Finding Truth

Status of Jesus pbuh in Islam

Status of Jesus (peace be upon him) in Islam

Muslims believe, that Jesus was one of the mightiest messengers of God, that he was the Christ, that he was born miraculously without any male intervention (which many modern-day Christians do not believe today), that he gave life to the dead by God's permission and that he healed those born blind and the lepers by God's permission. In fact, no Muslim is a Muslim if he or she does not believe in Jesus!

What will also surprise the Christians is the fact that the Muslims do not take the holy name of Jesus, in his own language, without saying Eesa, alaihi assalam ("Jesus, peace be upon him").

Mention in the Quran

And that in the Holy Quran Jesus is mentioned twenty five times.

For example:

"We gave Jesus, the son of Mary, clear signs and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit" The Holy Qur'an,Chapter 2,Verse 87

"O Mary! God giveth thee glad tidings of a Word from Him: his name will be Christ Jesus, the son of Mary..." The Holy Qur'an, Chapter 3, Verse 45

"...Christ Jesus the son of Mary was (no more than) an apostle of god..." The Holy Qur'an ,Chapter 4,Verse 171

"...And in their foot steps we sent Jesus the son of Mary..." The Holy Qur'an,Chapter 5, Verse 46

"And Zakariya and John, and Jesus and Elias: all in the ranks of the righteous." The Holy Qur'an,Chapter 6, Verse 85

Other titles

Though Jesus is mentioned by name in twenty-five places in the Holy Quran, he is also addressed with respect as:

Ibn Maryam, meaning "The son of Mary";

and as the Maseeh (in Hebrew it is the Messiah), which is translated as "Christ".

He is also known as Abdullah, "The servant of Allah";

and as Rasul u Allah, the messenger of Allah.

He is spoken of as "The Word of God", as "The Spirit of God", as a "Sign of God", and numerous other epithets of honor spread over fifteen different chapters.

The Holy Quran honors this mighty messenger of God, and the Muslims have not fallen short over the past fourteen hundred years in doing the same. There is not a single disparaging remark in the entire Quran.

Eesa or Jesus?

The Holy Quran refers to Jesus as Eesa. Actually, his proper name was Eesa (Arabic), or Esau (Hebrew); classical Yeheshua, which the Christian nations of the West latinised as Jesus. Neither the "J" nor the second "s" in the name Jesus is to be found in the original tongue - they are not found in the Semitic languages. The word is very simply "E S A U" a very common Jewish name, used more than sixty times in the very first booklet alone of the Bible, in the part called "Genesis".

Mary Honored

The birth of Jesus Christ is described in two places of the Quran - chapter 3 and chapter 19. Reading from the beginning of his birth, we come across the story of Mary, and the esteemed position which she occupies in the House of Islam, before the actual annunciation of the birth of Jesus is given:

"'Behold'! the angels said: 'O Mary! God hath chosen thee and purified thee, and chosen thee above the women of all nations" The Holy Qur'an ,Chapter 3,Verse 42

"Chosen thee above the women of all nations." Such an honor is not to be found given to Mary even in the Christian Bible! The verse continues: