Who is the Holy Spirit and Jesus according to the Quran?

[daveyats]

I'm new to this forum and I really appreciate a place like this where a guy like me can ask questions about Islam openly. I'm not affiliated with any anti-islam group, just so you know. so i hope no one treats my questions as a cynical challenge to the Islamic faith. I'm a Christian but I have respect for the moderate and peaceful muslims. I observe that some are very pious towards God and pray 5 times a day, rain or shine.

My questions are related to each other:

1. "And verily we gave unto Moses the Scripture and We caused a train of messengers to follow after him, and We gave unto Jesus, son of Mary, clear proofs (of Allah's sovereignty), and we supported him with the Holy Spirit."

— Qur'an, sura 2 (Al-Baqara), ayat 87

"When I have fashioned him (in due proportion) and breathed into him of My Spirit, fall ye down in obeisance unto him." — Qur'an, sura 15 (Al-Hijr), ayat 29 ^[6]
"And (remember) her who guarded her chastity: We breathed into her of Our Spirit, and We made her and her son a sign for all peoples. — Qur'an, sura 21 (Al-Anbiya), ayat 91 ^[7]
"But He fashioned him in due proportion, and breathed into him something of His Spirit. And He gave you (the faculties of) hearing and sight and feeling (and understanding): little thanks do ye give!"

— Qur'an, sura 32 (As-Sajda), ayat 9

Does the Quran explain who or what is the Holy Spirit? Is the Spirit of God = God?

2. The Prophet is the last messenger (and greater than Jesus?) but why are miracles and special favors bestowed upon Jesus but not the Prophet?

- virgin birth
- without sin
- the only one brought near to God
- and many more: salahallah.com/english/30-jesus-qur%E2%80%99-list-qur%E2%80%99anic-references-isa-jesus

Hope to understand how does the Muslim understand these 2 things.

Peace

[Scimitar]

and peace to you too Daveyats, welcome to IB forum

If i have read you correctly, you want Islamic answers the following questions:

1- What is the holy spirit in Islam?
2- Who is greater, Jesus pbuh or Muhammad pbuh (comparison of miracles as the yard stick you wish to measure by?)

1- answer

In Surah al Isra (chapter 17) of the Quran, you will find the following ayah (verse/sign) -

And they ask you, [O Muhammad], about the soul. Say, "The soul is of the affair of my Lord. And mankind have not been given of (its) knowledge except a little."

The soul/spirit/ whatever you wish to call it, is not for man to know about - but it is something which God alone knows. The Holy Spirit, as we term it, is the mandated spirit which God allocates to his chosen. Adam peace be upon him was given life directly by God Almighty, and God breathed His spirit into Adam, and then Adam awoke for the first time.

What is the holy spirit? can it make man infallible? Did Adam eat from the tree? Was Adam a greater "son of God" because he was the first to and was born without a mother and father?

These are the theological conundrums every true Christian must face, if he/she is truly seeking answers... you see, sometimes we ask questions, but receive even better answers - because these better answers belong to better questions, and not questions which seek to place providence of one Prophet/Messenger over another.

Which leads me to the next question, nicely.


2- answer

Muslims do not see any prophet as greater than another, for only God alone knows the worth of every prophet/messenger.

Sure, the prophet Muhammad pbuh is the last of the prophets/messengers in a long line of prophets and messengers, and thus he has been titled as "The Seal of Prophethood" - meaning, that he was the final messenger and prophet sent to mankind.

Also, all the prophets/messengers were given the message of monotheism to their people only - but Muhammad pbuh, was tasked with establishing monotheism throughout the world - to ensure that it reached all lands. This is the only prophet/messenger who was honoured with this mission. Within his own lifetime, Islam had started to spread beyond Arabia, and his successors, the rightly guided Amir's/Khaliphs ensured by way of peace, not war, that Islam dominated the hearts of mankind, and not their ego's.

In comparison, Jesus pbuh's ministry as a prophet/ messenger, was short lived. 2-3 years at best, and then God Almighty raised him (Jesus pbuh) unto HIMSELF.

Here, things get interesting brother daveyats,

You see, as Muslims, we are awaiting the return of Jesus pbuh to set right the wrongs on this planet and to kill the anti-Christ, a lot of Christians do not know this.

Further, in relation to God raising Jesus pbuh unto himself - was Jesus pbuh the only man in history who is to return back to life on this planet?

What about Ezra pbuh, the prophet?

Over half a millenia before Jesus pbuh, Ezra pbuh died a natural death and then was raised to life on earth many many years later (some say it was 100 years) and this is in the Jewish scripture as well as the Quran. So is resurrection of a prophet/messenger a unique occurrence in religious history? The answer is an obvious "no". The question I ask is, by your standard, was Ezra not bought near to God for the years he was dead on earth?

Where do you think the Prophets and Messengers rank amongst regular human beings in the after life? They all dwell like brothers to each other, in the nearest company of God Almighty.

