Prophet Jesus (PBUH) Never Claimed Divinity By Dr.

Jamal Badawi Page 1 of 5

Prophet Jesus (PBUH) Never Claimed Divinity

By Dr. Jamal Badawi

No religion in the world outside Christianity makes it

an article of faith for its adherents to believe in, love
and hounour Jesus except Islam. Reading the Qur’an
bears testimony to the (see for example 19: 16-36, 3:
33068, 5: 72-77).

According to the Qur’an, Jesus was one of the greatest

messengers of God. According to most Christians.
Jesus was God-incarnate, full man and full God. But
can the finite and the infinite be one? To be full God
means freedom from finite forms and from
helplessness. And to be full man means the absence of
divinity. If what is meant by the unity or Jesus with
God is allegorical unity of spiritual communion, there
would have been no problem as this applies to other
Prophets as well.

It is the insistence that this unity was “real” which

raised serious questions, which could not be answered
for nearly 2000 years, nor is there any prospect of
resolving them in the future. Modern research was
able to uncover the mythical roots of deifying Jesus
(see for example John Hick’s The Myth of God-
Incarnate, J.M. Robertson’s Pagan Christs, and
Christianity and Mythology, T.W. Doane’s The Bible
Myths and their Parallels in Other Religions). It may be
helpful, however, to briefly examine the main
arguments for the claimed divinity of Jesus.

Numerous references are cited, largely from John and

Paul, to support this claim. If the same standards were
applied to other reliable witnesses that others were also
God-incarnates, would they be accepted as divine? Is it
not fair to ask first “whether Jesus (or others for the
matter) claimed to be divine?”

Alleged claims
There is no single scriptural text in which Jesus
claimed explicitly to be divine. Nor is there any implicit
text, which can be interpreted exclusively to mean a
claim of divinity.

On the contrary, there are numerous clear and direct

texts in which Jesus denies equality with God or
possessing any of God’s divine attributes (see for
example John 8: 28-29, 14: 10, 24. 28. 31. Mk. 13: 32,

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10: 18). In a serious matter like belief in God, an

implicit evidence or an allegorical statement is far
from adequate. Nor is it reasonable to claim that Jesus
kept that serious matter as a guarded secret and hence
caused confusion to multitudes for centuries.

Miracles
No miracle attributed to Jesus signifies that he was
God-Incarnate. There is no major miracle attributed
to Jesus, which does not have some parallel in the
Bible. Including resurrection (see for example Heb, 7:
3, I kings 17: 22, 20: 35-36, II Kings 4: 7, 34, 44, 6: 17,
20, 13: 22, Ezk 37: 1-14). How revealing is Jesus’
statement, “I can do nothing on my own
authority” (John 5: 30).

There is no difference between Muslims and Christians

on the imperfection of human nature, the necessity for
atonement, the pursuit of salvation and the primacy of
God’s grace and forgiving qualities. The difference,
however, relates to the way of seeking forgiveness and
strength to “overcome sin”. The Qur’an teaches that
God is both just and Merciful. But since He created
humankind and knows its weaknesses, He does not
require bloodshed to forgive. One who sincerely
repents and inculcated a relationship of love for god,
and obedience and submission to Him. Can be assured
of God’s loving forgiveness.

To claim that salvation can be secured only through

the blood of Jesus, as the “lamb of God and the perfect
sacrifice” is untenable on many grounds. Let us
examine one issue. Who died on the cross (according to
the Biblical story)? If it was Jesus the man, then it is
not the perfect sacrifice. No man, however perfect, can
atone for the sins of all mankind or meet the
requirements of perfect sacrifice. And if the one who
died on the cross was God. Then was god dead for
“three days”? It is consistent with the Old Testament
to utter this? And if the Giver of Life Himself is dead,
who else can bring Him back to life? Who looked after
the universe before His resurrection? If the All
Merciful and Loving God wanted to forgive, what
prevents Him from doing so in a direct, simple and
straightforward manner? Why must the “requirement
of justice” be satisfied by grave injustice, the suffering
and agony of the innocent Jesus? Would this gross
injustice, if it were true? Be consistent with the quality
of divine love? How appropriate is it for a Judge, who

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instead of sentencing a criminal or forgiving him,

which is within his authority, to order the execution of
his “only” son so that the criminal will go free and
appreciate how much the Judge loves him? Where did
the notion of the suffering and dying God come from?
How does that related to the almost identical myths
preceding the introduction of this doctrine to the
simple yet profound absolute monotheistic teachings of
Jesus?

