Up till today, the name of Prophet Jesus is considered symbolic with love, mercy, compassion and humility; a pillar of forbearance and steadfastness in the face of adversities and persecution.

The Quran corroborates how Jesus used to perform miracles by the will and decree of God. He could bring clay birds to life by blowing on them (3:49) and with the will of God, he could also cure people suffering from illness, disability and disease, such as those who were born blind and those who were lepers, with the mere touch of his hand (5:110).

Care for People

The closeness of Prophet Jesus to his people and his concern for them also becomes apparent in those verses of the Quran which mention how he beseeched Allah to send down upon them a banquet from the sky, after his disciples (known as the “Al Hawari” in Arabic), requested him to ask God to.

The sunnah also confirms the forgiving attitude towards people that Prophet Jesus displayed:

Abu Hurairah narrated the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

“Jesus, seeing a man stealing, asked him, ‘Did you steal?’, He said, ‘No, by Allah, by the One besides Whom none has the right to be worshipped’.

Jesus said: ‘I believe in Allah and suspect my eyes’.” (Al-Bukhari)

The above incident clearly demonstrates the prohibitive stance that all the religions revealed through God’s Prophets hold regarding the sin of slander (falsely accusing an innocent person of committing a crime). When the man whom Jesus saw stealing swore by Allah’s name that he didn’t steal, Jesus gave him the benefit of the doubt and admitted that it was his own eyes that must have ‘lied to him’.

Prophet Muhammad and Prophet Jesus

The Quran confirms how Prophet Jesus predicted the coming of Muhammad as God’s next Prophet after him. (61:6)

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) also confirmed his closeness to Jesus, both, in terms of time and the consecutive succession of Prophets, as well as in terms of the relationship between them as Allah’s chosen Prophets who were sent with the same Divine message of monotheism:

Narrated Abu Hurairah, Prophet Muhammad said:

“Both in this world and in the Hereafter, I am the nearest of all the people to Jesus, the son of Mary. The prophets are paternal brothers; their mothers are different, but their religion is one.” (Al-Bukhari)

The Quran’s Praise for Jesus’ Followers

The Quran has not only described in numerous places the virtues of both Mary and her son Prophet Jesus, but has also mentioned two positive qualities of the people who ‘followed’ Jesus i.e. those who became followers of the religion that Jesus brought as the appointed Prophet of God before Muhammad (peace be upon them both):

{We sent after them Jesus the son of Mary, and bestowed on him the Gospel; and We ordained in the hearts of those who followed him compassion and mercy…} (57:27)

The Quran describes the hearts the followers of Jesus have as harboring “ra’fah” (compassion) and “rahmah” (mercy) as an ordainment from God Himself, which are qualities that lend immense softness and kindness to the people whose hearts harbor them.

In another verse of the Quran, God indicates that those who call themselves “Nasara”, an Arabic word that is equivalent to the term “Christian” in the contemporary world, are the closest among mankind in showing love to the Muslim believers:

{..And nearest among them in love to the believers will you find those who say, “We are Christians”, because amongst them are men devoted to learning and men who have renounced the world, and they are not arrogant.} (5:82)

Conclusion: Lessons for Us from Jesus’ Example

{Such was, in the words of truth, Jesus the son of Mary, about whose nature they so deeply disagree.} (19:34)

Islam endorses the authentic, divinely-revealed monotheistic teachings Prophet Jesus taught, as he was, according to the words of Prophet Muhammad himself, just like his paternal brother, with no other Prophet coming in between them in the line of succession.

Jesus the son of Mary inspires us to become a slave of, believe in, and worship only one God. He also inspires us to invite others towards only Him; to be devout towards our parents and to live with them honorably; to look out for the oppressed, marginalized and suffering members of society and to strive to remove their suffering; and to observe prayer and to give charity; and to take a stand for justice in the face of social persecution.

It is an obvious conclusion that non-Muslims should endeavor to deeply study a translation of the Quran to discover what God has Himself said about Jesus the son of Mary, as well as his honorable mother.

{Hence, peace was upon me on the day when I was born, and [will be upon me] on the day of my death, and on the day when I shall be raised to life [again]!} (19:33)

(From Reading Islam’s archives)