The Quranic Jesus

“A welcome expansion of the fragile territory known as common ground.” —The New York Times When Reza Aslan’s bestseller Zealot came out in 2013, there was criticism that he hadn’t addressed his Muslim faith while writing the origin story of Christianity. In fact, Ross Douthat of The New York Times wrote that “if Aslan had actually written in defense of the Islamic view of Jesus, that would have been something provocative and new.” Mustafa Akyol’s The Islamic Jesus is that book. The Islamic Jesus reveals startling new truths about Islam in the context of the first Muslims and the early origins of Christianity. Muslims and the first Christians—the Jewish followers of Jesus—saw Jesus as not divine but rather as a prophet and human Messiah and that salvation comes from faith and good works, not merely as faith, as Christians would later emphasize. What Akyol seeks to reveal are how these core beliefs of Jewish Christianity, which got lost in history as a heresy, emerged in a new religion born in 7th Arabia: Islam. Akyol exposes this extraordinary historical connection between Judaism, Jewish Christianity and Islam—a major mystery unexplored by academia. From Jesus’ Jewish followers to the Nazarenes and Ebionites to the Qu’ran’s stories of Mary and Jesus, The Islamic Jesus will reveal links between religions that seem so contrary today. It will also call on Muslims to discover their own Jesus, at a time when they are troubled by their own Pharisees and Zealots.

The first book to examine the controversial Qur'anic phrase which divides Christianity and Islam. According to the majority of modern Muslims and Christians, the Qur'an denies the crucifixion of Jesus, and with it, one of the most sacred beliefs of Christianity. However, it is only mentioned in one verse - 'They did not kill him and they did not crucify him, rather, it only appeared so to them' - and contrary to popular belief, its translation has been the subject of fierce debate among Muslims for centuries. This innovative work is the first book devoted to the issue, delving deeply into largely ignored Arabic sources, which suggest that the origins of the conventional translation may lie within the Christian Church. Arranged along historical lines, and covering various Muslim schools of thought, from Sunni to Sufi, "The Crucifixion and the Qur'an" unravels the crucial dispute that separates the World's two principal faiths.

Who Is the Jesus of Islam? Jesus is revered in the Islamic faith—but is he the same Jesus Christians claim as their Savior? James K. Walker, president of Watchman Fellowship, takes you through more than a dozen major similarities and differences between the Jesus of the Bible and the Jesus of the Qur'an. You will learn... how Islam affirms biblical concepts, even though it diverges from Scripture how the Qur'an promotes a deep respect of Jesus, while not identifying Him as a Savior how to cultivate conversational relationships with Muslims, despite your different beliefs and faith backgrounds As Islam continues to spread rapidly across the globe and increases opportunities for personal interaction with Muslims, it's vital that you handle all matters of the Christian faith with wisdom and discernment. The more you know about what the Qur'an teaches, the better equipped you'll be to understand current events and to reach out with truth and love to your Muslim neighbors.

By God’s grace, Islam is the fastest growing religion in our time, as confirmed by a study undertaken by the Pew Research Center, and our motive is to make this great divine faith known to all people. This book, Jesus in the Qur’an, speaks first about people’s need to receive the divine message through prophets. They need this as much as they need food and drink to survive, if not more. God’s messengers and prophets were assigned the task of giving people the right concept of God, their Creator, and explaining to them how to earn His pleasure and acceptance, and how to avoid incurring His anger. They put all this into practice so that their teachings would serve as a code by which to live, setting human life on the right course and ensuring their happiness in the life to come. The author relates the story of Jesus, son of Mary (peace be upon him), starting at a point well before his birth, when his virtuous mother was pregnant. He then reports the circumstances of his birth and speaks about Jesus’s message and the opposition he had to endure. The author then discusses the Qur’anic account of Jesus, which makes clear that he enjoys a very high position with God Almighty. We hope that readers will find this book useful in adding to their knowledge and understanding of Islam.

