Topic: Birth Of

19:20.

3:40; 4:172.

Important Words:

کلمة (word) means, a word; an expression; a proposition; a sentence; a saying; an argument; an assertion; an expression of opinion (Lane); a decree; a commandment (Mufradat). See also 2:38.

المسیح (Messiah) is derived from مسح. They say مسح الشیء i.e. he wiped off the dirt from the thing with his hand; or he passed his hand over it. مسح الشیء بالماء means he passed his hand, wetted with water, over the thing. مسحه means he anointed him or it with oil. مسح فی الارض means, he set forth journeying through the land. مسح البیت means, he compassed or went round the House of God. مسحه بالسیف means, he struck him with the sword and killed him. مسحه الله means, God created him blessed and goodly; and contrarily, God created him accursed and foul. مسیح therefore, means: (1) one anointed, i.e. wiped over with some such thing as oil; (2) a king; (3) one beautiful in the face; (4) one who journeys or travels much; (5) one very truthful; (6) one erring greatly; (7) one created blessed and goodly; (8) one created accursed and foul (Lane). المسیح الدجال means, Antichrist; one erring greatly and created accursed and foul; one travelling much, spreading false ideas. المسیح is the Arabic form of Messiah which represents the Hebrew Mashiah, i.e. anointed one (Enc. Bib. and Enc. of Rel. & Eth.)

عیسی (Jesus) is probably a Hebrew name in which it has the form الیسوع or یسوع from which the inverted Arabic form is عیسی. In Arabic, the word may be considered to have been derived from the root عیس or عوس. The word العیس means, white camels, the whiteness of whose hair is mixed with a dark shade, and these are looked upon as particularly good animals. عاس الرجل ماله means, the man managed his property well. عاس معیشته means, he improved and bettered his life (Aqrab & Lisan). Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua and Jeshua (Enc. Bib.)

ابن مریم (Son of Mary) is a surname of Jesus known in Arabic as Kunyah. Jesus has been called Ibn Maryam probably because, being born without the agency of a male parent, he could not but be known after his mother. For the word Mary see 3:43.

Commentary:

The word کلمة (word) as used in this verse requires some explanation, particularly because it has been quoted by Christian missionaries in support of the ridiculous allegation that by using it the Quran has recognized the sonship of Jesus. The occasion on which the verse was revealed would throw some light on the significance of the word.

The first 83 verses of this Surah were revealed when the Christian deputation from Najran visited Medina and had a discussion with the Holy Prophet about the status and personality of Jesus. Being silenced on other points, they asked the Holy Prophet whether the word Kalimah had been used in the Quran concerning Jesus, and, receiving a reply in the affirmative, they triumphantly shouted that they had won and rose to depart without waiting for the explanation of this much misunderstood word. The occasion and circumstances of the revelation of the relevant verses show that they were revealed not in support, but in refutation and repudiation, of the Christian doctrine of the divinity of Jesus. The words کلمة (word) and روح (mercy) occurring together in 4:172 make it clear beyond the shadow of a doubt that they have been used to destroy and repudiate the doctrine of the divinity and sonship of Jesus rather than establish it. The full verse referred to above runs as follows: O People of the Book, exceed not the limits in your religion, and say not of Allah anything but the truth. Verily the Messiah Jesus, Son of Mary, was only a Messenger of God and a fulfilment of His word (کلمة) which He sent down to Mary and mercy (روح) from Him. So believe in Allah and His Messengers and say not, 'They are three. Desist, it will be better for you; verily Allah is the only one God. Far is it from His holiness that He should have a son. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth, and sufficient is Allah as a guardian. The words speak for themselves.

Curiously enough, some Christian writers have asserted that the Holy Prophet did not understand the real significance of the word Kalimah. The word is Arabic; and to say that an Arab of the Holy Prophet’s knowledge and intelligence did not know its meaning or significance is simply absurd. It is a fact that neither the Holy Prophet nor any of his followers ever attached to this word any extraordinary significance which might exalt Jesus over the rest of humanity. Large numbers of Christians have accepted Islam in the past. While studying the Quran, they must have come across this word several times but none of them ever took it in the sense in which our Christian critics pretend to take it, and none of them ever believed in the godhood of Jesus on account of this expression having been used in the Quran.

The great lexicographers, the author of Tajul-‘Urus, says that Jesus has been called Kalimatullah because his words were helpful to the cause of religion. Just as a person who helps the cause of religion by his valour is called Saifullah (the Sword of God) or Asadullah (the Lion of God), so is the expression Kalimatullah. According to the same authority, Jesus was called Kalimatullah also because his birth did not take place through the agency of a male parent, but by the direct "command" of God (19:21, 22).

