Tafheem ul Quran

Surah 3 Ali 'Imran, Ayat 45-49

اِذۡ قَالَتِ الۡمَلٰٓـئِكَةُ يٰمَرۡيَمُ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ يُبَشِّرُكِ بِكَلِمَةٍ مِّنۡهُ ۖ اسۡمُهُ الۡمَسِيۡحُ عِيۡسَى ابۡنُ مَرۡيَمَ وَجِيۡهًا فِى الدُّنۡيَا وَالۡاٰخِرَةِ وَمِنَ الۡمُقَرَّبِيۡنَۙ‏ ﴿3:45﴾ وَيُكَلِّمُ النَّاسَ فِى الۡمَهۡدِ وَكَهۡلًا وَّمِنَ الصّٰلِحِيۡنَ‏ ﴿3:46﴾ قَالَتۡ رَبِّ اَنّٰى يَكُوۡنُ لِىۡ وَلَدٌ وَّلَمۡ يَمۡسَسۡنِىۡ بَشَرٌ ​ؕ قَالَ كَذٰلِكِ اللّٰهُ يَخۡلُقُ مَا يَشَآءُ​ ؕ اِذَا قَضٰٓى اَمۡرًا فَاِنَّمَا يَقُوۡلُ لَهٗ كُنۡ فَيَكُوۡنُ‏ ﴿3:47﴾ وَيُعَلِّمُهُ الۡكِتٰبَ وَالۡحِكۡمَةَ وَالتَّوۡرٰٮةَ وَالۡاِنۡجِيۡلَ​ۚ‏ ﴿3:48﴾ وَرَسُوۡلًا اِلٰى بَنِىۡۤ اِسۡرٰٓءِيۡلَ ۙ اَنِّىۡ قَدۡ جِئۡتُكُمۡ بِاٰيَةٍ مِّنۡ رَّبِّكُمۡ ۙۚ اَنِّىۡۤ  اَخۡلُقُ لَـكُمۡ مِّنَ الطِّيۡنِ كَهَیْـئَةِ الطَّيۡرِ فَاَنۡفُخُ فِيۡهِ فَيَكُوۡنُ طَيۡرًاۢ بِاِذۡنِ اللّٰهِ​​ۚ وَاُبۡرِئُ الۡاَكۡمَهَ وَالۡاَبۡرَصَ وَاُحۡىِ الۡمَوۡتٰى بِاِذۡنِ اللّٰهِ​ۚ وَ اُنَبِّئُكُمۡ بِمَا تَاۡكُلُوۡنَ وَمَا تَدَّخِرُوۡنَۙ فِىۡ بُيُوۡتِكُمۡ​ؕ اِنَّ فِىۡ ذٰ لِكَ لَاٰيَةً لَّـكُمۡ اِنۡ كُنۡتُمۡ مُّؤۡمِنِيۡنَۚ‏ ﴿3:49﴾

(3:45) And when the angels said: 'O Mary! Allah gives you the glad tidings of a command from Him: his name shall be Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary. He shall be highly honoured in this world and in the Next, and shall be one of those near stationed to Allah. (3:46) And he shall speak to men in the cradle and also later when he grows to maturity and shall indeed be among the righteous.' (3:47) She said: 'O my Lord! How shall I have a son when no man has ever touched me?' The angel answered: Thus shall it be.44 Allah creates whatever He wills. When He decides something, He merely says: "Be" and it is. (3:48) And He will teach him the Book, the Wisdom, the Torah, the Gospel, (3:49) and he will be a Messenger to the Children of Israel.' (And when he came to them he said): 'I have come to you with a sign from your Lord. I will make for you from clay the likeness of a bird and then I will breathe into it and by the leave of Allah it will become a bird. I will also heal the blind and the leper, and by the leave of Allah bring the dead to life. I will also inform you of what things you eat and what you treasure up in your houses. Surely this is a sign for you if you are true believ-ers.45

Notes

44. Thus it was affirmed that a child would be born to Mary despite the fact that no man had touched her. The angel's answer mentioned here, 'Thus shall it be', was exactly the same as the response given to Zechariah. Both the following sentences and the preceding section support the view that the angel had conveyed to Mary the glad tidings that a son would be born to her without normal sexual contact, and it was thus that Jesus was born. For, if Mary's child was to be born to her in the usual manner in which children are born to women, and if the birth of Jesus did take place in the normal way, the entire narrative from (verse 35 )of this surah to (verse 63) would have to be declared absurd.

Indeed, one would be forced to treat as meaningless all those statements about the birth of Jesus which are found scattered elsewhere in the Qur'an. The Christians had begun to regard Jesus as God and the son of God because of this fatherless birth. The Jews, in turn, cast aspersions on Mary's chastity on the grounds that she had given birth to a child despite being unmarried. If the fatherless birth of Jesus was itself false, it would have been sufficient to tell the Christians that they were indulging in sheer mis-statement, that Mary had indeed been married, that she had a legitimate husband, and that it was as a result of that wedlock that Jesus was born. If this fact could have been stated plainly, there would have been no need for long preparatory statements and complicated propositions, and no need to call Jesus the son of Mary instead of naming his father. For far from resolving the issue such statements add to the confusion. Those who believe the Qur'an to be the word or command from God and yet try to prove that the birth of Jesus took place in the normal manner, as a result of union between his father and mother, end up by proving only that God is less capable of clear expression than they are!

45. It is hinted here that these signs are sufficient proof that Jesus was designated by God, the Creator and Sovereign of the universe, provided people are prepared to accept the truth instead of obstinately clinging to their prejudiced views. This is further proof that Jesus had been entrusted with a mission by God. Had he not been designated by God but by an imposter he would surely have attempted to found an independent religion, exploiting his miracles to lead people away from their original faith. However, Jesus believed in, and confirmed, the validity of the teachings of the original religion which had been preached at God's behest by the earlier Prophets.