By: Seyyed Ali Shahbaz
     
“When the angels said, ‘O Mary, Allah gives you the good news of a Word from Him whose name is Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, distinguished in the world and the Hereafter, and one of those brought near [to Allah].” (Holy Qur’an 3:45)    
“Indeed the case of Jesus with Allah is like the case of Adam: He created him from dust then said to him, ‘Be,’ and he was.” (Holy Qur’an 3:59)
People in the West, after a night of revelry or attending the midnight mass at the churches, are celebrating December 25 as Christmas or the day on which they have made to believe that Jesus (peace upon him) was born.
Although no version of the various versions of the Gospels, whether canonical or non-canonical are in circulation among the different sects of Christianity, these books do not mention the date of the Virgin-born Messiah.
The Gospels are also rather vague on the exact place of the birth of Jesus, with some saying that it took place in Bethlehem in Palestine where a group of wise Iranian men (Magi) arrived following the bright star that appeared in the sky.
Anyway, irrespective of the fact that the Israelites among whom Jesus was born had a lunar calendar like their Ishmaelite cousins, the Arabs, and did not follow the solar calendar of their detested Roman overlords, the important point is the reason for revelation of the Ayahs cited at the beginning of this column.
The occasion was an inter-religious dialogue in Medina in 9 AH (630 AD) between Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) and the visiting delegation of Christian priest of Najran (in Yemen) concerning Islam’s view of Jesus.
As is clear, this and other Ayahs of the Holy Qur’an hold Jesus in high esteem, confirm his miraculous birth without the association of any male with his chaste mother, and verify his healing powers including his restoration of the dead to life, but reject his alleged divinity as well as the myth of his crucifixion. 
“O People of the Book! Do not go to extremes in your creed, and do not say of Allah but the Truth. Certainly, the Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, is only a Prophet of Allah and His Word He conveyed unto Mary, and a Spirit from Him. So have faith in Allah and His prophets, and do not say, ‘[God is] a trinity.’ Relinquish [such a creed]! That is better for you. Allah is but the One God. He is far too immaculate to have any son. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth, and Allah suffices as Trustee.” (Holy Qur’an 4:171)
It is out of context to focus on the event of ‘Mubahela’ that challenged the Christians priests for invoking Divine Curse on liars, and how they backed off when they saw Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) accompanied by none except his dearest and nearest ones – daughter Fatema Zahra (SA), son-in-law Imam Ali, and grandsons Imam Hasan and Imam Husain (AS).
Thus, as is clear, the Qur’an calls Jesus a “Word of God” and a “Spirit of God”. For the Christians, according to the Gospel of John, the Word was God and the Word became flesh.
For the Muslims, however, the Word is a creation of God and definitely not God, for it is God’s expression of the word “Be” that all creation takes place, including the miraculous birth of Jesus.
In other words, Jesus’s designation as “Word of Allah” and Spirit of Allah” does not deify him, but verifies his high status as a Prophet who conveys the the message of God and is thus a Messenger of God, since the Almighty Creator is far too glorious to have the human characteristics of the need of son or children.
If the Jews rejected him and slandered his chaste mother, those calling themselves Christians distorted his monotheistic teachings by calling him “Son of God’, when he never made any such blasphemous claim. 
To sum up, I draw the attention of readers to the prophecy of Jesus concerning the mission of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA).
Jesus in his native Semitic language referred to the last Prophet as “Hmda”, a word translated as “Paracletos” in the Greek version of the Bible or “Comforter” in the English translation of St. John’s Gospel, while in Arabic this word means “Ahmad” or the “Highly Praised One”.
The Holy Qur’an has preserved the original words of the Messiah in Ayah 6 of Surah Saff as follows:  
“O Children of Israel! Indeed I am the Prophet of Allah to you, to confirm what is before me of the Torah, and to give the tidings of the Prophet to come after me, whose name is Ahmad.”