Overview
Jesus's Miracles Point to God's Power
The Quran and the New Testament both present Jesus performing extraordinary signs. The Quran repeatedly adds the decisive phrase: these miracles happened by God's permission. Biblical prophets and apostles also performed miracles without becoming divine. Jesus's signs therefore support his mission as the Messiah and messenger of God; they point to the One who empowered him.
notes
Introduction
Our method throughout is simple: let each scripture speak in its own words first, quote it exactly, and only then compare. Every verse below was retrieved directly from the source texts — the Quran in the Uthmani Arabic script with the Saheeh International translation, and the Bible in the World English Bible translation.
Miracles are a natural meeting point between the two faiths. A Christian reading the Quran for the first time discovers that Islam does not reduce Jesus to a mere teacher of ethics: the Quran presents him as one of the mightiest messengers God ever sent, marked out by signs no ordinary man could produce. A Muslim reading the Gospels finds accounts of healing and mercy that feel deeply familiar in spirit.
Precisely because both traditions affirm the miracles, they make an excellent test case for the deeper question that separates the two faiths: who was Jesus? A prophet empowered by God, as Islam teaches — or God incarnate, as the later Christian creeds defined him? The miracles themselves, as we will see, carry an answer within the very way both scriptures describe them.
Miracles are a natural meeting point between the two faiths. A Christian reading the Quran for the first time discovers that Islam does not reduce Jesus to a mere teacher of ethics: the Quran presents him as one of the mightiest messengers God ever sent, marked out by signs no ordinary man could produce. A Muslim reading the Gospels finds accounts of healing and mercy that feel deeply familiar in spirit.
Precisely because both traditions affirm the miracles, they make an excellent test case for the deeper question that separates the two faiths: who was Jesus? A prophet empowered by God, as Islam teaches — or God incarnate, as the later Christian creeds defined him? The miracles themselves, as we will see, carry an answer within the very way both scriptures describe them.
notes
The Question: Do Miracles Prove Divinity?
The argument is often put like this: 'Only God can raise the dead. Jesus raised the dead. Therefore Jesus is God.' It sounds compelling. But it stands or falls on one point: did Jesus perform miracles by his own inherent power, or did God perform them through him?
Both scriptures address this directly. The Quran answers with a repeated, deliberate phrase — bi-idhnillah, 'by permission of Allah' — attached to each miracle. The New Testament, in the very first public sermon of Christianity recorded in the book of Acts, describes the miracles as works 'which God did by him'. And the Hebrew Bible describes earlier prophets — Moses, Elijah, Elisha — performing wonders of the same kind, including raising the dead, without anyone concluding that those prophets were divine.
So the real question is not whether the miracles happened; both faiths say they did. The question is what they were for: proof of Jesus's own deity, or God's public endorsement of His messenger.
Both scriptures address this directly. The Quran answers with a repeated, deliberate phrase — bi-idhnillah, 'by permission of Allah' — attached to each miracle. The New Testament, in the very first public sermon of Christianity recorded in the book of Acts, describes the miracles as works 'which God did by him'. And the Hebrew Bible describes earlier prophets — Moses, Elijah, Elisha — performing wonders of the same kind, including raising the dead, without anyone concluding that those prophets were divine.
So the real question is not whether the miracles happened; both faiths say they did. The question is what they were for: proof of Jesus's own deity, or God's public endorsement of His messenger.
history
Miracle Reports and Historical Method
The Gospels are the earliest detailed narratives of Jesus's healings and exorcisms. Historians can establish that Jesus was remembered very early as a healer and wonder-worker, but historical method cannot prove or disprove divine action itself.
The Quran confirms that Jesus performed genuine miracles and names signs not found in every Gospel account. For Muslims, this confirmation comes through revelation and consistently attributes the power to God.
The Quran confirms that Jesus performed genuine miracles and names signs not found in every Gospel account. For Muslims, this confirmation comes through revelation and consistently attributes the power to God.
scripture
The Miracles in the Quran
Quran 3:49 records Jesus healing the blind and the leper, bringing the dead to life, and forming a bird from clay. Each extraordinary act is tied to the words "by Allah's permission." Quran 5:110 repeats the phrase while reminding Jesus that God strengthened him and taught him.
This wording is not a minor qualification. It tells readers how to understand the signs: Jesus is God's chosen agent. The power is real, the messenger is honored, and the source is God. The Quran also records Jesus calling Israel to worship "Allah, my Lord and your Lord" (Quran 5:72). His miracles serve that message rather than replacing its God with the messenger.