Mystery
Reference is frequently made to the witness of the
disciples. Paul, the Church or others as an experiential
proof of the divinity of Jesus. But isn’t that experience
shaped in the first place by the acceptance of the
dogma that Jesus is divine? Isn’t that like saying that
you have to accept the post-Jesus, man-made dogma
that he is divine, so that you can experience this
“truth”, which in turn will be your proof that he is
divine? I wonder if there is a problem of “circular
logic” in this type of “proof”? What can we say to
multitudes of humans who report similar experiences
while believing in diverse deities? Should they be told
that their experiences, sincere as they may be, are not
necessarily proofs of ultimate Truth; that they could be
misleading experiences determined by
presuppositions?

As to the testimony of Paul, we find that the Book of

Acts indicates that Paul was accused of not telling the
truth about the teachings of Jesus, an accusation which
he did not deny but tried to justify (see Romans 3:7-8).

The witness of the Church throughout history is not a

viable argument either. Squabbles, reversal of
decisions claimed to be with the help of the holy spirit,
decisions like the Crusades, inquisition or the
execution of free thinkers and scientists are by no
means an experiential proof of the divinity of Jesus,
nor were they testimonies of the forgiving love of God
or His dwelling in or through those who claimed to be
“Christian” and staunchly believed that Jesus was
God-incarnate.

Surely, there are things which our limited minds can’t

fully understand or imagine (e.g. that God has no
beginning or end).

But this is different from requiring a human, blessed

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with God-given reason, to accept an obvious

contradiction which could not be adequately explained
after 2000 years and millions of volumes.

Conclusion
It is amazing how most Christians, after nearly 1400
years of the revelation of God’s “final testament”; the
Qur’an are still unaware of it, let alone being aware of
what it says about the nature of Jesus and his message,
the absolute oneness of God and the subordination of
all creatures to Him alone.

It won’t hurt to find out; to use both heart and mind in

the pursuit of the light of truth. For many, that process
of search may end up with the discovery that his/her
private convictions about Jesus as a great Messenger of
God and his servant and Prophet are neither satanical
nor heretical. One may find out that he/she is more
true to God and to His Messenger, Jesus, by avoiding
erroneous man-made dogmas.

These dogmas are offensive to God and to Jesus,

associating other with God in His exclusive divine
attributes. Indeed, associationism (shirk) is the
cardinal sin that can never be forgiven should one
depart this earthly life insisting on it. To conclude, one
passage from God’s word, the Qur’an, seems fitting:
“There has come to you from God a (new) light and a
clear book. Wherewith God guides all who seek His good
pleasure to ways of peace and safety, and leads them out
of darkness, by His Will, unto light, and guides them to
Path that is Straight” (5:17-18).

Related books and articles:

God Concept In Islam
A Call to the Real Salvation
The Truth About Prophet Jesus
The True Message of Jesus
Christ in Islam by Ahmed Deedat
Jesus in the Glorious Quran
The Life of Isa ( Jesus ) -peace be upon him- in Light of
Islam
The Bible Denies the Divinity of Jesus
Jesus & the Bible
Was Jesus Sent to be Crucified?
Beyond Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis and the Betrayal of
Christianity
60 Questions For The Christians
Jesus & the Da Vinci Code
Relationships of the Great: Prophet Muhammad Presents

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His Brother Jesus to Mankind

You Say You Follow Jesus' Teachings ???

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