Exploring Islam, Part Five: Defining Messiah
Part One was an easy introduction to the modern Arab world, where Islam took root.
Part Two explored pre-Islamic Arabia and how poetry and oral traditions heavily influenced public opinion, formed cultural norms, identified the sha'ir (poetic oracle) and other claimants to prophethood according to Islamic records.
Part Three detailed early Islamic sources regarding Muhammad's dream and how, according to the Islamic record, he was sole witness... which technically disqualified his claims according to the Quran.
Part Four explored the accusation that the Quran says the Bible had been altered, changed, or corrupted... and that was soundly refuted according to Islamic sources.
What Does The Quran Call Yeshua / Isa?
The 'Name' Yeshua in the Quran is the Arabic Isa (technically: ʿĪsā), likely from the Greek (Iesous) translation of the Hebrew (Yeshua).
Isa is titled and called various terms in the Quran, as is Yeshua in the Gospel:
- Son of Mary (al-Imran (3) 45 / Mark 6: 3)
- Word of God (al-Imran (3) 39 / John 1: 1)
- Spirit of God (at-Tarim (66) 12 / Matthew 12: 28)
- Messiah (al-Imran (3) 45 / John 4: 25-26)
- Prophet (Maryam (19) 30 / Luke 24: 19)
- Sign (Maryam (19) 21 / Matthew 16: 4)
- Mercy (Maryam (19) 21 / Jude 1: 21)
Several other titles and attributes identify Isa / Yeshua in the Quran and Islamic writings.
Counting all titles and attributes, including references of 'Spirit' and 'Word' elsewhere in the Quran, and also pronouns identifying Isa as saying or doing something, Isa is most mentioned in the Quran (not counting where God / Allah is referenced, Allah (and His attributes) being most referenced).
Who Did Pre-Islamic Arabia Say Isa Is?
As we explored in previous parts, the details and elaborative explanations of the Quran are sometimes found in Hadith and Tafsir.
These later writings have defined the Quran's message for the majority of Muslims, in both main groups (Sunni or Shia) and the various schools of thought within those two groups (and other groups).
These Islamic writings, however, do not always explain nor answer important questions pertaining to the Quran's message.
Much of the Quran is written as a reminder (literally saying 'remember when') regarding events and stories that occurred before Muhammad; many events / stories of which are mentioned in the Bible.
The other themes in the Quran find their source in writings from groups deemed heretical or writings considered more folk and legendary than inspired.
This theme of 'remember when' beckons the oral tradition of memorizing stories as a major thread in ancient culture, widely illiterate (no reading or writing), open to superstition, and holding to identity according to the past and following ancestral ways and beliefs.
This reminding theme either assumes the hearer / reader already understands what is being recited, or is familiar with the background of the story being told.
This is where the definition of 'who' and 'what' Messiah is needs to be highlighted.
Many ideas existed as to how people understood Isa at the time of Muhammad.
Many of these ideas are mentioned in the Quran, and they either literally agree with or contradict the Bible... besides seeming to contradict the Quran itself.
Most of the ideas shared by some Christians in Muhammad's time were considered heretical, incorrect, or having drifted away from the Gospel message by other Christians (according to the Gospel's message and according to the accusations in the Quran towards Christians).
How A Christian's Suggestion Became A Pillar Of Islam
In Part Three we read Aisha's testimony of an event that occurred before her birth; Muhammad's wife Khadija taking Muhammad to speak with her relative Waraqa about Muhammad's dream.
Although we have found Aisha's testimony to be, according to the Quran's litmus test of proper witnesses, unreliable... the little information Islamic history does have about Waraqa can be shared to provide a historical background.
We read how Waraqa suggested to Muhammad the dream's character may have been an angel.
This shows Waraqa was influential regarding Muhammad's religious ideas.
Islamic history recognizes Waraqa's Christianity as valid.
Secondly, Waraqa's idea that an angel spoke to Muhammad in a dream was, according to the testimony we read, based on Waraqa's knowledge of the Bible.
