One of the only woman mentioned in the Holy Quran by name is Maryam (Mary), mother of Prophet Eesa (Jesus). And her mention is found in many chapters of the Holy Quran to talk of her chastity and describe how as virgin and untouched by any man she gave birth to a prophet to dispel any doubts that have arisen about the birth of her son. Not only that mention of Maryam is made in various chapters, a special chapter is dedicated by name to Maryam (Surah Al Maryam) besides mention of her family (Surah Al Imran) beside her mention in Surah Al Nuh.
Since Allah has specially mentioned the purity and chastity of Maryam, Muslims respect Maryam as the mother of a prophet and one of the few exalted women in the religions of Allah:
Allah Almighty praised her and described her as being pure and chaste; Allah Almighty Says (what means): {And [the example of] Mary, the daughter of ‘Imran, who guarded her chastity, so We blew into [her garment] through Our angel [i.e. Gabriel], and she believed in the words of her Lord and His scriptures and was of the devoutly obedient.} [Quran 66:12]
Maryam's mother Hannah (Anne) was a pious woman but childless. So she prayed to God to be blessed with an offspring. And when Allah listened to and honoured her request, she made a request in utter distress:
Behold! a woman of 'Imran said: "O my Lord! I do dedicate unto Thee what is in my womb for Thy special service: So accept this of me: For Thou hearest and knowest all things." (Surah Al-Imran, 35)
However, she expected a boy to be born to her as a tiding to this effect was given to her. But when she delivered the baby, it was a female, later called Maryam. Though feeling happy to have become mother, she still "complained" to Allah for she expected a boy to be born to her:
"My Lord, I have delivered a female." And Allah was most knowing of what she delivered, "And the male is not like the female. And I have named her Maryam, and I seek refuge for her in You and [for] her descendants from Satan, the expelled [from the mercy of Allah ]." (Surah Al-Imran, 36)
And thus Maryam grew up in purity and grace and was given to Prophet Zackariah (peace be upon him) to be raised and reared in pure and religious environment. Here it me be mentioned that Prophet Zackariah was the husband of Hannah's sister who later gave birth to Prophet Yahya (peace be upon him) in equally peculiar circumstances as of Hannah.
Maryam lived in seclusion but Allah protected her and provided her with means of sustenance, which even surprised Prophet Zackariah who whenever visited her in her chamber found fresh fruits and eatables. He once asked:
"O Mary! Whence (comes) this to you?" She said: "From Allah.for Allah Provides sustenance to whom He pleases without measure." (Surah Al-Imran, 37)
And then Holy Quran mentions the special circumstances in which Maryam was impregnated and delivered Prophet Eesa. Read the following selected verses when Angel Jibraeel (Gabriel) visited her chamber and gave her the tidings of a son being born to her.
When the angel Gabriel approached her, she was frightened as she was all alone in her chamber and no man had ever visted her except for Prophet Zackriah:
She said, "Indeed, I seek refuge in the Most Merciful from you, [so leave me], if you should be fearing of Allah ." (Al Quran Surah Noah, 19:18)Behold! the angel said: "O Mary! Allah hath chosen thee and purified thee- chosen thee above the women of all nations. (Surah Al-Imran, 42)"O Mary! worship Thy Lord devoutly: Prostrate thyself, and bow down (in prayer) with those who bow down." (Surah Al-Imran, 43)Behold! the angels said: "O Maryam! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a Word from Him: his name will be Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honour in this world and the Hereafter and of (the company of) those nearest to Allah. (Surah Al-Imran, 45)
The Angel Gabriel said:
He said, "I am only the messenger of your Lord to give you [news of] a pure boy." (Al Quran Surah Noah, 19:18)
Maryam replied:
"How can I have a boy while no man has touched me and I have not been unchaste?" (Al Quran Surah Noah, 19:20)
Angel Gabriel said:
"Thus [it will be]; your Lord says, 'It is easy for Me, and We will make him a sign to the people and a mercy from Us. And it is a matter [already] decreed.' " (Al Quran Surah Noah, 19:21)
And so she conceived by the will of Allah and a baby boy was born to her. When she came out of her chamber and went to her people, they were definitely surprised and aghast for they knew of Maryam's piety and that fact that she received no visitation in her chamber.
They said, "O Maryam, you have certainly done a thing unprecedented." (Al Quran Surah Noah, 19:27)O sister of (Prophet) Haroon (Aaron), your father was not a man of evil, nor was your mother unchaste." (Al Quran Surah Noah, 19:28
So she pointed to him.
