Prophet Isa (Jesus) in Islam

Isa ibn Maryam, upon him be peace, holds a unique and honored position in Islam. He is one of the five greatest prophets — the Ulul 'Azm — messengers of mighty resolve. He was born without a father, given miracles that no other prophet was given in the same form, raised to the heavens without tasting death, and will return before the Day of Judgment. Understanding his story correctly is essential, because both confusion and deliberate distortion surround his legacy.

The Miraculous Birth

The angel Jibril appeared to Maryam to give her glad tidings of a son. She said in shock: "How can I have a boy while no man has touched me and I have not been unchaste?" (19:20). The angel replied: "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'" (19:21). Maryam conceived by the word of Allah — no human father involved. The Quran draws the comparison explicitly: "The likeness of Isa to Allah is as the likeness of Adam — He created him from dust, then said to him 'Be,' and he was" (3:59).

When Maryam gave birth, alone beneath a palm tree, she was told to shake the trunk for dates, to eat and drink and be comforted. When she returned to her people, they accused her of immorality. She pointed to the infant. The infant Isa then spoke from the cradle: "Indeed, I am the servant of Allah. He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet" (19:30). This was his first miracle and his first theological declaration: he is a servant of Allah, not Allah Himself.

His Mission and Miracles

Isa was sent to the Children of Israel with the Injeel (Gospel), confirming the Torah before it. He called his people to tawhid, to worship Allah alone. The Quran records his explicit words: "Indeed, Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. That is the straight path" (3:51). He never claimed divinity. He never told people to worship him. His message was consistent with every prophet before him: worship Allah alone.

Allah granted Isa extraordinary miracles as signs of his prophethood — all performed by Allah's permission (bi-idhnillah), a phrase the Quran repeats deliberately to prevent confusion. He formed birds from clay and breathed into them, and they became living birds. He healed the blind and the leper. He raised the dead. He informed people of what they had eaten and stored in their homes. He called down the Ma'idah — the table spread with food from the heavens. Each miracle testified to his prophethood, not his divinity.

He Was Not Crucified

This is the most important point of divergence between Islam and mainstream Christianity, and the Quran addresses it directly and unambiguously: "And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them" (4:157). The apparent crucifixion was a case of mistaken identity — someone else was made to appear like Isa in their sight. Isa himself was not killed. Those who claimed to have killed him were in doubt: "they have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption" (4:157).

Instead, Allah raised Isa to Himself: "Rather, Allah raised him to Himself" (4:158). He is alive in the heavens, and his story is not yet complete.

His Return Before the Day of Judgment

The Prophet Muhammad informed us clearly that Isa ibn Maryam will return to earth before the Day of Judgment. He will descend near the white minaret east of Damascus, his hands resting on the wings of two angels. He will break the cross — symbolically ending the distortion attributed to him — kill the swine, abolish the jizyah, and call all people to Islam. He will kill the Dajjal (the Antichrist). He will rule justly, marry, have children, and eventually die and be buried. His return is one of the major signs of the Hour, narrated in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim with clear, established chains.

The Clear Islamic Position

Islam honors Isa profoundly while rejecting three false claims: that he is God, that he is the Son of God in a divine sense, or that he is one person of a Trinity. The Quran addresses the Trinity explicitly: "They have certainly disbelieved who say, 'Allah is the third of three.' And there is no god except one God" (5:73). It records Isa's own denial of the claim that he asked people to worship him: "Exalted are You; it was not for me to say that to which I have no right" (5:116).

Isa is honored as Ruhullah — a spirit from Allah — and as Kalimatullah — the Word of Allah, meaning he was created by Allah's word "Be." These are titles of honor, not divinity. He is among the greatest of prophets, and to deny his prophethood or to worship him are equally forms of disbelief. The Muslim position — that Isa was a noble prophet and servant of Allah — is the very position that Isa himself held and taught throughout his earthly mission.