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The Prophets

ʿĪsā (Jesus) — عيسى

The Messiah, son of Maryam, a word from Allah

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His story

Maryam, chosen and purified above the women of the worlds, was given the news of a son by a word from Allah: his name the Messiah, ʿĪsā son of Maryam, honoured in this world and the next. She asked how, having never been touched by a man; the answer was, 'Allah creates what He wills. When He decrees a matter, He only says to it, Be — and it is.'

He was born without a father, as Ādam was created without either parent. He spoke in the cradle to defend his mother: 'Indeed, I am the servant of Allah. He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet.' He was given the Injīl, healed the blind and the leper, and gave life to the dead — always by the permission of Allah.

His message was one: 'Indeed, Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. This is a straight path.' Muslims believe he was neither killed nor crucified, but raised by Allah to Himself, and that he will return before the Day of Judgement. Loving and honouring him is a required part of Muslim faith.

Mentioned in the Qur'an — with proof

إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُبَشِّرُكِ بِكَلِمَةٍ مِّنْهُ اسْمُهُ الْمَسِيحُ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ

"Indeed, Allah gives you good tidings of a word from Him, whose name will be the Messiah, ʿĪsā, son of Maryam."

Qur'an, Sūrah Āl ʿImrān 3:45

قَالَ إِنِّي عَبْدُ اللَّهِ آتَانِيَ الْكِتَابَ وَجَعَلَنِي نَبِيًّا

"He said, 'Indeed, I am the servant of Allah. He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet.'"

Qur'an, Sūrah Maryam 19:30

وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ وَمَا صَلَبُوهُ وَلَٰكِن شُبِّهَ لَهُمْ

"And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but it was made to appear so to them."

Qur'an, Sūrah al-Nisāʾ 4:157

إِنَّ اللَّهَ رَبِّي وَرَبُّكُمْ فَاعْبُدُوهُ ۚ هَٰذَا صِرَاطٌ مُّسْتَقِيمٌ

"Indeed, Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. This is a straight path."

Qur'an, Sūrah Āl ʿImrān 3:51

Sources & references

  • • Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr — Qiṣaṣ al-Anbiyāʾ (Stories of the Prophets)
  • • Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān
  • • Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 3435 (ʿĪsā is the servant and messenger of Allah)

Full details

The full account — ʿĪsā (Jesus)

The chosen woman, the birth without a father, the infant who spoke, the signs given by Allah's permission, the disciples, and the truth about the end of his earthly life.

Part 01

Maryam, chosen above the women of the worlds

Her mother had vowed the child in her womb to the service of the Sanctuary, expecting a boy. She was given a girl, and the Qur'an records her words: and the male is not like the female. Allah accepted her with good acceptance and caused her to grow in a good manner, and Zakariyyā was made her guardian. Whenever he entered upon her he found provision with her, and she said it was from Allah.

The angels said to her: Allah has chosen you and purified you and chosen you above the women of the worlds. She is the only woman named in the Qur'an, and a sūrah carries her name.

Proof

  • Qur'an, Sūrah Āl ʿImrān 3:35–43

Part 02

The annunciation and the birth

The angel came to her in the form of a well-proportioned man. She sought refuge in the Most Merciful. He said he was only a messenger of her Lord, to give her a pure boy. She asked how, when no man had touched her and she had not been unchaste. The answer was: it is easy for Me, and We will make him a sign to the people and a mercy from Us — and it is a matter already decreed.

The Qur'an compares his creation directly to Ādam's: created from dust, then told to be, and he was. Neither birth requires a father; both are simply the word of the Creator.

Proof

  • Qur'an, Sūrah Maryam 19:16–21

    “And make mention of Mary in the Scripture, when she had withdrawn from her people to a chamber looking East, And had chosen seclusion from them. Then We sent unto her Our Spirit and it assumed for her the likeness of a perfect man. She said: Lo! I seek refuge in the Beneficent One from thee, if thou art Allah-fearing. He said: I am only a messenger of thy Lord, that I may bestow on thee a faultless son. She said: How can I have a son when no mortal hath touched me, neither have I been unchaste? He said: So (it will be). Thy Lord saith: It is easy for Me. And (it will be) that We may make of him a revelation for mankind and a mercy from Us, and it is a thing ordained.”

