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19. PROPHETS’ DU‘Ā (PRAYER) IN THE QUR’ĀN (13) 13. ‘Īsā (Jesus) a.s. The name of Jesus Christ is mentioned in the Qur’ān 59 times: as ‘Īsā 25 times1, as “the Messiah” (al-Masīḥ) his title 11 times2 and as “the son of Mary” (Ibn Maryam) 23 times.3 He was mentioned as “Jesus son of Mary” (‘Īsā ibn Maryam) 13 times4; as “the Messiah the son of Mary” (al-Masīḥ ibn Maryam) 6 times;5 as “the Messiah Jesus son of Mary” (al-Masīḥ ‘Īsā ibn Maryam) 3 times.6 His name is mentioned in 13 sūrahs (chapters) of the Qur’ān. Although no sūrah (chapter) in the Qur’ān bears his name such as sūrat Yunus (Jonah, chapter 10), sūrat Yusuf (Joseph, chapter 12), sūrat Ibrahim (Abraham, chapter 14), two chapters deal briefly with him and his background, namely, sūrat Āl ‘Imrān (the Family of Imran, chapter 3), and sūrat Maryam (Mary, chapter 19). The sūrah which mentions his names most is sūrat al-Mā’idah (the Table Spread, chapter 5). The name is taken from the verse 114 in which Prophet ‘Īsā’s disciples called al-Ḥawāriyyūn asked him to ask Allah to send down to them a table spread with food from heaven. He told them to fear Allah, if they were indeed believers. Allah revealed to the Prophet s.a.w. this incident as follows: لْ َع َلي َنا َْ كْأَنْْي َن ِّز َْ نْ َمر َي َْمْ َهلْْ َيس َتطِ يعْْ َر ُّب َْ ُّونْ َياْعِ ي َسىْاب َْ اري َْ إِذْْ َقا ِ لْال َح َو ْلْمِن َها َْ ْْ َقالواْن ِريدْْأَنْْ َنأك.ِين َْ ّللاْإِنْْكنتمْْمؤ ِمن ََّْ ْلْا َّتقوا َْ ِنْال َّس َما ِْءْ َقا َْ ْ َما ِئ َدةْْم )112:ِينْ(المائدة َْ ِنْال َّشا ِهد َْ ونْ َعلَي َهاْم َْ ص َدق َت َناْ َو َنك َ َْْو َتط َمئِنَّْْقلوب َناْ َو َنعلَ َْمْأَنْْ َقد And (remember) when the disciples said: “O ‘Īsā, son of Maryam! Can your Lord send down to us a table spread 1
See Q. 2:87, 136, 253; 3:45, 52, 55, 59, 84; 4:157, 163, 171; 5:46, 78, 110, 112, 114, 116; 6:85; 19:34; 33:7; 42:13; 43:63; 57:27; 61:6, 14. 2 See Q. 3:45; 4:157, 171, 172; 5:17 (twice), 72 (twice), 75; 9:30, 31. 3 See Q. 2:87, 253; 3:45; 4:157, 171; 5: 17 (twice), 46, 72, 75, 78, 110, 112, 114, 116; 9:31; 19:34; 25:50; 33:7; 43:57; 57:27; 61:6, 14. 4 See Q. 2:87, 253; 5:46, 78, 110, 112, 114, 116; 19:34; 33:7; 57:27; 61:6, 14. 5 See Q. 5:17 (twice), 72 (twice), 75; 9:31. 6 See Q. 3:45; 4:157, 171.
