إِنَّ مَثَلَ عِيسَىٰ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ كَمَثَلِ ءَادَمَ ۖ خَلَقَهُۥ مِن تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ قَالَ لَهُۥ كُن فَيَكُونُ
Indeed, the example of Jesus to Allah is like that of Adam. He created him from dust; then He said to him, “Be,” and he was.
Allah sets forth this striking comparison in response to the Christians’ claims about the divinity of Jesus (peace be upon him).
If Christians believe that Jesus (peace be upon him) is a divine being because he came into the world without a father, then Adam (peace be upon him) has twice as much right to be considered divine, for he had neither a mother nor a father.
This is an irrefutable argument that exposes the logical inconsistency of attributing divinity on the basis of a miraculous birth.
When you discuss this argument, you may encounter a response that has become standard in Christian theology:
“It is a mystery of faith.”
This phrase is generally used to avoid subjecting beliefs that cannot be defended logically to rational scrutiny. When faced with clear contradictions or with questions that expose inconsistencies, taking refuge in the notion of “mystery” becomes the last line of defense.
The attitude taken turns into this: “It doesn’t fit logic, but that is exactly what makes it extraordinary. Don’t you see it? Don’t you feel it?” And so an emotional approach takes the place of intellectual inquiry.
Yet Allah calls people not to abandon their reason, but to use it.
In Islam, faith is built on a foundation that can withstand deep scrutiny, welcomes questions, and never demands that believers set their reason aside.
A remarkable detail is that the names Jesus (peace be upon him) and Adam (peace be upon him) each occur 25 times in the Qur’an. Moreover, this ayah is where each of the two names appears for the seventh time from the beginning of the Qur’an.