  • Qur'an, Sūrah Āl ʿImrān 3:59

    “Lo! the likeness of Jesus with Allah is as the likeness of Adam. He created him of dust, then He said unto him: Be! and he is.”

Part 03

The palm tree and the infant's speech

The pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm tree, and she wished she had died before this and been forgotten. She was answered with instructions of remarkable tenderness: do not grieve, your Lord has provided a stream beneath you; shake the trunk toward you and fresh ripe dates will fall; so eat and drink and be contented. Then she was told to say she had vowed a fast of silence.

She brought him to her people, carrying him. They accused her. She pointed to the child. They said: how can we speak to one who is in the cradle a child? Then he spoke: indeed, I am the servant of Allah. He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet, and made me blessed wherever I am, and enjoined upon me prayer and zakāh as long as I remain alive, and dutiful to my mother — and He has not made me a wretched tyrant.

Proof

  • Qur'an, Sūrah Maryam 19:22–33

Part 04

The signs — by the permission of Allah

He was sent to the Children of Israel with signs: forming from clay the likeness of a bird and breathing into it so that it became a bird, healing the blind and the leper, and giving life to the dead. In the verse itself, each of these is followed by the same qualification — by the permission of Allah. The Qur'an builds the correction into the miracle.

He came confirming the Torah before him and making lawful some of what had been forbidden, and he called to the one message every prophet carried: indeed, Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. That is a straight path.

Proof

  • Qur'an, Sūrah Āl ʿImrān 3:49–51

    “And will make him a messenger unto the Children of Israel, (saying): Lo! I come unto you with a sign from your Lord. Lo! I fashion for you out of clay the likeness of a bird, and I breathe into it and it is a bird, by Allah's leave. I heal him who was born blind, and the leper, and I raise the dead, by Allah's leave. And I announce unto you what ye eat and what ye store up in your houses. Lo! herein verily is a portent for you, if ye are to be believers. And (I come) confirming that which was before me of the Torah, and to make lawful some of that which was forbidden unto you. I come unto you with a sign from your Lord, so keep your duty to Allah and obey me. Lo! Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. That is a straight path.”

  • Qur'an, Sūrah al-Māʾidah 5:110

    “When Allah saith: O Jesus, son of Mary! Remember My favour unto thee and unto thy mother; how I strengthened thee with the holy Spirit, so that thou spakest unto mankind in the cradle as in maturity; and how I taught thee the Scripture and Wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel; and how thou didst shape of clay as it were the likeness of a bird by My permission, and didst blow upon it and it was a bird by My permission, and thou didst heal him who was born blind and the leper by My permission; and how thou didst raise the dead by My permission; and how I restrained the Children of Israel from (harming) thee when thou camest unto them with clear proofs, and those of them who disbelieved exclaimed: This is naught else than mere magic;”

Part 05

The disciples and the table

When he sensed disbelief from his people he asked: who are my supporters for Allah? The disciples said: we are supporters of Allah; we have believed in Allah, so bear witness that we are Muslims — that is, submitted to Him. They later asked for a table spread from heaven, and it was sent with a warning attached to it.

The Qur'an also records a conversation that will take place on the Day of Judgement: Allah will ask him whether he told people to take him and his mother as deities besides Allah. His answer is a complete disavowal — exalted are You; it was not for me to say that to which I have no right. I said to them only what You commanded me: worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.

Proof

  • Qur'an, Sūrah Āl ʿImrān 3:52–53

    “But when Jesus became conscious of their disbelief, he cried: Who will be my helpers in the cause of Allah? The disciples said: We will be Allah's helpers. We believe in Allah, and bear thou witness that we have surrendered (unto Him). Our Lord! We believe in that which Thou hast revealed and we follow him whom Thou hast sent. Enrol us among those who witness (to the truth).”

