In the Qur’an, God reveals to our Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) that the other prophets before him were all human:
“We never sent any Messengers before you who did not eat food and walk in the market-place. But We have made some of you a trial for others, to see if you will be steadfast. Your Lord sees everything. Those who do not expect to meet Us ask: ‘Why have angels not been sent down to us? Why do we not see our Lord?’ They have become arrogant about themselves and are excessively insolent.” (Surat al-Furqan: 20-21)
In other verses our Lord states:
“We have only sent before you men who were given Revelation. Ask the People of the Reminder if you do not know. We did not give them bodies that did not eat food, nor were they immortal. But We kept Our promise to them and rescued them and those We willed, and destroyed the profligate.” (Surat al-Anbiya’: 7-9)
All of the prophets’ human characteristics are described in the Qur’an through numerous examples. Mary conceived Prophet Jesus (Peace be upon him) in a miraculous manner. However, the stages of his birth and Mary’s birth-related experiences clearly reveal that his stages of birth were the same as those of all other human beings. It is not possible to interpret the Qur’anic account of his birth in any other way:
“[God] of the East and West–there is no deity but Him–so take Him as your Guardian.” (Surat al-Muzzammil: 9)
“So she conceived him and withdrew with him to a distant place. The pains of labor drove her to the trunk of a date-palm. She exclaimed: ‘Oh, if only I had died before this time and was something discarded and forgotten!’ A voice called out to her from under her: ‘Do not grieve. Your Lord has placed a small stream at your feet. Shake the trunk of the palm toward you, and fresh, ripe dates will drop down onto you. Eat and drink and delight your eyes. If you should see anyone at all, just say: I have made a vow of abstinence to the All-Merciful, and today I will not speak to any human being.’ She brought him to her people, carrying him. They said: ‘O Mary, you have done an unthinkable thing! Sister of Aaron, your father was not an evil man, nor was your mother an unchaste woman!’ ” (Surah Maryam: 22-28)
God created Prophet Jesus (Peace be upon him) and blessed him with various miracles, such as raising the dead, making a bird from mud and breathing life into it, and curing the blind from birth and lepers. Such events, together with his miraculous birth without a father, are outside the laws of life to which we are subject in this world. In the Qur’an, our Lord refers to other prophets’ miracles. For example, He states that Prophet Adam (Peace be upon him) was created from dried mud without a father, and that Prophet Salih, Prophet Abraham, and Prophet Moses (peace be upon them all) performed many miracles. When Prophet Moses (Peace be upon him) encountered Pharaoh’s sorcerers, our Lord turned his staff into a serpent (Surah Ta Ha: 69). Prophet Moses (Peace be upon him) and his people were able to cross the Red Sea, which divided so that they could escape Pharaoh and his army, all of whom drowned (Surah Ta Ha: 77-78). Like the birth of Prophet Jesus (Peace be upon him), this too is a miraculous state of affairs—since on account of their age and health, it appeared impossible for Prophet Zachariah (Peace be upon him) and his wife to have children.
In Surat al-Isra’ God reveals that He carried our Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) to the place upon which Al-Aqsa mosque now stands in a single night and showing it to him (Surat al-Isra’:1). It is God, the Lord of the worlds, Who enabled such miracles to take place. The fact that the prophets were able to perform such miracles does not imply that they enjoyed divine status. (Surely God is beyond that!) In fact, all of them knew that they could perform these miracles only because God willed them:
“Remember when God said: Jesus, son of Mary, remember My blessing to you and to your mother when I reinforced you with the holy spirit so that you could speak to people in the cradle and when you were fully grown; and when I taught you the Book and Wisdom, and the Torah and the Gospel; and when you created a bird-shape out of clay by My will, and then breathed into it and it became a bird by My will; and healed the blind and the leper by My will; and when you brought forth the dead by My will; and when I held back the tribe of Israel from you, when you brought them the Clear Signs and those of them who did not believe said: ‘This is nothing but downright magic.” (Surat al-Ma’ida: 110)
The Qur’an also refutes all claims regarding the supposed divinity of Mary and Prophet Jesus (Peace be upon him):
“The Messiah, the son of Mary, was only a Messenger, before whom other Messengers came and went. His mother was a woman of truth. Both of them ate food. See how We make the Signs clear to them! Then see how they are perverted!” (Surat al-Ma’ida: 75)
The reference to eating is particularly wise, because eating, hunger, thirst, and the need to sleep are all characteristics of living things and expressions of helplessness. Given this, it is a grave error to ascribe divine status to Prophet Jesus (Peace be upon him), who possessed all of the human characteristics mentioned in the verse. With his title of the Provider (al-Razzaq), God, the Lord of all, nourishes and imparts blessings to all living things. He is the One Who has need of nothing and nobody. However, all living things stand in need of our Lord in order to exist and survive.
Our Lord blessed Prophet Jesus (Peace be upon him) with many miracles, one of which was raising Lazarus from the dead.
Another piece of wisdom connected to this matter may be the information provided about the angels who appeared to Prophet Abraham (Peace be upon him) in human form (God knows best!) and did not eat any food:
“Has the account reached you of the honored guests of Abraham? When they entered his dwelling and said: “Peace.” he replied: “Peace to people we do not know.” So he slipped off to his household and brought a fattened calf. He offered it to them and then asked: “Do you not then eat?” He felt afraid of them, but they said: “Do not be afraid,” and gave him the good news of a son imbued with knowledge.” (Surat adh-Dhariyat: 24-28)
“Our messengers brought the good news to Abraham. They said: “Peace,” and he also said: “Peace” and brought in a roasted calf without delay. When he saw that their hands were not reaching for it, he suspected them and felt afraid. They said: “Have no fear. We have been sent to the people of Lot.” (Surah Hud: 69-70)
God warns those who believe in the trinity and who ascribe divine status to Prophet Jesus (Peace be upon him) in various ways in several verses, among them the following:
“Those who say: “God is the Messiah, son of Mary” do not believe. Ask: “Who possesses any power at all over God if He desires to destroy the Messiah, son of Mary, and his mother, and everyone else on Earth?” The kingdom of the heavens and Earth, and everything between them, belongs to God. He creates whatever He wills. God has power over all things.” (Surat al-Ma’ida: 17)
Prophet Jesus (Peace be upon him) is no more than a helpless and needy servant created by God, despite his being someone beloved of, honored, and chosen by God. The Qur’an says that those who deify him are unbelievers:
“Those who say that the Messiah, son of Mary, is God are unbelievers. The Messiah said: “O Tribe of Israel. Worship God, my Lord and your Lord. If anyone associates anything with God, God has forbidden him the Garden and his refuge will be the Fire.” The wrongdoers will have no helpers. Those who say that God is the third of three are unbelievers. There is no deity but the One God. If they do not stop saying what they say, a painful punishment will afflict those among them who do not believe. Why do they not turn to God and ask for His forgiveness? God is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Surat al-Ma’ida; 72-74)
Thus, as God is the sole Lord of all things, no other power can delay or turn a thing back that He wills to happen. The Qur’an reveals the following about those who say that there is another deity apart from God or that God has a son:
“We sent no Messenger before you without revealing to him: “There is no god but Me, so worship Me.” They say: “The All-Merciful has a son.” Glory be to Him! No, they are honored servants! They do not precede Him in speech and they act on His command. He knows what is in front of them and what is behind them. They only intercede on behalf of those with whom He is pleased, and even they are apprehensive out of fear [and respect] of Him. Were any of them to say: “I am a deity apart from Him,” We would repay him with Hell. That is how We repay wrongdoers.” (Surat al-Anbiya’: 25-29)