Truth About Islam

But Wasn’t Jesus a Muslim?

🎯 Introduction: Framing the Question

Was Jesus a Muslim?

At first glance, this question seems absurd. Jesus Christ is the foundational figure of Christianity, and Christians are, by definition, followers of Christ (Acts 11:26). But in Islamic theology, Jesus — or 'Isa — is also highly revered as a prophet, second only to Muhammad, and the recipient of a divine revelation called the Injil (Gospel).

The confusion arises because Islam defines a Muslim simply as “one who submits to God.” By this token, one might claim Jesus was a Muslim. But this is semantic bait-and-switch. The deeper question is this:

Did Jesus share Muhammad’s religion?

Would Jesus have:

Affirmed Muhammad as the “seal of the prophets”?
Recognized the Qur’an as God's Word?
Prayed toward Mecca, fasted at Ramadan, recited the Shahada?
Denied his own divinity?

These are not surface questions. They strike at the heart of Christian-Islamic incompatibility.

🌍 Christianity and Islam: Parallel Empires of Faith

Both Christianity and Islam command huge followings — about 2.4 billion Christians and 1.9 billion Muslims globally. Yet, for 13 centuries, these faiths evolved in isolation, rarely engaging in serious theological dialogue.

Today, that has changed. Christians and Muslims increasingly encounter one another — on campuses, in communities, and especially online. The stakes are higher than ever.

Ironically, despite their differences, both faiths now stand united against postmodern relativism, which denies absolute truth and moral order. But their unity ends there.

✅ Points of Agreement: Seven Shared Beliefs

Before turning to the theological clash, let’s recognize some real common ground:

Moral Law: Both traditions uphold similar ethical codes (e.g., no murder, no theft, sexual ethics). Muslim and Christian doctors even cooperate against euthanasia under HOPE.
Geographic Roots: Both originated in the Middle East, tracing theological heritage to Abraham, Ishmael, and Isaac.
Monotheism: Both declare the oneness of God. Christians affirm it in Deuteronomy 6:4 and 1 Timothy 2:5 — even if they believe in a triune nature.
Prophets: Both accept figures like Moses, David, and Jesus as prophets. Islam acknowledges the Torah (Taurat), Psalms (Zabur), and Gospel (Injil).
Angels: Especially Gabriel, who Muslims say revealed the Qur’an, and who Christians say announced Jesus’ birth.
Scripture: Both revere holy texts, though they differ on what counts as divinely preserved.
Judgment Day: Both believe in a final judgment and eternal destinies — heaven or hell — based on divine criteria.

So far, so close. But then comes Jesus.

✝️ Jesus in the Qur’an vs. the Bible

➕ Shared Claims

Even the Qur’an affirms some key Christian beliefs about Jesus:

Virgin Birth (Sura 19:20)
Sinlessness (Sura 3:46)
Miracles (Sura 3:49; healing blind and lepers, raising the dead)
Title “Messiah” (Sura 3:45; 4:171; 5:19) — a term applied 11 times in the Qur’an
“Word of God” (Sura 3:39)
“Spirit from God” (Sura 4:171)

Yet Jesus is strangely absent from most of the Qur’an. Despite being as long as the New Testament, the Qur’an barely mentions him outside a few Suras.

➖ Quranic Additions

The Qur’an also contains stories about Jesus absent from the Bible, many of which derive from apocryphal Christian fables:

Talking from the cradle (Sura 19:29–33) – from the Arabic Infancy Gospel
Creating birds from clay (Sura 3:49; 5:110) – from Infancy Gospel of Thomas
Palm tree comforting Mary after childbirth – from Pseudo-Matthew

These are not neutral additions. They show that Muhammad’s understanding of Jesus was likely filtered through oral folklore and heretical sects, not the canonical Gospels — which had not yet been translated into Arabic during his lifetime.

Most strikingly, the Qur’an portrays the Christian Trinity as God, Jesus, and Mary (Sura 5:116) — a caricature likely inherited from a fringe sect (the Collyridians), not mainstream Christian doctrine.

📜 New Testament: Eyewitness vs. 600-Year Gap

The Qur’an was written six centuries after Jesus. The New Testament, by contrast, contains eyewitness testimony, written within a generation of Jesus’ death:

Gospel of Mark: Circa 60–70 AD
John Rylands Papyrus: Dated 125 AD
Magdalen Papyrus (Matthew): Possibly as early as 70 AD

There are over 5,800 Greek manuscripts and over 88,000 quotes in early church fathers. The textual evidence for the New Testament is incomparable to anything else from antiquity — including the Qur’an.

For comparison:

Caesar’s Gallic Wars: 10 manuscripts, 1,000 years removed
Homer’s Iliad: 643 manuscripts, 500-year gap

Thus, any claim that the Bible was “changed” must reckon with documentary evidence that predates Islam.

🧩 What the New Testament Says About Jesus

The Gospels give us a consistent portrait of Jesus:

He claimed divinity (John 8:58, John 14:9)
He forgave sins (Mark 2:5) — a power reserved for God
He accepted worship (John 9:38)
He predicted his own death and resurrection (Mark 8:31)
He identified himself as the “Son of Man” — a divine figure from Daniel 7

The Apostles affirm:

“In Christ all the fullness of Deity lives in bodily form.” – Colossians 2:9
“There is no other name under heaven… by which we must be saved.” – Acts 4:12

In contrast, the Qur’an denies Jesus was crucified (Sura 4:157), denies his divinity, and reduces him to merely a prophet who prepared the way for Muhammad.

🤯 Mad, Bad, or God?

C.S. Lewis famously argued: Jesus was either:

A lunatic — who thought he was God but wasn’t
A liar — who knowingly deceived billions
God — just as he claimed

Islam rejects all three options. But it offers no fourth.

How can a sinless, miracle-working, virgin-born, world-changing man claim Godhood without committing the very shirk (blasphemy) Islam condemns?

🔥 Islam and Christianity: Irreconcilable at the Core

Christianity and Islam are not just different — they are mutually exclusive on the most fundamental issue:

Core Issue	Christianity	Islam
Who is Jesus?	God incarnate, crucified, risen	Prophet, not divine, not crucified
Greatest sin	Rejecting Jesus as God	Associating Jesus with God
Path to salvation	Faith in Christ’s atoning death	Obedience to Sharia + works

Both cannot be true. One is counterfeit.

🧭 Final Challenge: Which Gives the True Jesus?

We face a choice:

Trust eyewitness accounts (Gospels) written in Jesus’ lifetime
Or trust a revelation 600 years later by someone who never met him

“Even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned.”
— Galatians 1:8

Jesus himself said:

“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” — John 14:6

🙏 A Word to Muslims

If you are a Muslim reading this, consider the historical evidence, not just inherited belief.

Read the New Testament Gospels for yourself. Ask God to show you the truth. If Jesus is who he claimed to be, then nothing matters more.

You owe it to yourself to examine the real Jesus — not the filtered echo 600 years later.