Sayings of Jesus from Islamic Tradition

Sayings attributed to Jesus from Islamic tradition (outside the Qur'an), taken from a book entitled, The Muslim Jesus: Sayings and Stories in Islamic Literature, edited and translated by Tarif Khalidi, Harvard University Press, 2001

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"Jesus and his disciples passed by a dog's carcass. The disciples said, "how foul is his stench!" Jesus said, "How white are his teeth!" He said this in order to teach them a lesson -- namely, to forbid slander." (Late 9rd century A.D.)

It should be noted that Muslims generally do not like dogs at all.

"A pig passed by Jesus. Jesus said, "Pass in peace." He was asked, "Spirit of God, how can you say this to a pig?" Jesus replied, "I hate to accustom my tongue to evil." (Late 9th century A.D.)

Muslims consider pigs to be totally unclean.

"Jesus said to his companions, "What would you do if you passed by a sleeping man whose clothes had been blown away by the wind?" They said, "We would cover him up." Jesus said, "No, you would instead uncover the rest of  him." Thus he drew an example of people who hear evil spoken of someone, and add to the evil and mention more." (Late 9th century A.D.)

"While on his travels, Jesus passed by a rotting skull. He commanded it to speak. The skull said, "Spirit of God, my name is Balwan ibn Hafs, king of Yemen. I lived a thousand years, begat a thousand sons, deflowered a thousand virgins, routed a thousand armies, killed a thousand tyrants, and conquered a thousand cities. Let him who hears my tale not be tempted by the world, for it was like nothing so much as the dream of a sleeper." Jesus wept." (Early 12th century A.D.)

“One of the disciples of Christ died and the others mourned him greatly. They conveyed their distress to Christ, who stood by his grave and prayed. God resurrected him, and his feet were in sandals of fire. Christ asked him about this, and he said, “I swear to God that I have never sinned, but I once passed by a man who was unjustly treated and did not go to his aid; and so I was made to wear these sandals.”  (early 12^th century A.D.) The commentator notes that the “Qur’an  repeatedly enjoins the duty of going to the aid of those unjustly treated: see, e.g., Qur’an 1:270, 3:192, 8:72, 42:8…

#246   “One day Jesus went out with his disciples. At noon they passed by a field of wheat ready for harvest. “Prophet of God,” they said, “we are hungry.” God inspired him to allow them to eat, so they dispersed among the wheat, rubbing it and eating. While they were eating, the owner came up and cried, “This is my field and my land, inherited from my father and grandfather. By whose permission do you eat it?” Jesus prayed God to resurrect all who had ever owned that field, from the days of Adam until that very hour. And so at each blade of wheat a multitude of men and women appeared, each of them crying, “This is my field and my land, inherited from my father and grandfather!” The man fled in fear. He had heard about Jesus but had not met him. When he recognized Jesus, he said, “I apologize, O Prophet of God. I did not recognize you. My land and wealth are at your disposal.” Jesus wept and said, “Woe unto you! All these people inherited this land and cultivated it and then departed. You too, following them, shall depart, without land or wealth.”

“Jesus met a man and asked him, “What are you doing?” “I am devoting myself to God,” the man replied. Jesus asked, “Who is caring for you?” “My brother” replied the man. Jesus said, “Your brother is more devoted to God than you are.” (Late 9^th cent. A.D.)

#43   “Jesus said, “It is of no use to you to come to know what you did not know, so long as you do not act in accordance with what you already know. Too much knowledge only increases pride if you do not act in accordance with it.”

#92   “Christ said, “Till when do you describe the road to travelers by night while you yourselves remain behind with the perplexed? Only a little religious knowledge suffices, but many should be your deeds.”      

Commentator: “See Saying 43, above, on the contrast between religious knowledge (‘ilm) and good deeds (‘amal). The first part of this saying may be an echo of Jesus’ rebuke of the Pharisees in Matthew 15:14 and 23:16ff.”

#44  “Jesus said, “Time revolves around three days: a yesterday which has passed away and during which you have been admonished, a today which supplies your needs, and a tomorrow in which you do not know what is in store for you. All matters revolve around three things: a thing whose rightness has become apparent to you and which you must follow, a thing whose evil has become apparent to you and which you must shun, and a thing which appears uncertain to you and which you must defer to God.” (mid 9^th cent. A.D.)