A Word From Him, Named al-Masīḥ

Now we'll go back to the ayat from Sūrat Āl ʿImrān. The angel Jibrīl, when he came to give her the glad tidings that she will have a child — the angels told her:

Idh qālati al-malāʾikatu yā Maryamu inna Allāha yubashshiruki bi-kalimatin minhu ismuhu al-Masīḥu ʿĪsā ibnu Maryam: Allah gives you the glad tidings of a word. And Allah (swt) gave him his name: ʿĪsā ibn Maryam. So he was named by Allah (swt), and he carried the name of his mother — ʿĪsā ibn Maryam.

And then Allah said: wajīhan fī al-dunyā wa-l-ākhirati wa min al-muqarrabīn — held in honour in this world and in the Hereafter, and will be one of those who are near to Allah. ʿĪsā is held in honour. Subḥān Allāh, ʿĪsā is honoured so much by the Muslims. And we Muslims have so much love for ʿĪsā — and I think, overall, that we have more love for ʿĪsā than the Christians have. And when he comes down, this Ummah will be servants for him. And then in the ākhirah also, Allah (swt) is holding ʿĪsā ibn Maryam in honour. So he has wajāhah: Allah (swt) has given him wajāhah, this high status of honour.

Plus, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) loved him so much. Why? In addition to him being a Nabī of Allah (swt), he was the closest one to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) has mentioned in a few aḥādīth that he loves him so much. Why? Because laysa baynī wa baynahu nabiyy: there is no prophet between me and him. We are the closest together.