Jesus Christ is a critically important historical and religious figure among numerous faiths around the world. He is a fundamental pillar in the Christian faith and plays a central role in the other Abrahamic religions of Judaism and Islam, albeit with different tones and narratives. In Islam, Jesus (Isa) is believed to be a human prophet and messenger of God (Allah), rather than the Son of God, second in importance only to the prophet Muhammad. In this paper, I will provide a broad overview and insight into Sunni Islamic Christology, including Quranic analysis of Jesus’ arrival, life, and legacy. The paper will also survey the most important accounts written by Muslim scholars over the centuries, from the birth of Islam to modern theologians.
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Sunniism differs from Shiism in the designated successor of the prophet Muhammad, who Sunnis believed to be the elected father-in-law of Muhammad, Abu Bakr, and those elected rulers who followed him. Considered to be the “Orthodox Islam” by most scholars, it is not organized around any formal leadership. Therefore, any person with enough study and knowledge of Islam and its sacred texts is eligible to become an influential scholar. These scholars, as we will see, interpret the sacred texts and try to answer open-ended questions which the texts themselves fail to focus on, creating a wide variety of schools of thought in Islamic theology and law. Over the last century, there has been a rise in scholars who have called for a strict and traditionalist interpretation of the Quran, seen particularly in the Salafi and Wahhabi sects of …show more content…
It is written that the angel Gabriel (Jibril) came to the Virgin Mary (Maryam), having been born without Original Sin, while under the care of Zechariah (Zakariya) and announced the coming of the baby Jesus as the Spirit and the Word of God. When asked how this will happen, Gabriel answers that it will happen as God commands it. Like the Bible, the Quran confirms Mary’s status above all women and is revered throughout the entire text, being the only woman mentioned by name in the Quran and having an entire surah dedicated to her by name. Unlike the Bible however, the Quran makes no mention of the Immaculate Conception or the role of Joseph the Carpenter as Jesus’ foster father. It is interesting to note these as reducing the centrality of Jesus’ upbringing, and therefore life, in comparison to what is written on the prophet
Sunniism differs from Shiism in the designated successor of the prophet Muhammad, who Sunnis believed to be the elected father-in-law of Muhammad, Abu Bakr, and those elected rulers who followed him. Considered to be the “Orthodox Islam” by most scholars, it is not organized around any formal leadership. Therefore, any person with enough study and knowledge of Islam and its sacred texts is eligible to become an influential scholar. These scholars, as we will see, interpret the sacred texts and try to answer open-ended questions which the texts themselves fail to focus on, creating a wide variety of schools of thought in Islamic theology and law. Over the last century, there has been a rise in scholars who have called for a strict and traditionalist interpretation of the Quran, seen particularly in the Salafi and Wahhabi sects of …show more content…
It is written that the angel Gabriel (Jibril) came to the Virgin Mary (Maryam), having been born without Original Sin, while under the care of Zechariah (Zakariya) and announced the coming of the baby Jesus as the Spirit and the Word of God. When asked how this will happen, Gabriel answers that it will happen as God commands it. Like the Bible, the Quran confirms Mary’s status above all women and is revered throughout the entire text, being the only woman mentioned by name in the Quran and having an entire surah dedicated to her by name. Unlike the Bible however, the Quran makes no mention of the Immaculate Conception or the role of Joseph the Carpenter as Jesus’ foster father. It is interesting to note these as reducing the centrality of Jesus’ upbringing, and therefore life, in comparison to what is written on the prophet