Muslims say that theQur'an is a Miracle. What is so miraculous about a book?

Previous prophets performed miracles to prove that their message was
not their own but God's message. In the caseof the Qur'an, the message
itself is the miracle.
The prophet Muhammad, on whom be peace, did not know how to read or
write. Yet the Qur'an which was being revealedto him was (and still
is) the highest pinnacle of literary beauty and excellence in the
Arabic Language. It was beyond the ability of the prophet to produce
this book. And God declares that it is beyond the ability of all
ofhumankind and spirit-kind to produce a book like the Qur'an.
The Qur'an was revealed piece by piece over a period of twenty-three
years. During this time, God challenged humankind four times to
produce a book like the Qur'an, and they couldn't do it. When the
prophet and his followers were being persecuted in Mecca, God showed
the persecutors a simple way by which they can wipe out the message of
the Qur'an. God stated that this book cannot be produced by men or
spiritcreatures. Obviously, if they pooled together their abilities
and composed a book like the Qur'an they would have proved the Qur'an
to be false in its claim. But they couldn't. And here is whatthe
Qur'an claims:
Say: If the whole of mankind and Jinns were to gather together to
produce the like of this Qur'an they could not produce the like
thereof, even if they backed up each other with help and support
(Qur'an 17:88).
Although people ardently wished to block the message of the Qur'an and
they tried every thingthey could to stifle it, yet they did not try
this obvious strategy. Why? Because it cannot be done. So God reduced
the challenge for them: never mind the whole book; produce just ten
chapters if you can. This challenge is mentioned in Surah 11:13 in the
Qur'an. Againthey couldn't do it. And they were the literary giants of
their day. They held fairs to promote their own literary masterpieces.
They hung their prized compositions on the door of the house of
pilgrimage for all to see. But they could not match the stunning
versesof the Qur'an.
God reduced the challenge further still (see Qur'an 10:38). If they
cannot produce ten chapters then how about one chapter? Just one! And
they couldn't do it, sothey eventually pulled down their proud
exhibitsfrom where they were hung. The Qur'an had proved its point:
this is noman-made book.
Yet they tried everything to banish the Qur'an from the face of the
earth. Theyeven made an attempt onthe life of the prophet. He fled to
Madinah, another city. And there the Qur'an kept coming to him piece
by piece. The challenge was repeated yet again. This time God reduced
theemphasis as if to say, okay you couldn't produce a chapter like it;
now produce a chapter even remotely like
it. This challenge is mentioned in the Qur'an in chapter 2, verse 23.
They failed again. And theworld has failed since. Thechallenge is
still there in the Qur'an, and everyone who disbelieves the Qur'an can
still pool together their abilities and resources to try and produce
one like it. But they cannot. Isn't this an awesome miracle?

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Jesus said that he is the way and that noone can come to God except through him. What do Muslims say about that?

Muslims believe that Jesus, on whom be peace, was indeed the way. This
means that he showed the way by which people should approach God. He
expected that people should follow him and imitate him. His early
followers were called followers of the way because, obviously, they
followed Jesus, and Jesus was the way (see Acts 9:2;18:25; 19:9;
19:23; 22:4; 24:14; 24:22). They were also called Christians, which
means 'imitators ofChrist' (see Acts 11 :26). This shows that the
early followers of Jesus copied and imitated him.
Jesus had said that his true followers will hold on to his teachings,
then they will know the truth, and the truth will set them free (see
John 8:31-32). God did reveal His truth in these last times. And true
followers of Jesus will readily acceptthat truth, for they will find
it in agreement with the unadulterated teachings of Jesus. In these
last times God has sent a messenger and declared that anyone whoclaims
to love Him must follow His messenger, on whom be peace. God directs
His messenger as follows:
Say! If you love Allah thenfollow me. Allah will love you and forgive
your sins. Surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful (Qur'an 3:31).
Now this messenger, Muhammad, on whom be peace, has brought God's
final message for all of humankind. If we love God we must follow him.
He brought the truth which Jesus said his true followers will
recognize. The truth sets people free from unreasonable doctrines and
dogmas.
Confusion arises in the minds of some who imagine that Jesus is the
only way for peoples of all times and all places. Clearly, the Old
Testamentprophets directed people to Yahweh, the only God. They showed
therefore the way to Yahweh. In fact, people were calling on the name
of Yahweh since the time of Adam (see Genesis 4:1).
Jesus was the way for his time; now Muhammad is the way. We believe in
both of them, and we worship the one God whom they both worshipped.
These men showed us the way to worship God. Jesus, for example, fell
on his knees and worshipped God (see Luke 22:4 1). He also fell on his
face and worshipped God (see Matthew 26:39). Muhammad too adopted
similar postures of humility in worshipping God. Likewise is the
practice of the true imitators of Jesus and Muhammad, peace be upon
both of them.
Finally, we should recall that Jesus is the way, not the destination.
He spoke of one who is greater than himself (see John 14:28). And he
said that, that one alone is the only true God (see John 17:3).
God has sent numerous prophets and messengers.Each in his time was the
way to God. No one can approach God in a way contrary to the way of
God's messenger. This is why God said that He will call to account
anyone who does not listen to Hisprophet who will speak inHis name
(see Deuteronomy 18:19).

