Confirmation of Descent of Holy Spirit on Jesus Christ in the Holy Qur'an and Schleiermacher’s consciousness Christology

In some verses of the holy Qur’an, there are references to the descent of the Holy Spirit on Jesus Christ. Although, from the perspective of traditional and trinity Christology, it is possible to consider them as evidence for a distinction for Jesus Christ, close consideration of the Holy Spirit referents in exegetic and narrative sources fails to confirm this perception. It is rather an indication of a Christ’s characteristic for which similar explanations can be found in modern Christology. The present paper is an attempt to find the points of similarity between Schleiermacher’s Christology which puts emphasis on Jesus' privilege of having a pure and continual knowledge of God giving him the infallibility of sin and the Islamic commentators’ interpretation of the Holy Qur'an’s verses which confirm the descent of the Holy Spirit on Jesus. Results of the study suggest that the shift of modern Christology from the concept of the union of the divine and the human in Jesus to the perception of the Holy Spirit as the highest human spiritual level provides a much better framework for the interpretation of the Qur’anic verses which deal with the confirmation of the descent of the Holy Spirit in Jesus. This rank which flourishes in perfect human beings and some prophets like Jesus enables them to gain direct knowledge of God and other truths with His help.