Who Is Jesus in Islam?

Many Christians are surprised to learn that Muslims love Jesus. His name — Isa in Arabic — appears throughout the Qur’an, and Muslims often name their sons after him. To deny Jesus would be to leave Islam. Yet the way Muslims understand him is different from the way most Christians do, and it is worth hearing both the closeness and the difference clearly.

The Messiah, born of a virgin

The Qur’an tells of an angelic announcement to Mary that is strikingly close to the account in the Gospel of Luke:

إِذْ قَالَتِ ٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةُ يَٰمَرْيَمُ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُبَشِّرُكِ بِكَلِمَةٍۢ مِّنْهُ ٱسْمُهُ ٱلْمَسِيحُ عِيسَى ٱبْنُ مَرْيَمَ وَجِيهًۭا فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا وَٱلْءَاخِرَةِ وَمِنَ ٱلْمُقَرَّبِينَ ﴿٤٥﴾ وَيُكَلِّمُ ٱلنَّاسَ فِى ٱلْمَهْدِ وَكَهْلًۭا وَمِنَ ٱلصَّٰلِحِينَ ﴿٤٦﴾ قَالَتْ رَبِّ أَنَّىٰ يَكُونُ لِى وَلَدٌۭ وَلَمْ يَمْسَسْنِى بَشَرٌۭ ۖ قَالَ كَذَٰلِكِ ٱللَّهُ يَخْلُقُ مَا يَشَآءُ ۚ إِذَا قَضَىٰٓ أَمْرًۭا فَإِنَّمَا يَقُولُ لَهُۥ كُن فَيَكُونُ ﴿٤٧﴾

⁴⁵[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]. ⁴⁶He will speak to the people in the cradle and in maturity and will be of the righteous." ⁴⁷She 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.

Several things stand out. The Qur’an gives Jesus the title al-Masih — the Messiah — a title it gives to no one else. It calls him a word from God. And it affirms his virgin birth plainly: Mary asks how she can have a child when no man has touched her, and the answer is that God creates whatever He wills simply by commanding it to be.

For Muslims, the virgin birth is a sign of God’s power, much as Adam was created without father or mother. It is not a sign that Jesus was divine.

A prophet with mighty miracles

The Qur’an describes miracles that Christians will recognise — healing the blind and the leper, raising the dead — and some that appear only in the Qur’an, such as Jesus speaking as a newborn baby:

وَرَسُولًا إِلَىٰ بَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ أَنِّى قَدْ جِئْتُكُم بِـَٔايَةٍۢ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ ۖ أَنِّىٓ أَخْلُقُ لَكُم مِّنَ ٱلطِّينِ كَهَيْـَٔةِ ٱلطَّيْرِ فَأَنفُخُ فِيهِ فَيَكُونُ طَيْرًۢا بِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ وَأُبْرِئُ ٱلْأَكْمَهَ وَٱلْأَبْرَصَ وَأُحْىِ ٱلْمَوْتَىٰ بِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ وَأُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا تَأْكُلُونَ وَمَا تَدَّخِرُونَ فِى بُيُوتِكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ فِى ذَٰلِكَ لَءَايَةًۭ لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ ﴿٤٩﴾

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.

Notice the phrase repeated twice: by permission of Allah. In Islam, miracles are God’s work, shown through His prophets to confirm their message. The sea parted for Moses, and Jesus raised the dead — both by God’s power, not their own.

Servant of God and prophet

The first words the Qur’an records from Jesus were spoken in the cradle, when Mary’s people accused her of wrongdoing and she pointed to her newborn son:

قَالَ إِنِّى عَبْدُ ٱللَّهِ ءَاتَىٰنِىَ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ وَجَعَلَنِى نَبِيًّۭا ﴿٣٠﴾ وَجَعَلَنِى مُبَارَكًا أَيْنَ مَا كُنتُ وَأَوْصَٰنِى بِٱلصَّلَوٰةِ وَٱلزَّكَوٰةِ مَا دُمْتُ حَيًّۭا ﴿٣١﴾ وَبَرًّۢا بِوَٰلِدَتِى وَلَمْ يَجْعَلْنِى جَبَّارًۭا شَقِيًّۭا ﴿٣٢﴾ وَٱلسَّلَٰمُ عَلَىَّ يَوْمَ وُلِدتُّ وَيَوْمَ أَمُوتُ وَيَوْمَ أُبْعَثُ حَيًّۭا ﴿٣٣﴾

³⁰[Jesus] said, "Indeed, I am the servant of Allah. He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet. ³¹And He has made me blessed wherever I am and has enjoined upon me prayer and zakah as long as I remain alive ³²And [made me] dutiful to my mother, and He has not made me a wretched tyrant. ³³And peace is on me the day I was born and the day I will die and the day I am raised alive."

Here lies the heart of the Muslim view. Jesus is the servant of God and a prophet — and in Islam, being a true servant of God is the highest honour any human being can reach. The following verses go on to say that it is not fitting for God to take a son, and record Jesus saying that God is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him (Qur’an 19:35-36).

We know that for most Christians, Jesus as the Son of God and the second person of the Trinity is the centre of their faith, and we do not say this lightly. Muslims believe that Jesus himself called people to worship the one God alone, and that this is the message all the prophets shared (see One Message, All the Prophets).

The end of his mission on earth

This is perhaps the deepest difference between our two faiths, so we will state the Qur’an’s words carefully. Speaking of those who claimed to have killed him, it says:

وَقَوْلِهِمْ إِنَّا قَتَلْنَا ٱلْمَسِيحَ عِيسَى ٱبْنَ مَرْيَمَ رَسُولَ ٱللَّهِ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ وَمَا صَلَبُوهُ وَلَٰكِن شُبِّهَ لَهُمْ ۚ وَإِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱخْتَلَفُوا۟ فِيهِ لَفِى شَكٍّۢ مِّنْهُ ۚ مَا لَهُم بِهِۦ مِنْ عِلْمٍ إِلَّا ٱتِّبَاعَ ٱلظَّنِّ ۚ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ يَقِينًۢا ﴿١٥٧﴾ بَل رَّفَعَهُ ٱللَّهُ إِلَيْهِ ۚ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ عَزِيزًا حَكِيمًۭا ﴿١٥٨﴾

¹⁵⁷And [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. ¹⁵⁸Rather, Allah raised him to Himself. And ever is Allah Exalted in Might and Wise.

Muslims therefore believe that Jesus was not killed and was not crucified, but that it was made to appear so to them, and that God raised him up to Himself. The Qur’an does not explain in detail how it was made to appear so, and classical scholars offered different explanations; Muslims agree on the core that the verse states. (On how Muslims handle such differences, see Where Muslims Differ, and Why It’s Okay.)

For Christians, the cross and the resurrection are the very centre of the Gospel. We share this difference openly, not to wound, but because honesty is part of respect.

His return

Christians and Muslims share one more hope: that Jesus will come back. Muslims believe he is alive with God and will return before the Day of Judgment to establish justice on earth. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:

…By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, surely (Jesus,) the son of Mary will soon descend amongst you and will judge mankind justly (as a Just Ruler)…

The rest of this hadith describes a time when Jesus will put an end to what Muslims see as mistaken beliefs about him, and of such peace and plenty that wealth will overflow until no one accepts charity.

A prophet we both love

Muslims and Christians disagree about who Jesus is — but both love him, both call him the Messiah, and both await his return. Muslims send blessings on him every time his name is mentioned. If you would like to know more, read the full story of Jesus in Islam or about his mother, Mary, whom the Qur’an honours above all women.