Qur’anic Views on Jesus Christ (VIEWS OF NON-MUSLIMS ABOUT THE QUR’AN)

Some non-Muslims quote Qur’an 2: 87 and 2: 253 to say that Jesus Christ was unique in the sense that he was “the only one” inspired or strengthened by the Holy Spirit. Some also quote these verses to say that Muslims believe in the same concept of the Holy Spirit as Christians. For example in Q 2: 87 Allah says:

“We give Jesus the son of Mary clear signs and strengthened him with the Holy Sprit.”

You should note that the Arabic word translated here as Holy Spirit is ruh-al-qudus which is also translated as the ‘Spirit of holiness’, divine inspiration’, or ‘Holy inspiration’. This word recurs in the Qur’an in areas such as Qur’an 16: 2, 40: 12, 42: 52, 97: 4 etc. But you should also note that Qur’an 58:22 speaks of all believers as being strengthened by inspiration (ruh) from Him, and it is not peculiar to Jesus.

Other Qur’anic commentators interpret the term ruh al-qudus to mean Angel Jibril who brought this revelation or inspiration from Allah S.W.T. It is therefore an issue of interpretation based on the context of the Qur’an in which the term is used.

The People of the Book (Ahlul-Kitab) (VIEWS OF NON-MUSLIMS ABOUT THE QUR’AN)

The term ‘People of the Book’, i.e. Ahlul Kitab is a phrase in the Qur’an interpreted by people of various callings. It could be found in Qur’an 5:68, 3:65, 3:72, 4:153, 4:71 e.t.c . In view of the availability of the Qur’an in many translations, many of its verses are misinterpreted. For instance, the following verses are typical examples:

“Say: O people of the Book! you have no ground to stand unless you stand fast by the law (Taurat) and the Gospel (Injeel), and all the revelations that has come to you from your Lord.”
(Qur’an 5:68).

“O ye people of the Book! Why do you dispute about Abraham, when the law and the Gospel were not revealed till after him? Have ye no understanding?”
(Q3: 65)

“O ye people of the Book! Why do you clothe truth with falsehood, and conceal the truth, while ye have knowledge?”
(Q3: 71).

According to some Christians, the term people of the Book refers not just to the Jews and Christians but to the Muslims as well. Such Christians even quote Qur’an 5:68 as implying that Muslims should believe in the Bible.