If Jesus performed miracles and was born of a virgin, does the Qur'an agree he is God?

The Qur'an affirms the miraculous birth and the miracles, but attributes them explicitly to God's permission working through Jesus as a prophet and messenger, not to Jesus's own divine power.

Jesus Was Born Miraculously

Jesus’s miracles are also depicted in the Qur’an — speaking as an infant, healing the sick, raising the dead, and giving life to shaped clay by God’s permission. The following verses confirm that Jesus is the Messiah:

إِذْ قَالَتِ ٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةُ يَٰمَرْيَمُ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُبَشِّرُكِ بِكَلِمَةٍ مِّنْهُ ٱسْمُهُ ٱلْمَسِيحُ عِيسَى ٱبْنُ مَرْيَمَ وَجِيهًا فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا وَٱلْءَاخِرَةِ وَمِنَ ٱلْمُقَرَّبِينَ

“The angels said, 'Mary, God gives you news of a Word from Him, whose name will be the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, who will be held in honour in this world and the next, who will be brought near to God.'”

Al-'Imran (The Family of Imran) 3:45 Oxford / Abdel Haleem

QuestionWhat are your thoughts on these, considering Jesus is called God in the Bible but a prophet in the Qur'an?

Answer

Assalamu ‘Alaikum! (peace be upon you) To understand the question, we first need the Trinitarian belief in view: God as one Being existing eternally as three distinct persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, “one God in three persons.” Trinitarians further hold that Jesus was born miraculously of the virgin Mary and performed several miracles, and take both as proof of his divinity.

The virgin birth is supported by Bible verses such as:

τοῦ δὲ ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ ἡ γένεσις οὕτως ἦν. μνηστευθείσης τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ μαρίας τῶ ἰωσήφ, πρὶν ἢ συνελθεῖν αὐτοὺς εὑρέθη ἐν γαστρὶ ἔχουσα ἐκ πνεύματος ἁγίου.

“Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.”

Matthew 1:18 NRSV

καὶ εἶπεν ὁ ἄγγελος αὐτῇ, μὴ φοβοῦ, μαριάμ, εὖρες γὰρ χάριν παρὰ τῶ θεῶ· καὶ ἰδοὺ συλλήμψῃ ἐν γαστρὶ καὶ τέξῃ υἱόν

“The angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.'”

Luke 1:30-31 NRSV

These are only part of an extensive account — Luke gives the most detailed description of the birth — and the miracles continue through his life and ministry to the Children of Israel (his healing of the sick, restoring the withered hand, raising Jairus’s daughter, stilling the storm, and more are recorded across Matthew, Mark, and Luke). None of that is new to Christian readers. What is interesting to Muslims and Christians alike is what the Qur’an itself says about these same events.

Do Muslims believe in the miracles performed by Jesus? The answer is: it depends how you look at it. If the claim is that Jesus performed these miracles by his own power, Muslims don’t believe that. If the claim is that Jesus performed them the way Moses and the other prophets performed theirs — not by their own power, but through the power of the One who sent them, Allah (may He be glorified and exalted) — then yes, absolutely.

Let the Qur’an speak for itself, arranged by section:

The birth and childhood of Mary

إِذْ قَالَتِ ٱمْرَأَتُ عِمْرَٰنَ رَبِّ إِنِّى نَذَرْتُ لَكَ مَا فِى بَطْنِى مُحَرَّرًا فَتَقَبَّلْ مِنِّىٓ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْعَلِيمُ

“'Imran's wife said, 'Lord, I have dedicated what is growing in my womb entirely to You; so accept this from me. You are the One who hears and knows all.'”

Al-'Imran (The Family of Imran) 3:35 Oxford / Abdel Haleem

فَتَقَبَّلَهَا رَبُّهَا بِقَبُولٍ حَسَنٍ وَأَنۢبَتَهَا نَبَاتًا حَسَنًا وَكَفَّلَهَا زَكَرِيَّا

“Her Lord graciously accepted her and made her grow in goodness, and entrusted her to the charge of Zachariah. Whenever Zachariah went in to see her in her sanctuary, he found her supplied with provisions. He said, 'Mary, how is it you have these provisions?' and she said, 'They are from God: God provides limitlessly for whoever He will.'”

Al-'Imran (The Family of Imran) 3:37 Oxford / Abdel Haleem

وَإِذْ قَالَتِ ٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةُ يَٰمَرْيَمُ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ ٱصْطَفَىٰكِ وَطَهَّرَكِ وَٱصْطَفَىٰكِ عَلَىٰ نِسَآءِ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ

“The angels said to Mary: 'Mary, God has chosen you and made you pure: He has truly chosen you above all women. Mary, be devout to your Lord, prostrate yourself in worship, bow down with those who pray.'”

Al-'Imran (The Family of Imran) 3:42-43 Oxford / Abdel Haleem

News of the child, and the annunciation

إِذْ قَالَتِ ٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةُ يَٰمَرْيَمُ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُبَشِّرُكِ بِكَلِمَةٍ مِّنْهُ ٱسْمُهُ ٱلْمَسِيحُ عِيسَى ٱبْنُ مَرْيَمَ

“The angels said, 'Mary, God gives you news of a Word from Him, whose name will be the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, who will be held in honour in this world and the next, who will be one of those brought near to God. He will speak to people in his infancy and in his adulthood. He will be one of the righteous.'”

