The following is used with the kind permission of my friend Allen Hansen
The Arab Christian scholar Makram Mesherky's book, Jesus in Early Muslim Thought, contains some interesting observations on how Islam accords the figure of Jesus a high place in its traditions, while at the same time emptying them of all distinctly Christian belief in His divinity and atoning sacrifice. He is a moral exemplar and teacher of repentance who will be taken up to heaven for a time, and he will occupy a high place in Paradise, before returning to earth to destroy the monstrous Dajjal. This is very much like a mix of the Jewish Messiah ben Joseph and Messiah ben David in the Apocalypse of Zerubbabel. Afterwards Jesus will marry and live a long life before dying like any other mortal. He is most decidedly not divine, and must defend himself before God to prove that he did not teach others to believe it. Muslims (like Jews), of course, are not Christian and thus cannot be expected to believe in Jesus' divinity, but it is worth remembering and understanding this difference.
Mesherky points out a legend in al-Kisa'i's Tales of the Prophets that gently but firmly polemicises with Christian belief in Jesus' victory over death.
Mesherky points out a legend in al-Kisa'i's Tales of the Prophets that gently but firmly polemicises with Christian belief in Jesus' victory over death.
"And when Jesus will have lived forty years upon the earth, God will send the Angel of Death to him so he may know that God created no creature who would not die, and to take him to the tomb wherein he would lie. Then the Angel of Death will descend and find him standing at the temple in Jerusalem, reading from the Torah, the New Testament, and the Psalms. He will appear before him as a humble man and will say, "I came to wander around the land with you," and Jesus will heed him. They will go out until they encounter a large funeral, and the angel of death will say to him, "O, Jesus raise up one of these dead to life so he may tell us of the taste of death and its bitterness." Jesus will ask this from his Lord, and three people will come back to life: the first with a face that shines as the moon, the second with a face like turmeric, and the third with a face like that of a black mouse. Jesus will ask them of their deeds in this world. The first will say, "I was a pauper who thanked God, and when my soul was taken, my Lord brought me into Paradise." The second will say, " I was extremely wealthy and believed that my life of luxury would never end, but then I tasted death and I am tormented in my grave until this very day." The third will say, "I did not declare the Oneness of God nor did I serve Him, and when death came to me, my soul was removed by force and placed in fetters of burning hellfire, and I was made to drink a burning liquid." Then Jesus will say unto them "Return whence you came," and "But your Lord knows best who it is that is best guided on the Way” (Surah 17:84). Afterwards they will go to the tomb of Muhammad, PBUH, and will greet him in peace, and he will return their greeting from the grave. After all this, the Angel of Death will say, "O, Jesus, I am the Angel of Death, and I have come to take thy soul, for no creature can escape death." Then Gabriel will come to him with musk from Paradise, and give it to him; Jesus will take and smell it, and the Angel of Death will take up his soul with it. Afterwards, angels will descend and wash him, wrap him in a shroud, mummify his body, and place it next to Muhammad's grave, PBUH."
-Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah al-Kisa'i, The Stories of the Prophets, Hebrew Translation from the Arabic, Preface, Annotations and Index: Aviva Schussman, (TAU Press: 2013), 395-396,
-Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah al-Kisa'i, The Stories of the Prophets, Hebrew Translation from the Arabic, Preface, Annotations and Index: Aviva Schussman, (TAU Press: 2013), 395-396,
"Once again, behind this charming story, Jesus is depicted as a mere mortal that cannot recognise the angel of death, nor know the past of other people, and does not even know the time of his future death. In this way all claims of Jesus' more than human nature are emptied of meaning."
Mesherky, Jesus in Early Muslim Thought, (Idra Publishing :2021), 213.
Mesherky further points out the hidden (and not-so-hidden) polemic in accounts of Jesus at the final judgement.
