Jesus in Islam

In Islam, Jesus (Arabic: عيسى بن مريم, romanized: ʿĪsā ibn Maryam, lit.'Jesus, son of Mary'), referred to by the Arabic rendering of his name Isa, is believed to be the penultimate prophet and messenger of God (Allāh) and the messiah. He was the last messenger sent to the Israelites (Banī Isrāʾīl) and received a revelation known as the Injīl (Gospel). The Quran describes Jesus as the Messiah, Messenger of Allah, and His Word, born of a virgin, performing miracles, accompanied by disciples, and rejected by the Israelites. In contrast to Christian belief, Islamic tradition holds that Jesus was neither crucified nor killed, but was instead raised to Heaven by God. The Quran places Jesus among the greatest prophets and refers to him by various titles. His prophethood was preceded by that of Yahya (John the Baptist), who acted as a verifier of the mission of Jesus and followed by Muhammad, whom Jesus is understood to have foretold in the Quran under the name Ahmad.

Most Christians consider Jesus the incarnation of God the Son and the awaited Messiah, or Christ. The Quran rejects the idea of Allah having a son - وَلَد (a "walad", which implies biological procreation/offspring and generation of another being), and states that Jesus said to worship Allah alone and that he truly (the word used isإِنِّى "inni", meaning "verily", showing that Isa really has the attributes mentioned) an 'abd (servant) and nabiyyan (someone who delivers a message on the behalf of somebody, a "prophet"), while simultaneously being called the Word of God and a spirit created by Allah. These several verses are understood as a rejection of the divinity of Jesus and his status as the Son of God, and states that Jesus did not claim to be God or the Son of God. Islam teaches that Jesus' original message was altered (taḥrīf) after his disciples claimed that he had risen from the dead. The monotheism (tawḥīd) of Jesus is emphasized in the Quran. Like all prophets in Islam, Jesus is also described as a Muslim, meaning one who submits to God, as he preached that his followers should follow the 'straight path' (Ṣirāṭ al-Mustaqīm). Jesus is attributed with numerous miracles in Islamic tradition.

In Islamic eschatology, Jesus and the Mahdi are believed to appear together during the events of the End Times. Jesus will kill al-Masih ad-Dajjal (the False Messiah), after which the ancient tribe of Gog and Magog (Yaʾjūj and Maʾjūj) will emerge and spread across the earth. After God destroys them, Jesus will rule the world, establish peace and justice, and eventually die a natural death. He will be buried alongside Muhammad in the fourth reserved tomb at the Prophet's Mosque in Medina. The Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, associated with Jesus' return in the Second Coming, is highly revered by both Muslims and Christians. Jesus is also widely venerated in Sufism, with numerous ascetic and mystical works written and recited about him, in which he is often portrayed as a model of asceticism, divine love, and inner purity.