Besides the literal meanings given above, the Quran has used this word in the following senses: (1) "a sign" as in 66:13 and 8:8; (2) "punishment" as in 10:97; (3) "plan" or "design" as in 9:40; (4) "glad tidings" as in 7:138; (5) "creation of God" as in 31:28 and 18:110; (6) "a mere word of mouth" or "a mere assertion" as in 23:101.

Taken in any of the above senses, the word کلمة (Kalimah) in no way gives to Jesus a status higher than that of other Prophets.

Again, if Jesus has been called Kalimah (word) in the Quran, the Holy Prophet has been called Dhikr, i.e. a book or a good speech (65:11, 12), which evidently consists of many Kalimat (words). In fact, if Kalimatullah is taken in the sense of "word of God," the utmost we can say is that God expressed Himself through Jesus just as He expressed Himself through other Prophets. Words are nothing but a vehicle for the expression of thoughts. They do not form part of our being nor do they become incarnated.

The personal pronoun in the expression اسمه (his name) occurring in the verse, being in the masculine gender, evidently cannot refer to Kalimah, which is in the feminine gender. It can only refer to the person about whom the glad tidings was given. The relevant clause of the verse may, therefore, also be rendered as, "O Mary, Allah gives thee glad tidings with a word, (i.e. by means of revelation) from Him; his, (i.e. the promised one’s) name shall be the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary."

Jesus has been called Masih (Messiah) in this verse and the word Masih, as given under Important Words above, means one who travels much. Jesus was given this name because he was to travel much. But if in pursuance of the Gospel narrative, Jesus’ ministry be admitted to have been confined to only three years and his travels to only a few Palestinian or Syrian towns, the title of Masih in no way fits him. Recent historical research has, however, established the fact that after having recovered from the shock and the wounds of crucifixion, Jesus travelled far and wide in the East and finally reached Kashmir to give his message to the lost tribes of Israel who lived in these parts. In this connection see also 23:51, where Jesus is spoken of as having been afforded shelter in a hilly tract of land. مسیح (Masih)also means "one anointed". As the birth of Jesus was out of the ordinary and was liable to be looked upon as illegitimate, therefore, to remove this possible accusation, he was spoken of as "being anointed" with God’s own anointment, even as all true Prophets of God are anointed. Jesus has also been so spoken of because, like a thing anointed with oil, the water of sin could not penetrate him. It could only just touch his skin but could not sink into it nor remain there (Matt. 4:1-11). In contrast to it, the high spiritual rank of the Holy Prophet of Islam may be judged from a well-known saying of his wherein he says that his Satan had turned Muslim and urged him to do nothing but good (Musnad & Muslim), meaning that not only could no satanic touch harm him but that Satan had become virtually non-existent for him. Nay, it means even more; for, the words signify that the Holy Prophet had been provided with such a powerful spiritual transformer that even satanic suggestions were converted into veritable forces of virtue in him.

The expression, of those who are granted nearness to God, also gives to Jesus no higher position than that of a righteous servant of God. All people advanced in righteousness have been spoken of in the Quran as being granted nearness to God (56:11, 12).

19:21.

See 2:118.

Commentary:

The news of a son, however happy in ordinary circumstances, greatly perplexed Mary who was not only as yet unmarried but was also meant to remain so for life. The verse reflects her justified perplexity. It also shows that Jesus had no father, as hinted in Mary’s words, no man has touched me. Having been dedicated to the service of the Temple, Mary could not, consistently with her vow of celibacy, marry. If she was to marry and have children in due course there was no occasion for her to be surprised when the birth of a child was announced to her by the angel in a vision. No normal girl would be surprised if she were told in a vision that a son would be born to her; for she would naturally infer that the promised child would be born to her after marriage. In the Gospel of Mary, the vow of celibacy is clearly referred to. In chapter 5 of the said Gospel we read that when the high priest made a public order that all the virgins living in the temple who had reached their fourteenth year should return home, all the other virgins yielded obed-ience to this command, but "Mary the virgin of the Lord" alone answered that she could not comply with it; and for this refusal of hers she assigned the reason that both she and her parents had devoted her to the service of the Lord, and that she had vowed virginity to the Lord, which vow she was resolved never to break (Gospel of Mary, 5: 4, 5, 6).

