And we made the son of Mary and his mother a sign; and we lodged them both in a high place, furnished with security and a spring.

And He will teach him the Book, and wisdom, and the law, and the gospel, and he shall be a prophet to the people of Israel (saying) that I have come to you with a sign from God, namely, that I will create for you out of clay as though it were the form of a bird, and I will blow thereon, and it shall become a bird, By God’s permission; and I will heal the blind from birth, and lepers; and I will bring the dead to life by God’s permission; and I will tell you what you eat and what you store in your houses. Verily, in that is a sign for you if ye be believers. And I will confirm what is before you of the law, and will surely make lawful for you some of that which was prohibited from you. I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, so fear God and keep your duty to Allah and obey me. Lo God is my Lord, and your Lord, so worship Him: this is the right path.

And when Jesus perceived their unbelief, He said, “Who are my helpers for God?” Said the apostles, “We are God’s helpers.” We believe in God, so bear witness that we are resigned. Lord, we have believed in what thou hast revealed, and we have followed the apostle, so write us down with those which bear witness.”

When the apostles said, “O Jesus, son of Mary! Is thy Lord able to send down to us a table from heaven?” He said “ Fear God, if ye be believers”; and they said, “We desire to eat therefrom that our hearts may be at rest, and that we may know that what thou hast told us in truth, and that we may thereby amongst the witnesses.”

Said Jesus, the son of Mary, “O God, our Lord! Send down to us a table from heaven to be to us a festival - to the first of us and to the last, and a sign from thee, - and grant us provision, for thou art the best of providers.”

God said, “ Verily, I am about to send it down to you; but whoso disbelieves among you after that, verily I will torment him with the torment which I have not tormented anyone with in all the worlds.”

(The reference is undoubtedly to the institution of the Lord’s Supper. C/F 1Corinthians 11:27 and 29-34)

These verses are the only reference in the Quran to the miracles of Jesus Christ. How meagre compared with any of the Gospels! And yet later tradition has built on these verses or added to them a whole mass of legendary wonders, many of them puerile in the extreme.

HIS MISSION AND MESSAGE

Surah 57: 26-27.

And we sent Noah and Abraham; and placed in their seed prophecy and the Book; and some of them are guided, though many of them are workers of abomination!

Then we followed up their footsteps with our apostles; and we followed them up with Jesus the son of Mary; and we gave him the gospel; and we placed in the hearts of those that followed him kindness and compassion. But monkery, (monasticism) they invented it; we only prescribed to them the craving after the goodwill of God, and they observed it not with due observance. But we gave to those who believe amongst them their hire; though many amongst them were workers of abomination!

Surah 2: 254

These apostles have we preferred one of them above another. Of them is one of whom God spake; and we have raised some of them degrees; and we have given Jesus the son of Mary manifest signs, and strengthened him by the Holy Spirit. And, did God please, those who came after them would not have fought one with another after there came to them manifest signs. But they did disagree, and of them are some who believe, and of them some who misbelieve, but, did God please, they would not have fought, for God does what He will.

Surah 5:50-51

And we followed up the footsteps of these (prophets) with Jesus the son of Mary, confirming that which was before him and the law, and we brought him the gospel, wherein is guidance and light, verifying what was before it of the law, and a guidance and an admonition unto those who fear.

Then let the people of the gospel judge by that which is revealed therein, for whoso will not judge by what God has revealed, these be the evildoers.

Surah 2:81.

We gave Moses the Book and we followed him up with other apostles, and we gave Jesus, the son of Mary manifest signs and aided him with the Holy Spirit. Do ye then, every time an apostle comes to you with what your souls love not, proudly scorn him, and charge a part with lying and slay a part?

Surah 6:85

And Zechariah and John and Jesus and Elias, all righteous ones.

Surah 61:6

And when Jesus the son of Mary said, “O children of Israel! Verily, I am the apostle of God to you, verifying the law that was before me, and giving you glad tidings of an apostle who shall come after me, whose name shall be Ahmed.”

