Jesus, called Isa in Arabic (peace be upon him), is one of the greatest messengers Allah (﷾) ever sent. Muslims love him and honour him. Believing in him is part of a Muslim's faith: nobody can be a Muslim without it.
This guide tells his story as the Qur'an tells it, with the words of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) about him.
At a glance
- His mother Mary was a pure, devoted woman whom Allah (﷾) chose above the women of all nations.
- He was born without a father, by Allah's (﷾) word “Be”, just as Adam was created without father or mother.
- As a baby in the cradle, he spoke to defend his mother.
- Allah (﷾) gave him the Injil (the Gospel he preached) and great miracles, each one “by Allah's leave”.
- He called people to worship Allah (﷾) alone: “my Lord and your Lord”.
- He was not killed or crucified. Allah (﷾) raised him up, and he will return before the Last Day.
- Before his birth
The angels tell Mary that Allah (﷾) has chosen her, and give her the good news of a son. Qur’an 3:42Qur’an 3:45
- His birth
He is born without a father, under a palm tree, by Allah's (﷾) command. Qur’an 19:20–21Qur’an 19:22–26
- In the cradle
He speaks to defend his mother: he is a servant of Allah (﷾) and a prophet. Qur’an 19:30
- His mission
Sent to the Children of Israel with the Injil and clear miracles, he calls them to worship Allah (﷾) alone. Qur’an 3:49Qur’an 5:46
- His disciples
His disciples answer his call: they will be Allah's (﷾) helpers. Qur’an 3:52
- The plot against him
His enemies plan to kill him, but Allah (﷾) raises him up to Himself. Qur’an 4:157Qur’an 4:158
- Before the Last Day
He will come back and judge with justice. Sahih al-Bukhari 3448
The Qur'an gives no dates. These are the stages of his life as it tells them.
Mary, chosen by Allah (﷾)
The story of Jesus begins with his mother. Mary, Maryam in Arabic, came from the family of Imran, a family Allah (﷾) honoured. Before she was born, her mother promised her child to the service of Allah (﷾). Allah (﷾) accepted the child, made her grow up pure and good, and placed her in the care of the prophet Zakariya. Qur’an 3:33Qur’an 3:35–37
Mary spent her days in worship. Every time Zakariya came to her room of prayer, he found food with her. When he asked where it came from, she said it was from Allah (﷾), who provides for whom He wills. Then the angels came to her with great news: Qur’an 3:37Qur’an 3:43
O Mary! Allah hath chosen thee and purified thee- chosen thee above the women of all nations.
She is the only woman the Qur'an calls by her name, and a whole chapter of the Qur'an, Surah Maryam, carries her name. The Prophet (ﷺ) said she was the best of the women of her time. Qur’an 19:16Sahih al-Bukhari 3432
A son without a father
One day Mary went apart from her family, to a quiet place to the east. Allah (﷾) sent her an angel, who came to her in the form of a man. She was afraid, and asked Allah (﷾) to protect her. The angel answered: Qur’an 19:16–18
Nay, I am only a messenger from thy Lord, (to announce) to thee the gift of a holy son.
Mary asked how she could have a son when no man had ever touched her. The answer came: for Allah (﷾) it is easy. When He decides something, He only says to it “Be”, and it is. The angels told her the child's name: the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary. He is honoured in this world and the next, and is one of those nearest to Allah (﷾). Qur’an 19:20–21Qur’an 3:45–47
The Qur'an compares his birth with the creation of the first man:
The similitude of Jesus before Allah is as that of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him: “Be”. And he was.
Adam had no father and no mother. Jesus had a mother but no father. Both are signs of Allah's (﷾) power, and both are human beings whom Allah (﷾) created.
Under the palm tree
When her time came, Mary went far away, alone. The pains of birth drove her to the trunk of a palm tree, and in her distress she wished she had died before this. Then a voice called to her from below her: Qur’an 19:22–23
Grieve not! for thy Lord hath provided a rivulet beneath thee; And shake towards thyself the trunk of the palm-tree: It will let fall fresh ripe dates upon thee.
Allah (﷾) gave her water to drink, fresh dates to eat, and peace for her heart. She was told not to speak to anyone that day, but to make it known that she had vowed to Allah (﷾) a fast of silence. Qur’an 19:26
A baby who spoke
Mary came back to her people carrying her baby. They were shocked. They told her she had done something terrible, when her father was a good man and her mother was chaste. Mary said nothing. She pointed to the baby. They asked how they could talk to a child in the cradle. Then the baby spoke: Qur’an 19:27–29
I am indeed a servant of Allah: He hath given me revelation and made me a prophet; And He hath made me blessed wheresoever I be, and hath enjoined on me Prayer and Charity as long as I live; (He) hath made me kind to my mother, and not overbearing or miserable; So peace is on me the day I was born, the day that I die, and the day that I shall be raised up to life (again)!
