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11. The Prophet 'Isa ibn
Maryam
The story of a miracle:
The Prophet 'Isa was the last of the Messengers before the Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. His is a story which reveals the conquering Will of Allah, His absolute Power and His fine Wisdom Everything about 'Isa is a miracle. His birth was such a miracle that it is hard to believe in. People who reject Allah believe only in what they can see for themselves. They are ignorant of the Power of Allah which controls all things, and of the Will of Allah which cannot be resisted. His command when He wills something is that He says, 'Be!' and it is. (36: 82)
However, the birth of 'Isa is accepted easily by those who believe in Allah as a powerful, transforming God, a Creator and a Maker. He is Allah, the Creator, the Maker, the Fashioner. He has the most beautiful names. All that is in the heavens and the earth gloriles Him. He is the Mighty, the Wise (59:24)
Such people believe that Adam was created from water and clay without a mother or father. To believe in a birth by a mother without a father is easier than to believe in a birth without a mother or a father. That is why Allah said: The similitude of Jesus before God is as that of Adam. He created him from earth and then said to him, Be!' and he was. (3:59)
Everything about 'Isa was extraordinary:
Everything related to the Prophet 'Isa was extraordinary. He was born at a time when Greece had made its greatest advances in rational sciences, mathematics and medicine
The Jews followed a worldly point of view:
The Jews, though a community who had given many Prophets, at this time rejected the Spirit of God and anything connected to it. They found a worldly explanation for everything. The miracles which Allah bestowed on the Prophet 'Isa were designed to cure that narrow, worldly point of view. It was what was needed in that age.
As a community, the Jews depended only on what they themselves witnessed. They had a great veneration for race and blood, and a love of money and property. They were completely engrossed in this life. Their hearts became hard, and their natures became course. They were not kind to the weak nor gentle lowards the poor. They treated people who had no Israelite blood in their veins as worthless. They were humble towards the strong and rich, and tyrannical towards the poor and weak. They were harsh when they had power and yielding when they were without power. Hypocrisy and servility, trickery and cun-ning, and resorting to conspiracy and secretiveness were engendered in them by a life of abasement and servitude which they had long endured in Syria and Palestine under Roman rule.
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Scorn and disobedience:
Over the ages, the Jews' scorn for the Prophets had increased. So too, in their community, had murder, dealings with usury, joking about religious teachings, and lack of compassion. The hearts of many of them were stripped of sincere love of Allah. They forgot about charity equality, piety and generosity. They had once believed in Prophethood and the Message, and there had been many Prophets among them and their books were filled with reports about them. But, in the end, they only believed in what suited their purpose. They opposed those who criticized them, called them to account and called them to true religion, and even made war on them.
Allah's blessing to the Israelites:
At one time the Jews had been a nation apart from other nations by their belief in the Divine Unity. That is why they were preferred over other people at that time. Allah the Exalted says: O Children of Israel, remember My blessing to you which I bestowed on you and that ! preferred you over all the worlds. (2:47)
Ingratitude:
Because they mixed with idol-worshipping people, gradually the Jews failed to honour the teachings of the Prophets. They began to adopt spurious liets and ignor ant customs. They had worshipped the Calf after their escape from Egypt, and they developed a great veneration for 'Uzayr, even claiming that he was more than human.
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Their insolence led them to ascribe idol-worship, magic and unbelief and ugly deeds to certain Prophets. They did not lear Allah any more.
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Pride and conceit:
In spite of all these faults, the Jews took great pride in their lineage and gave great weight to their hopes and dreams. They said: 'We are the sons and beloved of Allah." (5: 18) And they said: The Fire will only touch us for a certain number of days.' (2: 80)
The birth of the Messiah challenges the ordinary senses:
The birth, life, and message of the Messiah challenged the Jews' perception, custom and law. It also challenged the highest ideals in which they believed and the ends for which they competed and fought. The Messiah was born in a most unusual way. He spoke to people while he was still in the cradle and grew up in the care of a poor, chaste mother. He lived in a climate of slander and hostility, far from the trapping of prestige and wealth. He sat with poor people, ate with them and was kind to them. He comforted the weak and the stranger. He treated equally the rich and the poor, the judge and the judged, and the high-born and the lowly.
