Do Muslims Believe Jesus Will Come Again
Who is Jesus for Muslims?
"Co-ordinate to Islam, Jesus always speaks the truth. The question is how we understand it."
Zeki Saritoprak. Photo courtesy of subject area.
Zeki Saritoprak's volume Islam's Jesus examines the role of Jesus in the Qur'an and in Islamic theology. He has written about many Islamic theologians, mystics, and scholars, including the 13th-century poet and Sufi mystic Rumi and the early 20th-century Turkish Muslim scholar Bediüzzaman Said Nursî. A professor of Islamic studies at John Carroll University in Academy Heights, Ohio, he has been involved in interfaith dialogues, including the Catholic-Muslim dialogues cosponsored past the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Islamic Society of North America. His book Islamic Spirituality: Theology and Practise for the Modern World volition be published in November.
Who is Jesus in Islam?
In Islam, Jesus, peace and blessings be upon him, is one of the five greatest messengers of God who are collectively known as the 'Ul al-Azm or the Possessors of Steadfastness. Jesus is as well a real person who lived in Roman Judea in the first century of the Common Era. Muslims share with Christians most of the basic outlines of Jesus' story, though there are certainly differences. In Islam, besides as in Christianity, Jesus was born to the Virgin Mary and was without a begetter. But for Muslims, Jesus is neither God nor the Son of God.
Like all messengers of God in Islam, Jesus came to his people with a bulletin. Jesus' message is chosen the Injil, or the gospel. As in the Christian tradition, he is a phenomenon worker and a healer. He gave sight to the blind and brought the dead dorsum to life. The Qur'an has additional miracles ascribed to Jesus. For example, Jesus speaks from his cradle and makes a bird out of clay and breathes into it to plough it into a real bird.
What is the significance of these additional miracles?
These miracles each occur for a specific purpose. Allow'south take the example of Jesus speaking from his cradle. Afterward he was born, Mary took the baby Jesus to her people, but they accused her of infidelity. They said, "Mary, you have committed a terrible matter." Without speaking, Mary pointed to the baby as if to say, Do not inquire me, inquire the baby. The people asked how they could speak to a baby; Jesus and so started speaking.
According to the Qur'an, Jesus said, "I am indeed the servant of God. He has given me the Book and made me a prophet. He fabricated me blessed wherever I am and advised me of prayer and charity as long as I live. He made me kind to my mother and never made me arrogant or disobedient."
Beyond believing Jesus is ane of the five aristocracy messengers of God, Muslims believe that Jesus will return to bring justice to the world. Muslim theologians call this "the descent of Jesus" to earth. This eschatological return of Jesus is unique among the prophets of God.
How does Jesus' return figure into Islamic eschatology?
Some say that Jesus will literally and physically descend from the sky and pb a great battle against ad-Dajjal or the Antichrist. Others empathize this allegorically, which is the approach I prefer and 1 that I call back is more than in keeping with the spirit of the Qur'an and the words of the Prophet of Islam. Some of the most interesting and productive interpretations relate Jesus' coming down to the strengthening of spirituality. I also see this equally a sign of alliance between Christians, Muslims, and Jews. But there is a lot of complexity in this area of Islamic theology.
Why is Mary, the mother of Jesus, so of import to the Qur'an?
Mary is the but woman mentioned by name in the Qur'an, and affiliate 19 is named subsequently her. Her begetter and female parent are mentioned as virtuous people. According to the Qur'an, her mother was a abiding worshiper and asked God to give her a son so that she could dedicate him to the temple. God accustomed her prayer but did not requite her what she wanted. Instead, he gave her Mary, who would be the mother of Jesus.
In Islam, the birth of Jesus is considered miraculous and the only such case in human history. Some Qur'anic verses tell u.s.a. that God revealed his bulletin to Mary but told her that when her people asked her virtually her baby she would remain silent. Because of this divine revelation, some Muslim theologians consider her a prophet of God. The Prophet of Islam describes her equally the highest adult female in paradise, literally the main of the women of paradise.
What is the pregnant of Messiah in Islam?
Interestingly, out of all prophets and messengers of God, Jesus is the only messenger who received the championship of al-Masih, or Messiah, in the Qur'an. The term can be translated as the All-powerful One. The root of the give-and-take has something to do with touching: mash ways to touch. This is related to Jesus' touching when he would heal people affected with various diseases. Al-Masih also refers to the eschatological purpose of Jesus, his coming at the end of fourth dimension. But much of the discussion of Jesus' eschatological purpose is plant in the Hadith literature and not in the Qur'an itself.
Why is it of import for Christians to sympathize who Jesus is in Islam?
By understanding who Jesus is in Islam, Christians might find common ground with Muslims. The similarities of Jesus in Islam and in Christianity—for instance, Jesus' miracles and his nativity to the Virgin Mary—may be of more importance than what divides Christians and Muslims.
In your book you say that in Islam the "comforter" of John xiv:xvi—who Christians understand to be the Holy Spirit—is interpreted to be Muhammad. Is at that place a place for the Holy Spirit in Islam? How is God'due south continuous presence known?
"Muslims believe that Jesus will return to bring justice to the world."