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(with food) from heaven?”ْ‘Īsā said: “Fear Allah, if you are indeed believers.” (Q. 5:112) Instead of ُّك َْ ( َهلْ ْ َيس َتطِ يعْ ْ َربhal yastaṭī‘u rabbuka, “Can your Lord…”) a variant reading reads ك َْ ( َهلْ َْْتس َتطِ يعْ ْ َرَّْبhal tastaṭī‘u rabbaka “Can you (ask) your Lord...)" which was also revealed to the Prophet, and was the reading several outstanding Companions of him, such as ‘Ali, Ibn ‘Abbās, ‘Ā’ishah, and Mu‘ādh ibn Jabal. In this variant reading there is no change in the consonantal skeleton. As both readings are correct, it means that one of ‘Īsā’s disciples asked him: “Can your Lord send down to us a table spread…”, whereas another person asked: “Can you ask your Lord to send down to us a table spread…” We notice here that unlike the followers Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. who never asked any miracle as evidence, it was non-believers who asked it, as well as Prophet ‘Isā’s own disciples who apparently had not yet strong faith in him, or at least to increase their faith. If they really believed that Allah could send down to them a table spread, then will He do it if you asked Him? So, it is here the matter of Allah’s willingness which they doubted, not His ability which they were certain. With regard to the second reading, ‘Īsā’s disciples doubted his willingness to ask Allah to send down to them a table spread. ‘Īsā told them to fear Allah, and not to ask for it, as it might become a trial for them, but trust in Allah for their provisions, if they truly were believers. (They said:) ْ ْْلْمِن َهاْ َو َتط َمئِنَّْْقلوب َناْ َو َنعلَ َْمْأَنْْ َقد َْ َقالواْن ِريدْْأَنْْ َنأك ْْْ)113:ِينْ(المائدة َْ ِنْال َّشا ِهد َْ ونْ َعلَي َهاْم َْ ص َدق َت َناْ َو َنك َ They said: “We wish to eat thereof and to satisfy our hearts (to be stronger in Faith), and to know that you have indeed told us the truth and that we ourselves be its witness.” (Q. 5:133) Then Prophet ‘Īsā a.s. made his prayer: ْ ِْنْال َّس َما ِْءْ َتكونْْلَ َناْعِ يدا َْ لْعِ ي َسىْابنْْ َمر َي َْمْاللَّه َّْمْ َر َّب َناْأَن ِزلْْ َعلَي َناْ َما ِئ َدةْْم َْ َقا )111:ِينْ(المائدة َْ ازق َْ كْ َوارزق َناْ َوأَن َْ ِِلَ َّولِ َناْ َوآخ ِِر َناْ َوآ َيةْْمِن ِ َّتْ َخيرْْالر ‘Isā (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary), said: “O Allah, our
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Lord! Send us from the heaven a table spread (with food) that there may be for us - for the first and the last of us –ْa festival and a sign from You; and provide us with sustenance, for You are the Best sustainers.” (Q. 5:114)7 Allah accepted his prayer with a threat, that if anyone after that disbelieved He would punish him severely He had never punished anyone before. )He said:( ْ ّْْللاْإِ ِّنيْم َن ِّزل َهاْ َع َليكمْْ َف َمنْْ َيكفرْْ َبعدْْمِنكمْْ َفإِ ِّنيْأ َع ِّذبه َّْ ْل َْ َقا ْ )111:ِينْ(المائدة َْ ِنْال َعالَم َْ لْأ َع ِّذبهْْأَ َحداْم ْ َ َْع َذابا Allah said: “I am going to send it down to you, but if any of you after that disbelieves, then I will punish him with a torment such as I have not inflicted on anyone among (all) mankind and jinn (Q. 5:115). Then Allah informed Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. that in the Day of Resurrection Allah would ask ‘Isā a.s., whether he told people to worship him, he and his mother Maryam, as two gods beside Allah. ‘Isā would answer that he never did that, and even if he did it Allah would surely have known it… ‘Isā said only what Allah had ordered him to say, to worship Allah his Lord and the Lord of people… and if Allah punished them they were His slaves, but if He forgave them He was the All-Mighty, the All-Wise (Q. 5:116-118). The worship of Mary, although rejected by the Protestants, was widely practised in the early Churches. One of the main differences between Christianity and Islam is the belief in the crucifixion of ‘Isā a.s. without which Christianity would crumble. For the Christians Jesus died on the cross to redeem 7
According to Muhammad Asad this prayer for heavenly mā’idah (repast, table spread) “might possibly be an echo of the request for daily bread contained in the Lord’s Prayer (cf. Matthew vi, 11), since, in religious terminology, every benefit that accrues to man is “sent down from heaven” – that is, by God – even I f it comes into being through man’s own effort. But … the manner in which the disciples are said to have asked for the “repast” … seems to point to a request for ‘a miracle’ which would assure them of God’s acceptance of their faith.” Asad, Muhammad. The Message of the Qur’ān, p. 168, n. 137.
