First published on: A Sign to the People: Is Jesus a god?
Alaa Subhi
In the first article in our series, we talked about the creation and the miraculous birth of Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him (PBUH)). This led us to another question that needs to be answered as well. Based on what we mentioned in the previous article, is Jesus (PBUH) a god?
In this two-part article, we will discuss this point and see what we will get.
Who prays to whom?
Let’s firstly try to answer our discussed question through asking another question: Is it logical that a god prostrates to another god?!
As for human beings, the position of prostration is bending down, falling on the face, and putting the forehead on the ground.
Logic tells us that to prostrate to God in this way means that you submit to God, worship and obey Him, because you need Him and seek His help.
Since God is Exalted and Almighty, does He need anyone? Does He need to pray or prostrate to anyone?!
In the Bible, it’s mentioned that Jesus, as well as other prophets before him, prostrated and prayed in the same way in which Muslims pray and prostrate today!
As for Jesus:
Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”” [Matthew 26:36].
And he [Jesus] went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”” [Matthew 26:39].
That’s clear
Let’s imagine this situation. Jesus is standing in a humble submission, he is falling down on the ground, his forehead is touching the ground in a complete submission while the drops of sweat are dropping down from his forehead. Is it logical that this position could represent characteristics of a god?!
Here, we can realize that Jesus prayed and prostrated to God because he can’t hold for himself harm or benefit. So, he refuged to God in the time of hardships to help him, to protect and save him, and to take him out of the calamities and hardships. He refuged to the Only One Whom he believes can do all of this; God.
Moreover, Jesus himself said that worshiping and praying is only to the Father. This has been mentioned in:
“Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.
Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.”” [John 4:21-23].
If it’s only the servant who needs God and prostrates to Him, while God never needs anyone nor prays or prostrates to anyone, then, is it logical that Jesus is God?!
One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.” [Luke 6:12].
The Father
In the Bible, it has been explicitly mentioned that God is the Father. For example, this is mentioned in:
Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” [John 6:27].
“Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—” [Galatians 1:1].
“Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,” [Galatians 1:3].
And in many other positions, it has been explicitly mentioned that God is “the Father”. But in any position, it has never been mentioned that God is the son “God the Son”. It has never been clearly and explicitly mentioned that Jesus, the son, is God (“God” not “Lord”, since not every lord is a god!). If “the son”, Jesus, is God as well, why this has not been clearly and explicitly mentioned too?!
Not only that, in the Bible, it has been also explicitly mentioned that the Father is the Creator of heaven and earth. This has been mentioned in:
At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,”” [Matthew 11:25].
And in his book “THE INCARNATION OF THE WORD OF GOD”, St. Athanasius has mentioned:
Then, again, there is the theory of the Gnostics, who have invented for themselves an Artificer of all things other than the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
“How can they get a creation independent of the Father out of that? … How then could the Artificer be someone different, other than the Father of Christ?”
These texts clearly refer to two things:
Based on what we mentioned in the previous point, God is the Father, then the Father is God of Jesus Christ.
The Father, God, is the Creator and Artificer of all things.
Then, the Bible is telling us that God is the Father and the Father is the Creator. This has been clearly and explicitly mentioned about the Father, while has never been mentioned about the Son, which makes us ask ourselves: Why?! Why this has not been mentioned about the Son, Jesus, likewise if he is God too?!
A Sign to the People: The birth of Jesus
And mention, [O Muhammad], in the Book [the story of] Mary, when she withdrew from her family to a place toward the east. (16)
And she took, in seclusion from them, a screen. Then We sent to her Our Angel, and he represented himself to her as a well-proportioned man. (17)
She said, “Indeed, I seek refuge in the Most Merciful from you, [so leave me], if you should be fearing of Allah.” (18)
He said, “I am only the messenger of your Lord to give you [news of] a pure boy.” (19)
She said, “How can I have a boy while no man has touched me and I have not been unchaste?” (20)
He said, “Thus [it will be]; your Lord says, ‘It is easy for Me, and We will make him a sign to the people and a mercy from Us. And it is a matter [already] decreed.'” (21)” [Quran.com/19/16-21].
In this series of articles entitled “A Sign to the People”, we will go together in a journey with our beloved Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him (PBUH)) starting from his birth until his raising to the heaven. We will try in our journey to find answers of some of the questions that many of us may have about Jesus (PBUH). We will try together to answer the following questions:
What about the abnormal birth of Jesus? What is the meaning of him being a word of God?
Is Jesus God?
Is Jesus literally the son of God?
