FAMILY OF JESUS


“Indeed, God chose Adam, Noah, the family of


Abraham, and the family of Imran above all people


of their time. They are descendants of one another.


And God is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. Remember


when the wife of Imran said, ‘My Lord! I dedicate


what is in my womb entirely to Your service, so


accept it from me. You alone are truly the


All-Hearing, All-Knowing.’ When she delivered, she


said, ‘My Lord! I have given birth to a girl,’—and


God fully knew what she had delivered— ’and the


male is not like the female. I have named her Mary,


and I seek Your protection for her and her offspring


from Satan, the accursed.’”


Jesus was from the noble family of Imran, a family


chosen by God. Mary’s mother, Hannah, wanted a boy


as she felt a male would be more dutiful and of service


to the Divine. God, however, sends a powerful timeless


message. Women’s servitude to God is equal to a man’s.


THE QUR’AN, CHAPTER 3, VERSES 33 TO 36


In fact, women have many abilities that men do not have. They can


give birth and nurture future generations of pious believers. The


status of a person before God is not based on their gender, wealth,


beauty, lineage, intellectual capabilities, physical strength, power or


anything else material.


THE QUR’AN, CHAPTER 16, VERSES 97


“Whoever does good, whether male or female, and


is a believer, We will surely bless them with a good


life, and We will certainly reward them according to


the best of their deeds.”


1 J E S U S - SON OF MA R Y


Rather, it is God consciousness that elevates a person. In many


societies, sons are unjustly preferred over daughters for many


reasons, the main one being that the family name and lineage is


passed on from sons and not daughters. In the case of Mary’s


parents, having a daughter elevated their family name. Mary is


mentioned throughout the Qur’an; she is mentioned more than


Jesus and the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon them). One


of the chapters of the Qur’an is named after her and another is


named after her father. Her son, Jesus, is mentioned with the


honorific title: Son of Mary.


Mary was chosen as a role model for humanity’s spiritual


growth. We cannot truly understand Jesus until we


understand Mary and her story.


i E R A . O R G / J E S U S 2


3 J E S U S - SON OF MA R Y


“And remember when the angels said, ‘O Mary! Surely God has selected you, purified you, and chosen you over all women of the world. O Mary!


Be devout to your Lord, prostrate yourself in prayer and bow along with those who bow down.’”


THE QUR’AN, CHAPTER 3, VERSES 42 TO 43


She was known for her wisdom, innocence and piety. She spent her time in prayer, contemplation and learning Divine scripture. Mary witnessed miracles such as the appearance of fruit which was out of season.


MARY’S PURITY


God’s plan will always manifest itself. Mary was being prepared for something extraordinary. Mary was loved


by everyone.


i E R A . O R G / J E S U S 4


THE


ANNOUNCEMENT


5 J E S U S - SON OF MA R Y


“Mention in the Quran the story of Mary. She


withdrew from her family to a place to the east


and screened herself off from them. Then We


sent to her Our angel Gabriel appearing before


her as a man, perfectly formed.


She appealed, ‘I truly seek refuge in the Most


Compassionate from you! So leave me alone if


you are God-fearing.’ He responded, ‘I am only a


messenger from your Lord, sent to bless you with


a pure son.’


She wondered, ‘How can I have a son when no


man has ever touched me, nor am I unchaste?’


He replied, ‘So will it be! Your Lord says, ‘It is


easy for Me. And so will We make him a sign for


humanity and a mercy from Us. It is a matter


already decreed.’”


While Mary was in her chamber, God announced to her


that she would have a blessed son. Mary was startled,


and questioned how could she be pregnant without


intimate contact.


THE QUR’AN, CHAPTER 19, VERSES 16 TO 21


God reminded her that He has power over all things, and nothing


can stop His will. God can do anything. He does not need material


causes to be in place. The miracles she had witnessed throughout


her life and her close relationship with God prepared Mary for this


miraculous conception.


i E R A . O R G / J E S U S 6


“We recite all this to


you O Prophet as one


of the signs and as a wise


reminder. Indeed, the


example of Jesus in the


sight of God is like that


of Adam. He created him


from dust, then said to


him, ‘Be!’ And he was!


This is the truth from your


Lord, so do not be one of


those who doubt.”


