Who is Jesus- prophet or more?

Hey.


Let's start off with what Jesus son of Mary (peace be upon him) said as stated in the Qur'an;

"He ['Iesa (Jesus)] said: Verily! I am a slave of Allah, He has given me the Scripture and made me a Prophet;"

[Qur'an 19: 30]

There is no explicit verse like that in the Bible whatsoever when the christians claim that Jesus is supposedly God. Whereas it is crystal clear in the Qur'an that Jesus son of Mary is saying that he is God's slave and prophet.


The article focuses alot on the titles given to Prophet Jesus son of Mary (peace be upon him), from the Qur'an. What the author doesn't realise is that many Prophets are given many names, i.e. Prophet Abraham is known as the Khaleel [close friend] of Allah/God, Prophet Moses is given a title of the one who spoke to Allah directly, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is given many titles, some even say that he has 99 names or more i.e. Khaleel [close friend] of Allah, AbdAllah [slave of Allah], RasulAllah [Messenger of Allah], Basheer [giver of glad-tidings], Nazeer [the warner] etc.


The article posted above however focuses on two main names which the person wants to take out of context, and alot of christian missionaries have purposelly - throughout history - used them to make people stray from the clear understanding which is given in the Qur'an itself, and the arabic language - in which the Qur'an is revealed in.



They are:

Kalimatuhu : God's Word (Ali Imran 3:45 )

Behold! the angels said: "O Mary! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a Word from Him: his name will be Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honour in this world and the Hereafter and of (the company of) those nearest to Allah;

[Qur'an Yusuf Ali translation 3:45]

What was that word? We know the Qur'an explains itself, so let's take a look at what Allah says in another part of the Qur'an:

Verily, the likeness of 'Iesa (Jesus) before Allah is the likeness of Adam. He created him from dust, then (He) said to him: "Be!" - and he was.

[Qur'an 3: 59]

So Allah is giving us a similitude, He is telling us that Jesus son of Mary was a word from Him by simply saying "Be!" - Mary got impregnated without the influence of a male impregnating her. Which shows the power of Allah/God, that He is able to do all things, and it clears Mary (peace be upon her) of the evil charges she was accused of.


This is proven through other verses from Qur'an;

Verily, when He [Allah] intends a thing, His Command is, "be", and it is!

So glory to Him in Whose hands is the dominion of all things: and to Him will ye be all brought back.

[Qur'an 36: 82-3]

And when Mary was given glad tidings of a son, so was Prophet Zakariyya, and guess what, he was given glad tidings of a son even though he was of old age when his wife was barren (unable to have children!)

At that time Zakariya (Zachariya) invoked his Lord, saying: "O my Lord! Grant me from You, a good offspring. You are indeed the All-Hearer of invocation."

Then the angels called him, while he was standing in prayer in Al-Mihrab (a praying place or a private room), (saying): "Allah gives you glad tidings of Yahya (John), confirming (believing in) the Word from Allah [i.e. the creation of 'Iesa (Jesus) , the Word from Allah ("Be!" - and he was!)], noble, keeping away from sexual relations with women, a Prophet, from among the righteous."

He said: "O my Lord! How can I have a son when I am very old, and my wife is barren?" Allah said: "Thus Allah does what He wills."

[Qur'an 3: 39-40]

So if the christians claim that Jesus son of Mary was God simply because he was a word of "Be!" from God, then know that a miracle of Allah/God also took place for the birth of Prophet Yahya [John the Baptist.] And you as a christian know that Prophet John is not God, similarly Jesus son of Mary is not. They are both the slaves of God, who He has created. And know that it is only God, the One who created you, Jesus son of Mary, his mother, and us all Who is alone worthy of all worship.



The second controversial one christians try to take out of context is the:


Ruhuminhu or The spirit of Allah (Al Nesa 4:171 ) - The more accurate translation for this is Ruh [spirit] min [from] hu [Him]


What they don't realise is that anything which is special or favoured by Allah/God is known as Allah's. Let me explain this abit better, the Sacred Masjid [mosque] in Makkah is known as Baitullah [the house of Allah/God], yet this does not mean that Allah lives in that house. No. What it does mean is that this place is special, it is favored by Allah and therefore is known as the house of Allah i.e. it belongs to Allah - it is His.

This is exactly the same with the creation of Allah, i.e. the Messengers of Allah are Allah's creation and property, and they are sent from/by Allah. This does not mean that they are part of Allah. Similar can be said about the angels. And similarly, the spirits [Ruh] which He sends. Since Jesus son of Mary (peace be upon him) is highly ranked and favored by Allah, He honors him by stating that Jesus son of Mary is His property, His spirit (which He [Allah] owns.) And this is a part of the arabic language.

You can read more about this issue and linguistics here insha Allah [God willing];
http://www.islamicboard.com/prophets...a-created.html


Other names like Maseeh [Messiah] (translated as Christ in Greek) are words which alot of people don't truly understand, Maseeh (arabic) [Messiah] comes from the root word 'to wipe' - And we know that when Jesus son of Mary (peace be upon him) would wipe someone ill, they would get better - BY THE WILL OF ALLAH as has been told in the Qur'an over and over again [when his miracles are mentioned.] Similarly, we do not say that any other Prophet is God if he has done any miracles, since it is basic belief that nothing happens except by Allah's leave/will. So to say that Jesus son of Mary is God simply because he did miracles isn't sufficient as a proof that this person is God. Rather, it can show that this person is either loved by Allah and therefore Allah has given him/her miracles by His leave, or that he/she is an evildoer and doing magic. In the case of the Prophets of God, we believe without a doubt that Allah is pleased with them and this is why He has bestowed upon them miracles and signs, to strengthen those who believe in faith.




And Allah knows best.






Peace.

Is there a point to taking excerpts from the Quran out of context to loan them a biblical type meaning? --- Everyone knows the Islamic/Quranic view on Jesus (p) that isn't suddenly going to change by dropping random words from the Quran and giving them the desired meaning...

If anything the above should solidify that Muslims don't favor a messenger over another-- that we respect and love all of them equally

You can't use from the Quran to make a case for christianity..don't you find that silly at best for obvious reasons? You can't make a case for [CABG (coronary artery bypass graft), well after a Stent Implantation] You have to accept one or the other and see who is evidenced to be superior through cogitations.. once you've accepted one over the other, there is no going back!
Also read the Quran as a whole..you might be surprised ..

