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

Tarif Khalidi is to be lauded for producing a stellar scholarly work in how Jesus is represented in the Qur'an and the various Hadith. A lengthy and quite necessary introduction explains the early to medieval Islamic environments where these traditions took hold and flourished; and as it is likely that even a well-informed reader from either tradition might have an over-simplified view of the generation and growth of the various Hadith (especially where they concern Jesus and to a lesser extent his mother Mary / Miryamni,), the introduction becomes indispensable for a clear understanding of them. Make no mistake, the Jesus perceived by early Islam is very different from the orthodox Jesus of the Church. He is not divine, he is not a member of the Trinity; he is the last prophet before Mohammad; but as a prophet, his utterances are quite in line with what someone within the Judeo-Christian-Muslim would say about the nature of God, who shall be saved, and a great deal more. However, the author is at pains to underline that this work is intended not to amplify the differences between Islam and Christianity but rather their similarities. This alone makes the book praiseworthy in my 'umble opinion. If you are a Muslim or Christianm please read this book; and if you are one of THEM - a Westerner who views Muslims as nothing but bloodthirsty terrorists - you ought to read it as well, although I doubt that anything could get past the propaganda foisted through the media upon the West. You truly need not only an open mind, but something more basic, something that both the Prophet Mohammad and the Prophet Issa- blessed be their memories! - could agree upon: that it should be read with an open HEART. I write as someone who is neither Muslim or Christian and who has studied some of the primary text-sources used by the author. Definitely worth the money!

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

This book covers a topic area that really needs to be more thoroughly explored by both Muslims and Christians alike. There is much room for mutual understanding and respect based on the contents of this book. The dialogue and efforts to achieve greater understanding are based on mutual respect of our differences. This book details the reverence with which Jesus receives within the Muslim world through the various sources of these teachings. It's a productive read, and well worth the time to explore the understanding in this work. I think works like it can help to foster the productive, collaborative relationship between 2 great monotheistic religions that have much more in common than they do in competition with each other.

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.

This is the first collection of references to Jesus in Islamic literature outside of the Qur'an published since 1919. This up to date collection includes some newly collated references, bringing the total up to 303.The references are arranged in chronological order of when they were written down, from the 8th to 18th century. Each saying or story is accompanied by source references plus a generally rather too brief explanatory comment where necessary. Anyone expecting a collection of parables and wisdom sayings is likely to be sorely disappointed. The content is very mixed indeed. Some come, directly or with modification, from gospel or apocryphal gospel accounts (infuriatingly, though in some cases the author lists chapter and verse of the original gospel source, in many cases he does not do so); there are one or two distinctly gnostic entries; most however have no obvious traceable source.They begin with a very austere and ascetic Jesus who very much keeps himself apart from the sinners, in contradistinction to the Jesus of the gospels. Later on the portrayal of Jesus softens somewhat.Whatever the individual content or general picture, overall the Jesus presented here is thoroughly Islamicised. He even prays in mosques, goes on pilgramage to Mecca and condemns the drinking of wine as evil. Some of the entries are in the form of hadith qudsi, where God speaks to Jesus who then responds; these are usually formed with the intention of pointing out the errors of Christians (for example, God asks Jesus if he ever claimed to be the son of God; Jesus responds that he would never have done such a thing). Many of the pieces sourced from gospels have also been Islamicised to show the truth of Islam and the falsehood of Christianity.Because of this Islamicisation, it's frankly hard to see where any common denominator might exist, as some people might suppose. Pace another reviewer here, this book is hardly going to bring about Muslims and Christians happily dancing together in the streets and going in and out of each others' houses bearing gifts of flowers.Probably of most interest to students of comparative religion, but really deserves a more thorough treatment, welcome though this volume is.