The first words the Qur'an records from him are “I am indeed a servant of Allah”. With them he cleared his mother's name, and told everyone who he was. He was a servant of Allah (﷾) and a prophet, kind to his mother, who would pray and give in charity all his life. Qur’an 4:156
His message and his miracles
When he grew up, Allah (﷾) sent Jesus as a messenger to the Children of Israel. He confirmed the Torah, the law Allah (﷾) had given to Moses, and he made lawful some things that had been forbidden to them. Allah (﷾) also gave him a book of his own, the Injil, the Gospel he preached: Qur’an 3:48–50
We sent him the Gospel: therein was guidance and light, and confirmation of the Law that had come before him
His message was the message of every prophet: worship Allah (﷾) alone. He told his people: Qur’an 3:51Qur’an 19:36
O Children of Israel! worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.
Miracles, by Allah's (﷾) leave
Allah (﷾) supported him with clear signs. By Allah's (﷾) leave, he shaped a bird from clay, breathed into it, and it became a living bird. By Allah's (﷾) leave, he healed the sick and brought the dead back to life. In the Qur'an he says: Qur’an 5:110
And I heal those born blind, and the lepers, and I quicken the dead, by Allah's leave
Again and again the Qur'an says “by Allah's leave”. The power was Allah's (﷾). Jesus was His servant, and the miracles were signs that his message was true.
His disciples
Many of his people turned away. Jesus asked who would be his helpers in the work of Allah (﷾). His disciples answered:
We are Allah's helpers: We believe in Allah, and do thou bear witness that we are Muslims.
A Muslim is one who submits to Allah (﷾). The Qur'an asks believers today to be helpers of Allah (﷾) as the disciples were: to believe, and to stand by the message Jesus brought. Qur’an 61:14
Good news of a messenger to come
Jesus also gave his people good news about the future:
O Children of Israel! I am the messenger of Allah (sent) to you, confirming the Law (which came) before me, and giving Glad Tidings of a Messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad.
Ahmad is one of the names of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). So Jesus told his people of the last messenger, who would come after him. Sahih al-Bukhari 3532
Raised up by Allah (﷾), and coming back
Some of his enemies plotted to kill him. But Allah (﷾) had His own plan, and Allah (﷾) is the best of planners. The Qur'an says plainly what happened: Qur’an 3:54
they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them
Nay, Allah raised him up unto Himself; and Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise
So Muslims believe that Jesus was neither killed nor crucified. Allah (﷾) saved His messenger and raised him up to Himself, alive. Qur’an 3:55
He will return
His story is not over. The Qur'an calls him a sign of the Last Hour. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, with an oath, that the son of Mary will come down among the believers and judge with justice. There will be so much wealth that nobody will want to take it. A single prostration to Allah (﷾) in prayer, with the forehead on the ground, will be worth more than the whole world. Qur’an 43:61Sahih al-Bukhari 3448Sahih Muslim 155Do Muslims believe Jesus will return?
A servant of Allah (﷾), loved by Muslims
The Qur'an gives Jesus great honour. It calls him the Messiah, a Word from Allah (﷾) and a spirit from Him. It also makes clear who he is: Qur’an 4:171
Christ the son of Mary was no more than a messenger; many were the messengers that passed away before him. His mother was a woman of truth. They had both to eat their (daily) food.
He is called a Word from Allah (﷾) because he came into being by Allah's (﷾) word “Be”. He is called a spirit from Him because his soul was created by Allah (﷾), who honoured it by calling it His own. Allah (﷾) said the same of Adam: He “breathed into him of My spirit”. Jesus and his mother were human beings who needed food, as the verse says. The Qur'an tells the People of the Book not to go to extremes in their religion. It tells them to say only the truth about Allah (﷾): Allah (﷾) is One, far above having a son. Qur’an 3:59Qur’an 15:29Qur’an 4:171Sahih al-Bukhari 3435
The Qur'an also tells of a moment on the Day of Judgment. Allah (﷾) will ask Jesus whether he ever told people to worship him and his mother as gods beside Allah (﷾). Jesus will answer that he could never say what he had no right to say: Qur’an 5:116
Never said I to them aught except what Thou didst command me to say, to wit, 'worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord'
So Muslims believe in Jesus as he spoke of himself: a servant and messenger of Allah (﷾). The Prophet (ﷺ) made this part of faith itself. He said that Allah (﷾) will bring into Paradise whoever bears witness to these truths. There is no god but Allah (﷾). Muhammad (ﷺ) is His servant and messenger. Jesus is Allah's (﷾) servant and messenger, His Word given to Mary and a spirit from Him. Paradise and Hell are real. Sahih al-Bukhari 3435What do Muslims believe about Jesus?Is Jesus God?
