Jesus and Adam: Between Miracle and Coincidence in the Holy Qur’an

As is well known, Jesus Christ (pbuh) is one of the most popular and controversial personalities in history. To some,
he is seen as God, to others he is the son of God. Muslims in particular, however, view Jesus Christ as a messenger
of God, who was sent to spread God’s word and obey his commands, as did Moses (pbuh), Noah (pbuh), Abraham
(pbuh) and those who were sent before him, as well as Muhammad (pbuh) who was sent after him. Muslims have
a most honourable regard for Jesus, and belief in him is a condition of Islam.

While it may come as a surprise to some, the Qur’an is in fact a great source for anyone wishing to learn about
Jesus Christ! The Qur’an speaks with utmost respect and beauty of this Holy Messenger and his mother Mary.

There is no doubt that there are people who are sceptical about the Qur’an and consider it the written word of
Muhammad, and it is the duty of a Muslim to acknowledge and respect all opinions, so long as they can be logically
and fairly proven.

There are also people who deny the Prophets and the miracles that came with them. Among those are the
miracles of the creation of Adam and Jesus Christ. God's response to those rejecting such miracles is: (Verily, the
likeness of Jesus before Allah is the likeness of Adam. He created him from dust, then He said to him: "Be!" - and
he was.) [Al-Imran: 59].

In examining this verse, we notice that God Almighty tells us that Jesus Christ, like Adam, was created without a
father. Similarly, both were Prophets, and both presented a miracle in the way in which their exemplary morals
and behaviour were different from those of ordinary people. This is the Islamic argument; that Jesus cannot be
regarded as divine simply because he had no father, because if that holds true, then Adam must also be
considered divine as he had neither a father nor a mother.

But the question is: How can this verse really convince someone who simply rejects the Qur’an as the true word of
God? After all, a sceptic has every right to be sceptical, but along with this scepticism comes a right upon him to
seek proof in order to erase any doubt beyond question! So is there any physical proof for the truth of these
words? Is there something, within this verse, that can tangibly prove the proposed similarities between Jesus and
Adam? No judgment is made in the words to follow; this is left for the reader to contemplate.

What is interesting is that this connection between Jesus and Adam is not merely confined to the meaning of the
verse as explained above. This connection even exists with regards to the various mentions of both Jesus and
Adam in the Qur’an.

To explain further, if we look for the word ‘Jesus’ in the Qur’an, we find that it is mentioned 25 times in the Qur’an.
Similarly, if we look at the mention of ‘Adam’ in the Qur’an, we find, again, that it is mentioned exactly 25 times!

It is only natural for an atheist, probably even a Muslim, to consider this a coincidence. Therefore, we must look
further, and see whether God Almighty has deposited in this verse any consistent numerical symmetry that could
destroy any possibility of coincidence.

Now, reflecting on the various verses where Jesus and Adam are mentioned, we find that the previous verse –
(Verily, the likeness of Jesus before Allah is the likeness of Adam) - is the only verse in the Qur’an where both
Jesus and Adam were mentioned collectively. In no other verse do the two names meet; this gives the verse a
pivotal importance in our discussion.

Furthermore, and amazingly enough, the number of times the word Adam was mentioned from the beginning of
the Qur’an up to this crucial verse is 7 times, and the number of times Jesus was mentioned from the beginning of
the Qur’an up to this verse is also 7 times!

