What do
Muslims believe about
Mary and
Jesus?
What do Muslims believe about
Mary and Jesus
Mary, the
mother of Jesus, is a prominent figure in Islam and the only woman mentioned by
name in the Quran.
The Quran upholds Mary as one of the four perfect examples
of womanhood (66:12). An entire chapter, Surah 19, is dedicated to her and her
history. Mary is mentioned more times in the Quran than in the entire New
Testament, and more biographical information about her is contained in the
Quran than in the New Testament.
The Quranic
account of Mary includes the pregnancy of her mother, Anna, Mary’s birth, the
annunciations of the coming births of John the Baptist and Jesus, and
affirmation of the virgin conception and birth of Jesus: “[Remember] her who
preserved her chastity, into whom We breathed a life from Us, and made her and
her son a token for mankind” (21:91). The Quran teaches that Mary is to be
revered because she completely submitted herself to God’s will, even though it
meant that her own family would accuse her of unchastity when it was discovered
that she was pregnant (19:16–21). The Quran also records Jesus as an infant
verbally defending Mary’s innocence (19:27–34).
Jesus is an
important figure in the Quran, which affirms the truth of the teachings of
Jesus as found in the Gospels. Like Christians, Muslims believe in the virgin
conception of Jesus by God’s Spirit. The Quran also records some of Jesus’ miracles,
including giving sight to the blind, healing lepers, raising the dead, and
breathing life into clay birds (5:110).
This last
miracle is not recorded in the canonical New Testament but does appear in the
noncanonical Gospel of Thomas. The Quran also reports Jesus’ proclamation of
the need to worship God as the only God and his own status as a witness to God
(5:116–17).
Muslim and
Christian beliefs about Jesus differ in two areas. First, although Muslims
believe in the virgin conception and birth of Jesus through an act of God’s
Spirit, they do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God. They believe that he
is one of the long line of righteous prophets and second only to Muhammad in
importance (6:83–87). For Muslims, the Christian doctrine of the Trinity
represents a form of polytheism, proclaiming belief in three gods rather than
one God alone (4:171, 5:17, 5:72–77). Second, Muslims do not believe in the
crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus (4:157–58). They believe that, although
it appeared that Jesus was crucified, instead God took Jesus to Himself in a
manner similar to what happened to Elijah (3:55, 4:157). Muslims do not believe
in the Christian doctrine of Original Sin, so there is no theological need for
the all-atoning sacrifice of Jesus through his crucifixion and resurrection.
Muslims further believe that each of us will be held accountable before God for
our own actions and thus responsible for our own salvation. Therefore, we will
not be able to rely upon anyone else, not even Jesus or Muhammad, to save us
from our sins.
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