Short answer
Yes, in the true meaning of the word. "Muslim" is Arabic for one who submits to God (﷾). In the garden Jesus prayed, "not my will, but thine, be done". He fell on his face to pray, as Muslims do. He fasted, was circumcised, and kept the Law of Moses. He taught that God (﷾) is one and that God (﷾) alone is to be worshipped. The Qur'an says his disciples declared, "we are Muslims". It says Abraham too bowed his will to God (﷾). The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said that the prophets are brothers whose deen (way of life) is one. This does not mean Jesus followed the law later given to Muhammad (ﷺ). It means he submitted to God (﷾). That submission is Islam, the whole way of life given to God (﷾).
Full explanation
What the word Muslim means
Muslim is not the name of a nation, a race or a tribe. It is an Arabic word for one who submits himself to God (﷾), and Islam is that submission. The Qur'an uses it of believers long before the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). It says God (﷾) named the believers Muslims before as well as now. It says Abraham was neither Jew nor Christian but one who bowed his will to Allah (﷾). So the real question is whether Jesus submitted himself to God (﷾).
“And strive in His cause as ye ought to strive, (with sincerity and under discipline). He has chosen you, and has imposed no difficulties on you in religion; it is the cult of your father Abraham. It is He Who has named you Muslims, both before and in this (Revelation); that the Messenger may be a witness for you, and ye be witnesses for mankind! So establish regular Prayer, give regular Charity, and hold fast to Allah! He is your Protector - the Best to protect and the Best to help!”
“Abraham was not a Jew nor yet a Christian; but he was true in Faith, and bowed his will to Allah's (Which is Islam), and he joined not gods with Allah.”
Not my will, but thine
In the worst hour of his life Jesus prayed that the Father's will be done, not his own. That sentence is the definition of the word Muslim. Matthew and Mark also say how he prayed: he fell on his face, to the ground. That is the sajdah (prostration) a Muslim makes in every prayer. In the Hebrew Bible, Abraham, Moses and Aaron, and Joshua prayed the same way.
“Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”
“And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”
“And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.”
“And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,”
“And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces: and the glory of the Lord appeared unto them.”
“And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the Lord until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads.”
He fasted, was circumcised and kept the Law
Jesus fasted forty days. He taught his followers to fast for God (﷾) alone, without display. Muslims fast the month of Ramadan every year. He was circumcised on the eighth day after birth. Muslims too circumcise their sons. He lived under the Law of Moses, which calls the pig unclean. He said that not one jot or tittle (the smallest marks of the Law's writing) would pass away. The Qur'an says he came to confirm that Law, and to make lawful some things once forbidden to Israel. Any such change came from God (﷾), through His prophet.
“And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.”
“Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.”
“And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.”
“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”
“Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
“And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.”
“"'(I have come to you), to attest the Law which was before me. And to make lawful to you part of what was (Before) forbidden to you; I have come to you with a Sign from your Lord. So fear Allah, and obey me.”
He greeted with peace
Jesus told his disciples that the first words on entering any house should be: peace be to this house. In the language Jesus spoke, it was a greeting of peace. That is the meaning of as-salamu alaykum, the greeting of every Muslim.
“And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house.”
He declared that God (﷾) is one
Asked for the first commandment of all, Jesus recited the creed of one God (﷾). He told Satan that God (﷾) alone is to be worshipped and served. He prayed to God (﷾) all night and taught his disciples to pray to the Father. He defined eternal life as knowing the only true God (﷾) and the one He sent. One true God (﷾), and a messenger He sent: that is the shape of the Muslim testimony of faith, which names one God (﷾) and His messenger. Jesus placed himself in the second part.
“And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:”
“Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”
“And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.”
“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.”
“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
| Practice | What the Gospels record | What Muslims do |
|---|---|---|
| Submission | Jesus prayed, “not my will, but thine, be done”. | A Muslim is one who submits his will to God (﷾). |
| Prayer | He fell on his face to pray. | Muslims prostrate, face to the ground, in every prayer. |
| Fasting | He fasted forty days, and taught fasting for God (﷾) alone, without display. | Muslims fast the month of Ramadan every year. |
| Circumcision | He was circumcised on the eighth day. | Muslims circumcise their sons. |
| Greeting | He told his disciples to say “Peace be to this house”. | Muslims greet with as-salamu alaykum, “peace be upon you”. |
| One God (﷾) | He taught that God (﷾) is one, and that God (﷾) alone is to be worshipped. | Muslims worship God (﷾) alone. |
| God (﷾) and His messenger | He called eternal life knowing the only true God (﷾), and the one He sent. | The shape of the Muslim testimony of faith: one God (﷾), and a messenger He sent. |
This does not mean Jesus followed the law later given to Muhammad (ﷺ). It means he submitted to God (﷾), and that is what the word Muslim means.