Mary’s subsequent marriage with Joseph was thus contrary to the vow and against her own wish. She was, however, compelled by circumstances to marry when found with child. The priests had to arrange her marriage with Joseph in order to avoid scandal. It does not, however, appear from the Gospels how Joseph was prevailed upon to consent, for he was obviously in the dark about her being pregnant at the time of marriage (Matt. 1:18, 19). Presumably some plausible excuse was found to justify the breaking of the vow.

Christians and Jews are both agreed that the birth of Jesus was something out of the ordinary–the Christians holding it as supernatural and the Jews as illegitimate (Jew. Enc.). Even in the family birth register, Jesus’ birth was recorded as such (Talmud). This fact alone should constitute a sufficient proof of Jesus’ birth being out of the ordinary. But it was neither supernatural nor illegitimate. To quote only one medical authority: "Medical men have not ruled out altogether the possibility of natural parthenogenesis of the production of a child by a female, without any relation to a male. Such a statement off-hand appears ridiculous, yet its possibility, from a purely biological standpoint, under certain conditions cannot be disregarded. Dr. Timme calls attention to this possibility as the result of a certain type of tumours, known as arrhenoblastoma (from the Greek words for "male" and "germ") which are occasionally found in the female pelvis or lower body. These tumours are capable of generating male sperm cells. Naturally, if these male sperm cells were alive and active and came in contact with the female’s own egg cell or ovum, conception might occur. There is nothing illogical in this process of reasoning…Dr. Timme states that there are twenty authentic cases reported in Europe in which an arrhenoblastoma had been found to develop male sperm cells…The arrhenoblastoma is a tumour that contains blastodermic cells...These cells are creative structures and are capable of development at any time and the fact, therefore, that arrhenoblas-tomacontaining these "embryonic cells" might create testicular tissue, capable of producing male sperm cells seems scientifically not impossible. If living male sperm cells are produced in a female body by arrhenoblastoma, the possibility of self-fertilization of a woman, even though a virgin, cannot be denied. That is to say, her own body would produce the same result as though sperm cells from a man’s body had been transferred to hers in the more usual way, or by a physician’s aid" (American Medical Journal).

There are cases on record of children having been born without fathers: "A young girl of great moral purity became pregnant without the slightest knowledge of the source… There is a case of pregnancy in an unmarried woman, who successfully resisted an attempt at criminal connection and yet became impreg-nated and gave birth to a perfectly formed female child" (Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine by George M. Gould, A.M., M.D., and Walter L. Payle, A.M., M.D., published by W. B. Saunders & Co., London).

Commentary:

The word مثل (case) is used to express resemblance, which may be of different kind and different degrees. Sometimes, the thing likened is equal to that to which it is likened, sometimes the former is superior to the latter, and sometimes the latter is superior to the former. So it is not necessary that the thing likened to another should be equal, or ever similar, to the latter in all respects. The likeness between Adam and Jesus referred to in this verse, may, therefore, not be stretched too far.

In the verse the word 'Adam' primarily stands for man, i.e. the sons of Adam generally. Jesus is thus declared to be like other mortals who have all been created from dust (40:68), and so there can be no divinity about him. If, however, the word 'Adam' be taken to refer to the progenitor of the human race, then the verse would be taken to point to the resemblance between Jesus and Adam in being born without the agency of a male parent. In this case, the fact that Jesus had a mother would not affect the likeness which, as stated above, need not be complete in all respects.

The words, then He said to him, "Be" and he was, show that the command refers not to the birth of Jesus (for the fact of his creation has already been mentioned in the words خلقه i.e. He created him, occurring in the preceding part of the verse), but to his death. The use of the word کن (Be) in relation to death should not sound odd, for, according to the teaching of Islam, death is not the end of life but simply a change, the beginning of a new life. The meaning in this case would be that after having created Jesus and having allowed him the prescribed lease of life in this world, God caused him to die and took his soul away to the next world. The expression, "Be" and he was, may also refer to the creation or birth of Jesus in the sense that, after giving him the human form in the womb of his mother, God said to him "Be", i.e. become quickened with life, whereupon he became alive. Again, the reference may also be to the spiritual life, i.e. after creating Jesus in the form of a man, God called upon him to become a Prophet, which was the ultimate end of his creation, and consequently he became a Prophet. Whatever the interpretation, the verse constitutes a clear refutation of the Christian belief in the divinity of Jesus on the plea of his unusual birth.

As for the creation of man from تراب (dust), we shall give a suitable note when we come to the verses directly dealing with the subject.

