Al Islam

2157. Commentary:

The words, hold fast the Book, show that till the time of Yahya the Torah had not been abrogated nor was it about to be abrogated in the very near future. By the word "Book" is here meant the Torah because neither Muslims nor Jews nor Christians believe that Yahya was given a Book containing a new Law. Jesus had received baptism from Yahya (John) and it is inconceivable that the two Prophets—John and Jesus—who lived at the same time, one (John) should have acted upon the Law of Torah and the other (Jesus) who was John’s disciple and had been baptised by him should have been given a new Book and a new Law. Indeed both John and Jesus followed the Law of Moses and none of them brought any new Book. (close)

2158. Important Words:

حناناً (tenderness of heart) is derived from حنwhich means, he was or became affected with a yearning or an intense emotion of grief or of joy. حن الیه قلبی means, my heart yearned towards him. حناناً means, mercy, compassion or pity; tenderness of heart. A Muslim would pray حنانک یارب i.e. I beg Thy mercy, o Lord (Aqrab & Lane).

زکاة (purity) is infinitive-noun from زکی which means, it increased or augmented; it throve by the blessing of God. زکی الغلام means, the boy grew and throve; he was or became good or righteous and pure from sin; he enjoyed or led a pleasant, plentiful or an easy life. The difference between زکاة (purity) and تقوی (piety) is that whereas the former word means internal purity, the latter generally signifies protection against external evils (Lane, Aqrab & Mufradat). (close)

c. 6:152; 19:33; 29:9; 31:15; 46:16. (close)

a. 6:152; 19:33; 29:9; 31:15; 46:16. (close)

2159. Important Words:

براً (dutiful) is derived from بر (barra). والدہ means, he treated or behaved towards his father with filial piety, duty or obedience. برخالقهmeans, he obeyed his Creator. برفی یمینه means, he was true in his oath. برعمله means, his work was good or well-performed. بر اللّٰه حجته means, God accepted his pilgrimage. بر (barrun) of which the plural is ابرار and بررة therefore means, pious, obedient, dutiful, kind, good or affectionate. البر (burr) and البار both signify abounding in بر (birr), البر having greater intensification than البار and is one of the attributes of God meaning, the Merciful; the Compassionate God (Aqrab & Lane). (close)

d. 19:34. (close)

1746. During the first few centuries of its life Islam made very rapid progress. Large numbers of people from every religion—especially from Christianity—entered its fold. They brought with them their erroneous beliefs about Jesus. As they had not imbibed fully the true spirit of Islamic teachings, their false ideas and beliefs subsequently found their way into Muslim religious literature with the result that subsequently they came to form part of Muslim beliefs. All these beliefs had been invented to invest Jesus with an extraordinary personality—a personality much above human level. It is these foolish beliefs about Jesus that the Qur’an seeks to demolish in the present Surah. By instituting a comparison between Yahya and Jesus, this Surah and the Surah Al-e-‘Imran mean to suggest that there was nothing in Jesus which distinguished him from other Divine Messengers. See "The Larger Edition of the Commentary," pp. 1565. (close)

a. 19:34. (close)

2160. Commentary:

During the first few centuries of its life Islam made very rapid progress. Large numbers of people from every religion—especially from Christianity, entered its fold. They brought with them some very erroneous beliefs about Jesus Christ. As they had not imbibed fully the true spirit of Islamic teachings, their false ideas and beliefs subsequently found their way into Muslim religious literature with the result that they came to form part of the beliefs of Muslims. All these beliefs had been invented to invest Jesus with an extraordinary personality—a personality much above human level. It is these foolish beliefs about Jesus that the Quran seeks to demolish in the present Surah. By instituting a comparison between Yahya, who was a Prophet of an ordinary spiritual stature, and Jesus, it means to suggest that there was nothing in Jesus which distinguished him from other Divine Messengers. We give below some of the spiritual qualities and characteristics of both these Prophets as given in the Quran to establish the above fact.

