2a] What Do Muslims Believe about Jesus?

2a]
:-> So believe in Allah and His messengers . . . " (Qur'an 4:171; see
also 66:12).
In the above passage Jesus in called by four noble titles. He is the
Messiah, the Messenger of Allah, a Word from Allah, and a Spirit from
Allah. In the same passage, it is clear that the Qur'an seeksto
discourage exaggeration in religion. Further in the same passage,
Allah says:
"Allah is only One God. Faris it removed from His transcendent majesty
thatHe should have a son. His is all that is in the heavens and all
that is in the earth. And Allah is sufficient as Defender" (Qur'"an
4:171).
Refusing to call Jesus son of God is not done with a view to belittle
Jesus. No! On the contrary, it is done to Glorify God, to magnify His
name, and to proclaimHis transcendent majesty.
The Qur'"an confirms that Jesus was born of a virgin.When the angel
announced to Mary, on whom be peace, that she will bear a child, she
said:
"My Lord! How can I have a child when no mortal has touched me"
She received the following reply:
"So (it will be). Allah creates what He will. If Hedecrees a thing, He
says unto it only: Be! and it is. (Qur'"an 3: 45, 47).
In another surah, after relating the incidents surrounding the birth
of the Messiah, the Qur'"an concludes as follows:
"It befits not (the majesty of) Allah that He should take unto Himself
a son. Glory be to Him! When he decrees a thing, He says unto it only:
Be! and it is."" (Qur'an 19:35).
The Qur'an seeks to correct a common misconception in the minds of
people. Many assume that since Jesus had no father then God must be
his father.
Glory be to Allah. He does not father children. He created everyone we
know from a man and a woman. But He created Adam from neither a man
nor a woman. And He created Eve from a man, but not from a woman.
Then, as if to complete the picture, God created Jesus from a woman
but not from a man. God has demonstrated His power to create in every
way.
Allah says:
"Lo! the likeness of Jesus with Allah is as the likeness of Adam. He
created him from dust, then he said unto him: Be!and he is" (3:59).
It is important to realise that Jesus, on whom be peace, never taught
that he is the Son of God. Allah says that those who call Jesus "Son
of God" are following the saying of other people (see surah 9:30).
Jesus taught only what he was commanded(5:117). He himself was quite
pleased with being a servant of Allah (4:172). As a messenger of
Allah, Jesus knew that none in the heavens or the earth can approach
Allah exceptas a slave (19:93).
Finally, those who say that God has a son should know that they have
no warrant for this, but they are saying something without knowledge
(10:68).
In the next part,
God willing, we will see from acareful study of the Bible that Jesus
never called himself God's son.

2] What Do Muslims Believe about Jesus?

