THE "JESUS" FIGURE IN THE QUR'AN IS NOT JESUS BUT A MAN CALLED ISSA WHO IS NOT THE SON OF GOD
Christian arrogance has to pretend that Christianity is so amazing that even Muhammad had to give it some validation in the Qur'an. The Qur'an however claims to be the dictated and direct word of God and it expressly condemns whoever says he is a son of God.
ISSA IS NOT THE SON OF GOD
The Qur'an never calls its man Jesus but Issa. This figure borrows from fables about
Jesus but is not Jesus. As Qur'an claims to be timeless scripture, the orthodox
Muslim view has to be that Christians stole elements from God's truth about Issa
to invent a Jesus. Islam has no problem admitting it if the Bible evidence is
that Jesus claimed to be God. That would mean Issa is not Jesus and Jesus is
damned forever in Hell for it is the ultimate and unforgiveable sin of shirk to
claim to be God.
Issa refers to himself as the slave of Allah not the son (Sura 19:30 and 4:171).
In Qur'an 4:172 we are told, "The Messiah would never scorn to be a slave
unto Allah, or will the favoured angels who are close to him. Whoso
scorneth His Service and is proud, all he shall gather before Him".
Whoever is guided is only guided for [the benefit of] his soul. And whoever errs
only errs against it. And no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another.
And never would We punish until We sent a messenger -Sura 17:15.
That attacks the Christian doctrine that the death of Jesus on the cross somehow
made up to God for our sins and atones for sin.
The following shows that nobody can argue, "Allah is just against the notion
that he can father a child as if he were a man. It has nothing to say on the
Christian doctrine that God is Father for the son is made out of his love and
begotten that way. Is a spiritual metaphor."
The text just keeps it simple. It is on about what Christians were saying which
means it DOES mean what they meant.
And they say, “The Most Merciful has begotten a son.” You have come up with
something monstrous. At which the heavens almost rupture, and the earth splits,
and the mountains fall and crumble. Because they attribute a son to the Most
Merciful. It is not fitting for the Most Merciful to have a son. There is none
in the heavens and the earth but will come to the Most Merciful as a servant. He
has enumerated them, and counted them one by one. And each one of them will come
to Him on the Day of Resurrection alone. Those who believe and do righteous
deeds, the Most Merciful will give them love. 19:88-96.
This clearly says that any notion of son being a metaphor for somebody who is
not a mere servant but like an adopted child of God or an heir is rubbish.
Jesus' sonship is denied in every sense. Jesus will not rise until the day of
resurrection and his gospel of being made fit for Heaven merely by repentance is
false for God does not love you unless you do enough good works.
The Church Jesus claimed to be equal to God in the sense that he could forgive
sins. If he was God's son that was one way he functioned as God's son. The
Qur'an is clear that nobody forgives sin but Allah: And those who, when they
commit an indecency or wrong themselves, remember God and ask forgiveness for
their sins—and who forgives sins except God? And they do not persist in their
wrongdoing while they know.
This quote from Allah contradicts Jesus' parable of the lost sheep: He thus cuts
off a section of those who disbelieved, or subdues them, so they retreat
disappointed. It is no concern of yours whether He redeems them or punishes
them. They are wrongdoers. Sura 3:127,128.
This may seem minor but it is not and changes what Jesus was totally about or
opposes it.
Sura 42:11 has Allah declare that nothing is as his likeness or like him. This
is a challenge to Jesus's statement that he was the image of God. The Bible
stresses that Jesus is the image of the unseen God.
Sura 61:6 says that Issa is a messenger of Allah who brings a gospel of one who
is to come after whose name is Praised One. That was all Issa was good for so it
is no wonder we read that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah and the seal of the
messengers and prophets. See Sura 33:40.
Sura 7:11-12 says that the angel Satan was commanded by Allah to prostrate
himself before Adam the first man and would not do it which was why he was
expelled from Allah's presence. Satan said he was better than Adam. That was his
sin of pride! So Issa being parented by Gabriel is not a compliment! And Adam in
a sense deserves near-worship more than Issa does.
Another place has in mind the notion of any person being equal to God. Remember
that Christians speak of the Father as if he were God and of how the Son is
equal to God:
Lord of the heavens and the earth and what is between them. So worship Him, and
persevere in His service. Do you know of anyone equal to Him? And the human
being says, “When I am dead, will I be brought back alive?” Does the human being
not remember that We created him before, when he was nothing? By your Lord, We
will round them up, and the devils, then We will bring them around Hell, on
their knees. Sura 19:65-67.
