June 5th: Prophet Jesus

Prophet Jesus
(please excuse any typos)

- Aya: “Indeed Allah chose Adam and Noah, the family Ibrahim, and the family of Imran above the worlds.”
- The family of Imran is from the descendants of Prophet Ibrahim, and Prophet Ibrahim is a descendant of Prophet Noah, and Prophet Noah is a descendant of Prophet Adam.
- Aya: “When the wife of Imran said: ‘My Lord! I have dedicated to You what is in my womb as a gift, so please accept this from me, indeed, You are the All-Hearing, All-Knowing’“
- Imran is the father of Mary.
- The family of Imran is from prophet David’s progeny.
- Imran and Hannah (the mother of Mary) were pious and righteous people.
- Zakariya was the prophet of that time and he was also married to Mary’s sister.
- Mary’s mother could not have children. One day she watched a bird feeing its young ones, so she desired a baby, and made a vow that if she had a son, she will dedicate him in the service of Allah and he would live in al-Masjid al-Aqsa.
- It was a custom at that time for men and boys to serve in the masjid. It was an honor for them.
- When she delivered it was a girl, she remembered her vow to Allah and said in disappointment:
- Aya: “My Lord! I have delivered a female, and Allah knows best what she delivered, and the male is not like the female, and I have named her Mary, and commend her and her offspring to your protection from Satan the outcast’” (3:33-36)
- Hadith: “No baby is born except that it is touched/stabbed by Satan at the time of its birth, and it comes out screaming from the touch of Satan, except Mary and her son Jesus”
- This is because her mother made dua that Allah would protect Mary and her progeny from Satan.
- Aya: “So her Lord accepted her with gracious acceptance, and made her grow in purity and beauty, and entrusted her to the care of Zakariya”
- When Hannah to her daughter to the masjid, she needed to entrust her in someone’s care.
- The men who served the masjid disputed over who would have this great honor. They agreed to cast lots among each other and Zakariya was chosen 3 times. (they were allowed to cast lots, we don’t need to do that as Muslims because Allah has replaced it with salat al-istikharah)
- Aya: “This is form the tidings of the Unseen which We reveal to you, and you were not with them when they case their lots with their pens, to decide which of them should be the guardian of May, and you were not with them when they disputed (with one another)” (3:44)
- They collected their pens and put them in a particular place, then they sent a child to go and bring one of them and the pen the boy brought was that of Zakariya.
- Aya: “Whenever Zakariya entered the chamber, he found her provided with sustenance. He said: ‘O Mary! Where did you get this from?’ She replied: ‘It is from Allah, surely, Allah bestows sustenance upon whom He pleases without measure’” (3:37)
- Zakariya built a separate room for Mary inside the masjid, which was forbidden for anyone else except her.
- She worshipped Allah day and night in her solitude, and looked after the masjid whenever it was her turn to look after it.
- Her piety became so known that people used her an example.
- Whenever Prophet Zakariya entered her chamber to see after her needs, he found special fresh fruits that were out of season.
- That is when Prophet Zakariya made dua to Allah to be blessed with a righteous child and Allah answered his dua immediately.

