Muslims love Jesus. They believe he was born to the virgin Mary, spoke as a newborn baby, healed the sick, gave life to the dead, and is one of the greatest messengers God sent. They also believe two things that the historic Christian creeds teach differently: that Jesus is not God, and that he was not killed on the cross.
This page shows where each of those beliefs comes from, in the sources' own words.
The short answer. Muslims believe Jesus is not God (section 5) and was not killed (section 7). For Muslims, the proof is the Quran, which they believe is God's own word. Those sections set out the reasons it gives.
Every quote links to its source, so you can check it yourself.
Before you start
How to read this page
Quran
The book Muslims believe God revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. Quotes use the Saheeh International English translation (Saheeh is another spelling of Sahih, “authentic”). Words in [square brackets] are the translator's additions to make the English clear. A reference like 4:157 means chapter 4, verse 157. Each one links to quran.com, where you can compare other translations.
Hadith
A recorded report of what the Prophet Muhammad said or did. Scholars grade each report by how reliable its chain of narrators is. This page quotes only two collections, Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. The scholar al-Nawawi wrote that scholars agree these two are the most authentic books after the Quran (as quoted by Wikipedia, “Sahih Muslim”). Sahih means “authentic”.
Allah
The Arabic word for God, written “Allāh” in the translation. Arab Christians use it too (Britannica).
ﷺ
A short Arabic blessing written after Muhammad's name in the hadith translations, and sometimes after other prophets, including Jesus. It means “May blessings of Allah be upon him as well as peace” (Wikipedia, “Islamic honorifics”).
Bible
Quoted from the World English Bible, a modern English translation that is free of copyright.
Ibn Kathir
A 14th-century Muslim scholar who wrote a well-known commentary on the Quran (in Arabic, tafsir). This page quotes its abridged English edition on quran.com and links each passage so you can read it in full. Some passages there also use harsh words about Christians and Jews.
Words you will meet
Muhammad
The man Muslims believe was God's final messenger. The Quran calls him “the Messenger of Allāh and seal [i.e., last] of the prophets” (33:40).
Day of Judgment
The day Muslims believe God will raise everyone from death and judge them. Some quotes call it the Day of Resurrection. “The Hour” means the end of the world, when that day comes.
Hereafter
Life after death.
Children of Israel
The Israelites, the people of Moses and of Jesus.
People of the Scripture
The Quran's name for Jews and Christians, the peoples who received earlier scriptures.
Associate others with Allah
To worship anyone or anything alongside God.
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At a glance
25times the Quran names Jesus (ʿĪsā in Arabic, spelled ʿIsa in some quotes)
4times it names Muhammad, plus once “Ahmad”, which Muslims understand as his name
11times the title “the Messiah” appears, always for Jesus
34times it names Mary, his mother
We counted these in the Arabic text of the Quran (Tanzil edition).
Mary is the only woman the Quran mentions by name (Wikipedia, “Mary in Islam”, citing the Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān).
Chapter 19 of the Quran is named Maryam, “Mary”. Chapter 3 is named “Family of Imran”, and tells how “the wife of ʿImrān” gave birth to Mary and named her (3:35–36).
Chapter 5, “The Table Spread”, is named after a table of food that Jesus asked God to send down from heaven (5:112–115).
Believing in Jesus is part of a Muslim's faith (section 3).
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His story in the Quran
The Quran does not tell Jesus's life in one place. Put together, its passages give this outline.
God chooses Mary
Quran
And [mention] when the angels said, "O Mary, indeed Allāh has chosen you and purified you and chosen you above the women of the worlds.
Quran 3:42 · Chapter 3, “Family of Imran” (Ali 'Imran)
An angel brings news of a son
Quran
45[And mention] when the angels said, "O Mary, indeed Allāh gives you good tidings of a word from Him, whose name will be the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary - distinguished in this world and the Hereafter and among those brought near [to Allāh]. 46He will speak to the people in the cradle and in maturity and will be of the righteous." 47She said, "My Lord, how will I have a child when no man has touched me?" [The angel] said, "Such is Allāh; He creates what He wills. When He decrees a matter, He only says to it, 'Be,' and it is.