They said, "How can we speak to one who is in the cradle a child?" (Al Quran Surah Noah, 19:29)
And then newly born Eesa spoke up and said:
[Eesa] said, "Indeed, I am the servant of Allah . He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet. (Al Quran Surah Noah, 19:30)And He has made me blessed wherever I am and has enjoined upon me prayer and zakah as long as I remain alive. And [made me] dutiful to my mother, and He has not made me a wretched tyrant. (Al Quran Surah Noah, 19:31-32)
This is how the birth of Prophet Eesa (peace be upon him) happened. The peculiar circumstances gave birth to many controversies as Christians consider Jesus as son of God for he was born to a virgin on commandant from God and they thus consider God as the father. We take a break here and the remaining account of Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him) will be written separately under the part of Prophets.
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My childhood was the time of comics and classics. In the absence of TV or any visual entertainment except for the cinemas, most of our free time was spent in reading comics and classics. It was through classics, I came across narrations of the Great Flood and Prophet Nuh (Noah), the destruction of the people of Prophet Lut (Lot) and the story of Prophet Eesa (Jesus), may peace be upon them all.
While reading the tragedy described of the crucification of Prophet Eesa, I was really appalled at the pain endured by the prophet and his later elevation from his grave. Feeling rather uneasy about the whole episode, I went to my father who was a man of wisdom and intellect and esquired as to why Allah (God to other religions) had His prophet undergone such tragedy and pain when he was crucified. The simple answer my father gave me was "Christ was never crucified!!" Seeing me still puzzled, he asked me to bring the copy of the Holy Quran with translation and then made me read the relevant verses about how Allah describes the event.
But before I present the view point of Muslims as presented in the Holy Quran, I would like to present the same event presented in the other holy scriptures, specially the Bible, which runs tangent to our belief as Muslims.
The crucification of Jesus is described in Wikipedia as:
According to the canonical gospels, Jesus, the Christ, was arrested and tried by the Sanhedrin, and then sentenced by Pontius Pilate to be scourged, and finally crucified by the Romans. Jesus was stripped of his clothing and offered wine mixed with myrrh or gall to drink before being crucified. He was then hung between two convicted thieves and according to Mark's Gospel, died some six hours later. During this time, the soldiers affixed a sign to the top of the cross stating "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" which, according to the Gospel of John, was written in three languages. They then divided his garments among themselves and cast lots for his seamless robe, according to the Gospel of John. After Jesus' death, according to the Gospel of John one soldier pierced his side with a spear to be certain that he had died.
In Matthew 27:32-56 New International Version (NIV), the crucification is described as under:
32 As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. 33 They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). 34 There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. 35 When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 36 And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. 37 Above his head they placed the written charge against him: this is Jesus, the king of the Jews.
45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,[a] lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
At another place, it is quoted: Jesus cried, "Father! Into your hands I commit my spirit!" and He died (Luke 23:46)
Now I come to the event of crucification as it appears in the Holy Quran:
"That they said [in boast], 'We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah'; but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no [certain] knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not." (Surah An Nisah 4:157)
In view of the above reference, the Muslims believe that the Prophet Eesa was raised to Heaven without being put on the cross, and what onlookers saw on the cross was someone who resembled Prophet Eesa. Muslims thus believe that Prophet Eesa is alive up in the heavens and will descend to earth in final End Days to put the misled back on Allah's path before the world comes to an end.
"Behold! Allah said: 'O Eesa! I will take thee and raise thee to Myself and clear thee [of the falsehoods] of those who blaspheme; I will make those who follow thee superior to those who reject faith, to the Day of Resurrection: Then shall ye all return unto me, and I will judge between you of the matters wherein ye dispute." (Surah 3:55)
From the above two view points as mentioned in Bible and Quran, the followers of the Bible question Quran and object to the Quranic "conjectures": As per Christians claims the "death" of Jesus has not only been recorded in all four Gospels and other New Testament books, but was mentioned in historical documents from ancient times such as Josephus and Tacitus. In the presence of such credible documents, it is impossible for the mother and friends of Jesus to have not recognized To believe Jesus was not the person on the cross is to suggest that His closest followers and own mother did not recognize Him, nor did those who put Jesus to death.
Just as thew birth of Prophet Eesa was a miracle, likewise it was not difficult for Allah to replicate his body with someone else looking exactly like him that even his own mother and friends had no iota of doubt that the man crucified was none other than Jesus. And his not being crucified is enough proof that Allah DID NOT FORSAKE HIM as has been mentioned in the Mathews referred above.
These are two views expressed in Bible and Quran about crucification or otherwise of Prophet Eesa (Jesus). It is only for the wise to interpret what has been the actual truth.
Awhile ago I read a Christian brother remarking that the God of Christians is different from the Allah (Arabic translation of the word God). This really amazed me as we as Muslims always believe that there is only one Allah (or God) who created this entire universe and sent a large number of prophets starting from Prophet Adam, followed by Prophets Lut, Moses, David, Jesus and finally prophet Muhammad (peace be upon them all) and also revealed His four holy books to prophets David, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad (peace be upon them all).