This wording is not a minor qualification. It tells readers how to understand the signs: Jesus is God's chosen agent. The power is real, the messenger is honored, and the source is God. The Quran also records Jesus calling Israel to worship "Allah, my Lord and your Lord" (Quran 5:72). His miracles serve that message rather than replacing its God with the messenger.
Key passage
Quran
وَرَسُولًا إِلَىٰ بَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ أَنِّى قَدْ جِئْتُكُم بِـَٔايَةٍۢ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ ۖ أَنِّىٓ أَخْلُقُ لَكُم مِّنَ ٱلطِّينِ كَهَيْـَٔةِ ٱلطَّيْرِ فَأَنفُخُ فِيهِ فَيَكُونُ طَيْرًۢا بِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ وَأُبْرِئُ ٱلْأَكْمَهَ وَٱلْأَبْرَصَ وَأُحْىِ ٱلْمَوْتَىٰ بِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ وَأُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا تَأْكُلُونَ وَمَا تَدَّخِرُونَ فِى بُيُوتِكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ فِى ذَٰلِكَ لَءَايَةًۭ لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ
سورة آل عمران · الآية ٤٩
And [make him] a messenger to the Children of Israel, [who will say], 'Indeed I have come to you with a sign from your Lord in that I design for you from clay [that which is] like the form of a bird, then I breathe into it and it becomes a bird by permission of Allah. And I cure the blind and the leper, and I give life to the dead - by permission of Allah. And I inform you of what you eat and what you store in your houses. Indeed in that is a sign for you, if you are believers.
Quran 3:49
Translation: Saheeh International
scripture
The Miracles in the Bible
The Gospels describe healings, exorcisms, control over nature, multiplication of food, and the raising of the dead. Christians often see the range of signs as evidence of divine identity.
The Bible also shows God's servants performing comparable wonders. Moses parts the sea by God's command, Elijah and Elisha raise the dead, and the apostles heal through the name and power God gives. Acts 2:22 summarizes Jesus as "a man attested to you by God" through miracles that "God did through him." This does not deny Jesus's unique rank; it identifies the giver of the power.
The Bible also shows God's servants performing comparable wonders. Moses parts the sea by God's command, Elijah and Elisha raise the dead, and the apostles heal through the name and power God gives. Acts 2:22 summarizes Jesus as "a man attested to you by God" through miracles that "God did through him." This does not deny Jesus's unique rank; it identifies the giver of the power.
Key passage
Bible
“Men of Israel, hear these words! Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved by God to you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him among you, even as you yourselves know,
Acts 2:22
Version: World English Bible
argument
Do Miracles Prove Divinity?
Both scriptures use Jesus's miracles as signs. The key question is what a sign signifies.
A miracle can authenticate a messenger without making the messenger God. Jesus himself warns that signs alone are not a safe test of truth (Matthew 7:22-23), and other biblical figures perform wonders. The Quran removes the ambiguity by repeating that Jesus acted by God's permission. The most natural conclusion is the prophetic one: God empowered His Messiah so people would believe and obey God.
A miracle can authenticate a messenger without making the messenger God. Jesus himself warns that signs alone are not a safe test of truth (Matthew 7:22-23), and other biblical figures perform wonders. The Quran removes the ambiguity by repeating that Jesus acted by God's permission. The most natural conclusion is the prophetic one: God empowered His Messiah so people would believe and obey God.
interpretation
Common Misconceptions
A first misconception: 'Muslims deny the miracles of Jesus.' The truth is the reverse. The Quran affirms every major category of miracle the Gospels report — healing the blind and the leper, raising the dead, wondrous provision of food — and adds wonders of its own: the newborn Jesus speaking in the cradle (Quran 19:29-30) and the clay bird brought to life (Quran 3:49). Within Islam these are real events, affirmed by God's own word, not legends to be explained away.
A second misconception: 'If Jesus raised the dead, he must be God.' As we have seen, both scriptures block this inference. The Quran attaches 'by permission of Allah' to the miracles; Acts says God did them 'by him'; Jesus says he can do nothing of himself; and Elisha raised the dead centuries earlier without anyone worshiping him. A miracle demonstrates that God is acting; it does not identify the man through whom God acts as God Himself.
A third misconception, raised from the other direction: 'The Quran borrowed the clay-bird story from a Christian legend.' It is true, and should be said plainly, that a similar story of the child Jesus bringing clay birds to life appears in the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, an early non-canonical Christian writing that circulated long before the Quran, and secular scholars often describe the Quran as engaging stories its first audience already knew. The Islamic response is twofold. First, the Quran presents itself as confirming and correcting earlier tradition; if the event truly happened, its survival in Christian memory — even outside the canonical Gospels — is precisely what one would expect, and retelling a true event is not borrowing a fiction. Second, the Quran's framing is pointedly its own: where a legend might display a boy wielding wondrous power, the Quran twice inserts 'by permission of Allah' into the telling (Quran 3:49), stripping the story of any suggestion of independent divine power. The Quran does not copy; it corrects.