About Jesus it is said that:

1. He was a Prophet of God (3:50).

2. He was of the righteous (3:47).

3. God taught him the Book and the wisdom (3:49).

4. He talked to people as a child i.e. in rather early age (3:47).

5. He was granted nearness to God (3:46).

6. He was kind and dutiful to his mother (19:33).

7. He was kind of heart and compassionate (5:119).

8. He was not haughty and unblessed (19:33).

9. He was blessed by God and was strengthened with the Spirit of Holiness (2:254; 19:32).

10. Divine peace enveloped him (19:34).

11. His name Messiah was given to him by God (3:46).

About Yahya it is said that:

1. He was a Prophet (3:40).

2. He was noble, chaste and a Prophet from among the righteous (3:40).

3. God gave him the Book and granted him wisdom (19:13).

4. God gave him wisdom while yet a child (19:13).

5. God was well pleased with him (19:7).

6. He was kind and dutiful to his parents (19:15).

7. He was kind-hearted, pure and pious (19:14).

8. He was not haughty and rebellious (19:15).

9. God was pleased with him and he was unequalled in some respects (19:7-8).

10. Divine peace enveloped him (19:16).

11. His name Yahya was given to him by God (19:8).

By instituting this comparison we should not be understood to mean that Jesus and John were of absolutely equal spiritual standing and there was nothing to distinguish one from the other. Jesus did indeed possess a higher spiritual status than John. What the Quran wants to make clear is the fact that there was nothing in Jesus which should raise him to the pedestal of Divinity. He was no doubt a great Prophet of God and was immune from sin but so were all other Divine Messengers, John being one of them. About him Jesus says: "For I say unto you, among those that are born of woman there is not a greater prophet than John, the Baptist" (Luke 7:28).

The verse should not be understood to signify that Prophet Yahya was not murdered but died a natural death, a view mistakenly held in certain quarters, because it runs counter to an established fact of history. The words "peace was on him" used in the verse seem to have given rise to this manifestly wrong view but they lend no support to it. The word "peace" has not been used in a physical but a spiritual sense. In fact the verse refers to three periods or states of man’s life. The first state begins with his birth and ends with his death. The second state which is called برزخ (Barzakh), literally meaning 'the period of earning merit or demerit is over', commences with death and continues till doom. The third state has been called "The Day of Resurrection" in the Quran. It is the day of the complete manifestation of God’s glory. It is these three states or periods of man’s existence to which the present verse refers and in all of which, it says, Yahya will enjoy spiritual peace. (close)

1747. It seems relevant and necessary to mention, as a prelude to the somewhat detailed account of Jesus’s fatherless birth as given in the next several verses, some facts related about Mary in the Qur’an and the New Testament. The New Testament sheds practically no light on the life of Mary before she became pregnant. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke give an extremely brief and discursive description of her circumstances before the above important event took place while Mark and John are completely silent over it. According to Matthew, Mary, on being married to Joseph, was found to be with child. Joseph intended secretly to put her away but was refrained from taking this extreme step by an angel saying to him in a dream, 'Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife' (Matt. 1:‌19, 20). The Qur’an, however, gives a much more detailed account of Mary’s family, the circumstances that attended her birth, the vow of her mother, of her being dedicated to the service of the Church and lastly of her having conceived Jesus (3:36, 37, 48). The present Surah, however, gives a still more detailed account of Mary having conceived Jesus and of what happened to her and to Jesus after his birth and after he was commissioned with Divine mission, thus providing all necessary details about Mary that have any bearing on the important subject of Prophethood which was about to be transferred from the House of Israel to that of Ishmael and which forms the principal thesis of the present Surah. Special mention has been made here of 'an eastern place' in the verse, in order, perhaps to point to the time-honoured customs of the Jews to hold the East sacred. Both the Jews and the Christians hold the East in special respect. They build their places of worship facing the East. (close)

2161. Important Words:

مریم (Mary) is probably a compound word consisting of مر and یم and possesses, in Hebrew, a variety of meanings. Some of these meanings are: 'bitter sea'; 'drop of the sea'; 'star of the sea'; 'bitterness'; 'mistress or lady'. The word also means 'exalted'. It may also mean 'pious worshipper'. From two alternative roots the word might also mean, 'the rebellious', or 'the corpulent'. It seems that among the Jews and the Arabs corpulence was considered as a mark of beauty and girls who were corpulent were considered beautiful and therefore named Maryam. Maryam also seems to be a popular name among the Jews in the time of Jesus. See also 3:37.

شرقیاً (to the east) means, (1) facing the east; (2) to the east. مکاناً شرقیاً means, a place to the east; a place facing the east; a place in which the sun shines; an open dwelling place (Lane).

الکتاب (the Book) may refer both to the Bible and the Quran.

Commentary:

It seems relevant and necessary to mention, as a prelude to the somewhat detailed account of Jesus’ fatherless birth as given in the next several verses, some facts related about Mary in the Quran and the Bible.

The New Testament sheds practically no light on the life of Mary before she became pregnant. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke give an extremely brief and discursive description of her circumstances before the above important event took place while Mark and John are completely silent over it. According to Matthew, Mary, on being married to Joseph, was found to be with a child. Joseph intended secretly to put her away but was refrained from taking this extreme step by an angel saying to him in a dream: "Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife" (Matt. 1:‌19, 20). According to Luke, Mary was a relation of Zachariah’s wife and used to go to their house. Apart from this unimportant additional fact Luke leaves us quite in the dark about Mary’s account prior to her marriage with Joseph. But the Quran gives us a much more detailed account of Mary’s family, the circumstances that attended her birth, the vow of her mother, her childhood being dedicated to the service of the Church and lastly of her having conceived Jesus (3:36-38).

The present Surah, however, gives a still more detailed account of Mary having conceived Jesus and of what happened to her and to Jesus after his birth and after he was commissioned with his divine mission. The Quran has provided us with all necessary details about Mary that have any bearing on the important subject of prophethood which was about to be transferred from the House of Israel to that of Ishmael and which forms the principal thesis of the present Surah. If anything the Bible has given a very sorry picture of Jesus and his relations with his mother. Whereas the Quran depicts him to be kind, dutiful and very compassionate towards his mother, the Gospels show that he did not like his mother because she did not believe in him (Matt. 12:‌46-50). Mark 3:31-35 and Luke 8:19-21 show that besides Mary, Jesus’ other relations did not believe in him while the Gospel of John keeps discreetly silent over this painful subject. We also know that the Jews used to taunt Jesus by saying that if his mission was true why his own relations did not believe in him (Matt. 13:‌55-56). Some of his relations and friends went so far as to lay hold on him for they said that he was beside himself (Mark 3:21). This attitude of disbelief on the part of his relatives towards Jesus had made him so bitter that when he was being taken to Calvary to be put on the cross and his mother appeared on the scene, he addressed her saying 'Woman, behold thy son!' (John 19:26). And when on another occasion a woman being very much impressed by his discourse said: 'Blessed is the womb that bore thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked' (Luke 11:27), he retorted: 'Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it' (Luke 11:28), which signified that he could not even bear his mother being praised.

Such is the picture which the Gospels have drawn of the unenviable relations between Jesus and his mother. But the description is not only self-contradictory, it also offends against human nature and intelligence. The Quran, however, presents both these blessed and holy persons in quite a different light. Regarding Jesus it says that he was kind and loving, obedient and dutiful to his mother and that he was not haughty and rude (19:33) while about Mary it states that she was a pious, chaste and truthful woman and was a great worshipper of God and that God purified her, accepted her and chose her above the women of the world (3:43, 44; 5:76; 66:13). How great is the difference between the unenviable picture of Mary drawn by the Gospels and the beautiful description given of her in the Quran. Whereas the Biblical description is highly derogatory and self-contradictory, the Quranic description is not only consistent with the dignity of a highly righteous woman but is also more akin to truth and facts of history.

As the verse shows Mary withdrew herself to a place to the east. Special mention has been made of "a place to the east" in the verse, in order, perhaps, to point to the time-honoured custom of the Jews that they attached special significance to مشرق (east) and considered it sacred. They believed that the birth of the first man took place in the east where God planted a garden (Gen. 2:‌8). The Babylonians by whose traditions the Jews became much impressed as they had lived under them as captives also looked upon the east as "the gate of light" (Ezekiel 11:1). Matthew 2:2 and Revelation 7:2 also shed some light on the importance of the east. Both the Jews and Christians hold the east in special respect. They build their places of worship facing the east. This is why special mention has been made in the present verse "of a place to the East" and Mary has been described as having gone to "a place which was facing the east."

For a somewhat detailed note on the early life of Mary see vv. 3:‌36, 37, 38. (close)

a. 3:43. (close)

1748. For the different meanings of Ruh see 712. (close)

1749. The expression signifies that the Divine glad tidings about the birth of a great son was not conveyed to Mary in the form of spoken words which she could hear; it took the form of a dream or vision. In a vision an angel came to her in the form of a healthy man and conveyed to her the Divine Message about the birth of a son. So it was no spirit that had entered Mary’s body, but only an angel appeared to her in a vision in the form of a man. (close)

a. 3:43. (close)

2162. Important Words:

روحنا (Our angel). For the different meanings of the word روح see 2:88; 4:172 & 16:3.

Commentary:

The expression فتمثل لھا بشرا سویا signifies that the Divine glad tidings about the birth of a great son was conveyed to Mary not in the form of spoken words which she could hear or which flowed from her mouth. The revelation to her took the form of a dream or vision. She saw in a vision that an angel came to her in the form of a healthy man and conveyed to her the Divine Message about the birth of a son. In fact, it is the Word of God which at the time of revelation takes different forms and which when it came to Mary took the form of a man appearing in a dream. So it was no spirit that had entered Mary’s body. The vision was but a manifestation of God’s great power.

Christians try to derive a false satisfaction from the words روحنا alleging that according to the Quran, the Divine Spirit or God Himself had entered Mary’s body and that as a result thereof she became pregnant and therefore Jesus who was born as the result of that conception was the son of God. The Quran lends no support whatsoever to this blasphemous and preposterous dogma but condemns and denounces it in the strongest possible terms (5:73-74; 19:89-91). What the verse says is only this that an angel of God (روح means an angel) appeared to Mary in a vision in the form of a man and gave to her the glad tidings of the birth of a son.

Even the Gospels repudiate this fantastic dogma. According to them Mary had conceived only of the Holy Ghost (Matt. 1:‌18-20; Luke, l:35). Thus according to Christians’ own admission Jesus, at best, was the son of the Holy Ghost. But if they believe that he was the son of God then they shall also have to admit that the Holy Ghost is God. But they accept neither of these propositions. So whereas the Quran strongly condemns and denounces the Christian dogma of sonship of Jesus, the Gospels too do not support it. What the Quran says is simply this that an angel appeared before Mary in the form of a man and gave her from God the glad tidings of the birth of a great son. (close)

1750. As is apparent from the previous verse it was a mere vision which Mary had seen; and it generally happens that when a person sees a thing in a vision which he does not like in his waking state, he does not like it either when he sees it in a vision. When Mary saw the angel standing before her in the form of a man she, being a virtuous young woman, was naturally frightened and perplexed as she would have been frightened and perplexed if she had seen him near her in her state of wakefulness, and it is, therefore, quite natural that she sought Divine protection from him. (close)

2163. Commentary:

It is worthy of note here that the Divine attribute الرحمن (Gracious), has been repeatedly used in this Surah. This Surah deals with all the basic dogmas of Christianity and it is this attribute of God which cuts at the root of these false doctrines and demolishes them. If God is Gracious, then He can forgive the sins of His servants and if He can forgive their sins, then there is no need for anybody to give his blood in order to save mankind. As is apparent from the previous verse it was a mere vision that Mary had seen, and it generally happens that when a person sees a thing in a vision which he does not like in his waking state, he does not like it when he sees it in a vision. When Mary saw the angel standing before her in the form of a man she, being a virtuous young woman, was naturally frightened and perplexed as she would have been frightened and perplexed if she had seen him in her state of wakefulness and it is therefore quite natural that she sought Divine protection from him. (close)

