Islamic Studies Courses in

Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, Chabot College, Hayward, Ohlone College, Fremont,

Mission College, Santa Clara, and De Anza College, Cupertino

Prophet Jesus pbuh, In the Holy Qur’an

Designed and taught By

Hafiz M. K. Siddiqi, Ph.D.

‘Imran and HannahThe parents of Virgin Mary

Recall the time when the wife of ‘Imran said: O’my Lord Verily I have vowed unto thee that which is in my belly, I dedicate unto you (for Your special service); so accept this of me, for You are the Hearer, the knower. 3/35Mary’s mother, Jesus’ grandmother known as Hannah or Anne. It has been generally imagined by the Christian writers that the Qur’an here confounds Mary the mother of Jesus with Mary or Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron. Yet I do not see how it can be made out from the words of the Qur’an.

Muslim historians have traced the genealogies of both. The Christians admit that in their own records and

genealogies nothing of any historical value is recorded of parentage of Mary (Encyclopedia Britannica

17.P.811).The meaning of dedication here: “I will not occupy him

with anything else, he shall be free from all worldly occupations and wholly devoted to the service of Thy

Sanctuary”. The Protestant version based on legends, is: An angel comforted her by the news that Joachim was returning, and that he would bear him a child, whom

she at once vowed to dedicate to the service of temple. Hastings’ Dictionary of Bible, V2, P.258

The Catholic Church holds, on the authority of the apocryphal literature: Anne and Joachim had

reached old age and still remained childless; their prayers were answered, an angel of the Lord

announcing to Anne that the fruit of her womb would be blessed by all the world. (Catholic

Dictionary P. 48). According to the tradition of Coptic Church: And Hannah said, My Lord and My

God! If it be that Thou hast given me a son I will give him to God, and I will dedicate him to the service of the Sanctuary all the days of his. (Budge, Legends of

our Lady Mary. P. 124).

Then when she gave birth to the child, she said: O my Lord! Verily, I have given birth to a female, and

Allah knew best what she brought forth, and the male is not as the

female, and verily I have named her Maryam, and verily I seek your

protection for her and her progeny against Satan, the accursed. 3/36

Then her Lord accepted her with goodly acceptance and made her grow up with a goodly growth, and He made Zakariyya

take care of her. Every time Zakariyya entered (Her) chamber to see her, he

found her supplied with sustenance. He said: O Maryam! Whence have you this? She said: this is from Allah, verily Allah

provides sustenance to whom He pleases without measures. 3/37

And recall the time when the angels said: O Maryam! Verily Allah has chosen you and purified

you, He has chosen you above the women of the worlds. 3/42

In the childhood, inasmuch as no other female had been accepted before her for Divine service in the Sanctuary. This choice may also have reference to

her being supplied with sustenance in a miraculous way, and on attaining maturity, by certain privileges, such as conception without a male agency and the

like.

O Maryam! Worship your Lord devoutly, prostrate yourself, and bow down (in prayer) with those who

bow down. This is part of the things of things unseen, which we reveal unto you (O Muhammad) by revelation, you were not with them when they threw their pens (to know) which of them should

be the guardian of Mary nor were you present with them when they quarreled (thereupon).

Behold! The angel said: O Mary! Allah gives you glad tiding of a word from Him, whose name is the

Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary held in honor in the world and the Hereafter and of (the company of)

those nearest to Allah

He shall speak to the people in childhood and in maturity, and he shall be (of the company) of the righteous. She said O my Lord! How can I

have a son when no man has touched me? He said, even so: Allah creates what He wills, when He has decreed a plan, He says unto it be, and it is! And Allah will teach him the Scripture and the

wisdom and the Torah (Law) and the Gospel.And will make him a messenger unto the

children of Israel, (with the 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 by Allah’s leave, and I heal those born blind, and the leper, and I raise the

dead by Allah’s leave, and I declare to you what you eat and what you store in your homes,

surely therein is a sign for you if you did believe. And (I have come to you) confirming that which was before me of the Torah, and to make lawful

some of that which was forbidden unto you. I have come unto you with a sign from your Lord, so keep your duty to Allah and obey me. Surely

Allah is my Lord and your Lord, then worship

Him. This is a way that is straight. When Jesus found unbelief on their part, he said: who will be my helpers to (the work of) Allah? The disciples said, we are Allah’s helpers, we believe in Allah, and bear witness that we are Muslims (we have surrendered). Our Lord! We believe in what You

have revealed, and we follow the messenger, then write us down among those who bear witness. And then unbelievers plotted and

planned and Allah too planned, and the best of planners is Allah. Behold Allah said,

O Jesus I will take you and raise you to myself

And clear you (of the falsehood) of those who blaspheme, I will make those who follow you

superior to those who reject faith to the Day of Resurrection, then shall you all return unto me,

and I will judge between you of the matters wherein you dispute. As to those who reject

faith, I will punish them with terrible agony in this world and in the hereafter nor will they

have anyone to help. As to those who believe and work righteousness, Allah will pay them (in full) their reward, but Allah loves not those who

do wrong.

