Customer Reviews

The Muslim Jesus: Sayings and Stories in Islamic Literature (Convergences: Inventories of the Present)

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As an Arab Christian who have lived in an Islamic environment, I have always known that Muslims cherished and respected Jesus as one of their prophets, but little did I know about the actual sayings they ascribe to him. I was therefore intrigued by the topic of this book: what do Muslims really think about Jesus, and how does their conception differ from ours? I found this book to contain excellent answers to satisfy my curiosity and arouse further interest in the subject.

This book is the first collection in English of all the sayings in early Islamic literature (Hadith) attributed to Jesus. Thus they are the authoritative guide to what Islam knows and thinks about Jesus. The rendering into English is excellent and easily readable, and the author's commentary on each saying is a useful addition. I decided to read the introduction before the sayings, and was thankful for doing so (despite its length), as the introduction adds a wealth of background material about the origin of the sayings, their relationship to Christianity, and their evolution within the early Islamic context. The scholarship of the author is impeccable, and the work is a superb example of how unbiased objective scholarship should be, as the author takes no sides, except that of deep curiosity to find out the truth.

While reflecting the certain theological differences between the Islamic Jesus and the Christian Jesus, these sayings are evidence for a surprising similarity in attitude and values between the two religions. No doubt some of these sayings are influenced by translations of the gospels and apocryphal texts into Arabic and by the large Arab Christian community during that period. However, much of the wisdom therein is of a universal nature that transcends religious divisions and reflects a common human denominator.

Another feature of this book is its insights about the early Islamic period. Although I have read many books about Islam, most of them portray the religion as a stagnant system that was revealed at a single time to the Prophet Mohammad. Instead, this book demonstrates how Islam evolved dynamically over its first few centuries, much like how early Christianity was an evolving religion. Thus we see how various factions of Islam competed and had their own concepts of what the religion should be, and `used' lore from prophetic figures such as Jesus to strengthen their arguments. This whole concept of an evolving religion throws great doubts upon the ideals of modern-day "fundamentalists" who apparently wish to recreate "early Islam". By exposing the myriad differences between Muslims themselves, and the closeness of some important Islamic elements to Christianity, "The Muslim Jesus" also throws a lot of doubt on some Westerners today who somehow feel threatened by Islam and lump all Muslims together as "enemies of Christianity".

For all these reasons, I strongly recommend The Muslim Jesus for a highly enjoyable, and thought-provoking read.

This is a wonderful book. If you truly wish to understand the Islamic view of Jesus, this book is a must. Through its pages are many stories and sayings of Jesus, some instantly recognizable, others less so.

Rather than studying 'dry' comparative religious texts discussing 'Islam vs. Christianity/Jesus' (which are foundationally necessary), try reading this book as an alternative. Not only will you come to understand how Jesus is viewed in Islam but you will also get a sense of the 'spirit' of Islam.

The introduction presents the major themes in any discussion on this topic and raises many questions, yet leaves them open ended. Yet the answers make their way through the pages of the rest of the book. This book will enlighten you to the fact that in the earliest days of Islam, the bitter and often violent antagonism that seems so apparent these days was not always so and in that sense perhaps hope will spring eternal from these pages.

This book reveals how another major world civilization viewed Jesus: as a prophet, teacher, ascetic, and iconoclast. It displays a new facet of Jesus, which is highly relevant to our times. I'll definitely assign this text in one of my undergraduate courses.

This book has soothed alot of nerves in our mixed household...you know the relatives that just have no idea how a Catholic and a Muslim can share life without conflict of religion. Everybody has questions, and this book is lovely for helping inform people who don't know our similarities, just the differences.

In the Muslim tradition there are many sayings and stories of Jesus which cannot be found elsewhere. Khalidi collects about 300 of these and presents them in a clear translation. The introduction and notes are not very exciting, but they provide a general background to the sayings. Although Khalidi's is the largest collection, Robson's Christ in Islam contains many other sayings and stories, including the stories about Jesus from the Qur'an, and is a good complement to this book.

This is an informative text and can only strengthen your knowledge of Jesus & Islam. There is little comment in the book and some passages will remain a mystery. There are several parallel stories to Gnostic texts in the text.
It shows that Jew-Dao-Christian & Islam are so closely related. Well worth a read for a seeker of understanding & knowledge and some challenges to your view of Jesus Christ.

Peace

This work represents in English translation the largest collection ever assembled of the sayings and stories of Jesus in Arabic Islamic literature. Here is the tradition of love and reverence for Jesus that has characterized Islamic tradition for more than a thousand years.

Though the author describes this as the "Muslim Gospel" we might call it the hadith (traditions) of the Prophet Jesus (and more than 300 of them), for the very same scholars who collected and authenticated this collection, had already set about authenticating the hadith of the Prophet Muhammad. The isnad (line of transmitters) is included as much as is known, considering these were collected in the ninth century for the most part. The line of transmitters for the sayings (hadith) of the Prophet Muhammad are more detailed as the work was done just two hundred years after his death. With the line of transmitters (isnad) one is able to consult volumes on the biographies of these transmitters. . . a not uncommon practice for ordinary Muslims reading the teachings and sayings of Muhammad.

Some samples of the 300 hadith of Jesus included in this work:
#46 Christ said: "Whoever has learned, acted, and imparted knowledge. . .is the one who is called great in the kingdom of heaven."
#49 Jesus used to prepare food for his followers, then call them to eat and wait upon them, saying: "This is what you must do for the poor."
#91 Jesus met a man and asked him, "What are you doing?" "I am devoting myself to God," the man replied. Jesus asked, "Who is caring for you?" "My brother," replied the man. Jesus said, "Your brother is more devoted to God than you are."
#94 "At the end of time, there will be religious scholars who preach abstinence but do not themselves abstain,, who encourage yearning for the afterlife but do not themselves yearn, who forbid visits to rulers but do not themselves desist, who draw near to the rich and distance themselves from the poor, who recoil from the lowly and fawn upon the mighty. they are the tyrants and the enemies of the Merciful God."

This reviewer would also recommend Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time by Marcus Borg, a Lutheran and member of the Jesus Seminar. His scholarly yet highly readable understanding of the gospels of the New Testament lead to a clearer understanding of both the Jesus of history and the Christ of faith. Muslims would no doubt find that their understanding of Jesus squares very well with Borg's.


Teachers/Librarians: 6th grade to adult - social studies/humanities

The references in this book are interesting but I find Jesus (Peace be upon him), The Truth Revealed a more accurate account of Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) in Islamic traditions

This book is a collection of statements attributed to Jesus by early Muslims, some of which are reported from the Prophet Muhammad others are from later Muslims who seemingly (?) took from "Christian" - maybe even Gnostic - sources. The quotes are interesting and certainly show an understanding of Jesus as an ascetic. The only fault I found with this work was that the quotes are not in Arabic, and so a student of Islam cannot verify the translations easily, though the quotes are referenced to the original works they were taken from.

As it turns out, careful control over the creation of the Bible centuries ago meant that many of the orally preserved stories about Jesus were lost to the Christian tradition. Islam, however, preserved a number of these, as one of the Abrahamic religions whose adherents shared a common theological background with Christians and Jews. This book collects a number of sayings and stories concerning Esa, as Jesus is known to readers of the Qur'an. Some are quite similar to stories and sermons familiar to us from the New Testament, but many are delightfully new and enrich the legacy of Jesus without in any way diminishing his contributions as a teacher and advocate for the poor. Muslims do not believe that Jesus was the son of God, but they do revere him as a prophet. In many ways this book explains and illuminates that reverence for Esa.