Interfaith Dialogue in Islam

Y ou will certainly have to pay the price of your mistakes, even if you are a prophet. Muslims had made a mistake during the Battle of Uhud. ‘Uhud’ is the name of a mountain in Arabia and the battle was fought in the shadow of this mountain in the year 624 AD. The commander had instructed the archers positioned at the top of the mountain to not leave their places at any cost, as that would cause the enemy to attack from the rear. During the course of battle, the archers positioned at the top of the mountain felt that the Muslim side had won and so they left their positions early in spite of being instructed to not do so. This gave the opponents an opportunity to come from the rear and attack the Muslims. So, when the Muslim archers left their spot, the armies of the opposite side attacked from behind and decimated the Muslim forces. The Muslim defeat was bound to happen, as it was the consequence of a mistake made by few Muslims themselves. The occurrence of loss or defeat is a way of instilling the sense of responsibility in a person, so that he can assume full ownership for his actions. According to Islam, who is the father of Jesus Christ? A ccording to Islamic belief, Jesus was born without a father. Muslim scholars are unanimous on this. It may sound unnatural at first but the Quran explains that just as Adam had no father, Jesus too did not have a father. For the omnipotent Creator, His creation of Jesus was the same as that of Adam’s: Jesus in the sight of God is like Adam. He created him from dust; then said to him, ‘Be!’ and he was. (Quran 3:59) It must be understood that though Islam and Christianity hold the same position on the miraculous birth of Jesus, Islam, however does not associate divinity with Jesus Christ. Muslims do not believe Jesus to be the son of God, but rather a prophet just like Abraham, Moses and Muhammad. According to Islamic belief, God has clearly stated in the Quran that He did not beget a son as is believed in the Christian tradition. There is another verse to this effect: Such was Jesus, the son of Mary. That is the whole truth, about which they still dispute: it does not befit the majesty of God that He should beget a son. Glory be to Him! He is far above that: when He decrees something, He says only, ‘Be!’ and it is. (Quran 19:34-35) The Quran describes the events that took place before Jesus’ birth. An angel appeared to Mary and gave her the glad tiding of the birth of a son. Mary replied that she had no husband and asked how she could have a son. The angel told her that this was what God had ordained: