What does the Quran say about Jesus?
The Qur’an speaks about Jesus — ʿĪsā — at length, and honours him. It affirms his virgin birth Qur’an 3:47, calls him the Messiah Qur’an 3:45, describes miracles performed by God’s permission Qur’an 5:110, and names his mother Mary as chosen above all women Qur’an 3:42. It also differs from Christian teaching on two specific points: it rejects that he was divine Qur’an 4:171, and it says he was neither killed nor crucified Qur’an 4:157. Both the honour and the disagreement are explicit in the text.
How often is Jesus mentioned in the Qur’an?
Jesus is named repeatedly across the Qur’an, and his mother Mary is the only woman named in the entire text — a whole chapter, Surah 19, carries her name. The announcement of his birth is given twice, once to Mary directly Qur’an 19:16-21 and once as an announcement by angels Qur’an 3:45-47. He is described as a sign for humanity and a mercy Qur’an 19:21, as one brought near to God Qur’an 3:45, and as strengthened with the holy spirit Qur’an 2:87. The word used for him in Qur’an 4:171 is that he is God’s word delivered to Mary, and a spirit from Him.
Does the Qur’an accept the virgin birth?
Yes, without qualification. When Mary asks how she can have a son when no man has touched her, the answer given is that God creates what He wills, and when He decrees a thing He says to it "Be", and it is Qur’an 3:47. The birth narrative in Surah Maryam is unusually detailed: Mary withdraws to a distant place Qur’an 19:22, gives birth in hardship beneath a palm tree Qur’an 19:23, is told to shake the tree for dates and to drink Qur’an 19:25-26, and returns to her people carrying the child Qur’an 19:27. When they accuse her, the infant speaks in her defence Qur’an 19:29-30.
What miracles does the Qur’an attribute to Jesus?
The Qur’an lists them directly: speaking in the cradle as an infant, healing the blind and the leper, and raising the dead Qur’an 5:110. The same verse also mentions forming the likeness of a bird from clay and breathing into it so that it becomes a bird, as does the parallel account in Qur’an 3:49. One phrase recurs with each of them — "by God’s permission" Qur’an 3:49. In the Qur’an’s framing the miracles are real, and they are signs granted by God rather than powers Jesus held in himself. This is the hinge on which the next section turns.
Why does the Qur’an say Jesus is not divine?
The Qur’an addresses this directly rather than by implication. It instructs the People of the Book not to exceed the bounds of their religion, states that the Messiah was a messenger of God and His word bestowed upon Mary, and says plainly: do not say "three" Qur’an 4:171. In Qur’an 5:116 the point is put as a question posed to Jesus himself — whether he told people to take him and his mother as gods besides God — and his answer is a denial. Jesus is quoted describing himself as a servant of God who was given scripture and made a prophet Qur’an 19:30. The Qur’an also offers an argument by analogy: the likeness of Jesus before God is as the likeness of Adam, whom He created from dust Qur’an 3:59 — a birth without a father is presented as no more remarkable than a creation without either parent.
Does the Qur’an say Jesus was crucified?
No. The text states that they did not kill him and did not crucify him, but that it was made to appear so to them, that those who differ about it are in doubt with no certain knowledge, and that God raised him to Himself Qur’an 4:157-158. This is the sharpest divergence from Christian teaching in the Qur’an, and it is worth being precise about what the verse does and does not do. It denies the killing. It does not spell out what happened instead, and Muslim commentators have read the passage in more than one way. The Qur’an itself leaves the mechanism unstated. Elsewhere Jesus speaks of the day he was born, the day he dies, and the day he is raised alive Qur’an 19:33.
What did the Qur’an say Jesus taught?
The message attributed to him is continuous with the message attributed to every prophet before him: worship God alone. He is quoted saying that God is his Lord and their Lord, so worship Him — this is a straight path Qur’an 3:51. He is described as confirming the Torah that came before him Qur’an 3:50 and as making lawful some of what had been forbidden. In Qur’an 61:6 he is quoted foretelling a messenger to come after him.
Common questions
- Do Muslims believe in Jesus?
- Yes. Belief in Jesus as a prophet and messenger of God is required, not optional — the Qur’an lists him among the messengers to be believed in without distinction Qur’an 2:136. What is rejected is the claim that he is divine Qur’an 4:171, not Jesus himself.
- Is Mary mentioned in the Qur’an?
- Yes, and more prominently than in many readers’ expectations. She is the only woman named in the Qur’an, Surah 19 bears her name, and she is described as chosen and purified by God and chosen above the women of the worlds Qur’an 3:42.
- Does the Qur’an call Jesus the Messiah?
- Yes. The title al-Masīḥ is used for him directly Qur’an 3:45. The Qur’an uses the title while rejecting the divinity that Christian theology attaches to it.
- Will Jesus return according to the Qur’an?
- The Qur’an says God raised him to Himself Qur’an 4:158, and Qur’an 43:61 is read by many commentators as referring to a sign of the Hour connected to him. The detailed accounts of a return come mainly from hadith rather than from the Qur’an, so this page does not go further than the text does.
Sources cited on this page
Every claim above is traceable. Qur’an references open with several translations side by side, since translations differ. Where a point is not settled by the Qur’an itself, the narration is named so you can see what it rests on.
The Surahs this page draws on
Every verse quoted above comes from one of these chapters. Each is set out in full — why it was revealed, and what it teaches.