As for bringing the dead to life. It is well known that Jesus pbuh was given the ability to raise the dead to life with the permission of God Almighty. Jesus pbuh himself said that what he did, and what he said, were inspired within him by God - all the prophets and messengers said the same. There is no dispute here. However, I find that Christians in general do seem think that this was exclusively reserved for Jesus pbuh alone.

As for miracles...

Muhammad pbuh also had many miracles, but as Muslims, we don't get hung up over the "magic of religion" as some none believers call it, because that is not our purpose, no. Instead, we prefer to look at the "message" because that is the purpose of being favoured with prophets/messengers - the message is what is important.

As for raising the dead. I've debated some Christians who claim that Jesus pbuh was the son of God because he had the power to return life to the dead. As I explained using Christian theology, Jesus pbuh himself had no such power - it was God Almighty who lent him the power in order to show the sons of Israel that he was the Messiah and to establish himself in Jerusalem as a holy man... because the Jews had up until this point, exiled, beaten and even killed their own prophets and messengers, etc... Jesus pbuh was given all the signs of the Messiah, yet as God had foretold in the Torah, that the Jews would break the covenant once again - they did so when they claimed they killed Jesus pbuh.

As Muslims, we believe that Jesus pbuh was raised to God before the Jews had a chance to crucify him, and so it only appeared that they were crucifying Jesus pbuh so they could earn the right of their sin without affecting the wrongly accused (Jesus pbuh).

Regarding Jesus pbuh raising the dead to life...

What about Moses (pbuh). Was there not an incident where he was also given the permission to raise the dead to life? Recall the lesson of the heifer, in which the corrupted Jewish books (I'm not saying this, the Jewish scholars admit it themselves) differ from the Islamic explanation of the event.

I can elaborate in more detail if need be but for the sake of keeping this thought provoking and on topic, I will recall the story from Islam, in brief.

In chapter 2 of the Quran, titled "The Cow", we find the following from the story of the heifer.

The story provides the name of this chapter, though the chapter itself does not confine itself to this story alone, but many other things also. To carry on, an old man from the Children of Israel was so rich that if a company of men were tasked with just carrying the keys to his treasures, they would collapse under the burden of the weight of the keys alone. He had no sons, so no apparent heir to his riches. yet he had many nephews. One of these nephews killed their rich uncle, the old man and the corpse was placed by the murderers brothers door in hope that the brother would deemed guilty instead. The issue of identifying the killer was a big one in this fledgling community of pious believers and so it came to Moses pbuh attention and he was asked to settle the matter. Moses pbuh asked God for help, and God told Moses pbuh to bring a cow for sacrifice. When he told the people what God had commanded, the Israelites started to mock Moses pbuh, but he insisted that if they want to truth, that they should bring the cow. The israelites started to ask the age of the cow, the condition of it, its colour etc and so each time they asked Moses pbuh, Moses asked God, and God returned to him further instructions regarding the cow. The cow required at first was just a cow, during the story more restrictions were given because the Israelites made it difficult for themselves by asking too many impertinent questions about the cow, so God made it difficult for them to attain truth in a short time, and instead it took them some time to find the cow because at first, God only demanded a cow, but the Israelites wanted a clearer description, the age of it, then the colour of it, then its condition and health (whether it was used for tilling/ploughing or not).

Once the israelites had managed to find a cow which fit the description (yellow [very rare colour] without blemish, not young nor old, never used for farming etc) Moses, upon God's instruction, commanded the people to slaughter the cow and strike a part of the slaughtered cow, onto the dead old man. The old man then came back to life, and Moses pbuh asked him who had killed him - the old man answered and identified his killer (his nephew) and then died again.

Is resurrection unique to Jesus pbuh?

Did Jesus pbuh split the moon?

Are these questions theologically sound enough to assume importance of the message over its delivery? Or is the message itself something we should be reflecting over, rather than the seemingly important (yet nonsensical) comparisons over which Prophet is better for which reason etc?

If studying history has taught me one thing, it's this: the comparatives alone make study much more enriching but don't lose yourself in the colours and the smells of the time you study, instead concentrate on the "time" itself. History is nuanced, heavily so, and the method of comparatives allows one to come to a better, more truthful understanding of the mechanics behind the events and not just the events themselves.

God bless,

Scimi

[greenhill]

Gerrtings daveyats,

To touch on br Scimi's post a bit further, muslims believe in all the prophets, 25 mentioned in the Quran (some are messengers). None is more special than the other as they were sent for their times. Those who are muslim would naturally follow prophet Muhammad saw and not any other. But it does not diminish in any way the importance of all the other prophets.

You see, the human development at that stage required 'miracles' for proof but by the porphet's time, the mind and reasoning abilities were at such level that you could be convinced by mere words. Miracles did not need to be 'advertised' or highlighted. But for us muslims, the miracle lives on in the Quran but nobody saying much....

The Psalms, encapsulated, is about praising, thanking, the AlMighty and seeking forgiveness etc. The Torah is about doing unto others what you would expect others to do unto you, hence eye for an eye and the revenge spirit. The Bible added to turn the other cheek - forgiveness, hence possibility to end generational feuds. Once we are able to forgive, the Quran completed our learning by giving us guidelines how to live in a community.