Quran 3:45–47 · Chapter 3, “Family of Imran” (Ali 'Imran)
Born under a palm tree
Mary gives birth alone, far from her family. She is told to shake the trunk of a palm tree for fresh dates and to drink from a stream God has provided (19:22–26).
The baby speaks
When her people accuse Mary, she points to the baby. He speaks:
Quran
30[Jesus] said, "Indeed, I am the servant of Allāh. He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet. 31And He has made me blessed wherever I am and has enjoined upon me prayer and zakāh as long as I remain alive 32And [made me] dutiful to my mother, and He has not made me a wretched tyrant. 33And peace is on me the day I was born and the day I will die and the day I am raised alive."
“Zakah” is a yearly charity payment that Islam requires, given to the poor.
A messenger to the Children of Israel
Quran
And [make him] a messenger to the Children of Israel, [who will say], 'Indeed I have come to you with a sign from your Lord in that I design for you from clay [that which is] like the form of a bird, then I breathe into it and it becomes a bird by permission of Allāh. And I cure the blind [from birth] and the leper, and I give life to the dead - by permission of Allāh. And I inform you of what you eat and what you store in your houses. Indeed in that is a sign for you, if you are believers.
Quran 3:49 · Chapter 3, “Family of Imran” (Ali 'Imran)
God gave him a scripture, “the Gospel, in which was guidance and light” (5:46).
His disciples
When he asks who will support him, his disciples answer: “We are supporters for Allāh” (3:52; similar words in 61:14). At their request, he asks God to send down a table of food from heaven (5:112–115).
Good news of a messenger after him
Quran
And [mention] when Jesus, the son of Mary, said, "O Children of Israel, indeed I am the messenger of Allāh to you confirming what came before me of the Torah and bringing good tidings of a messenger to come after me, whose name is Aḥmad." But when he came to them with clear evidences, they said, "This is obvious magic."
Muslims understand “Ahmad” as a name of the Prophet Muhammad. In Sahih al-Bukhari, Muhammad says: “I have five names: I am Muhammad and Ahmad …” (Bukhari 3532).
A plot, and God raises him
His enemies plan to kill him. The Quran says they did not, and that “Allāh raised him to Himself” (4:158). More below.
He will come back
The Quran calls Jesus “[a sign for] knowledge of the Hour” (43:61). Muslims believe he will return before the Day of Judgment. More below.
On the Day of Judgment
God will ask Jesus whether he told people to worship him and his mother. He will answer that he never did (5:116–118). More below.
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How Muslims love and honor Jesus
Muslims do not worship Jesus. They believe in him, love him and honor him, and they worship God alone. The Quran presents Jesus himself teaching this (5:72).
Believing in him is part of faith
Quran
Say, [O believers], "We have believed in Allāh and what has been revealed to us and what has been revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the Descendants [al-Asbāṭ] and what was given to Moses and Jesus and what was given to the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and we are Muslims [in submission] to Him."
“The Descendants” are the tribes descended from Jacob's twelve sons (Ibn Kathir on 2:136).
The Quran goes further. It calls people who say “We believe in some and disbelieve in others” of God's messengers “the disbelievers, truly” (4:150–151), and it calls Jesus “a messenger of Allāh” (4:171). So Muslims hold that a person cannot reject Jesus and remain a Muslim.
His name is part of a statement of faith Muhammad taught
Hadith · Sahih (authentic)
… If anyone testifies that None has the right to be worshipped but Allah Alone Who has no partners, and that Muhammad is His Slave and His Apostle, and that Jesus is Allah's Slave and His Apostle and His Word which He bestowed on Mary and a Spirit created by Him, and that Paradise is true, and Hell is true, Allah will admit him into Paradise with the deeds which he had done even if those deeds were few. …
“Slave” here means servant of God, and “Apostle” means messenger. In one sentence, Jesus is honored as God's “Word” and “a Spirit created by Him”, and called God's servant.