  • Qur'an, Sūrah al-Māʾidah 5:112–118

    “When the disciples said: O Jesus, son of Mary! Is thy Lord able to send down for us a table spread with food from heaven? He said: Observe your duty to Allah, if ye are true believers. (They said:) We wish to eat thereof, that we may satisfy our hearts and know that thou hast spoken truth to us, and that thereof we may be witnesses. Jesus, son of Mary, said: O Allah, Lord of us! Send down for us a table spread with food from heaven, that it may be a feast for us, for the first of us and for the last of us, and a sign from Thee. Give us sustenance, for Thou art the Best of Sustainers. Allah said: Lo! I send it down for you. And whoso disbelieveth of you afterward, him surely will I punish with a punishment wherewith I have not punished any of (My) creatures. And when Allah saith: O Jesus, son of Mary! Didst thou say unto mankind: Take me and my mother for two gods beside Allah? he saith: Be glorified! It was not mine to utter that to which I had no right. If I used to say it, then Thou knewest it. Thou knowest what is in my mind, and I know not what is in Thy Mind. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Knower of Things Hidden? I spake unto them only that which Thou commandedst me, (saying): Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. I was a witness of them while I dwelt among them, and when Thou tookest me Thou wast the Watcher over them. Thou art Witness over all things. If Thou punish them, lo! they are Thy slaves, and if Thou forgive them (lo! they are Thy slaves). Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Mighty, the Wise.”

Part 06

He was not killed, and he is not a son

The Qur'an is explicit on both points. On the end of his earthly life: they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but it was made to appear so to them — and Allah raised him to Himself. On his status: the Messiah, ʿĪsā son of Maryam, was but a messenger of Allah, and it is not befitting for Allah to take a son; when He decrees a matter, He only says to it be, and it is.

Muslims therefore honour him deeply — as a messenger of firm resolve, a word from Allah delivered to Maryam, and a mercy — while directing all worship to Allah alone. Loving a prophet and worshipping him are two different things, and the whole of his message was to keep them apart.

Proof

  • Qur'an, Sūrah an-Nisāʾ 4:157–159

    “And because of their saying: We slew the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, Allah's messenger - they slew him not nor crucified him, but it appeared so unto them; and lo! those who disagree concerning it are in doubt thereof; they have no knowledge thereof save pursuit of a conjecture; they slew him not for certain. But Allah took him up unto Himself. Allah was ever Mighty, Wise. There is not one of the People of the Scripture but will believe in him before his death, and on the Day of Resurrection he will be a witness against them -”

  • Qur'an, Sūrah an-Nisāʾ 4:171

    “O People of the Scripture! Do not exaggerate in your religion nor utter aught concerning Allah save the truth. The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only a messenger of Allah, and His word which He conveyed unto Mary, and a spirit from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers, and say not "Three" - Cease! (it is) better for you! - Allah is only One Allah. Far is it removed from His Transcendent Majesty that He should have a son. His is all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth. And Allah is sufficient as Defender.”

  • Qur'an, Sūrah Maryam 19:34–36

    “Such was Jesus, son of Mary: (this is) a statement of the truth concerning which they doubt. It befitteth not (the Majesty of) Allah that He should take unto Himself a son. Glory be to Him! When He decreeth a thing, He saith unto it only: Be! and it is. And lo! Allah is my Lord and your Lord. So serve Him. That is the right path.”

Sources & further reading

  • • Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr — Qiṣaṣ al-Anbiyāʾ, chapter on ʿĪsā ibn Maryam
  • • Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī on Sūrah Maryam 19:16–36 and Sūrah Āl ʿImrān 3:42–59
  • • Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 3435 (ʿĪsā is the servant of Allah and His word)

What to learn

Main lessons from the story of ʿĪsā (Jesus)

  • ʿĪsā was born of the virgin Maryam by Allah's command, without a father, as a sign to humanity.
  • He spoke in the cradle to defend his mother's honour, by Allah's permission.
  • He performed miracles such as healing the blind and the leper, and reviving the dead, all by Allah's leave.
  • He was given the Injīl and called his people to worship Allah alone.
  • The Qur'an denies that he was killed or crucified; rather Allah raised him to Himself.
  • He is described as the Messiah and 'a word from Allah,' honoured but not divine, and Muslims are commanded to believe in him.

Test yourself

A short quiz — ʿĪsā (Jesus)

Ten questions. Answer them, see your grade, and share it with someone you care about.

Question 1 of 10

Score: 0

Who is ʿĪsā's mother?