If I am not mistaken, the Quran mentions about blowing the 'spirit' into the fetus when it is in the womb after a certain period.. This I will have to verify...


Peace to you.

[daveyats]

Thankyou Scimitar and greenhill for the warm welcome!

Scimitar - "The soul/spirit/ whatever you wish to call it, is not for man to know about - but it is something which God alone knows"

The background to my question is that, I've been told by muslims that you reject the idea of a Trinity in God. So I was very surprised to stumble upon the Holy Spirit in the Quran. We Christians understand the Spirit of God or Holy Spirit as one of the persons in the Trinity. From a logical standpoint, a human spirit is human and in fact is the very essence the person himself.

So I'm curious as to how Muslims understand the "Spirit of God" because Muslims assert very strongly that Allah is One - strictly and numerically one. To clarify further - Do muslims consider the Spirit of God to be God? but i think you've answered me that the Koran does not give a clear answer.

2. Thanks for so patiently answering me... The background again, to my question is that I stumbled upon the list of special favors given to Jesus in the Koran that were not given to anyone else. As a Christian, I am very surprised that Jesus is regarded with such favor in the Koran.

The one I am most interested in, is why is Jesus given a special place of honor in heaven but not the Prophet? and how can Jesus be sinless if he is only a man? A person who has not sinned in his entire 33 years of his live would have to be the greatest person to have ever lived! I'm wondering whether the Koran explains why Allah chose to bestow such favor on Him and not others.

if I follow your line of reasoning, you are saying that muslims understand it this way:

- miracles are not unique to Jesus alone
- the number of miracles don't prove one to be greater than the other
- miracles are not necessary to prove the authenticity of a messenger from God. the proof of it is in the message itself (is this correct?)

"You see, as Muslims, we are awaiting the return of Jesus pbuh to set right the wrongs on this planet and to kill the anti-Christ, a lot of Christians do not know this."
I think the Christians who read their Bible know this. but theres probably vast differences in the biblical and islamic narrative haha

[daveyats]

The Psalms, encapsulated, is about praising, thanking, the AlMighty and seeking forgiveness etc. The Torah is about doing unto others what you would expect others to do unto you, hence eye for an eye and the revenge spirit. The Bible added to turn the other cheek - forgiveness, hence possibility to end generational feuds. Once we are able to forgive, the Quran completed our learning by giving us guidelines how to live in a community.

This is another surprise for me! I did not know that muslims read or even regard the Bible as the message of God. I've been told by my muslim friend that muslims consider the Bible to be corrupted. The Torah, Psalms, prophetic books and the New Testament all agree with one another on the major themes such as The Nature of God and Salvation etc but not with the Koran.

[greenhill]

This is another surprise for me! I did not know that muslims read or even regard the Bible as the message of God. I've been told by my muslim friend that muslims consider the Bible to be corrupted.

Well, the Books (Psalms, Torah and the Bible) were the messages of Allah. But they have been corrupted along the way. Even if not intentionally (which it was) but the original text no longer exist. Like all other languages, they evolve and words change meanings. Once translated, slight deviations in interpretations creeps in. An example will be if we were to take the verse that the world was created in 7 days. A lot of the Quran translators would say the same until research using the original words found that the word day could also be used to mean 'periods'. Hence the verse can be now understood to mean the world was created in 7 periods, not days - a totally different explanation to what was commonly believed. Without the original text it would have been impossible to get a clear picture on the real meaning of the message.

No, I just went through the other Books for my own sake of understanding and found that generally with each Book, there was an additional lesson to be learned and applied. It makes sense to me because like school, we cannot learn the highest order of being without being trained to go through the basics first. Hence the progression of teachings from Book to Book until we were ready for the final message.

[greenhill]

The one I am most interested in, is why is Jesus given a special place of honor in heaven but not the Prophet? and how can Jesus be sinless if he is only a man? A person who has not sinned in his entire 33 years of his live would have to be the greatest person to have ever lived! I'm wondering whether the Koran explains why Allah chose to bestow such favor on Him and not others.

I'm not sure on the finer details on the 'sinless' aspects as we only know what Allah gives to us in knowledge. I some prophets do make errors to which they will be reminded, I'm not sure if these can be called a sin. These errors which are then corrected becomes a lesson to us all to avoid. On what Allah bestows unto one or others is not what we should be questioning as each prophet was given his blessings and set of circumstances to deal with and every prophet had it different.

if I follow your line of reasoning, you are saying that muslims understand it this way:

- miracles are not unique to Jesus alone
- the number of miracles don't prove one to be greater than the other
- miracles are not necessary to prove the authenticity of a messenger from God. the proof of it is in the message itself (is this correct?)

More or less....

So I'm curious as to how Muslims understand the "Spirit of God" because Muslims assert very strongly that Allah is One - strictly and numerically one. To clarify further - Do muslims consider the Spirit of God to be God? but i think you've answered me that the Koran does not give a clear answer.