However when I finally read about the Trinity, did the true meaning of a God being different from Allah dawned on me. And the genesis of this notion commences with the birth of Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him).
The birth of Prophet Eesa (Jesus) is a unique event in the lineage of prophets and messengers of Allah. While the details of the events leading to the birth of Prophet Eesa (peace be upon him) is being shared separately in the series of posts under the prophets and messengers of Allah, here the concept of Trinity arising out of extraordinary birth of Prophet Eesa by virgin Mariam (Mary) seems to have given the concept of Trinity: The Father, the Son and the Holy spirit.
The Trinity thus becomes another contradiction between Bible and Quran. Here we present the issue as narrated in Bible and Quran.
The concept of Trinity is quite complex to understand as it embodies one God in three persons. Herein under the concept of Trinity is described in the Wikipedia with references from the Christian holy scriptures:
As per the Christian faith, the Trinity holds that God is three con-substantial persons or hypostases — the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit—as "one God in three Divine Persons". The three Persons are distinct, yet are one "substance, essence or nature" (homoousios). In this context, a "nature" is what one is, whereas a "person" is who one is. Sometimes differing views are referred to as nontrinitarian.
According to this central mystery of most Christian faiths, there is only one God in three Persons: while distinct from one another in their relations of origin (as the Fourth Council of the Lateran declared, "it is the Father who generates, the Son who is begotten, and the Holy Spirit who proceeds") and in their relations with one another, they are stated to be one in all else, co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial, and each is God, whole and entire.
In many holy scriptures of Christians words to this effect appear:
"I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30)
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”—Matthew 28:19
Luke 3:21-22 . . . when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, [22] and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form, as a dove, and a voice came from heaven, “Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased.” (cf. Mt 3:13-17)
Even Judaism traditionally maintains a tradition of monotheism to the exclusion of the possibility of a Trinity. In Judaism, God is understood to be the absolute one, indivisible, and incomparable being who is the ultimate cause of all existence. The idea of God as a duality or trinity is heretical — it is even considered by some polytheistic.
Contrary to the Christians belief of Trinity, Allah Almighty very categorically clarifies the notion so held:
“And (remember) when Allah will say (on the Day of Resurrection): ‘O 'Eesa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary)! Did you say unto men: “Worship me and my mother as two gods besides Allah?”’ He will say: ‘Glory be to You! It was not for me to say what I had no right (to say). Had I said such a thing, You would surely have known it. You know what is in my inner-self though I do not know what is in Yours, truly, You, only You, are the All-Knower of all that is hidden (and unseen).
‘Never did I say to them aught except what You (Allah) did command me to say: “Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.” And I was a witness over them while I dwelt among them, but when You took me up, You were the Watcher over them, and You are a Witness to all things." [Surah Al-Maa’idah 5:116-117]
As for the oneness of Allah, which is also admitted by Judaism, the Holy Quran very clearly mentions the notion of oneness of Allah, God to others:
"Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him." (Sura Al Ikhlas 112-1-4)
The above verses from Holy Quran clearly maintains that Allah neither begetteth not, nor is He begotten, negating the very notion that Prophet Jesus is son of Allah.
In Islam, Allah (God for all followers of heavenly religions), the ONENESS of Allah the Almighty takes precedence over everything. Therefore ascribing someone equal to or as partner of Allah is the greatest of all sins, called Shirk in Arabic meaning taking a partner. Allah therefore on many a places in the Holy Quran has asked the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to forewarn the people who equate someone with Allah:
“Then do not set up rivals unto Allah (in worship) while you know (that He Alone has the right to be worshiped).” (Al-Baqarah 2:22)
"And surely they disbelieved when they said: 'Christ, the son of Mary, is indeed God'; whereas Christ had said: 'Children of Israel! Serve Allah, Who is your Lord and my Lord.' Allah has forbidden Paradise to those who associate anything with Him in His divinity and their refuge shall be the Fire. No one will be able to help such wrong-doers." [Al Quran Surah Al Maidah Chapter 5: 72]
Allah begins this ayah by saying, “laqad kafara” meaning certainly they have disbelieved i.e. there’s no doubt they have committed kufr. Who are these people? These are the people who say that Allah is the Messiah or God is Messiah.
They made this claim in spite of the fact that Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him) made it known that he was the servant of Allah and His Messenger. The first words that Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him) uttered when he was still a baby in the cradle were:
“And verily Allah is my Lord and your Lord. So worship Him (Alone). That is the straight path.” [Surah Ale-Imran 3: ayah 51]
We see that Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him) clearly conveyed the message that Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. He didn’t claim divinity. He didn’t demand the people to worship him, but Allah. In the ayah, the term “Rabb” has been used. Rabb denotes the Owner, Sustainer, Provider, Planner, and Creator. Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him) was not a sustainer, provider, planner or creator. He was created himself. If he was the owner of the world, he would not have faced opposition when he came.
