jesus of islam
I have found a couple of recent posts on A Dervish’s Du`a’ really interesting, about the tradition in Islam of Jesus as a Prophet. Have a look here and here:
To this end, given it’s the Christmas season, I thought I might post some snippets about Jesus as a Muslim figure. There is a whole body of Islamic literature about the Prophet Jesus (known in Arabic as `Isa) and he is particularly loved by the mystics. He is - for them - the Sufi par excellence
She promises to post more reflections, and I will watch for them.
December 17th, 2004 at 5:59 pm
Thanks Phil - i’ll be watching out too.
Steve
December 18th, 2004 at 2:15 pm
but do they believe He died on a cross for our sins and that he rose from the dead?
December 19th, 2004 at 12:39 am
Jesus of Islam (3)
Muslim beliefs about Jesus include that God gave him the ability to resurrect the dead. Muhammad Asad prefers to look to the underlying meaning of the resurrection stories in pointing to the notion that all the Prophets have the ability…
December 19th, 2004 at 12:41 am
The short answer to that, Homer, is no. There are a few great theological differences between Christian and Muslim beliefs about Jesus and they include his Sonship (Muslims do not believe Jesus is the Son of God) and his death and resurrection (Muslims do not believe Jesus was crucified). Some of the common beliefs are the Virgin Birth and that Jesus is the Word of God.
December 19th, 2004 at 8:32 pm
Maryam, I keep forgetting to ask Aziz this… if Muslims don’t believe that Jesus was crucified then how do they think he died? Could you expand more on what Muslims believe in regard to Jesus death. Thanks.
December 20th, 2004 at 11:14 am
They don’t believe he died and some, highly stress some, muslims can get violent when you talk about Jesus being god and dying on a cross.
They believe this is beneath what god would do.
They also get the trinity wrong as well.
December 20th, 2004 at 12:29 pm
There is no official correct answer Phil, although there are a number of theories. There are two main positions. Generally speaking, the first is that he didn’t die but was raised to heaven from which he will return for the Apocalypse. The other point of view (which is a smaller one) is that while he didn’t die on the cross, he did die at some later point. There have also been theories about whether he was on the cross but didn’t die, or whether there was a substitute in his place and it merely appeared to be Jesus.
For me, I find the substitution theory not very believable. I’m more drawn to the idea that Jesus died at some later point although continued to ‘live’ as it were in the heavenly realm.
December 20th, 2004 at 12:32 pm
You’re correct there Homer, some Muslims - heck I’d say most Muslims - don’t really understand the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. The Qur’an itself doesn’t define the Trinity but says not to call Jesus God or a third of three. Elsewhere it also warns against deifying Mary as well.
I think though, that Christianity has a much more subtle doctrine of the Trinity than the heterodoxy that the Arab Christians of the time were obviously following. Still, I would say that harmonising the Trinity in all its complexity within an Islamic paradigm is a tough job
December 20th, 2004 at 3:30 pm
Thanks Maryam. Very interesting.
Homer, surely the comment about some Muslims become violent was not required in a dialogue about Islamic beliefs. Maryan could rightly point out that some Christians become violent when talking about black rights. I note that Maryam is gracious enought to let your barb slide.
You can be more sensitive than that I am sure.
December 20th, 2004 at 3:45 pm
Phil, I did stress only some however some of them unfortunately live in Sydney thus this is why you rarely get any conferences etc on the topic.
Like in most areas a minority cause problems for the majority.
December 20th, 2004 at 9:13 pm
Actually I have to ask - by “Aziz” did you mean prison chaplain Aziz or an online bod?
December 20th, 2004 at 10:13 pm
yep, the prison chaplain.
December 22nd, 2004 at 2:02 am
Oh cool bananas - you know him IRL?!?!?! so do I!!!!! It’s a small, small world. I’m good friends with his wife Rasheeda, and occasionally we do gigs together (me on the violin, her on the tabla). How do you know Aziz?
January 7th, 2005 at 6:36 am
Hmm. From reading the links provided to Islamic stories about Jesus, I don’t think we are talking about the same person. Is the Jesus who throws away a stone (and world with it) the same one who turns water into wine at weddings? Maybe I just don’t get the cup story, but it seems weird to me that one who was there at the creation of the world wouldn’t realize that a hand could be used as a cup. I also find it strange that Jesus refers to his father as “God” but that might be translational.
Also, I don’t think I understand why Muslims would want to deny the crucifixion of Jesus? The resurrection yes, but the death on a cross? One Jewish friend of mine jokes about it: “we only had one defector and look what happened to him!” Seems to me that denying the crucifixion is a bit anti-historical (wasn’t the Koran written much later?). The Jesus I know was often doing things people thought “below him” for a Son of God, but that’s what I like about him. One of the things I know about God is that He is beyond what I would call “propriety” and that He doesn’t fit my preconceptions. He is bigger than what I think “should” or “shouldn’t” be.
I have tried to talk to some Muslims about Jesus (ask them what they think about him, not lecture them) but I was never able to get a very clear picture. Sorry, I just don’t know much about what Muslims think of Jesus, apart from what I’ve read here.