1751. The word 'messenger' shows that the angel was only the bearer of a Divine message and that he had not come to give Mary a son but only the glad tidings about the birth of a son. Who does not know that it is God Who can bestow a son and not an angel? An angel’s mission is confined only to conveying the wish and decree of God. (close)

b. 3:46. (close)

a. 3:46. (close)

2164. Commentary:

The word 'Messenger' shows that the angel was only the bearer of a Divine Message and the message or glad tidings which he brought was about the birth of a great son to Mary. So he had come not to give Mary a son but only the glad tidings about the birth of a son.

The expression لاھب لک only signifies that the angel had appeared to Mary to give her the certain and sure tidings about the birth of a son. The glad tidings was so certain of being fulfilled that it seemed as if the son had already been given to her. This is what the angel had conveyed to Mary because who does not know that it is God Who bestows a son and not an angel. An angel’s mission is confined only to conveying the wish and decree of God. (close)

c. 3:48; 19:9. (close)

1752. The incident referred to in this and the preceding verses took place in a vision, and in a vision or dream a person experiences different kinds of sensations on different occasions. Sometimes his feelings and talk in the dream are subject to and under the effect of the dream while at another time they are not and he feels and talks as he would feel and talk if he were awake. For example, if in a dream a person is glad over the death of his son, his feelings will be regarded as under the effect of the dream because in his state of wakefulness no normal person would be glad over the death of his son. So if the words spoken by Mary when she saw the angel in her vision were under the effect of the vision, then they would signify that when the glad tidings was given to her she had a pleasant surprise whether God would work such a miracle as to give her—a virgin—a son. But if the words be regarded as a natural expression on her part when the tidings of the birth of a son was given to her, then they would signify that she was completely perplexed and horror-struck at the thought that a son should be born to her—a virgin. In the former case hers would be a very pleasant surprise at the great favour that God was going to do her, and in the latter case it would be an expression of bewilderment indicating the horrified state of her mind.

Whereas the words, no man has touched me, show that Mary thought that the glad tidings meant that she would have a child without contracting a legal marriage, otherwise there was no sense in her denial to have known any man in a married state, the words, neither have I been unchaste, refer to her denial to have known any man outside legal wedlock. In her reply to the angel she seemed to be thinking of her vow of celibacy which obviated the possibility of her having any offspring. If she thought that the promise made in the preceding verse referred to the birth of a son as a result of her conjugal relations in some future time, as some Commentators of the Qur’an think, then there was no occasion for her to express any surprise. (close)

b. 3:48; 19:9. (close)

2165. Commentary:

The incident referred to in this and the preceding verses took place in a vision, and in a vision or dream a person experiences different kinds of sensations at different occasions. Sometimes his feelings and talk in the dream are subject to and under the effect of the dream that he sees while at another time they are not, and he feels and talks as he would feel and talk if he were awake. For example, if in a dream a person is glad over the death of his son, his feelings will be regarded as under the effect of the dream because in his state of wakefulness no sane person would be glad over the death of his son. So if the words spoken by Mary when she saw the angel in her vision were under the effect of the vision, then they would signify that when the glad tidings were given to her about the birth of a son she had a pleasant surprise whether God would work such a miracle as to give her—a virgin—a son. But if the words be regarded as a natural expression on her part when the tidings of the birth of a son were given to her then they would signify that she was completely perplexed and horror-struck at the thought that a son should be born to her—a virgin. In the former case hers would be a very pleasant surprise at the great favour that God was going to do her and in the latter case it would be an expression of bewilderment indicating the horrified state of her mind.