The miracles of the Messiah:
Allah granted the Messiah Prophethood and revelation. He gave him the Gospel and supported him with the Holy Spirit and wonderful miracles. Allah gave him healing for the sick whom the doctors had failed to cure. He healed people who had been blind from birth, and the lepers, and brought the dead to life by the permission of Allah. He shaped clay into something like the form of a bird, and then breathed into it and it became a bird by the permission of Allah. He told people what they had eaten and what they had stored up in their houses.
All of this restored trust and belief in the miracles of the Messengers and the reports of divine power contained in the Torah. But those who rejected the reality of Divine Power and the force of the Will of the Lord rose up. They declared that there could be nothing new and nothing beyond the worldly knowledge they already possessed
'Isa's call to true religion and the Jews' rejection of him:
'Isa uncovered the lies of the Jews in many of the matters that they had dreamed up and practised. They made unlawful what Allah had made lawful and law fulwhat Allah had made unlawful. 'Isa began to call them to the spirit and heart of true religion, to its basis and inward reality, to the love of Allah which comes before every other love, to mercy and respect for mankind, and to charity towards the poor. He called them to pure belief in God and dismissed all the ignorant customs and false beliefs which had crept into the religion of the Prophets.
The Jews oppose 'Isa:
Isa's teaching proved unbearable to the Jews. They became hostile to him. They poured blame on him, and taunted him with suspicions and slander. They used curses and foul words against him. They slandered his mother, Maryam the Virgin. They attacked him, aroused the rabble against him and ridiculed his teachings.
The story of 'Isa in the Qur'an:
Then the Jews sought to kill 'Isa and be rid of him, but Allah protected him and turned their plots back against
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has to them. He raised him to Himself and honoured him. Read the story in the Qur'an:
When the angels said: Maryam! Allah gives you the good news of a word from Him. His name is Messiah, "Isa the son of Maryam, noteworthy in this world and in the Hereafter, one of those brought near. He will speak to people in the cradle and when he is an adult. He is one of the righteous.
She said: My Lord! How can I have a son when No man touched me?' He said: 'lust like that Allah creates whatever He wills. When He decrees something, He only says to it, "Be!" and it is. He will teach him the Book, the Wisdom, the Torah and the Gospel, and he will be a Messenger to the Children of Israel."
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I have brought you a sign from your Lord I will form for you out of clay something similar to the form of a bird and I will breathe into it and it will become a bird by Allah's permission. I will heal the blind from birth and the leper and I will bring the dead back life by the permission of Allah and tell you what you eat and what you store up in your houses. There is a sign for you in that if you are believers. I conim what is before me of the Torah and to make lawful for you some of what was unlawful for you. I have brought you a sign from your Lord. So fear Allah and obey me. Allah isi
is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. This is a straight path.
When Isa sensed rejection in them, he said: Who are my helpers to Allah?" The disciples said: 'We are the helpers of Allah. We believe in Allah. We testify that we are those who submit (to Him). Our Lord, we believe in what you have sent down. We follow the Messenger, so write us down among the witnesses! (Those who rejected) plotted and Allah plotted. Allah is the best of plotters.
Travel and call:
'Isa spent most of his time travelling from place to place teaching about the One God. He called the Israelites to Allah and guided those among them who were astray to their Lord and Master. In his travels he met with both Buse and hardship. He endured all this with patience and accepted it in gratitude. He endured hunger and was content with just enough food to keep body and soul
together.
The disciples ask for a table from heaven:
The disciples did not have the same degree of patience that 'Isa had, not his steadfastness, discipline and self-control. They were afflicted by the continual hardship and wanted 'Isa to ask Allah to send down a table from heaven for them, from which they could eat and be filled after their hunger, and have comfort after their difficulties.
Improper manners:.
