The Prophet Jesus (pbuh) is a holy messenger of Allah. The Qur’an reveals that he is "One of high esteem in this world and the Hereafter, and one of those brought near [to Allah].” (Surah Al ‘Imran, 45) Allah sent the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) to call the community he lived in to the true path, and revealed the Gospel to him to distinguish between truth and falsity. This is revealed as follows in Surat al-Ma’ida, verse 46:
And We sent Jesus son of Mary following in their footsteps, confirming the Torah that came before him. We gave him the Gospel containing guidance and light, confirming the Torah that came before it, and as guidance and admonition for those who fear [and respect Allah].
Excerpt from Mr. Adnan Oktar’s interview dated December 10th, 2009
The religion revealed to the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) is “the true religion, that which believes in Allah, the One and Only.” However, this holy individual’s message was distorted following his being taken into the presence of Allah, with true Christianity being replaced by “a false belief based on superstitious philosophies,” such as that “The Prophet Jesus being the son of Allah, the Trinity and atonement for sins.” (Surely Allah is beyond all these.) The people who believed this failed to understand that the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) is a manifestation of Allah. The scale of the error into which some Christians have fallen is revealed as follows in the Qur’an:
People of the Book! Do not go to excess in your religion. Say nothing but the truth about Allah. The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only the Messenger of Allah and His Word, which He cast into Mary, and a Spirit from Him. So believe in Allah and His Messengers. Do not say, ‘Three.’ It is better that you stop. Allah is only One God. He is too Glorious to have a son! Everything in the heavens and in the Earth belongs to Him. Allah suffices as a Guardian. The Messiah would never disdain to be a servant to Allah nor would the angels near to Him. If any do disdain to worship Him, and grow arrogant, He will in any case gather them all to Him. (Surat an-Nisa’, 171-172)
Those who say, ‘Allah is the Messiah, son of Mary,’ are unbelievers. Say: ‘Who possesses any power at all over Allah if He desires to destroy the Messiah, son of Mary, and his mother, and everyone else on Earth?’ The kingdom of the heavens and the Earth and everything between them belongs to Allah. He creates whatever He wills. Allah has power over all things. (Surat al-Ma’ida, 17)
As revealed in several verses of the Qur’an, the real Prophet Jesus (pbuh) is very different to what such people imagine. He is a servant created by Allah. He is a holy prophet who submitted to our Lord, someone with lofty moral values and made superior to all the worlds. He always referred to the sublime might and power of our Lord when preaching the word, and said that he was a servant of Allah. Just like the prophets Abraham, Moses (peace be upon them), Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and all the others, the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) is a servant and prophet of Allah. He is a created being possessed of human characteristics. He himself used to pray to Allah.
Excerpt from Mr. Adnan Oktar’s interview dated December 3rd, 2009The Qur’an describes how the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) preached the word and how he described himself:
He said, “I am the servant of Allah, He has given me the Book and made me a prophet. He has made me blessed wherever I am and directed me to do prayer and give alms as long as I live. (Surah Maryam, 30-31)
I come confirming the Torah I find already there, and to make lawful for you some of what was previously forbidden to you. I have brought you a Sign from your Lord. So have taqwa of Allah and obey me. Allah is my Lord and your Lord so worship Him. That is a straight path.” (Surah Al ‘Imran, 50-51)
To ascribe divine status to the Prophet Jesus (surely Allah is beyond that) means to fail to properly appreciate the might, greatness and divine power of our Lord. It is certain that Almighty Allah is unfettered by any weakness or deficiency. Everything in this world belongs to Allah, and He is the sole Creator, Power and Force. Allah reveals this in the Qur’an:
Say: “He is Allah, Absolute Oneness, Allah, the Everlasting Sustainer of all. He has not given birth and was not born. And no one is comparable to Him.” (Surat al-Ikhlas, 1-4)
Every being other than Allah is a manifestation of Him. Jesus is a holy prophet who called on our Lord by the finest names.
All Entities Are Manifestations of Allah, and He Enfolds All Beings
Allah created the universe from nothing and has absolute dominion over it. Everything in the Earth and sky belongs to Him alone. Allah is everywhere. All mothers and fathers are manifestations of Allah. All children are manifestations of Allah. All butterflies, birds, trees, roses and fruits are manifestations of Allah. The planets, suns and giant universe are manifestations of Allah. The presence of Allah is manifested in many places and forms. This is the creative artistry of Allah. Allah has the power to show His infinite might and power in the manner He chooses in the entity He chooses.