Surah 4:157

And there shall not be one of the people of the Book but shall believe in him before his death; and on the day of judgement he shall be a witness against them.

Surah 3:44.

“I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, so fear God and follow me, for God is my Lord, and your lord, so worship Him - this is the right path.”

HIS DEATH

Surah 3: 47-50

But, they (the Jews) were crafty, and God was crafty, for God is the best of the crafty ones! When God said, “O Jesus! I will make thee die and take thee up again to me, and will cleanse thee of those who misbelieve, and will make those who follow thee above those who misbelieve, at the day of judgement, then to me is your return. I will decide between you concerning that wherein you disagree. And as for those who misbelieve, I will punish them with grievous punishment in this world and the next, and they shall have none to help them.” But as for those who believe and do what is right, He will pay them their reward, for God loves not the unjust.

Surah 4: 155-156

And for their misbelief, and for their saying about Mary a mighty calumny, and for their saying, “Verily, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, the apostle of God.”….. But they did not kill him. And they did not crucify him, but a similitude was made for them. And verily, those who differ about him are in doubt concerning him; they have no knowledge concerning him, but only follow an opinion. They did not kill him, for sure! Nay God raised him up unto himself.

Surah 19:34

“And peace upon me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I shall be raised up alive”

HIS CHARACTER AS AN APOSTLE AND PROPHET

(Denial of His Deity)

Surah 4:169.

O ye people of the Book! Do not exceed in your religion, nor say against God aught save the truth. The Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, is but the apostle of God and His Word, which He cast into Mary, and a spirit from Him; believe then in God and His apostles, and say not “Three.” Have done! It were better for you. God is only one God, celebrated be His praise that He should beget a Son! His is what is in the heavens and what is in the earth; and God sufficeth for a guardian.

Surah 5:76-79

They misbelieve who say, “Verily, God is the Messiah the son of Mary;” but the Messiah said, “O children of Israel! Worship God, my Lord and your Lord;” verily, he who associates aught with God, God hath forbidden him Paradise, and his resort is the Fire, and the unjust shall have none to help him.

They misbelieve who say, “Verily, God is the third of three;” for there is no God but one, and if they do not desist from what they say, there shall touch those who misbelieve amongst them a grievous woe.

Will they not turn again towards God and ask pardon of Him? For God is forgiving and merciful. The Messiah the son of Mary is only a prophet; prophets before him have passed away, and his mother was a confessor; they both used to eat food. - See how we explain to them the signs, yet see how they turn aside!

Surah 5:116-117

And when God said, “O Jesus, son of Mary! Is it thou who didst say to men, take me and my mother for two gods, beside God?” He said, “I celebrate Thy praise! What ails me that I should say what I have no right to? If I had said it, Thou wouldest have known it; Thou knowest what is in my soul, but I do not know what is in Thy soul; verily, Thou are one who knoweth the unseen. I never told them save what Thou didst bid me, - ’ Worship God, my Lord and your Lord,’ and I was a witness against them as long as I was amongst them; but when Thou didst take me away to Thyself Thou wert the watcher over them, for Thou art witness over all.”

Surah 19: 35-36

That is Jesus the son of Mary, - by the word of truth whereon ye do dispute! God could not take to himself a son! Celebrated be His praise! When he decrees a matter He only says to it, “Be,” and it is; and verily, God is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him; this is the right way. And the parties have disagreed amongst themselves.

Surah 3: 51-52

This is what we recite to thee of the signs and of the wise reminder. Verily, the likeness of Jesus with God is as the likeness of Adam. He created him from earth, then He said to him, “Be,” and he was.

Surah 9:30

The Jews say Ezra is the son of God; and the Christians say that the Messiah is the son of God; that is what they say with their mouths, imitating the sayings of those who misbelieved before. - God fight them how they lie!

