After describing the crucifixion (or non-crucifixion) of Jesus in the previous section, this passage begins by focusing briefly on the Jews again. The kosher-laws, v. 160 explains, were a punishment for the sins of the Jews. (Something similar is said in 6:146.) Among those sins is the taking of Riba (usury). Charging interest on loans was forbidden in the Old Testament in Exodus 22:25 and Leviticus 25:35-37, and Deut. 23:19-20. Riba is mentioned elsewhere in the Quran (in 2:275 for example). An article at www.mostmerciful.com/riba.htm describes Riba and how the prohibition against it is approached by Muslims.
Despite the painful torment prepared for most Jews (as described in v. 161), v. 162 mentions that some Jews believed Muhammad. Probably one individual to whom this refers was Al-Husayn bin Salam, a prominent Jew in Medina who, according to the Hadith, promptly accepted Islam after Muhammad answered three questions for him. He is alluded to in 46:10.
Verse 163 re-focuses on the topic of the Messengers of Allah. The text affirms that Allah has communicated to Muhammad the way Allah communicated with previous prophets, some of whom are then listed. Verses 166-169 consist basically of Quran-endorsements and insistence that Allah will send people to hell if they do not agree that Muhammad is Allahs prophet. Part of v. 170 repeats part of v. 131.
Verse 171 addresses the People of the Book - Christians, in this case. The text says (in Rodwells translation), "The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, is only an apostle of God, and his Word which he conveyed into Mary, and a Spirit proceeding from himself. Believe therefore in God and his apostles, and say not 'Three:' (there is a Trinity) Forbear it will be better for you."
I will approach this phrase-by-phrase.
The Quran affirms that Jesus is the Messiah. Thats true.
The Quran affirms that Jesus is the son of Mary; thats also true.
Rodwell and the Hilali-Khan translation add "only" or "no more than." However Im pretty sure that the text says that Jesus is an apostle from Allah; the word only is supplied. (The words "no more than" would not be in parentheses in the Hilali-Khan translation if the translators had felt that they could honestly put it in the text. Btw, you can read the Hilali-Khan translation online at www.al-sunnah.com/call_to_islam/quran/index.html without its footnotes.) Without the supplied word "only," the statement that Jesus is a messenger of the Almighty is true.
The Quran states that Jesus is the Almightys Word. The opening verses of the Gospel of John also say that this is true.
The Quran says that the Almightys Word was conveyed into (or "bestowed upon") Mary. Luke 1:35 says that the conception of Christ occurred when the Holy Spirit came upon Mary and the power of the Most High overshadowed her. So, while there may be some question about how this miracle happened (something I hope to describe more fully when examining 21:91), the New Testament affirms that "The Word became flesh" (John 1:14) and that this occurred within the womb of Mary, so this statement, too, is essentially true.
The Quran says that Jesus is "a Spirit proceeding from him." The Hilali-Khan translation has "created by" instead of "proceeding from," but I think the Arabic can be justly rendered as "proceeding from" or just "from." Taken in that sense, this statement is not at odds with the Christian concept of the pre-existent Word of God: the Word proceeds from God throughout eternity; Gods Word is eternal, like the light shining from a lamp which has been shining forever and which was never not shining.
So whats the problem? Why dont Muslims believe in Jesus as the eternal Word of God? Well, although the word "only" is not in the text, it /is/ implied (and a comparison with 5:17, 5:75, 43:59, and other passages demonstrate this). Muhammad obviously wanted his followers to believe that Jesus was a messenger from Allah, and that Jesus was the son of Mary, and that Jesus conception was miraculous. Then we get into some fuzzy stuff: what did Muhammad mean when he described Jesus as Allahs Word, and as a Spirit proceeding from Allah? The text here does not say. Verse 171 does not deny that Jesus is Allahs Word (since it says that He is). And verse 171 does not deny that Jesus is a Spirit proceeding from Allah (since it says that He is). The main point of v. 171 is that Jesus is not Allah or the Son of Allah.
If a Christian were to identify Allah as the Father, then an agreement can be reached: Christians believe that Jesus is not Allah in the sense that Jesus is not the Father. But what about the Qurans affirmation that Jesus is not the Son of Allah? I hope to look into that soon.
