For They Killed Him Not

A Muslim portrayal of Jesus

Jesus – The Prophet of Allah

On account of his miraculous birth and the numerous miracles he worked during his time on earth, Christians have, after the Council of Nicea in the 4^th century, given Jesus divine status and made him a part of the godhead, although such claims are in no way supported by Jesus’ own teachings. With the trinity and the Passion Play as a story of God dying and rising again to life, Christianity has merged with ancient mythology and reinterpreted the life of Jesus as a variation of the Babylonian story of Baal about one millennium before his birth. The Qur’an unambiguously repudiates this interpretation and gives the following admonition to the Christians:

“O people of the scripture! Do not exaggerate in your religion nor utter anything concerning Allah except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only a messenger of Allah, and His word, which He conveyed to 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 God. Far removed it is from His Majesty that He should have a son.” (Qur’an chapter 4, verse 171).

It is true that the Bible uses the term son of God, but it does not reserve this title for Jesus alone. Nobody would suggest that Matthew 5.9, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God”, bestows divinity on all those who meet this criterion. Throughout the New Testament Jesus prefers to refer to himself as the “son of man”. A misreading of the term “son of God” and a misunderstanding of how Jesus was taken from this earth resulted in a doctrine which is in contradiction to his own teachings. In Matthew 10.40 Jesus makes as clear a distinction between himself and God as he makes between his disciples and himself: “He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives Him Who sent me.” “One who is sent” is the literal translation of the Arabic word for messenger or prophet. Jesus never claimed to have been any more than just that.

“When Allah says: O Jesus, son of Mary! Did you say to mankind: Take me and my mother for two gods besides Allah? he says: Be glorified! It was not for me to utter that to which I had no right.” (Qur’an chapter 5, verse 116).

An earlier verse states clearly:

“The Messiah, son of Mary, was no other than a messenger, messengers (the like of whom) had passed away before him. And his mother was a saintly woman. And they both used to eat (earthly) food. See how We make the revelations clear for them, and see how they are turned away!” (Qur’an chapter 5, verse 75).

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