The story of the family of Imran gets underway with an account of a prayer of Anna (Marys mother). Like her Old Testament namesake Hannah, the "wife of Imran" dedicates her unborn child to holy service. After Mary is born, she is entrusted to Zakariya (the New Testament character Zacharias), and lives in "Al-Mihrab" which probably refers to an annex of the temple in Jerusalem. Verse 37 says, "Every time he entered Al-Mihrab to visit, he found her supplied with sustenance."
Then the focus turns to Zakariya. He prays for offspring, and angels tell him about the soon arrival of Yahya (that is, his future son, John the Baptist), who will "confirm the Word from Allah." Zakariya asks for a sign that this will occur, and in reply the angel says, "You will not speak to mankind for three days except with signals." This is similar to, but not in agreement with, the statement in Luke 1:20, where Gabriel tells Zachariah that he will not be able to speak until the day when John is born a period much longer than three days.
Back to Mary: the angels tell her that Allah has chosen her "above the women of the Alamin" (all beings) and mention the occasion on which "They cast lots with their pens as to which of them should be discharged with the care of Mary."
Lets stop there for some observations: this passage has some very close affinities with four Christian works of literature: the Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel of Luke, and the less famous Protevangelium of James (a.k.a. James Protevangelion, or Infancy Gospel) and the Infancy Gospel of Thomas the Israelite (not to be confused with the "Gospel of Thomas"). The parallels with Matthew and Luke should be pretty obvious; the parallels with the other two books merit some special treatment.
In the Protevangelium of James (which can be read online at www.philthompson.net/pages/library/protevangelion.htm ), the scene in which Anna (Joachims wife) prays for a child is prominent in the first chapter: as she is crying about her barrenness, an angel appears and says, "You shall conceive and bear, and your child shall be spoken of in the whole world." Anna responds: "Whether the child be male or female, I will bring it as a gift to the Lord my God, to minister unto Him." This is remarkably similar to 3:35 in the Quran.
Also in the Protevangelium of James, when Mary is three years old, Anna and Joachim take her to the temple, where she is entrusted to the priests and "she received food from the hand of an angel." This is in sync with the Qurans statement that when Zachariah visited Mary, he found that she had been supplied with sustenance.
What happens next in the Protevangelium of James? The same thing that happens next in the Qurans account: Mary gets married off to Joseph. An angel tells Zacharias to "Go forth and assemble the widowers, and let each one bring a rod, and to the one to whom the Lord gives a sign, his wife shall she be." (This, itself, is reminiscent of the selection of the rod of Aaron in Numbers 17:1-10.) Joseph hears the summons and goes, with others, and a dove descends and perches on Josephs rod. Joseph protests that he is too old to marry such a young girl, but the priests insist that the Lord has chosen him, so he agrees to take Mary, saying that he will take her to his house, and then get back to carpentry.
If someone (such as Waraqa Ibn Nawfal, an educated friend of Muhammad before his career as a prophet began, or the two individuals Jabara and Yasara, who are mentioned in an online book at answering-islam.org.uk/Books/Goldsack/Sources/chap3.htm ) told Muhammad the story in the Protevangelium of James, but replaced the word "rods" with the word "reeds," and if Muhammad interpreted reeds to refer to reed-pens, then a natural explanation for the statement in 3:44 that "they cast lots with their pens" presents itself.
(Waraqa Ibn Nawfal is described in the hadith Sahih al-Bukhari Vol. 4, Book 55, #605, and Vol. 1, Book 1, #3 as a Christian convert who used to read the Gospel in Arabic, and as someone who would write from the Gospel in Hebrew as much as Allah wished him to write. [Using different notation, thats Sahih al-Bukhari 4:605 and Sahih Muslim 1:301 p. 98.])
In v. 45, Marys coming son is described: "Allah gives you glad tidings of a Word from Him, his name will be the Messiah Isa [Christ Jesus], the son of Mary, held in honor in this world and in the hereafter, and will be one of those who are near Allah." This is pretty interesting, not only because it somewhat echoes Luke 1:31-32 (with the part about Jesus being the Son of God edited out), but also because it is nothing less than an affirmation that Jesus is the Messiah! However, it appears that Muhammad either had no clear concept of the profound theological meaning of the term "Messiah," or that he regarded the term "Messiah" to mean that Jesus was "anointed" in about the same sense that all prophets are anointed. (Probably the first idea is more likely to be true, since, as far as I know, the Quran does not refer to other prophets as "Messiah" in the same way that Jesus is called the Messiah.)
