The Purity of Faith: In AL Qur’an, Jesus (Prophet Isa) also told his people regarding this very important matter

The Purity of Faith: In AL Qur’an, Jesus (Prophet Isa) also told his people regarding this very important matter

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.  Say (O Muhammad SAW): "He is Allah, (the) One. Allah the Self-Sufficient Master, Whom all creatures need, (He neither eats nor drinks). "He begets not, nor was He begotten.” "And there is none co-equal or comparable unto Him."  - Al Qur’an, Surah Al Ikhlas (The Purity of Faith)

In the Name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful. "He (Isa) said: "Verily I am a slave of Allah, He has given me the Scripture (Injil) and made me a Prophet; "And He has made me blessed wheresoever I be, and has enjoined on me Salat (prayer), and Zakat , as long as I live."

"And dutiful to my mother, and made me not arrogant, unblest. "And Salam (peace) be upon me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I shall be raised alive (again)!" Such is Isa, son of Maryam. (It is) a statement of truth, about which they doubt (or dispute).

 It befits not (the Majesty of) Allah that He should beget a son (this refers to the slander of Christians against Allah, by saying that Isa is the son of Allah). Glorified (and Exalted) be He (above all that they associate with Him). When He decrees a thing, He only says to it: "Be!" – “and it is.”

(Isa said): "And verily Allah is my Lord and your Lord. So worship Him (Alone). That is the Straight Path. (Allah’s religion of Islamic Monotheism which He did ordain for all of His Prophets)." Al Qur’an, Surah Maryam (Virgin Mary) 30 -36 ( Tafsir At-Tabarî ) 

{“The Messiah (Jesus) said: Oh children of Israel! Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. Verily, whosoever sets up partners (in worship) with Allah, then Allah has forbidden Paradise to him, and the Fire will be his abode”} (Qur’an 5:72).

Prophet Jesus called his people to worship Allah without partners. He never claimed divinity for himself, nor did he ever ask to be worshiped. Jesus never claimed to be God, or asked his people to worship him. In fact, Jesus told his followers to pray to God as he himself did. And our logic would tell us that someone who prays to God cannot possibly be God himself. The two has to be separate entities – one is the worshiper and the other is the object of worship.

Tawheed is a very simple belief, free from complicated concepts. It’s what God has sent down to mankind in all ages through His prophets. It was this message with which, in the beginning of time, Adam was sent down to earth. It was the same message that was revealed to Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus.

It was the message which Muhammad brought to mankind. It is the message without the least shade of irrational beliefs. Man became guilty of Shirk only because he turned away from the teachings of the prophets and depended on his own faulty reasoning, wrong perceptions and erroneous interpretations. Prophets are there to explain God’s message to man.

If man turns away from a prophet, he is bound to fall into error. God has chosen Messengers of impeccable character to bring His universal message to all of us. The tasks of these Messengers were both to bring the message and to guide by personal example. They would always practice what they preached.

That is why in God’s last divine revelation, the Qur’an, we have a perfect example on how to live by its message by following the Sunnah of the last prophet. We don’t need to delve into a long discussion as to how to practice God’s message because we have a prophet who explained the message and showed us how to apply it in our lives.

Since the time of Adam, the universal content of the message remained unchanged: that there is only One God, no one deserves to be worshiped but Him alone, and that He would judge everybody’s deeds on the Day of Resurrection. This principle has not change through the passage of time.

It is the same as the number one commandment in the Ten Commandments of Prophet Moses, the same faith that Prophet Abraham taught to his descendants, the same teaching that Prophet Jesus conveyed to his people, the same warning that Prophet Noah called his people so that they may be save from the big flood of water, and was also the same message that Prophet Muhammad brought.

All prophets gave the same universal message, they all taught that God is One, free from sharing His divinity with anyone, and that we are all accountable of our actions in this life on the Day of Judgment. That same message that all the prophets have brought is what we call today as Islam. Prophet Muhammad did not bring something new. Islam is not a new religion. It is, in essence, the same eternal message revealed through the ages to all of God’s prophets and messengers.

Prophet Muhammad only brought the same message of pure monotheism that was taught by the messengers that came before him:
{“And We never sent any messenger before you (Prophet Muhammad), except that We revealed to him that there is no god but Me. Therefore worship Me (alone)”} (Qur’an 21:25).

