“Say: We believe in Allah and what has been revealed to us (by Prophet Muhammad), and what was revealed to Ibrahim and Ismail and Ishaq and Yaqoub and the (descendants of the 12) tribes, and what was given to Musa and Isa and to the prophets from their Lord; we do not make any distinction between any of them, and to Him do we submit.” (Qur’an 3:84)
When the Qur’an states that “we do not make any distinction between any of them” it only refers to negative distinctions. The Qur’an refers to Prophet Jesus by name 34 times; 26 times as Prophet Jesus and 8 times as ‘Jesus the Messiah’. The Qur’an rejects Jesus as the Son of God; yet it accepts Jesus as a Prophet and Messianic agent of God:
“O People of the Scripture, do not commit excess in your religion or say about Allah except the truth. The Messiah Jesus, the son of Mary, was only a messenger of Allah and His word which He directed to Mary and a soul [created at a command] from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers. And do not say, “Three”; desist – it is better for you. Indeed, Allah is but one God. Exalted is He above having a son. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And sufficient is Allah as Disposer of affairs.” (Qur’an 4:171)
Yet the Qur’an also says: “And (mention) when the angels said, “O Mary, indeed Allah gives you good tidings of a word from Him, whose name-title will be Messiah Jesus, son of Mary – distinguished in this world and the hereafter and among those brought near (to Allah)”. (3:45)
This is the positive uniqueness of Prophet Jesus, just as the Uniqueness of Prophet Abraham is in his prophetic descendants promoting three different monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam; and who is the only prophet designated as a friend of God in all three religions. (see Isaiah 41:8, James 2:23 and Qur’an 4:125)
The last of the Abrahamic prophets was Prophet Muhammad whose uniqueness is in being the only messenger that we know of, to bring God’s sacred scripture book all by himself.
As a rabbi for almost 60 years, I am most interested in the uniqueness of Prophet Moses and the covenant Prophet Moses and the descendants of Prophet Jaqoub-Jacob entered into at Mount Sinai, with the God who had just redeemed them from Pharaoh’s oppression.
ויקרא כו:מו אֵלֶּה הַחֻקִּים וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִים וְהַתּוֹרֹת אֲשֶׁר נָתַן יְ־הוָה בֵּינוֹ וּבֵין בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּהַר סִינַי בְּיַד מֹשֶׁה. (Leviticus 26:46) “These are the decrees, laws and teaching which YHWH set between Him (self) and the Israelites at Mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.”
Prophet Abraham was the first of the Abrahamic Prophets, Prophet Muhammad was the last of the Abrahamic prophets, and Prophet Moses was the only prophet that God spoke to directly (not through an intermediary): “And Allah spoke to Moses with [direct] speech” (Qur’an 4:164) “The LORD would speak to Moses face to face (directly) as one speaks to a friend.” (Exodus 33:11)
The meaning of “These are the decrees, laws and teaching which YHWH set between Him(self) and the Israelites at Mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.” refers to the covenant God makes between Himself and Prophet Jacob’s descendants—Banu Israel which is like a marriage covenant, with Moses as the matchmaker.
The marriage of God and the People of Israel began when God proposed a marriage covenant at Mount Sinai. God said to Moses (the go between): “Speak thus to the house of Jacob, and tell this to the children of Israel… Now if you listen to me and keep my covenant, then you will be my special possession out of all the peoples, for the whole earth is mine. You will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation. These words you shall speak to the people of Israel” (this is the proposal).