The words 'no man has touched me' show that Mary thought that the glad tidings about the birth of a son to her meant that the child would be born to her without contracting a regular marriage, otherwise there was no sense in her denying having known any man. The words, 'neither have I been unchaste' show that whereas in the previous clause she had denied having known any man lawfully i.e. in a married state, these words refer to her denial of having known any person unlawfully i.e. outside legal wedlock. In her reply to the angel she seemed to be thinking of the circumstances of her life in the Temple and of her vow of celibacy which obviated the possibility of her having any offspring. If she thought that the promise made in the preceding verse referred to the birth of a son as a result of her conjugal relations in some future time, as some commentators of the Quran think, then there was no occasion for her to express any surprise. (close)

a. 3:41, 48; 19:22; 51:31. (close)

1753. The expression, that We may make him a Sign unto men, implies the fatherless birth of Jesus which was indeed a great Sign for the Israelites. It pointed to the impending transition of Prophethood from the House of Israel to that of Ishmael and constituted a warning to the Israelites that they had become spiritually so corrupt and morally so degenerate that no male among them was fit enough to become the father of a Prophet of God. It is in this sense that Jesus has also been spoken of as 'a Sign of the Hour' in the Qur’an (43:62), i.e. a Sign of the time when Prophethood was to have passed from the Israelites to the Ishmaelites. (close)

1754. The expression, and it is a thing decreed, means that God had decreed that a fatherless son would be born to Mary and that this Divine decree was irrevocable. The Qur’an has used two words Qadar and Qada’ to express the sense of Divine decree. The former word means designing or determining, while the latter means decreeing. When a scheme or plan is only designed to be put into execution, it is called Qadar, and when it is decreed by God that it should be carried into effect, it is named Qada’. The fatherless birth of Jesus was a Qada’ (decree) of God. (close)

a. 3:41, 48; 19:22; 51:31. (close)

2166. Important Words:

مقضیا (decreed) is derived from قضی. They say قضی امراً i.e. he decreed or ordained or commanded the thing (Lane). See also 15:67.

Commentary:

The words, It is easy for Me, signify that a most unusual and apparently impossible thing such as to cause a child to be born without the instrumentality of a father is quite easy for God to bring about. The expression, that We may make him a Sign unto men, implies the fatherless birth of Jesus. That birth was indeed a great Sign for the Israelites. It pointed to the impending transition of prophethood from the House of Israel to that of Ishmael. It also constituted a warning to the Israelites in the sense that they had become spiritually so corrupt and morally so degenerate that no male among them was fit enough to become the father of a Prophet of God. So God decreed to bring about Jesus’ birth independently of a father. Jesus had an Israelite mother only and had no father. As the final step in the process of transition, however, the Great and Noble Messenger who was to follow him was to have neither an Israelite father nor an Israelite mother. He was to appear from another people, from among the Ishmaelites, the brethren of the Israelites, in accordance with the Divine promise made to Moses (Deut. 18:‌18). It is in this sense that Jesus has been spoken of as 'a Sign of the Hour' in the Quran (43:62), i.e. a Sign of the time when prophethood was to have passed from the Israelites to the Ishmaelites. See also Introduction to this Surah.

Jesus has also been spoken of 'as a mercy from Us.' He was a mercy from God in the sense that he taught meekness and humility to the Jews who had become hard-hearted and conceited to the core. He was also a mercy in the sense that he came as a forerunner of the Holy Prophet who himself 'was sent as a mercy for all the worlds' (21:108). Again Jesus was a divine mercy inasmuch as he paved the way for the revelation of the Quran which has also been referred to as 'a mercy from the Lord' (29:52; 43:33). But this use of the words, 'That We may make him a Sign unto men and a mercy from Us' should not be understood to entitle Jesus to any special spiritual status. Other persons and prophets of God have also been styled 'as a mercy and a Sign from God' in the Quran (2:260; 7:74; 10:93; 21:108).

The expression, and it is a thing decreed, means that God had decreed that a fatherless son would be born to Mary and that this Divine decree was irrevocable. The Quran has used two words قدر and قضا to express the sense of Divine decree. They are sometimes erroneously taken one for the other. But while قدر means designing or determining, قضی means decreeing. When a scheme or plan is only designed to be put into execution, it is called قدر but when it is decreed by God that it should be carried into actual effect, it is named قضاء. The fatherless birth of Jesus was a قضاء (Divine decree) of God and not a قدر. (close)