['Aalim Network QR] Jesus -Nabi Isa(as)- in the Qur'an

[Mustafa Rawji <mrawji@sciborg.uwaterloo.ca>]

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|       In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the All-Merciful       |\
|  Greeting of Allah be upon Muhammad and the pure members of his House |\
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Salaamun alaykum,

	The reply to the following question was kindly provided by Shaykh
Mohammad Panah.


Wasalaam,

Mustafa Rawji
Acting Moderator, 'Aalim Network
 
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QUESTION:
 
 	I attended Muslim prayers several years ago when the speaker was talking
about Jesus and Islam.  He said that the Qur'an talks about Jesus' family
and a bit of his history that even the Bible does not include.  I have
been unable to follow up on this but would be very interested to know if
this is true.  I have a English version of the Qur'an and could look up
any references provided.  Thanks in advance. 
 
ANSWER:
 
Dear brother/ sister

Salamun Alaykum, 

	I do not know exactly in what context the above statement has been
made but I believe that what he meant must have been that the Holy Quran's
account of Hz. Isa's life is different from the Bible. You must bear in
mind that the Holy Qur'an usually does not give a histographic account of
events and has no intention of doing so. However It sometimes makes some
historical statements in more general contexts of its teachings. This is
also true with the story of Hazrat Isa (AS). 

	In some parts, the Holy Qur'an endorses the Bible (such as the
belief in the Virgin birth) and in some parts it refutes the Bible ( like
Hazrat Isa being crucified). You may call this different historical
accounts, if you wish. But there is no history of Hazrat Isa (AS) in the
Holy Qur'an the way we understand history as chronological documentation
of historical events and figures.

	If you are interested in the subject of Hz. Isa (AS)  in the Holy
Quran first you must know that the Holy Qur'an does not recognize the
present Bible as the authentic Bible, and then you may want to consider
the following points which I have selected from Ayt.  Jawadi Amoli's
Tafsir with Qur'anic references in parentheses. 

1- Hz. Isa (AS) is God's word (3:45). Everything is God's words but the 
emphasis of the Holy Quran on Hz. Isa (AS) being God's words means that 
he is a Complete Word, meaning that his speech is God's speech.

2- He is Sign (Aya) of God because his speaking as an infant was a 
miracle (5: 110).

3- He is son of Maryam (3: 45; 5:110). The holy Qur'an usually does not 
refer to prophets as son of their fathers or mothers, the emphasis on Hz. 
Isa (AS) being son of Maryam is to refute the Biblical notion of Son of God.

4- His name, Massih Isa was chosen for him by God (19: 7).

5- He was blessed in two ways, one of which was not shared by many other 
prophets. He was both chosen as a Prophet and also blessed with the Holy 
spirit (2: 87, 253; 5: 110; 21:91; 19:17). Many other prophets were not 
blessed by the Holy spirit.

6- He was able to give life to the dead and birds because of being 
blessed by the Holy Spirit (3: 49; 5: 110).

7- Maryam and Isa (SA) both were one and the same sign of God (Aya) (23: 
50). This observation has many crucial theological implications which I 
cannot elaborate on here.

8- Not marrying was because he did not have an earthly father and he was 
not born of human bodily desires.

9- His miracles did not elevate him to the status of divinity. He was 
honored to be God's servant (4: 172; 5: 117).

10- He was not God, and anyone who believes he was God is Kafer not even 
Mushrik (5: 17, 72).

11- He dissociated himself from those who believe in trinity (5: 116).

12- He was not killed nor was he crucified (4: 157).

One can add more points to the above but I hope these could give you some 
general idea as to how the Holy Qur'an introduces Hz. Isa (AS) and what 
kind of differences exist between the Holy Qur'an and the Bible.

With Regards

Mohammad