Remember, again, the Quran does not detail the dream's dialogue nor identifies 'who' the character was.
Taking the story's narrative at face value, Waraqa relates the manner angels have spoken to people as depicted in the Bible.
Let us mention briefly what Waraqa's theological standing was as a priest of the faith.
Islamic accounts mention Waraqa as a Nestorian priest, that he was a hanif (true believer in monotheism - One God theology), and that he was a scribe writing the Gospel in Hebrew and Arabic.
Waraqa is portrayed as keeping a 'correct' understanding of God; tawhid (Oneness of God).
Since Islamic records portray Waraqa as a Nestorian priest, Nestorianism describes 'how' the divine Logos came to exist in the body of Isa.
Despite later disagreements found in the Quran regarding Isa, Waraqa's religion believed the Logos (Word) to be divine and to have existed in Isa... and again, Waraqa was considered a hanif beholden to tawhid.
Misconceptions Of Isa Mentioned In The Quran
Islam's mainstream understanding of Isa has traditionally been: a man born of a virgin when God sent His Spirit into her womb.
This reflects the Nestorian explanation of Isa and the Gospel message.
This could explain why Isa has several unique terms with tones of divinity and high attributes, unlike any other person, in the Quran.
The ancient Church has been dealing with claimants to prophethood and claims to divine writings since the 1st century.
The desire to gain religious followers is not a new idea when reading the world's history.
Since Messiah appeared, many have claimed to be followers of Messiah (Christians) while forwarding obscure or contradictory ideas... fostering disunity, confusion, and nonsense within and outside Christianity.
This was a destructive issue then, and unfortunately still is today... for Christians and all others.
Part of this disunity was due to man's attempts at describing Isa in words beyond quoting the Scriptures... or using human arguments in attempting to describe things surreal and miraculous.
How can a virgin becoming pregnant by God's Spirit be logically explained?
How can any miracle be precisely explained in human terms?
It was the elaborate arguments and the choice of unusual words that caused division in the ancient Church when it came to understanding the miracle of Isa.
However, the faith in that miracle has continued regardless how poorly the miracle is explained.
Some of the Christian disunity is partially mentioned in the Quran and elaborated in further Islamic writings.
Heresies Mentioned In The Quran
It is possible Muhammad heard many competing human explanations of the miracle of God in Messiah besides what Waraqa had shared with him... and lots of heresies.
Let us briefly read about two such ideas, both heretical.
The Collyridians existed in Arabia at the time of Muhammad and claimed to be followers of Messiah (Christians)... however, they worshipped Mary as a god besides Allah. [see al-Maida (5) 116]
Orthodox Christian theology has never proclaimed Mary as a god.
No such notion is found in the Bible, nor has the Bible been interpreted to suggest such an idea.
Christian Orthodoxy has never proclaimed Isa to be a god besides Allah. [the accusation found in al-Maida (5) 116)]
The Bible strictly proclaims God as One.
These accusations (Mary as a god and Isa as a god besides Allah) are unfounded in the Bible and had been determined as heretical before Muhammad was born.
Unfortunately, these accusations are still a current and popular polemic against Christians by unlearned Muslims.
Arianism began in nearby Egypt and was present in Arabia, claiming to be followers of Messiah (Christians)... however, they denied Isa's divinity and that the title 'Son of God' was only an honorific title.
Several verses in the Quran deny Isa as the Son of God (the claim of divinity) and directly condemn the attribute 'Son of God' related to Isa. [one example: Bani Israel (17) 111]
As we've seen with previous Quran verses in previous parts of this article series, the interpretations and the arguments do not respond to Gospel context but instead carry literal arguments that largely ignore the Quran's context or are ignorant of the Bible testimony.
How Ridiculous Arguments Became Mainstream Accusations
What these arguments do is dismiss God's ability to bring about miracles (signs), and instead support human arguments based on doubt.
