God & Jesus

The Messiah in the Qur’an

The Qur’an calls Jesus “the Messiah” several times, a title it gives to no one else. What does it say about him under that name, and how does that compare with the Gospels?

1The question

Why does the Qur’an call Jesus the Messiah, and what does it say he taught?

2What Christians believe

Christians welcome the fact that the Qur’an calls Jesus the Messiah. But they argue that the title cannot be separated from what the Gospels say about it. Peter confesses Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16), and the risen Jesus explains that the Christ had to suffer before entering his glory (Luke 24:26).

For Christians, a Messiah who did not die and rise again is not the Messiah of the Gospels.

3What the texts say

Jesus is recognised as the Messiah

The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
John 4:25 · KJVRead in context →
Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
John 4:26 · KJVRead in context →
And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ.
Mark 8:29 · KJVRead in context →

Peter’s confession

And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Matthew 16:16 · KJVRead in context →

4What scholars say

Geoffrey Parrinder (Jesus in the Qur’an, 1965) notes that the title al-Masih is used of Jesus eleven times in the Qur’an, always as a title of honour, and that the Qur’an does not explain its meaning, as if its hearers already knew it.

Tarif Khalidi (The Muslim Jesus, 2001) gathers the sayings and stories of Jesus found in early Islamic literature, showing how deeply Muslims honoured him as a prophet of wisdom and piety.

Scholars agree that the Qur’an gives the title to Jesus alone, and pairs it with strong statements that he was a servant and messenger of God.

5The Islamic perspective

In the Qur’an the Messiah is a word from God, honoured in this world and the next. And the Messiah himself calls his people to worship God alone:

(And remember) when the angels said: O Mary! Lo! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a word from him, whose name is the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, illustrious in the world and the Hereafter, and one of those brought near (unto Allah).
Qur’an 3:45 · PickthallRead in context →
They surely disbelieve who say: Lo! Allah is the Messiah, son of Mary. The Messiah (himself) said: O Children of Israel, worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. Lo! whoso ascribeth partners unto Allah, for him Allah hath forbidden paradise. His abode is the Fire. For evil-doers there will be no helpers.
Qur’an 5:72 · PickthallRead in context →
The Messiah, son of Mary, was no other than a messenger, messengers (the like of whom) had passed away before him. And his mother was a saintly woman. And they both used to eat (earthly) food. See how We make the revelations clear for them, and see how they are turned away!
Qur’an 5:75 · PickthallRead in context →

Muslims see Qur’an 5:72 as the Messiah’s own teaching: “worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord”. It matches Jesus’s words in John 20:17, “my God, and your God”.

6Objections and responses

“The Gospels say the Messiah had to suffer and die (Luke 24:26).”

Response: Muslims honour Jesus as the Messiah whom God saved from his enemies and raised up (Qur’an 4:157–158). The meaning of the title comes from the Hebrew Bible, God’s anointed servant, and does not by itself require death on a cross.

“If Muslims accept that Jesus is the Messiah, they should accept what the New Testament says the Messiah is.”

Response: Muslims accept the title because God gave it in the Qur’an, with its meaning from the earlier prophets. In the Qur’an the Messiah himself denies being God and calls people to worship his Lord and theirs (5:72; 5:116–117).

7Conclusion

Both faiths call Jesus the Messiah, the only figure both share that title for. Christians understand it through the cross, the resurrection and the Son of God. Muslims understand it as God’s anointed messenger, honoured, saved and raised up, who called people to worship God alone.

Read Matthew 16:13–23 and Qur’an 5:72–75 and compare what each says the Messiah is.

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