This what we rehearse unto you of the signs and the message of wisdom. The similitude of Jesus before Allah is as that of Adam, He created him

from dust, then said to him “Be” and he was. The truth (comes) from Allah alone, so be not of those who doubt. If anyone disputes in this

matter with you now after full knowledge has come to you, say; come! Let us gather together,

our sons and your sons, our women and your women, ourselves and yourselves, then let us

earnestly pray, and invoke the curse of Allah on those who lie!.

This is the true account, there is no god except Allah, and Allah; He is indeed the Exalted in

power, the Wise. But if they turn back, Allah has full knowledge of those who do mischief. Say: O people of the Book! Come to common terms as between us and you: that we worship none but Allah, that we associate no partners with Him;

that we erect not, from among ourselves, Lords and Patrons other than Allah. If then they turn back, say, bear witness that we (at least) are

Muslims (bowing to Allah’s will). 3/43-64

With all her great gifts Mary is a mere mortal and has no part of Divinity in

her whatsoever. She is like all true and devout servants of God, specially

enjoined to pray, and canons of prayer are mentioned in detail in order to lay stress on their accurate observance.

She was neither a goddess, nor demigoddess.

Relate in the Book (the story of) Mary; when she withdrew from her family to a place in the east. Then she took beside them a curtain, then We sent unto her Our spirit and he too k unto her the form of a human being in all respects. She said: I seek refuge from you with the most Compassionate if you are God-fearing. He said: I am but a messenger from your Lord that I may bestow on thee a boy, pure. She said: how shall I have a son seeing that no man has touched me, and I am not unchaste. He said: even so, your Lord said it is easy for me, and it is in order that we may make him a sign unto mankind and a mercy from us, and it is a matter decreed. Mary 19/16-21

O People of the Book! exceed not the bounds in your religion, nor say of Allah save that which is the truth.

The Messiah Jesus son of Mary is but a Prophet of Allah and His word He cast it upon Mary and a spirit

from Him, so believe in Allah and His messengers and say not three desist that it may be well for you, for

Allah is One God, glory be to Him: (far exalted is He) above having a son, to Him belong all things in the

heavens and on earth and enough is God as a Disposer of affairs. 4/171-172

Assuredly they have disbelieved who say: verily God is Christ son of Mary whereas the Christ had said: O Children of Israel! Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord, verily whosoever associates aught with Allah,

Allah shall surely forbid the garden unto him, and his resort is the fire, and for the wrong doers there shall be no helpers. Assuredly they disbelieved who say: God is the third of three, whereas there is no God

except the one God, and if they desist not from that which they say, there shall surely befall those of

them who have disbelieved a grievous penalty. 5/73-80

He to whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, no son has He begotten, nor has He a partner, it is He who created all things and ordered

them in due proportions. 25/2The Holy Qur’an corrects all misconceptions and makes clear that every event big or small, that comes to pass in the universe, is the direct

outcome of the all wise, all powerful God, and not subject either to chance or to necessity, and that

the governing hand of God is visible through every process of nature, through the march of history and through the fortunes of every individual life steadily

working out His preconceived plan.

When Jesus son of Mary held up as an example………43/ 57-65One day will Allah gather……5/110-120Prophet Muhammad pbuh said: both in this world and in the hereafter, I am the nearest of all the people to Jesus, the son of Mary. The prophets are paternal brothers; their mothers are different, but their religion is one. Bukhari Volume 4, Hadith #252

Prophet Muhammad pbuh said: Do not exaggerate in praising me as

Christians praised the son of Mary (when they took him as god

besides Allah swt), for I am only a slave, so call me the slave of Allah (swt) and His messenger. Bukhari,

Volume 4, Hadith # 654

Prophet Muhammad pbuh said: if anyone testifies that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah alone who has no partners, and that Muhammad is His slave and His messenger, and Jesus is Allah’s slave and His messenger and His Word which He bestowed on Mary and a spirit created by Him, and that paradise is true and hell is true, Allah..

Will admit him into Paradise with the deeds which he had done even if those deeds were few. Bukhari,

Volume 4, Hadith #644The Holy Qur’an refers to the

forecast of Prophet Jesus pbuh about Prophet Muhammad pbuh,

in 61/6

A Muslim is quite at ease as far as the attitude of Islam towards Jesus pbuh, is concerned; his mind is settled, his conscience is clear, and his belief is sound. A Muslim’s concept of God, religion, revelation, Prophet hood, and humanity makes him accept Jesus pbuh, not only as a historical fact but also as one of the most distinguished apostles of God.

It should be remembered here that acceptance of Jesus pbuh by Muslims

is an article of faith in Islam, and that a Muslim can never think of Jesus pbuh in any derogatory terms. A Muslim is

happily denied the liberty of defaming Jesus pbuh or any other prophet of

Allah swt (God).

Whatever a Muslim believes in, the source of it is the Holy Qur’an. The Islamic beliefs do not belittle or underestimate the role of Jesus pbuh, nor it degrade his great personality. On the contrary, Islam depict Jesus in a most respectable manner and place him as high in status as God Himself has placed him.

Please refer to the following verses:2/87, 136, 253, 3/42-59, 84, 4/156-159, 171-172, 5/17,46,72, 75, 78, 110-118, 6/85, 9/30-31, 19/1-40, 23/50, 33/7, 42/13, 43/57-65, 57/27, 61/6,14