format_quote Originally Posted by
christianuk
Jhn 14:5
Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the
way?
Jhn 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father,
but by me.
Jhn 14:7 ¶ If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know
him, and have seen him.
Jesus (as) was sent to the Israelites, thus Thomas asked him "and how can we know the way?", meaning, the Israelites, they didn't consider gentiles. Jesus (as) told him, "no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.", he referred to no man among the Israelites can arrive at knowing God except through him. He was the way and the salvation for his people.
As Muslims, we reject the idea that Jesus (as) was sent to anyone but the Israelites. This is the Islamic view of his prophethood. His prophethood is limited to the Israelites, and it extends to no one else. This is what the Holy Qur'an says about him, and it mentions nothing about his prophethood extending to any Gentiles.
61:6 And remember, Jesus, the son of Mary, said: "O Children of
Israel! I am the messenger of Allah (sent) to you, confirming the Law (which came) before me, and giving Glad Tidings of a Messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad." But when he came to them with Clear Signs, they said, "this is evident sorcery!"
(Yusuf Ali translation)
Assuming we Muslims would accept the above statements as what Jesus (as) said, his being the way means he shows the straight path unto Allah by revelation from Him. Thus, only he can show the straight path when the Israelites were in error concerning their religion. He is the truth because what he says is the truth, which are the Words of Allah. The Words of Allah are only the truth, since Allah is Al-Haqq (The Truthful). Anyone who rejected him rejected Allah and became deserving of his wrath because they would not have been calling Jesus (as) a liar, but they would be called Allah a liar. This is why the rejection of the Messengers is a great sin and deserves punishment from Allah after it reaches a certain peak. It is like declaring war against Allah Himself directly.
Jesus (as) was the life, because he gave spiritual life to the spiritually dead. The Holy Prophet (saw)'s teachings had the same effect:
8:24 O ye who believe! give your response to Allah and His Messenger, when He calleth you to that which will give you life; and know that Allah cometh in between a man and his heart, and that it is He to Whom ye shall (all) be gathered.
(Yusuf Ali translation)
Reciting Surah Fatiha during Salat is one of the ways in which the Holy Prophet (saw) had the effect of giving life to the dead. That is the context in which this verse is also understood. Doing the deeds which the Prophet tells you is doing that which will give you life.
Jesus (as) was the one who Allah had sent to be followed, thus his people should get to know him and his example. That would make them know what Allah had told them all to do as well. Also, if they follow him then they would gain the necessary knowledge to know Allah better, and understand His ways, rather than grovel in error and misguidance about Him. And no one sees Allah in this life, but a Prophet of Allah is so blessed that whoever gets to be in their company, becomes knowledgeable of Allah and so certain of His existence, that it is as if they have seen Him, though they haven't. This is also only allowed by Allah's Decree, not everyone is saved. As we saw, the Jews rejected him and eventually lost their prestige in the world.
Thus, I hope you see how we Muslims would accept those words of Jesus (as), if those were what he said. The Islamic teachings about the Prophets of Allah is that they believed in Allah so strongly that they dare not go against Him for fear of what He would do had they disobeyed. Here is a Hadith about Jesus (as) which will put this into perspective:
Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, "
Jesus, seeing a man stealing, asked him, 'Did you steal?, He said, 'No, by Allah, except Whom there is None who has the right to be worshipped' Jesus said, 'I believe in Allah and suspect my eyes." (Book #55, Hadith #653)
(Sahih Bukhari)
The Prophets of Allah feared that they would be punished if their body parts testified against them. Jesus (as) suspected his eyes because he knew he must always accept a man's oath by Allah's Word (La ilaha illallah). Otherwise, he would be held accountable for believing in his eyes and not in Allah's True Word.
Allah said in His Book:
41:21 And they will say to their skins, "Why do you testify against us?" They will say: "Allah has caused us to speak as He causes all things to speak: and He created you the first time, and to Him you are made to return."
41:22 And you have not been hiding yourselves (in the world), lest your ears, and your eyes, and your skins should testify against you; but you thought that Allah knew not much of what you were doing.
41:23 And that thought of yours which you thought about your Lord, has brought you to destruction; and you have become (this Day) of those utterly lost!
There are many more things to say regarding all of this. But time is short and I don't want to get tangential.
Jesus (as) prophesied many things. He is considered a Nabi and a Rasul in the Holy Qur'an:
3:49 And will make him [('Îsa (
Jesus)] a Messenger to the Children of Israel (saying): "I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, that I design for you out of clay, a figure like that of a bird, and breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by Allah's Leave; and I heal him who was born blind, and the leper, and I bring the dead to life by Allah's Leave. And I inform you of what you eat, and what you store in your houses. Surely, therein is a sign for you, if you believe.
(Mohsin Khan translation)
4:163 Verily, We have sent the revelation to you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) as We sent the revelation to Nuh (Noah) and the Prophets after him; We (also) sent the revelation to Ibrahim (Abraham), Isma'il (Ishmael), Ishaq (Isaac), Ya'qub (Jacob), and Al-Asbat [the offspring of the twelve sons of Ya'qub (Jacob)], 'Îsa (
Jesus), Ayyub (Job), Yunus (Jonah), Harun (Aaron), and Sulaiman (Solomon); and to Dawud (David) We gave the Zabur (Psalms).
Thus, he was a nabi and a rasul. A Nabi is one who receives news from Allah, hearing about future events. These may not have been narrated in the Holy Qur'an, but he is among the Prophets of Allah, among all of those who foretold the Last Day, the Hereafter, future events relating to his own people and all since Noah (as) who have prophesied the coming of the Dajjal (as mentioned in Ahadith). A Rasul is also one who receives revelations from Allah:
72:25 Say: "I know not whether the (Punishment) which ye are promised is near, or whether my Lord will appoint for it a distant term.
72:26 "He (alone) knows the Unseen, nor does He make any one acquainted with His Mysteries,-
72:27 "Except a messenger whom He has chosen: and then He makes a band of watchers march before him and behind him,
72:28 "That He may know that they have (truly) brought and delivered the Messages of their Lord: and He surrounds (all the mysteries) that are with them, and takes account of every single thing."
Jesus' (as) prophesies may not have been mentioned in great detail in the Holy Qur'an, but they are referred to through hints throughout the Holy Qur'an. Whatever he may have said, the Holy Prophet (saw) elaborated upon it and was given a revelation which was of a higher calibre, and thus included what Jesus (as) and all of the other Prophets have mentioned from Allah. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) was the seal of the Prophets, and thus he was given the most concise, but at the same time, the most comprehensive revelations about all the matters from now until the Day of Judgment.