Muhammad called himself the closest person to Jesus
Hadith · Sahih (authentic)
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Both in this world and in the Hereafter, I am the nearest of all the people to Jesus, the son of Mary. The prophets are paternal brothers; their mothers are different, but their religion is one
“Paternal brothers” are brothers with the same father and different mothers. The picture is of prophets who came at different times but taught one religion.
Honor, but never worship
Hadith · Sahih (authentic)
I heard the Prophet (ﷺ) saying, "Do not exaggerate in praising me as the Christians praised the son of Mary, for I am only a Slave. So, call me the Slave of Allah and His Apostle
Here Muhammad tells his followers not to exaggerate in praising him, as Christians praised Jesus, and asks to be called God's servant and messenger. The Quran sets a similar limit for every prophet: a prophet could never “order you to take the angels and prophets as lords” (3:80).
supported “with the Pure Spirit” (2:87). The classical commentator Ibn Kathir explains that this “refers to Jibril”, the angel Gabriel (Ibn Kathir on 2:87).
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Same Jesus, different beliefs
Islam and Christianity agree on several things about Jesus and differ on others. The Christian column mostly quotes two creeds said in many churches, as published by the Church of England, plus the Bible and other sources where marked.
Question
Christian belief
Islamic belief
Is God three persons in one?
“We believe in one God” (Nicene Creed). The doctrine of the Trinity “defines one God as existing in three divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit” (Wikipedia).
“Allāh is but one God” and “do not say, ‘Three’” (4:171). “He neither begets nor is born” (112:3).
Differ
Who is Jesus?
“the only Son of God … true God from true God … of one Being with the Father … and was made man” (Nicene Creed)
“was but a messenger of Allāh and His word” (4:171). “I am the servant of Allāh” (19:30).
Differ
Born of a virgin?
“born of the Virgin Mary” (Apostles' Creed)
“How can I have a boy while no man has touched me” (19:20)
Agree
Is he the Messiah?
“We have found the Messiah!” (which is, being interpreted, Christ) (John 1:41)
“he will come to judge the living and the dead” (Apostles' Creed)
He “will soon descend amongst you and will judge mankind justly” (Bukhari 3448). He is “[a sign for] knowledge of the Hour” (43:61).
Agree
How are sins forgiven?
“For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven … For our sake he was crucified” (Nicene Creed)
Muslims believe each person answers for their own sins, and God forgives those who repent: “no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another” (6:164). Adam repented and God “accepted his repentance” (2:37).
Differ
What is the Gospel?
The Christian message, “the gospel”, and the books that report it: the “four which appear in the New Testament” (Wikipedia, “Gospel”), Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
A scripture God gave to Jesus himself: “We gave him the Gospel, in which was guidance and light” (5:46).
Differ
On the table: Both faiths say Jesus is now with God, but differ on how he got there. Both say he will return, but describe his role differently.
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Is Jesus God? The Quran's answer
The Quran gives reasons why Jesus is not God, and it quotes Jesus himself. Here is its case, point by point.
Jesus told people to worship God, “my Lord and your Lord”
Quran
They have certainly disbelieved who say, "Allāh is the Messiah, the son of Mary" while the Messiah has said, "O Children of Israel, worship Allāh, my Lord and your Lord." Indeed, he who associates others with Allāh - Allāh has forbidden him Paradise, and his refuge is the Fire. And there are not for the wrongdoers any helpers.
Quran 5:72 · Chapter 5, “The Table Spread” (Al-Ma'idah)
He says it again in 3:51, 19:36 and 43:64: “Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him.” Compare the Bible, where Jesus says “my God and your God” (John 20:17).