These arguments portray a carnal understanding when spiritual ideas and miraculous evidence should be considered.
The Gospel does not argue that Isa is a physical product like the manner two humans procreate.
This notion is blasphemous, yet is a typical polemic accusation against Christians.
This accusation makes a carnal argument that leans on a literal understanding of the terms 'begotten' and 'son'.
This carnal argument dismisses the testimony... and God's Word.
This argument disbelieves the sign that Isa was, not only being born of a virgin, but the rest of Isa's testimony.
The Gospel proclaims Isa is born of the Spirit of God through a virgin woman.
The testimony that a child will be born of a virgin was prophesied by Isaiah.
As with Mary being mentioned as another god, both the Quran and the later writings fail to clarify this heretical claim as coming from an obscure and rogue group and not being accurate, or at least not what Waraqa the hanif believed.
Instead, this and several other false claims are ignorantly leveled onto all Christians.
It seems the oral traditions throughout Arabia was reminding people of some things but not other things.
The oral traditions were missing very important details from the testimony in the Word of God.
How did Muhammad miss these details if spending time with Waraqa, since Waraqa was a hanif?
Defining Messiah According To The Complete Reminder
In Part Four we discovered the Quran does not claim the Bible to have been changed.
Instead the accusations are accusations against some Jews and Christians that had ignored the message in the Bible or had supposedly misinterpreted it.
Thus, the Bible having been changed is not claimed in the Quran.
Unfortunately, this misunderstanding also persists today despite the historical evidence highlighted in this article series.
The Annunciation to Mary, the asking of hearers to call to mind, is found in the Quran:
And call to mind, through this divine writ, Mary. Lo! She withdrew from her family to an eastern place and kept herself in seclusion from them, whereupon We sent unto her Our angel of revelation, who appeared to her in the shape of a well-made human being.
She exclaimed: “Verily, 'I seek refuge from thee with the Most Gracious! [Approach me not] if thou art conscious of Him!”
[The angel] answered: “I' am but a messenger of thy Sustainer, [who says,] `I shall bestow upon thee the gift of a Son endowed with purity.'”
Said she: “How can I have a Son when no man has ever touched me? - for, never have I been a loose woman!”
[The angel] answered: “Thus it is; [but] thy Sustainer says, `This is easy for Me; and [thou shalt have a Son,] so that We might make Him a symbol unto mankind and an act of grace from US.”
And it was a thing decreed [by God]: and in time she conceived Him, and then she withdrew with Him to a far-off place.
- Maryam (19) 16-22 (M. Asad translation - read 16 other translations) 7th century A.D.Elsewhere, the detail of Spirit is found:
And [remember] her who guarded her chastity, whereupon We breathed into her of Our Spirit and caused her, together with her Son, to become a symbol [of Our grace] unto all people.
- al-Anbiya (21) 91 (M. Asad translation - read 16 other translations) 7th century A.D.This message recalls a divine writ.
Isa is mentioned to be a gift; a son, endowed with purity.
Islamic theology expounds that purity in reference to Isa means being forever sinless.
Mary asks how she can have a child since no man has ever touched her (virgin).
The angel replies that the action is easy for God to accomplish, and says that Isa will be a symbol and an act of grace from God.
Notice the Quran actually messages Isa as begotten (conceived) of God's Spirit.
This reminder recalls the Gospel testimony which first records the Annunciation:
The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a Son, and you are to call Him Yeshua. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; His kingdom will never end.”
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no Word from God will ever fail.”
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your Word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
- Luke 1: 28-38 (1st century A.D.)We read here Yeshua / Isa would be called the Son of God Most High, and why.
We read also the Son of God title is in no way demeaning to God or blasphemous, but designates how Messiah came to exist (conceived of God's Spirit) and is very similar to the Quran's testimony.
Since God is Holy... His Spirit is Holy.
To mention briefly a typical accusation that Yeshua / Isa never claimed to be God nor the Son of God, consider the following:
“I and the Father are One.”
