The Messiah in Islam -

Christians often ask Muslims why Jesus is referred to as the Messiah in Islam. The Qur'an in 3:45 refers to Jesus as the Messiah using the Arabic term "Maseeh":

"[And mention] when the angels said, "O Mary, indeed Allah gives you good tidings of a word from Him, whose name will be the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary - distinguished in this world and the Hereafter and among those brought near [to Allah ]."

The answer is really simple, the term Messiah is a proof that Jesus is not considered to be God, hence the Qur'an using this term is an affirmation that Jesus is not God. The term Messiah from the Hebrew "Mashiach" refers to one who is "anointed", usually this refers to one of two things:

1. To rub oil on one's forehead.
2. To be appointed by God as a King, Prophet or Priest.

In the case of #1, anointing in this sense is not in reference to a position given by God but done out of religious observation, see Psalm 104:15, Ruth 3:3 or Matthew 6:17.

In the case of #2, anointing in this sense refers to a position of religious power and authority where a King, Prophet or Priest is always anointed by someone other than themselves, there can not be a case of self-anointing. We read in 1 Kings 19:16, 19:

"Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet."

"So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him."

We also read from Isaiah 61:1:

"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners..."

In these quotes we see one person anointing another for ascension into a religious office they did not previously hold. In the case of God, how can God be a Messiah? This would have to mean that God anointed himself to hold a religious office he did not previously have. A Prophet becomes anointed to succeed another Prophet as seen in the quote from 1 Kings 19. Priests are anointed, read Exodus 40:12-13 :

"Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the tent of meeting and wash them with water. Then dress Aaron in the sacred garments, anoint him and consecrate him so he may serve me as priest."

Kings are anointed, as we read in 1 Kings 1:39 -

"Zadok the priest took the horn of oilfrom the sacred tent and anointed Solomon. Then they sounded the trumpetand all the people shouted, “Long live King Solomon!”

So if to be God is to be Messiah (as Christians claim with Jesus), it would have to mean that God anointed Himself (something not done before in the Hebrew Bible), granting Himself ascension to a higher religious office that he did not occupy before. So what office did God ascend to that he did not have at one point? Therefore, it logically follows that to be a Messiah, is not to be God, but to be raised to a higher office by God. Which fits in line with the Islamic teaching that Prophets are Imams of their nations and that they are raised to a higher station (office of authority) by God.

Therefore the Qur'an correctly refers to Jesus as the Messiah, but in order for Jesus to be the God-Messiah in Christianity, they would first have to deny the tradition of anointing to a higher office in the Hebrew Bible and they would also have to explain what office of authority God did not hold that he later gained.

and God knows best.