In regard to the text at hand, I will be content to just note that v. 171 warns the Christians against saying "Three." Modern Muslims use this as a proof-text against the doctrine of the Trinity. However, what Muhammad meant by Three is probably a reference to a form of tri-theism promoted by the pseudo-Christians of Arabia, not to what Christians mean by the term "Trinity" (in which the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit eternally possess the nature of God). At the risk of getting ahead of myself, I point out here that 5:116 describes the sort of "Trinity" which Muhammad had probably encountered: a "Trinity" consisting of the Father, Mother, and Son. (Muhammad probably thought of the term "Holy Spirit" as a title of Gabriel.) This concept is as unrealistic to true Christians as it is to Muslims. It is probably not the Christian concept of the Godhead, but instead a heretical tri-theism, to which the text objects here.
Verse 172 follows up on v. 171s claim that Allah is too glorious to have offspring. It states that "The Messiah disdains not to be a servant of Allah." Something similar is said in the New Testament: in John 5:19 Jesus affirmed that He only did what the Father commissioned Him to do, and in John 5:30 and 5:38 Jesus said that He had come to do the Fathers will, and in John 13 He gave His disciples an example of servanthood, by washing their feet. No serious Christians deny that Jesus submitted Himself to His Father and did His Father's will. In Philippians 2:7-8, Paul plainly says that Jesus took on the form of a bondservant, humbled Himself, and was obedient. Christians and Muslims do not disagree about the question of whether or not Jesus was a servant of God. The magnet of disagreement is the question, "Is Jesus the Son of God?" (which, as I said, is something I hope to address soon in the course of this commentary.)
Verses 173-175 repeat the promises of blessings to believers and torment to disbelievers.
Verse 176 has nothing to do with the rest of this section. It is a supplement to the opening section about women and inheritances. Some people have claimed that this verse creates a problem when it is considered alongside other passages about inheritance-rights; see rationalthinking.humanists.net/inheritance.htm for one example; however the objection is not insurmountable according to the writer at www.submission.org/answering-Islam.htm#ss . This verse, according to the Hadith, was given when a childless man named Jabir ibn Abdullah Ansari was very sick and asked Muhammad how he should arrange his inheritance. This verse has the distinction of being the last verse of the Quran to be "revealed," according to the hadith-collection at bewley.virtualave.net/bukhari46.html (see #6363. Some other hadiths on the page are also interesting). It was attached to this surah after the rest of this surahs text had been put together.
Notice that v. 176 stipulates that when a person dies without surviving parents or offspring, and leaves behind a brother and a sister, the brother is to receive twice as much as the sister.
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
Despite the painful torment prepared for most Jews (as described in v. 161), v. 162 mentions that some Jews believed Muhammad. Probably one individual to whom this refers was Al-Husayn bin Salam, a prominent Jew in Medina who, according to the Hadith, promptly accepted Islam after Muhammad answered three questions for him. He is alluded to in 46:10.
Verse 163 re-focuses on the topic of the Messengers of Allah. The text affirms that Allah has communicated to Muhammad the way Allah communicated with previous prophets, some of whom are then listed. Verses 166-169 consist basically of Quran-endorsements and insistence that Allah will send people to hell if they do not agree that Muhammad is Allahs prophet. Part of v. 170 repeats part of v. 131.
Verse 171 addresses the People of the Book - Christians, in this case. The text says (in Rodwells translation), "The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, is only an apostle of God, and his Word which he conveyed into Mary, and a Spirit proceeding from himself. Believe therefore in God and his apostles, and say not 'Three:' (there is a Trinity) Forbear it will be better for you."
I will approach this phrase-by-phrase.
The Quran affirms that Jesus is the Messiah. Thats true.
The Quran affirms that Jesus is the son of Mary; thats also true.
Rodwell and the Hilali-Khan translation add "only" or "no more than." However Im pretty sure that the text says that Jesus is an apostle from Allah; the word only is supplied. (The words "no more than" would not be in parentheses in the Hilali-Khan translation if the translators had felt that they could honestly put it in the text. Btw, you can read the Hilali-Khan translation online at www.al-sunnah.com/call_to_islam/quran/index.html without its footnotes.) Without the supplied word "only," the statement that Jesus is a messenger of the Almighty is true.
The Quran states that Jesus is the Almightys Word. The opening verses of the Gospel of John also say that this is true.
