One thing I was surprised to learn while reading those bits of the Qur'an and the New Testament was that the Qur'an actually has Jesus in it. Although the Islamic version of Jesus isn't considered the son of God in Islam, outside of that, he's pretty similar in the Qur'an to the New Testament Jesus. Jesus is born to the virgin Mary just like he was in the Bible. He heals the sick and brings Lazarus back to life just like in the Bible.
But there are two big differences (besides the not being God's son part). First, rather than being born in a manger in a stable, Jesus is born in the middle of the desert and Mary brings him back to the town's temple, where he speaks to prove that Mary was blessed by Allah. And rather than Jesus dying on the cross as in the New Testament, the Qur'an says that Jesus instead rose to heaven to be with Allah, while the people on Earth believed he'd been crucified. This is what the Qur'an specifically says on the matter:
"That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah";-
but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to
appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no
(certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety
they killed him not:- Nay, Allah raised him up unto Himself; and Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise;"
Interesting, right? I'd always heard Christianity, Islam, and Judaism were very similar, but I never really thought Jesus was in the Qur'an. I guess next I'll have to see if Judaism has a different interpretation of Jesus.
I was actually surprised by the acknowledgement of Jesus in the Qur'an as well. Of course I had never studied it up until now but kind of always went with the blind assumption that they had really no regard for him at all. While they don't have the same beliefs regarding him as Christians do, it is interesting nonetheless.
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