"According to canonical Christian scripture, Jesus sits in judgement over the world at judgement day, and this comports with the belief in His divinity. In Muslim tradition, Jesus' final role is to stand with the other messengers before God at judgement day. As with the rest of the messengers other than Muhammad, he is to plead with God solely for himself. In contrast with Muhammad, who pleads on behalf of his people, Jesus declares that he will not even plead on his own mother's behalf, a hard saying that elevates Muhammad's status in comparison with the other messengers who choose (if they are not compelled) to plead for their own selves before God."
"According to canonical Christian scripture, Jesus sits in judgement over the world at judgement day, and this comports with the belief in His divinity. In Muslim tradition, Jesus' final role is to stand with the other messengers before God at judgement day. As with the rest of the messengers other than Muhammad, he is to plead with God solely for himself. In contrast with Muhammad, who pleads on behalf of his people, Jesus declares that he will not even plead on his own mother's behalf, a hard saying that elevates Muhammad's status in comparison with the other messengers who choose (if they are not compelled) to plead for their own selves before God."
Mesherky, 213.
"Qadi Abd al-Jabbar uses Christ's judgement over the nations to prove that Jesus not only rejected the Christian churches, but was also hostile to them. In a sophisticated polemic, Abd al-Jabbar combined two texts from _Matthew_ and described Jesus assigning those who stand at his right-hand to God's mercies and eternal life. He explained that according to this pericope, those who stand to Jesus' left are the various Christian sects. His conclusion is that according to the above, Jesus is clearly washing his hands of the Christian sects and demonstrating enmity towards them."
"Qadi Abd al-Jabbar uses Christ's judgement over the nations to prove that Jesus not only rejected the Christian churches, but was also hostile to them. In a sophisticated polemic, Abd al-Jabbar combined two texts from _Matthew_ and described Jesus assigning those who stand at his right-hand to God's mercies and eternal life. He explained that according to this pericope, those who stand to Jesus' left are the various Christian sects. His conclusion is that according to the above, Jesus is clearly washing his hands of the Christian sects and demonstrating enmity towards them."
Mesherky, 213-214.
Surah 5:116-118 of the Quran presents a dialogue between Jesus and God.
Surah 5:116-118 of the Quran presents a dialogue between Jesus and God.
"And on Judgment Day Allah will say, “O Jesus, son of Mary! Did you ever ask the people to worship you and your mother as gods besides Allah?” He will answer, “Glory be to You! How could I ever say what I had no right to say? If I had said such a thing, you would have certainly known it. You know what is hidden within me, but I do not know what is within You. Indeed, You alone are the Knower of all unseen. I never told them anything except what You ordered me to say: “Worship Allah—my Lord and your Lord!” And I was witness over them as long as I remained among them. But when You took me, You were the Witness over them—and You are a Witness over all things. If You punish them, they belong to You after all. But if You forgive them, You are surely the Almighty, All-Wise.”"
"According to the earliest commentators, this exchange will take place at the resurrection of the dead. The depiction of Jesus's dread, fear, and trembling, is highly pronounced as a way of demonstrating his human weakness on the one hand, and to clarify on the other hand that he is to be judged by God at judgement day just like all the other messengers. This one event serves to refute all claims to his divinity while at the same time highlighting his human fragility."
"According to the earliest commentators, this exchange will take place at the resurrection of the dead. The depiction of Jesus's dread, fear, and trembling, is highly pronounced as a way of demonstrating his human weakness on the one hand, and to clarify on the other hand that he is to be judged by God at judgement day just like all the other messengers. This one event serves to refute all claims to his divinity while at the same time highlighting his human fragility."
Mesherky, 214
"[Jesus] Jesus appears as a redeemer and messiah in the Hadith literature and its appendages in particular, but at the same time is bereft of all divine attributes.Just as we have seen Him earlier as a master of shariah, as an exemplary prophet, and as a bonafide Sufi, He is presented yet again as playing an honourable role in the last days, but devoid of all real authority."
Mesherky, 215.