The birth of Jesus was indeed extraordinary when


compared to what we are familiar with, yet in the


human story something similar had already occurred at


its very outset.


VIRGIN BIRTH


THE QUR’AN, CHAPTER 3,


VERSE 58 TO 60


Adam was created without a father or a mother. Jesus, like Adam,


was a direct creation of God, not His son. From a purely scientific


and naturalistic point of view, a virgin birth may not make much


sense yet claims are made that life arose from a primordial lifeless


soup! It is easier to believe life came from life, than to believe life


came from non-life. God is reminding us that He is not restricted by


anything. We should not be in doubt about this miraculous event.


7 J E S U S - SON OF MA R Y


“And so it was ordained: she conceived him. She


withdrew to a distant place and, when the pains


of childbirth drove her to [cling to] the trunk of a


palm tree, she exclaimed, ‘I wish I had been dead


and forgotten long before all this!’ but a voice cried


to her from below, ‘Do not worry: your Lord has


provided a stream at your feet and, if you shake the


trunk of the palm tree towards you, it will deliver


fresh ripe dates for you, so eat, drink, be glad, and


say to anyone you may see: ‘I have vowed to the


Lord of Mercy to abstain from conversation, and I


will not talk to anyone today.’”


CHILDBIRTH PAIN


THE QUR’AN, CHAPTER 19, VERSE 22 TO 26


Childbirth is one of the most painful experiences that a


human being can go through. God took care of Mary as a


child, and now that she is in this pain, he arranges for her


provisions and consoles her.


Islam honours the mother due to her hardships. A man once


came to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and said,


‘O Messenger of God, who among the people is the most worthy


of my good companionship?’ the Prophet said, ‘Your mother.’ The


man said, ‘Then who?’ the Prophet said, ‘Then your mother.’ The


man further asked, ‘Then who?’ the Prophet said, ‘Then your


mother.’ The man asked again, ‘Then who?’ the Prophet said,


‘Then your father.’


i E R A . O R G / J E S U S 8


“Then she returned to her people, carrying him.


They said in shock, ‘O Mary! You have certainly


done a horrible thing! O sister of Aaron! Your


father was not an indecent man, nor was your


mother unchaste.’ So she pointed to the baby.


They exclaimed, ‘How can we talk to someone


who is an infant in the cradle? ’Jesus declared, ‘I


am truly a servant of God. He has destined me to


be given the Scripture and to be a prophet. He has


made me a blessing wherever I go, and bid me to


establish prayer and give alms-tax as long as I live,


and to be kind to my mother. He has not made me


arrogant or defiant. Peace be upon me the day I


was born, the day I die, and the day I will be raised


back to life!’ That is Jesus, Son of Mary. And this is


a word of truth, about which they dispute.”


DEFENDING


HIS MOTHER


Some of the people of the town thought the worst when


Mary returned with the baby in her arms. They accused


her of fornication.


THE QUR’AN, CHAPTER 19, VERSES 27 TO 34


Jesus’s first miracle was to talk as a baby and defend his mother


and announce his mission and purpose to the world. Mary’s trust


in God is to be taken note of. She is surrounded by a hostile


environment yet she does not flinch in her reliance on God.


9 J E S U S - SON OF MA R Y


MIRACLES


OF JESUS


According to the Qur’an and the Bible, Jesus performed


amazing miracles. Both books directly link those miracles


to God’s power, so Jesus did miracles only with God’s


permission and authority as he himself was just a human.


There are unique miracles mentioned in the Qur’an that are


not found in the Bible. One of these is when Jesus formed a


clay bird and then blew into it and it became a real bird by


God’s permission.


THE QUR’AN, CHAPTER 3, VERSES 49 TO 51


“He will send him as a messenger to the Children


of Israel: ‘I have come to you with a sign from your


Lord: I will make for you a bird from clay, breathe


into it, and it will become a ‘real’ bird—by God’s


Will. I will heal the blind and the leper and raise the


dead to life—by God’s Will. And I will prophesize


what you eat and store in your houses.


Surely in this is a sign for you if you truly believe.


And I will confirm the Torah revealed before me and


legalize some of what had been forbidden to you.


I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, so


be mindful of God and obey me. Surely God is my


Lord and your Lord. So worship Him alone. This is


the Straight Path.’”


i E R A . O R G / J E S U S 10


HUMAN VS.