The human being equal to God who expects to rise again is the Bible Jesus. Allah
threatens him with Hell...
It seems pagans in Muhammad's day thought Allah had divine daughters. The Qur'an does not comment on the problem being one of God fathering other Gods. It is children period. We should not put words in Muhammad's mouth. It goes without saying that if that is the problem then by implication divine children are out of the question.
ISSA IS A WARNER NOT A SON
Muhammad thinking of Moses, Adam, Abraham and Issa (Jesus-not!) declared, "I am no innovation or novelty among the Prophets/Messengers. In truth, I know nothing of what shall be done to me or what will happen to you. All I do is be a disciple of what has been revealed to me. I am a warner, nothing more!" Read that in Qur'an 46:8,9.
The Muslim idea of prophet is somebody who is God's vessel through which God
speaks. The prophet has no authority of his own but is just an instrument.
This is different from the Bible notion where you have to trust the prophet to
speak for God and God puts checks in place. For example, Moses decreed
that when a man speaking for God predicts things, one prediction is all it takes
to show he is not being informed by God.
EZRA SON OF GOD?
The Qur'an says in 9:30 that the Jews consider Ezra to be the son of God and
that is blasphemy. But it was obvious and common knowledge that the Jews were
harshly monotheistic. Nobody thinks the Qur'an is actually lying. The
explanation is found in how the book sees saying anybody is God's son in any
sense, adopted or honorific is blasphemy. Even Muhammad was not seen so much as
a preacher of God but as the one getting the dictated word of God so that the
Qur'an had nothing to do with him and he was merely Allah's instrument for
delivering it. The religion is about avoiding man's word passing for God's which
is why God had to use the dictation method for giving his word. Jesus did not
use that method if the gospels are to be believed. That eliminates him as an
authority or son of God in any sense.
So the Qur'an God complains that the Jews honour Ezra as the Son of Allah and
the Christians honour Messiah as the Son. It says Allah fights them for such
doctrines and they are perverse and have taken as Lords besides Allah their
rabbis and monks (Sura 9). It is clear from this that the problem is is saying
somebody is the voice of God. Ezra was never seen as anything other than a man
and it is true that the Jews saw him as a son of Allah like other men would have been.
The warning is about how prophets can be respected in themselves as holy men
when they should be seen as mere mouthpieces for God. Messiah and Ezra are put
on the same footing. There is no evidence that any Jews ever honoured Ezra as
the Son of God. The Qur'an claims to address the big issues not what any small
sect was saying. So overall the evidence is that it was opposing the Jewish
veneration of Ezra instead of just caring about how he gave the Jews the word of
God.
MOTHER OF ISSA
Mary is the mother of Issa in the Qur'an.
Mary in the Muslim religion, is Miriam the sister of Moses. Miriam it should be
noted gloated when the Egyptians were murdered by God in the Red Sea by
drowning. The Muslim Mary is no angel.
The Qur'an never puts Jesus in the first century which is the prime reason this man is not Jesus.
The book is clear that it blasphemy to say Allah can have a son. Some say this is about sperm but that is a lie. It rules out Allah having even an adopted son or any kind of son.
The Qur’an thought that new life in the womb starts off as a clot of blood. There is no way anybody would wonder if Allah could have a real son when that is how it is done. Seed is not even used. Allah is not like the other gods and though he is spoken of as male this does not imply anything like the potential to sexually reproduce. If the clot was Mary’s then the Qur’an is saying that Issa was his mother's sex-changed clone.
THE HYPOTHETICAL
Qur’an 43:81,82 has the prophet saying that even if it could be proved that God had a son he would not worship him. This is hyperbole and hypothetical. It’s a strong statement that the Christian notion of a divine son who is to be worshipped is false. The prophet is saying that monotheism must be so strict that hypothetically Allah should not be worshipped if he has a son. It does not tell if it matters how this son will come about. A son in any form is meant. Don’t hairsplit texts. It could be saying that if Allah could be shown to have had a son he would not disown him meaning Allah. If so it is clearly saying that it is the son who should be disowned. Allah having a son is a threat to the duty to worship Allah alone. It reminds us of how Paul wrote in Galatians that the gospel is final and that even if an angel of God comes and changes it the angel should be cursed and ignored. It is a shock tactic to stress how vital it is not to budge one millimeter on God's truth.
FINALLY
Jesus being son of God was one of the core things about him. Issa is not God's son in any sense.
