Salam, Aziz.
Thank you for your question. And thank you for the words of appreciation you have written about my humble efforts.
First, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the only two sources of the life of Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) are the Gospel accounts and the Quran, which Muslims believe is the word of God.
The hundreds of thousands of books on Jesus, which line the library shelves of Christian seminaries and universities, owe their existence chiefly to the bare essentials of the life of Jesus found in the four Gospels.
These works are indeed a standing testimony to the zealous diligence of these scholars, as well as to their incredible talent for imaginative portrayal shown in the recreation of the pagan Son of God in a Semitic mould.
To Christian scholars, the Quran is most abhorrent, chiefly because the Quran raises fundamental questions about the basic creeds of Christianity. Indeed, the blue-eyed, blonde-haired Jesus worshipped by the Christians is a Mithraic "Son of God", while the Jesus honored by his true followers was an Israelite prophet. Thus we get two streams of faith here.
Allah (God) says in the Quran what means:
[…And so [it happened that] some of the children of Israel came to believe [in the apostleship of Jesus], whereas others denied the truth. But [now] We have given strength against their foes unto those who have [truly] attained to faith: and they have become the ones that shall prevail.] (As-Saff 61:14)
Indeed, the above verse refers to the two groups of believers: one group believed in the apostleship of Jesus — that Jesus was an Israelite prophet. And the other group denied the truth, by claiming that Jesus was "the Son of God".
Allah says that He has given strength to those who have believed in the truth over those who followed falsehood. He also says that it is those who held on to the truth "that have become the ones to prevail."
As the Quranic commentator, Muhammad Asad, clearly shows, it is the Muslims who became the real followers of Jesus and not the Trinitarians. The reasons are as follows:
(1) The Quranic position is obvious: The true believers are those who accept Jesus as a prophet. The truth-deniers are those who reject this belief and claim that Jesus was the Son of God.
(2) It is made clear that God has given strength to the believers, and not to the truth-deniers. And the believers, in the context of the Quran, are the Muslims (who are those who submit to the One True God) that is, the Muslims among the Children of Israel who accepted Jesus as an Israelite prophet and Messiah, as well as the followers of the final Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Indeed, Muslims are followers of Jesus as well as of all other prophets of Allah.
We can see an endorsement of this position by the classical interpreters of the Quran. For instance, we may see in the exegesis of the Quran by the Islamic scholar Ibn Kathir, where it is stated:
According to Ibn Abbas, "the disbelieving groups collaborated against the Muslim group after Jesus's time and annihilated them. Islam remained unjustly concealed until Allah sent Muhammad." And when Muhammad came, he gained over the religion of the disbelievers.
"…The Ummah of Muhammad will always be prevalent on the truth until Allah commands the Final Hour to commences, while they are on this path. The last group of them will fight against the Dajjal along with Jesus according to Hadiths in the authentic collections." (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, last accessed on Jan 4, 2012)
The Gospel of John records a critical context in the life of Jesus, when he told his disciples about his impending departure:
"But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
"I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you." (John 14:7-12, New International Version)
In the above verses, Prophet Jesus talks about the coming of "the Spirit of Truth" (or "the Comforter"). He tells his disciples that they should follow "the Spirit of Truth" when he comes.
Jesus tells them in the clearest terms: "when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth."
There are differing interpretations about the Comforter held by the two groups mentioned above. The Muslims (that is, those who believe in Jesus as a prophet) aver that the Comforter was Prophet Muhammad. And those who believe Jesus to be the Son of God claim that the Comforter was the spiritual phenomenon of the Pentecost.
That is to say, the Christian claim is that the spirit of truth is the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. But the context clearly points to a human prophet, and not to any mysterious amorphous manifestation. This is clear because the prophesied Comforter is someone who can be a replacement for Prophet Jesus, so that the disappearance of Jesus will never be felt when the Comforter comes:
"Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you" (John 16:7 King James Version)
Muslims believe that the expected Comforter was the final prophet of God, Muhammad.
The foregoing means that the true believers who would prevail over the truth-deniers, as mentioned in the Quranic verse (As-Saf 61:14) were the followers of the Comforter Muhammad prophesied by Jesus. This is because the followers of Muhammad are truly followers of Jesus, too.
I hope this answers your question, Please keep in touch.
Useful links:
Jesus's Missing Years
Did Jesus Claim That He Is God?
Birth Announcements: Why Jesus, Not Muhammad?
Did Jesus Die for Our Sins?
Did Moses and Jesus Exist?
Jesus… a Follower of Muhammad?
Muslims following Jesus
Balancing between their religion and professional career, Muslim football stars are observing their religious duties while on pitch. Some international football clubs have also been keen on working to...
