Answer
Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
1- Muslims are really following Jesus and are showing great respect to him as one of the chief and great Prophets of Allah (God).
2- Muslims believe that Muhammad is the final Messenger of Allah the Almighty and there will be no prophet after him.
In responding to your question, Sheikh Muhammad Iqbal Nadvi, Imam of Calgary Mosque, Alberta, Canada, and Former Professor at King Saud University, Riyad, Saudi Arabia, states:
Muslims Believe in all Prophets
Muslims are commanded not to discriminate between one Prophet and another. We believe in all Prophets and Messengers sent by Allah to guide people and lead them to the Right Path. The Quran says:
{Say (O Muslims): We believe in Allah and that which is revealed unto Us and that which was revealed unto Abraham, and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes, and that which Moses and Jesus received, and that which the Prophets received from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and unto Him we have surrendered.} (Al-Baqarah 2:136)
So the compassionate human trend included in the biography of Jesus is held in high esteem by both Muslims and their creed.
It suffices here to say that the Prophet (peace be upon him) never addressed Jesus (peace be upon him) save by saying, “My brother Jesus.”
I can simply say that your question does not constitute any problem to any Muslim. As we know and believe, Jesus was the Prophet sent to the Children of Israel.
What Did Jesus Preach?
As any Prophet sent to a specific nation, his mission was limited in scope and nature to the people he was sent to.
Jesus himself prophesied and gave glad tidings about the coming of Prophet Muhammad.
Moreover, we, as Muslims, believe that Jesus did not die and that he will come back for a second time. In his next coming, he will be following Prophet Muhammad.
So in this sense, Muslims are really following Jesus and are showing great respect to him as one of the chief and great Prophets of Allah (God).
However, we believe that Muhammad is the final Messenger of Allah the Almighty and there will be no prophet after him. Allah, the Almighty, has sent Prophet Muhammad as a mercy for all mankind. His message is for all people until the Day of Judgment.
Almighty Allah knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.