لوگوس

The vocabulary "word" has been used twenty-eight times in the Holy Quran, and several meanings are mentioned for it in the available interpretations, including the rule and promise of divine and the word of tawhid; one of which is Jesus (AS). Three verses are referred to Jesus (AS) as "the word of God". The commentators have ascribed various purposes for assigning this name to him, including his development and creation by the word "Be". In the New Testament, he is also called "word" or "logos". Among the gospels, the Gospel of John signifies Jesus Christ (AS) into the divine sight and creativity after His interpretation which is in line with the current trinity belief in Christians. While this view is completely different from the Quranic view about "the word of Allah”; the perception of the “word” is not the same in the gospels before John, but it is close to the Holy Quran's view.

The exegeses mention various meanings for the word of "kalimah" including divine sentence and promise, the word of tawhid, etc. From among the verses, three occurrences of the word are accompanied with the word Allah (kalimatullah). Exegetes explain it in different notions such as "the act of creation by him (jesus) because of the word "kun" (be created)".Also in the New Testament, Jesus is called “kalimah” or “Logos”. John, after mentioning Jesus as the “word”, gives him a divine and creative aspect which is of the common trinity belief among Christians. While this idea is completely different from the Quranic point of view. The concept of “kalimah” in the Gospels before John, is closer to the Quranic interpretation and highlights the Quranic conception of this term.

Logos (λογος) is one of the significant concepts in most of the philosophical and religious schools. This notion is noticed in the ancient Greek philosophy, Old Testament, and among the Jewish Filon and Christianity. In Christianity, Jesus (A.S.) and Logos are taken as identical. On the other hand, the “word” Logos is called God. With respect to this issue, in the first place there is willy-nilly a similarity between the two religions of Christianity and Islam concerning Logos/Word. However, the Muslim exegetes, in the verses that refer to Jesus (A.S.) as Word, have interpreted it as kun (be) and have repudiated him of any divine and eternal attributes. However, Logos in Christianity is always presumed to be eternal and divine and this is one of the major and fundamental discrepancies in Christianity and Islam concerning Logos/Word.

The word Logos (literally, word) has taken on various meanings throughout history starting from earliest philosophers of the ancient Greece to the first century and all over the era in relation to the old testement and Christian theology. Logos has been used with reference to Jesus Christ PBUH in the Bible and the holy Quran. Kalema (literally, word) is a guiding principle in Christian theology and has a high status in the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. Interpretations maintained by this principle in the world of Christianity have always been the locus of attention among Chritian theologists. In the meantime, Kalema has opened new doors in Quranic studies and exegesis by Muslim scholars and mystics, specifically with respect to the concept of the perfect human in Islamic mysticism. This article is an attempt to present a historical overview of this word and provide a comparative analysis in Islam and Christianity, especially the Quran and the Bible.