|
Jesus (called "Essa" in Arabic) |
|
Islam honors
all the prophets who were sent to mankind. Muslims respect all
prophets in general, but Jesus in particular, because he was one
of the prophets who foretold the coming of Muhammad. Muslims,
too, await the second coming of Jesus. They consider him one of
the greatest of Allah's prophets to mankind. A Muslim does not
refer to him simply as "Jesus," but normally adds the
phrase "peace be upon him" as a sign of respect.
No other religion in the world respects and dignifies Jesus as Islam does. The Qur'an confirms his virgin birth (a chapter of the Qur'an is entitled "Mary"), and Mary is considered to have been one of the purest women in all creation. The Qur'an describes Jesus' birth as follows: "Behold!'
the Angel said, God has chosen you, and purified you, and chosen
you above the women of all nations. Mary, God gives you good news
of a word from Him, whose name shall be the Messiah, Jesus son
of Mary, honored in this world and in the Hereafter, and one of
those brought near to God. He shall speak to the people from his
cradle and in maturity, and he shall be of the righteous. She
said: "My Lord! How shall I have a son when no man has touched
me?' "Truly, the likeness of Jesus with God is as the likeness of Adam. He created him of dust, and then said to him, 'Be!' and he was." [3:59] During his prophetic mission, Jesus performed many miracles. The Qur'an tells us that he said: "I have come to you with a sign from your Lord: I make for you out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, and breathe into it and it becomes a bird by God's leave. And I heal the blind, and the lepers, and I raise the dead by God's leave." [3:49] Muhammad
and Jesus, as well as the other prophets, were sent to confirm
the belief in one God. This is referred to in the Qur'an where
Jesus is reported as saying that he came: |