O People of the Book! Commit no excesses in your religion: Nor say of Allah aught but the truth. Christ Jesus the son of Mary was (no more than) an apostle of Allah, and His Word, which He bestowed on Mary, and a spirit proceeding from Him: so believe in Allah and His apostles. Say not "Trinity" : desist: it will be better for you: for Allah is one Allah: Glory be to Him: (far exalted is He) above having a son. To Him belong all things in the heavens and on earth. And enough is Allah as a Disposer of affairs.
(Transliteration):
Ya ahla alkitabi lataghloo fee deenikum wala taqooloo AAala Allahiilla alhaqqa innama almaseehu AAeesaibnu maryama rasoolu Allahi wakalimatuhu alqahaila maryama waroohun minhu faaminoo biAllahiwarusulihi wala taqooloo thalathatun intahookhayran lakum innama Allahu ilahun wahidunsubhanahu an yakoona lahu waladun lahu ma fee alssamawatiwama fee al-ardi wakafa biAllahiwakeelan
The Quran refers to Jesus as Surah 4:171 says: "... His word
which He gave unto Mary".It is common for Christians to use this title to attempt to "prove"the Deity of Christ in this verse of the Muslim text. Of course, this should not be done for the following reasons:
- Christian integrity demands we deal with context and what the Quran is actually saying.
- Muslim creed denies the Deity of Jesus as taught in the Bible
- Muslims consider it idolatry to ascribe a divine partner to God
- The Deity of Jesus is best exegeted from the Biblical text, not the Quran because the Quran does not reveal this truth in it's pages.
فِي الْبَدْءِ كَانَ الْكَلِمَةُ، وَالْكَلِمَةُ كَانَ عِنْدَ اللهِ. وَكَانَ الْكَلِمَةُ هُوَ اللهُ . John 1:1 in the Arabic bible also calls Jesus the Word. However, what the Word is in the Apostle John's mind is not the "Word" of Muhammed's claim. For the Muslim this "word" is a promise or prophecy from Allah to Mary, as seen in Surah 3:45
"...O Mary! Lo! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a word from Him
". Jesus here, is simply a man, born by Allah's divine fiat, his "BE" resulting in his existence.
The Quranic Jesus is best understood in the context of medival Syriac Christianity, and the apocryphal gospels of that region of Arabia.
This article :http://vintage.aomin.org/JOHN1_1.html from James White on the biblical exegesis of John 1 is quite helpful. Christians should develop a solid theology based on the text of the Word of God, the Bible, and then proceed to explain the person of Jesus to their Muslim friends.
This may still cause opposition and questions, but our responsibility as believers is to give an accurate defense (apologia-απολογία 1 Peter 3:15) of the truth of our hope and faith.
May God give us the wisdom to do this and to give an answer to our opponents for God's Honour and Glory in the Gospel.
Amen
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