Allah is not separate from His creations. All beings and everything in the universe are images of Him. People can never see Almighty Allah in person, but they are in constant contact with manifestations of Him. A person is himself a manifestation of Allah. Almighty Allah pervades all things in the universe. Allah reveals this in the following verse:
Allah, there is no god but Him, the Living, the Self-Sustaining. He is not subject to drowsiness or sleep. Everything in the heavens and the Earth belongs to Him. Who can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is before them and what is behind them but they cannot grasp any of His knowledge save what He wills. His Footstool encompasses the heavens and the Earth and their preservation does not tire Him. He is the Most High, the Magnificent. (Surat al-Baqara, 255)
Allah reveals His closeness to the manifestations of Him:
We created man and We know what his own self whispers to him. We are nearer to him than his jugular vein. (Surah Qaf, 16)
Our Lord reveals how His presence pervades all places:
Both East and West belong to Allah, so wherever you turn, the Face of Allah is there. Allah is All-Encompassing, All-Knowing. (Surat al-Baqara, 115)
The Prophet Jesus’ (pbuh) superior moral values, his exemplary behavior, the miracles bestowed on him by our Lord and all the extraordinary attributes He was blessed with by Allah are all special manifestations of our Lord. He is a beloved servant of Allah, a holy prophet who is an intense manifestation of His title of ar-Rahman. The fact that he was someone who, by Allah’s leave, displayed the same moral values as the angels and behaved in a holy and superior manner may have led some people to falsely imagine that he is Allah in person or else the son of Allah (surely Allah is beyond all these). Allah manifested His extraordinary beauty and sublimity in the Prophet Jesus (pbuh). The failure of some Christians to properly understand and grasp this and express it properly, led to the gradual emergence of opinions far removed from the true essence of the religion.
The fact is, however, that the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) is only human, a servant who eats, sleeps, prays to Allah, fears Allah and seeks shelter in Him, someone created by Allah. He is a holy person beloved of Allah and honored and chosen by Him. It must not be forgotten that making unrealistic and illogical claims about the Prophet Jesus (pbuh), ones far removed from the true essence of the religion, has led a great many Christians to turn their backs on the faith. Our Christian brothers must bear this in mind and turn away from all descriptions of and beliefs concerning the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) that are incompatible with the true religion.
By Allah’s leave, in the End Times in which we are living now the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) will return to Earth with all his radiance and purity, and will be instrumental, together with Hazrat Mahdi (as) in Islam coming to rule the world. After that, he will come to the end of his life in this world, die and go to Paradise, where he will live as a manifestation of the infinite and glorious beauty of Allah. It is Allah, the Baqi, the Almighty, whose infinite being and might enfold all places.
The Truth about the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) Revealed in the Qur’an
Because of their love for the Prophet Jesus, some Christians make the error of producing different interpretations of the excellent features bestowed on him by Allah’s blessing and Allah’s manifestation of Himself as ar-Rahman in this holy prophet. Almighty Allah is One, the sole Creator, and there is no other god but Him. Allah is the Hayy, the Creator of the whole universe, living or inanimate. He is always living, the lord of all things at all times, and He needs nobody and nothing. But all living things need our Lord in order to survive.
The Prophet Jesus (pbuh) is an honest person who knows that he needs Allah, who is eager to discharge his duty as His servant, and who has sincerely submitted to our Lord. Allah also reveals this characteristic of the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) in the Qur’an:
The Messiah would never disdain to be a servant to Allah nor would the angels near to Him. If any do disdain to worship Him, and grow arrogant, He will in any case gather them all to Him. (Surat an-Nisa’, 172)
Another verse revealing that the Prophet Jesus is a servant of Allah reads:
He said, “I am the slave of Allah, He has given me the Book and made me a prophet.” (Surah Maryam, 30)
This is how we are told that the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) is mortal and, like everyone else, will be resurrected after death in the Hereafter:
Peace be upon me the day I was born, and the day I die and the day I am raised up again alive. (Surah Maryam, 33)
Allah created him and made him a messenger charged with telling people about monotheistic belief. After that, our Lord thwarted all the cunning snares of those who plotted against him and raised him into His presence. The Prophet Jesus (pbuh) will return to Earth in the End Times in which we are living now and complete his work as commanded by Allah. It is Allah Who has ordained his entire destiny, everything that will happen to him in his life and who will cause them to happen when the moment comes. It is Allah Who creates all the miracles he works. All the excellent attributes of the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) are manifestations of Allah within him. All the miracles he performed took place through Allah’s mercy upon Him. The Prophet Jesus (pbuh) preached his powerful faith in Allah throughout his life and called people to Allah’s true path. His call on people to believe in Allah is revealed in verse 36 of Surah Maryam:
“Allah is my Lord and your Lord so worship Him. This is a straight path.”
True Christians must obey this call of the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) as revealed in the Qur’an and submit to and serve Allah as their one Lord. There is no doubt that in these days when the coming of the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) is imminent, the best welcome for this holy prophet will be to exhibit total faith in the belief in Allah he preached.