If God created everything, then by default everything is a part of God. To be human, we need 'the' spirit. That is our soul. So every person by default is a "holy duo"? and when we die we automatically become the trinity (as the ghost) but seeing as the spirit came from God, we become the Holy Trinity too! The difference between us and Jesus is that Jesus did not have a father and we did. Like Adam, no parents were needed for his creation, so Jesus is just another example of Allah's Greatness (I suppose to remind people of the credibility of the creation of Adam).

So "Yes" Allah is One, and the spirit is what he 'blows' into even living person (again I still have to verify this). It's just that most muslims have already accepted the complexity of the matter and have not gone down to dig every detail or interpretation for things which does really have bearing on the belief.

I've been told by muslims that you reject the idea of a Trinity in God. So I was very surprised to stumble upon the Holy Spirit in the Quran.

Again, the spirit, if i'm correct refers to the soul of man that comes from God. What the muslims reject is the idea that God had to be human in order to understand its plight. That it had to die and thus become part of the trinity. There is no trinity to God in islam. Which brings us to another point about Jesus dying at the cross for the sins of mankind. In islam we believe that every person is accountable for his/her own action. No other can add or remove his/her deeds on the day of reckoning. That we were not born in a state of sin.

[greenhill]

Finally tracked down the verse relating to the breathing of the spirit/soul ...


Al Hijr (15:29)

Sahih International
And when I have proportioned him and breathed into him of My [created] soul, then fall down to him in prostration."

Pickthall
So, when I have made him and have breathed into him of My Spirit, do ye fall down, prostrating yourselves unto him.

Yusuf Ali
"When I have fashioned him (in due proportion) and breathed into him of My spirit, fall ye down in obeisance unto him."

Shakir
So when I have made him complete and breathed into him of My spirit, fall down making obeisance to him.

This relates to the story of the creation of Adam. But the context is still the same... Once he is complete (formed in the womb) life is 'breathed into him.

Can't find any other for now...

[Scimitar]

Thankyou Scimitar and greenhill for the warm welcome!

Scimitar - "The soul/spirit/ whatever you wish to call it, is not for man to know about - but it is something which God alone knows"

The background to my question is that, I've been told by muslims that you reject the idea of a Trinity in God. So I was very surprised to stumble upon the Holy Spirit in the Quran. We Christians understand the Spirit of God or Holy Spirit as one of the persons in the Trinity. From a logical standpoint, a human spirit is human and in fact is the very essence the person himself.

So I'm curious as to how Muslims understand the "Spirit of God" because Muslims assert very strongly that Allah is One - strictly and numerically one. To clarify further - Do muslims consider the Spirit of God to be God? but i think you've answered me that the Koran does not give a clear answer.

Ah I see. Ok, well let me put it to you like this. First of all, you're mistaken in this

From a logical standpoint, a human spirit is human and in fact is the very essence the person himself.

We're actually spiritual beings on an human journey, not the other way round. The very idea that we will be raised again in another form, enforces this view.

Secondly - as Muslims, we do not mistake the spirit of God with God - both are mutually defined by the wording itself. If you are asking if the spirit of God is from God - then yes, we would all agree that it is, but to term it God itself, is not accurate. The spirit of God, from a scriptural viewpoint, is something which God commands of HIS own being, to manifest according to HIS will. In the case of Adam pbuh, God manifested it into Adam and Adam awoke - by your definition that would make Adam a greater God than Jesus... so once again dear brother, it's a theological conundrum according to Christians.Whereas for Muslims, there is no issue as to the nature of the spirit of God, because we unanimously believe that God can do anything, all is within HIS power, and the spirit of God is a part of HIS undefinable power.

2. Thanks for so patiently answering me... The background again, to my question is that I stumbled upon the list of special favors given to Jesus in the Koran that were not given to anyone else. As a Christian, I am very surprised that Jesus is regarded with such favor in the Koran.

The one I am most interested in, is why is Jesus given a special place of honor in heaven but not the Prophet? and how can Jesus be sinless if he is only a man? A person who has not sinned in his entire 33 years of his live would have to be the greatest person to have ever lived! I'm wondering whether the Koran explains why Allah chose to bestow such favor on Him and not others.

The favour God bestowed was actually upon the Israelites,by sending them the Messiah they had been waiting for, yet they rejected him and tried to crucify him. In relation to the point though - Jesus pbuh is mentioned in the Quran with (as you have noticed) a lot of honour and praises, Why? because he was a prophet of God and God is telling us this in the Quran. And the verses pertaining to Jesus pbuh were instrumental in giving Christians a way to come back to truth after constantine had ensured that Christianity was forever lost and parading around as a polytheist faith - the arrival of the final prophet, the paraclete, was upon the world... when the time was right, he was born, his name was Muhammad pbuh. Muhammad pbuh himself mentioned in a sermon that he and Jesus pbuh were brothers, their mothers may have been different but their religion is the same.

In short, bro Daveyats, yes, as Muslims, we respect, and love the Prophet Jesus pbuh greatly, to us he is also the messiah who will return.

