Islamic view of Jesus

In Islam, Jesus (known as Isa, Arabic: عيسى), is considered one of God's most-beloved and important prophets. Like Christian writings, the Qur'an holds that Jesus was born without a biological father to the virgin Mary, by the will of Allah (God) and for this reason is consistently termed "Isa ibn Maryam", a matronymic (since he had no biological father).

Similarly Islamic belief also holds that Jesus could perform miracles, and that he will one day return to the world to rid it of evil.

However, very much unlike Christians, Muslims do not consider Jesus to have been God or the Son of God. There are many verses in the Qur'an which warn against believing that Jesus was divine.
 * And behold! God will say [i.e. on the Day of Judgment]: 'Oh Isa, the son of Mary! Did you say unto men, worship me and my mother as gods in derogation of God?' He will say: 'Glory to Thee! Never could I say what I had no right (to say). Had I said such a thing, You would indeed have known it. You know what is in my heart, though I know not what is in Yours. For You know in full all that is hidden. Never did I say to them anything except what You commanded me to say: 'Worship God, my Lord and your Lord.' And I was a witness over them while I lived among them. When You took me up, You were the Watcher over them, and You are a witness to all things'" (5:116-117).

Muslims also do not believe that Jesus died on the cross. Instead, the Qur'an states that his death was only an illusion (done by God) to deceive his enemies, and that Jesus ascended bodily to heaven.


 * That they said (in boast) "We killed the Messiah Isa 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. (Qur'an 4:157-158)

Muslims believe that Jesus will return to the world in the flesh following Imam Mahdi to defeat the Dajjal (an Antichrist-like figure, translated as "Deceiver") once the world has become filled with sin, deception and injustice, and then live out the rest of his natural life.

Muslims also believe that Jesus received a gospel from God (called the Injil) that corresponds to the Christian New Testament, but that it and the Old Testament have both been changed by mankind over time so that they no longer accurately represent God's original message to mankind. In Muslim traditions, Jesus lived a perfect life of nonviolence, showing kindness to humans and animals (similar to the other Islamic prophets), without material possessions and abstaining from sin. He also abstained from alcohol and from animal flesh, according to these traditions.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Movement (accounting for a fairly small percentage of total Muslim population) believes that Jesus survived the crucifixion and later travelled to Kashmir, where he lived and died as a prophet under the name of Yuz Asaf.