The Holy Spirit is mentioned several times in the Qur'an. The second chapter of the Qur'an, for instance, says that God supported Jesus with the Holy Spirit. Muslim commentators are split on the meaning of Holy Spirit. Some have said that information technology refers to the angel Gabriel. A grouping of early on Muslim scholars idea that when the Qur'an refers to the Holy Spirit, it means the gospel. In this reading, God supported Jesus with the power of the gospel. Thus the Qur'an and the gospel are "ruh Allah" or the spirit of God.
Another group of early scholars understood it as the greatest divine name through which Jesus was able to bring the dead to life. Other interpretations have said it is "the pure spirit of God," while even so others have said that it is a feeling of the presence of God. The difference of opinion on the topic attests to its importance as one of the almost powerful concepts in the Qur'an.
How does interfaith dialogue continue after one party says, "Jesus was not divine" and the other says, "Jesus was divine"? Or when Christians say that Jesus' decease is central to their agreement of the faith and Muslims say that Jesus did not die?
Differences should exist occasions for, not obstacles to, dialogue. Different interpretations of the same events and figures can be found within all religions.
Once after I gave a talk on the subject area of Jesus in Islam a admirer in the audience asked what Muslims' response would be to Jesus saying that he is the Son of God. Theologically speaking, co-ordinate to Islam, Jesus ever speaks the truth. The problem is not almost what Jesus said, but virtually our understanding of what Jesus said. Do we understand Jesus correctly?
Muslim theologians will beginning look for verification of the statement then at the words Jesus used in their original form or language. The common ground with Christians is the belief that Jesus always speaks the truth. Even if we cannot solve all of our theological differences in this style, we tin can get to know each other better and find means we can cooperate and areas where we do agree. In the end, we find that we are non every bit different as we thought we were.
What was the Prophet Muhammad'due south relationship to Christianity before his visit from the angel?
The Prophet Muhammad, peace and approval be upon him, was built-in in Mecca, in what is today Saudi Arabia. Although Mecca was a trading center, nosotros do non know if there was an established Christian community there at the time. Most people were polytheists, with the exception of a few who had converted to Christianity, such as the Prophet's married woman'due south cousin, Waraqa ibn Nawfal, with whom the Prophet shared his kickoff feel of revelation, when the angel Gabriel appeared to him with the command "Read."
Unlike many of the people of Mecca, the Prophet never worshiped idols, and it is believed that he followed the remnants of the religion of Abraham before he received the revelation. Some sources say that when he traveled to Syria as a child, he met a monk named Bahira. According to these sources, Bahira was an Arab Arian or perhaps Gnostic who saw that a cloud was post-obit the Meccan caravan to provide protection from the heat. Bahira wanted to offer the travelers a meal. Most of the people in the caravan went to the meal, but they asked Muhammad to stay with the caravan. Bahira realized that the deject stayed with the caravan. He asked if anyone had stayed behind, and the people said that a boy had been left. He asked them to bring the male child, and he realized that the cloud was following Muhammad. He foresaw that the boy would be a smashing man; he told the Prophet's uncle, Abu Talib, to protect this boy.
Has your experience in interfaith dialogue changed you?
Before coming to the U.s.a., I was teaching in an area of Turkey known equally the birthplace of Abraham. In my college years, I majored in Islamic theology and law. My attending was drawn to the Qur'anic concept of Ahl al-Kitab or the People of the Book. My understanding of this concept was by and large theoretical. I understood the Qur'anic approach to be that God preferred the People of the Book over people who practise not believe in God. In school, we oft talked well-nigh how Muslims should side with America instead of the USSR, because Americans are People of the Volume. But I never had a deep relationship with anyone who was either Jewish or Christian.
In the United States I began to work with Jews and Christians who shared many of the aforementioned qualities of goodness that I understood from Islam. In fact, in Islam people are expert people non because of 1's nominal faith, simply because of the quality of the person. There is a maxim of the Prophet: God does not look at your appearance, simply instead looks at your centre. So if y'all have a Christian who is kind and honest and a Muslim who is not, yous can say, even from an Islamic perspective, that the Christian is qualitatively a better Muslim than the Muslim. For me, the thought of the People of the Volume is critical considering I call back that we all share many skilful qualities that can bring u.s.a. closer together every bit individuals and as a community.
What actress-Qur'anic sources are most influential for you lot in your religion?
The Qur'an is the primary source of Islam. And then there are the sayings of the Prophet, known as the Hadith. Scholars of Islam, with various skills and purposes, have interpreted these sources, and Islamic constabulary, theology, spirituality, and so on take developed every bit a result. Islamic scholars take reached the apex of their knowledge while studying and commenting on these sources.
If I had to choose which of these scholars have been most influential to me, I would take to choose al-Ghazali from the classical era and Said Nursî from the modernistic era. I discover both of them remarkably open-minded, inspiring, tolerant, occasionally critical of divergent views, just at the same time compassionate.
A version of this article appears in the June 7 print edition under the title "Who is Jesus for Muslims?" Information technology was edited on May xxx to correct the identification of Waraqa ibn Nawfal, who was the cousin of the Prophet's married woman Khadija, not her nephew.
Source: https://www.christiancentury.org/article/interview/who-jesus-muslims
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