In the Christian Bible Jesus is considered the son of God. He is 100% God and 100% man, sent down to earth to take away the sins of humanity. He is sometimes spoken of as the sacrificial lamb, or the good shepherd. He is part of the Holy Trinity – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. But who is Jesus according to the Qur’an? Let us take a look.
“And you shall recount in the Book the story of Mary: how she left her people and betook herself to a solitary place to the east. We sent to her Our spirit in the semblance of a full-grown man. And when she saw him: ‘May the Merciful defend me from you! If you fear the Lord, [leave me and go away].’ I am but your Lord’s emissary,’ he replied, ‘and have come to give you a holy son.’ ‘How shall I bear a child,’ she answered, ‘when I have neither been touched by any man nor ever been unchaste?’ ‘Thus did the Lord speak,’ he replied. ‘”That is easy enough for me. He shall be a sign to mankind and a blessing from Ourself. Our decree shall come to pass.”’ (Holy Qur’an 19:20)
This story sounds very similar to the Biblical one. One difference is that Muslims do not believe that Jesus (called Isa) is the actual son of God. [1] So even though Mary conceives Isa through a miracle of God, Isa himself is not actually God/the son of God. But he still is a very important prophet. So if Jesus did not die for our sins, shouldn’t his body still be on earth? Here is the Qur’an’s explanation:
“God said: ‘Isa, I am about to claim you back and lift you up to Me. I shall take you away from the unbelievers and exalt your followers above them till the Day of Resurrection.” (Holy Qur’an: 3:52)
[1] Emerick,Yahiya . Complete Idiot's guide to understanding Islam. Alpha, 2002.
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