Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
Jesus (peace be upon him) is one of the greatest Messengers of Allah. Allah sent him to the Children of Israel, calling them to worship Allah alone. This is the same fundamental message brought by all the prophets and messengers.
Islam requires Muslims to believe in Jesus, love him, and honor him as a noble prophet and one of the Messengers of strong resolve. However, Islam does not accept worshipping him or believing that he is God or the son of God.
Allah says:
“They have certainly disbelieved who say, ‘Allah is the Messiah, the son of Mary,’ while the Messiah has said, ‘O Children of Israel, worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.’”
[Al-Ma’idah: 72]
This verse makes clear that Jesus was a servant and Messenger of Allah who called his people to worship his Lord and their Lord.
This agrees with the fundamental message preached by all the messengers. Allah says:
“We never sent a messenger before you without revealing to him: ‘There is no god worthy of worship except Me, so worship Me.’”
[Al-Anbiya: 25]
The Gospels available today also contain statements attributed to Jesus that emphasize worshipping God. Among them:
“Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.”
[Luke 4:8]
It is also reported that when he was asked about the greatest commandment, he said:
“The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”
[Mark 12:29]
From the Islamic perspective, these meanings agree with what the Qur’an teaches: that the foundation of the message of Jesus and all the prophets was to worship God alone and associate no partner with Him.
The Qur’an also states that on the Day of Resurrection, Jesus will disavow any claim that he told people to worship him. Allah says:
“I never told them anything except what You ordered me to say: ‘Worship Allah—my Lord and your Lord.’”
[Al-Ma’idah: 117]
For this reason, the Qur’an calls the People of the Scripture to the common foundation preached by the prophets:
“Say, ‘O People of the Scripture! Come to a common word between us and you: that we worship none but Allah and associate nothing with Him.’”
[Aal ‘Imran: 64]
In summary: In Islam, Jesus is a great prophet and messenger. His original message was to worship the One God. He did not call people to worship him; rather, he called them to worship Allah, his Lord and their Lord. This monotheism is the foundation of the message of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, and all the other prophets, peace be upon them.
And Allah knows best.