Jesus is the Word of God

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الصلاة والسلام عليك يا رسول الله

In Islam one of the names of the Messiah Jesus, peace be upon him, is كلمة الله the “Word of Allah”. He is unique in the sense of being the only human who is given this name, which is otherwise reserved for Revelation and Scripture. Allah says:

اَنَّ اللّٰہَ یُبَشِّرُکَ بِیَحۡیٰی مُصَدِّقًۢا بِکَلِمَۃٍ مِّنَ اللّٰہِ

Allah gives you glad tidings of Yahya, who shall testify of a Word from Allah

(Surah 3, Ayah 39)

So one of the functions of the Prophet Yahya—John the Baptist—was to attest the Messiah Jesus who is called a “Word from Allah” in this Ayah.

اِذۡ قَالَتِ الۡمَلٰٓئِکَۃُ یٰمَرۡیَمُ اِنَّ اللّٰہَ یُبَشِّرُکِ بِکَلِمَۃٍ مِّنۡہُ ٭ۖ اسۡمُہُ الۡمَسِیۡحُ عِیۡسَی ابۡنُ مَرۡیَمَ

When the Angels said: Mary! Allah gives you glad tidings of a Word from Him. His name is the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary

(Surah 3, Ayah 45)

ؕ اِنَّمَا الۡمَسِیۡحُ عِیۡسَی ابۡنُ مَرۡیَمَ رَسُوۡلُ اللّٰہِ وَکَلِمَتُہٗ ۚ اَلۡقٰہَاۤ اِلٰی مَرۡیَمَ وَرُوۡحٌ مِّنۡہُ

Verily, the Messiah Jesus son of Mary is the Apostle of Allah and His Word conveyed to Mary, and a Spirit from Him

(Surah 4, Ayah 171)

And the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, informed us that on Judgment Day the Prophet Moses will tell those who come to him seeking his intercession:

اذْهَبُوا إِلَى ‌عِيسَى ‌كَلِمَةِ ‌اللهِ وَرُوحِهِ

Go to Jesus, the Word of Allah and His Spirit (Sahih Muslim)

That the name of Jesus is “Word of God” is affirmed in the Bible: “And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God” (Revelation 19:13)

The explanation of Jesus’s name “Word of God” is that he is the one to whom the Word of God, the Scripture that God spoke and breathed to His Prophets and Apostles, points to the Messiah. It also means that through the word “Become” Jesus was created:

اِنَّ مَثَلَ عِیۡسٰی عِنۡدَ اللّٰہِ کَمَثَلِ اٰدَمَ ؕ خَلَقَہٗ مِنۡ تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ قَالَ لَہٗ کُنۡ فَیَکُوۡنُ

Surely, the example of Jesus with Allah is like the example of Adam: He created him from dust then said to him “Be!” and he was

(Surah 3, Ayah 59)

And in a sense every Prophet is the Word of God since he speaks on God’s behalf the words of God. Why then is Jesus singled out with the name كلمة الله in Islam? For one thing, it may be a confirmation of the vision of John of Patmos, who may have been one of the mursalin or apostles of the Messiah; wherein Jesus is called “The Word of God”. Indeed, much of the content in the Book of Revelation accords with what is taught in the Holy Quran and Prophesy of Muhammad, peace be upon him. I believe that Jesus being the Word of God is due to the emphasis on the Word in his prophetic ministry, and that in his prophetic capacity he wielded authority to repudiate the argumentation of his scholarly opposition in the form of the scribes, lawyers and priests who attempted to counter him with an appeal to the written Scripture. So it signifies that the Prophet is the Word of God as the Scripture is. And this name being singled out for Jesus among all the Prophets and Apostles may also be in reference to the power of his breath and his words: “with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked” (Isaiah 11:4), which the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, confirmed when he said:

فَلَا يَحِلُّ لِكَافِرٍ يَجِدُ ‌رِيحَ ‌نَفَسِهِ إِلَّا مَاتَ وَنَفَسُهُ يَنْتَهِي حَيْثُ يَنْتَهِي طَرْفُهُ

An unbeliever who feels his breath will die, and his breath will reach the extent of his sight (Sahih Muslim)

This suggests that merely by speaking the Word of God and breathing the Messiah shall slay the wicked unbelievers.

This destructive power associated with the mouth and breath of the Messiah is mentioned elsewhere in the Bible too: “And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of His mouth” (2 Thessalonians 2:8) “And from His mouth proceeds a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations” (Revelation 19:15)