He never asked to be worshipped, and will say so himself
Quran
116And [beware the Day] when Allāh will say, "O Jesus, Son of Mary, did you say to the people, 'Take me and my mother as deities besides Allāh?'" He will say, "Exalted are You! It was not for me to say that to which I have no right. If I had said it, You would have known it. You know what is within myself, and I do not know what is within Yourself. Indeed, it is You who is Knower of the unseen. 117I said not to them except what You commanded me - to worship Allāh, my Lord and your Lord. And I was a witness over them as long as I was among them; but when You took me up, You were the Observer over them, and You are, over all things, Witness.
Quran 5:116–117 · Chapter 5, “The Table Spread” (Al-Ma'idah)
Muhammad said that on the Day of Judgment he will repeat Jesus's words from 5:117: “And I was a witness over them while I dwelt amongst them” (Bukhari 4625). The Quran also says that no prophet would ever tell people, “Be servants to me rather than Allāh” (3:79).
He and his mother ate food
Quran
The Messiah, son of Mary, was not but a messenger; [other] messengers have passed on before him. And his mother was a supporter of truth. They both used to eat food. Look how We make clear to them the signs; then look how they are deluded.
Quran 5:75 · Chapter 5, “The Table Spread” (Al-Ma'idah)
The classical commentator Ibn Kathir explains the verse this way: they ate, “needing nourishment”, and so “they are just servants like other servants, not gods …” (Ibn Kathir on 5:75). His sentence goes on to curse Christian sects; see the note on Ibn Kathir in How to read.
Adam had no father or mother
Quran
Indeed, the example of Jesus to Allāh is like that of Adam. He created him from dust; then He said to him, "Be," and he was.
Quran 3:59 · Chapter 3, “Family of Imran” (Ali 'Imran)
Ibn Kathir draws the point out: “If the claim is made that ʿIsa is Allah's son because he was created without a father, then the same claim befits Adam even more” (Ibn Kathir on 3:59). Adam had neither father nor mother. The angel tells Mary the same thing about her son: “When He decrees a matter, He only says to it, ‘Be,’ and it is” (3:47).
His miracles happened “by permission of Allāh”
Each time the Quran lists his miracles, it adds that they happened by God's permission (3:49). In 5:110, God says “with My permission” four times. In 3:49, Jesus calls his miracles “a sign from your Lord”. Other prophets worked miracles too: Moses “threw his staff, and suddenly it was a serpent” (7:107). The Bible describes Jesus's miracles in a similar way, as signs “which God did by him” (Acts 2:22).
The Quran calls him a servant
Quran
He [i.e., Jesus] was not but a servant upon whom We bestowed favor, and We made him an example for the Children of Israel.
Quran 43:59 · Chapter 43, “The Ornaments of Gold” (Az-Zukhruf)
And: “Never would the Messiah disdain to be a servant of Allāh” (4:172).
God has no son, and needs none
Quran
1Say, "He is Allāh, [who is] One, 2Allāh, the Eternal Refuge. 3He neither begets nor is born, 4Nor is there to Him any equivalent."
Quran 112:1–4 · Chapter 112, “The Sincerity” (Al-Ikhlas)
Elsewhere: “They have said, ‘Allāh has taken a son.’ Exalted is He; He is the [one] Free of need” (10:68). And: “There is no one in the heavens and earth but that he comes to the Most Merciful as a servant” (19:93).
One God, not three
Quran
O People of the Scripture, do not commit excess in your religion or say about Allāh except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, was but a messenger of Allāh and His word which He directed to Mary and a soul [created at a command] from Him. So believe in Allāh and His messengers. And do not say, "Three"; desist - it is better for you. Indeed, Allāh is but one God. Exalted is He above having a son. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And sufficient is Allāh as Disposer of affairs.
This verse speaks to the “People of the Scripture”, Jews and Christians. It gives Jesus his highest titles, then says plainly: “do not say, ‘Three’”.