GOD’S NATURE


THE QUR’AN, CHAPTER 5, VERSES 75 TO 76


“The Messiah, Son of Mary, was no more than a


messenger. Many messengers had come and gone


before him. His mother was a woman of truth. They


both ate food. See how We make the signs clear to


them, yet see how they are deluded from the truth!


Say, O Prophet,’How can you worship besides God


those who can neither harm nor benefit you? And


God alone is the All-Hearing, All-Knowing.’”


11 J E S U S - SON OF MA R Y


Some people worship Jesus and claim he is God. Some


even venerate Mary excessively by erecting statues of her


and seeking blessings from her. However, anything that


has a need (like a human being requiring food) cannot be


God, as God is the creator and sustainer of all, and could


not possibly be dependent.


Messengers are supposed to be living examples of how we can


live our lives according to God’s guidance, which is why they


need to be human like us. Since they have desires and weakness


which they overcome in order to obey God, it shows us that we


can accomplish that also. If the messengers were angelic beings or


“gods”, then they could not be practical examples of what humans


could achieve. Ultimately, the precious and priceless gift of life and


all the things we have are dependent on God. This should make us


grateful and direct all our worship to God alone.


i E R A . O R G / J E S U S 12


THE QUR’AN, CHAPTER 4, VERSE 171


“O People of the Book! Do not go to extremes


regarding your faith; say nothing about God except


the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, Son of Mary, was no


more than a messenger of God and the fulfilment


of His Word through Mary and a spirit created by


a command from Him. So believe in God and His


messengers and do not say, “Trinity.” Stop!—for


your own good. God is only One God. Glory be to


Him! He is far above having a son! To Him belongs


whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the


earth. And God is sufficient as a Trustee of Affairs.”


TRINITY


13 J E S U S - SON OF MA R Y


Jesus is highly regarded in Islam. He is one of the


greatest messengers of God. However, he is neither


God nor the Son of God; rather, he was sent by God.


The Qur’an makes it clear that the Trinity and other such concepts


are alien to God’s revelations. This makes sense when one looks


at early Christianity as there was much dispute in the first three


centuries after Christ about who he was.


The mainstream conception of the Trinity is based on the idea of


the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Each person in the Trinity


is individual, however they are all supposedly eternal and co-equal,


and each one of them is fully God.


The second person of the Trinity, the Son, took on human flesh


in the bodily form of Jesus. Jesus is said to be both fully God


and fully man. As a result of the incarnation, humanity has been


permanently incorporated into the Godhead.


The Godhead, the Son, after incarnation changed to include the


“inseparable divine and human” nature. Jesus will now forever


exist in heaven as a glorified man and God at the same time.


Before the incarnation, the Son had a purely divine nature.


After incarnation, the Son, as God, became the Son, as inseparably


God and human. If God’s nature really is Trinitarian, then God’s


nature has changed according to Christianity. This contradicts


Biblical doctrine that God is “everlasting” (Psalm 93:2) and


“does not change” (James 1:17). This is a serious theological and


philosophical problem for Trinitarians.


i E R A . O R G / J E S U S 14


“Say, O believers, ‘We believe in God and what


has been revealed to us; and what was revealed to


Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and his


descendants; and what was given to Moses, Jesus,


and other prophets from their Lord. We make no


distinction between any of them. And to God we


all submit.’”


God has been sending prophets for millennia with the same


message. It does not make sense that He radically changed His


message with concepts such as the Trinity and Jesus being the


Son of God. Jesus preached what the other prophets preached;


worship God alone.


THE QUR’AN, CHAPTER 2, VERSE 136


ONE MESSAGE


Jesus, just like the prophets before him, came to call


people to the worship of God alone. His message was not


some strange new religion. He did not preach his divinity


or the concept of the Trinity.


15 J E S U S - SON OF MA R Y


THE QUR’AN, CHAPTER 5, VERSE 46


DIVINE SCRIPTURE


God has sent messengers with divine scriptures


throughout history. The purpose of the Injeel [Gospel]


was to call people back to the worship of God alone.


The original teachings of Jesus were not entirely preserved,


and later biographers documented his words in varying forms.