As for you wanting to know if the Quran mentions such favours regarding Jesus pbuh and not other prophets? Well, if you read through the Quran, with the understanding that history is nuanced - what you will easily understand is that God supported all His prophets and messengers, and each one had unique miracles, events, etc etc - they were all different. Different strokes for different folks - and with history, nothing could be more true that this statement.

if I follow your line of reasoning, you are saying that muslims understand it this way:

- miracles are not unique to Jesus alone
- the number of miracles don't prove one to be greater than the other
- miracles are not necessary to prove the authenticity of a messenger from God. the proof of it is in the message itself (is this correct?)

Yes, this is true.

1) miracles are not unique to Jesus pbuh - this we have established already
2) the number of miracles a prophet has, may be a sign of his inability to convince the people of the prophets time about the oneness of God, and so they had to be shown these things (miracles) in order to come to belief - this form of belief is weaker than the form of belief which requires no physical proof, but instead logic and reasoning to come to faith. The better faith is the one which does not require miracle confirmations.
3)correct.

"You see, as Muslims, we are awaiting the return of Jesus pbuh to set right the wrongs on this planet and to kill the anti-Christ, a lot of Christians do not know this."

I think the Christians who read their Bible know this. but theres probably vast differences in the biblical and islamic narrative haha

Actually, the bible is largely open to "personal interpretation" and therefore, the ambiguity of it begs a better understanding. Take for example, reading from the Konig Greek with lexicons and exegetes, you find that the English versions have minced biblical ideals into shrapnel.

To understand better the nature of Jesus pbuh from the biblical record, we have to go to the earliest sources and not modern translations which have more interpolations and fabrications than a mullah can wave his walking stick at, agree?

God bless

[daveyats]

"Secondly - as Muslims, we do not mistake the spirit of God with God - both are mutually defined by the wording itself. If you are asking if the spirit of God is from God - then yes, we would all agree that it is, but to term it God itself, is not accurate. The spirit of God, from a scriptural viewpoint, is something which God commands of HIS own being, to manifest according to HIS will"

thats what I'm trying to clarify because the Koran clearly states that the Holy Spirit/Spirit of God, comes from his breath - it is a part of God but yet it is not God?
So if the Spirit of God is not God, then how do you explain what or who is it? I think what you are saying is that muslim simply treat the Spirit of God as a created entity...I'm not sure if this entity is simply a force or has a personality.

[greenhill]

thats what I'm trying to clarify because the Koran clearly states that the Holy Spirit/Spirit of God, comes from his breath - it is a part of God but yet it is not God?

Many statements in the Quran is explained in terms we could relate to.. Does Allah breathe? What does He breathe? Then we start having all kinds of questions... It may just be metaphoric. Just as a table originate from trees, cut down and made into wood which is then converted into a table, it does not mean that the table is the tree, if you get what I am trying to get at.

[daveyats]

Many statements in the Quran is explained in terms we could relate to.. Does Allah breathe? What does He breathe? Then we start having all kinds of questions... It may just be metaphoric. Just as a table originate from trees, cut down and made into wood which is then converted into a table, it does not mean that the table is the tree, if you get what I am trying to get at.

I think metaphors are meant to explain realities...you would call a wooden table, a table and not a tree. but the wood it was made from, was part of a tree. haha.

[daveyats]

Scimitar - "The favour God bestowed was actually upon the Israelites,by sending them the Messiah they had been waiting for, yet they rejected him and tried to crucify him"

Does the Koran explain why would God favor the Israelites over other people groups and by saying Jesus is the Messiah... are you refering to the prophecies from the Torah? I'm confused.

[greenhill]

Does the Koran explain why would God favor the Israelites over other people groups and by saying Jesus is the Messiah

This will be explained (indirectly) if we studied the history. A bit long to encapsulate here. In essence, the Jews had the Deen and they believed in the God of Abraham. As what Scimi was saying, they were waiting for their prophet and when he came they rejected him. Why? That is another story. But what happened was the message was true and pure that although the Jewish authorities rejected his messages, the message appealed to many and thus a separate religion was born. The Jews were supposed to follow the teachings of Jesus maintaining the Deen from the Torah now with the Bible as the 'latest' teachings resulting in a continuous religious development on one 'faith'. Likewise when the Quran was sent, they were supposed to follow the Quran and amalgamate the religion into one with the Quran as the latest.

Unfortunately, it became three separate religions. Hence the similarities but differences..

[daveyats]

I'm still confused. I've spoken with muslim friends. they slam the Bible as untrustworthy and unreliable because the message is corrupted but you're saying the message is not entirely corrupted?

[Ahmad H]

1. "And verily we gave unto Moses the Scripture and We caused a train of messengers to follow after him, and We gave unto Jesus, son of Mary, clear proofs (of Allah's sovereignty), and we supported him with the Holy Spirit."

— Qur'an, sura 2 (Al-Baqara), ayat 87

"When I have fashioned him (in due proportion) and breathed into him of My Spirit, fall ye down in obeisance unto him." — Qur'an, sura 15 (Al-Hijr), ayat 29 [6]
"And (remember) her who guarded her chastity: We breathed into her of Our Spirit, and We made her and her son a sign for all peoples. — Qur'an, sura 21 (Al-Anbiya), ayat 91 [7]
"But He fashioned him in due proportion, and breathed into him something of His Spirit. And He gave you (the faculties of) hearing and sight and feeling (and understanding): little thanks do ye give!"