“Moses came and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all these proposals as God had commanded him. All the people answered together, “All that God has proposed, we will do. (the acceptance, similar to the “I do” at a wedding) Moses brought this answer back to the Lord.” (Exodus 19:5-8)
Why did God choose the symbolic form of a marriage with the Jewish People? The Torah makes it clear that Divine love isn’t based on popularity or large numbers. “It was not because you were more numerous than any other nation that the Lord cared about you and chose you, for you are the smallest of nations; it was because of the Lord’s love for you, and his oath (engagement proposal) to your ancestors (starting with Prophet Abraham).” (Deuteronomy 7:7-8)
Who can really fully explain the process of falling in love? God just loved their ancestors. “I will fulfill my covenant between myself and you (Prophet Abraham) and your descendants after you, generation after generation, an everlasting covenant, to be your God, yours and your descendants after you.” (Genesis 17:7) and “All the families of the earth shall be blessed through you (Jacob) and your descendants.” (Genesis 28:14)
The important thing to remember is that being chosen and special does not automatically make you better. A committed loving relationship results in more giving (Mitsvot), more receiving (Torah, Prophets and sages) and more pain and grief (because each cares about the other). “For you alone have I cared among all the nations of the world, therefore I will castigate you for all your iniquities.” (Prophet Amos 3:2)
Most important, while Israel can’t adore any other God, God can and does redeem other nations. “Are not Israelites like Ethiopians to me? Says the Lord. Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt, the Philistines from Crete and the Aramaeans from Kir?” (Prophet Amos 9:7) Thus, Jews are not THE chosen people; they are A chosen people, the first of several monotheistic religions that have lasted to the present. A parent can have many children but only one can be the firstborn. “These are the words of the Lord, Israel is my first-born son.” (Exodus 4:22)
It is a fact and a historical reality that the Jewish people was the first community to enter into an ongoing sacred relationship with the one God of Abraham; but they are not the only community to have done so. In later centuries other religious communities were formed, that Jews see as our younger siblings. As the prophet Zachariah predicted: “Someday many nations will join themselves to the Lord, and (also) become my people, but I will (still) dwell amidst you. You will (then) know that the Lord of Hosts sent me (Zachariah) to you.” (Prophet Zachariah 2:15)
That process is ongoing and will continue until in the Messianic Age all nations have a sacred relationship to the one God of Israel. “Each nation will walk in the name of its God, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever.” (Micah 4:5) Even in the Messianic Age the other nations will be free to faithfully follow their vision of the One God.
What is Israel chosen for? To be an agent of holiness and enlightenment. “You are the children of the Lord your God…You are a people holy to the Lord your God (see Leviticus 19) and the Lord has chosen you out of all the nations on earth to be his special possession.” (Deuteronomy 14:1-2) “I will make you a light for the nations.” (Prophet Isaiah 49:6) So other nations will also be blessed through their own religions that were ignited by Israel’s original covenant with God at Sinai, thus fulfilling God’s promise to Israel that their descendants would become a blessing to all the nations of the earth.
This theory, that Israel is the first of a series of monotheistic communities that will be established by Divinely inspired prophets; is also supported by the Qur’an which, as the last of the holy scriptures of a worldwide religion, is the only book of revelation that includes within itself a theory of prophethood which includes other religions.
Of course, there have always been (since the days of Adam) humans inspired by God who urged their own community to avoid destruction by turning away from their corrupt and unjust ways; and turning to the One God who created all human beings. But the ongoing community that descended from Prophets Abraham and Jacob/Israel is the only monotheistic community to have lasted for over thirty five centuries.
The Qur’an mentions 25 prophets by name (most of them Jewish) and Muslims believe there were one hundred twenty four thousand other prophets, whose names are now unknown. Of the 25 mentioned by name in the Qur’an, only four Prophets; Moses, David, Jesus, and Muhammad (Qur’an 4:163) revealed books of sacred scripture (Torah, Psalms, Gospel, and Qur’an) that are the bases for the three major monotheistic religions that still flourish today.
The Qur’an relates God’s special concern for faithful Jews when Prophet Moses speaks to his people as follows: “O my people! Remember God’s favor upon you, for He appointed among you Prophets, and rulers, and He granted to you favors such as He had not granted to anyone else in the worlds” (Qur’an 5:20). This is one reason why Jews in Sunni Muslim lands have rarely been forcibly converted; as frequently happened in Christian lands.