آمَنَ الرَّسُولُ بِمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْهِ مِن رَّبِّهِ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ كُلٌّ آمَنَ بِاللّهِ وَمَلآئِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ لاَ نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِّن رُّسُلِهِ وَقَالُواْ سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا غُفْرَانَكَ رَبَّنَا وَإِلَيْكَ الْمَصِيرُ {285}

[Pickthal 2:285] The messenger believeth in that which hath been revealed unto him from his Lord and (so do) believers. Each one believeth in Allah and His angels and His scriptures and His messengers - We make no distinction between any of His messengers - and they say: We hear, and we obey. (Grant us) Thy forgiveness, our Lord. Unto Thee is the journeying.

peace!

He doesn't look any more than a prophet NO.. I suppose because I have read the Quran in its entirety.. and I know that every prophet was given gifts

check these verses out also in the Quran

1 البقرة 2 253 تِلْكَ الرُّسُلُ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ مِنْهُمْ مَنْ كَلَّمَ اللَّهُ وَرَفَعَ بَعْضَهُمْ دَرَجَاتٍ وَآتَيْنَا عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ الْبَيِّنَاتِ وَأَيَّدْنَاهُ بِرُوحِ الْقُدُسِ وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ مَا اقْتَتَلَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ بَعْدِهِمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَتْهُمُ الْبَيِّنَاتُ وَلَكِنِ اخْتَلَفُوا فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ آمَنَ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ كَفَرَ وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ مَا اقْتَتَلُوا وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَفْعَلُ مَا يُرِيدُ
2 آل عمران 3 144 وَمَا مُحَمَّدٌ إِلا رَسُولٌ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ الرُّسُلُ أَفَإِنْ مَاتَ أَوْ قُتِلَ انْقَلَبْتُمْ عَلَى أَعْقَابِكُمْ وَمَنْ يَنْقَلِبْ عَلَى عَقِبَيْهِ فَلَنْ يَضُرَّ اللَّهَ شَيْئًا وَسَيَجْزِي اللَّهُ الشَّاكِرِينَ
3 النساء 4 165 رُسُلا مُبَشِّرِينَ وَمُنْذِرِينَ لِئَلا يَكُونَ لِلنَّاسِ عَلَى اللَّهِ حُجَّةٌ بَعْدَ الرُّسُلِ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَزِيزًا حَكِيمًا
4 المائدة 5 19 يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ قَدْ جَاءَكُمْ رَسُولُنَا يُبَيِّنُ لَكُمْ عَلَى فَتْرَةٍ مِنَ الرُّسُلِ أَنْ تَقُولُوا مَا جَاءَنَا مِنْ بَشِيرٍ وَلا نَذِيرٍ فَقَدْ جَاءَكُمْ بَشِيرٌ وَنَذِيرٌ وَاللَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
5 المائدة 5 75 مَا الْمَسِيحُ ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ إِلا رَسُولٌ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ الرُّسُلُ وَأُمُّهُ صِدِّيقَةٌ كَانَا يَأْكُلانِ الطَّعَامَ انْظُرْ كَيْفَ نُبَيِّنُ لَهُمُ الآيَاتِ ثُمَّ انْظُرْ أَنَّى يُؤْفَكُونَ
6 المائدة 5 109 يَوْمَ يَجْمَعُ اللَّهُ الرُّسُلَ فَيَقُولُ مَاذَا أُجِبْتُمْ قَالُوا لا عِلْمَ لَنَا إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ عَلامُ الْغُيُوبِ
7 هود 11 120 وَكُلا نَقُصُّ عَلَيْكَ مِنْ أَنْبَاءِ الرُّسُلِ مَا نُثَبِّتُ بِهِ فُؤَادَكَ وَجَاءَكَ فِي هَذِهِ الْحَقُّ وَمَوْعِظَةٌ وَذِكْرَى لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
8 يوسف 12 110 حَتَّى إِذَا اسْتَيْئَسَ الرُّسُلُ وَظَنُّوا أَنَّهُمْ قَدْ كُذِبُوا جَاءَهُمْ نَصْرُنَا فَنُجِّيَ مَنْ نَشَاءُ وَلا يُرَدُّ بَأْسُنَا عَنِ الْقَوْمِ الْمُجْرِمِينَ
9 إبراهيم 14 44 وَأَنْذِرِ النَّاسَ يَوْمَ يَأْتِيهِمُ الْعَذَابُ فَيَقُولُ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا رَبَّنَا أَخِّرْنَا إِلَى أَجَلٍ قَرِيبٍ نُجِبْ دَعْوَتَكَ وَنَتَّبِعِ الرُّسُلَ أَوَلَمْ تَكُونُوا أَقْسَمْتُمْ مِنْ قَبْلُ مَا لَكُمْ مِنْ زَوَالٍ
10 النحل 16 35 وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُوا لَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ مَا عَبَدْنَا مِنْ دُونِهِ مِنْ شَيْءٍ نَحْنُ وَلا آبَاؤُنَا وَلا حَرَّمْنَا مِنْ دُونِهِ مِنْ شَيْءٍ كَذَلِكَ فَعَلَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ فَهَلْ عَلَى الرُّسُلِ إِلا الْبَلاغُ الْمُبِينُ
11 المؤمنون 23 51 يَا أَيُّهَا الرُّسُلُ كُلُوا مِنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَاعْمَلُوا صَالِحًا إِنِّي بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ عَلِيمٌ
12 الفرقان 25 37 وَقَوْمَ نُوحٍ لَمَّا كَذَّبُوا الرُّسُلَ أَغْرَقْنَاهُمْ وَجَعَلْنَاهُمْ لِلنَّاسِ آيَةً وَأَعْتَدْنَا لِلظَّالِمِينَ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا
13 ص 38 14 إِنْ كُلٌّ إِلا كَذَّبَ الرُّسُلَ فَحَقَّ عِقَابِ
14 فصلت 41 14 إِذْ جَاءَتْهُمُ الرُّسُلُ مِنْ بَيْنِ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِمْ أَلا تَعْبُدُوا إِلا اللَّهَ قَالُوا لَوْ شَاءَ رَبُّنَا لأَنْـزَلَ مَلائِكَةً فَإِنَّا بِمَا أُرْسِلْتُمْ بِهِ كَافِرُونَ
15 الأحقاف 46 9 قُلْ مَا كُنْتُ بِدْعًا مِنَ الرُّسُلِ وَمَا أَدْرِي مَا يُفْعَلُ بِي وَلا بِكُمْ إِنْ أَتَّبِعُ إِلا مَا يُوحَى إِلَيَّ وَمَا أَنَا إِلا نَذِيرٌ مُبِينٌ
16 الأحقاف 46 35 فَاصْبِرْ كَمَا صَبَرَ أُولُو الْعَزْمِ مِنَ الرُّسُلِ وَلا تَسْتَعْجِلْ لَهُمْ كَأَنَّهُمْ يَوْمَ يَرَوْنَ مَا يُوعَدُونَ لَمْ يَلْبَثُوا إِلا سَاعَةً مِنْ نَهَارٍ بَلاغٌ فَهَلْ يُهْلَكُ إِلا الْقَوْمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ
17 ق 50 14 وَأَصْحَابُ الأَيْكَةِ وَقَوْمُ تُبَّعٍ كُلٌّ كَذَّبَ الرُّسُلَ فَحَقَّ وَعِيدِ
18 المرسلات 77 11

