Prophet Jesus Christ (2/3)

Then the Holy Qur’an tells us what kind of message Jesus has been entrusted with. “And Allah will teach him the Book and Wisdom, the law and the Gospel, and appoint him an apostle to the Children of Israel (with this message): “I have come to you, with a Sign from your Lord, in that I make for you out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, and breathe into it, and it becomes a bird with the leave of Allah, and I heal those born blind and the lepers, and I quicken the dead by Allah’s leave; and I declare to you what you eat, and what you store in your houses. Surely therein is a Sign for you if you did believe.” (Surah Al-‘Imran, 3:48-49)

Confirming the previous message of Allah Jesus said: “I have come to you to attest the law which was before me, and to make lawful to you part of what was before forbidden to you with a Sign from your Lord. So fear Allah and obey me. Allah is indeed my Lord and your Lord! Then worship Him. This is a way that is straight.” (Surah Al-‘Imran, 3:50-51)

Further details are given in chapter 19 about the circumstances attending and preceding Jesus’s birth. “So she conceived him, and then she retired with him to a remote place. The pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm tree. She cried (in her anguish) Ah! Would that I had died before this! Would that I had been a thing forgotten and out of sight. But a voice cried to her from beneath her: “Grieve not! For your Lord has provided a rivulet beneath you – So shake towards yourself the trunk of the palm-tree, it will let fall fresh ripe dates upon you. So eat and drink and cool your eye. And if you do see any man, say, “I have vowed a fast to Allah, Most Gracious, and this day will I enter into no talk with any human being.” (Surah Maryam, 19:22-26)

What happened next after this miraculous birth of Jesus from Virgin Mary? “At length she brought the baby to her people, carrying him in her arms. They said: O Mary! Truly an amazing thing have you brought! O sister of Aaron! Your father was not a man of evil, nor your mother a woman unchaste! “But she pointed to him. they said: How can we talk to one who is a child in the cradle? He said: I am indeed a servant of Allah: He has given me Revelation and made me a prophet; and He has made me blessed wheresoever I be; and has enjoined on me prayer and charity as long as I live. He has made me kind to my mother, and not overbearing or miserable. So peace is on me, the day I was born, the day that I die, and the day that I shall be raised up to life again.”” (Surah Maryam, 19:27-33) 

How wonderful and amazing indeed is the story of Jesus Christ in the Holy Qur’an! It leaves us sure of a number of things, one is the chastity and the absolute purity of Virgin Mary who is at the same time shown as a weak mortal; that is why the details about her child-birth are given and her need for food and drink like any other mortal. This is, in fact, an indirect but a conclusive answer to those who claim her to be the mother of God.

The second thing in the Qur’anic story of Jesus is that the first thing he declared was that he was nothing but the slave and servant of God. As a matter of fact, even in the New Testament, never has Jesus claimed to be God or son of God. All he said was that he was son of man who came as a prophet from God: Nothing more nothing less.

As for his miraculous birth without a father, this does not make him son of God, but simply the creation of God like any other creation. His seemingly unique birth was only intended as an eye-opener to the Children of Israel who led a purely materialistic life. Again he was not the first man to be born without a father. Adam had no father or mother; Eve had no mother and Yahya or John the Baptist, as he is referred to in the New Testament, was born of barren parents. This is to show that it is Allah who creates and not the parents who are only humble means in the process.

Mary, again, is referred to as the sister of Aaron. Some people, especially opponents of the Qur’an, said: How can she be sister of Aaron and Moses when hundreds of years and several generations separate the two? These people are unaware of the fact that the name Aaron is a common name among Jews, so he is not necessarily the same Aaron, the brother of Moses. Again there was a tradition among the Jews to call themselves after their pious personalities. So it is not at all strange to call Mary here sister of Aaron to remind her that she comes from a righteous family, so how could she do this thing?

After that wonderful scene of Jesus Christ defending his mother while still in the cradle we have this comment from Allah in the Holy Qur’an: “Such was Jesus, the son of Mary; it is a statement of truth, about which they vainly dispute. It is not befitting to the majesty of Allah, that He should beget a son. Glory be to Him! When He determines a matter, He only says to it, be and it is.” (Surah Maryam, 19:34-35)

Then Jesus is made to testify that “verily Allah is my Lord and your Lord; Him alone, therefore, you should worship. This is a way that is straight.” (Surah Maryam, 19:36)

(Continued)