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The mission which God entrusted to Jesus was not salvation through total atonement
by blood sacrifice, but salvation by virtue of right guidance and self-discipline, by
quickening the stagnant minds and softening the hard souls. It was to install the true
religion of God and restore His revelations which had been misinterpreted and
abused. In approaching those stagnant minds and hard souls, Jesus not only preached
the word of God but also brought tangible Signs and performed “ Miracles” in support
of his mission. Logical and spiritual as well as “ supernatural” and extraordinary
proofs were provided by God at the hands of Jesus to show those hard-hearted people
the true path of god. Relating the mission of Jesus and the “ miraculous” nature of his
proofs, the Qur’ an says:
Behold! the angles said: ‘O Mary! God gives you glad tidings of a Word from Him:
his name is the Messiah Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honor in this world and the
Hereafter and of (the company of) those nearest to God; he shall speak to the people
in childhood and in maturity. And he shall be (of the company) of the righteous’ .
‘And God will teach him the Book and Wisdom, the Law (Torah) and the Gospel, and
(appoint him) an apostle to the children of Isral, (with this message): ‘ I have come to
you, with a Sign from you Lord, in that I make for you out of clay, as it were, the
figure of a bird, and breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by God’ s leave: and I heal
those born blind and the lepers, and I quicken the dead by God’ s leave; and I declare
to you what you eat and what you store in your houses. Surely therein is a Sign for
you if you did believe: (I have come to you), to attest the Law (Torah) which was
before me, and to make lawful to you part of what was (before) forbidden to you. I
have come to you with a Sign from your Lord. So fear God’ s displeasure and obey
me. It is God Who is my Lord and your Lord; then worship Him. This is a Way that is
straight (3:45-51)
Then will God say: ‘O Jesus the son of Mary! recount My favor to you and to your
mother. Behold! I strengthened you with the holy spirit, so that you did speak to the
people in childhood and in maturity. Behold! I taught you the Book and Wisdom, the
Law and the Gospel. And behold: you make out of clay, as it were, the figure of a
bird, by My leave, and you breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by My leave, and you
heal those born blind, and the lepers by My leave. And behold! you bring forth the
dead by My leave. And behold! I did restrain the children of Israel from (violence to
you )when you did show them the Clear Signs, and the unbelievers among them said:
‘This is nothing but evident magic.’ And behold! God will say: ‘O Jesus the son of
Mary! did you say unto men, ‘worship me and my mother as gods in derogation of
God? ‘He will say: ‘Glory to You! never could I say what I have no right (to say) …
Never said I to them aught except what You did command me to say, to wit, ‘
Worship God my Lord and your Lord; ‘ and I was a witness over them while I dwelt
amongst them; when You did take me up You were the Watcher over them, and You
are a Witness to all things (5:110-117)
These verses are only representative of numerous similar ones throughout the Qur’ an.
They all emphasize the fact that Jesus never claimed to be a god or the son of God,
and that he was only the servant and apostle of the Lord in the pattern of those before
him. The Qur’ an stresses this fact in the following way:
And in their (the prophets’ ) footsteps we sent Jesus the son of Mary confirming the
Law that had come before him: We sent him the Gospel: therein was guidance and
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