2]
Muslims respect and revere Jesus (peace be upon him). They consider
him one of the greatest ofGod's messengers to mankind. The Quran
confirms his virgin birth, and a chapter of the Quran is entitled
'Maryam'(Mary). The Quran describes the birth of Jesus as follows:
(Remember) when the angels said, "O Mary, God gives you good news of a
word from Him (God), whose name is the Messiah Jesus, son of Mary,
revered in this world and the Hereafter, and one of those brought near
(to God). He will speak to the people from his cradle and as a man,
and he is of the righteous." She said, "My Lord, how can I have a
child when no mortal has touched me?" He said, "So(it will be). God
creates what He wills. If He decrees a thing, He says toit only, 'Be!'
and it is." (Quran, 3:45-47)
Jesus was born miraculously by the command of God, the same command
that had brought Adam into being with neither a father nor a mother.
God has said:
The case of Jesus with Godis like the case of Adam. He created him
from dust,and then He said to him,"Be!" and he came into being.
(Quran, 3:59)
During his prophetic mission, Jesus performed many miracles. God tells
us that Jesus said:
"I have come to you with a sign from your Lord. I make for you the
shape ofa bird out of clay, I breathe into it, and it becomes a bird
by God's permission. I heal the blind from birth and the leper. And I
bring the dead to life by God's permission. And I tell you what you
eat and what you store in your houses...." (Quran, 3:49)
Muslims believe that Jesuswas not crucified. It was the plan of Jesus'
enemiesto crucify him, but God saved him and raised him up to Him. And
the likeness of Jesus was put over another man. Jesus' enemies took
this man and crucified him, thinking that he was Jesus. God has said:
...They said, "We killed theMessiah Jesus, son of Mary, the messenger
of God." They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but the
likeness of him was put on another man (and they killed that man)...
(Quran, 4:157)
Neither Muhammad nor Jesus came to change the basic doctrine of the
beliefin one God, brought by earlier prophets, but rather to confirm
and renew it.
Jesus is a Servant of God
It will be quickly obvious that they often referred tohim as a servant
of God, but never Son of God. Peter, for example, said:
"The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has
glorified his servant Jesus"(Acts 3:13).
Peter further said:
"God raised up his servant" (Acts 3:26), where the title servant
refers to Jesus.
Not only Peter, but the entire group of believers viewed Jesus as
God's servant. When they raisedtheir voices together in prayer to God,
in the course of their speaking to God they called Jesus"your holy
servant Jesus whom you anointed" (Acts 4:27). They repeatedthis title
also in verse 30. Consistently, Jesus was being called servant of God
by the original followers of Jesus.
Some people mistakenly thought that the disciples called Jesus Son of
God. Aninconsistency of translation actually helped to give this wrong
impression. In the King James Bible, the translators call Jesus "Son
of God" in Acts 3:13, 26, and "child of God" in Acts 4:27. They simply
translated the Greek wordpaida as "son" or "child". But the word paida
also means "servant", and the present context demands this translation
since the author of Acts is trying in this passage to establish that
Jesus is indeed the servant of God.
The translators knew that the Greek word paida means servant. When the
same word was used for David in chapter 4, verse 25, they translated
it"servant". Why not call Jesus also by the same title? Or, if they
feel that"son" is the correct translation, why not also call David
"Son of God"? Jesus and David are both called by the same title in
Greek. Why not call them by a same title in English also?
Other translators recognized this inconsistency and corrected it in
the moderntranslations of the Bible. Therefore the New International
Version of the Bible and many otherscall Jesus Servant of God in the
verses already quoted above. Nevertheless, the fact thatJesus was
God's servant was so well known that even the King James Bible called
him by this title in Matthew 12:18. Referring back to Isaiah 42:1,
Matthew identified Jesus as the servant of the one true God Yahweh.
In the next part, we will see how the eagerness in some people to call
Jesus"Son of God" led them to invent explanations that indirectly
insult God.
The Messiah, Jesus Son of Mary
"O People of the Scripture!Do not exaggerate in yourreligion, and do
not say anything concerning Allahexcept the truth. The Messiah, Jesus
son of Mary, was only a messenger of Allah, and His word which He
conveyed unto Mary, and a spirit from Him. So believe in Allah and His
messengers . . . " (Qur'an 4:171; see also 66:12).

1a] Is it permissible for a person who has bought a car or a house to offer a sacrifice in gratitude to Allaah?.

1a]
If one of my children doeswell in school, is it permissible for me to
offer a sacrifice to celebrate his success, and to give thanks to
Allaah?
He replied:
There is nothing wrong with making food (waleemah) if the childrenor
one of them succeeds, and inviting one's loved ones and his child's
friends, to celebrate Allaah's blessing and to encourage the child.
End quote.
Liqaa'aat al-Baab il-Maftooh (no. 161, question no. 1).
Secondly:
It is essential to beware ofsome beliefs which many people hold, and
say that in order to protect the new house or car it is essential to
offer a sacrifice and sprinkle it with the blood of the slaughtered
animal, or that evil spirits will not keep away from you unless you do
that, otherwise the blessing will soon dissipate. hese are jaahili
beliefs which do not come from someone who believes in Allaah as his
Lord Who possesses all powers to bring benefit or cause harm, in Whose
hand is the creation and the commandment, and knows that it is not
permissible to do acts of worship unless they are done for the sake of
Allaah.
The scholars of the Standing Committee wereasked about the belief held
by many people, thatoffering a sacrifice on the threshold of the new
house before entering it isone of the most important means of warding
off the evil eye, and making the house blessed, and avoiding
calamities and undesirable events.
They replied:
If this custom – i.e., offering a sacrifice on the threshold of the
new house – is done in order to placate the jinn and ward off
calamities and undesirable events, then it is a haraam custom, andis
in fact shirk. This is what seems to be the case with offering the
sacrifice before entering the house, and doing it onthe threshold in
particular.
But if the intention is to honour one's new neighbours and get to know
them, and to give thanks to Allaah for the blessing of a new home, and
to honour one's relatives and friends on this occasion, and to
showthem the house, then this is good and the one who does it is to be
praised forhis action. But that is only usually done after the people
have moved into the house, and not before,and the animal or
animalsshould not be slaughteredon the threshold of the house or in
the entryway to the house. End quote.
Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa'imah (1/214)
See also the answer to question no. 26952 , which quotes two fatwas
from Shaykh 'Abd al-'Azeez ibn Baaz and Shaykh al-'Uthaymeen
concerning the same topic.
And Allaah knows best.