— Qur'an, sura 32 (As-Sajda), ayat 9

Does the Quran explain who or what is the Holy Spirit? Is the Spirit of God = God?

All of the Tafsirs are agreed that the Holy Spirit is Jibril (as). I won't state any differences of opinion. Suffice it to say that to understand verses of the Qur'an better, visit the links:
Quran Tafsir Ibn Kathir - Home
Al Tafsir.com - Tafseer Holy Quran from all Tafseer Schools, Quran Translations, Quran Recitations, Quran Interpretation (Tafseer), Quran Sciences, and Love In Quran

2. The Prophet is the last messenger (and greater than Jesus?) but why are miracles and special favors bestowed upon Jesus but not the Prophet?

- virgin birth
- without sin
- the only one brought near to God
- and many more: salahallah.com/english/30-jesus-qur%E2%80%99-list-qur%E2%80%99anic-references-isa-jesus

The Holy Prophet (saw) performed so many miracles that one cannot even count them all. The main miracle is the Qur'an, but he only pointed that out so that everyone till the end of time could witness miracles by reading the Book. The Qur'an's miracles can be witnessed by anyone and everyone who are given the spiritual insight from Allah to see them. Only the spiritually blind cannot fathom them. Spiritual blindness is in the heart.

As for the outward miracles which everyone around him would witness, these are the same as like the previous Prophets. He showed many miracles. They number in the hundreds, at the very least. There is a whole book by Ibn Kathir, many pages long, with full references which is on purely the miracles of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw). It was astounding even for me to see all of them. They may not all be known to all Muslims, but they are written and recorded in the books of Ahadith. To name a few:

-Before his birth his mother saw the castles of Syria burning bright. This showed how through her son Syria would be conquered. It came to pass
-He is also without sin
-He will be able to intercede for people on the Day of Judgment, while the other Prophets will refer everyone to him
-He brought not only himself near to God, but everyone else
-The journey of the Mi'raj and the Isra where he went to the heavens is a great miracles
-The Moon being cut in half
-Victory of Badr, with 313 Muslims against over 1000 disbelieving Meccans
-etc.

Read:
http://d1.islamhouse.com/data/en/ih_...Ibn_Kathir.pdf

300AuthenticatedMiraclesOfMuhammadPbuhByBadrAzimab adi_djvu

I hope this helps you. There are lot of miracles. It might take you a long while to go through them all. In terms of comparing the greatness of the Holy Prophet (saw) with respect to Jesus (as) with the miracles we all know of, that alone, would show the high level of the Holy Prophet (saw) and his nearness to Allah as compared to the rest of the Prophets of God.

[M.I.A.]

I'm new to this forum and I really appreciate a place like this where a guy like me can ask questions about Islam openly. I'm not affiliated with any anti-islam group, just so you know. so i hope no one treats my questions as a cynical challenge to the Islamic faith. I'm a Christian but I have respect for the moderate and peaceful muslims. I observe that some are very pious towards God and pray 5 times a day, rain or shine.

My questions are related to each other:

1. "And verily we gave unto Moses the Scripture and We caused a train of messengers to follow after him, and We gave unto Jesus, son of Mary, clear proofs (of Allah's sovereignty), and we supported him with the Holy Spirit."

— Qur'an, sura 2 (Al-Baqara), ayat 87

"When I have fashioned him (in due proportion) and breathed into him of My Spirit, fall ye down in obeisance unto him." — Qur'an, sura 15 (Al-Hijr), ayat 29 ^[6]
"And (remember) her who guarded her chastity: We breathed into her of Our Spirit, and We made her and her son a sign for all peoples. — Qur'an, sura 21 (Al-Anbiya), ayat 91 ^[7]
"But He fashioned him in due proportion, and breathed into him something of His Spirit. And He gave you (the faculties of) hearing and sight and feeling (and understanding): little thanks do ye give!"

— Qur'an, sura 32 (As-Sajda), ayat 9

Does the Quran explain who or what is the Holy Spirit? Is the Spirit of God = God?

2. The Prophet is the last messenger (and greater than Jesus?) but why are miracles and special favors bestowed upon Jesus but not the Prophet?

- virgin birth
- without sin
- the only one brought near to God
- and many more: salahallah.com/english/30-jesus-qur%E2%80%99-list-qur%E2%80%99anic-references-isa-jesus

Hope to understand how does the Muslim understand these 2 things.

Peace

if you look to any of the prophets pbut, they each had there own story and life through which they did the will of god.. by definition they were made specifically to do so... as some of the verses explain.

i dont find it contradictory or judgmental to say they differed, i mean as a christian you know exactly how miraculous some of the things they did were..

nor am i offended that you make any comparison between jesus and muhammed pbut, its like comparing superman to batman.

you have to take a long time to sincerely appreciate how truly great they were.

