Posted on 04/14/2025 2:30:19 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Jesus is the central figure of Christianity, but he is also a very important personage in Islam. While both religions assign him great respect and importance, their teachings differ in some important ways. What are these differences? In particular, what do Muslims believe about the crucifixion of Jesus?
Why Jesus features in Islam
First of all, let us consider why Jesus is an important figure in Islam. Islam is one of the three main Abrahamic religions. The other two are Judaism and Christianity. All three of them view Abraham as an important figure in their early history.
In the first century CE, a Jew known as Jesus of Nazareth founded Christianity, centred on his teachings and the writings of his followers. For this reason, Christianity could be considered as an offshoot of Judaism.
About six centuries later, an Arab named Muhammad founded Islam. While taking a lot of influence directly from Judaism, this religion recognised Jesus as a genuine prophet of God. Hence, while Jews do not recognise Jesus, Muslims give him considerable importance.
How the Muslim perception of Jesus differs from Christianity
Nevertheless, despite being partially derived from Christianity, Islam’s view of Jesus is not identical to that of Christianity’s. According to Christians, Jesus is the absolute central figure in God’s purpose, the one to whom all of God’s promises were pointing. He came down from heaven to save mankind.
Grecian Delight supports Greece
In contrast, Muslims do not assign such importance to Jesus. He is viewed as a human prophet, in the same vein as Abraham, Moses or Elijah. While he is seen as an exceptionally important prophet, he is not held to be anywhere near as special as Christians consider him.
Most denominations of Christianity hold Jesus to be God in the flesh. They know him as God the Son, one part of the Trinity. This teaching is not explicitly found in the New Testament, which describes him as God’s Son, and not all denominations today view him as God.
Nevertheless, the Christian scriptures are clear that Jesus had a pre-human existence. He was sent from heaven to earth, temporarily relinquishing his position as a powerful spirit being.
Muslims, in contrast, do not believe that Jesus had a pre-human existence. They consider Jesus to have been a human prophet like many others in the Bible.
What Muslims believe about Jesus’ death Another area where the Islamic belief about Jesus is very different to the Christian understanding concerns how Jesus died. The Islamic belief about Jesus’ death is described here in Surah An-Nisa 4:157-158:
“And [for] their saying, ‘Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah.’ And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain. Rather, Allah raised him to Himself. And ever is Allah Exalted in Might and Wise.”
According to this Muslim text, Jesus was not actually crucified by the Romans. Rather, someone else was crucified in his place. Interestingly, this says that the one who was crucified was ‘made to resemble’ Jesus to the onlookers. This suggests divine interference in the matter.
Regarding what actually happened to Jesus, this Muslim text says that Allah (that is, God) raised Jesus “to Himself”. Evidently, this means that Allah raised Jesus to heaven.
Similarities and differences to Christian belief
The Muslim belief about the end of Jesus’ life on earthhas parallels in the Christian Bible. The Book of Luke and the Book of Acts both claim that Jesus was raised up to heaven.
However, there is a key difference between what Muslims and Christians believe concerning this point. As we have seen, Muslims believe that Jesus was raised to heaven instead of being crucified. In contrast, Christians believe that Jesus was crucified, remained dead for parts of three days, and then was resurrected before being raised to heaven.
So while Christians and Muslims share many of the same beliefs about Jesus, there are important differences. Crucially, Muslims believe that Jesus was an important prophet but did not have a pre-human existence. They also do not believe that he was crucified. Rather, Muslims believe that Jesus was raised directly to heaven instead of being executed by the Romans.
That’s from the false gospel of Barnabas, rather than the Koran.
It is the argument that Muslims use to explain why Christ was not crucified.
In the gospels, Jesus announces that he is Messiah. Jesus proclaims himself, the I am, a name for God. Jesus proclaims that He and the Father God are one. Jesus proclaims that 'he who sees me, sees the Father (God).
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” - Gospel of Matthew
Islam is the spirit of anti-Christ. Like any anti-Christ group, they reject the gospels or claim they are not an accurate protrayal of Jesus.
"Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son." - 1 John 2:22
I’m aware of that. It just doesn’t come from any of the writings they insist are authoritative, whether Koran or Hadith.
Yes, they aren’t drawing from the Bible for their conclusion. Human reasoning.
One of my responses to them is citing the verse from the Quran, where Muhammad affirms the Bible. So what the Bible says, goes.
Dr. David Wood calls that the “Islamic Dilemma”.
The Koran affirms the authority of the Bible as it was back then and as we have it now—and yet the Koran is antithetical to the Bible on just about every point of doctrine, so the Mahometan scholars and clerics have to claim that the very Bible that the Koran affirms has been “corrupted” without any evidence to back that up.
Therefore, if the Bible is true, then obviously the Koran is false—but if the Bible is false, then the Koran is also false.
Also, they can’t claim the Bible was corrupted later on because the only Bible we have in its final form was finalized at the Council of Nicaea, 350 years before the arrival of Islam.
Indeed; it’d be the same Bible that was present in both Mecca and Medina.
Islam was founded by a person, Mohammed who was a fictional character.
Islam was founded by a person, Mohammed who was a fictional character.
Yes. And Islam's specific teaching on Jesus completely fatally discredits itself. They teach that Jesus was a human prophet and a good teacher, but nothing more. However, Jesus describes himself as The Messiah; stating, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and nobody comes to the Father except through Me." If Islam's take on Jesus is accurate, then Jesus is the absolute worse false prophet, but they declare Jesus as a good prophet. Like C.S. Lewis said, Jesus is either Lunatic, Liar, or Lord. Thus, Islam is a false religion.
Islam is essentially a mirror image of Christianity - like the Star Trek episode where they met their evil twins. It’s almost as if, Satan having been defeated at the resurrection, countered with his own religion to sow confusion and hatred.
The whole piece is written poorly.
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