The Affirmative Image of Christians in The Qur’an

Christianity is one of the religions closest to Islam historically. In the Qur’an, the followers of Christ are mentioned or addressed both in specific words and also under general titles along with followers of other religions. Due to the abundance of mentions of Christians in the Qur’an, gaining accurate knowledge of this people from the perspective of the Qur’an is necessary for Islamic society. The Quran takes a realistic and friendly approach to portray the followers and disciples of Jesus, which can serve as a model for communication with them in the present time. Gathering affirmative verses about the followers of Jesus helps to reconsider the pattern of communication with them, and from this perspective, it becomes a window to understanding the unity of religions and achieving world peace. This descriptive-analytical study aims to collect and systematize the Qur’anic verses about Christians in the first place, and then, with the help of Quran commentators, it points out the reasons for naming, interpretations, and addressing of Christians in the Qur’an as Nasārā, to state that although the followers of Christ have been criticized and rebuked in some verses, in many cases, they have been praised according to the verses of the Qur’an. Also, based on the findings of this study, it was found that in those verses that refer to the distortion of the word of God, there was no criticism of Christians.