[Signor]

The Prophet is the last messenger (and greater than Jesus?) but why are miracles and special favors bestowed upon Jesus but not the Prophet?

- virgin birth
- without sin
- the only one brought near to God
- and many more: salahallah.com/english/30-jesus-qur%E2%80%99-list-qur%E2%80%99anic-references-isa-jesus

Miracles granted to other Prophets before Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) were only intended for that time only, and only for those people present at that time, as they were the only ones who witnessed such incidents and even there were no traces left behind for us to track as well.They may not be an assessment if a person is authentic or not since they were performed by loads of people in many religions like Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam. Similarly, how can one verify a person, a genuine, if he is performing miracles? Therefore, miracle is not a test indeed for a person to be labeled as genuine. If it would be the case then David Blain and Chris Angel are the best candidates to be regarded as “Prophets” of present time. However, they are not.

There are 25 prophets who are mentioned by name in the Quran. These include Adam, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Noah, David, Solomon, Job, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, Zachariah, John the Baptist, Jesus, Elijah, Ishmael, Elisha, Jonas, Lot, Hud, Shuaib, Idris, Dhul Kifl, Salih, and the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon them all). Anyone familiar with Judeo-Christian tradition will recognize most of these prophets. And they also admit that not all of them were granted miracles; again proving the point that miracle is not a test to verify if the person is genuine or not.

If you read the stories of Prophets from the Quran and the Bible then you will discern that the miracles awarded to the Prophets were affixed to the field that people of their period were ingenious and experts in; however, they were limited to time and to their people only. Like for example; the era of Prophet Moses (May Allah be pleased with him) was an age of magic and spells. People used to carry out astounding magic tricks that could swindle the very intellect people. Likewise, Allah allotted Prophet Moses (May Allah be pleased with him) with the same equivalent and invariable miracle but a degree higher, i.e. the miracles of Prophet Moses (May Allah be pleased with him) were not “magic tricks” or “illusions”; whatever he performed, actually occurred in real. For example, his staff became snake in real; he parted the sea in real etc. These were not customary delusions like other ordinary magicians used to act in his time; however in fact, Allah transformed in realism for Prophet Moses (May Allah be pleased with him) which was also accredited by the people of his time. Similarly, Prophet Jesus (May Allah be pleased with him) was born in a time when his people were excelled in medicine and healing. And Allah conferred him with astonishing healing powers as miracles where he could give life to the dead by the will of Allah. He healed born blind and lepers by Allah’s permission. These were undoubtedly wonderful miracles of Prophet Jesus (Peace be upon him) where Allah whatever had willed, He made it occurred through Prophet Jesus (May Allah be pleased with him).

We Muslims believe that Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) performed many miracles. However, we do not boast about them since the only verification we can provide are from the Holy Scriptures. The only living miracle we boast about is the Holy Quran which is from Allah.It is definitely a miracle of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him); however in the sense, that Allah has actually performed His miracle through Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him).

Our Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was born in the time when Arabs excelled in eloquence of literature, poetry and lexis. They were so swollen with pride of their lingo that they used to call non-Arabs as “ajami” عجمى meaning “dumb”; dumb in language, dumb in eloquence and dumb in intellect.Therefore, Allah bestowed upon Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) the Quran as a miracle, in an attire of an astounding marvel of literature, poetry and lexis. Quran is indeed a miracle of miracles. Subsequently, Allah sought keeping His words everlasting for the whole human kind and till perpetuity. As for the same reason he took the liability of safeguarding His words from being ruined and distorted.

1. "And verily we gave unto Moses the Scripture and We caused a train of messengers to follow after him, and We gave unto Jesus, son of Mary, clear proofs (of Allah's sovereignty), and we supported him with the Holy Spirit."

— Qur'an, sura 2 (Al-Baqara), ayat 87

"When I have fashioned him (in due proportion) and breathed into him of My Spirit, fall ye down in obeisance unto him." — Qur'an, sura 15 (Al-Hijr), ayat 29 ^[6]
"And (remember) her who guarded her chastity: We breathed into her of Our Spirit, and We made her and her son a sign for all peoples. — Qur'an, sura 21 (Al-Anbiya), ayat 91 ^[7]
"But He fashioned him in due proportion, and breathed into him something of His Spirit. And He gave you (the faculties of) hearing and sight and feeling (and understanding): little thanks do ye give!"

— Qur'an, sura 32 (As-Sajda), ayat 9

Does the Quran explain who or what is the Holy Spirit? Is the Spirit of God = God?

Can you explain what does firmness of heart means here?

Job 41:24 His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone.

Zechariah 7:12 Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law.......

And how people go blind and deaf while having ears to hear and eyes to see?

Romans 11:8 As it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day.”

Isaiah 43:8 Bring out the people who are blind, yet have eyes, who are deaf, yet have ears!

If you do then I can make you understand something about what Spirit stands for in Islam.

Peace

[Muhaba]

I'm new to this forum and I really appreciate a place like this where a guy like me can ask questions about Islam openly. I'm not affiliated with any anti-islam group, just so you know. so i hope no one treats my questions as a cynical challenge to the Islamic faith. I'm a Christian but I have respect for the moderate and peaceful muslims. I observe that some are very pious towards God and pray 5 times a day, rain or shine.