the verses and suras are noted so you may translate them by following the numbers.. but I took one out of the above that I think should be of special interest


[75] Al-Masih, the son of Maryam, was no more than a Messenger; many were the Messengers that passed away before him. His mother was a woman of truth. They had both to eat their (daily) food. See how Allah doth make His Signs clear to them; yet see in what ways they are deluded away from the truth!

[76] Say: "Will ye worship, besides Allah, something which hath no power either to harm or benefit you? But Allah, He it is that heareth and knoweth all things."

[77] Say: "O People of the Book! exceed not in your religion the bounds (of what is proper), trespassing beyond the truth, nor follow the vain desires of people who went wrong in times gone by, who misled many, and strayed (themselves) from the even Way...

Prophet Mohammed was the SEAL of the prophets and with him the true message of monotheism is preserved.. this isn't a popularity contest.. All prophets did as was granted them by Allah SWT..

read this

The Bible Led Me to Islam

Abdul Malik LeBlanc tells how he discovered Islam within the pages of Bible

Source: International Edition Voice of Islam - November 1998, Page 25

During my Christian days there were many verses in the Bible that made me question the religion I was following (Christianity). There was one particular verse, 1 Thessalonians 5:17 which says; "pray without ceasing," that lingered heavily in my mind. I often wondered how a person (Christian) was supposed to pray (be in a state of worship) without ceasing? Without any biblical or divine guidance, the only way I thought this to be possible was to always do good deeds and keep the remembrance of God on my tongue and in my heart.

However, I found this to be impossible to do as a human being. But when I was introduced to Islam in 1987, and began to read and learn more about this way of life, I found that Islam provided divine guidance both from God (Allah) and Prophet Muhammad (SAW) by which a person could pray (be in a state of worship) without ceasing, if it was the Will of God.

Whether waking up, eating, sleeping, putting on clothes, being in the presence of a woman, looking at a woman, going shopping, going to the bathroom, looking in the mirror, traveling, visiting the sick, sitting in a non-religious meeting, taking a bath, having sexual intercourse with one’s wife, yawning, cutting you nails, sneezing, greeting people, talking, hosting guests at home, walking, exercising, fighting, entering one’s house, praying and many other acts, Islam and the guidance therein of the Quran, and the acts and sayings of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), provided ways in which I could observe 1 Thessalonians 5:17. In addition, it allowed me to be at peace with myself and in submission to the one True God - Allah (SWT).

This divine guidance of Islam taught me greatly about my duties, responsibilities and birthright to my Creator (Allah), and more about the religion of Christianity as a Muslim, I [By the Will of Allah (SWT)] felt it necessary to share with you how the Bible led me to Islam.

Christianity

Given the fact that there has never been in the history of the Torah (Old Testament) the religion of God to be named after a Prophet (i.e. Adaminity, Abrahamity, Mosanity, etc.), I hope to explain that Jesus did not preach the religion of Christianity, but a religion that gives all Praise and Worship to The One God.

One of the questions I asked myself as I took an objective (second) look at Christianity was; where did the word Christianity come from and was the word ever mentioned to Jesus? Well, I did not find the word Christianity in the Bible, not even in a Bible dictionary. Specifically, I did not find in the Bible where Jesus called himself a Christian.

The word Christian was first mentioned by a pagan to describe those who followed Jesus. It is mentioned one of three times in the New Testament by a pagan and Jew in Antioch about 43 AD, (Acts 11:26, Acts 26:28 and 1 Peter 4:16) long after Jesus left this earth. To accept the words of pagans as having any value or association with divinity, Jesus or God is contrary to the teachings of all Prophets.

Jesus prophesied that people would worship him uselessly and believe in doctrines made by men (Matthew 15:9).

"But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." This verse, Matthew 15:9, is further supported by these words of the Quran:

"And (remember) when Allah will say (on the Day of Resurrection): "O Jesus, son of Mary! Did you say unto men: "Worship me and my mother as two gods besides Allah?" He will say: "Glory be to You! It was not for me to say what I had no right (to say). Had I said such a thing, You would surely have known it. You know what is in my inner-self though I do not know what is in Yours, truly, You, only You, are the All-Knower o fall that is hidden and unseen.

Never did I say to them aught except what You (Allah) did command me to say: ‘Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.’ And I was a witness over them while I dwelt amongst them, but when You took me up, You were a Witness to all things. (This is a great admonition and warning to the Christians of the whole world)." (Al-Ma’idah 5:116-117)

I found that Biblical verses like John 5:30, John 12:49, John 14:28, Isaiah 42:8 and Acts 2:22 support the above mentioned verses of the Quran.

Before leaving the subject of Christianity, I should mention one small point of observation. If Christians are Christ-like, why are they not greeting each other with the words; Peace be with you (Salamu Alaikum), as Jesus did in Luke 24:36. As you may be aware, the greeting from one Muslim to another Muslim is Assalamu Alaikum; a Christ-like saying.

Various Holy Bibles
It is worth mentioning that the Bible references cited might not be exactly as the Bible you are using. There are MANY Bibles on the market that are used by different Christian sects and all of these sects say that their book, though different, is the word of God. Such Bibles are: The Revised Standard Version 1952 & 1971, New American Standard Bible, The Holy Bible; New International Version, the Living Bible, New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures used by Jehovah Witnesses, Roman Catholic Version and the King James Version. A special note: I have not found in any of these Bibles where the "New Testament" calls itself the "New Testament," and nowhere does the "Old Testament" call itself the "Old? Testament." Also, the word "Bible" is unknown within the pages of the Bible.

