189. This marks the resumption of the main theme of the discourse.
190. The Jews had ho grounds for suspicion regarding the miraculous birth
of Jesus. The day he was born God made the entire Jewish people witness that
it was the birth of an extraordinary person, and that his birth had taken place
miraculously rather than as the result of an act of moral corruption. When this
unmarried girl, of a highly esteemed and pious Israelite family, produced a
new-born infant, thousands of people of all age groups thronged to her house
out of curiosity. Instead of replying to their queries verbally, Mary pointed
to the baby, indicating that he would himself reply. The wonder-struck crowd
inquired if they were expected to direct their questions to the infant child
who lay in the cradle. To their amazement the child addressed the crowd in a
clear and eloquent style: 'I am indeed a servant of God, and to me has He vouchsafed
Revelation, me has He made a Prophet'. (Surah Maryam 19: 30.)
Thus God demolished every basis for casting doubt on the birth of Jesus. When
Jesus was young no one accused Mary of either unchastity or Jesus of being born
illegitimately. When Jesus reached the age of thirty he launched his prophetic
mission, censuring the Jews for their misdeeds and reproaching the rabbis and
the Pharisees for their hypocrisy. He also called attention to the moral degeneration
to which they had sunk, urging people to rise up and engage in the perilous
struggle to establish the hegemony of God's religion. Such a struggle called
for all kinds of sacrifices and involved confrontation with Satanic forces on
all fronts. Once Jesus launched this mission these criminals decided to spare
no weapon, however base, in their bid to silence this fearless voice of truth.
It was at this point that they flung at Mary the accusation of unchastity and
at Jesus that of illegitimate birth. They made these accusations despite full
knowledge that both mother and child were absolutely chaste and innocent. That
is why this accusation is not characterized as either a wrong or a falsehood.
It is rather branded as disbelief (kufr) since the calumny was motivated chiefly
by the desire to obstruct the path of true faith and not just to bring an innocent
woman into disrepute.