Secondhand Theism: What Islam Gets Right And Wrong About Jesus Christ
The monotheism that Muhammad championed arrived in an environment thick with Jewish and Christian ideas, so much of it reads like secondhand belief rather than an entirely new revelation. Arabia was mostly polytheistic, but pockets of Jews, Christians, and hanifs who claimed Abrahamic roots shaped the stories and phrases that circulated. The Qur’an emerged from that mix, compiled after Muhammad’s death into the recitations Muslims revere.
Settled Jewish communities dotted the western Arabian coast and Christian groups like Nestorians and Monophysites were present in the region. Hanifs rejected idols and worshiped Allah as the high God tied to Abraham and Ishmael, and Muhammad is traditionally described as fitting that profile. Close advisors and relatives, such as Khadija’s cousin Waraqah, likely exposed him to Christian-influenced theology.
The Qur’an insists on the oneness of God, describing Allah as the Most Merciful and totally unlike his creation. From the doctrine of tawhid flows Islamic theology: God is self-existent, omnipotent, omniscient, and utterly singular in his being. That strong emphasis explains why many Muslims view the Christian claims about Jesus as incompatible with true monotheism.
(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([“_mgc.load”])})(window,”_mgq”);
Muslims commonly call the Trinity and incarnation forms of shirk, the sin of associating partners with God, and treat such association as the most serious offense. That theological posture can blind thoughtful engagement, a point some former Muslims-turned-Christians have highlighted in their journeys toward faith in Christ.[1] Still, recognizing errors in Muslim objections does not erase the need for respectful witness.
What Islam Gets Right
The Qur’an affirms several true things about Jesus: it teaches the virgin birth and records that he did miracles, and it often portrays him as a righteous, even sinless, figure. Those admissions align with core Christian conviction that Jesus was extraordinary among humans and uniquely anointed by God. Christians can affirm these points while insisting that they do not exhaust who Jesus is.
At the same time the Qur’an insists Jesus was only a messenger and explicitly denies his divine sonship and death on the cross, which leads to denying atonement and resurrection.[2] These denials are central to why Islam and Christianity diverge so sharply on salvation and the identity of Christ. Yet historical evidence for Jesus’ crucifixion and the early Christian witness to his resurrection remains strong and central to Christian claims.
Where It Falls Short
Much Islamic critique stems from a literal misunderstanding of Christian language about “son.” The Qur’an asks, “How can He have a son when He hath no consort?” and treats the term as implying physical procreation, which misses the biblical meaning rooted in relationship and likeness. Muslim apologists who stress that “God is not a physical being” make a true point about God’s nature, but they then reject the relational and eternal sense in which the Bible calls Christ the Son of God.[3]
Another common confusion is thinking the incarnation makes Jesus identical to the Father or that Christians worship Mary alongside God. These are straw versions of the doctrine that do not represent orthodox teaching. Christianity says the eternal Son took on human nature without ceasing to be God, and that this does not dilute God’s uniqueness but magnifies his glory.
Claims that the Gospel texts were altered to manufacture Jesus’ divinity do not withstand the weight of manuscript and internal evidence. Even critics admit there are hundreds of passages across the New Testament that consistently present Jesus as the Son and God, and these occur in multiple books and contexts.[5] Explaining these away requires more special pleading than honest textual skepticism allows.
The New Testament repeatedly directs divine worship and honor toward Jesus and explains why that is fitting: he is the eternal Lord who humbled himself to redeem us, which ultimately magnifies God’s glory. When Christians say we worship Jesus, we are saying we worship the one true God who has revealed himself in Christ. Helping Muslims see that does not betray monotheism; it claims the fullest possible account of God’s self-revelation in Scripture.
(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([“_mgc.load”])})(window,”_mgq”);
Notes
[1] Nabeel Qureshi, No God but One: Allah or Jesus? A Former Muslim Investigates the Evidence for Islam and Christianity, Part 2.
[2] See treatments that compare the Qur’anic claims about Jesus with the Gospel witness for further study.
[3] Shabir Ally, Is Jesus God? The Bible Says No, 33.
[4] Ally references Matthew 23:9 in his argument; orthodox Christians distinguish between the persons of the Trinity and reject any notion that worship of Jesus replaces the Father.
[5] Claims that the New Testament was radically changed to insert divine titles for Jesus do not account for the widespread, early, and consistent testimony to his sonship across the corpus of writings.