In addition to the many different Christian sects and Bibles, I have learned that there are also different men, not Prophets, who founded these sects and are using various interpretations of the Bible and/or man-made doctrines as their creed.

I would like to share with you some thoughts that you may not have read or known about the Bible being the word of God. Briefly, let me mention that on September 8, 1957, the Jehovah’s witnesses in their "Awake" magazine carried this startling headline - 50,000 Errors in the Bible. If you ask a Jehovah’s witness about this headline, it may be said that today most of those errors have been eliminated. How many have been eliminated, 5,000? Even if 50 remain, would one attribute those errors to God?

Let me pose another question: if a "Holy" book contained conflicting verses would you still consider it to be Holy? Most likely you will say of course not. Let me share with you some conflicting verses both in the Old and New Testaments:

II Samuel 8:4 (vs)
II Samuel 8:9-10
II Kings 8:26

II Samuel 6:23
Genesis 6:3
John 5:37

John 5:31
I Chronicles 18:4
I Chronicles 18:9-10

II Chronicles 22:2
II Samuel 21:8
Genesis 9:29

John 14:9
John 8:14



Only two contradictions of the New Testament have been mentioned, but others will be referenced when the Trinity, Divinity of Jesus Christ, Divine Sonship of Jesus, Original Sin and Atonement are reviewed.

How could the "inspired words" of God get the genealogy of Jesus incorrect (See Matthew 1:6-16 where it states 26 forefathers up to Prophet David, and Luke 3:23-31 says 41 in number). Or for that matter, give a genealogy to Jesus who had NO father? See II Kings 19:1-37, now read Isaiah 37:1-38. Why is it that the words of these verse are identical? Yet they have been attributed to two different authors, one unknown and the other is Isaiah, who are centuries apart; and yet, the Christians have claimed these books to be inspired by God.

I looked up the word Easter in the Nelson Bible dictionary and learned that the word "Easter" (as mentioned in Acts 12:4) is a mistranslation of "pascha," the ordinary Greek word for "Passover." As, you know Passover is a Jewish celebration not a Christian holiday. I think human hands, all to human, had played havoc with the Bible.

From the brief points mentioned above, and the fact that Biblical scholars themselves have recognized the human nature and human composition of the Bible (Curt Kuhl, The Old Testament: Its Origin and Composition, PP 47, 51, 52), there should exist in the Christian’s mind some acceptance to the fact that maybe every word of the Bible is not God’s word.

As a side note to this subject, let me mention that some Christians believe that the Bible was dictated to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) by a Christian monk, and that is why some of the biblical accounts are in the Quran. After some research, I found that this could not have happened because there were no Arabic Bible in existence in the 6th century of the Christian era when Muhammad (SAW) lived and preached. Therefore, no Arab, not even Prophet Muhammad (SAW) who was absolutely unlettered and unlearned, would have had the opportunity to examine the written text of the Bible in his own language.

The Gospels

If you read Luke 1:2-3, you will learn, as I did, that Luke (who was not one of the 12 disciples and never met Jesus) said that he himself was not an eyewitness, and the knowledge he gathered was from eyewitnesses, and not as words inspired by God. Incidentally, why does every "Gospel" begin with the introduction According to. Why "according to?" the reason for this is because not a single one of the gospels carries its original author’s autograph! Even the internal evidence of Matthew 9:9 proves that Matthew was not the author of the first Gospel which bears his name:

"And as Jesus passed forth thence, He (Jesus) saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and He (Jesus) saith unto Him (Matthew), follow me (Jesus). And he (Matthew) arose, and followed Him (Jesus)."

Without any stretch of the imagination, one can see that the He’s and the Him’s of the above narration do not refer to Jesus or Matthew as its author, but a third person writing what he saw or heard - a hearsay account and not words inspired by God.

It is worth noting, and well known throughout the religious world, that the choice of the present four "gospels" of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) were imposed in the Council of Nicea 325 CE for political purposes under the auspices of the pagan Emperor Constantine, and not by Jesus. Constantine’s mind had not been enlightened either by study or by inspiration. He was a pagan, a tyrant and criminal who murdered his son, his wife and thousands of innocent individuals because of his lust for political power. Constantine ratified other decisions in the Nicene Creed such as the decision to call Christ "the Son of God, only begotten of the father."

Literally, hundreds of gospels and religious writings were hidden from the people. Some of those writings were written by Jesus’ disciples, and many of them were eyewitness accounts of Jesus’ actions. The Nicea Council decided to destroy all gospels written in Hebrew, which resulted in the burning of nearly three hundred accounts. If these writings were not more authentic than the four present gospels, they were of equal authenticity. Some of them are still available such as the Gospel of Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hermas which agree with the Quran. The Gospel of Barnabas, until now, is the only eyewitness account of the life and mission of Jesus. Even today, the whole of the Protestant word, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists and other sects and denominations condemn the Roman Catholic version of the Bible because it contains seven "extra" books. The Protestant have bravely expunged seven whole books from their word of God. A few of the outcasts are the Books of Judith, Tobnias, Baruch and Esther.

Concerning Jesus’ teachings of the Gospel (Injeel), the Gospel writers frequently mentioned Jesus preaching the Gospel: Matthew 9:35, Mark 8:35, and Luke 20:1. The word "gospel" is recurrently used in the Bible. However, in the New Testament Greek edition the word Evangeline is used in place of the word gospel, which is translated to mean good news. My question was: what Gospel did Jesus preach? Of the 27 books of the New Testament, only a small fraction can be accepted as the words of Jesus, and only of the 27 books are known to be attributed as the Gospel of Jesus. The remaining 23 were supposedly written by Paul. Muslims do believe that Jesus was given God’s "Good News." However, they do not recognized the present four Gospels as the utterances of Jesus.

The earliest Gospel is that of Mark’s which was written about 60-75 AD. Mark was the son of Barnabas’s sister. Matthew was a tax collector, a minor official who did not travel around with Jesus. Luke’s Gospel was written much later, and in fact, drawn from the same sources as Mark’s and Matthew’s. Luke was Paul’s physician, and like Paul, never met Jesus. By the way, did you know that the names Marks and Luke were not included in the 12 appointed disciples of Jesus as mentioned in Matthew 10:2-4?

Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; the first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.

John’s Gospel is from a different source, and was written in about 100 AD. He (John) should not be confused with John, the disciple, who was beheaded by Agrippa I in the year 44 CE long before this gospel was written. It should be accepted as a reliable account of the life of Jesus, and whether it should be included in the scriptures.

