In Front | Workbook: Jesus as a Prophet in Christianity and Islam

Grab your Workbook Journal!

[Record your answers in the workbook provided at the beginning of this course.]

You probably didn’t know that Jesus is mentioned more in the Quran than any other person. Jesus is considered an important prophet in Islam, not entirely different to the way He is presented in the Bible. Carefully read the following passage that refers to Jesus birth and anticipates His role as a prophet of Allah:  

[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.
Quran 3:45-49

7. What similarities does this passage have with the biblical nativity? How does it anticipate Jesus’ prophetic role?

In spite of similarities shared by the New Testament and the Quran, Jesus is regarded in Islam as one of many human prophets:

Say, [O believers], “We have believed in Allah and what has been revealed to us and what has been revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the Descendants and what was given to Moses and Jesus and what was given to the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and we are Muslims [in submission] to Him.” 
Quran 2:136

O People of the Scripture, do not commit excess in your religion or say about Allah except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, was but a messenger of Allah and His word which He directed to Mary and a soul [created at a command] from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers. And do not say, “Three”; desist – it is better for you. Indeed, Allah is but one God. Exalted is He above having a son. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And sufficient is Allah as Disposer of affairs.
Quran 4:171

8. How does this passage distinguish the Quranic portrayal of Jesus from the biblical one?

9. What questions or thoughts do you have regarding the Quran’s portrayal of Jesus? Does reading these passages make you feel uneasy? Were you aware of them before this course?