A fourth misconception: 'Christians claim the miracles alone prove Jesus is God.' Thoughtful Christian theologians generally do not argue this — they know their own Bible describes prophets and apostles working wonders by God's power. The serious Christian arguments lie elsewhere, in the resurrection and in John's portrait of Jesus. Recognizing this keeps the conversation honest: the miracles are common ground between the two faiths, not a battleground.
A second misconception: 'If Jesus raised the dead, he must be God.' As we have seen, both scriptures block this inference. The Quran attaches 'by permission of Allah' to the miracles; Acts says God did them 'by him'; Jesus says he can do nothing of himself; and Elisha raised the dead centuries earlier without anyone worshiping him. A miracle demonstrates that God is acting; it does not identify the man through whom God acts as God Himself.
A third misconception, raised from the other direction: 'The Quran borrowed the clay-bird story from a Christian legend.' It is true, and should be said plainly, that a similar story of the child Jesus bringing clay birds to life appears in the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, an early non-canonical Christian writing that circulated long before the Quran, and secular scholars often describe the Quran as engaging stories its first audience already knew. The Islamic response is twofold. First, the Quran presents itself as confirming and correcting earlier tradition; if the event truly happened, its survival in Christian memory — even outside the canonical Gospels — is precisely what one would expect, and retelling a true event is not borrowing a fiction. Second, the Quran's framing is pointedly its own: where a legend might display a boy wielding wondrous power, the Quran twice inserts 'by permission of Allah' into the telling (Quran 3:49), stripping the story of any suggestion of independent divine power. The Quran does not copy; it corrects.
A fourth misconception: 'Christians claim the miracles alone prove Jesus is God.' Thoughtful Christian theologians generally do not argue this — they know their own Bible describes prophets and apostles working wonders by God's power. The serious Christian arguments lie elsewhere, in the resurrection and in John's portrait of Jesus. Recognizing this keeps the conversation honest: the miracles are common ground between the two faiths, not a battleground.
argument
Believe the Signs and Worship Their Source
Islam neither explains away Jesus's miracles nor turns them into proof that a human being is God. It believes them fully and gives the glory to their true source.
That is also the pattern Jesus models: prayer before God, dependence on God, and signs performed through God's power. The miracles invite trust in Jesus as messenger and worship of the God who sent him.
That is also the pattern Jesus models: prayer before God, dependence on God, and signs performed through God's power. The miracles invite trust in Jesus as messenger and worship of the God who sent him.
summary
Key Takeaways: What Jesus's Miracles Prove
Jesus's miracles are part of Islamic faith. They establish his extraordinary rank and the truth of his mission, while the Quran's repeated words—"by God's permission"—protect the central prophetic lesson. The miracle-worker is God's Messiah; the One who grants the miracle is God.
notes
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Does the Quran really affirm the miracles of Jesus?
A: Yes, emphatically. The Quran states that Jesus healed the blind and the leper, raised the dead, brought a clay bird to life, announced hidden knowledge, spoke as an infant in the cradle, and was answered with a table sent down from heaven (Quran 3:49, 5:110, 5:112-115, 19:29-30). Muslims accept all of these as real events.
Q: Do miracles prove that Jesus is God?
A: Not according to either scripture. The Quran says each miracle happened 'by permission of Allah', and the New Testament describes them as wonders 'which God did by him' (Acts 2:22), while Jesus says, 'I can of myself do nothing' (John 5:30). Earlier prophets such as Elisha also raised the dead (2 Kings 4:32-35), and no one concludes they were divine.
Q: Which miracles appear in the Quran but not in the Bible?
A: Two stand out: Jesus speaking from the cradle as a newborn to defend his mother (Quran 19:29-30), and the clay bird that came alive when he breathed into it (Quran 3:49). The table sent down from heaven (Quran 5:112-115) has no exact biblical parallel, though many readers hear echoes of the Gospel feeding narratives and the Last Supper.
Q: Why does the Quran keep repeating 'by permission of Allah'?
A: In one verse God says 'with My permission' four times (Quran 5:110). The repetition affirms the miracles fully while attributing their power entirely to God — honoring Jesus as a mighty messenger without deifying him.
Q: Didn't the Quran take the clay-bird story from a Christian legend?
