Prophetic Supplication by Prophet Eesa (Jesus, son of Mary) as mentioned in Qur'an

There is a mention of thirty-five prophets in the Qur'an that were divinely sent to our earthly world for the guidance of the man. Many anecdotes, sayings and supplications have been mentioned in Qur'an is a continuation of all previous Divine religions sent through these prophets. It is worthwhile to notice that all prophets were always praying for their people so that no harm comes to them and they are well sustained by the Lord of the entire universe.

We have already shared a number of supplications attributed to some of the prophets as mentioned in Qur'an. Today we share the 114th verse from Surah 5. Al Maida (The Table Spread). The words of the Prayer and name of the chapter seem to suggest the Last Supper:

قَالَ عِيۡسَى ابۡنُ مَرۡيَمَ اللّٰهُمَّ رَبَّنَاۤ اَنۡزِلۡ عَلَيۡنَا مَآئِدَةً مِّنَ السَّمَآءِ تَكُوۡنُ لَـنَا عِيۡدًا لِّاَوَّلِنَا وَاٰخِرِنَا وَاٰيَةً مِّنۡكَ​ۚ وَارۡزُقۡنَا وَاَنۡتَ خَيۡرُ الرّٰزِقِيۡنَ‏ 

(5:114) Jesus, son of Mary, then prayed: 'O Allah, our Lord, send down to us a repast from the heavens that shall be a festival for the first of us and for the last of us, and a sign from You. And provide us with sustenance, for You are the best Provider of sustenance.'

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: 

(قَالَ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ اللَّهُمَّ رَبَّنَآ أَنزِلْ عَلَيْنَا مَآئِدَةً مِّنَ السَّمَآءِ تَكُونُ لَنَا عِيداً لاًّوَّلِنَا وَءَاخِرِنَا `Isa, son of Maryam, said: "O Allah, our Lord! Send us from heaven a table spread (with food) that there may be for us -- for the first and the last of us -- a festival...'') As-Suddi commented that the Ayah means, "We will take that day on which the table was sent down as a day of celebration, that we and those who come after us would consider sacred.'' Sufyan Ath-Thawri said that it means, "A Day of prayer.'

(﴿وَءَايَةً مِّنْكَ and a sign from You. ) Proving that You are able to do all things and to accept my supplication, so that they accept what I convey to them from You,

(وَارْزُقْنَا and provide us sustenance,) a delicious food from You that does not require any effort or hardship,

(وَاَنۡتَ خَيۡرُ الرّٰزِقِيۡنَ‏ "For You are the Best of sustainers.'') Please read the attribute Ar-Razzaq (الرزاق) - The Supplier, The Provider for explanation of this part of the verse.

Yusuf Ali Explanation: 

As in Islam, so in Christ's Prayer, sustenance should be taken for both physical and spiritual strength, especially the latter. "Give us this day our daily bread" seems the rendering of a literalist whose attention was fixed too much on bread.

May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى‎) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door. 

وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ‏ 

(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”

That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.

Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.

May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.

Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.

For more Selected Verses, please refer to our reference page: Selected Invocations / Dua " دُعا " from the Qur'an. You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.

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Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully.

An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs of the Qur'ān from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that the exegesis of the chapters of the Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi.  

In order to augment and add more explanation as already provided, additional input has been interjected from following sources: 

• Towards Understanding the Quran
• Tafsir Ibn Khatir
• Muhammad Asad Translation
• Javed Ahmad Ghamidi / Al Mawrid
• Al-Quran, Yusuf Ali Translation
• Verse by Verse Qur'an Study Circle

In addition, references of other sources which have been explored have also been given above. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites.

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Women in Quran - Maryam (Mary) - Mother of Prophet Eesa (Jesus)

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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Bible and Quran: Contradictions - Crucification of Prophet Eesa (Jesus)

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.

References: | Wikipedia | Bible Gateway |

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