Commentary:

The fact that the Jews uttered "a calumny" against Mary constitutes a clear evidence of the fatherless birth of Jesus. For if Jesus had a father, what "calumny" was it that the Jews uttered against Mary? Merely taunting her for the claims made by Jesus could in no sense be called a calumny. Elsewhere the Quran says that the mother of Jesus was a righteous woman and that Satan had no share in his birth (3:37:5:76).

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.

3:43.

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.

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.

3:46.

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.

3:48; 19:9.

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.

3:41, 48; 19:22; 51:31.

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.

Important Words:

انتبذت (she withdrew) is derived fromنبذ. They say نبذہ i.e. he cast, threw or flung it away. انتبذ means, he withdrew or retired aside or apart from others; separated himself from others. انتبذ عن القوم means, he withdrew or retired from his people. انتبذ مکاناً قصیا means, he retired to a place from his family; he retired to a distant place from his people (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

How Mary came to conceive Jesus without the agency of a husband is one of those divine secrets which at present may be considered beyond human intellect to fathom. It may be regarded as above the ordinary natural law as we now know it. But the knowledge of man, at best, is limited. He has not been able to comprehend all divine secrets. There are mysteries in nature which man has not been able to solve as yet; perhaps he may never be able to solve them. Among them may be included the fatherless birth of Jesus. God’s ways are inscrutable and His powers limitless. He Who could create the whole universe by uttering the word, کن (be), surely can bring about such changes in matter as should make this apparently insoluble mystery yield to a solution.

Medical science, however, has not altogether ruled out the possibility, from a purely biological standpoint, under certain conditions, of natural parthenogenesis or the production of a child by a female without any relation to a male. Medical practitioners call attention to this possibility as a result of a certain type of tumour, which is occasionally found in the female pelvis or lower body. Such tumours which are known as arrhenoblastoma are capable of generating male sperm cells. If living male sperm-cells are produced in a female body by arrhenoblastoma the possibility of self-fertilization of a woman, even though virgin, cannot be denied. That is to say, her own body would produce the same result as though sperm-cells from a man’s body had been transferred to hers in the usual way, or by a physician’s aid. Recently a group of gynaecologists in Europe have published data to prove instances of childbirth where the mother had had no contact with a male (Lancet). For a detailed note on parthenogenesis see 3:48.

Jesus’ birth is perhaps not altogether unique in this respect that he was born without the agency of a human father. Cases are on record of children having been born without fathers for which see Enc. Brit. under "Virgin Birth" and "Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine" published by W. B. Saunders & Co., London.

If we dismiss all these possibilities, then Jesus’ birth will have to be regarded, God forbid, as illegitimate. Christians and Jews are both agreed that the birth of Jesus was something out of the ordinary—the Christians holding it as supernatural and the Jews as illegitimate (Jew. Enc.). Even in the family birth register, the birth of Jesus was recorded as such (Talmud). This fact alone should constitute a valid proof of Jesus’ birth being out of the ordinary. Joseph, Mary’s husband, according to the Gospels, had not established conjugal relations with her till after the birth of Jesus (Matt. 1:25). So the words, 'she conceived him', refer to this extraordinary conception of Mary without the agency of any man.

The words, 'a remote place', refer to Bethlehem which is about seventy miles south of Nazareth. There Joseph took Mary sometime before Jesus’ birth which took place in that town.

Important Words:

مخاض (pains of childbirth) is derived from مخض. They say مخض اللبن i.e. he churned the milk and took the butter out of it. مخض الشیء means, he violently agitated the thing.مخضت المرأة means, the woman suffered the pains of childbirth. مخاض means, the pains of childbirth (Lane & Aqrab).

منسیاً(a thing forgotten) is derived from نسی (nasiya). نسیا لشیء means, he forgot the thing. نسیاًmeans, anything forgotten or worthy of being forgotten or anything that must be forgotten. It also means, one who is counted for nothing, who is despised; a thing which the members of a caravan leave behind as worthless or of little use or importance. منسیاً also means, a thing that is forgotten or neglected. The use of these two words together in this verse denoting the same sense is intended to intensify the sense of forgetting or neglect (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

As it appears from the Gospels there was no room in the inn in which Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Joseph and Mary must have stayed in the open field and Mary might have betaken herself to the trunk of a palm-tree in order to take rest under its shade and possibly also to find some support in her throes of childbirth.

The words, 'had become a thing quite forgotten' indicate the extreme severity of the pains of childbirth. In the case of first delivery the throes of childbirth ordinarily are extremely severe and in the intensity of pain women generally give utterance to some such words as those spoken by Mary.

