Why is the Messiah Called Jesus (Isa)? The True Meaning Explained
Introduction
Non-Ahmadis often ask: if the latter-day Messiah is not the historical Jesus returning from the sky, why did Prophet Muhammad ﷺ call him “Isa ibn Maryam”?
The answer is simple. In Arabic and prophetic speech, a person is given the name of an earlier prophet when they share the same character, role, and spiritual mission. It does not mean the physical return of the same person. Just as John the Baptist came in the spirit and power of Elijah, the Promised Messiah came in the spirit and power of Jesus.
For a full breakdown of the descent prophecies, read our master guide: How Will Isa (AS) Descend? The Reality of Nuzul Explained.
1. Muslims Will Become Like the Jews
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ warned that Muslims would follow the path of earlier religious communities step by step:
“You would tread the same path as was trodden by those before you inch by inch and step by step so much so that if they had entered into the hole of the lizard, you would follow them in this also.” We said: “Allah’s Messenger, do you mean Jews and Christians by your words ‘those before you’?” He said: “Who else?”
He also stated that Muslims would divide into sects just like earlier nations:
“The Jews split into seventy-one sects, one of them is in Paradise and seventy are in the Hellfire. The Christians split into seventy-two sects, seventy-one are in the Hellfire and one of them is in Paradise. By the One in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, my nation will split into seventy-three sects, one of them is in Paradise and seventy-two are in the Hellfire.” It was said: “O Messenger of Allah, who are the ones in Paradise?” The Prophet said: “The united community.”
Because the condition of Muslims mirrors the condition of the Jews, their reform required a parallel reformer.
2. Two Parallel Dispensations: Moses and Muhammad ﷺ
The Holy Quran states that the mission of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ mirrors the mission of Moses (as):
اِنَّاۤ اَرۡسَلۡنَاۤ اِلَیۡکُمۡ رَسُوۡلًا شَاہِدًا عَلَیۡکُمۡ کَمَاۤ اَرۡسَلۡنَاۤ اِلٰی فِرۡعَوۡنَ رَسُوۡلًا
“Verily, We have sent to you a Messenger, who is a witness over you, even as We sent a Messenger to Pharaoh.”
The historical parallel is exact:
- The Mosaic Dispensation: Moses (as) was given the Torah. Over the next 1,400 years, the Israelites divided into sects. At the end of the Mosaic line, Allah sent Jesus (as) as a peaceful Messiah to revive faith without a new law.
- The Islamic Dispensation: Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was given the Holy Quran. Over 1,400 years later, Muslims divided into sects. Just as the Mosaic chain ended with a Messiah, the chain of Muhammad ﷺ required a Messiah to unite the believers.
The Mistake of Literal Waiting
When Jesus (as) appeared, the Jewish rabbis rejected him. Their scriptures said the prophet Elijah had been taken to heaven (2 Kings 2:11) and would physically return before the Messiah (Malachi 4:5-6). The rabbis expected Elijah to drop from the sky.
When Jesus (as) came, they asked: where is Elijah? Jesus explained that the prophecy was spiritual, not physical. He said of John the Baptist (Yahya):
“And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.”
Many Muslims today make the exact same mistake. They wait for Jesus (as) to drop physically from the clouds, while Prophet Muhammad ﷺ meant a reformer in the spiritual likeness of Jesus.
For a detailed list of these parallels, read Similarities between the 2 Messiahs.
3. The Arabic Custom of Naming by Likeness
In Arabic and prophetic speech, calling a person by the name of an earlier righteous figure is well-known.
Maryam Called “Sister of Harun”
In Surah Maryam, the Jews address Mary (as):
یٰۤاُخۡتَ ہٰرُوۡنَ مَا کَانَ اَبُوۡکِ امۡرَ اَ سَوۡءٍ وَّ مَا کَانَتۡ اُمُّکِ بَغِیًّا
“O sister of Aaron, thy father was not a wicked man nor was thy mother an unchaste woman!”
Mary lived roughly 1,300 years after Aaron (Harun as). She was not his biological sister. She received this title due to spiritual likeness and priestly lineage.
