Jesus through Muslims’ Eyes

on Friday, November 2, 2012

A wide misconception prevails in the west is that Muslim do not believe in Jesus. However, Christians might be surprised to discover that Jesus Christ is acclaimed throughout Islam, which is the world’s second largest faith. We Muslims also believe in the Virgin Birth and Jesus’ miracles, but it goes much further in regards to the shared interest of his message. In the Muslims view, Jesus’ indispensable work was to complement the legalism of the Torah with a compassion rarely expressed in the Old Testament. The great Jesus confirmed the Torah, developed the significance of sympathy and self-purification, and established them as the decisive links between the words of God’s message and possessing the wisdom. Muslims also believe that Jesus emphasized on the continuity of his ancestry.

Waraqa bin Nawfal was the uncle of Bibi Khadija, Hazrat Muhammad’s Wife. He was an early Arab Christian and a resident of Mecca. He was mystical by nature and could read Hebrew. One day when Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) was forty years old, Bibi Khadija brought Him to Waraqa bin Nawfal. Prophet (B.B.U.H) was a respected family man till that time, and he was frightened somehow. He told Waraqa that one evening on the outskirts of town he was meditating in a cave. While he was half asleep, he noticed something disturbing and he got scared when he heard a voice speaking to him. At that time Hazrat Muhammad (P.B.U.H) was unaware that it was his first encounter with angel Gabriel, the messenger of Allah. Waraqa after listening to Prophet’s encounter assured him that he was not possessed.

He told Prophet (P.B.U.H) that the voice he heard was of the same pious messenger God sent to Moses. Moreover, he wished to be alive till Hazrat Muhammad (P.B.U.H) would become prophet and His own people would expel him. Hazrat Muhammad (P.B.U.H) was astonished to hear about his future rejection, he asked Waraqa the reason. Old Waraqa said, “No one has ever brought his people the news you bring without meeting hostility. If I live to see the day, I will support you.”  From Waraqa’s remarks Christians could recognize an aphorism related with Jesus. “A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country.
It is noticeable that even today, when Jesus’ name is mentioned, Muslims always followed it by the phrase “peace and blessings be upon him,” as Muslims still venerate him as a prophet. “We believe in God, and in what has been sent down to us, what has been revealed to Abraham and Ishmael, and Isaac and Jacob and their offspring and what was given to Moses and to Jesus, and all the other prophets of the Lord. We make no distinction among them.”

These lines from the Qur’an make it clear that Jesus has been regarded as one of the world’s great teachers by the Muslims. Furthermore, Jesus is a unique sort of prophet among Muslims, a messenger authorized to converse divinity not only in words but by miracles as well.



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