Mary And Jesus (P) In Islam - Part one

Mary and Jesus (P) occupy an important place in the Qur‘an. 

One chapter of the Holy Qur‘an is titled Mary and another is called "The Table" (Al Maede), which speaks of the meal known to the Apostles as "The Last Supper", sent by God from Heaven. 

There is also another chapter called Ale-omran, "Family of Omran", which refers to Miriam‘s lineage.

The name of "Jesus", or Isa, is mentioned forty-five times in the Qur‘an, he is referred to eleven times as "The Messiah" (Masih), which amounts to thirteen chapters of the Qur‘an, that is, more than ten percent of all the chapters in the Holy Book. The Qur‘an consists in total of one hundred and fourteen chapters.

The Gospel is mentioned twelve times in the Qur‘an, confirming it as the Book of God, but according to Islam, the present-day version of the Gospel is not the original one.

THE VIRGIN MARY (P) IN ISLAM

"And when the angels said to Mary: 'God has chosen you and purified you. He has chosen you above all women of the worlds." (The Qur‘an, 3:42)

The Virgin Mary (P) is highly regarded in Islam, and occupies a position of admiration and respect, which correspond to her celestial attributes and exquisite qualities, as virgin and celibate, pure and holy. The Holy Qur‘an and Islamic tradition refer frequently to these qualities.

God held her in such high esteem as to send the Angel Gabriel, known as "Pure Spirit" or "Holy Ghost", to express His honor and regard, and to fulfill His design for the future of Mankind, as the angel imparted his news, on behalf of God Almighty, and so revealed God‘s intentions to her.

The Virgin Mary (P), by virtue of this Revelation, carried an enormous burden of responsibility, and therefore she is included among those chosen and guided by God, and God sent the Angel Gabriel to her, to bring her the message of God. The Qur‘an in fact relates miracles performed on Mary‘s behalf, such as God sending her the fruits of Paradise for her sustenance.

Muslims believe wholeheartedly in the sanctity of the Virgin Mary (P), who never married. One of Islam‘s enduring and pervading characteristics is the homage paid to women, as it reaffirms their potential for perfection in their obedience and devotion to God, in their piety, chastity, and both inner and outer purity.

Every Muslim woman who emulates the essence of the Virgin Mary (P) is held in equal regard, as she dedicates her life to purity, chastity, devotion and compliance, while she covers herself in modesty.

THE BIRTH OF JESUS (P)

" When the angels said: 'o Mary, God gives you glad tidings of a word (be) from him, whose name is messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary. He shall be honored in this world and in the everlasting life and he shall be among those who are close." (The Qur‘an, 3:45)

In the Qur‘an (chapter Mary) is written:

" And mention in the book, Mary, how she withdrew from her people to an eastern place and she took a veil apart from them; we sent to her our spirit (Gabriel) in the resemblance of a perfect human. And when she saw him) she said: 'I take refuge in the merciful from you! If you are fearful. 'I am the messenger of your lord, ' he replied, 'and has come to give you a pure boy. 'How shall I bear a son, ' she answered, 'when I am not touched by a human and not unchaste? '"Even so" he replied, "as such your lord has said: 'easy it is for me. And we shall make him a sign to mankind and a mercy from us. It is a matter decreed.'" (The Qur‘an, 19:16-21)

FROM HIS BIRTH JESUS (P) SPOKE TO THE PEOPLE

" When the angels said, Oh Mary, God gives you the good news of a Word from Him, whose name is Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary. Distinguished in the world and the Hereafter, and one of those brought near (to God). He will speak to people in the Cradle and in adulthood, and will be one of the righteous." ."(The Qur‘an, 3:45, 46)

The Qur‘an describes Mary‘s concern and astonishment at the moment of giving birth to Jesus (P).

"How can I bear a son, when no man has touched me, and I am not an unchaste woman?" The angel replied, "So shall it be. Your Lord says, `This is an easy thing for me to do, and we will do so in order to make that boy a Sign for the people and a blessing from Us, and this must happen." Accordingly, Mary conceived the child, and with it she went away to a distant place. Then the throes of childbirth urged her to take shelter under a date palm. There she began to cry, "Oh! Would that I had died before this and sunk into oblivion." At this the angel at the foot of her bed consoled her, saying, "Grieve not at all, for your Lord has set a spring under you; as for your food, shake the trunk of this tree and fresh, ripe dates will fall down for you; so eat and drink and refresh your eyes; and if you see a man, say to him, `As I have vowed to observe the fast (of silence) for the sake of the Merciful, I will not speak to anyone today Then she brought the child to her people" '"(The Qur‘an, 19:20-27)

