Indeed...

Indeed, the first steps in this direction are laid out for us in the Qur’an itself, in the verses mentioned above and in others. Contemporary work toward Islamic Christology is scarce. Christian authors have tended to stress the salvific function of Jesus (‘a) which seems to have no place in Islam, and given this, the Christians ask one another whether Christ (‘a) can be the saviour of Muslims and others who are not Christians.

Christians should be reminded that Muslims accept Jesus (‘a) as saviour, along with all the other Prophets, for the prophetic function is to save humanity from the scourge of sin by conveying the message of guidance revealed by God. The important difference between Islam and Christianity here is not over the issue of whether Jesus (‘a) saves, but how he saves.

Islam denies that salvation is through redemption resulting from the crucifixion, and instead turns its attention to the instruction provided in the life of the Prophets (‘a). Muslims, on the other hand, have tended to produce polemical works showing how much of what is in the Bible is consistent with the Islamic view of Christ (‘a) as a Prophet rather than as a person of the Trinity. Some interesting work along these lines has been initiated by Ahmad Deedat in South Africa.

More profound insights into the differences between Islam and other faiths, including Christianity, may be found in the writings of Frithjof Schuon, Shaykh ‘Isa Nur al-Din Ahmad, who presents the beginnings of a genuine Christology from a Sufi perspective in his Islam and the Perennial Philosophy. There is also a valuable collection of stories about Jesus (‘a) culled from the writings of various Muslim mystics, Jesus in the Eyes of the Sufis .

Some of the items reported in this work have their origins in the narrations attributed to the Shi’i Imams (‘a) presented below. These days there is much discussion of dialogue between different faith communities. Conferences have been held for this purpose in the Islamic Republic of Iran as well as in Africa, Europe and the United States.

Perhaps one of the best ways Christians can find common ground for discussion with Muslims is to become familiar with the portrait of Jesus (‘a) presented in Islamic sources, the most important of which are the Qur’an and hadith , and as for the latter, no matter what one’s religious orientation, it must be admitted that the narrations handed down through the Household of the Prophet (a.s) deserve careful attention.