Again His Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone Him, but Yeshua said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone Me?”
“We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”...
… what about the One whom the Father set apart as His very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse Me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I Am God’s Son’? Do not believe Me unless I do the works of My Father. But if I do them, even though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.”
- John 10: 30-33, 36-38Notice the tawhid (Oneness) proclaimed by Isa.
When Isa claimed to be One with God, it was understood clearly by others as claiming to be God, and thus the accusation of blasphemy.
But did Isa blaspheme?
Notice also Isa openly confessing 'I Am God's Son'.
Did Isa claim to be a physical product of a physical union between God and a virgin?
Notice the explanation as to how and why Isa and the Father are One.
Notice again the tawhid: 'understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father'.
This is the same tawhid which Waraqa likely conveyed to Muhammad, and why Waraqa was considered a hanif (believer in One God).
The mirroring and repeating of the general message in the Quran, despite lacking certain details, is remarkable.
Reviewing The Divine Writ
Let us see where both the Quran and Gospel quote, the divine writ mentioned in the Quran that asks hearers to remember:
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and will call Him Immanuel.
- Isaiah 7: 14 (7th century B.C.)Notice the mention of a sign from God: a son being born to a virgin, as mentioned in the Quran.
The Name Immanuel is Hebrew and means 'God with us'.
Isaiah further describes and defines this Son that will born from a virgin:
For to us a child is born,
to us a Son is given,
and the government will be on His shoulders.
And He will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of His government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over His kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.
- Isaiah 9: 6-7 (7th century B.C.)The angel mentioned to Mary that her Son would reign over king David's kingdom, and in Isaiah we find this prophecy and more definitions of who this Son is.
This is the designation and description of Messiah that had been defined from the prophets and understood in both Judaism and Christianity... yet seems to be missing in Islamic tradition.
Messiah was not going to be an ordinary man, but something more.
The Tawhid Of Waraqa, A Hanif, Proclaimed Isa Is Lord
Consider the attributes given to Messiah from the Quran and now reading them in the Bible.
The early believers and followers of Messiah were Jews, and thus they participated in the establishment of the kingdom of David the Messiah was to inherit.
The followers of Messiah, who kept the testimony / divine writ, continued to follow Messiah and believed the prophetic testimony that Messiah would be the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace born of a virgin.
Isa is called the Son of God according to the prophetic attributes and the miracle of the awaited sign from God.
Isa is the Son of God because Isa was born of God's Spirit, as mentioned by the angel Gabriel.
The grace found in Isa, as mentioned in the Quran being a gift from God, is the purpose God had planned for all mankind.
The gift of grace and mercy in the sign of Isa, as reminded to the Arabs during Muhammad's time, is explained in the following portion of Gospel letter.
The Name Yeshua means 'God's Salvation'.
It expounds how Messiah came to save both Israelites and Gentiles, bringing both groups into one family of believers.
The rest of mankind, including sons of Ishmael and all tribespeople found in pre-Islamic Arabia, are Gentiles and have also been invited to believe in Messiah according to God's Word:
But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Messiah even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved...
... For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God...
... But now in Messiah Yeshua you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Messiah. For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in His flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in Himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which He put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through Him we both have access to the Father by One Spirit.
- Ephesians 2: 4-5, 8, 13-18Through Isa, a believer in God (the One and only God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob; the only God who is over and created all creation; the One and only ruler of heaven and earth, who has appeared on earth as the Messiah) has access to Him / God by One Spirit (tawhid).
That One Spirit is the same Spirit of God that was born into the world through the virgin Mary: the meaning of 'Messiah.'
Part One: Ideas That Separate and Unify
Part Two: Power of Poetry in Ancient Arabia.
Part Three: The First 'Revelation'
Part Four: Does The Quran Claim The Bible Was 'Changed'?
Part Five: Defining Messiah
Part Six: Contributions And Subtractions
Comments