“’Lord’, said Mary, ‘how shall I have a son seeing no mortal has touched me?’ ‘Even so’ he said, ‘God creates what He will.’ When He decrees a thing He does but say to it, “Be”, and it is.’”
by Ducky Paredes
Jesus of Nazareth is also in the Koran. The following is taken from an Internet page featuring the writings of Dr. Maneh Al-Johani entitled “The Truth About Jesus.” (www.al-sunnah.com/truth_aboutjesus.htm)
In telling of the birth of Jesus, the Koran starts a generation before the New Testament. In the Koran’s telling, the wife of Imran vowed to dedicate her child to the service of God in the temple. From the Koran:
“When the wife of Imran said, ‘Lord, I have vowed to you, in dedication, what is within my womb. Please accept it from me. You are the Hearer and knower’.
“And when she gave birth to her she said, ‘Lord, I have given birth to her, a female. And I have named her Mary and commend her to you with her seed, to protect them from the accursed Satan.
“Her Lord received the child with gracious favor, and by His goodness, she grew up comely, Zachariah taking charge of her. Whenever Zachariah went to her in the Sanctuary, he found her provisioned. ‘Mary’, he said, ‘how comes this (food) to you?’
“’From God’, she answered. Truly God provisions for whomsoever He will without reckoning.” (3:95-7)
* * *
When she had grown into a woman, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary:
“When the angels said, ‘Mary, God gives you good tidings of a Word from Him whose name is Messiah Jesus, son of Mary; high honored shall he be in this world and the next, near stationed to God. He shall speak to men in the cradle, and of age, and righteous she shall be.’
“’Lord’, said Mary, ‘how shall I have a son seeing no mortal has touched me?
“’Even so’ he said, ‘God creates what He will.’ When He decrees a thing He does but say to it, “Be”, and it is.’” (3:45-7)
* * *
The Koran, in a chapter entitled ‘Mary’ gives us the birth of Jesus. It is markedly different from the elaborate nativity scene of the New Testament where there are a choir of angels, shepherds and wise men from distant places who are there to give homage to the new King. Here it is:
“She conceived him and withdrew with him to a distant place. And the birth pangs surprised her by the trunk of the palm tree.
“She said, ‘would I had died before this and become a thing forgotten.’
“The one from below her called to her, ‘Do not grieve; see, your Lord has set below you a rivulet. Shake also toward you the palm trunk and there shall come tumbling upon you dates fresh and ripe. Eat therefore, and drink, and be comforted; and if you should see any mortal, say: ‘I have vowed to the All-Merciful a fast, and today I will not speak to any man.’
“Then she brought the child to her folk carrying him; and they said, ‘Mary, you have surely committed a monstrous thing. Sister of Aaron, your father was not a wicked man, nor was your mother a woman unchaste.’
“Mary pointed to the child but they said, ‘How shall we speak to one who is still in the cradle, a little child?’”
(But the Child does talk as the narration goes on.)
“He said, ‘Lo, I am God’s servant; God has given me the Book and made me a Prophet. Blessed he has made me, wherever I may be; and he has enjoined me to pray and to give the alms, so long as I live, and likewise to cherish my mother; he has not made me arrogant or wicked. Peace be upon me, the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I am raised up alive.’”(19:22-23)
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Was Jesus the Son of God? The Koran says “No.”
From the Koran: “Truly the likeness of Jesus, in God’s sight, is as Adam’s likeness; He created him of dust. Then said He unto him, ‘Be’, and he was. “ (3:59)
The Koran addresses those who believe in the divinity of Jesus in this manner: “People of the Book, go not beyond the bounds in your religion, and say not as to God but the Truth. The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, was only the Messenger of God, and His Word that He committed to Mary, and a spirit from Him. So believe in God and His Messengers, and say not, ‘Three’. Refrain’ better is it for you. God is only One God. Glory be to Him — that He should have a son! To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and in the earth. God suffices for a guardian.
“The Messiah will not disdain to be a servant of God, neither the angels who are close to Him. Whosoever disdains to serve Him and waxes proud, He will assuredly muster them to Him, all of them.
“As for the believers, who do deeds of righteousness, He will pay them their rewards in full, and He will give them more of His bounty; as for them who disdain and wax proud, them He will punish with a severe punishment, and they shall not find for them, apart from God, a friend or helper.” (4:171-3)
Thus, Jesus in the Koran was the son of Mary and was a very special person with a mission from God even if Jesus was (in the Koran) not the Son of God and was not God.
* * *
Is that reason enough for Christians and Muslims to kill one another? Both the Koran and the New Testament preach love for one’s fellow men. So, why can’t we all dedicate ourselves to doing just that and stop quarrelling on who has the better religion and who is the closer to God/Allah — the Christian or the Muslim?
I have always believed that if God (who is almighty and to whom all things are possible) really wanted all humanity to practice only one religion, He would have prevented His name from being used by those who would establish parallel religions to that one, true way to God’s or Allah’s Kingdom. The fact that He allows a variety of beliefs in God and ways to salvation only proves that humans have a God-given right to choose their own religions and even to create new ones as humanity moves along.
To all my readers, I wish you all a Merry Christmas. I personally believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He came into this world to redeem mankind. Whether He was born in a manger with a choir of angels and a horde of shepherds and three kings from East of Bethlehem in attendance or Mary gave birth to Jesus beneath a palm tree that showered Mary with dates is not as important to me as the fact that God loves us and that He sent His own Son to save us from our sinful selves.
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hvp (12.23.07)
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