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Muhammad is dead. But Jesus is alive. Doesn't that mean that Jesus Is superior to Muhammad?

Muslims believe that Jesusand Muhammad were both prophets and
messengers of Allah. Peace be upon both of them. Muslims will not
belittle any of God's prophets or reject their message. The Qur'an
tells us to declare our faith in all of the prophets including
Abraham, Moses,and Jesus, and that we should make no distinction among
them (see Qur'an 2:136; 3:84; 2:285). This means that since each of
them preached the true message of God, it would be wrong to say we
believe in some but not inothers.
The prophets themselves were humble servants of God. They did not try
to prove themselves superior to others. It would be wrong for their
followers to argue over who is superior. Once a Muslim and a Jew were
arguing. The Muslim said that Muhammad is superior over all the
people. The Jew said that Moses is superior over all the people. When
this was related to the prophet Muhammad, on whom be peace, he said:
Do not give me superiority over Moses (This is recorded in Sahih
al-Bukhari, vol.4, p.410, Arabic- English edition).
He also said "None shouldsay that I am better than Jonah, son of
Matta" (ibid, p.413).
He also instructed,"Do notgive superiority to any prophet among
Allah's prophets" (ibid, p.414).
Once the prophet was asked, "Who is the most honorable among the
people?" He replied, "The most God-fearing". When he was asked to name
a specific individual, he replied:
The most honorable person is Joseph (i.e. the son of Jacob) (ibid, p.390).
This humility was shared by other prophets too. The prophet Jesus, on
whom be peace, is reported to have said:
I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen
anyone greater thanJohn the Baptist (Matthew11:11).
But John the Baptist was also humble. He did not claim that greatness
for himself. He spoke of a greater one who was to come after him. He
is quoted as saying:
After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose
sandals Iam not worthy to stoop down and untie (Mark 1:7).
When God sent the angel Gabriel to take the prophet Muhammad to the
Aqsa Mosque one night, the prophet, on whom be peace, led the prayers
there, and the other prophets followed his lead. He also related the
truth that on the Day of Judgement he will lead the banner of Praise
under which will be all the other prophets. But the prophet Muhammad
did not boast about this. He instructed Muslims that they should not
praise him as the people praised Jesus, son of Mary.He said:
Call me a slave of Allah and His Messenger (Bukhari, vol.4, p.435).
What is important is not to try and prove one prophet superior over
another, but to believe in both of them. The prophet Muhammad, on whom
be peace, said:
If a man believes in Jesus and then believes in me, he will get a
double reward (ibid. p.435).

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Muslims believe thatJesus did not die on the cross. Does that mean he died of natural causes? Will he come again? Whyis he the only prophet to return?

Muslims believe that God'smessenger Jesus, son of Mary, on whom be
peace, did not die yet. God tells us in His own words that Jesus was
raised up by God and that he was neither killed nor crucified(see
Qur'an 4:157-158). Furthermore, God tells us that in order to foil the
plans of the unbelievers, God recalled Jesus and raised him up (see
Qur'an 3:55). Muslims understandfrom these Qur'anic passages that
Jesus did not die.
Muslims believe that Jesuswill be coming again. A common explanation
of verse 159 of Surah 4 in the Qur'an is that when Jesus returns, the
people of the book will each believe in Jesus as he really is. Another
verse in the Qur'an calls Jesus, on whom be peace, a sign of the day
of Judgement (seeQur'an 43:61). This was further explained by the
prophet Muhammad, on whom be peace, when he said that Jesus's return
will be a sign that the dayof Judgement is near.
God alone knows the full wisdom behind what He does. We can only try
to understand some of the reasons. With God's help we can point to
several reasons why Jesus will be coming again. One reason is that
when the angel Gabriel announced to Mary about the birth of Jesus, he
prophesied that Jesus will speak to mankind while he is a baby and
again when he is mature (see Qur'an 3:46). The Arabic word Kahlan here
translated 'maturity' actually refers to a maturity at 40 years old.
When Jesus comes back he will live to this age and the prophecy willbe
fulfilled. Jesus also foretold his death (see Qur'an 19:33). This too
will be fulfilled when he returns, and Jesus will be buried in Medina
near his brother in faith, the last prophet, on whom be peace.
Another reason for Jesus's second coming is that he will be honored
with the opportunity to personally correct the belief of his people.
Too many have disbelieved and rejected him. Many others have believed
incorrectly abouthim. When he returns, everyone will believe in him
correctly. Yet anotherreason for his coming is that some of his
teachingshave been forgotten (see Qur'an 5:14), and replacedby
misguided teachings (see Qur'an 5:77, 9:30). Jesus will have the honor
of breaking the symbols of such false teachings and dramatically
confirming his true teachings which were alsotaught by his brother in
faith, the last prophet, on whom be peace.
A further reason is that in the last days an evil man called the
Antichrist will arise. He will spread muchcorruption on the earth.
Jesus will return to slay this man and restore peace on earth.
As to why Jesus alone andno other prophet will come back is for God
alone to say. The above are only a few indications.
Finally, we must admit that Jesus, on whom be peace, was very unique.
His entry into the world was unique, his departurewas unique, and his
return will be spectacular. The Qur'an rightly calls him "illustrious
in the world and the Hereafter, and one of those brought near (unto
Allah)" (Qur'an 3:45).

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