1] Is it permissible for a person who has bought a car or a house to offer a sacrifice in gratitude to Allaah?.

1]
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
The blessings that Allaah bestows upon people are many, and His bounty
andgenerosity towards them are vast. A blessing can only be responded
to by giving thanks and appreciating it. Allaah, may He be glorified
and exalted, has enjoined giving thanks to Him, for He is Appreciative
and loves those who give thanks.
Allaah says (interpretationof the meaning):
"So eat of the lawful and good food which Allaah has provided for you.
And be grateful for the Graces of Allaah, if it is He Whom you
worship"
[al-Nahl 16:144]
"seek your provision fromAllaah (Alone), and worship Him (Alone), and
be grateful to Him. To Him(Alone) you will be brought back"
[al-'Ankaboot 29:17]
Part of being grateful to Allaah is seeking to draw closer to Him by
means ofdifferent kinds of acts of worship and to endear oneself to
Him by means of good deeds such as prayer, zakaah, fasting and so on.
Another part of being grateful to Allaah is givingthanks to Him by
means of sacrifice rituals, which means offering a sacrifice for the
sake of Allaah.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in
his commentary on the verse "Therefore turn in prayer to your Lord and
sacrifice (to Him only)" [al-Kawthar 108:2]:
What is meant is that prayer and sacrifice are the best of the things
by means of which one may draw closer to Allaah, and the usage of the
word fa (translated here as "therefore") points to the reason, i.e.,
doing that – prayer and sacrifice – in gratitude for that which Allaah
has given him of al-Kawthar (a river in Paradise) and much goodness.
So he should give thanks to the One Who has blessed him and worship
Him, and the twogreatest types of worship are these two acts of
worship; indeed, prayer is the ultimate act of worship. It is as if He
is saying to him: We have given you al-Kawthar and a great deal of
goodness, and We have blessed you with that because you have been
doing these two acts of worship in gratitude for Our blessing to you;
these are the reasons why We have bestowed these blessings upon you,
so do these two things for Us, for prayer and sacrifice are surrounded
by blessings that come before them and after them. The best financial
act of worship is sacrifice and the best physical act of worship is
prayer, and the benefits that a slave of Allaah may gain from prayer
cannot be compared to any othertype of worship, as is known by those
whose hearts are alive and those of high aspirations. Adding to it the
benefits of offering sacrifice, whichis a sign of devotion to Allaah
and thinking positively of Him, and having strong certainty and faith
about that which is in the hand of Allaah is something wonderful, if
that is accompanied by faith and sincerity. The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) obeyed the command of his Lord and
prayed and sacrificed a great deal to Him; he even sacrificed
sixty-three camels with his own hand during the Farewell Pilgrimage,
and he used to offer sacrifices on the Eids and at other times. End
quote.
Majmoo' al-Fataawa 916/532).
If Allaah bestows a great blessing upon a person – and all His
blessing are great – then it is mustahabb for him to give thanks to
Allaah for itby showing kindness to people, so he should offer a
sacrifice and make food and invite his brothers and friends, and give
charity to those who are in need.
It says in al-Mawsoo'ah al-Fiqhiyyah (26/180-181):
It is mustahabb to give thanks anew when new blessings come, by
speaking words of praise. Gratitude for that may also be expressed by
doing acts of worship, which includes offering a sacrifice or inviting
peopleto a meal. The fuqaha' have mentioned the kindsof meals that may
be offered when blessing arerenewed, such as the wakeerah which is
made for a new home, or naqee'ah which is made on the return of an
absentloved one, and hidhaaq which is done when a child completes a
reading of the Qur'aan.
The view of the Hanbalis, the more correct view among the Shaafa'is,
is that these meals are mustahabb.
Ibn Qudaamah said: Theseinvitations – other than the wedding feast
(waleemah) and 'aqeeqah– are something good, but they are like
invitations that are given for no reason; if the person who does them
intends thereby to give thanks to Allaah for His blessing and to feed
his brothers and offer food, then he will have the reward for that in
sha Allaah. End quote.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked:
If one of my children doeswell in school, is it permissible for me to
offer a sacrifice to celebrate his success, and to give thanks to
Allaah?
He replied: