43.59 – He was only a servant whom We blessed
In response to the “contentious people” in verse 58, the Quran asserts that ‘Īsā is nothing but a servant (or slave, ‘abd).
This verse and verse 64 are the final denials of the deity of ‘Īsā in the Quran (in its canonical progression). On this point the Quran makes a number of statements about what ‘Īsā is “only.” He is “only” a servant or slave (43.59; cf. 4.172) and a messenger (4.171; 5.75; cf. 4.157; 61.6). The Quran contends that Allah created ‘Īsā in Mary’s womb (3.47), created him just like Adam (3.59; also 2.117; 19.35). The quranic ‘Īsā is a mere human who eats food like his mother (5.75). ‘Īsā does miracles but only – the Quran is concerned to emphasize – by the permission of Allah (3.49; 5.110). In the Quran, ‘Īsā himself foreswears all thoughts of his deity and directs human worship toward Allah (e.g., 5.116–17, see the comments below at v. 64).
Then there is a group of verses about ‘Īsā that make even more straightforward negations, often brimming with strong feeling: Allah is not the Messiah (5.17, 72); the Messiah is not Lord (9.31; cf. 3.64); Allah is not “three” (4.171; 5.73; cf. 5.116); the Messiah is not the son of Allah (e.g., 9.30; see “Son of God in the Quran”).
In response to these verses, Christian readers may note how far this polemic places Jesus below his identity in the Gospel accounts, and may wonder at the frequency and force of the quranic denials. These verses are a reminder to the Christian community to review what the New Testament says about Jesus carefully and to recall the significance of its witness.
The early Quran commentary of Muqātil ibn Sulaymān (d. 767) tells a story of a meeting of a group of Christians from Najrān with the messenger of Islam in Medina. When the Christians arrived to make terms, the very first question they asked the messenger was, “Why do you abuse (shatama) and dishonor (‘āba) our master (ṣāḥib)?” According to this story, the Christians perceived the messenger’s preaching about ‘Īsā to be blasphemous.