Allah chooses Mary out of all women:
- Aya: “When the angels said: ‘O Mary! Allah has chosen you and purified you, chosen you above the women of the worlds, O Mary! Pray to your Lord devoutly, and prostrate yourself, and bow down with those who bow down’” (:42-43)
- Allah tells us in the Quran that the angels came to Mary and gave her the glad tidings of being chosen by Allah from among all women of her time. It was about her being chosen for a very special purpose.
- Hadith: “The best women of the world are four: Mary the daughter of Imran, Asiyah the wife of Pharaoh, Khadjiah the daughter of Khuwaylid, and Fatimah the daughter of Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah” (ahmad, tirmithi)
- Aya: “When the angels said: ‘O Mary! Allah gives you glad tidings of a Word from Him, his name is the Messiah Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honor in this world and in the Hereafter, and of those nearest to Allah. He shall speak to the people when in the cradle and in manhood, and he shall be from the righteous.’”
- The angel informed her about the miraculous birth she will be giving, a baby born without a father.
- A baby who will speak in his infancy, calling people to the way of Allah.
- She was then asked to intensify her devotion and worship, as to pay her gratitude to Allah for this great miracle.
- Mary would go out from the masjid to get water or food. One day she went out for some of her needs, as she went further Garbiel appeared in front of her in the guise of a man.
- She was frightened to see him and said: “I seek refuge in the Most Gracious from you, if you fear Him”
- Gabriel comforted her not get frightened of him, as he was not an ordinary man, but he was Gabriel, the messenger of her Lord, and sent by Him. He told her that was to conceive a boy.
- Aya: “She said: ‘My Lord! How can I have a son when no man has touched me?’ He said (the angel): ‘Even so, Allah created what He pleases. When He decrees a matter, He says to it: Be.– and it is. And He will teach him the Book and the wisdom, and the Torah and the Gospel’” (3:47-48)
- She was thinking logically as a human being, how could I conceive without being with a man?
- However, the angel reminded her that Allah can do whatever He wills.
- Allah created Adam without a father or mother.
- Allah created eve from the rib of Adam, from a man without a mother.
- And now Allah was creating Jesus from a woman without a father.
- Aya: “And we shall make a him a sign to people, and a mercy from Us, and it is a matter which has been decreed” (12:21)
- Aya: “And Mary the daughter of Imran, who guarded her chastity, so We breathed into her through Our Spirit (The angel Gabriel)” (66:12)

The birth of Jesus the son of Mary:
- This was a great test for Mary because her piety and righteousness was known to every one, and she was aware of the fact that people would raise the finger of blame and slander her.
- Joseph the carpenter (Mary’s cousin) was astonished to find out that Mary is pregnant even though he knew her well and knew that she was pious. One day he said to her: “O Mary! Will a plant grow without a seed?” She replied: “Yes, who has created the first plant?”. Then he said: “Will a child be born without a man?”. She said: “Yes, Allah has created Adam with no man and woman”. He said: “Then tell me about yourself”. She said: “Allah has given me glad tidings of a Word from him, his name is Messiah Jesus the son of Mary, held in honor in the world and in the Hereafter, and of those nearest to Allah. He shall speak to people when in the cradle and in manhood, and shall be from the righteous”
- Mary went to see her sister one day, and her sister said to her: “I feel that I am pregnant”. Mary said: “And I feel as well that I am pregnant”. So both hugged each other. Then her sister said: “I feel that what is in my womb bows down to what is in yours” (referring to Yahya and Jesus).
- Yahya and Jesus were cousins and they were conceived at the same time.
- May was pregnant for 9 months.
- The news of her pregnancy spread far and wife, and some people slandered her of being pregnant from Joseph the carpenter
- Mary went to a far place and isolated herself from people.
- She cried of her pain and mental stress, she said: “Would that I had died before this, and become a thing forgotten!” (19:23)
- People didn’t believe her story, she was stressed and wished for her death.
- Aya: “But a voice cried to her from beneath” (19:24)
- Who’s voice was this? Some say it was Jesus and some say it was Gabriel.
- Aya: “But a voice cried to her from beneath: ‘Grieve not, your Lord has provided you a spring beneath you. And shake towards you the trunk of the palm-tree, and it will drop on you fresh ripe dates. So eat and drink, and be comforted, and if you see any human, say: “I have vowed a fast to the Most Gracious, and today I shell speak to no human”
- She was told to eat and drink and be comforted, and if someone spoke to her she should indicate that she was fasting. (in their shariah, fasting consisted of refraining from food and drink as well as speech)
- She came back to her people with jesus in her arms. “O Mary! Truly, a strange thing you have brought!” (19:27)
- She pointed to the baby to speak and respond to people.
- They said: “What! Are you telling us to speak to this suckling baby to tell us the truth about you? Do you think of us as mad people?” (19:29)
- When they were still arguing with her about the child, and thinking of it as a joke, the baby spoke to them miraculously.
- Aya: “I am indeed a slave of Allah; He has given me the Book and made me a Prophet, and He has made me blessed wherever I may be, and He has enjoined upon me prayers, and to pay the alms, as long as I live, and (He has made me) kind to my mother, and He has not made me insolent unblessed. And peace be upon me, the day I was born, and the day I die, and on the day I shall be raised to life’” (19:30-33)
- This was the first speech Jesus ever spoke. The first thing he said was that he is a “slave of Allah”.
- This is the only true story of the birth of Jesus, we refute the claims done by Christians and Jews.
- Aya: “Such is Jesus son of Mary, this is a statement of Truth about which they dispute. It is not befitting to (the majesty of) Allah that He should beget a son, Glory be to Him! When He decrees a matter, He only says to it: Be! And it is” (19:34-35)
- After this the jewish community was divided into 3 groups:
1) Jews who said Jesus was a child born out of wedlock
2) Jews who said that Jesus was the son of Allah
3) Jews who believed in the true message
- The Prophet described him to be of moderate height, and to be red faced.

