Jesus Did Not Claim to Be God — Essence of Islam Vol. 3

14 Sep, 2026 Essence of Islam 0

Essence of Islam Book Cover by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (AS)

Introduction

In this discourse from Essence of Islam (Volume 3), Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (AS), the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, expounds upon Jesus Did Not Claim to Be God, presenting profound spiritual insights and scriptural verities.

Book Series: Essence of Islam (Volume 3)
Author: Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian (AS)
Section: Part 6: The Messiah and His Second Coming
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The Messiah and his Second Coming 231 humble creature of God and His Prophet. God Almighty has raised me as a witness against the Christians and has commanded me to proclaim that the deification of the son of Mary is a false doctrine that amounts to infidelity. He has also honoured me with His converse….
O Christians! be sure that Jesus, son of Mary, is not God. Do not wrong your souls by attributing the greatness of God to one of His creatures. Our hearts tremble at hearing that you call on a weak and helpless creature as if he were God. Turn to the True God so that you may achieve good and may receive salvation.
[Kitab-ul-Bariyyah, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 13, pp. 53-55]
[Essence of Islam, Vol. 3, p. 231]

The deification of the son of Mary is a terrible wrong. He is only a man and a Prophet in the Mosaic dispensation. You have not seen him but I have seen him many times. None of you knows him but I know him. He is a honourable man who acknowledges the greatness of Mosesas and believes sincerely in the greatness of our lord and master Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and is, like us, devoted to him. Were he to appear in the world at this time and find that he has been deified and is believed to have atoned for the sins of mankind, he would be so ashamed of this false glorification that he would be ready to suffer death and would supplicate God for forgiveness. What proof have you of his godhead? Do his words or the words of his disciples indicate his godhead? Even if they did, this would be an empty claim unsupported by any proof. This claim cannot be supported even from the Gospels. Nowhere do the Gospels state that the son of Mary ever claimed to be God. Indeed, when the Jews confronted him on one occasion with such a claim on his part, he repudiated it.
[Majmu‘ah Ishtiharat, vol. 2, p. 307]
[Essence of Islam, Vol. 3, p. 231]

In John, chapter 10 verses 30-37, Jesus is reported to have said that he was no different from other righteous ones who had been called gods or sons of God in the scriptures. The Jews having heard that Jesus called himself the son of God, charged him with blasphemy, started throwing stones at him, and were much infuriated. What should have been the attitude of Jesus when the Jews attempted to stone him because he called himself the son of God, which in their estimation amounted to blasphemy? How could he have either disclaimed or established his claim? He could have adopted one of two attitudes. If he was truly the son of God, he should have answered, ‘My claim is true. I am indeed the son of God and I have two proofs in support of my claim. One is that in your books it is written that the Messiah is the son of God, rather he is God Himself, and he is All-Powerful, knows the unseen and does whatever he wishes. If you doubt this, bring your books, and I will show you the proof of my Godhead from these books. You charge me with blasphemy because of your misunderstanding and lack of knowledge of the Scripture. Your books proclaim me God and All-Powerful then why do you say that I blaspheme? You should instead worship me because I am God.’ His second proof should have been, ‘Come and behold the signs of Godhead in me. As God Almighty has created the sun and the moon and the planets and the earth, I too have created a portion of the earth or a planet or some other part of the universe. I can even now create something of that kind and demonstrate my Godhead. I have more power and strength than is manifested in the The Messiah and his Second Coming 233 miracles of the Prophets.’ It would also have been appropriate for him to furnish his opponents with a detailed list of his works as God and to challenge them whether Mosesas or any other Prophet of Israel had performed such works. Had he furnished such proof the Jews would have been confounded and the Scribes and Pharisees would have fallen prostrate before him and would have confessed, ‘Surely, you are God and we were in error. You have created a sun in contrast with the sun which has been shining from the beginning and which illumines the day, and you have created a moon which appears at night and illumines it with a beautiful light. This we have witnessed. You have also placed before us the proof of your Godhead from our recognized books. How can we then dare to deny that you are God?’ But Jesus set forth none of these proofs. All he did was to offer these statements. Please ponder over them: Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shown you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, ‘For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy and because that thou being a man makest thyself God.’ Jesus answered them, ‘Is it not written in your law, I said, ye are gods?’ If he called them gods unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?188 Now, it is worthy of reflection whether for repelling the charge of blasphemy and for establishing that he was

truly the son of God the only appropriate answer was, ‘If I have called myself the son of God, how have I offended you considering that some of those who appeared before me were called gods.’ Deputy ‘Abdullah Atham says, that Jesus was frightened by their mob and concealed the true answer and took refuge in subterfuge. But I ask: ‘Is such an attitude worthy of the Prophets who are always ready to lay down their lives in the cause of Allah the Glorious?’ It is said in the Holy Qur’an concerning them: 189

This means that: ‘The true Messengers of Allah, who convey His message, do not fear anyone in conveying the messages of Allah.’ Then how is it that Jesus who called himself God Almighty was afraid of the helpless Jews? It is thus clear that Jesusas never claimed to be God or son of God in the true sense. He claimed to be in the same category as those who had been given such titles metaphorically and confessed that his claim was of the same kind….
[Essence of Islam, Vol. 3]
[Essence of Islam, Vol. 3, p. 232]

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Introduction