Muslims believe Jesus was a Prophet, rejecting notions of his divinity and the trinitarian concept of God.

We do not believe in the concept of an original sin that taints all of humankind. Rather, we believe that each soul is responsible only for its own actions. As the Qur'an says, "Nor shall any soul be called to account except for what it has done; and no bearer of burdens shall be made to bear another's load." The story of Adam and Eve is recounted in the Qur'an with specific reference to God having accepted their repentance and forgiven their disobedience to His command (see Qur'an, 20:122).

Thus, there is no need for a Divine ritual of forgiveness, a blood sacrifice for humanity's state of sinfulness and ongoing sinful acts. God's mercy, grace and forgiveness for the bad deeds we each commit is bestowed directly to each individual -- without intercessors, clergy or ritual -- on the basis of God's infinite love and our own faith, repentance and atonement.

Given these fundamental differences in theology, the story of the resurrection and the missing body holds little power for Muslims, as we do not see it as pivotal proof of Jesus's divinity, a vindication of his message, or as God's demonstration of acceptance of his payment for our sins.

The Qur'an talks about Jesus's death in two passages:

3:55 Lo! God said: "O Jesus! Verily, I shall cause thee to die, and shall exalt thee unto Me, and cleanse thee of [the presence of] those who are bent on denying the truth;

and again:

4:157 And because of their saying: We slew the Messiah Jesus son of Mary, Allah's messenger. They slew him not nor crucified him, but it appeared so unto them; and lo! those who disagree concerning it are in doubt thereof; they have no knowledge thereof save pursuit of a conjecture; they slew him not for certain.

4:158 Nay, God exalted him unto Himself - and God is indeed almighty, wise.

Interpretations of these verses have varied widely. Some believe they indicate that the story of the crucifixion is simply a fabrication with no basis in reality. Others believe that someone who looked very much like Jesus was crucified in his place, or even, that it was actually Judas on the cross, and that Jesus's own death, and being taken up to God, happened at a completely different time. Yet others believe that the passages mean that Jesus was on the cross, but did not actually die there, being taken up to Heaven sometime before he passed away.

My personal inclination is to understand them in light of the following verse, which refers to Muslims who fell on the battlefield:

2:154 And say not of those who are slain in God's cause, "They are dead": nay, they are alive, but you perceive it not.

Clearly, these people were killed. So in saying they are alive, the passage is not speaking of alive in a bodily, earthly sense, but in a mystical sense -- they are alive with God, alive in Heaven. So, too, it seems to me that 4:157 is referring to this same phenomenon. It appears those who fell in battle are dead, killed by the enemy, so too, it appeared that Jesus was crucified, killed by his enemies. But just as the fighters live on, so too Jesus was raised up and lives on, not having been truly slain permanently, but having life in eternity with God.

Thus the story of the crucifixion and resurrection can be quite literally true, while still holding no extraordinary power. Rather, each of us after death finds a new life with God.