Answer
Salam (Peace) Steve,
Thank you for contacting About Islam with your question.
Please find part two of the answer to your question below. Find the first part at the link here.
With regards to your second question, namely, “is Jesus considered a true prophet in your religion”: most assuredly, he is a true prophet of Islam. Please understand that Islam was not founded by Muhammad (peace be on him-PBUH).
Muhammad (PBUH) was the last Prophet in a long line of prophets who all carried the same message of the Oneness of God.
All the prophets of God including Abraham, Moses, and Jesus (peace be upon them all) were true prophets of Islam, which means the religion of submission to Allah (God).
Allah commands the believers in the Quran:
{Say: We believe in Allah and what has been revealed to us, and what was revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes, and what was given to Moses and Jesus and to the prophets from their Lord; we do not make any distinction between any of them, and to Him do we submit.} (Quran 3:84)
And about Jesus in particular, Allah says in the Quran:
{The Messiah, son of Mary, was no other than a messenger, messengers (the like of whom) had passed away before him. And his mother was a saintly woman. And they both used to eat (earthly) food. See how We make the revelations clear for them, and see how they are turned away!} (Quran 5:75)
Similarly, Allah says:
{O People of the Scripture! Do not exaggerate in your religion nor utter aught concerning Allah save the truth. The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only a messenger of Allah, and His word which He conveyed unto Mary, and a spirit from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers, and say not “three” – Cease! (it is) better for you! – Allah is only One Allah. Far is it removed from His Transcendent Majesty that He should have a son. His is all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth. And Allah is sufficient as Defender.} (Quran 4:171)
The above verses clearly state that Jesus (PBUH) was a prophet of Allah Almighty and a human of miraculous birth. Islam is unwavering in its stance that Allah alone deserves the worship and obedience of the human race and not Jesus or any other mortal being for that matter.
Finally, in response to your question, “if Jesus is a true prophet, how do you explain the claims that he made about himself, namely that he was the only way to God?”:
In John 14:6, we find Jesus answering a question of Thomas:
Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.’
Based upon this verse, to hold that Jesus was God is untenable for the following reasons:
1. Jesus here is speaking of himself as “the way” to the Father. He does not say that he is the Father, or he is God.
2. The expression, “the truth” does not mean God. In the context, it can only mean that he is the conveyor of the truth.
3. The expression, “the life” also does not mean God. In the context, it means that, by following the way of Jesus (or by accepting the truth that Jesus brought) one can attain eternal life in the hereafter.
Thus the argument that Jesus (PBUH) was claiming to be God is obviously flawed. The words “no one comes to the Father, but by me” need not mean that he is denying the role of all other prophets. It only means that to those people he addressed, he was the only “way.”
In Islam, this concept is knows as the prophetic sunnah, or “the way” taught by a particular prophet to his nation in which the way to God’s Pleasure is defined. In this regards, Jesus was correct in his claim that the only way for his people to please God was through the example that he set.
However, the “way” of a particular prophet is abrogated and often modified by a subsequent Prophet, as is the case with Jesus (PBUH).
With the advent of Muhammad (PBUH), the rules of the Sacred Law changed slightly to accompany the times, and will remain unchanged and un-abrogated until the Day of Judgment, as Muhammad is the final Prophet of Allah sent to the entire mankind.
Nevertheless, the beliefs (as opposed to the Law) taught by the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) are the same as the original monotheistic teachings of Jesus (PBUH). The Trinitarian doctrine of modern Christianity was a later addition to the religion and does not reflect the true message of Christ.
I hope the foregoing answers some of your question. I urge you to continue to search our site for more information about Islam and its comparative relationship to Christianity.
Thank you and please stay in touch.
Please continue feeding your curiosity, and find more info in the following links:
Did Jesus Claim That He Is God?