Surah 5:19

They misbelieve who say, “ Verily, God is the Messiah the son of Mary;” say “ Who has any hold on God, if he wished to destroy the Messiah the son of Mary, and his mother and those who are on earth altogether ?”

Surah 47: 57-64

And when the son of Mary was set forth as a parable, behold thy people turned away from him and said,” Are our gods better, or is he?” They did not set it forth to thee save for wrangling. Nay, but they are a contentious people.

He is but a servant whom we have been gracious to, and we have made him an example for the children of Israel. And if we please we can make of you angels in the earth to succeed you. And, verily, he is a sign of the Hour. Doubt not then concerning it, but follow this right way; and let not the devil turn you away; verily, he is to you an open foe!

And when Jesus came with manifest signs, he said, “I am come to you with wisdom, and I will explain to you something of that whereon you dispute, then fear God, obey me; verily, God, He is my Lord and your Lord, serve Him then; this is the right way.”

And, verily, amongst them is a sect who twist their tongues concerning the Book, that ye may reckon it to be from the Book, but it is not from the Book. They say, “It is from God,” but it is not from God, and they tell a lie against God, the while they know. It is not right for a man that God should give him a Book and judgement and prophecy, and that then he should say to men,” Be ye servants of mine rather than of God;” but be ye rather masters of teaching the Book and of what ye learn.

Whatever was unintelligible or contradictory in the words of Mohammad’s revelation could only be interpreted and made clear by means of tradition. This not only applied to the legislative portions but also the historical material.

Tradition in Islam occupies a different position than that of tradition in the Christian Church. In Islam it consists of the record of what Mohammad did or enjoined, or that which he allowed, as well as the authoritative sayings and doings of the companions of the prophet. There is not a single Muslim sect that looks to the Quran as the only rule of faith and practice, or as the only reliable source of historical information on the earlier prophets therefore we must go to Tradition for the fuller portrait of Jesus Christ.

There is no doubt that much of the traditional account of the life of Jesus Christ came from the lips of Mohammad but it was not recorded in the Quran.

Other portions of it were accredited to him, although they were inventions or contributions of Christian renegades who became Muslims. Students of Islam are in disagreement regarding the reliability of tradition in general and the authenticity of many traditions in particular. Dozy states it is reliable and authentic Goldziher, on the other hand, thinks the greater part was manufactured by those who came after Mohammad, for private ends in Religion and State. Moulavi Cheragh Ali says, “The name of Mohammad was abused to support all manner of lies and absurdities, or to satisfy the passion caprice, or arbitrary will of despots, leaving out of consideration the creation of any standards of test. I am seldom inclined to quote traditions, having little or no belief in their genuineness, as they generally are unauthenticated, unsupported and one-sided.

The unbiased conclusions of Muir state:

“That the Collectors of Tradition rendered an important service to Islam, and even to history, cannot be doubted. The vast flood of tradition, poured forth from every quarter of the Muslim Empire, and daily gathering volume from innumerable tributaries, was composed of the most heterogeneous elements; without the labours of the traditionalists it must soon have formed a chaotic sea, in which truth and error, fact and fable, would have mingled together in undistinguishable confusion. It is a legitimate inference from the foregoing sketch, that Tradition in the second century, embraced a large element of truth. That even respectably derived traditions often contained much that was exaggerated and fabulous, is an equally fair conclusion. It is proved by the testimony of the Collectors themselves that thousands and ten thousands were current in their times, which possessed not even a shadow of authority……..”

On a more general nature regarding Traditions the Encyclopaedia of Islam page 94 referring to “Abu Huraira” states:

The most voluminous authority quoted is from Abu Huraira, known by this surname, “The Father of the little Cat” on account of his fondness for cats. He joined the followers of Mohammad in A.H.629, and lived with him. He was renowned for his infallible memory, and yet Muslims themselves raise suspicion in regard to his trustworthiness.