from among yourselves?

Hadith
Sahih Muslim, bab nuzul 'isa, Vol. 2; Sahih Bukhari, kitab bad' al-khalq wa nuzul 'isa, Vol. 4 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_eschatology


For Christ is his message, he is the supreme ideal that he left and gave … . He is the love which knows no hatred, he is the peace that knows no disquiet, he is the salvation that does not perish. And when all this is realised on earth, then at the same time, the return of Christ is realised. This is the Christ who will return, and whose return the Messenger prophesied: peace, love, truth, the good
and beauty.

Muhammad Khalid (d. 1996) Egyptian writer
From his Together on the Road: Muhammad and the Messiah (1986), p. 187-88 quoted in ‘Muhammad, Christ and Modern Consciences’. Studies in Interreligious Dialogue 2: 2008, pp. 129-152. by Oddbjørn Leirvik
http://www.academia.edu/2550004/_Muhammad_Christ_and_Modern_Consciences_._Studies_in_Interreligious_Dialogue_2_2008_pp._129-152


Everybody says they believe in God but they don't do God's work. Everybody counteracts what God is really about. … They'd throw me in jail and write bad articles about me and then go to church on Sunday and say Jesus is a wonderful man and he's coming back to save us. But they don't understand that when he comes back, that these crazy greedy capitalistic men are gonna kill him again.

Mike Tyson (1966-) American boxer
Interview, May 1, 2002 http://boxing.about.com/od/records/a/tyson_timeline_5.htm