OTHER PROPHET: Jesus in the Qur'an

Two German scholars specialising in the Qur'an and the New Testament have written this ground-breaking book about Jesus. Their approach is new not just because this kind of collaboration is unprecedented, but also because the methodology adopts an evolutionary approach to the Qur'an's pronouncements about Jesus, taking as its starting point the assumption that the Qur'an was largely written during the Prophet Muhammad's lifetime. The authors are guided by the principles of comparative theology, though at the same time they seek to remain faithful to the truths to which they are committed. The paradigm shift in modern philosophy has seen metaphysics replaced by transcendental philosophy, with ultimate validity conceived not in terms of substances or natures, but in terms of relationships. The claim that Jesus is of one substance with God becomes the formulation that Jesus's creatural nature is defined in its originating in, and striving towards, the divine nature. God's word contains and expresses God's commitment to the Other within himself, and Jesus derives his personal identity from desiring God's will. The biblical record emphasized Jesus's intimate relation to the Father and also Jesus's capacity to honour the otherness of others. If there are exceptions to this, for instance the Cleansing of the Temple, it is because of Jesus's capacity to recognise others' unrealised potentialities. For Muslims, the question arises as to why we may not speak of other human beings as God's living word, and Q 9:30 admonishes Christians for giving monks and bishops godlike status. The authors contextualise this by suggesting that the verse is attacking abusive practices in both religions. There is a debate in the Qur'an about the internal threat of trinitarianism, and this challenging study concludes with a forensic search in the Qur'an for functional equivalents to Jesus's salvific work. A sensitive topic is Jesus's Crucifixion, and the Qur'an rejects any form of redemptive power. The Qur'anic title for Jesus, "servant of God", belongs in a wider context. 225pp.