The word for God (﷾) in Jesus' language
Jesus spoke Aramaic, a language related to Hebrew and Arabic. The words Eloah and Elohim (Hebrew), elah (Aramaic) and ilah (Arabic) come from one root. Aramaic makes it "the God" by adding -a at the end, giving Alaha. Arabic puts the article ("the") at the front, and most scholars take Allah (﷾) to be al + ilah, "the God". Mark's crucifixion account keeps the Aramaic form Eloi, "my God". It is cited here only for the word: the Qur'an teaches that it was not Jesus who was crucified. The Peshitta, the ancient Bible of the Syriac-speaking Eastern churches, still reads Alaha. Syriac is a later form of Aramaic. Arabic-speaking Christians call God Allah in their own Bibles and churches.
“And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
“That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah";- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not:-”
The Peshitta, the Bible of the Syriac-speaking churches of the East, opens: In the beginning Alaha created the heavens and the earth. Alaha is its word for God throughout.
The Arabic Bible most widely used by Arabic-speaking Christians opens: In the beginning Allah created the heavens and the earth. Allah is its word for God throughout.
What his disciples called themselves
The Qur'an records Jesus' own disciples answering his call: we believe in Allah (﷾), bear witness that we are Muslims. The Prophet (ﷺ) said that the prophets are brothers with one father, and that their religion is one. The New Testament never has Jesus use the word Christian. The word appears only three times. It is first used of the disciples at Antioch (a city in what is now Turkey), years after Jesus had gone. What matters is not the label but the meaning: one who submits to God (﷾).
“When Jesus found Unbelief on their part He said: "Who will be My helpers to (the work of) Allah?" Said the disciples: "We are Allah's helpers: We believe in Allah, and do thou bear witness that we are Muslims.”
“"And behold! I inspired the disciples to have faith in Me and Mine Messenger: they said, 'We have faith, and do thou bear witness that we bow to Allah as Muslims'".”
Abu Hurayra reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said he is the closest of all people to Jesus son of Mary, in this world and the next; the prophets are brothers with one father and different mothers, and their religion is one.
“And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.”
Verse by verse
Galatians 5:2 — Epistle to the Galatians, chapter 5, verse 2
“Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.”
Cited for
After the cross, circumcision and the Law no longer bind believers. Jesus' Jewish practice belongs to the old covenant, so it says nothing about what his followers should be.
The response
That release came after Jesus had gone, from Paul and the church that followed him, not from Jesus himself. Jesus was circumcised. He said that not one jot or tittle would pass from the Law. He said whoever breaks the least commandment is least in the kingdom. The practice later set aside is the practice Jesus kept.
Where it lands — Measured by what Jesus himself did and taught, his worship matches the Muslim's, not the practice taught after him.
Mark 7:19 — Gospel of Mark, chapter 7, verse 19
“because it doesn’t go into his heart, but into his stomach, then into the latrine, making all foods clean?””
Cited for
In Mark 7:19 Jesus declared all foods clean, so he did not keep the food laws.
The response
The King James Version reads "purging all meats" as part of Jesus' description of digestion. The World English Bible also keeps the words in his sentence. Many modern translations print them as Mark's own comment, "he declared all foods clean". Either way, they are not a command Jesus gave. In Matthew's telling of the same scene, Jesus ends by saying his point was eating with unwashed hands. And years later Peter, who was there, still said he had never eaten anything unclean.
Where it lands — Jesus is never recorded eating anything the Law forbids, and Peter, who heard him, still kept the food laws.
Perspectives
Mainstream Christian
Christians say Jesus was a Jew who kept the Law in his lifetime. They say he is the Son of God, not a follower of a later religion. After the cross, Paul, a Christian missionary of the first century, taught that believers are not under the Law. So Jesus' Jewish practice does not bind Christians.
Paul teaches that believers are not under the Law but under grace, and warns the Galatians against being circumcised.
Rebuttal
Paul did teach this, after Jesus had gone. But Jesus kept the law God (﷾) gave in his time, was circumcised, and said not one jot of it would pass away. Obeying the law God (﷾) gives is what "Muslim" means.
Christians hold that Jesus' own practice of the Law belonged to the old covenant and does not define Christian worship.
Rebuttal
That may describe what Christians do now, but the question is whether Jesus submitted to God (﷾). He prayed "not my will, but thine", fell on his face and taught that God (﷾) is one. A later change in Christian practice does not change what he did.
The Islamic perspective
Every prophet submitted to God (﷾), and that submission is what Islam means. By that measure Abraham, Moses and Jesus were Muslims, and the Prophet (ﷺ) said all the prophets share one religion. Jesus did not follow the law later given to Muhammad (ﷺ), which had not yet been revealed. Every prophet was given a law for his own people and time.
Jesus prayed that God's (﷾) will be done and not his own, which is the meaning of the word Muslim.
Jesus fell on his face to pray, as the prophets of the Hebrew Bible did and as Muslims do.
Jesus fasted, was circumcised on the eighth day, and said not one jot of the Law would pass away.
Jesus taught that God (﷾) is one and that God (﷾) alone is to be worshipped.
The Qur'an says Jesus' disciples bore witness that they were Muslims, and that Abraham bowed his will to Allah (﷾).
The Prophet (ﷺ) said the prophets are brothers whose religion is one.
Jesus never uses the word Christian; in the New Testament it is first used of the disciples at Antioch.