Prophets were sent to every nation who had strayed away from the right path of Tawheed, to guide them back to it. This principle of Tawheed was the same throughout time: to reject all objects of worship, and to direct all worship without exception to God alone. This is the essence of the true religion and it has been so since the time of Adam. Prophets were sent to particular nations for a certain period of time.

But this is not the case of Prophet Muhammad. Since he is the last prophet, his message is for all humanity and will last until the end of time. The teachings of the Qur’an comprise a universal scripture addressed to all of mankind and not to any particular people, or for a specific time period. The message that it brings is nothing new but the same message of all prophets: to worship the One God purely, and submit to God’s will as taught by the prophets.

Thus, it is man’s duty to follow the way of the prophets. And it really does not matter in what place and period of time a person is born because this pure, simple practice of faith has been in existence since Adam’s time. All the different nations and people of the earth from the time of Adam up to the time of Muhammad’s prophethood were given one same message: {“And verily, We have sent among every nation a messenger (proclaiming): Worship Allah (alone) and avoid false gods”} (Qur’an 16:36).

Muslims Love Jesus And His Mother

Isa peace be upon him was explicitly mentioned in the Holy Quran on sixteen different occasions. On one occasion Allah the Exalted said in Surat Al-Maidah verse 110:

( (remember) when Allah will say( on the day of resurrection )."O Isa(Jesus), son of Mariyam(Mary)! Remember my favor to you and to your mother when I supported your with ruh -u- qudus [ Jibrail (Gabril)] so that you spoke to the people in the cradle and in maturity; and when I taught you writing, Al Hikmah(the power of understanding), the Taurat(Torah) and the Ingil( Gospel); and when you made out of the clay, a figure like that of a bird, by my permission, and you breathed into it, and it became a bird by my permission, and you healed those born blind, and the lepers by my permission, and when you brought forth the dead by my permission; and when I restrained the children of Israel from you ( when they resolved to kill you) as you came unto them with clear proofs and the disbelievers among them said: "This is nothing but evident magic" ) )

On the other hand Prophet Mohammad peace be upon him was explicitly mentioned in the Holy Quran four times While the Virgin Mary (peace be upon her) the mother of Jesus(Isa) was mentioned eight times and has a complete Sura (chapter) named after her.

On one occasion Allah the All Mighty said in Surat Al- Imran verse 145: ( (remember) when the angles said: " Oh Mariyam (Mary)! Verily, Allah gives you the glad tidings of a word["Be!"- and he was! i.e.' Isa ( Jesus) the son of Mariyam( Mary) ] From him his name will be the Messiah 'Isa (Jesus) the son of Mary ( Mariyam), held in honor in this world and in the hereafter, and will be one of those who is near to Allah.)

As a family they have been mentioned in the Holy Quran three times and they have been privileged by having a complete Sura(chapter) named after them(Al Imran). Which is imprinted in the hearts and minds of the believers forever.

What do Muslims think about Jesus (Prophet Isa AS)?

Muslims respect and revere Prophet Isa AS (Jesus), and await his Second Coming. They consider him one of the greatest of God's messengers to mankind. A Muslim never refers to him simply as 'Jesus', but always adds the phrase 'upon him be peace'. The Quran confirms his virgin birth (a chapter of the Quran is entitled 'Mary'), and Mary is considered the purest woman in all creation.

Islamic view of Jesus

Muslims believe that Jesus invited the Children of Israel to follow the true path and showed them many miracles. He is the Messiah and, as the Holy Qur'an says, he is the word of God . Together with his return to earth in his second coming he will be the best judge among all people on earth.

The lack of understanding between Christians and Muslims, who believe in the same God, share the same moral values and, as the Qur'an says, are closer to one another in love than all other people, will be repaired and these two greatest of the world's religious communities will be united. The members of the world's third monotheistic religion, the Jews, will also accept Jesus as their true Messiah and find their way to the true religion.

So by the return of Jesus, religion will defeat the atheistic philosophies and pagan beliefs with intellectual means; the world will be saved from wars, conflicts, racial and ethnic hostility, cruelty and injustice. Humanity will enter a "Golden Age" of peace, happiness and well-being.