Brothers in faith
The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) loved Jesus. He said he was the closest of all people to the son of Mary, in this world and the next. The prophets, he said, are brothers: their mothers are different, but their religion is one. Sahih al-Bukhari 3443Sahih al-Bukhari 3442
On the Night Journey, the Prophet (ﷺ) was taken up through the heavens. He met Jesus and the prophet John (Yahya) in the second heaven. They welcomed him as a brother and a prophet. Sahih al-Bukhari 3207
How the Bible tells it differently
The New Testament also tells the story of Jesus, in the four New Testament Gospels and the letters that follow them. Christians and Muslims share a great deal: his birth to a virgin mother, his miracles, and his title, the Messiah. But on some points the two accounts are different. Muslims believe that Allah (﷾) revealed the Torah to Musa, and the Injil to Isa: the Gospel Jesus himself preached in his lifetime. The Injil is not the New Testament. The four New Testament Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, were written by others, decades after Jesus was raised up. None of them names its author: the names were attached later. And the Torah we have today is not exactly as it was revealed. So where the Bible tells a story just as the Qur'an does, we believe it. Where it differs from the Qur'an or contradicts it, we do not. Where the Qur'an says nothing, we neither believe it nor deny it, as the Prophet (ﷺ) taught. Here are the main differences, with the verses. Luke 1:34–35 (KJV)Qur’an 19:20Qur’an 3:45Qur’an 5:48Qur’an 5:46Which of the four Gospels did Jesus preach from?Who wrote the Gospels?Sahih al-Bukhari 4485How should a Muslim read the Bible?
The cross. The New Testament Gospels say that Jesus was crucified and died, and that he rose again on the third day. Paul writes that “Christ died for our sins” and “rose again the third day”. The Qur'an says that he was neither killed nor crucified, but it was made to appear so to them. Allah (﷾) raised him up to Himself. Mark 15:24 (KJV)Mark 15:37 (KJV)Mark 16:6 (KJV)1 Corinthians 15:3–4 (KJV)Qur’an 4:157–158Was Jesus crucified?Did Jesus die on the cross?
The Son of God, and the Trinity. The New Testament calls Jesus the Son of God: “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son”. Most Christians believe in the Trinity: one God in three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Among the verses they point to is Jesus' command to baptise “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost”. It names three. Though “name” is singular, it never says that the three are one God. The word “Trinity” itself is not in the Bible. And when Jesus taught that “The Lord our God is one Lord”, a scribe answered, “there is one God; and there is none other but he”. Jesus told him, “Thou art not far from the kingdom of God”. The Qur'an calls Jesus a messenger of Allah (﷾), and says: “Say not ‘Trinity’”. Allah (﷾) is One, far above having a son. John 3:16 (KJV)Matthew 28:19 (KJV)Mark 12:29 (KJV)Mark 12:32–34 (KJV)Qur’an 4:171Qur’an 5:116–117Is Jesus the Son of God?Is the Trinity in the Bible?
A messenger to come. The Qur'an says that Jesus gave good news of a messenger after him, “whose name shall be Ahmad”. The New Testament Gospels do not give that name, but John's Gospel keeps a promise of someone to come. Jesus tells his disciples of “another Comforter”. This Comforter will come only after he goes: “if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you”. Christians take this to be the Holy Spirit, because John 14:26 calls the Comforter the Holy Ghost. But in the same Gospels the Holy Spirit is already at work long before Jesus goes. Elizabeth “was filled with the Holy Ghost” before he was born. Christians reply that after Jesus the Spirit would come to stay. But Jesus did not say the Comforter would come in a new way. He said that unless he went, the Comforter would not come at all. So the one who could come only after Jesus left was someone else. Jesus says of him: “he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak”. That is a messenger who speaks only what is revealed to him, as the Qur'an says of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). Qur’an 61:6John 14:16 (KJV)John 14:26 (KJV)John 16:7 (KJV)Luke 1:41 (KJV)John 16:13 (KJV)Who is the Comforter Jesus promised in John 14-16?
Jewish tradition. Judaism does not accept Jesus as the Messiah. The Qur'an calls him the Messiah. It says that he was not killed, and it calls what was said against his mother “a grave false charge”. Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Kings and Wars 11:4 (uncensored)Qur’an 3:45Qur’an 4:156–157Who was Jesus to the Talmud, the Church and the Qur'an?What does the Talmud say happened to Jesus (Sanhedrin 43a)?
What we can learn
Jesus called people to worship Allah (﷾) alone, and he gave Allah (﷾) the credit for every miracle.
- Honour and love Jesus and his mother. Allah (﷾) honoured them both. Believing in Jesus is part of Islam: Muslims say “peace be upon him” after his name, and speak of Mary with love and respect.
- Worship Allah (﷾) alone. That was his message, “my Lord and your Lord”, and it is the message of Islam.
- Trust Allah (﷾) when you are alone and afraid. Mary was alone in her pain, and Allah (﷾) sent her water, food and comfort.
- Give the credit to Allah (﷾). Jesus worked great miracles, yet every one was “by Allah's leave”.
Muslims love Jesus, and follow what he taught: to worship the One God (﷾), his Lord and ours. Islam invites everyone to do the same.