The Quran says that the Almightys Word was conveyed into (or "bestowed upon") Mary. Luke 1:35 says that the conception of Christ occurred when the Holy Spirit came upon Mary and the power of the Most High overshadowed her. So, while there may be some question about how this miracle happened (something I hope to describe more fully when examining 21:91), the New Testament affirms that "The Word became flesh" (John 1:14) and that this occurred within the womb of Mary, so this statement, too, is essentially true.
The Quran says that Jesus is "a Spirit proceeding from him." The Hilali-Khan translation has "created by" instead of "proceeding from," but I think the Arabic can be justly rendered as "proceeding from" or just "from." Taken in that sense, this statement is not at odds with the Christian concept of the pre-existent Word of God: the Word proceeds from God throughout eternity; Gods Word is eternal, like the light shining from a lamp which has been shining forever and which was never not shining.
So whats the problem? Why dont Muslims believe in Jesus as the eternal Word of God? Well, although the word "only" is not in the text, it /is/ implied (and a comparison with 5:17, 5:75, 43:59, and other passages demonstrate this). Muhammad obviously wanted his followers to believe that Jesus was a messenger from Allah, and that Jesus was the son of Mary, and that Jesus conception was miraculous. Then we get into some fuzzy stuff: what did Muhammad mean when he described Jesus as Allahs Word, and as a Spirit proceeding from Allah? The text here does not say. Verse 171 does not deny that Jesus is Allahs Word (since it says that He is). And verse 171 does not deny that Jesus is a Spirit proceeding from Allah (since it says that He is). The main point of v. 171 is that Jesus is not Allah or the Son of Allah.
If a Christian were to identify Allah as the Father, then an agreement can be reached: Christians believe that Jesus is not Allah in the sense that Jesus is not the Father. But what about the Qurans affirmation that Jesus is not the Son of Allah? I hope to look into that soon.
In regard to the text at hand, I will be content to just note that v. 171 warns the Christians against saying "Three." Modern Muslims use this as a proof-text against the doctrine of the Trinity. However, what Muhammad meant by Three is probably a reference to a form of tri-theism promoted by the pseudo-Christians of Arabia, not to what Christians mean by the term "Trinity" (in which the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit eternally possess the nature of God). At the risk of getting ahead of myself, I point out here that 5:116 describes the sort of "Trinity" which Muhammad had probably encountered: a "Trinity" consisting of the Father, Mother, and Son. (Muhammad probably thought of the term "Holy Spirit" as a title of Gabriel.) This concept is as unrealistic to true Christians as it is to Muslims. It is probably not the Christian concept of the Godhead, but instead a heretical tri-theism, to which the text objects here.
Verse 172 follows up on v. 171s claim that Allah is too glorious to have offspring. It states that "The Messiah disdains not to be a servant of Allah." Something similar is said in the New Testament: in John 5:19 Jesus affirmed that He only did what the Father commissioned Him to do, and in John 5:30 and 5:38 Jesus said that He had come to do the Fathers will, and in John 13 He gave His disciples an example of servanthood, by washing their feet. No serious Christians deny that Jesus submitted Himself to His Father and did His Father's will. In Philippians 2:7-8, Paul plainly says that Jesus took on the form of a bondservant, humbled Himself, and was obedient. Christians and Muslims do not disagree about the question of whether or not Jesus was a servant of God. The magnet of disagreement is the question, "Is Jesus the Son of God?" (which, as I said, is something I hope to address soon in the course of this commentary.)
Verses 173-175 repeat the promises of blessings to believers and torment to disbelievers.
Verse 176 has nothing to do with the rest of this section. It is a supplement to the opening section about women and inheritances. Some people have claimed that this verse creates a problem when it is considered alongside other passages about inheritance-rights; see rationalthinking.humanists.net/inheritance.htm for one example; however the objection is not insurmountable according to the writer at www.submission.org/answering-Islam.htm#ss . This verse, according to the Hadith, was given when a childless man named Jabir ibn Abdullah Ansari was very sick and asked Muhammad how he should arrange his inheritance. This verse has the distinction of being the last verse of the Quran to be "revealed," according to the hadith-collection at bewley.virtualave.net/bukhari46.html (see #6363. Some other hadiths on the page are also interesting). It was attached to this surah after the rest of this surahs text had been put together.
Notice that v. 176 stipulates that when a person dies without surviving parents or offspring, and leaves behind a brother and a sister, the brother is to receive twice as much as the sister.
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
