Christmas, as everyone knows, commemorates the birth of Jesus and is the main religious holiday for Christians around the world.
But what many people do not know is that Jesus is also an important figure in Islam, although most Muslims do not celebrate Christmas (although some especially some american muslims, do).
In honor of the holiday, here are six things you may not know about the role of Jesus – and his mother Mary – in Islam:
- Jesus, Mary, and the angel Gabriel are all in the Quran (like Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and many other biblical characters).
- Muslims believe that Jesus (in Arabic “Isa”) was a prophet of God, born of a virgin (Mary) and will return to Earth before the Day of Judgment to restore justice and defeat al-Masih. ad-Dajjal (the “false messiah”), also known as the antichrist. All this may seem familiar to many Christians.
- Mary (in Arabic, “Maryam”) has a whole chapter in the Qur’an, named for her – the only chapter in the Qur’an, named after the female figure. In fact, Mary is the only woman who is mentioned by name throughout the Quran: as noted in “Other female figures are identified only by their relationship to others, such as the wife of Adam and the mother of Moses, or by their name, such as the Queen of Sheba.” Mary is mentioned more times in the quran than in the whole New Testament.
- Like all other prophets, including Muhammad, Muslims repeat: “Peace be upon him” every time they refer to Jesus.
- Muslims believe that Jesus performed miracles: several miracles of Jesus are discussed in the Quran, including the vision of the blind, the healing of lepers, the resurrection of the dead, and the inspiration of life in earthen birds.
- The story of the birth of Jesus, as stated in the Quran, is also the story of his first miracle, when he spoke like a baby in a cradle and declared himself a prophet of God. Here is the story:
And remember Mary in the Book when she left her family in an oriental place. And she disappeared from them. Then We [God] sent our Spirit [the angel Gabriel] to her, and he accepted for her the image of a perfect person. She said: “I seek refuge from you in the Compassionate [that is, God], if you are respectful!” He said: “I am only the messenger of your Lord, to give you a pure boy.”
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She said: “How will I have a boy, if no man touched me, and I was not unhappy?” He said: “It will be so. Your Lord says, “It is easy for me.” And [that way] We can make it a sign for humanity and a mercy from Us. And this case is solved.
Therefore, she conceived him and retired with him somewhere far away. And the flour of childbirth brought it to the trunk of a date palm. She said: “If I had died before this and had been forgotten, completely forgotten!” Therefore, he called her out from under her: “Do not be sad! Your Lord put a stream under you. And shake the trunk of a date palm; fresh, ripe dates will fall on you. eye. And if you see any human being, say: “Verily, I swore to fast To the Compassionate, therefore I will not speak today with one person.”
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Then she came with him [baby Jesus] to her people, carrying him. They said, “O Mary! You brought an amazing thing! O sister of Aaron! Your father was not an evil man, and your mother was not chaste. ” Then she pointed at him [Jesus]. They said: “How do we talk to someone who is not yet a child in the cradle?”
He [Jesus] said: “Verily, I am a servant of God. He gave me the Book and made me a prophet. He blessed me wherever I was, and commanded me to pray and give alms for as long as I lived. ” and [made me] obedient to my mother. And he did not make me wretched, domineering. Peace be upon me, the day when I was born, the day when I die, and the day when I was raised alive! “
This is Jesus, the son of Mary – the statement of truth, which they doubt.
Therefore, although Muslims do not believe that Jesus is the son of God, which is a crucial difference between Muslim and Christian views of him, Muslims revere Jesus as an important prophet.
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