After this no one saw Mary again in the Sanctuary. A number of people went in search of her, until Zacharias found her with her son. The people of Israel asked her:

"… They said, ―O Mary! This is a heinous sin that you have committed. O sister of Aaron! your father was not a wicked man, nor was your mother an unchaste woman." (In answer to this) Mary merely pointed towards the infant. The people said, " How shall we talk with him, who is but an infant in the cradle? Whereupon the child spoke out, "I am a servant of God: He has given me the Book and He has appointed me a Prophet, and He has made me blessed wherever I may be. He has enjoined upon me to offer prayer and give Zakat so long as I shall live. He has made me dutiful to my mother, and He has not made me oppressive and hard-hearted. Peace be upon me on the day I was born and peace shall be on me on the day I die and on the day I am raised to life." (The Qur‘an, 19:27-33)

And continued:

" Such was (Prophet) Jesus, the son of Mary. A saying of truth, concerning what they doubt. It is not for God to take a son! Exaltations to him! When he decrees a thing he only says: 'be and it is. Indeed, God is my lord and your lord therefore worships him. That is the straight path." (The Qur‘an, 19:34-36)

JESUS (P), PROPHET OF ISLAM

" People of the book, do not exaggerate your religion. Do not say about God except the truth. Indeed, the messiah, Jesus son of Mary, is only a messenger (and prophet) of God, and his word (be) which he gave to Mary, and a (created) spirit by him. So believe in God and his messengers and do not say: 'trinity. ' Refrain, it is better for you. God is only one god. Exaltations to him that he should have son! To him belongs all that is in the heavens and in the earth, it is sufficient that God is the guardian. The messiah would not despise being a worshiper of God" (The Qur‘an, 4:171-172)

As far as Muslims are concerned, Jesus (P) is one of God‘s greatest prophets, in effect, the Messiah promised the people of Israel. But he is not "the son of God" nor is he "God Incarnate" or "God the Son", one third of a Trinity. In fact, in the Prophecy of the Old Testament to which Christians refer, there is reference to the promise of "a Prophet", but never "the Son of God‖ in any form.

" I will give them a prophet from among themselves, like you, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he will say to them whatever I give him orders to say. And whoever does not give ear to my words which he will say in my name, will be responsible to me." (The Bible, Deuteronomy 18:18-19)

The new Bible Testament affirms that Jesus was, in effect, the Prophet promised in these verses. Thus God speaks of a Prophet and not of "his son".

" So then, (…) Who is to be kept in heaven till the time when all things are put right, of which God has given word by the mouth of his holy prophets, who have been from the earliest times. For Moses said, The Lord will give you a prophet from among your people, like me; you will give ear to everything which he will say to you. And every soul who does not give attention to that Prophet, will be cut off from among the people." (The Bible, Acts 3:19-23)

Muslims therefore reject absolutely the notion of a trinity or the divinity of Jesus (P).

" The unbelievers are those who say: 'God is the messiah, the son of Mary. ' but the messiah said: 'children of Israel, worship God, my lord and your lord.‘ he who associates anything with God, God has indeed forbidden paradise to him, and his abode shall be in the fire. The harm doers shall have no helpers. Indeed those who say: 'God is the third of the trinity' became unbelievers. There is but one god. if they do not desist in what they say, a painful punishment will afflict those of them that disbelieve. Will they not turn to God in repentance and ask his forgiveness? He is forgiving, merciful. The messiah, the son of Mary, was not except a messenger, other messengers had gone before him. His mother was in the state of sincerity, they both ate food. See how we make plain to them our signs. Then, see how perverted they are." (The Qur‘an, 5:72-75)

Jesus (P) was a human being, just as all the other Prophets. He was born of a virgin, with no father, thus constituting a Divine Miracle.

And so as God created Adam (P), without a father or mother, He created Jesus (P) without the intervention of fecundation and this is included among the miraculous signs to be interpreted by the people of Israel as verification of the awaited Messiah, according to the Law of Moses (P).

" Truly, the likeness of (Prophet) Jesus with God is as the likeness of Adam, he created him from dust then he said to him "be" and he was. The truth is from your lord; therefore, do not be among the doubters." (The Qur‘an, 3:59-60)

" Such was (prophet) Jesus, the son of Mary, a saying of truth, concerning what they doubt. it is not for God to take a son! Exaltations to him! When he decrees a thing he only says: 'be, ' and it is. Indeed, God is my lord and your lord therefore worships him. That is the straight path." (The Qur‘an,19:34-36)

Independently of his divinity, or lack of it, Jesus (P) had an undeniable and understandably important impact as one of the leading figures in history, Mankind‘s guide sent expressly by God.

