An essential phrase: Almost every miracle attributed to Jesus in the Qur'an is qualified with the phrase "bi-idhni Llah" — "by the permission of God." This recurring qualifier is theologically central: it credits the miracle to God's power working through His prophet, not to any independent divine power that Jesus himself possessed.

1. Speaking in the cradle

As described on the previous page, the infant Jesus spoke to defend his mother from accusations, declaring himself a servant and prophet of God while still in the cradle. (See Qur'an 19:29–33 and 3:46.)

2. Breathing life into a bird of clay

"...that I design for you from clay [something] like the form of a bird, then I breathe into it and it becomes a bird by permission of Allah."

Qur'an 3:49, also 5:110

Jesus is described as shaping a bird from clay and, by God's permission, breathing life into it so that it flew away — a sign given to the Children of Israel of his prophethood.

3. Healing the blind and the leper

"And I cure the blind and the leper, and I give life to the dead — by permission of Allah."

Qur'an 3:49

Jesus is described as restoring sight to those born blind and curing lepers, again always framed as occurring only through God's will and permission, not through any power inherent to Jesus himself.

4. Raising the dead

The same verse (3:49) states that Jesus gave life to the dead by God's permission — understood by Islamic scholars as a literal miracle of resurrection performed as a sign of his prophethood, again entirely dependent on divine permission.

5. Knowledge of the unseen

"And [I inform you] of what you eat and what you store in your houses. Indeed in that is a sign for you, if you are believers."

Qur'an 3:49

Jesus is described as being able to tell people what they had eaten and what they stored in their homes — knowledge beyond ordinary human perception, given to him as a further sign to the Children of Israel.

6. The Heavenly Table (Al-Ma'idah)

Chapter 5 of the Qur'an, Al-Ma'idah ("The Table Spread"), is named after an event in which the disciples asked Jesus to request that God send down a table of food from heaven, as a feast and a confirmation of faith. Jesus prayed to God for it, and God agreed to send it down, warning that anyone who then disbelieved would be punished severely.

"Said Jesus, the son of Mary, 'O Allah, our Lord, send down to us a table [spread with food] from the heaven to be for us a festival for the first of us and the last of us and a sign from You. And provide for us, and You are the best of providers.'"

Qur'an 5:114

What these miracles mean in Islamic theology

Islamic scholars emphasize that these miracles demonstrate the greatness of Jesus as a prophet, sent with signs appropriate to his era — a time when Israelite society placed great value on medicine and healing. However, they are explicitly framed throughout the Qur'an as acts of God performed through Jesus, not evidence of his own divine power. Islam draws a clear distinction: a miracle performed by a prophet, through God's will, is different from an act performed by God Himself out of His own independent power.

Key takeaway: The miracles of Jesus are among the greatest given to any prophet, underscoring his extraordinary rank — but the Qur'an consistently attributes their power to God's permission, using them as evidence of his prophethood rather than his divinity.