Al-'Imran (The Family of Imran) 3:45-46 Oxford / Abdel Haleem

قَالَتْ رَبِّ أَنَّىٰ يَكُونُ لِى وَلَدٌ وَلَمْ يَمْسَسْنِى بَشَرٌ قَالَ كَذَٰلِكِ ٱللَّهُ يَخْلُقُ مَا يَشَآءُ إِذَا قَضَىٰٓ أَمْرًا فَإِنَّمَا يَقُولُ لَهُۥ كُن فَيَكُونُ

“She said, 'My Lord, how can I have a son when no man has touched me?' [The angel] said, 'This is how God creates what He will: when He has ordained something, He only says, 'Be,' and it is.'”

Al-'Imran (The Family of Imran) 3:47 Oxford / Abdel Haleem

وَرَسُولًا إِلَىٰ بَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ أَنِّى قَدْ جِئْتُكُم بِـَٔايَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ أَنِّىٓ أَخْلُقُ لَكُم مِّنَ ٱلطِّينِ كَهَيْـَٔةِ ٱلطَّيْرِ فَأَنفُخُ فِيهِ فَيَكُونُ طَيْرًۢا بِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ

“He will send him as a messenger to the Children of Israel: 'I have come to you with a sign from your Lord: I will make the shape of a bird for you out of clay, then breathe into it and, with God's permission, it will become a real bird; I will heal the blind and the leper, and bring the dead back to life with God's permission...'”

Al-'Imran (The Family of Imran) 3:49 Oxford / Abdel Haleem

Note the repeated qualifier — with God’s permission. The Qur’an is explicit throughout that these are not Jesus’s own powers.

Mary withdraws, and the immaculate conception

فَٱتَّخَذَتْ مِن دُونِهِمْ حِجَابًا فَأَرْسَلْنَآ إِلَيْهَا رُوحَنَا فَتَمَثَّلَ لَهَا بَشَرًا سَوِيًّا

“and secluded herself away; We sent Our Spirit to appear before her in the form of a normal human.”

Maryam (Mary) 19:17 Oxford / Abdel Haleem

قَالَتْ أَنَّىٰ يَكُونُ لِى غُلَٰمٌ وَلَمْ يَمْسَسْنِى بَشَرٌ وَلَمْ أَكُ بَغِيًّا

“She said, 'How can I have a son when no man has touched me? I have not been unchaste,'”

Maryam (Mary) 19:20 Oxford / Abdel Haleem

وَٱلَّتِىٓ أَحْصَنَتْ فَرْجَهَا فَنَفَخْنَا فِيهَا مِن رُّوحِنَا وَجَعَلْنَٰهَا وَٱبْنَهَآ ءَايَةً لِّلْعَٰلَمِينَ

“Remember the one who guarded her chastity. We breathed into her from Our Spirit and made her and her son a sign for all people.”

Al-Anbiya (The Prophets) 21:91 Oxford / Abdel Haleem

Jesus speaks in his infancy

When Mary’s people accused her, she pointed to the infant Jesus:

فَأَشَارَتْ إِلَيْهِ قَالُوا۟ كَيْفَ نُكَلِّمُ مَن كَانَ فِى ٱلْمَهْدِ صَبِيًّا

“She pointed at him. They said, 'How can we converse with an infant?'”

Maryam (Mary) 19:29 Oxford / Abdel Haleem

قَالَ إِنِّى عَبْدُ ٱللَّهِ ءَاتَىٰنِىَ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ وَجَعَلَنِى نَبِيًّا

“[But] he said: 'I am a servant of God. He has granted me the Scripture; made me a prophet; made blessed wherever I may be. He commanded me to pray, to give alms as long as I live, to cherish my mother. He did not make me domineering or graceless.'”

Maryam (Mary) 19:30-32 Oxford / Abdel Haleem

Jesus’s first recorded words, from his own infant mouth, are a declaration that he is a servant of God and a prophet — not a claim to divinity.

Final thoughts

Alhamdulillah! (praise be to God) I believe the verses above are clear enough to defend the belief. In summary: Muslims believe Jesus is the Messiah, a prophet of Allah, born miraculously, who performed miracles such as bringing the dead to life — but always with the permission of the One who sent him, Allah. As the Qur’an has God say directly to Jesus:

إِذْ قَالَ ٱللَّهُ يَٰعِيسَى ٱبْنَ مَرْيَمَ ٱذْكُرْ نِعْمَتِى عَلَيْكَ وَعَلَىٰ وَٰلِدَتِكَ إِذْ أَيَّدتُّكَ بِرُوحِ ٱلْقُدُسِ

“Then God will say, 'Jesus, son of Mary! Remember My favour to you and to your mother: how I strengthened you with the holy spirit... how, by My leave, you fashioned the shape of a bird out of clay, breathed into it, and it became, by My leave, a bird; how, by My leave, you healed the blind person and the leper; how, by My leave, you brought the dead back to life...'”

Al-Ma'idah (The Table) 5:110 Oxford / Abdel Haleem

If you’re interested in why Jesus is not God in the Muslim view specifically, that’s a discussion for another page. Truly, Allah loves those who seek Him, and Allah knows best. Take care and Assalamu ‘Alaikum! (peace be upon you)