Jesus on the Day of Judgment, in the hadith
Hadith · Sahih (authentic)
… So they will go to Jesus and say, 'O Jesus! You are Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and His Word which He sent to Mary, and a superior soul created by Him, and you talked to the people while still young in the cradle. Please intercede for us with your Lord. Don't you see in what state we are?' Jesus will say, 'My Lord has today become angry as He has never become before nor will ever become thereafter. Jesus will not mention any sin, but will say, 'Myself! Myself! Myself! Go to someone else; go to Muhammad. …
In this long report, people go from prophet to prophet asking for someone to plead with God for them. Earlier in the report, Adam and Moses each name a mistake they made. Jesus names none, but answers as they did, “Myself! Myself! Myself!”, and sends the people on to Muhammad.
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In the Bible: words Muslims point to
When talking with Christian friends, many Muslims also point to verses in the Bible itself. Here they are, quoted exactly.
Only God is good
Bible
Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except one—God.
Jesus said to her, “Don’t hold me, for I haven’t yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brothers, and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
You heard how I told you, ‘I go away, and I come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I said ‘I am going to my Father;’ for the Father is greater than I.
He went forward a little, fell on his face, and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from me; nevertheless, not what I desire, but what you desire.”
“Men of Israel, hear these words! Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved by God to you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him among you, even as you yourselves know,
Christians read these verses together with others, such as John 1:1 (“the Word was God”), John 10:30 (“I and the Father are one”) and John 20:28, where Thomas says to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!” Many Christians explain both kinds of verses with the teaching of the Council of Chalcedon in 451 CE: that Jesus is “actually God and actually man”, one person “in two natures” (text of the Definition, EWTN).
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Was Jesus killed on the cross?
The Quran's answer is no. It says “they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him”, and that God raised him to Himself.
Quran
157And [for] their saying, "Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, the messenger of Allāh." And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain. 158Rather, Allāh raised him to Himself. And ever is Allāh Exalted in Might and Wise.
The word “[another]” is the translator's addition. The English edition of Ibn Kathir's commentary gives the phrase as “but it appeared as that to them” (Ibn Kathir on 4:157).
God planned to save him
Quran
54And they [i.e., the disbelievers] planned, but Allāh planned. And Allāh is the best of planners. 55[Mention] when Allāh said, "O Jesus, indeed I will take you and raise you to Myself and purify [i.e., free] you from those who disbelieve and make those who follow you [in submission to Allāh alone] superior to those who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection. Then to Me is your return, and I will judge between you concerning that in which you used to differ.
Quran 3:54–55 · Chapter 3, “Family of Imran” (Ali 'Imran)
God also reminds Jesus: “I restrained the Children of Israel from [killing] you” (5:110).
Who was crucified, then?
The Quran does not say. Ibn Kathir tells the story this way, and also records a version of it from Ibn ʿAbbās, a companion of Muhammad. In this story, Jesus asked his followers who would volunteer to be made to look like him, and a young man accepted. Ibn Kathir writes: “Allah made the young man look exactly like ʿIsa”. It was that man who was taken and crucified (Ibn Kathir on 4:157).
He is alive with God, and will return
Quran
And there is none from the People of the Scripture but that he will surely believe in him [i.e., Jesus] before his death. And on the Day of Resurrection he will be against them a witness.
Ibn Kathir explains “his death” as the death of Jesus: the People of the Scripture will believe in him “before ʿIsa dies. This will occur when ʿIsa comes back to this world before the Day of Resurrection” (Ibn Kathir on 3:55).
Quran
And indeed, he [i.e., Jesus] will be [a sign for] knowledge of the Hour, so be not in doubt of it, and follow Me. This is a straight path.
Quran 43:61 · Chapter 43, “The Ornaments of Gold” (Az-Zukhruf)
Ibn Kathir writes that this verse “refers to his descent before the Day of Resurrection” (Ibn Kathir on 43:61).
Where historians stand
The New Testament Gospels describe the crucifixion, and most modern historians accept it as a historical event. With his baptism by John the Baptist, it is one of only two key events in Jesus's life that historians widely accept (Wikipedia, “Historicity of Jesus”, citing scholars such as James Dunn).
Muslims accept the Quran's account because they believe it comes from God, who knows what happened.