Comparing Jesus (a.s.) to Adam (a.s.)

Regarding Jesus Christ (a.s.), two groups went astray: the extremists and the minimalists. The extremists believed in divine incarnation in Christ and considered Jesus son of Mary (a.s.) to be the son of God, adhering to the belief in trinity, while the minimalists accused Mary (a.s.): “And for their faithlessness, and their uttering a monstrous calumny against Mary”(595)

The Qur’an, by comparing the creation of Christ (a.s.) to the creation of Adam (a.s.), prevented any form of extremism or minimalism: Jesus (a.s.) is like Adam (a.s.), and their similarity lies in that neither had a father: “Indeed the case of Jesus with Allah is like the case of Adam.” Although the miracle in Adam’s (a.s.) creation is more evident, because the formation of a human in a mother’s womb is not as remarkable as the emergence of a human without parents, and those who have accepted the miraculous creation of Adam (a.s.) should more certainly accept the extraordinary nature of Christ’s (a.s.) creation.

The phrase “with Allah” indicates that this statement is irrefutable. Therefore: firstly, Jesus (a.s.) is created, not otherwise; secondly, his creation is similar to Adam’s (a.s.) creation; thirdly, these two matters are established with God; fourthly, God’s knowledge, which some refer to as “pure reality” (wāqiʿ maḥḍ) and others as “the reality of the matter” (nafs al-amr), is immune from ignorance, oversight, forgetfulness, and error; fifthly, His knowledge is protected from change: based on “That which is with you will be spent but what is with Allah shall last”,(596) whatever is with humans is perishable and whatever is with God is imperishable, and this principle encompasses scientific, cultural, and doctrinal matters. Thus, human sciences and knowledge are subject to change and decline, but sciences and knowledge that come from God are established and protected from change.

Note: Comparing Jesus (a.s.) to Adam was more appropriate than comparing him to Eve, hence the analogy between Christ’s emergence and Adam (a.s.) was presented as a similarity between two prophets throughout history.