Does God need a son?
- Aya: “O people of earlier Scripture! Do not go to extremes in your religion, nor say of Allah anything but the truth, most surely, Jesus the son of Mary was no more than a Messenger of Allah, and His word which He bestowed on mary, and a spirit created by Him. So believe in Allah and His Messengers, and do not say: ‘trinity’, desist, it is better for you, most surely Allah is One God, glory be to Him! High Exalted is he above having a son. What is in the heavens and on the earth belongs to Allah, and Allah suffices as a Trustee” (4:171)
- Aya: “Indeed they have disbelieved who say: ‘Allah is the Christ, the son of Mary’. Say: ‘Who has the power to prevent Allah if He chose to destroy Christ, the son of Mary, and his mother, and all the dwellers of the earth? And to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens, the earth, and what is between them. Allah created what He pleases, and Allah has power over all things’” (5:17)
- Aya: “Most certainly they have disbelieved who say: ‘Allah is the Christ, the son of Mary’, but the Christ said: ‘O children of Israel! Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord, whoever ascribes partners with Allah, Allah will forbid him the Garden, and the Fire will be his abode, and wrongdoers will have no protectors.’ Most certainly they have disbelieved who say: ‘Allah is one of Three’/ for there is no God but one God, and if they do not desist from what they say, surely, a painful chastisement shall befall the disbelievers among them” (5:17)
- Aya: “Will they not repent to Allah and seek His forgiveness? And Allah is All-forgiving, all-Merciful. Most surely Christ, the son of mary was no more than a messenger, many were the messengers that have passed away before him, his mother was a woman of truth, they both are food. See how we make Our signs clear to them, and yet see how they are deluded away from the truth” (5:74-75)
- Aya: “And when Allah will say: ‘O Jesus! Son of Mary, did you say to the people: take me and me mother as gods besides Allah?’ He will reply: ‘Glory be to You! It is not fitting for me to say that which I have no right to say. Had I said it You most surely would have known it, for You know what is in my inner self, and I do not know what is in Yours. Indeed, You are the all-knowing of the unseen. I did not say to them anything except what You commanded me to say, that: ‘Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord’. And I was a witness over them while I lived among them. But when You took me up, You were the Watcher over them, and You are the Witness over all things. If You chastise them, they are Your slaves, and if You forgive them, indeed, You are the all-might, all-Wise” (5: 116-118)
- This conversation will take place on the Day of Judgment.
- Hadith: “No one is more tolerant with an insult which he hears, then Allah. They ascribe to Him a son, while He provides them with their provision and healing” (bukhari and muslim)