Was Jesus really crucified and died for our sins? What is the salvation from Islamic perspective?
Did Jesus bring tidings of the coming of Muhammad?
Now, let’s quickly start the first article in our series and try to answer the first question about the creation of Jesus (PBUH).
The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and [so have] the believers. All of them have believed in Allah and His angels and His books and His messengers, [saying], “We make no distinction between any of His messengers.”” [Quran.com/2/285].
In Islam, believing in all Prophets and Messengers of God without distinction between them is a main pillar of Muslim’s faith. As for Jesus (PBUH), Muslims not only believe in Jesus (PBUH) and revere him and his mother Virgin Lady Mary (Peace Be Upon Her (PBUH)), but they also consider him one of the best five Messengers of God. Muslims’ faith is not complete until they believe in Jesus as well as all other Prophets and Messengers who were sent by God from Adam to Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon them all). The Muslim is not Muslim if he does not believe in Jesus (PBUH).
The birth of Jesus
At the same time, Muslims believe in Jesus (PBUH) only as a human prophet, neither as a god (or God) nor the son of God. A prophet whose birth was miraculous, just like the birth of Adam, that shows the complete and absolute power of God and His absolute ability to create whatever He wants even without the reasons that we can understand with our limited minds.
If we have four probabilities of creation:
The creation from no man and no woman.
The extreme opposite case which is the creation from a man and a woman.
The creation from a man only without a woman.
Then, the remaining possibility is the extreme opposite case of number 3 which is the creation from a woman only without a man.
a. The first probability is represented by the creation of Adam.
b. The second probability is represented by the creation of you, me, and all human beings.
c. The third probability is represented by the creation of Eve.
d. The fourth and last probability is represented by the creation of whom? Jesus!
So, just like Adam was created from no man and no woman, and just like Eve was created from a man only without a woman, Jesus was also created from a woman/ mother only without a man/ father. And this miraculous creation of Jesus (PBUH) clearly shows the complete and absolute power of God to create in all cases with or without reasons, or even with just a part of the reasons!
Indeed, the example of Jesus to Allah is like that of Adam. He created Him from dust; then He said to him, “Be,” and he is.” [Quran.com/3/59].
Is Jesus a word of God?
What’s meant by “word of God”?
Now, let’s think about this question and try to relate it to what we mentioned till now.
What is the meaning of “word of God”?! The meaning of “word of God (Almighty Allah)” is that God created him with the word “Be”.
But the word of God “Be” is not God Himself. Otherwise, the Torah, as being a word of God, should be worshiped! And this is obviously wrong!
Let’s clarify the point through an example: when the magician says some words so that people see the ropes as snakes, here we say that the word of the magician became a snake. But does it mean that the snake is the magician himself?! Did the word of the magician become the magician, so that the snake became the magician?!
Allah creates whatever He wants with or without reasons. He creates everything with a word from Him. Allah said:
His command is only when He intends a thing that He says to it, “Be,” and it is.” [Quran.com/36/82].
And said:
“Indeed, Our word to a thing when We intend it is but that We say to it, “Be,” and it is.” [Quran.com/16/40].
Not only in the Qur’an, but also in the Bible the same meaning exists. God creates everything with the word “Be”, and the thing comes into existence either from nothingness or from something else. In Genesis 1:
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.”
7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so.
9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so.
14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years,
15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so.”
This is exactly the same with the creation of Jesus (PBUH). The creation of Jesus with a word is the same as the creation of Adam (who was in the Bible “son of God” too!) that was with a word also, and the same as the creation of all the creatures that was also with a word. All were created with the same word: “Be”.
When Virgin Lady Mary (PBUH) wondered of having a child without a man or a father, the answer was:
Such is Allah; He creates what He wills. When He decrees a matter, He only says to it, ‘Be,’ and it is.” [Quran.com/3/47].
“It is not [befitting] for Allah to take a son; exalted is He! When He decrees an affair, He only says to it, “Be,” and it is.” [Quran.com/19/35].
If Allah created Adam from the dust, while it is not from the same sort of the human body, is not Allah then capable of creating Jesus from a woman who is from the same sort of the human body?! Allah created Adam from the dust then He said to him “Be” and he was. However, Adam was never a god and he was only a human. And the same thing happened with the creation of Jesus, he was created in the same way, thus, he is only a human too, and he was never a god.
Indeed, the example of Jesus to Allah is like that of Adam. He created Him from dust; then He said to him, “Be,” and he is.” [Quran.com/3/59].