Important Words:

تحتھا (beneath her). تحت means, beneath, below or under; the lower part. The word also signifies the low, base, vile or ignoble or depressed persons. The Holy Prophet is reported to have said, لا تقوم الساعة حتی تظھر التحوت و تھلک الوعول i.e. the hour of resurrection will not come until the low or depressed people prevail and the rich and high-placed persons perish; or as some say, until the treasures that are beneath the earth appear (Lane &Taj).

The word تحت meaning beneath, below and also the slope and declivity of a mountain (Lane), the verse signifies that the voice came to Mary from the side of the slope of the mountain where the fountain was and not from beneath her own body as is popularly believed. As a matter of fact Bethlehem is situated on a rock 2350 ft. above sea-level and is surrounded by very fertile valleys. There are fountains in this rock, one of which is known as the 'fountain of Solomon'. Another fountain is situated at a distance of about 800 yards to the southeast of the town. From these fountains water is supplied to the town of Bethlehem. The words of the verse only mean that the angel called to Mary from the side of the fountain which was situated in the slope (تحت) of the mountain.

Mary stood in need of water for drinking and for washing herself and the swaddling-clothes. So the voice of the angel indicated to her the direction where the fountain lay. One of the fountains was flowing at a distance of about 800 yards to the south-east of Bethlehem and Joseph and Mary, we are told, finding no accommodation in the town had to lie in the open field at some distance from the town.

The verse seems to point to a beautiful likeness which Jesus had with another Prophet of God—Ishmael. We are told that when Ishmael suffered from extreme pangs of thirst in the wilderness of Mecca and his mother Hagar in vain searched for water, the voice of the angel came to her saying that God had caused a fountain of water to flow from under the feet of Ishmael (Bukhari). The verse thus entitles Jesus to no particular distinction. Apart from the fatherless birth of Jesus the significance of which has been fully explained in the Introduction to the present Surah, Jesus possesses no distinction. He was only one of so many Divine Messengers.

Commentary:

According to this verse the birth of Jesus took place at a time when fresh dates are found on palm-trees in Judaea. That season evidently is in the months of August and September but according to the view generally accepted by Christians, Jesus was born on 25th December which day is celebrated all over the Christian world every year with great fervour. Now this Christian view is contradicted not only by the Quran but also by history and even by writers of the New Testament itself. Writing about the time of Jesus’ birth Luke says: "And there were shepherds in the same country (Judaea) abiding in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flocks (Luke 2:7, 8). Commenting on this statement of Luke Bishop Barns in his book, Rise of Christianity, on page 79 says: "There is, moreover, no authority for the belief that December 25 was the actual birthday of Jesus. If we can give any credence to the birth-story of Luke, with the shepherds keeping watch by night in the fields near Bethlehem, the birth of Jesus did not take place in winter, when the night temperature is so low in the hill country of Judaea that snow is not uncommon. After much argument our Christmas day seems to have been accepted about A.D. 300". This view of Bishop Barns is supported by writers of the articles on "Christmas" in Encyclopaedia Britannica and Chambers Encyclopaedia. In Encyclopaedia Britannica we have:

The exact day and year of Christ’s birth have never been satisfactorily settled; but then the fathers of the Church in A.D. 340 decided upon a date to celebrate the event, they wisely chose the day of the winter solstice which was firmly fixed in the minds of the people and which was their most important festival. Owing to changes in man-made calendars, the time of the solstice and the date of Christmas day vary by a few days (15th edition, vol. 5, pp. 642 & 642A).

Chambers Encyclopaedia says: In the second place the winter solstice was regarded as the birthday of the sun, and at Rome 25th December was observed as a pagan festival of the nativity of Sol-invictus. The Church, unable to stamp out this popular festival, spiritualized it as the feast of the Nativity of the Sun of Righteousness.

These statements of the two Encyclopaedias are further supported by Peake’s "Commentary on the Bible". In this book on page 727 Peake says: "The season (of Jesus’ birth) would not be December; our Christmas day is a comparatively late tradition found first in the West." Thus recent historical research into the origins of Christianity has established the fact beyond any reasonable doubt that Jesus was not born in December.

How in the light of historical research into the origins of Christianity and Luke’s statement that Jesus was born at a time when "there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night" (Luke 2:7-8) the belief ever came to be entertained by Christians that Jesus was born in December, seems very surprising indeed. According to this statement of Luke, Jesus certainly was born in summer when shepherds abide in the field in Judaea, keeping watch over their flocks at night which is only possible in summer. The incident referred to in Luke very probably took place in the month of August or September when fresh dates are found on palm-trees in Judaea. This is the time when according to the Quranic verse under comment Jesus was born and when his mother Mary was directed by God to "shake towards thyself the trunk of the palm-tree; it will cause fresh dates to fall upon thee". Thus the Gospel of Luke inadvertently has lent wonderful support to the Quranic view about the birth of Jesus having taken place in the month of August or September which is the season of fresh ripe dates in Judaea. Moreover, there is ample and very reliable historical evidence also to show that Jesus was born in the month of August or September. In his "Dictionary of the Bible" Dr. John D. Davis, under the word "year" writes that dates become ripe in the Jewish month of Elul; and in Peake’s "Commentary on the Bible" (page 117) we have that the month of Elul corresponds to the months of August-September. Furthermore Dr. Peake says, "J. Stewart (When did our Lord actually live?) arguing from an Angora temple inscription and a quotation in an old Chinese classic which speaks of the Gospel story reaching China A.D. 25-28 puts the birth of Jesus in 8 B.C. (Sept. or Oct.) and the crucifixion on Wednesday in A.D. 24."

From the above statements of the two Encyclopaedias supported by quotations from the "Commentary on the Bible" by Dr. Arthur S. Peake, M.A., D.D., the fact becomes quite clear that Jesus was born in the Jewish month of Elul which corresponds to the months of August-September when dates ripen in Judaea, and not on 25th December as the Christian Church would have us believe. And that is the view expressed by the Quran.

One more fact in this connection demands careful examination. Sometime before Jesus’ birth Joseph had taken Mary to Bethlehem, a town about seventy miles to the south of Nazareth, the native place of Joseph and Mary. Luke states that Joseph did so because with Quirinius as governor of Syria, Augustus Caesar had ordered that all should go to Bethlehem to be enrolled in the city of David (Luke 2:1-4). But history does not support this statement of Luke. No census was ever taken in the year of Jesus’ birth nor was there any governor of Syria of this name at that time. According to Josephus, one of the greatest of all Jewish historians, the first census ever to be taken was held seven years after Jesus’ birth and the governors of Syria ten years before his birth till Herod’s death were Stiplus Wardus, Sentiris and Titnis (Enc. Brit. under "Chronicle").

It seems incredible that in the face of such reliable historical evidence Luke should have invented this story of the census. There must have been some very compelling reasons for him to do so. It appears that in a desperate search for an excuse to explain why Joseph and Mary undertook such a long and arduous journey to Bethlehem in the latter’s extremely weak state of health and her pregnancy, Luke seems to have stumbled over the fact of a census having taken place in that town which, in fact, had been held seven years after the date that he has assigned to it. He deliberately predated the census by seven years in order to show that both the events—the census and Jesus’ birth, took place at the same time. Writing history about seventy or eighty years after the actual event he perhaps thought that this historical anachronism would not be detected after such a long time. Thus by placing the census, which had occurred seven years later, in the year of Jesus’ birth Luke persuaded himself to believe that he had succeeded in explaining away the fact as to why Joseph had exposed his ailing wife to the rigours of a long and hard journey to Bethlehem in the advanced state of her pregnancy.

But the difficulty still remains that if, as history shows, there had been no census at the time of Jesus’ birth, then why Luke was so anxious to invent the whole story of the journey to Bethlehem and why it was undertaken. In fact the difficulty was of Luke’s own creation. It was this, that while narrating the account of the immaculate conception of Mary he had stated that great and wonderful miracles had begun and had continued to appear till Jesus’ birth. He feared that if no valid reason were given of this journey of Joseph and Mary, then they would be legitimately accused of being weak of faith and people would naturally say that after having witnessed so many miracles at the time of the conception they were still afraid of public criticism and scandal-mongering and that in order to hide the fact of conception and later birth they had left Nazareth. But the hard reality was there that they had undertaken the journey to Bethlehem, a far-off place. Luke probably thought that people would rightly ask that if immediately after the conception miracles and Divine signs had really begun to appear, then where was the necessity for Joseph to conceal Mary’s pregnancy and the subsequent birth of Jesus, and if there existed no such necessity why did Joseph and Mary undertake that hard and fatiguing journey in the state of her extremely delicate health? Thus the invention of great miracles having taken place at the time of the conception forced Luke to forge the event of the census and also the story that he had undertaken the journey to Bethlehem in order to attend it. But he need not have invented or predated the fact of the census. The whole thing was quite simple and could have been easily explained. Luke could easily have written that Mary had miraculously conceived a child while in the temple and was afterwards married to Joseph who himself was quite convinced of her chastity as he had seen a vision to that effect (see 3:47). But because he feared that he would not be able to convince others of this fact, and because he was afraid of scandal-mongering on the part of the people, therefore, he had to take Mary to a far off place before her pregnancy had become too patent to be concealed any longer. But this he would not do because in that case the whole story of great miracles having attended Mary’s conception would have gone to pieces. This is how the whole difficulty arose and one invention led to another.