Miracles of Jesus:
- Some of his miracles:
1) He was begotten without a father
2) His spirit was breathed into the womb directly by Gabriel
3) He spoke to people in his infancy
4) He was given revelation and wisdom
The Gospel was given to Jesus when he was 30 years old, and he lived till he was taken up to the heaven at age 33.
5) He would create out of clay a figure of a bird, then breathe into it and it would become a real bird.
6) He would cure the ill. Curing the blind and people who had leprosy.
7) He would bring the dead back to life.
8)He walked on water.
- The miracle of every Prophet was in conformity with what their people of that time excelled in. In the time of Jesus, people excelled in medicine.
- Most people did not follow him, they rebelled against him and rejected him.
- A small group responded to his call and became his followers.
- Some of the Israelites viciously opposed him and plotted to kill him.

Prophecies of Jesus about our Prophet:
- Jesus was the last of Israelite Prophets. He told them of the coming of the last of all Prophets, after whom the Prophethood would be sealed.
- Aya: “And when Jesus, son of Mary said: ‘O children of Israel! Surely, I am the Messenger of Allah to you, verifying that which was revealed before me in the Torah, and giving glad tidings of a Messenger who shall come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad’. (61:6)



The Story of the Ma’idah:
- Prophet Jesus commanded his disciples to fast for 30 days. When they finished their fasting they asked Jesus to bring a table spread with food from heaven, so they may eat of it, and know that Allah has accepted their fasting.
- Jesus admonished them for their demand and feared that they might not show their gratitude or fulfill its conditions. But they persisted in their demand
- Jesus prayed to Allah to send a table spread with food for them from heaven.
- So Allah sent it down, and people watched descend from the sky.
- Jesus watched it coming and kept praying to Allah that He may make it a mercy and blessing of Him, and nor a punishment for them.
- It slowly came down, and was covered till it landed in front of Jesus.
- He uncovered the table, saying: “In the name of Allah, who is the best of providers”
- The table had fish, bread, and fruits.
- Jesus asked them to eat, but they refused to eat until he ate. So he fed the poor first.
- The table would come down everyday and everyone would eat from it. It was eventually restricted only to the poor. When the people complained and spoke against Jesus, Allah transformed them into pigs.
- Aya: “Allah said: ‘I will send it down to you, but if any of you disbelieves thereafter, I will chastise him with a chastisement with which I have chastised no one among all the people”



Elevation:
- Aya: “And when they (the disbelievers) plotted (to kill Jesus), Allah planned too. And Allah is the Best of those who plot. And when Allah said: ‘O Jesus I will take you and lift you up to Me, and purify you of those who disbelieve, and I will make those who followed you above those who disbelieved.”
- Aya: “And for their saying (in boast): ‘We killed the Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah’: but they killed him not nor crucified him. Only a likeness of that was shown to them.”
- The jews plotted to kill Jesus
- Jesus came to his companions, they were 12 people from among his disciples.
- He said to them: “There are those among you who will disbelieve in me after he has believed in me”
- Then he said: “Who from among you will take my likeness and be killed in my place, so will reach a high rank?”
- A youth came forward, but Jesus said to him “sit down”. He repeated the same question and the same youth stood up and came forward, and said: “I”. Jesus said: “you are the one”.
- And then he was made to look like Jesus. And Jesus was elevated up to the heaven.
- The jews came looking for him. They took the youth and killed him and then crucified him.
- After this many of believers disbelieved and many of them claimed that it was Allah who was amongst them and that he left the earth.
- Mary lived for 5 years after Jesus was elevated. She died at the age of 53.
- Prophet Jesus will return to earth before the day of judgment. He will kill the swine and break the cross.
- Aya: “And there is none of the people of the Book, but will believe in him before his death, and on the day of judgment, he will be a witness against them”
- Between Prophet Jesus and Prophet Muhammad is 600 years.