A: A similar story appears in the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, a non-canonical Christian text older than the Quran, and scholars note the parallel. Muslims respond that the Quran confirms and corrects earlier tradition: if the event was real, its memory surviving among Christians is expected, and the Quran retells it with its own theological frame — 'by permission of Allah' — which the legend lacks.
A: Yes, emphatically. The Quran states that Jesus healed the blind and the leper, raised the dead, brought a clay bird to life, announced hidden knowledge, spoke as an infant in the cradle, and was answered with a table sent down from heaven (Quran 3:49, 5:110, 5:112-115, 19:29-30). Muslims accept all of these as real events.
Q: Do miracles prove that Jesus is God?
A: Not according to either scripture. The Quran says each miracle happened 'by permission of Allah', and the New Testament describes them as wonders 'which God did by him' (Acts 2:22), while Jesus says, 'I can of myself do nothing' (John 5:30). Earlier prophets such as Elisha also raised the dead (2 Kings 4:32-35), and no one concludes they were divine.
Q: Which miracles appear in the Quran but not in the Bible?
A: Two stand out: Jesus speaking from the cradle as a newborn to defend his mother (Quran 19:29-30), and the clay bird that came alive when he breathed into it (Quran 3:49). The table sent down from heaven (Quran 5:112-115) has no exact biblical parallel, though many readers hear echoes of the Gospel feeding narratives and the Last Supper.
Q: Why does the Quran keep repeating 'by permission of Allah'?
A: In one verse God says 'with My permission' four times (Quran 5:110). The repetition affirms the miracles fully while attributing their power entirely to God — honoring Jesus as a mighty messenger without deifying him.
Q: Didn't the Quran take the clay-bird story from a Christian legend?
A: A similar story appears in the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, a non-canonical Christian text older than the Quran, and scholars note the parallel. Muslims respond that the Quran confirms and corrects earlier tradition: if the event was real, its memory surviving among Christians is expected, and the Quran retells it with its own theological frame — 'by permission of Allah' — which the legend lacks.
sources
Further Reading
Selected sources and further reading:
The Muslim Jesus: Sayings and Stories in Islamic Literature — Tarif Khalidi. A Harvard-published collection of how the Islamic tradition remembered and revered Jesus.The Qur'an and the Bible: Text and Commentary — Gabriel Said Reynolds. An academic, passage-by-passage study of where the Quran and the Bible meet — including the Jesus material.The Islamic Jesus — Mustafa Akyol. An accessible Muslim author's account of Jesus in the Quran and his place between the two faiths.How Jesus Became God — Bart D. Ehrman. A secular historian traces how beliefs about Jesus's divinity developed after his lifetime.Jesus the Jew — Geza Vermes. A classic historical portrait of Jesus as a Galilean charismatic healer within Jewish tradition.
The Muslim Jesus: Sayings and Stories in Islamic Literature — Tarif Khalidi. A Harvard-published collection of how the Islamic tradition remembered and revered Jesus.The Qur'an and the Bible: Text and Commentary — Gabriel Said Reynolds. An academic, passage-by-passage study of where the Quran and the Bible meet — including the Jesus material.The Islamic Jesus — Mustafa Akyol. An accessible Muslim author's account of Jesus in the Quran and his place between the two faiths.How Jesus Became God — Bart D. Ehrman. A secular historian traces how beliefs about Jesus's divinity developed after his lifetime.Jesus the Jew — Geza Vermes. A classic historical portrait of Jesus as a Galilean charismatic healer within Jewish tradition.
Sources
Sources and further reading
Primary texts and works cited in this article.
The Quran — Tanzil Uthmani text with Saheeh International translation
quran
Source linkUthmani-script Arabic text from Tanzil with the Saheeh International English translation.
The Holy Bible, World English Bible (public domain)
bible
Source linkPublic-domain English translation from the World English Bible.
The Muslim Jesus: Sayings and Stories in Islamic Literature
book | Tarif Khalidi
A Cambridge-published collection showing how deeply Jesus is woven into Islamic devotional literature.
The Qur'an and the Bible: Text and Commentary
book | Gabriel Said Reynolds
A verse-by-verse academic comparison of Quranic passages with their biblical parallels, including the Mary narratives.
The Islamic Jesus
book | Mustafa Akyol
An accessible modern discussion of the Quranic Jesus and Mary in conversation with Jewish and Christian views.
How Jesus Became God
book | Bart D. Ehrman
An academic (non-Muslim, non-confessional) historian's account of how beliefs about Jesus' divinity developed in the earliest centuries.
Jesus the Jew
book | Geza Vermes
A classic historical portrait of Jesus as a Galilean charismatic healer within Jewish tradition.