AL-NAWAWI ON JESUS BEING GOD’S WORD & SPIRIT
The medieval Muslim commentator Imam al-Nawawi wrote a massive commentary on the sahih collection of Imam Muslim.
Al-Nawawi will cite and explain the hadiths where Muhammad describes Jesus as God’s own Word and Spirit, which I will now quote. All emphasis will be mine:
108. The hadith says, ‘Whoever says that there is no deity other than God, the only God who has no partners, and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger, and that Jesus is God’s servant and the son of His woman servant and HIS WORD given to Mary and spirit from Him, and that Heaven is true and the Fire is true, God will admit him into Heaven through any of its eight gates he chooses’… He calls Jesus GOD’S WORD, because his creation took place by God’s word ‘Be’, without having a father, while the rest of mankind have fathers. Al-Harawi said: He was called ‘word’ because his creation was through a word and he was described by it, s rain is called ‘mercy’. In the Qur’an, God mentions that Jesus was ‘a spirit from Him’ which means a mercy from Him. Ibn ‘Arafah said: ‘It means that he was not created through a father, BUT THROUGH A SPIRIT BREATHED INTO HIS MOTHER’. Other scholars said: ‘a spirit from Him’ means that it is created by Him, and the description ‘from Him’ makes it more honourable, as in the expression ‘God’s she-camel’ and ‘God’s house’. Otherwise, the entire universe belongs to Him and is created by Him, but God knows best. (Sahih Muslim with the Full Commentary by Imam al-Nawawi (Al-Minhaj bi Sharh Sahih Muslim), translated and edited by Adil Salahi [Kube Publishing Ltd 2019], Volume One, pp. 311-312)
The hadith describes Moses as the one to whom God spoke directly. All Sunni scholars are in agreement that this is a confirmed fact. God spoke directly to Moses saying words that Moses heard directly without an intermediary. In fact, the Arabic wording used here is most emphatic, and speech is a confirmed attribute of God, but His speech is unlike that of any creation. We have already explained the meaning of the description of Jesus as God’s spirit and word. (Ibid., Volume Two, published 2019, p. 447)
“… Moses is approached, but he says: ‘I am not fit for it, but go to Jesus, God’s spirit and word.’ Jesus is approached but he says: ‘I am not fit for it, but go to Muhammad’…” (Ibid., p. 452)
“They go to Jesus and say: ‘Jesus, you are God’s messenger. You spoke to people when you were in the cradle. You are a word God gave to Mary and you are OF HIS SPIRIT. Intercede with your Lord for us. Do you not see the distress we are in? Do you not see our condition?’ He will say, ‘My Lord is today in a state of anger the like of which He has never had and He will never be as angry again.’ HE DOES NOT MENTION ANY SIN COMMITTED, but said: ‘[I fear for] my soul; my soul. Go to someone else. Go to Muhammad’.
“They will come to me and say: ‘Muhammad, you are God’s Messenger and the last of all prophets. God has forgiven you YOUR EARLIER AND LATER SINS…’” (Ibid., p. 458)
There are a few points to glean from these quotations and ahadith.
First, unlike Muhammad who admitted to being a transgressor who needed his god to forgive him, Jesus is expressly said to be without sin!
Second, Jesus is the only Person in Islam to be ever called the Word of God () and the Spirit of God. No one else are eve given these highly exalted and illustrious titles.
The Muslims’ explanation of why Jesus is called God’s Word and Spirit makes no sense and simply doesn’t work. After all, every human spirit is created by God, and therefore are from him in that sense. Moreover, the Quran states that Allah created Adam and everything else for that matter by his command “Be”:
Lo! the likeness of Jesus with Allah is as the likeness of Adam. He created him of dust, then He said unto him: Be! and he is. S. 3:59 Pickthall
And Our word unto a thing, when We intend it, is only that We say unto it: Be! and it is. S. 16:40 Pickthall
And yet none of these things are ever said to be God’s Word. As such, Jesus cannot the Word and Spirit of God for the reasons given by these Muslim authorities.
Now this places all sunni and shia Muhammadans in a dilemma. God’s Word is uncreated, and yet Jesus is said to be God’s Word that came down as a Spirit from him into the holy virgin Mary, for the obvious reason of becoming a flesh and human being from her. Therefore, Jesus must be the uncreated, eternal spiritual Word of God who became Man for our redemption.
There’s simply no way around these plain and emphatic statements of the Quran and Muhammad!
FURTHER READING
ISA RUHULLAH: ALLAH’S UNCREATED SPIRIT BECOMES HUMAN
WHAT ABOUT JESUS? UNVEILING ISLAM’S OTHER ILAH BESIDES ALLAH
The Quran Testifies: Jesus is the Eternal Creative Word of God
The Quran Confirms the Prehuman Existence And Incarnation of Christ, Pt. 2
The Quran on Jesus as the Preexistent Spirit of Allah
Jesus – The Preexistent, Divine Word and Spirit from God
Muhammad Did it Again! More Proof that Jesus is God Incarnate Pt. 1
Uncovering Another Quranic Dilemma Pt. 1
Islam Testifies: Jesus is Alive in Heaven Whereas Muhammad is Not!