The statement that Allahs Word was coming indicates an awareness of the opening verses of the Gospel of John, in which the pre-incarnate Christ is described as the eternal Word. But in v. 47, when Mary asks how she, a virgin, is going to have a son, the explanation is given that Allah will create Jesus within her. (This does not fully resolve the question of whether or not the Quran teaches that the pre-incarnate Word was created by Allah; I hope to address that later.)
Another detail in this passage should be noted: v. 49 describes how, on one occasion, Jesus made a bird out of clay, and breathed life into it, and it became a bird. This miracle is featured in the Infancy Gospel of Thomas the Israelite (which can be read at www.gospels.net/translations/infancythomastranslation.html ). A couple of short essays at answering-islam.org.uk/Quran/Sources/cradle.html and at www.aboutisa.com/thomas-2.shtml discuss the apparent connection between the accounts in the Quran and the Infancy Gospel of Thomas the Israelite 2:3-6. (For those who dont want to click the links, heres a summary of what this text says: one day in His childhood, Jesus molded twelve sparrows out of clay on a Sabbath-day. A Jew told Joseph what Jesus had done. Joseph went to Jesus and asked, "Why are you doing this unlawful thing?" In response, Jesus clapped His hands, and told the sparrows, "Go, fly away, and remember me now that you are alive." And away flew the sparrows, chirping.)
An interesting feature of this passage is that the word "khalq" is used to describe Jesus formation of the birds a term that is elsewhere reserved to describe divine acts of creation.
Another comparison: the fabulistic First Infancy Gospel of Jesus Christ (which may be read online at www.synaxis.org/ecf/volume08/ECF00042.htm ), a.k.a. the Arabic Gospel of the Infancy, begins with the statement that Jesus "spoke even when He was in the cradle," which sounds like 3:46s statement that "He will speak to the people in the cradle." (However, the possibility exists that this sentence in the First Infancy Gospel of Jesus Christ was interpolated from the Quran. The description at www.ccel.org/fathers2/ANF-08/anf08-66.htm says that the date of composition is unknown.)
Besides the parallels with the Protevangelium of James, the Infancy Gospel of Thomas the Israelite, and the (possible) parallel with the First Infancy Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Qurans text reflects much of the material in the canonical Gospel-accounts. One of these close parallels occurs when Mary responds to the angelic message, in v. 47 ~ "She said, O my Lord! How shall I have a son when no man has touched me." This would pass for a translation of Marys statement in Luke 1:34 ("How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?").
Verses 52-53 describe a scene in Jesus ministry in which "Isa came to know of their [the Jews] disbelief." This is probably based on a recollection of John 6:66-68, where Jesus, responding to the withdrawal of many of His disciples, asks the twelve, "Will you also go away?" and Peter replies, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God." This is drastically re-cast in the Quran so that Jesus asks, "Who will be my helpers in Allahs cause?" to which the disciples reply, "We are the helpers of Allah we are Muslims Our Lord! (referring to Allah) We believe in what you have sent down."
Verse 55 is interesting. Allah is depicted telling Jesus, "O Jesus! Verily I will cause you to die, and will take you up to Myself, and deliver you from those who believe not." (Thats Rodwells translation. The Hilali-Khan translation and the translation by M.H. Shakir have very different renderings, and the Hilali-Khan translation includes a dubious interpretive note.) Islamic interpreters are not in unanimous agreement about what is meant by "Ya Isa inni mutawaffi-ka." At www.muslim.org/islam/deathj-5.htm you can read the interpretations of various Islamic commentators. I will revisit this subject, God willing, when examining 4:157.
The same verse includes the statement that Allah "will make those who follow you [Jesus] superior to those who disbelieve till the Day of Resurrection." It would seem that if 3:55 is going to be taken seriously, one must conclude that Allah promised that those who followed Jesus without detouring into unauthorized teachings or practices would be exalted throughout history until the resurrection. It would also seem that there is an implicit promise from Allah in this verse to the effect that for a period extending from the ministry of Jesus until the day of resurrection, the followers of Jesus will be exalted above unbelievers.
