“Indeed, the likeness of Jesus in the sight of Allah is that of Adam: He created him from dust, then said to him, ‘Be,’ and he was.” ⦗Q 3:59⦘

Adam, peace be upon him, was fashioned from dust mixed with water so that it became clay; the clay was then left to dry. After that Allah said to him, “Be,” and he came to be. The very moment the spirit was breathed into him he became a complete human being and no longer needed what his descendants require after the soul is blown into them. Once the soul enters the fetus, the formation of its body is completed in the mother’s womb, where it remains for roughly five months; it then emerges as a nursing infant and grows little by little. Adam, peace be upon him, when his body was formed, was told “Be,” and by the breathing of the spirit into him he became a fully formed man.

Yet he was not called “the Word of Allah,” because his body was made of dust and water and then remained for a long period—some say forty years—so its creation was not instantaneous and originary in a single moment; rather, it was brought into being step by step. Moreover, the creation of living beings from clay is, in general, an ordinary occurrence.

By contrast, the Messiah, peace be upon him, had his body brought into being instantaneously through the very act of the Holy Spirit’s breathing into his mother. It was said to him, “Be,” and he was. Thus he enjoys a unique distinction: his creation by the Word of Allah had a distinction not shared by other human beings.

It is customary in Arabic—and in other languages as well—that when a generic term comprises two categories, one category is given its own special name while the generic term remains restricted to the other. Take the words dabbah and ḥayawān, for example: each is universal for everything that moves on the earth or for every living creature, yet because the human being possesses a name peculiar to him