Different accounts were written for different audiences in different


places, hence resulting in conflicting reports. Muslims believe the


current Gospels in the New Testament may contain some of the


original teaching of Jesus Christ in an altered form.


“Then in the footsteps of the prophets, We


sent Jesus, Son of Mary, confirming the Torah


revealed before him. And We gave him the Gospel


containing guidance and light and confirming what


was revealed in the Torah—a guide and a lesson to


the God-fearing.”


THE QUR’AN, CHAPTER 5, VERSE 46


i E R A . O R G / J E S U S 16


FORGIVENESS


“Say, ‘[God says], My servants who have harmed


yourselves by your own excess, do not despair of God’s mercy. God forgives all sins: He is truly the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.’”


THE QUR’AN, CHAPTER 39, VERSE 53


17 J E S U S - SON OF MA R Y


The current Christian theology holds that, in order for humanity to have salvation, a blood sacrifice is necessary. The ultimate sacrifice is for God to come down in the form of His son so He could be killed on the cross. Hence, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.


This theology is problematic. Firstly, it implies that God punishes His own son, who is innocent, for the sins of others, which is unjust. Secondly, it limits God by saying He “needs” to make a sacrifice, whereas God does not “need” to do anything. If He wants to forgive sins He can simply forgive them. All we need to do is seek His pardon.


i E R A . O R G / J E S U S 18


“Remember when God said, ‘O Jesus! I will take


you and raise you up to Myself. I will deliver you


from those who disbelieve, and elevate your


followers above the disbelievers until the Day of


Judgment. Then to Me you will all return, and I will


settle all your disputes.’ ’’


Throughout Jesus’s time on earth, he was honoured by


God. God also chose to honour his followers until the end


of days.


GOD’S HELPERS


THE QUR’AN, CHAPTER 3, VERSE 55


The true followers of Jesus are those who do not go to extremes


regarding him. They believe that Jesus was a human being, a


Prophet and Messenger, the promised Messiah to the Children of


Israel. They also reject the belief that he is God, part of God or the


Son of God.


19 J E S U S - SON OF MA R Y


“They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him,


though it was made to appear like that to them;


those that disagreed about him are full of doubt,


with no knowledge to follow, only supposition: they


certainly did not kill him– God raised him up to


Himself. God is Almighty, the All-Wise.”


SAVED FROM DEATH


THE QUR’AN, CHAPTER 4, VERSES 157 TO 158


Jesus was seen as a threat by the religious establishment


in Jerusalem at the time.


He was allegedly, according to the Gospels, arrested and crucified


by the Roman authorities. The Muslim view, however, is that Jesus


was neither killed nor crucified but people started to believe so.


Interestingly, some early Christians did not believe that Jesus was


crucified or killed, rather it was someone called Simon of Cyrene


who died on the cross.


i E R A . O R G / J E S U S 20


THE PIETY OF JESUS


“Jesus, seeing a man stealing, asked him, ‘Did you


steal?’ He said, ‘No, by God, except Whom there


is none who has the right to be worshipped’ Jesus


said, ‘I believe in God and suspect my eyes.’”


PROPHET MUHAMMAD (PEACE BE UPON HIM)


21 J E S U S - SON OF MA R Y


Jesus was a man of upright character and phenomenal


principles. From the preceding narration we learn about


the reverence and love Jesus had for God.


When God was sworn by, Jesus was willing to deny what he


possibly saw with his own eyes, therefore putting God before


everything. Along with this we are taught a very powerful principle.


We should think good of others. Be positive and assume the


best and do not let negativity create a rift between you and your


brothers and sisters in humanity.


i E R A . O R G / J E S U S 22


THE COMING OF


THE FINAL PROPHET


THE QUR’AN, CHAPTER 61, VERSE 6


“And remember when Jesus, Son of Mary, said,


‘O children of Israel! I am truly God’s messenger


to you, confirming the Torah which came before


me, and giving good news of a messenger after


me whose name will be Ahmad.’ Yet when the


Prophet came to them with clear proofs, they


said, ‘This is pure magic.’”


Ahmad was one of the names of the Prophet Muhammad


(peace be upon him). Jesus predicted that someone would


come after him.


Even in the remnants of the Gospel that we have today, Jesus is


recorded to have said that God would send someone after him


(John 16:7). In the Old Testament there are also references to a


prophet from Arabia from the descendants of Abraham.