My questions are related to each other:

1. "And verily we gave unto Moses the Scripture and We caused a train of messengers to follow after him, and We gave unto Jesus, son of Mary, clear proofs (of Allah's sovereignty), and we supported him with the Holy Spirit."

— Qur'an, sura 2 (Al-Baqara), ayat 87

"When I have fashioned him (in due proportion) and breathed into him of My Spirit, fall ye down in obeisance unto him." — Qur'an, sura 15 (Al-Hijr), ayat 29 ^[6]
"And (remember) her who guarded her chastity: We breathed into her of Our Spirit, and We made her and her son a sign for all peoples. — Qur'an, sura 21 (Al-Anbiya), ayat 91 ^[7]
"But He fashioned him in due proportion, and breathed into him something of His Spirit. And He gave you (the faculties of) hearing and sight and feeling (and understanding): little thanks do ye give!"

— Qur'an, sura 32 (As-Sajda), ayat 9

Does the Quran explain who or what is the Holy Spirit? Is the Spirit of God = God?

2. The Prophet is the last messenger (and greater than Jesus?) but why are miracles and special favors bestowed upon Jesus but not the Prophet?

- virgin birth
- without sin
- the only one brought near to God
- and many more: salahallah.com/english/30-jesus-qur%E2%80%99-list-qur%E2%80%99anic-references-isa-jesus

Hope to understand how does the Muslim understand these 2 things.

Peace

Who is the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is Angel Gabriel (Jibreel). He is a very special Angel of great status. He used to bring the revelation of God to the Prophets. He is not God.

"The Spirit of God" does not make a person God. God had blown His spirit into Adam, which is how Adam became alive. But that doesn't make Adam (or mankind) God.


Miracles given to Prophets: Each Prophet received miracles. These were given as proof of his Prophethood. As someone else has already written, miracles were also given according to the knowledge that a particular people had. Prophet Moses was given the miracle of transforming his cane into a snake. At that time, magic was prevalent and this miracle defeated magicians, proving Prophet Moses' Prophethood (that God had sent him). When the magicians saw his miracle, they all fell down in prostration and accepted Islam (the religion of Prophet Moses). They cried out, 'We believe in the Lord of Moses and Aaron.' Thus, magicians' knowledge was defeated through Moses' miracle.

Prophet Jesus was given the miracle of curing people, curing the born-blind, and informing people of the matters of their house. At his time, that sort of knowledge was prevalent and Prophet Jesus's miracles surpassed that knowledge.
See 3: 45 - 3: 51 :
[And mention] when the angels said, "O Mary, indeed Allah gives you good tidings of a word from Him, whose name will be the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary - distinguished in this world and the Hereafter and among those brought near [to Allah ].

He will speak to the people in the cradle and in maturity and will be of the righteous."

She said, "My Lord, how will I have a child when no man has touched me?" [The angel] said, "Such is Allah ; He creates what He wills. When He decrees a matter, He only says to it, 'Be,' and it is.

And He will teach him writing and wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel

And [make him] a messenger to the Children of Israel, [who will say], 'Indeed I have come to you with a sign from your Lord in that I design for you from clay [that which is] like the form of a bird, then I breathe into it and it becomes a bird by permission of Allah . And I cure the blind and the leper, and I give life to the dead - by permission of Allah . And I inform you of what you eat and what you store in your houses. Indeed in that is a sign for you, if you are believers.

And [I have come] confirming what was before me of the Torah and to make lawful for you some of what was forbidden to you. And I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, so fear Allah and obey me.

Indeed, Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. That is the straight path."


Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was also given miracles. His main miracle was the Quran. It is a Book like none other. At the time of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) Arabic literature and poetry was very outstanding. The Quran defeated Arabic literature because the Quran was superior to Arabic literature and no one could bring anything like the Quran. Even today, the Quran continues to be the greatest Book and is perfect in every manner. It has a unique tone and uses the best vocabulary that is appropriate both in terms of definition and in terms of sound. It surpasses all literature - there is nothing like it in the whole world - and even has scientific miracles. Another miracle of the Quran is that it is protected by God - It is the same as it was at the time of Revelation over 1400 years ago. Furthermore, every Quran in the world is an identical copy of every other. No other Book is like it in this matter.

[daveyats]

Thanks for the replies and I'm sorry I'm only reading them a week later!

Let me summarize the responses to check that I understand correctly...

1. The Holy Spirit is Angel Gabriel.
2. The Spirit of God is not the Holy Spirit but the life that He bestows onto man.

3. Specific miracles were given to specific prophets who were sent to a specific group of people at a specific time.
4. It is not entirely known why Jesus was accorded with certain favors.

5. The proof that Muhammed is a prophet is the Koran because the Koran is unique and every copy that exist does not contain any mistakes since the time it was written. This is proof that it is divinely protected (a side-note on this, prior to reading this thread I created another one to ask what is the evidence that the Koran is divinely-inspired.)