Jesus Is Not a Muslim: A Biblical and Theological Examination of the Identity of Christ and the Claims of Islam
By Dr. Maxwell Shimba
Shimba Theological Institute
Abstract
One of the central claims of Islam is that Jesus (Isa), along with Abraham, Moses, Noah, and every biblical prophet, was a Muslim who preached submission to Allah. This assertion forms the foundation of the Qur'an's reinterpretation of biblical history. However, when examined through the historical, textual, and theological witness of the Bible, this claim proves unsustainable. The Jesus revealed in Scripture proclaimed Himself as the eternal Son of God, identified God as His Father, accepted worship, foretold His crucifixion and resurrection, and commissioned His followers to proclaim salvation through Him alone. These teachings fundamentally contradict the portrait of Jesus presented in the Qur'an.
This article argues that Jesus was not a Muslim in the Islamic sense, that Allah as described in the Qur'an is not the God revealed in the Bible, and that the Qur'an presents a radically different theological narrative from the one consistently taught by the biblical prophets.
Introduction
Islam claims continuity with Judaism and Christianity while simultaneously rejecting the central doctrines of both faiths. The Qur'an repeatedly asserts that Jesus was merely a prophet who submitted to Allah and never claimed divine sonship.
This creates a historical question:
Does the Jesus described in the New Testament resemble the Jesus of the Qur'an?
The evidence overwhelmingly answers No.
1. Jesus Never Called God "Allah"; He Called Him Father
The defining characteristic of Jesus' ministry was His unique relationship with God as Father.
Jesus taught His disciples:
"Our Father in heaven..."
(Matthew 6:9)
He declared:
"My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working."
(John 5:17)
At His baptism, the Father proclaimed:
"This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
(Matthew 3:17)
Jesus never described Himself as merely another servant among many prophets. Instead, He consistently distinguished His sonship from the relationship believers have with God.
The Qur'an explicitly rejects divine fatherhood.
Surah 112 declares:
"He neither begets nor is born."
Thus, the God proclaimed by Jesus cannot be identical to the Allah who explicitly denies being Father.
2. Jesus Claimed Divine Equality
Islam insists Jesus never claimed deity.
The New Testament records otherwise.
Jesus declared:
"I and the Father are one."
(John 10:30)
His Jewish audience immediately understood the implication:
"Because you, being a man, make yourself God."
(John 10:33)
Likewise,
"Before Abraham was, I AM."
(John 8:58)
Jesus deliberately identified Himself with the divine name revealed to Moses in Exodus 3:14.
No prophet before Him ever made such claims.
3. Jesus Accepted Worship
Biblical prophets consistently rejected worship.
Peter refused it.
Paul refused it.
Angels refused it.
Jesus never did.
Examples include:
Matthew 14:33
Matthew 28:9
John 9:38
Thomas confessed:
"My Lord and my God!"
(John 20:28)
Jesus accepted this confession without correction.
A mere prophet would have condemned such worship as blasphemy.
4. Jesus Is the Son of God
The title "Son of God" is not a later invention.
It appears throughout the Gospels.
The Father proclaimed it.
The apostles proclaimed it.
Demons recognized it.
The Roman centurion confessed it.
John summarizes his Gospel:
"These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God."
(John 20:31)
The Qur'an categorically denies this doctrine.
Both claims cannot simultaneously be true.
5. Jesus Predicted His Own Death and Resurrection
Perhaps the greatest contradiction between Christianity and Islam concerns the crucifixion.
Jesus repeatedly predicted:
"The Son of Man must suffer many things... be killed... and after three days rise again."
(Luke 9:22)
Again,
"Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."
(John 2:19)
The apostles preached:
Christ died.
Christ was buried.
Christ rose again.
Paul writes:
"He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification."
(Romans 4:25)
Yet the Qur'an states:
"They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him—it only appeared so."
(Qur'an 4:157)
If Jesus truly foretold His death and resurrection, then the Qur'an directly contradicts Jesus Himself.
6. The Cross Is Central to God's Plan
Long before Christ's birth, Scripture foretold His suffering.
Psalm 16:10 declares:
"You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor let Your Holy One see corruption."
Isaiah 53 describes the suffering servant who bears the sins of many.
Jesus fulfilled these prophecies.
Peter proclaimed:
"God raised Him from the dead."
The resurrection validates every claim Jesus made.
If the crucifixion never occurred, the fulfillment of biblical prophecy collapses.
Yet history overwhelmingly supports the crucifixion.
Virtually all mainstream historians—including many who are not Christians—accept Jesus' crucifixion as one of the best-attested events of the ancient world.
7. Salvation Through Christ Alone
Jesus declared:
"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."
(John 14:6)
Notice the destination:
The Father.
Not Allah.
Jesus never invited humanity to submit to Allah.
He invited sinners to come to Himself.
Throughout John's Gospel He says:
Believe in Me.
Come to Me.
Follow Me.
Abide in Me.
The focus is Christ Himself.
8. The God of the Bible Is Distinct from Allah of the Qur'an
The biblical revelation portrays God as:
Father
Son
Holy Spirit
Loving
Redeemer
Covenant Keeper
The Qur'an presents Allah as:
Not Father
Denying divine sonship
Rejecting the crucifixion
Rejecting the Trinity
Rejecting Christ's divine identity
These are not minor differences.
They concern the very identity of God.
Two descriptions that affirm mutually exclusive truths cannot refer to the same theological revelation in the same sense.
9. The Qur'an's Reinterpretation of Jesus
The Qur'an was written approximately six centuries after the New Testament.
Rather than confirming the apostolic witness, it revises it by denying:
Jesus' divine sonship
His crucifixion
His resurrection
His atoning sacrifice
His unique mediatorship
From the standpoint of historic Christian theology, this later account is incompatible with the earlier biblical testimony.
Christian scholars therefore conclude that the Qur'an does not preserve the apostolic teaching about Jesus but presents a different theological portrait.
Conclusion
The historical Jesus of the New Testament cannot accurately be described as a Muslim according to the theological meaning that Islam gives the term. He proclaimed God as His Father, affirmed His unique identity as the Son of God, accepted worship, foretold His death and resurrection, and declared Himself to be the exclusive way to the Father. These teachings stand in direct tension with the Qur'an's presentation of Jesus.
For Christians, the decisive authority is the apostolic witness preserved in the canonical Scriptures. Consequently, the biblical evidence supports the conclusion that Jesus is not a Muslim but the incarnate Son of God, crucified, risen, and exalted as Lord. The Qur'an's account represents a fundamentally different theological narrative rather than a continuation of the biblical revelation.
Dr. Maxwell Shimba
Shimba Theological Institute
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