Christians, as I once did, boast about the Gospels according to Matthew, according to Mark, according to Luke and according to John. However, if we think about it, there is not a single Gospel according to Jesus himself. According to the preface of the KJV (King James Version) new open Bible study edition, the word "Gospel" was added (see below) to the original titles, "According to John, according to Matthew, according to Luke and according to Mark."

The permission to call "According to" writings the Gospel was not given by Jesus nor by any other divine guidance. These writings; Matthew, Luke, Mark and John, were never originally to be the Gospel. Therefore, Mark 1:1 can not be a true statement that his writing is the gospel of Jesus.

It should be mentioned that Muslims must believe in all Divine scriptures in their original form, their Prophets and making no distinction between them: The Suhuf (Abraham); Torah (Moses); Psalms (David); Gospel - or the Injeel (Jesus); and the Quran (Muhammad). It is clearly stated in the Quran 3:3 that Allah sent down the Torah and the Gospel. However, none of these scriptures remains in its original form now, except the Quran, which was sent for all mankind everywhere and for all times.

In addition to other reasons why the Quran was sent to mankind, as mentioned in 18:4-5 it was sent to warn the Christians of a terrible punishment from God if they cease not in saying: "Allah has begotten a son."

Muslims sincerely believe that everything Jesus (May the peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) preached was from God; the Gospel (Injeel): The "good news" and the guidance of God for the Children of Israel. There is no place mentioned in the present four Gospels that Jesus wrote a single word of his Gospel, nor is it mentioned that Jesus instructed anyone to do so. What passes off, as the "Gospels" today are the works of third party human hands. The Quran 2:79 says:
"And woe to those who write the book with their own hands and they say: "This is from Allah (God)." To traffic with it for a miserable price! So woe to them for what their hands do write, and woe to them for what they earn thereby!"

Jesus As the Son of God
Is Jesus the Son of God? Matthew 3:17 could be used by some Christians to support the divine Sonship of Jesus. If Matthew 3:17, "And Lo a voice for heaven, saying, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased," is used to support divine Sonship, then there should be no other verse that contradicts or gives equal divine Sonship to another person or persons in the Old or New Testament. However, many references were found in the Old and New Testaments that mentioned someone other than Jesus as having a divine Sonship to God. See Exodus 4:22:

"Israel is my son, even my firstborn." II Samuel 7:14 and I Chronicles 22:10: "...and he shall be my son (Solomon)." Jeremiah 31:9: "...and Ephraim is my firstborn." Also, Psalm 2:7.

The word "Son" must not be accepted literally because God addresses many of his chosen servants as son and sons. The Jews have also claimed Ezra to be the Son of God. The New Testament Greek words used for "son" (pias and paida, which mean servant or son in the sense of servant) are translated as son in reference to Jesus and as servant in reference to others in some translations of the Bible.

Further, the term "Father" as used by Jesus corresponds more closely to the term Rabb, i.e. One who nourishes and sustains, so that in Jesus’ doctrine, God is "Father" – Nourisher and Sustainer – of all men. The New Testament also interprets "son of God" to be mystical: "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." (Romans 8:14). This mystical suggestion is further supported with Jesus being called the only begotten Son of God.

In Psalm 2:7, the Lord said to David:

"...Thou art my son: this day have I begotten thee."

Does this mean that God had two sons? Jesus also said that God is not only his Father but also your Father (Matthew 5:45, 48). Luke 3:38 says:

"...Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the Son of God."

Who is mentioned in Hebrews 7:3 as like unto the Son of God? It is Melchisedec, King of Salem, as mentioned in Hebrews 7:1. He (Melchisedec) is more unique than Jesus or Adam. Why is he not preferred to be the Son of God? Moreover, Adam did not have a mother or father, but was the first human being created by God and in the likeness of God to exist in the Garden of Eden and on earth. Wouldn’t this give more rights to Adam to be called the Son of God in its truest meaning?

I would like to share with you an obvious contradiction between John 3:16, Luke 10:25-28 and Matthew 19:16-17. John 3:16 reads:

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten, Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Now let’s read Luke 10:25-28:

And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, what is written in the law? How readest Thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and Thou shalt live.

These verses tell us that the inheritance of eternal life is for anyone who believes and worships no other God, but the One True God. Luke 10:25-28 agrees with Matthew 19:16-17 which says;

"And behold, one came and said to him (Jesus), Good teacher, what good things shall I do that I may have eternal life? So he (Jesus) said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? – No one is good but One that is, God. But if you want to enter into eternal life, keep the commandments."

There is no commandment that says to worship Jesus, but there that tells us to worship God alone.

In Luke 4:41, Jesus refused to be called the Son of God by demons. Do you think that Jesus would rebuke the demons, or anyone else for that matter, for telling the truth? Unquestionably, no! Jesus rebuked the demons because they were saying something false by calling him the Son of God. Also, if the demons knew that Jesus was the Christ, for Jesus to shut them up because they called him the Christ is a contradiction to Jesus’ mission.

In Luke 9:20 & 21, Jesus said unto his disciples:

"But who say ye that I am? Peter answered saying, "The Christ of God, and Jesus straightly charged them and commanded them to tell no man that thing."

Furthermore, verses like John 3:2, John 6:14, John 7:40, Matthew 21:11, Luke 7:16 and 24:19 confirm that Jesus accepted the title of teacher, Prophet and called himself the son of man in Matthew 8:20, 12:40, 17:9 & 12, 26:24, Luke 9:26, 22:48, 22:69, and 24:7. The most conclusive verse that says Jesus is the son (servant) of man is Mark 14:26 where Jesus is mentioning the Day of Reckoning. Jesus specifically said we would see the son of man, not the Son of God, sitting in the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

The act of begetting is a physical act and such act is against God’s nature. The Qur’an 19:35 says:


"It is not befitting to (the majesty of) Allah that He should beget a son. Glory be to Him! When He determines a matter He only says to it "Be," and it is." (Maryam 19:35)

The teachings of Jesus as the Son of God were not preached by Jesus nor accepted by Jesus, but were taught by Paul as supported in Acts 9:20:

"And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God."

Did Jesus ever claim to be God or say, "Here am I, your God, worship me"? The answer is no. For there is no single, unequivocal statement in the Bible whereby Jesus himself declares, "I am God, therefore worship me." Virtually all of the more than two thousand verses of the epistles of Paul are his own fabrications to include Romans 9:5 that says, depending upon which Bible you read:

"...Christ came, who is overall, the eternally blessed God."

Christians should know that Paul himself mentions his own gospel, not Jesus, in his epistle to the Romans when he says in Romans 2:16:

"In the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel."

In face, the Pauline epistle to the Romans serves as the foundation of today’s Christianity. Thus, it is the Christians whose efforts will be wasted in this life as they think they were acquiring good by their works when they attribute partners to God, as stated in Chapter 18:103-106 of the Qur’an:


"Say: Shall we tell you of those who lost most in respect of their deeds? Those whose efforts have been wasted in this life, while they thought that they were acquiring good by their works?" they are those who deny the Signs of their Lord and the fact of their having to meet Him (in the Hereafter): vain will be their works, nor shall We, on the Day of judgment, give them any weight. That is their reward, Hell; because they rejected Faith, and took My Signs and My Messengers by way of jest.
(Al-Kahf 18:103-106)

Indeed, it is so strange and ironic, knowing that none of Paul’s epistle to the Romans, more than 430 verses, were ever formulated by Jesus. Paul should have made direct reference to the pristine teachings of Jesus, if only the former claim for apostleship by divine inspiration was indeed true. Instead, large parts of his epistles’ Biblical quotations (notably those in the Epistle to the Romans) were taken from the Old Testament – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, Psalms, Proverbs, Isaiah, Ezekiel and Hosea. His epistles were, indeed a product of tedious efforts, but that does not make Paul far better than any of the other men who authored the Bible, nor does it make him a Prophet.

Other practices that were adopted under Paul included the following: the Roman sun-day as the Christian Sabbath; the traditional birthday of the Sun-god as the birthday of Jesus; the emblem of the sun-god (the cross of light) to be the emblem of Christians; and, the incorporation of all the ceremonies which were performed at the Sun-god’s birthday celebrations.

As I come to a close concerning the position of Christ, I would like to ask my Christian reader bow down and pray earnestly to God and ask Him to invoke His curse on you, your wife, your sons, and your daughters if what you believe about Christ (Christ is God, Son of God or part of a trinity of God) are false. Likewise, I have learned that if you asked a Muslim to earnestly pray to God to invoke His curse on him, his wife, his sons, and his daughters if what he is saying about Christ (Prophet, Messenger of God, A Word from God) are false, the Muslims are firm in their faith knowing that Christ is not God, nor the Son of God and nor part of a trinity of God. This exercise of asking God to invoke His curse on you and your family may sound a bit cruel, but it would prove two points: (1) you would know that you are on the wrong path; and, (2) it would put you on the right path.

The Crucifixion and Atonement
A very significant event in the Christian doctrine is the Crucifixion of Jesus. Before talking about the many controversies surrounding the Crucifixion, it should be mentioned that it was a gospel of Paul’s which professed the Crucifixion/Resurrection of Jesus (II Timothy 2:8):

"Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel."

In addition, the gospel of the resurrection in Mark 16:9-20 was already removed from the text by gospel writers in the 1952 edition of the Revised Standard Version and then, for some reasons, restored in the 1971 edition. In many Bibles, if not removed, it is printed in small print or between two brackets and with commentary (See the Revised Standard Version, New American Bible and New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures).

The traditional biblical account of Jesus’ Crucifixion is that he was arrested and crucified by the orders and plans of the chief priest and Jewish elders. This account was denied in the 1960’s by the highest Catholic Christian authority, the Pope. He issued a statement in which he said the Jews had nothing to do with Jesus’ Crucifixion.

Did any one of the disciples or the writers of the Gospel see the Crucifixion or the Resurrection? No! In Mark 14:50, it says the disciples forsook Jesus and fled. Even Peter forsook Jesus after the cock crowed three times as Jesus foretold:

(Matthew 26:75) And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.

The most likely persons whom may have witnessed this moment in Jesus’ life were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, the mother of Zebedee’s children and other women (Matthew 27:55-56). However, there is no statement or account in the Gospels from those women as to what they saw or heard.

The disciple(s) found the sepulchre where Jesus was laid down, empty, and made the conclusion that he was resurrected because the disciples and other witnesses saw him alive after the alleged Crucifixion. Nobody saw the moment he was resurrected. Jesus himself stated that he did not die on the cross in Luke 24:36-41, as explained in the following paragraphs.

Early Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene went to the sepulchre, which was empty. She saw somebody standing who looked like a gardener. She recognized him after a conversation to be Jesus and wanted to touch him. Jesus said (John 20:17):

"Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father..."

Now read Luke 24:36-41:

"And as they (disciples) thus spoke, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are you troubled? And why so thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me end see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave him a piece of boiled fish and of a honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them."

Does a spiritual or dead body have a need to eat food? Jesus eating of food was to prove to the disciples that he was not a spirit, but rather, he was still alive and not dead.

Jesus being alive and not dead is further supported in his own prophecy (Matthew 12:40):

"For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."

Did Jesus fulfill this miracle? Christians would say "yes," because Jesus died and rose three days later according to Luke 24:36 and Matthew 20:19, to name a few verses. However, in line with the miracle of Jonah and according to the Bible, Jesus only spent one day and two nights in the sepulchre, and not three days and three nights as he prophesied.

Jesus was put in the sepulchre just before sunset on Friday (Good Friday) and was found missing before sunrise on Sunday (Easter). If we were to s-t-r-e-t-c-h the time frame a bit, one may say that Jesus spent three days in the earth, but there is no way and I repeat, no way, that Jesus spent three nights in the earth. We must not forget that the Gospels are explicit in telling us that it was "before sunrise" on Sunday morning that Mary Magdalene went to the tomb of Jesus and found it empty.

Consequently, there are some inconsistencies as to whether Jesus fulfilled his own prophecy. Whether he was actually crucified, or if the day (Good Friday) of his alleged Crucifixion is wrong. Another significant point to mention is that Jonah was alive in the belly of the whale. The Christians says, Jesus was dead in the belly of the earth/tomb, and this contradicts Jesus’ own prophecy. Jesus said (Luke 11:30):

"As Jonah was...so shall the Son of man be."

If Jonah was alive, so was Jesus.

One critical event that took place before the alleged Crucifixion was the prayer of Jesus to God for help. Luke 22:42:

"Saying Father if thou be willing, remove this cup (of death) from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine be done."

Jesus’ prayer not to die on the cross was accepted by God according to Luke 22:43 and Hebrews 5:7. Therefore, if all of Jesus’ prayer were accepted by God, including not to die on the cross, how could he have died on the cross?

In Matthew 27:46, it states that while Jesus was on the cross, he said:

"Eli, Eli, lama sabachtani (My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?).

If Jesus said these words, it represents a blatant declaration of disbelief according to all theological authorities. This is a great insult as such words could only come from an unbeliever in God. Further, it is incredible that such words should come from a Prophet of God, because God never breaks His promise and His Prophets never complained against His promise, especially when the Prophet’s mission is understood. It could be said that whoever relates that this statement was said by a Prophet (Jesus), is a disbeliever.

Muslims believe, as the Qur’an states, Jesus was not crucified. It was the intention of his enemies to put him to death on the cross, but Allah saved him from their plot. Qur’an 4:157:

"That they (Jews) said boasting, "We killed Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah, but they (Jews) killed him not, nor crucified him..."

(An Nisa 4:157)

peace!

format_quote Originally Posted by Hikmah

Thank you purestambrosa.I appreciate your eagerness to respond.I have not yet made a case but raising the logical question that any human being can ask- if there is no distinction then why only Jesus is seen as distinct from the birth, miracles, life, to his second coming among all the prophets?

Jesus is considered one of the top five Prophets. Different Prophets have different roles. Just because Jesus had more miracles happening through him, doesn't mean he is better. Moses also had many, many miracles happening at his hand. Moses is also mentioned so much more tha Jesus in the Quran- in fact the Quran tells us very little about Jesus, but we know so much about Moses.

Since muhammed "supercedes" all prophets as per Quran, it could have been better that he posseses these qualities to know he is last? Dont you think so?

Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) had the biggest miracle- the Quran. While the miracles of Jesus were limited only to those who witnessed them, the miracle of Muhammad will last until the Last Day. That is the important point to have with the last messenger, a miracle that will last.

Having said that, Muhammad also performed other miracles- he was able to heal people at touching them (for example, one persons eye, which was destroyed, he healed it), food had greater blessing such that a very small amount of food was able to feed so many people and still there would be some left over. The splitting of the moon. And many others.

secondly, since Jesus posseses every of these supernatural qualities (which others prophets does not in full measure), dosen't he look like more than a prophet?

No, not at all. He looks like a prophet, and a great one at that. Did he do any of the miracles through his own ability? No, God performed them through him.

Also, there are things that other prophets have that he did not. For example, Moses had a much larger following than Jesus did, and Muhammad will have the largest. Adam was created without a mother of father, much more impressive than being only fatherless. Abraham was honoured by having all the Prophets who came after him from being from his progeny. Solomon had an amazing kingdom that included both animals and jinn (and he was able to communicate with them).

Tons of extraordinary things is written about Jesus in the bible and the quran which raises the eyebrows of any human being.

Selective reading- if you are open minded you will find that tons of extraordinary things are written about most Prophets in the Quran. Of course there is no denying that Jesus is raised higher than many of them.

But so what? Do you expect us to start worshipping the man because of the favours that God bestowed upon him?

It is also very explicitly stated in the Quran that Jesus is nothing more than the servant of God, not the Son of God. Any attempt to try to extrapolate more is wishful thinking.

format_quote Originally Posted by Malaikah

Jesus is considered one of the top five Prophets. Different Prophets have different roles. Just because Jesus had more miracles happening through him, doesn't mean he is better. Moses also had many, many miracles happening at his hand. Moses is also mentioned so much more tha Jesus in the Quran- in fact the Quran tells us very little about Jesus, but we know so much about Moses.

Thankyou malaikah for joining us to respond to this post.
I did not say that Jesus is greater or better or more than a prophet because of his only miracles but rather taking the whole life of Jesus as per Quran (and the bible) his extraordinary conception, birth, sinless life and love, claims, titles, miracles, his departure (taken up to heaven without dying as per Quran), his second coming, his coming again before and after Muhammed, then anyone in the world will tell you and me that Jesus stands very colorful and unique among all. because in him The "ALL extraordinary factor" is seen very clearly without doubt. Again moses is not having the ALL factor

format_quote Originally Posted by Malaikah

Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) had the biggest miracle- the Quran. While the miracles of Jesus were limited only to those who witnessed them, the miracle of Muhammad will last until the Last Day. That is the important point to have with the last messenger, a miracle that will last. .

I am not sure how writing a book is a miracle? for example:Scientific books which is studied worlwide through all centuries and written thousands of years before and after has lasting effect on development of mankind and technology.But can we call it a miracle?

format_quote Originally Posted by Malaikah

Having said that, Muhammad also performed other miracles- he was able to heal people at touching them (for example, one persons eye, which was destroyed, he healed it), food had greater blessing such that a very small amount of food was able to feed so many people and still there would be some left over. The splitting of the moon. And many others. .

Well, Are you sure the Quran talks about Muhammed performing any miracles?.infact in the Quran, I see muhammed discourages and denies about performing a miracles (Sura 29:49-51 3:181-84; 4:153; 6:8-9).He only affrimed that his greatest miracle is The Quran. These verses stands in contrast with what is said in other writings like hadiths written much later (almost a hundered years after his death).

format_quote Originally Posted by Malaikah

Also, there are things that other prophets have that he did not. For example, Moses had a much larger following than Jesus did, and Muhammad will have the largest. Adam was created without a mother of father, much more impressive than being only fatherless. Abraham was honoured by having all the Prophets who came after him from being from his progeny. Solomon had an amazing kingdom that included both animals and jinn (and he was able to communicate with them). .

Larger following or having a biggest kingdom is not a surprise for today in the world there are many rich people having great wealth and followers.But what surprises us is the virgin brith. I can understand when it comes to adam since the matter is about beginning of creation. he sinned and died. but what was it that made God to break the natural cycle of humanity? when the natural cycle of birth and death was already in motion for thousand of years, what made God to intervene suddenly that too through the person of Jesus chirst?-that is more surprsing to humanity than anything else in the world.

format_quote Originally Posted by Malaikah

It is also very explicitly stated in the Quran that Jesus is nothing more than the servant of God, not the Son of God. Any attempt to try to extrapolate more is wishful thinking.

I am not extrapolating anywhere but just pointing to the amazing and most colorful picture that both the Quran and the bible paints about jesus (I have not yet started with the bible though).

