Was ‘Eesa (Jesus – peace be upon him) a Jew?

 

Do muslims believe jesus was a jew? in the bible is says jesus was a jew.

Praise be to Allaah.

‘Eesa ibn Maryam (Jesus son
of Mary – peace be upon him) was one of the noble Prophets of Allaah, and
one of the Messengers of strong will, whom Allaah sent to the Children of
Israel, and taught him the Torah and Gospel, and stated that he had come to
confirm what was in the Torah, i.e., to reaffirm what was said in it, except
that he abrogated some of its rulings, and permitted to his followers some
of what was forbidden in it. 

Allaah says (interpretation
of the meaning):

“And He (Allaah) will
teach him [‘Eesa (Jesus)] the Book and Al-Hikmah (i.e. the Sunnah, the
faultless speech of the Prophets, wisdom), (and) the Tawraat (Torah) and the
Injeel (Gospel).

49. And will make him
[‘Eesa (Jesus)] a Messenger to the Children of Israel (saying): ‘I have come
to you with a sign from your Lord, that I design for you out of clay, a
figure like that of a bird, and breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by
Allaah’s Leave; and I heal him who was born blind, and the leper, and I
bring the dead to life by Allaah’s Leave. And I inform you of what you eat,
and what you store in your houses. Surely, therein is a sign for you, if you
believe.

50. ‘And I have come
confirming that which was before me of the Tawraat (Torah), and to make
lawful to you part of what was forbidden to you, and I have come to you with
a proof from your Lord. So fear Allaah and obey me’”

[Aal –‘Imraan 3:48-50] 

“And in their footsteps,
We sent ‘Eesa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary), confirming the Tawraat (Torah)
that had come before him, and We gave him the Injeel (Gospel), in which was
guidance and light and confirmation of the Tawraat (Torah) that had come
before it, a guidance and an admonition for Al-Muttaqoon (the pious)”

[al-Maa'idah 5:46] 

Ibn Katheer (may Allaah
have mercy on him) said in his Tafseer (2/44):

Tawraat and Injeel: The
Tawraat is the Book that Allaah revealed to Moosa ibn ‘Imraan, and the
Injeel is the Book that Allaah revealed to ‘Eesa (peace be upon them both).
‘Eesa (peace be upon him) followed them both. End quote.  

He also (may Allaah have
mercy on him) said: 

“confirming the Tawraat
(Torah) that had come before him” means, following it, not going against
what was in it, except in a few matters where he explained to the Children
of Israel that concerning which they differed, as Allaah tells us that the
Messiah (peace be upon him) said to the Children of Israel: “and to make
lawful to you part of what was forbidden to you”. Hence the sounder view
among the scholars is that the Injeel abrogated some of the rulings of the
Tawraat. End quote. 

Tafseer Ibn Katheer
(3/126) 

Hence it is known that
‘Eesa (peace be upon him) believed in the Torah which was revealed to Moosa
(peace be upon him) and followed it; he did not go against it except in a
few matters. 

The religion of Moosa,
‘Eesa and all the Prophets was, generally speaking, Islam, which means
believing in the Oneness of Allaah (Tawheed) and worshipping Him alone with
no partner or associate, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“Truly, the religion
with Allaah is Islam”

[Aal ‘Imraan 3:19] 

“And whoever seeks a
religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him, and in the
Hereafter he will be one of the losers”

[Aal ‘Imraan 3:85] 

And He tells us that Nooh
(peace be upon him) said (interpretation of the meaning):  

“and I have been
commanded to be of the Muslims (i.e. those who submit to Allaah’s Will)”

[Yoonus 10:72] 

And He tells us of
Ibraaheem (peace be upon him) (interpretation of the meaning):  

“Ibraaheem (Abraham) was
neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was a true Muslim Haneefa (Islamic
Monotheism — to worship none but Allaah Alone) and he was not of
Al‑Mushrikoon”

[Aal ‘Imraan 3:67] 

And He tells us that Moosa
(peace be upon him) said (interpretation of the meaning):

“ ‘O my people! If you
have believed in Allaah, then put your trust in Him if you are Muslims
(those who submit to Allaah’s Will)’”

[Yoonus 10:84] 

And He tells us that Yoosuf
(peace be upon him) said (interpretation of the meaning):

“ ‘Cause me to die as a
Muslim (the one submitting to Your Will), and join me with the righteous’”

[Yoosuf 12:101] 

So it cannot be said of
Moosa that his religion was Judaism, rather his religion was Islam, and his
followers were called Jews (al-Yahood) because they said Hidna ilayka
i.e., we have repented and come back; or because they are called after
Yehoodhah (Judah) the oldest of the sons of Ya’qoob (Jacob – peace be upon
him). Similarly, the religion of ‘Eesa (peace be upon him) was Islam, not
Christianity. The Christians (al-Nasaarah) are his followers who supported
him (nasaruhu). 

But he (peace be upon him)
was a follower of the Tawraat (Torah), who followed and affirmed it, because
he was one of the Children of Israel, to whom Moosa (peace be upon him) had
been sent, then Allaah revealed to him the Injeel (Gospel) in which was a
confirmation of what was in the Torah, as stated above. 

What we have mentioned
means that the religion brought by ‘Eesa was Islam, if what the questioner
meant was to find out and ask about his religion. 

But if he was asking about
the lineage of the Messiah (peace be upon him) and the people among whom he
was born and to whom he was sent, then the Prophet of Allaah ‘Eesa (peace be
upon him) was indisputably one of the Children of Israel, the Children of
Israel who subsequently became known as the Jews, as we have indicated
above. 

What the scholars state
here is that he is to be attributed to his lineage and people, so it may be
said that he was one of the Children of Israel. As for the word “Jew”, it is
used to refer to a specific religion, so it should be avoided when referring
to ‘Eesa (peace be upon him), even though we know that his people were the
Children of Israel who used to follow the law of the Torah before him, and
he came to confirm what was in it except for a few rulings which he
changed. 

Ibn al-Atheer (may Allaah
have mercy on him) said:  

‘Imraan ibn Mathaan [i.e,
the grandfather of ‘Eesa (peace be upon him) and the father of Maryam] was
one of the descendants of Sulaymaan ibn Dawood (Solomon son of David). The
family of Mathaan were the leaders and priests of the Children of Israel.
End quote. 

Al-Kaamil fi’l-Tareekh
(1/251). 

Ibn Katheer (may Allaah
have mercy on him) said: 

There is no dispute that
she [Maryam – peace be upon her] was one of the descendents of Dawood (peace
be upon him). Her father was ‘Imraan the prayer leader of the Children of
Israel of that time. End quote. 

Al-Bidaayah
wa’l-Nihaayah (2/52). 

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn
Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: 

There is no doubt that the
people of Moosa were the Children of Israel, and the Torah was revealed in
their language. The Children of Israel were also the people of the Messiah
(peace be upon him). The Messiah spoke their language. Neither of these two
Messengers addressed anyone in any language other than Hebrew; neither of
them spoke Latin, Syriac, Greek or Coptic. End quote. 

Al-Jawaab al-Saheeh li
man baddala Deen al-Maseeh (2/94). 

He also said: 

It is known from the
consensus of the Christians that the Messiah did not speak anything other
than Hebrew, like the other Prophets of the Children of Israel, and that he
was circumcised on the seventh day like all the Children of Israel; he
prayed facing their “qiblah” or direction of prayer, and he did not pray
towards the east or enjoin praying towards the east. End quote. 

Op. cit. (3/32). 

For more information please
see the answer to question no. 10277. 

And Allaah knows best.