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the sins of human beings; no crucifixion means no redemption. Islam denied it. The Qur’ān revealed: And because of their saying (in boast), “We killed Messiah ‘Isā (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary), the Messenger of Allah,” – but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but it appeared so to them[the resemblance of ‘Isā (Jesus) was put over another man (and they killed that man)], and those who differ therein are full of doubts. They have no (certain) knowledge, they follow nothing but conjecture. For surely, they killed him not [i.e., ‘Isā (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary)]: But Allah raised him [‘Isā (Jesus)] up (with his body and soul) to Himself (and he is in the heavens). And Allah is Ever All-Powerful, All Wise. (Q. 4:157, 158). This statement of the Qur’ān was confirmed by the Bible discovered in 1911 at Naj’ Hammādi ) (نجع ْحماديin the highlands of Egypt and its texts were distributed by UNESCO in 1975 which runs as follows: It was another person who drank the bitterness and vinegar, and not I. And it was another (Simon Peter) who carried the cross on his shoulders; 8 and it was yet another who placed a crown of thorns upon his head.9 Meanwhile, I [Jesus] was above, laughing at their ignorance. Some early Christian sects did not believe that Jesus was killed on the cross, such as the Basilidans who believed that someone else was substituted for him. This view was supported by the Gospel of Barnabas. This was also the view of some classical Qur’ān commentators, such as Ibn Kathīr who said that on that Friday evening he and his twelve, thirteen, or seventeen of his companions were in the house when it was surrounded by the soldiers who wanted to arrest him, to crucify him, and made him wear a crown of thorn. He said to his companions: “Who volunteers to be made to 8
According to John 19:17 it was Jesus who carried his own cross. According to John 19:2 it was the soldiers who put a crown of thorn on his head. 9
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look like me, for which he will be my companion in Paradise?” A young man volunteered, but ‘Isa thought he was too young. He asked the question again and again, and the young man kept telling him he was ready to volunteer. ‘Īsā agreed, and Allah made the young man look exactly like ‘Īsā. A hole opened in the roof of the house, and ‘Īsā was made to sleep and ascended to heaven. His companions in the house saw him ascending to heaven. Then they went out of the house, and the young man who look like ‘Īsā was arrested and crucified.10 Allah talked about this in another verse, as follows: )11:(آلْعمران...َّْْكْإِلَي َْ كْ َو َرافِع َْ ّللاْ َياْعِ ي َسىْإِ ِّنيْم َت َْو ِّفي َّْ ْل َْ إِذْْ َقا ْAnd (remember) when Allah said: “O ‘Īsā! I will take you and raise you to Myself…” (Q. 3:55) The meaning of يك َْ م َت َو ِّفaccording to Muhammad Asad, “I shall cause thee to die”, according to A.Y. Ali, “I will take you,” according to M. Pickthall, “I am gathering thee.” The Arab expression َت َو َّفاه ّْللا means “Allah has taken him unto Him.” The term could mean “sleep” as well as “death.” The English proverb says” “Sleep is the twinbrother of death.” Allah said, 10
The Gospel of Barnabas stated that instead of Jesus the soldiers mistakenly arrested Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve ‘Īsā’s disciples who betrayed him, as Judas's appearance was transformed to that of Jesus'. According to Biblical accounts Judas died in many different ways: a. Judas returned the money to the priests and committed suicide by hanging himself (Matthew 27:3–10). b. “…Judas bought a field: there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out.” (Acts 1:18). c. Papias, the early Christian leader: “Judas walked about in this world a sad example of impiety; for his body having swollen to such an extent that he could not pass where a chariot could pass easily, he was crushed by the chariot, so that his bowels gushed out.” (Papias Fragment 3, 1742-1744). Due to this discrepancy, C. S. Lewis rejected the view that every account in the Scripture has to be historical truth. “The Gospel of Judas” discovered near Beni Masah, Egypt, during the 1970s, described the story of Jesus's death from the viewpoint of Judas. An article entitled “The Gospel of Judas” in the US National Geographic Magazine (May edition, 2006), stated in its introduction, “"An ancient text lost for 1,700 years says Christ's betrayer was his truest disciple".
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ْضى َْ سْح َْ ّللاْ َي َت َو َّفىْاِلَنف َّْ َ ِينْ َمو ِت َهاْ َوالَّتِيْلَمْْ َتمتْْفِيْ َم َنا ِم َهاْ َفيمسِ كْْالَّتِيْ َق )12:ْ(الزمر...ْْتْ َويرسِ لْْاِلخ َرىْإِ َلىْأَ َجلْْم َسمّى َْ َع َلي َهاْال َمو It is Allah Who takes away the souls at the time of their death, and those that die not during their sleep. He keeps those (souls) for which He has ordained death and sends the rest for a term appointed…ْ(Q. 39:42). By studying the above verse Prof. Arthur Allison, President of British Society for Psychological and Spiritual Studies reverted to Islam before the Rector of al-Azhar at that time, Shaykh Jād al-Ḥaqq, the Minister of Awqāf of Egypt, and changed his name from “Arthur” to “Abdullah.” In other words, when we sleep Allah takes our souls to Him, and return them back to our bodies when we are awake. But when we die, Allah keeps our souls with Him. Therefore, the verse mentioned above does not support the idea that Jesus died on the cross, then Allah sent him to heaven, as claimed by the Christians. The history Prophet ‘Īsā (Jesus) a.s. is shrouded by mystery from his birth to his ascension to heaven. The Injīl believed by Muslims as the revelation from Allah to him, is not the New Testament we are having now, which was “written” much later by people (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) who had never seen him. )CIVIC, 28 November, 2014) : المراجع المكتبةْالشاملة (ْهـ310ْ.تفسيرْالطبريْ(ت (ْهـ671ْ.تفسيرْالقرطبىْ(ت (ْهـ771ْ.تفسيرْابنْكثيرْ(ت ْ .ْْمفرداتْألفاظْالقرآن.ْ)ْهـ112ْ.الراغبْاإلصفهانيْ(ت Abu Khalil, Dr. Shauqi . Atlas of the Qur’ān. Riyadh, Darussalam, 2003 Ali, A.Yusuf. The Meanings of the Holy Qur’ān Asad, Muhammad. The Message of the Qur’ān. Holy Bible: New International Version, 1973 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judas_Iscariot