As our Lord reveals in the Qur’an; "... He has no partner in the Kingdom. He created everything and determined it most exactly” (Surat al-Furqan, 2) Allah is the absolute Lord of the universe and has no need of any helper. This is revealed in another verse:
And say: “Praise be to Allah Who has had no son and Who has no partner in His Kingdom and Who needs no one to protect Him from abasement.” And proclaim His Greatness repeatedly! (Surat al-Isra’, 111)
With the Coming of the Prophet Jesus, All Christians Will Believe in This Truth Revealed in the Qur’an
The End Times we are living in is when we will see the coming of the Prophet Jesus and Hazrat Mahdi (peace be upon them). According to the Qur’an, hadith handed down from our Prophet (saas) and statements by great Islamic scholars, the coming of the Prophet Jesus and Hazrat Mahdi (peace be upon them) is imminent. This holy age will be a time when Allah is praised across the world as the One and Only, when people live by the essence of the true religion, an age of plenty, abundance, well-being, peace and security. It will be known as the Golden Age.
As revealed in the Qur’an, in this time when the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) returns to Earth, there will not be a single person from the People of the Book (Christians and Jews) who does not believe in him (Surat an-Nisa’, 159). At this time, the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) will explain that he is a holy, worthy and superior individual chosen by Allah, that he is not the son of Allah, and will call on the whole Christian world to adopt a monotheistic faith by stating that he believes in Almighty Allah, the One and Only. As our Lord tells us, all Christians, without exception, will worship Him alone in this time.
By Allah’s leave, this time is now close at hand. All Christians will clearly hear the truth from the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) and will believe in the truth. The world will be a place when everyone comes together around a single word, where they live as brothers in peace and security. (You can access articles of ours describing how no blood will be shed in the time of Hazrat Mahdi from here and here.)
Statements on the subject by Adnan Oktar are set out below:
From Adnan Oktar’s interview on 10 December 2009
PRESENTER: You say in your books, based on the Qur’an, that the Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) did not die and that he will, by Allah’s leave, return to Earth. I think that Dan Brown, world renowned author, must have read your books, as he writes, "In my view, Jesus was not crucified." He says, "There is considerable evidence that the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) was not crucified and that he did not believe he was the son of Allah." What do you think of that?
ADNAN OKTAR: He looks at it very rationally. Of course he was not the son of Allah. That really is a very childish thing to say. In other words, our Christian brothers have caused millions of people to become irreligious; for that reason alone, millions of young people have split away from Christianity. How can a human being be Allah? How can someone who eats, drinks and sleeps, who has physical needs and who prays to Allah, actually be Him. He may say he is a manifestation of Allah, that is to say everyone is a manifestation of Allah. Even though it is perfectly obvious that he is a prophet of Allah, that is not enough for them, it is not enough for them to say he is a prophet. Look, love can sometimes have such negative consequences, by which I mean one should take shelter in Allah from such satanic love, such love cannot be accepted. And so they deify him. Whereas love should be for Allah, and people should be loved as manifestations of Him. This matter would never have arisen had people loved him as a manifestation of Allah. Insha’Allah, in the time of Hazrat Mahdi (pbuh) and the Messiah (pbuh), this corruption, this dissension will all come to an end. The prophet Jesus (pbuh) will himself explain that there is One Allah, that Jesus (pbuh) is not the son of Allah, and that he is therefore not divine. That is the only way of settling them down. If we were to tell Christians the truth now, they would not be convinced, but since the Messiah (pbuh) will be coming and will explain the truth of the matter personally, their minds will then be put at ease, insha’Allah.
From Adnan Oktar’s interview on 3 December 2009
ADNAN OKTAR: How close they [Jews] are very close to Muslims, they say “Say: ‘He is Allah, Absolute Oneness, Allah, the Everlasting Sustainer of all.” And that is really very nice. Surat Al-Ikhlas, that is also how their own belief is. The exact same belief stated in the Surat Al-Ikhlas is applicable for them as well. For example, La ilaha illa Allahu applies to them, too. Only Christianity has a problem with that and that is the problem of belief in the trinity. If they do away with that, insha’Allah, then they will be freed from the scourge of polytheism. Any other way would be associating others with Allah. If they have the trinity, that is associating others with Allah. Because there is only One Allah and that is perfectly clear. Believing in the One Allah is the basis of faith. The Prophet Jesus (pbuh) prays to Allah in the Gospel, doesn’t he? He himself says he is a servant of Allah. Consequently if they put it right, then they will be freed from the scourge of polytheism. But of course Islam is the one true religion in the sight of Allah according to the Qur’an, and that is what we believe in, but for a Christian it is Christianity, of course, and for a Jew it is Judaism, it is Islam for a Muslim. Everyone regards his own religion as the true one. That is perfectly normal. Otherwise they would not be living by that faith. That is why we cannot impose beliefs on one another, we only have to feel respect. Thus there will be mutual respect toward one another, insha’Allah.