God bless you

I appreciate your reply but I honestly I feel this discussion is pointless- just because one Prophet was given more miracles than others, doesn't mean he is more than a Prophet. Anyone who reads the Quran- and you don't even have to do it with an open mind- will know that the idea that Jesus was more than a Prophet according to Islamic teachings is ludicrous.

Jesus said (in the Quran):

"He ['Iesa (Jesus)] said: Verily! I am a slave of Allâh, He has given me the Scripture and made me a Prophet"

Key concepts, from just one verse: Jesus is the SLAVE of God. It is GOD who has bestowed his blessings on Jesus. And most importantly, he is a PROPHET. Nothing more, nothing less.

As for the Quran- it is a miracle on many different levels. You mention science, that is only on of the miracles of the Quran. Other miracles include the amazing eloquence of the Quran, it was beyond anything any of the best Arabs could produce- and poetry was their speciality. And yet it was delivered though an illiterate man. Another miracle- the prophecies. The Quran predicts the future correctly on many instances. Also, the fact that the whole thing, cover to cover, can be memorised easily by people who can't even understand Arabic. There are others than I don't have tie to mention here.

And lastly- you falsely asserted that Jesus was sinless. No human is sinless, at least not by Islamic beliefs anyay.

NYCmuslim, the Quran is very explicit about this:

She said: `O my Lord! How shall I have a son when no man has touched me?'

(Chapter Mary)

How much more explicit do you need?

No man touched her- she was a virgin. Why would you be suspicious of it?

(Hikmah is not suspicious of the Virgin birth by the way. He is a Christian, he believes in it too).

format_quote Originally Posted by Malaikah

I appreciate your reply but I honestly I feel this discussion is pointless- just because one Prophet was given more miracles than others, doesn't mean he is more than a Prophet. Anyone who reads the Quran- and you don't even have to do it with an open mind- will know that the idea that Jesus was more than a Prophet according to Islamic teachings is ludicrous.

Jesus said (in the Quran):

"He ['Iesa (Jesus)] said: Verily! I am a slave of Allâh, He has given me the Scripture and made me a Prophet"

Key concepts, from just one verse: Jesus is the SLAVE of God. It is GOD who has bestowed his blessings on Jesus. And most importantly, he is a PROPHET. Nothing more, nothing less.

I agree with you that the Quran calls Isa al masih as slave of allah and only a prophet.I am not trying to strech these exclusive verses anywhere but only pointing to the exceptional and supernatural things the Quran mentions about Jesus and posing this question "Can Jesus be only a mere prophet with ALL these exceptional and supernatural qualities?" why this exception to Jesus alone among the one lakh tewnty five thousand prophets? (think about it). The bible without any doubt agrees and declares Jesus as God.

format_quote Originally Posted by Malaikah

And lastly- you falsely asserted that Jesus was sinless. No human is sinless, at least not by Islamic beliefs anyay

You are right that no human being can be sinless (except God alone).Jesus by being sinless in his nature points to his deity. I did not assert that Jesus is sinless but I affirm it with the bible that he is sinless. The Quran also tells that Jesus is sinless. how? lets look at the folowing verses from Quran:

Jesus came within Mary's womb not through physcial contact of human beings but through breathing of GOD'S SPIRIT: maybe, this is why he is also called as 'waruhoonminhu' Quran 4:171. (God's spirit and God is not seperate and never sinful but always holy.)

"She who guarded her virginity, we breathed into her of our spirit and appointed her and her Son to be a sign to the worlds" (Sura al-Anbiya' 21:91).

I have named her Mary, and I commend her and her offspring to Thy protection from the Evil One, the Rejected.(Suras Al 'Imran 3:36)"

Quran 19:19 [The angel] answered: "I' am but a messenger of thy Sustainer, [who says,] `I shall bestow upon thee the gift of a son endowed with purity'"

The bible:
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you,And the power of the Highest will overshadow you;Therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born
will be called the Son of God."(Luke 1:28-35)

A natural man comes out either through creation by God like adam or through male and female copulation.How did Jesus came? what was the substance? - ofcourse an unnatural one (Mary's womb and God's spirit).This makes Jesus stands exceptional and unique than any other prophets.This makes me ask Who is Jesus- a mere prophet or more? who? the decesion is left to you :sunny:

what surprises me is why in the Quran only Jesus holds so many superlative titles, surprising miracles,strange virgin birth, ascended above without death (others either died naturally or were killed but here allah took him up) and again he is coming back. In other prophets we see few glimpses of somethings but why in the world all strange things are packaged in the one person of Jesus?. Honestly if you compare with all the other prophets, Jesus looks so unique

Tbh, most Prophets were Unique in many ways. Its not like the Quran revolves around 1, it talks about 25. Isa :RA: was not the only one to witness miraculous events. Have you read the Quran? I wouldn't think you would make that statement like this considering the content. Also, when you study the Hadiths, truly, Prophet Mohammad was the greatest. If I cannot accept him as a Prophet, no one is worthy of being labelled Allahs messenger.... Not even Isa :Ra: (Muslims persepective ofcourse - infact this is indeed one of the main things for people being muslim and not christian, Quran being the other).

format_quote Originally Posted by Hikmah

The Quran also tells that Jesus is sinless. how? lets look at the folowing verses from Quran:

Jesus came within Mary's womb not through physcial contact of human beings but through breathing of GOD'S SPIRIT: maybe, this is why he is also called as 'waruhoonminhu' Quran 4:171. (God's spirit and God is not seperate and never sinful but always holy.)

"She who guarded her virginity, we breathed into her of our spirit and appointed her and her Son to be a sign to the worlds" (Sura al-Anbiya' 21:91).

This is what happens when christians try to use the Quran to promote their faith... they twist the meaning. God did not give Jesus a part of his OWN spirit. The spirit mentioned here is a spirit that God owns. Not his actual spirit.

A natural man comes out either through creation by God like adam or through male and female copulation.How did Jesus came? what was the substance? - ofcourse an unnatural one (Mary's womb and God's spirit).This makes Jesus stands exceptional and unique than any other prophets.This makes me ask Who is Jesus- a mere prophet or more? who? the decesion is left to you :sunny:

He was a prophet. One of the best prophets. Just because God choose that he should be fatherless doesn't mean he is no more than a prophet.

Look at Abraham- he was honoured by being called the friend of Allah. Jesus was not honoured in this way. Does this mean Abraham is now more than just a prophet?

Also- what about Mary? She is the only woman to have ever given birth as a virgin. Is she more than just a human now too?