It may be added here that the whole-trouble of fixing the date of Jesus’ birth seems to have arisen from a confusion of the date of Mary’s conception. The pregnancy of Mary seemed to have taken place sometime in November or December and not in March or April as the Church historians would have us believe. When after four or five months’ conception, pregnancy became too obvious to be concealed any longer, Joseph was prevailed upon to take Mary to his house in the month of March or April of the next year. Thus Christian historians mistake the date when Joseph took Mary to his house for the date of her actual conception which had taken place four or five months earlier. As recent research into the origins of Christianity has proved that Jesus was not born in December but in August-September, therefore the conception could not have taken place in March or April. So the Quranic view that Jesus was born in August or September is based not only on historical facts but is also quite in accordance with Luke’s own narrative and therefore is the only safe and sensible conclusion.

It also appears from the present verse that Mary was lying in a sheltered place in the upper part of the hill and the date-palm was standing on the slope and therefore she could easily reach to its trunk and shake it. That the territory of Bethlehem abounded in date-palms is clear from the Bible (Judges 1:16) and from "A Dictionary of the Bible" by Dr. John D. Davis, D. D.

Moreover, the fact of Mary having been guided to a fountain, as mentioned in the preceding verse, in order to drink of its water and wash herself, points to Jesus’ birth having taken place in the month of August or September because in the icy cold weather of Judaea in December Mary could not have washed herself in the open.

Commentary:

Some commentators of the Quran are of the view that Mary was commanded completely to abstain from talking. But that is not the case. Like Zachariah she was directed to abstain from talk as far as possible, but not completely, and to devote all her time in the remembrance of God. The expression فقولی (and say) itself shows that the command about abstaining from talk was not unqualified. A new baby had been born and as the birth of a new child was likely to attract the casual visitor or the passer-by and induce him to ask the mother unnecessary and vexatious questions about its parentage etc.; so in order to cut

short the possible embarrassing conversation Mary was commanded to say that she had vowed a fast to the Gracious God that she would indulge in no useless talk. Thus while on the one hand her silence conserved her physical strength, on the other she could have more time to devote to the remembrance of God.

Important Words:

جئت (thou hast done). جاء زید means, Zaid came. جئت زیداًmeans, I came to Zaid. جئت بهmeans, I brought him. جاءت بولد means, she gave birth to a child. جاء بشیءmeans, he did, executed or performed a thing; he said or uttered a thing. جئت شیئا حسناmeans, I did a good thing. The Quranic expression, لقد جئت شیئا فریا means, thou hast done a strange thing or a thing hitherto unknown (Lane & Aqrab).

فریا (strange) is derived from فری (fariya) which means, he was or became confounded or perplexed, and was unable to see the right course. أفری فلانا means, he blamed or censured such a one; افری الشیء means, he cut or slit the thing. They say ھو یفری الفری i.e. he effects what is wonderful in his deed. فری means, a thing forged or fabricated or unknown or unheard of. The words لقد جئت شیئا فریا mean, thou hast done a thing hitherto unknown; or a thing deemed strange; or a thing great of magnitude or gravity. فری applied to a man means, a forger or fabricator of lies. افتری کذبا means, he forged or fabricated a lie or falsehood (Lane & Aqrab).

تحمله (carrying him) is derived from حمل. They say حمل الشیء i.e. he carried the thing. حمله علی ظھرہ means, he bore him on his or its back. حملت المرأة means, the woman became pregnant. حمل القران means, he memorized the Quran. حمله الحمل means, he helped him or assisted him to lift the load; or he assisted him in his work; he gave him a beast to ride; لتحملھم (9:92) means, that thou shouldst mount them (Lane, Aqrab & Mufradat). See also 7:177.