“Accessible and readable. Spotlights an important theological theme in a way that both illuminates its internal development in Islamic thought and presents it as a helpful basis for interreligious discussion. The topic is very much in need of teaching and discussion and is a fine example of ‘common ground.’”—John Renard, author of Islam and Christianity “Contains valuable and fascinating material about how classical Muslim theologians treated various aspects of Jesus and, in particular, the role of Jesus in Islamic eschatology. Saritoprak brings new insights from contemporary Turkish thinkers to bear on the issues raised by the Jesus figure in Islamic narratives about the Last Days.”—Marcia Hermansen, author of Shah Wali Allah’s Treatises on Islamic Law “A refreshingly easy read that makes a complex world of theology and interfaith relations accessible and enjoyable for readers of all backgrounds.”—Jonathan Brown, author of Hadith: Muhammad’s Legacy in the Medieval and Modern World Few people realize that Jesus was a prominent messenger of God in Islam and that Muslims believe in the return of Jesus. Even among Muslims, it is not well known that there are diverse interpretations of references to Jesus in the Qur’an and the Hadith. Aiming to remedy this, Islam’s Jesus takes a bold yet candid look at the highly charged topic of Jesus’s place in Islam, exploring some of the religion’s least understood aspects. Examining multiple intellectual traditions, Zeki Saritoprak makes clear the reality of pluralism in the history of Islamic religious scholarship. Actively engaged in efforts to promote interfaith dialogue and harmony, Saritoprak thoughtfully argues that the shared belief in Jesus presents an excellent opportunity for understanding between Muslims and Christians. Together, they constitute more than half of the world’s population, and such understanding may be a foundation for peace.

This book's goal is simply to provide information from Quran, Hadith, and Scholarly explanations / Quranic interpretations about the story of Jesus and the counter arguments in the Quran about Jesus, and other Christianity fundamentals. The book will take you back in time and narrate Islamic viewpoints on the day of the crucifixion, the story of disciples of Jesus, Mary, Jesus's disciples and more - all from an Islamic standpoint. You will come to know about the Quranic verses that are specifically addressed to Christians about some of the claims of Christianity, Jesus, and more. In this information packed book, you will learn the following: -The story of the birth of Maryam (Mary) to her parents Imran and Hannah -Maryam's (Mary's) mother promise to God (Allah) -What Allah said about Maryam about her birth -The story of the Rabbis, and Zakkariyyah in Bait Al-Maqdis in Jerusalem -The story of the Jewish Rabbis' lottery about them competing to adopt Maryam -The Hint from God (Allah) to Maryam about Jesus (Eesa's) birth -Maryam's ordeal during and before Jesus's (Eesa's) birth -The Quranic story about Maryam and the Angel that spoke to Maryam -The birth of Jesus (Eesa) in Bethlehem as mentioned in the Quran -Jesus speaking from the cradle in defense of Maryam (Mary) -Ibn Kathir's depiction on how certain Jewish priests hid the birth of Maryam (Mary) -Jesus's (Eesa's) teachings and how they parallel in the Quran and the Bible (Injeel) -Ibn Kathir's story on Jesus's visit to the Jewish temple the night prophets John (pbuh) and Zakariyah (pbuh) died -Islamic views on disciples of Jesus -The story of Jesus's disciples in the Quran -Islamic view on how the story of disciples in Christianity contradicts Biblical teachings and Quranic teachings -Miracles of Jesus (Eesa) as described by Allah -The story how Jesus (Eesa) was asked to prove his miracles -How Angel Gabriel (Jibreel) supported Jesus (Eesa) to do miracles that many mistook as Jesus (Eesa's) miracles -How Allah explicitly mentions that Jesus (being a human being) was granted some powers (through the Angel and others) -A presentation about the strong affirmation in Quran on howJesus (Eesa) was not crucified -The Islamic story about how Jesus (Eesa) was convicted of crimes by certain Jewish priests of the time -The Islamic story about how Jesus (Eesa) spoke to five of his companions about the crucifixion -How Christian scripture too supports that Jesus was not God -Quran's explanation in Quran about the Christian claims of making Jesus (Eesa) as son of God -How Allah questions Jesus about him being worshipped by people -The story about Jesus's (Eesa's) second coming in Islam -The hadith about Jesus breaking the cross in his second coming -Explanation on New Testament's contradictions about Jesus's (Eesa's) life -and much more.......

Is it possible to rethink the multilayered and polyvalent Christology of the Qur’ān against the intersecting of competing peripheral Christianities, anti-Jewish Christian polemics, and the making of a new Arab state in the 7th-century Near East? To what extent may this help us to decipher, moreover, the intricate redactional process of the quranic corpus? And can we unearth from any conclusions as to the tension between a messianic-oriented and a prophetic-guided religious thought buried in the document? By analysing, first, the typology and plausible date of the Jesus texts contained in the Qur’ān (which implies moving far beyond both the habitual chronology of the Qur’ān and the common thematic division of the passages in question) and by examining, in the second place, the Qur’ān’s earliest Christology via-à-vis its later (and indeed much better known) Muhamadan kerygma, the present study answers these crucial questions and, thereby, sheds new light on the Qur’ān’s original sectarian milieu and pre-canonical development.