But the disciples did not behave correctly when making their request. They said: 'Is it possible for your Lord to send down on us a Table from out of heaven!" (5: 112) Isa did not like their request or the manner in which they presented it to him. The Prophets ask their communities to believe in the Unseen, and make it obligatory for them to do so. Miracles are not games to amuse children and divert the gullible. They are signs from Allah which He manifests at the hands of His Prophets whenever He likes. Through them the proof of Allah is established against His slaves. They are not given any reprieve after these miracles appear and are rejected.
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Warning his people about a bad punishment:
'Isa was afraid for the disciples because of their request for a table from heaven. He warned them about incurring an evil punishment. He forbade them to put Allah to the test. He is loo High and Majestic for that.
Insistence and earnest request:
But the disciples repeated their request. They explained that they did not intend to test Allah, rather they wanted to put their hearts at ease. They intended it to be a reminder to future generations and a story to be told and reported for years to come. It would be a proof of the truth of the religion and of the situation of the first believers and truthful disciples
The Qur'an relates the story:
The Qur'an recounts this story thus:
When the disciples said: 'O 'Isa son of Maryam, is it possible for your Lord to send down on us a Table from out of heaven?' He said: 'Fear Allah, if you are believers. They said: 'We want to eat from it and for our hearts to be at rest, and that we may know that you have spoken the truth to us, and that we may be among the witnesses to that.' 'Isa the son of Maryam said: O Allah, our Lord, send down on us a Table from out of heaven to be a festival for us, for the first of us and the last of us, and a sign from You. Provide for us. You are the best of providers.' Allah said: " will send it down on you. Whoever of you disbelieves afterwards, I will punish him with such a punishment that I will not punish any other being.
The Jews try to get rid of the Prophet 'Isa:
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The patience of the Jews ran out as their enmity and obstinacy increased. They wanted to be rid of 'Isa. They took his case to the Roman governor, Saying: 'He is an anarchist, a revolutionary who has renounced our religion. I le seduces our young men so they are led astray by him. He divides us, calls our dreams foolish and worries us.
The style of avengers and politicians:
The Jews said of 'Isa: 'He is a danger to the state. He does not submit to the government or obey the law. He does not respect the great nor revere the ancient. He is a revolutionary. If his evil is not contained, things will reach a crisis. Do not ignore a spark, no matter how trifling.
Deceit and cunning:
The Jews' words were full of deceit and cunning. They knew that mention of 'Isa's activities would not influence the governors nor provoke them, as their policy was not to meddle in the religious affairs of the Jews. That is why the Jews accused Isa of being involved in politics,
A problem:
It was difficult for the Roman, idol-worshipping governors to decide on the truth of the matter and to recognize the motives of the Jews, and the reason for their enmity towards the Messiah. They were distracted from this question by administrative matters. But the Jews were very insistent and kept coming back to them. The Roman
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governors wanted to be finished with this case which had become the talk of the town.
The Prophet 'Isa in court:
It was a Friday afternoon, before the night of the Sabbath. The Jews did not do anything on the Sabbath. It was a day of rest. They were very eager for the governors' judgement against 'Isa to be given before the sun set on Friday. Then they could go to sleep with peace of mind They would be able to relax in the morning, with nothing to annoy them.
The judge was bored with the case. He had no interest in it nor did it contain any benefit for the Romans The Jews gathered to hear the sentence. Time was short, the sun was nearly setting. The judge gave judgement against 'Isa, that he should be put to death by crucifixion
The law at that time;
The law at that time demanded that the condemned man be made to carry the cross on which he was to be crucified. The place of execution was a long way off. A crowd gathered, pushing against each other. The soldiers had no interest in the case. The Israelites all looked alike to them, they could not distinguish one from the other. It was evening and the shadows had lengthened. Some of the Jews and zealous fools among the young men were making fun of the Messiah. They were pushing him, cursing him, insulting him, keen to injure and humiliate him.
'Isa endures the injury:
The Messiah was weary, exhausted by the effort and the length of time he had to stand in the court and
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