To better illustrate this beautiful consistency, each of the 25 verses mentioning Jesus and Adam are listed below in
their order of appearance in the Qur’an:
 REFERENCES TO 'ADAM' IN THE QUR’AN
Verse
Chapter
Verse Chapter Name Numbe
Number
r
1 And he taught Adam all the names 31
2 He said : O Adam! Inform them of their names 33
Al-Baqarah [The 2
3 Prostrate yourselves before Adam 34
Cow]
4 O Adam! Dwell thou and thy wife in the Garden 35
5 Then Adam received Words from his Lord 37
6 Indeed! God chose Adam 33
Al-Imran [The
Verily, the likeness of Jesus before Allah is the likeness of 3
7 Family of Imran] 59
Adam
Al-Maidah [The
8 5 27
Recite to them the truth of the story of the two sons of Adam Table Spread]
9 Then We bade the angels bow down to Adam Al-A'raf [The 7 11
10 O Adam! Dwell thou and thy wife in the Garden Heights] 19
11 - O Children of Adam! We have bestowed raiment upon you 26
12 O Children of Adam! Let not Satan deceive you 27
O Children of Adam! Look to your adornment at every place of
13 31
worship
14 O Children of Adam! If there come to you Messengers 35
15 And (remember) when thy Lord brought forth from the Children of 172
 Adam
16 Prostrate to Adam Al-Isra' [The 61
17
17 Verily We have honoured the Children of Adam Night Journey] 70
Al-Kahf [The
18 Prostrate to Adam 18 50
Cave]
19 of the offspring of Adam Maryam [Mary] 19 58
20 And indeed We made a covenant with Adam before 115
21 Prostrate yourselves to Adam 116
22 O Adam! Verily, this is an enemy to you and to your wife Taha [Taha] 20 117
23 O Adam! Shall I lead you to the Tree of Eternity 120
24 Thus did Adam disobey his Lord, so he went astray 121
Did I not ordain for you, O Children of Adam, that you should not
25 36 60
worship Satan Yaasin [Yaasin]

REFERENCES TO 'JESUS' IN THE QUR’AN

Verse
Verse Chapter Name Chapter Numbe
Number r
1 We gave Jesus the son of Mary Clear Signs 87
and that given to Moses and Jesus, and that given to (all) prophets Al-Baqarah [The
2 2 136
from their Lord Cow]
3 to Jesus the son of Mary We gave clear (Signs) 253
Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a word from Him, whose name is Al-Imran [The 3
4 45
the Messiah, Jesus Family of Imran]
5 Then when Jesus came to know of their disbelief 52
6 O Jesus! I will take you and raise you to Myself 55
 Verily, the likeness of Jesus before Allah is the likeness of
7 59
Adam
and that given to Moses and Jesus, and that given to (all) prophets
8 84
from their Lord
And because of their saying : We killed the Messiah Jesus son of
9 157
Mary
Al-Nisa' [The
we sent inspiration to Abraham, Isma'il, Isaac, Jacob and the 4
10 Women] 163
Tribes, to Jesus
11 The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only a messenger of Allah 171
We sent Jesus the son of Mary, confirming the Law that had come
12 46
before him
13 by the tongue of David and of Jesus the son of Mary 78
O Jesus , son of Mary! Remember My favour unto thee and unto
14 110
thy mother Al-Maidah [The
5
O Jesus the son of Mary! can thy Lord send down to us a table Table Spread]
15 112
spread
16 Jesus, son of Mary, said: O Allah, our Lord 114
O Jesus, son of Mary! Didst thou say unto mankind: Worship me
17 116
and my mother
Al-An'aam [The
18 6 85
And Zachariah and John and Jesus and Elias Cattle]
19 Such is Jesus, son of Mary Maryam [Mary] 19 34
Al-Ahzaab [The
20 33 7
and from Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus Clans]
Al-Shura [The
21 42 13
that which We commended unto Abraham and Moses and Jesus Consultation]
22 When Jesus came with Clear Signs Al-Zukhruf 43 63
[Ornaments of
 Gold]
Al-Hadid [The
23 57 27
We sent after them Jesus the son of Mary Iron]
24 And remember Jesus the son of Mary Al-Saff [The 6
61
25 As said Jesus the son of Mary to the Disciples Ranks] 14

The above facts demonstrate the accurateness of the Qur’an in its depiction of Jesus and Adam, not only in terms
of meaning, but also in terms of context and numerical symmetry. Both prophets are mentioned 25 times, and the
sole place where they meet together is at the point where both happen to be mentioned for precisely the seventh
time. In addition, anyone who reads the Qur’an will note that this is not a deliberate play on words to simply
preserve consistency; meaning and context are never lost throughout the verses of this Holy Book.

Finally, this is simply one out of thousands of similar examples that have been discovered in the Qur’an, and the
question is whether all these can come by chance? Or is it in fact God Almighty who preserved this perfect
balance? This is left to the reader’s discretion, but regardless the answer, the ever-present challenge of the Qur’an
to all of mankind and angels still resonates today: (Say: If the whole of mankind and the Jinns were to gather
together to produce the like of this Qur'an, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they backed up each
other with help and support.) [Al-Isra’: 88].