Commentary:

By the words 'carrying him' some people are led to think that the verse refers to the time of the childhood of Jesus when Mary carried him in her arms. But this is an obvious misconception. The verse, in fact, refers to the time when Jesus had attained to prophethood as is clear from vv. 31-34 wherein he says, I am a servant of Allah, He has given me the Book, and made me a Prophet;…and has enjoined upon me Prayer and alms-giving so long as I live. Surely Jesus was not made a Prophet in his childhood, nor did he say his Prayers and give Zakah at that time. It appears from the Gospels that after Jesus’ birth at Bethlehem, in pursuance of a Divine command Joseph had taken him and Mary to Egypt where they lived for some years and it was after the death of Herod that the family came back to Nazareth and dwelt there (Matt. 2:13-23). There was also a Biblical prophecy to the effect that Jesus would come to his people along with his mother riding an ass (Matt. 21:4-7). Jesus and Mary were actually riding asses when they entered Jerusalem. Thus the expression تحمله (carrying him or mounting him) may possibly refer to that prophecy of the Bible.

Moreover the expression حمله as shown under "Important Words" above, also means, he helped him and assisted him in his work.

According to this signification of the word حملthe verse under comment would mean that Mary came to her people with Jesus while she believed in him and helped him in his mission. The expression serves a twofold purpose. On the one hand it refers to the fulfilment of the Biblical prophecy (Matt. 21:4-7) and on the other disposes of the accusation (also contained in the Bible) that Jesus’ brothers and his mother did not believe in him. In any case this verse does not refer to the childhood of Jesus but to the time when prophethood had already been bestowed upon him and he had begun addressing his Message to his people.

The manner of expression adopted in regard to the birth and prophethood of Jesus is quite like that adopted about John (Yahya) in verses 12 and 13of the present Surah. Verse 12 relates to Zachariah having received the happy news of the birth of a son and v. 13 to the period when his son Yahya had become a Prophet, the remaining incidents in Yahya’s life having been omitted because the Quran is not a book of history that it should give the complete picture of the life of a man. In the same way the preceding three verses give a brief description of Jesus’ birth and the present verse comes straight to the time when he had become a Prophet of God. The fact that v. 23 speaks of Mary having withdrawn to a remote place also belies the inference that she had come from that remote place carrying Jesus in her arms.

The words, 'thou hast done a strange thing' contain a double taunt. They refer to the calumny of Mary having given birth to an illegitimate son and to Jesus having falsely laid claim to prophethood. As shown under "Important Words" above the word فری also means a forger of lies. Thus by using this word the elders of the Jewish people called Mary a bad woman and Jesus a forger of lies and a false Prophet.

Commentary:

Some Christian writers in their ignorance of the Arabic language have accused the Quran of an historical anachronism inasmuch as it has spoken of Mary as sister of Aaron. Instead of regretting their own ignorance they have blamed theQuran of ignorance. The question of Mary having been called the sister of Aaron in the Quran was put before the Holy Prophet himself and he told the questioner whether he did not know that the Israelites used to name their children after their Prophets and saints (Bayan, vol. 6, p. 16; Jarir vol. 16, p. 52).

Mary has been here called the sister of Aaron and not that of Moses though both were brothers, for whereas Moses was the founder of the Jewish Law, Aaron was the head of the Jewish priestly class (Enc. Bib. & Enc. Brit. under "Aaron") and Mary also belonged to the priestly order. Tabari has related an incident from the life of the Holy Prophet which gives us an insight into the meanings of the Arabic words اب(ab), عم (‘amm),اخت (ukht) etc. When once Safiyyah, the Holy Prophet’s wife, and incidentally a Jewess by descent, complained to the Holy Prophet that some of his other wives had called her a Jewess in contempt, the Prophet told her to return the taunt by saying that Aaron was her father, Moses her uncle and Muhammad her husband. Surely, the Holy Prophet knew that Aaron was not Safiyyah’s father nor Moses her uncle. This tradition shows that the application of these Arabic words is by no means confined to the above-mentioned blood relations.

Mary might have been called a sister of Aaron by way of reproach or taunt inasmuch as another Mary, the real sister of Aaron and Moses’ stepsister or his sister-in-law, had charged him (Moses) with having unlawfully married a woman (Numbers 12:1). A reference to this accusation is also to be found in the Quran in 33:70. Thus the elders of the Jews, by calling Jesus’ mother sister of Aaron, meant that as Mary, the sister of Aaron had, by accusing Moses of unlawfully marrying a woman, committed a heinous crime, so did she, like her namesake, commit a heinous act of giving birth to an illegitimate child. See also 3:36.