because God’s Word is coeternal with God. Muslims, however, don’t elevate the title to this unique status. They believe the title merely describes Allah’s proclamation at the moment of Jesus’s birth or identifies Jesus as a prophet who speaks for Allah. Jesus has other important titles in the Quran. He is the Truth’s Word or the statement of the Truth (Q 19:34). He is a “sign and mercy” of God (Q 19:21) and is called “illustrious” (Q 3:45). The word illustrious is used twice in the Quran, once to
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