Jesus & Allah's Names:
The First & Last
Question: Does the Quran identify Jesus as God?
​
--------------------------------------------------
Overview
​
The Quran identifies Jesus as God by identifying Allah as the First and Last. The Quran (57:1-3) states that Allah is the First and Last, and Islamic scholarship has categorised ‘The First’ (Al-Awwal) and ‘The Last’ (Al-Aakhir) as two of the ninety-nine names that belong exclusively to Allah. The First and Last is a phrase or title that expresses timelessness and eternality, meaning that God is uncreated and therefore without beginning and end. Significantly, the God of Israel is identified as the First and Last in the Old Testament (Isaiah 41:4, 44:6 & 48:12-13) and Jesus is identified as the First and Last in the New Testament (Revelation 1:17-18, 2:8 & 22:12-13). This means that Jesus undoubtedly claimed to be God in the New Testament if Islamic scholarship is correct about the exclusivity of the title First and Last when applied to Allah (only God can be the First and Last). It should be noted too that the Jewish and Christian Scriptures predate the Quran, which shows that the First and Last was applied to the God of Israel in the Old Testament and Jesus in the New Testament before it was applied to Allah in the Quran.​
​
--------------------------------------------------
Bible Passages
​
Isaiah 41:4
​
(4) Who has done this and carried it through, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD - with the first of them and with the last - I am He.
​
Isaiah 44:6
(6) This is what the LORD says - Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the First and I am the Last; apart from me there is no God.
​
Isaiah 48:12-13
(12) Listen to me, Jacob, Israel, whom I have called: I am He; I am the First and I am the Last. (13) My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they all stand up together.
​
Revelation 1:17-18
​
(17) When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. (18) I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
​
Revelation 2:8
​
(8) To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: "These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again.
​
Revelation 22:12-13
​
(12) Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. (13) I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
​
Quran Passages
​
The Quran 57:1-3 (Abdul Haleem)
​
(1) Everything in the heavens and earth glorifies God - He is the Almighty, the Wise. (2) Control of the heavens and earth belongs to Him; He gives life and death; He has power over all things. (3) He is the First and the Last; the Outer and the Inner; He has knowledge of all things.​
​
​​​​
​​​​