23 J E S U S - SON OF MA R Y


“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.”


PROPHETIC


BROTHERHOOD


PROPHET MUHAMMAD (PEACE BE UPON HIM)


They are also close in sense that they are the final prophets to


humanity. Approximately one fourth of humanity is Muslim, and


all Muslims believe that Jesus was one of the greatest prophets.


Prophet Muhammad introduced Jesus to a large portion of


humanity who were unaware of him. This is coupled with the fact


that when Jesus returns he will judge by the law of the Qur’an and


will be a leader of the Muslims.


Although they may seem worlds apart, Jesus and the


Prophet Muhammad are both brothers in faith! Their


mission was the same: calling people back to God.


i E R A . O R G / J E S U S 24


“By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, surely [Jesus],


the son of Mary will soon descend amongst you and


will judge mankind justly.”


At the forefront of this chaos will be a powerful yet evil leader


who will rule and mislead people by performing what looks like


miracles. He will be a one eyed king and will claim that he is


God; he will be the Antichrist.


The Prophet Muhammad mentioned that at this time Jesus will


return. He will physically come down to earth from the heavens


and will defeat the AntiChrist and rule as a just ruler for a


period of time.


SECOND COMING


PROPHET MUHAMMAD (PEACE BE UPON HIM)


Near the end of time, the earth will be rife with war,


corruption and disbelief.


25 J E S U S - SON OF MA R Y


“And God will say (on the Day of Resurrection), ‘O


Jesus, Son of Mary, did you say to people, “Worship


me and my mother instead of God?”’ He will say,


‘Glory be to You! It is not for me to say what I have


no right (to say). If I had said it, You would have


known it. You know what is (hidden) in myself and I


do not know what is in Yours. Indeed, You are the


Knower of the unseen.’ I did not tell them except


what You commanded me, Worship God, my Lord


and your Lord. And I was a witness over them while


I was among them, but when You took me up, You


were the Watcher over them, and You are a Witness


to all things. If You punish them, they are Your


servants, and if You forgive them, indeed You are


the Almighty, the All-Wise.”


The consistent message with which Jesus and all


messengers came is that nothing is worthy of worship


except God.


JUDGEMENT DAY


THE QUR’AN, CHAPTER 5, VERSES 116-118


All other good deeds are nullified if someone associates partners


with God. Jesus will testify against those who worship him or


call him the Son of God. Salvation lies in accepting the fact that


none has to the right to be worshipped besides God. The Prophet


Muhammad said: “Whoever says ‘there is nothing worthy of


worship but God’ enters Paradise”.


i E R A . O R G / J E S U S 26


MUHAMMAD


AND JESUS


27 J E S U S - SON OF MA R Y


“Whoever attests that there is nothing worthy of


worship except God, that Muhammad is His servant


and Messenger, that Jesus is His servant, Prophet,


and word which He placed in Mary - and that he is a


spirit from Him - and whoever confesses that heaven


and hell exist, him will God allow to enter Paradise


according to his deeds.”


In order to be a Muslim, one has to accept and


acknowledge that Jesus was indeed a messenger of God, a


Spirit from Him, and that he was born of a virgin and was


a prophet.


Paradise is the reward for the true followers of Christ, since any


true follower of Jesus would recognise the truth of the Qur’an and


the prophethood of Muhammad:


“When they listen to what has been revealed to the Messenger,


you see their eyes overflowing with tears for recognizing the truth.


They say, ‘Our Lord! We believe, so count us among the witnesses.


Why should we not believe in God and the truth that has come


to us? And we long for our Lord to include us in the company of


the righteous.’ So God will reward them for what they said with


gardens under which rivers flow, to stay there forever. And that is


the reward of the good-doers.”


PROPHET MUHAMMAD (PEACE BE UPON HIM)


THE QUR’AN, CHAPTER 5, VERSES 83-85


i E R A . O R G / J E S U S 28


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29 J E S U S - SON OF MA R Y


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WANT TO


KNOW MORE?


He called humanity to reconnect their hearts to


God—to love, obey and worship Him alone.


Through Him, God raised the dead, healed the


leper and gave sight to the blind.


There will come a day when His Kingdom will


cover earth with justice and peace.


This is what Muslims believe about Jesus!