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ Explains the Principle
When Christians of Najran asked the companion Mughira b. Shu’ba (ra) how Mary could be called the sister of Aaron when Moses lived long before Jesus, the Prophet ﷺ explained:
إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا يُسَمُّونَ بِأَنْبِيَائِهِمْ وَالصَّالِحِينَ قَبْلَهُمْ
“The people of old used to give names to their persons after the names of Apostles and pious persons who had gone before them.”
This Hadith settles the rule: calling a later person by the name of an earlier prophet is an established prophetic principle.
Calling Aisha (ra) the “Companions of Joseph”
When Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was ill and Aisha (ra) insisted that Abu Bakr (ra) should not lead prayer, the Prophet ﷺ told her:
مُرُوهُ فَيُصَلِّي، إِنَّكُنَّ صَوَاحِبُ يُوسُفَ
“Tell him to lead the prayer. You (women) are the companions of Joseph.”
Aisha (ra) lived thousands of years after Prophet Joseph (Yusuf as). Yet the Prophet ﷺ gave her that title because her insistence resembled the women in the story of Joseph.
4. Classical Scholars on the Likeness of Jesus
Classical Muslim scholars recorded that early Muslims understood the descent of Jesus as a spiritual resemblance.
Al-Maqdisi (4th Century AH)
The historian al-Mutahhar b. Tahir al-Maqdisi (fl. 355 AH) wrote:
“A section (of the Muslims) says: The descent of Jesus signifies the fact that a man will appear who will resemble Jesus in virtue and excellence. This is like how it is said about a good man that he is an Angel, or about an evil man that he is a Satan, by way of resemblance, but not intending it literally.”
— [Kitab al-Bad’ wa-l-Tarikh, p. 196]
Ibn al-Wardi (8th Century AH)
The historian Siraj al-Din Ibn al-Wardi (d. 749 AH) affirmed the exact same view:
“A section (of the Muslims) says: The descent of Jesus signifies the fact that a man will appear who will resemble Jesus in virtue and excellence. This is like how it is said about a good man that he is an Angel, or about an evil man that he is a Satan, by way of resemblance, but not intending it literally.”
— [Kharidat al-Aja’ib wa-Faridat al-Ghara’ib, p. 190]
Khwaja Mu’in al-Din Chishti (rh)
The Sufi saint Khwaja Mu’in al-Din Chishti (rh) wrote in a Persian poem:
“Every moment the Holy Spirit breathes into Mu’in; I do not know, but perhaps I have become a second Jesus.”
— [Irshadaat-e-Noor, vol. 3, p. 175]
Pious scholars across Islamic history recognized that being called “Isa” denotes spiritual reflection, not physical descent from the sky.
5. The Identical Mission as Hakam and Adl
Both Jesus (as) and the Promised Messiah (as) were given the exact same mission: to settle religious disputes peacefully through proof.
The Holy Quran describes the mission of Jesus (as):
وَلَمَّا جَآءَ عِیۡسٰی بِالۡبَیِّنٰتِ قَالَ قَدۡ جِئۡتُکُمۡ بِالۡحِکۡمَۃِ وَلِاُبَیِّنَ لَکُمۡ بَعۡضَ الَّذِیۡ تَخۡتَلِفُوۡنَ فِیۡہِ
“And when Jesus came with clear proofs, he said, ‘Truly I am come to you with wisdom, and to make clear to you some of that about which you differ…'”
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ gave the latter-day Messiah the exact same title:
لَا تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ حَتَّى يَنْزِلَ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ حَكَمًا عَدْلًا
“The Hour will not begin until ‘Isa bin Maryam comes down as a just judge (Hakam) and an equitable ruler (Adl)…”
Both Messiahs came without swords. Both came to revive spiritual values when religion had become empty ritual. Both acted as just judges to settle sectarian disagreements.
Conclusion
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ named the Promised Messiah “Isa ibn Maryam” because of his spiritual likeness, his parallel dispensation, and his identical reforming mission.
The title “Isa ibn Maryam” was never meant to describe someone falling from the clouds. It pointed to Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (AS), who came in the spirit and power of Jesus to revive Islam.
To study the signs further, explore our companion guides: – How Will Isa (AS) Descend? The Reality of Nuzul Explained – Similarities between the 2 Messiahs