Whoever says Allah has a partner, He has a child or there’s someone else who should be worshipped along with Allah, such a person is not going to enter paradise. His entry into Jannah is forbidden. He will be sent to the Fire. And for the wrongdoers there are no helpers. Shirk is the greatest injustice. Allah created us and we worship or obey someone else?
In this verse:
Allah clearly says that those people who believe in the divinity of Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him) are not believers. The usage of “laqad” in the beginning of the ayah lays emphasis on the matter.
All the messengers of Allah brought the message of tawheed. They didn’t claim to worship themselves or someone other than Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala.
Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him) has no share in “uloowiya” of Allah meaning he doesn’t deserve worship. He called himself Abdullah, a slave of Allah. Slaves are not worshipped.
If Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him) doesn’t have divinity then the same rule applies to other messengers and pious people. If a Prophet of Allah doesn’t deserve worship then what about those lesser than him? Why do people go to graves and pray for intercession? Why do people prostrate graves, scholars or pious people?
Anyone who commits shirk will not enter Jannah. He will become the fuel for HellFire. Allah says in Surah an-Nisa Ayah 116, “Indeed, Allah does not forgive that you associate partners with Him, but He forgives other than that for whom He wills. And whoever associates partners with Allah, then surely he has lost the way, straying far away.”
It is recorded in the saheeh that the Prophet Muhammad (peace peace be upon him) had someone proclaim to the people,
“Only a Muslim soul shall enter Paradise.” Does that mean someone who claims to be Muslim only he will enter Paradise? No. But:
مُؤْمِنَة
Only a believing soul shall enter Jannah. This believing soul is a Muslim with the right faith and righteous deeds. This includes believers from the time of Prophet Musa (Moses, peace be upon him) and Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him). As long as anyone followed his messenger correctly he was on the right path. A Muslim is the one who submits to Allah and worships Him alone.
It is a mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala that He is informing us beforehand that these actions will lead to the HellFire. It is our responsibility to go out to the people who take Eesa to be Allah, those who worship graves, or those who prostrate to scholars and inform them that this is shirk. These actions will make them fuel for fire. If we don’t tell them then we are concealing the truth.
To quote from the very books of Christians, here are References:
Matt. iv. 10, where Christ rebukes Satan for desiring the worship of other than Allah: John xx. 17, where Christ says to Mary Magdalene, "Go unto my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father; and to my God and your God." Cf. also Luke xviii. 19, where Christ rebukes a certain ruler for calling him Good Master: "Why callest thou me good? None is good, save One, that is, Allah." In Mark xii. 25 Jesus says: "The first of all the commandments is, Hear O Israel; the Lord our God is One Lord."
The verse 73 of Surah Al Maidah Chapter below strictly rejects the doctrine of Trinity:
( 73 ) They have certainly disbelieved who say, "Allah is the third of three." And there is no god except one God. And if they do not desist from what they are saying, there will surely afflict the disbelievers among them a painful punishment.
People who say Allah is one of three gods are committing kufr [disbelieve]. According to one belief, the other two gods are Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him) and his mother Lady Mariam. And according to another belief, the other two gods are Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him) and the Holy Spirit i.e. angel Jibreel ‘alayhi salaam.
The concept of Trinity is a much later fabrication in the Christianity and is utter false fabrication. If they die upon this then nothing can save them from the painful torment in the Hereafter.
In Surah al-Anbiya 21: Ayah 22, Allah says, “Had there been within the heavens and earth gods besides Allah, they both would have been ruined. So exalted is Allah, Lord of the Throne, above what they describe.”
The system of the earth, in itself asserts that there is only One God. Surah al-Muminoon 23: Ayah 91 says, “Allah has not taken any son, nor has there ever been with Him any deity. (If there had been), then each deity would have taken what it created, and some of them would have sought to overcome others. Exalted is Allah above what they describe (concerning Him).” All these verses point towards one direction only: – Allah is the only God.
Therefore we as Muslims do not subscribe to the concept of Trinity nor take Prophet Jesus as son of Allah for Allah is far above these worldly relations. And believe in absolute oneness of Allah and believe that Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) was a man just like others who was born naturally to his mother Mary, though in peculiar circumstances, and was a prophet of Allah, just like the complete lineage of prophets from Adm till Muhammad (may peace be upon them all).
You may like to watch a enlightening video by Dr Zakir A Naik, the prominent Muslim scholar on the subject of Trinity:
References: Surah Al Maidah [Part III] | Surah As Samad Chapter 112 | If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook
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