[Sūrah xix. 35, 36]: “That is Jesus the son of Mary, the word of truth (Qaulu ʾl-Ḥaqq), 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. But the sects have differed among themselves.”
[Sūrah iii. 51, 52]: “These signs, and this wise warning do we rehearse to thee. Verily, Jesus is as Adam in the sight of God. He created Him of dust: He then said to him, ‘Be’—and he was.”
[Sūrah xliii. 57–65]: “And when the Son of Mary was set forth as an instance of divine power, lo! thy people cried out for joy thereat: And they said, ‘Are our gods or is he the better?’ They put this forth to thee only in the spirit of dispute. Yea, they are a contentious people. Jesus is no more than a servant whom we favoured, and proposed as an instance of divine power to the children of Israel; and if we pleased, we could from yourselves bring forth Angels to succeed you on earth: and he shall be a sign of the last hour; doubt not then of it, and follow ye me: this is the right way; and let not Satan turn you aside from it, for he is your manifest foe. And when Jesus came with manifest proofs, he said, ‘Now am I come to you with wisdom; and a part of those things about which ye are at variance I will clear up to you; fear ye God, therefore, and obey me. Verily, God is my Lord and your Lord; wherefore, worship ye him: this is a right way.’ But the different parties fell into disputes among themselves; but woe to those who thus transgressed, because of the punishment of an afflictive day!”
[Sūrah ix. 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!”
[Sūrah iii. 72, 73]: “And some truly are there among them who torture the Scriptures with their tongues, in order that ye may suppose it to be from the Scripture, yet it is not from the Scripture. And they say, ‘This is from God’; yet it is not from God: and they utter a lie against God, and they know they do so. It beseemeth not a man, that God should give him the Scriptures and the Wisdom, and the gift of prophecy, and that then he should say to his followers, ‘Be ye worshippers of me, as well as of God’; but rather, ‘Be ye perfect in things pertaining to God, since ye know the Scriptures, and have studied deep.’ ”
[Sūrah v. 19]: “Infidels now are they who say, ‘Verily God is the Messiah Ibn Maryam (son of Mary)! Say: And who could aught obtain from God, if he chose to destroy the Messiah Ibn Maryam, and his mother, and all who are on the earth together?’ ”
There is a remarkable Ḥadīs̤ related by Anas, which inadvertently proves that, whilst Muḥammad admitted his own sinfulness, as well as that of other prophets, he could not charge our Lord with sin. It is as follows: “The Prophet of God said, ‘In the Day of Resurrection Muslims will not be able to move, and they will be greatly distressed, and will say, “Would to God that we had asked Him to create some one to intercede for us, that we might be taken from this place, and be delivered from tribulation and sorrow?” Then these men will go to Adam, and will say, “Thou art the father of all men, God created thee with His hand, and made thee a dweller in Paradise, and ordered His angels to prostrate themselves before thee, and taught thee the names of all things. Ask grace for us we pray thee!” And Adam will say, “I am not of that degree of eminence you suppose, for I committed a sin in eating of the grain which was forbidden. Go to Noah, the Prophet, he was the first who was sent by God to the unbelievers on the face of the earth.” Then they will go to Noah and ask for intercession, and he will say, “I am not of that degree which ye suppose.” And he will remember the sin which he committed in asking the Lord for the deliverance of his son (Hūd), not knowing whether it was a right request or not; and he will say, “Go to Abraham, who is the Friend of God.” Then they will go to Abraham, and he will say, “I am not of that degree which ye suppose.” And he will remember the three occasions upon which he told lies in the world; and he will say, “Go to Moses, who is the servant to whom God gave His law, and whom He allowed to converse with Him.” And they will go to Moses, and Moses will say, “I am not of that degree which ye suppose.” And he will remember the sin which he committed in slaying a man, and he will say, “Go to Jesus, He is the servant of God, the Apostle of God, the Spirit of God, and the Word of God.” Then they will go to Jesus, and He will say, “Go to Muḥammad who is a servant, whose sins God has forgiven both first and last.” Then the Muslims will come to me, and I will ask permission to go into God’s presence and intercede for them.’ ” (Mishkāt, book xxiii. ch. xii.)
[In dealing with Muḥammadans the Christian missionary must not treat their system as though the teachings of Islām were precisely those of the modern Socinians (we speak of the modern Socinians, for both the Socini, uncle and nephew, admitted the miraculous conception of Christ, and said he ought to be worshipped). Islām admits of the miraculous conception of Christ, and that He is the “Word” which God “conveyed into Mary”; and whilst the other five great prophets are but “the chosen,” “the preacher,” “the friend,” “the converser with,” and “the messenger of” God, Jesus is admitted to be the “Spirit of God.” He is the greatest miracle worker of all the prophets; and whilst Muḥammad is dead and buried, and saw corruption, all Muslim divines admit that Jesus “saw no corruption,” and still lives with a human body in Paradise.
Moreover, it is said in the Ḥadīs̤ that the Ḥaqīqatu ʾl-Muḥammadīyah or the Nūr-i-Muḥammad, “the essence, or light of Muḥammad,” was created before all things which were made by God. The pre-existence of the divine “Word which was made flesh and dwelt amongst us” is not, therefore, an idea foreign to the Muslim mind.]