IN THE CHRISTIAN GOSPELS JESUS (P) REFERS TO HIMSELF AS A PROPHET

Jesus (P) refers to himself as a Prophet and " the son of Man‖ in various texts among the Christian gospels. For example, he is never described as deified.

" And he said to them, Without doubt you will say to me, let the medical man make himself well: the things which to our knowledge were done at Capernaum, do them here in your country. And he said to them, truly I say to you, No prophet is honored in his country." (The Bible, Luke 4:23-24 and its correlations: Matthew 13:57, Mark 6:4 and John 4:43-44, leaving no doubt of consensus)

" And he said, Go and say to that fox, I send out evil spirits and do works of mercy today and tomorrow, and on the third day my work will be complete. But I have to go on my way today and tomorrow and the third day, for it is not right for a prophet to come to his death outside Jerusalem." (The Bible, Luke 13:32-33)

In this same reference, Jesus (P) alludes to his own death"seen by Christians as described above, a discrepancy with the Muslim view"replying with irony that as many Prophets have died in Jerusalem, it behooves him to follow their example. In this, as in other references, he is called "Prophet", not "son of God".

By the same token, Christian gospels describe a number of his contemporaries, followers of Jesus (P) or people who have witnessed his miracles, who equally consider him a Prophet, not a "son of God".

" And when he came into Jerusalem, all the town was moved, saying, Who is this? And the people said, This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee (…)And when his stories came to the ears of the chief priests and the Pharisees, they saw that he was talking of them. And though they had a desire to take him, they were in fear of the people, because in their eyes he was a prophet." (The Bible, Matthew 21:10-11, 45-46)

"Then stopping, and looking sadly at him, one of them, named Cleopas, said to him, Are you the only man living in Jerusalem who has not had news of the things which have taken place there at this time? And he said to them, what things? And they said, The things to do with Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet, great in his acts and his words, before God and all the people: And how the chief priests and our rulers gave him up to be put to death on the cross." (The Bible, Luke 24:18-20)

It is therefore illogical to accept the divinity of Jesus (P), or his "redemption" by crucifixion as the "Son of God", even by consulting Christian sources. The very Gospels themselves tend to ambiguity regarding the figure of Jesus, since depending on whichever reference one has at hand, Jesus (P) might equally be considered the "Son of God", the Messiah, the awaited prophet, the return of the prophet Jeremiah, the return of the prophet Elijah, or John the Baptist resurrected, extending by inference to a charlatan, a liar or a blasphemer…divergent opinions concurrently emitted. Muslims believe that this confusion seriously undermines the credibility of the figure of Jesus (P), therefore the Qur‘an has a more positive approach:

" People of the book, do not exaggerate your religion. Do not say about God except the truth. Indeed, the messiah, Jesus son of Mary, is only a messenger (and prophet) of God, and his word (be) which he gave to Mary, and a (created) spirit by him. So believe in God and his messengers and do not say: 'trinity. 'Refrain, it is better for you. God is only one god. Exaltations to him that he should have son! To him belongs all that is in the heavens and in the earth, it is sufficient that God is the guardian." (The Qur‘an, 4:171)

According to the Old Testament (God speaking to Moses):

" I will give them a prophet from among themselves, like you, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he will say to them whatever I give him orders to say. And whoever does not give ear to my words which he will say in my name, will be responsible to me." (The Bible, Deuteronomy 18:18-19)

The new Bible Testament affirms that Jesus was, in effect, the Prophet promised in these verses.

" So then, (…) Who is to be kept in heaven till the time when all things are put right, of which God has given word by the mouth of his holy prophets, who have been from the earliest times. For Moses said, The Lord will give you a prophet from among your people, like me; you will give ear to everything which he will say to you. And every soul who does not give attention to that Prophet, will be cut off from among the people." (The Bible, Acts 3:19-23)

Now the question is: Would Jesus (P) be happy to be consider the son of God if he is a prophet!?

The prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had this to say:

"Do not elevate me above my rightful position, for verily God has made me a servant before He made me a prophet."

Source: "This Is Islam" book by Dr Mohammad Hassan Ghadiri

Part two: Mary And Jesus (P) In Islam - Part two