Verse 59 is even more interesting. It says, "Verily, the likeness of Jesus before Allah is the likeness of Adam. He created him from dust; then said to him, 'Be!' and he was." It seems obvious that the part about the creation from dust describes Adam, not Jesus, inasmuch as Jesus physical body began to form in the womb of Mary, and wombs are not dusty. This verse could be taken as an observation that Jesus, like Adam, did not have an earthly father. But theres an intriguing aspect to the first phrase that compares Jesus to Adam. Thats a Biblical theme: the Gospel of Luke, which calls Jesus the Son of God (in 1:35, et al), also calls Adam the son of God (in 3:38). Paul draws a comparison between Jesus and Adam in First Corinthians 15:45 ~ The first man Adam became a living soul; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.
Inasmuch as the Quran teaches that Allah commanded the angels to do obeisance to Adam (in 2:34), what objection can be made to the Christians obeisance to Jesus? Adam was merely physical, a being with a beginning, but as the personified Word of God, which is not created but proceeds eternally, like light from an ever-shining lamp, Jesus is the expression of His Father. So if the likeness of Jesus is the likeness of Adam, then I think whoever believes this should give some latitude for the offering of obeisance to Jesus not the worship of His physical body, but of everything about Him that is expressive of the Father.
Verse 61 instructs Muhammad about how to respond to some individuals who disputed with him about Jesus (and much of this surah was probably elicited as a reply to these people). The historical background for this is described at www.al-islam.org/kaaba14/2.htm and al-islam.org/message/58.htm (as part of a brief biography of Muhammad, written by a lucid Muslim). According to the record preserved by Muslims, some visitors from the nearby territory of Najran who were Christians, of one sort or another were going to face Muhammad in a "Mubahilah" contest (a meeting at which both sides say something like, "May God strike whichever side is wrong," sort of like the showdown between Moses and Korah in Numbers 16). However, they backed out when they observed the sincerity of Muhammad and his followers, and saw that he had brought children with him. Muhammad then made a treaty with the visitors from Najran. (A point in hindsight: relying on the material to which I gave links, I think the visitors from Najran quit their dialogue way too soon.)
This section closes with a self-endorsing claim that this is the real story about Jesus, which no one should have any doubts about.
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
Then the focus turns to Zakariya. He prays for offspring, and angels tell him about the soon arrival of Yahya (that is, his future son, John the Baptist), who will "confirm the Word from Allah." Zakariya asks for a sign that this will occur, and in reply the angel says, "You will not speak to mankind for three days except with signals." This is similar to, but not in agreement with, the statement in Luke 1:20, where Gabriel tells Zachariah that he will not be able to speak until the day when John is born a period much longer than three days.
Back to Mary: the angels tell her that Allah has chosen her "above the women of the Alamin" (all beings) and mention the occasion on which "They cast lots with their pens as to which of them should be discharged with the care of Mary."
Lets stop there for some observations: this passage has some very close affinities with four Christian works of literature: the Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel of Luke, and the less famous Protevangelium of James (a.k.a. James Protevangelion, or Infancy Gospel) and the Infancy Gospel of Thomas the Israelite (not to be confused with the "Gospel of Thomas"). The parallels with Matthew and Luke should be pretty obvious; the parallels with the other two books merit some special treatment.
In the Protevangelium of James (which can be read online at www.philthompson.net/pages/library/protevangelion.htm ), the scene in which Anna (Joachims wife) prays for a child is prominent in the first chapter: as she is crying about her barrenness, an angel appears and says, "You shall conceive and bear, and your child shall be spoken of in the whole world." Anna responds: "Whether the child be male or female, I will bring it as a gift to the Lord my God, to minister unto Him." This is remarkably similar to 3:35 in the Quran.
Also in the Protevangelium of James, when Mary is three years old, Anna and Joachim take her to the temple, where she is entrusted to the priests and "she received food from the hand of an angel." This is in sync with the Qurans statement that when Zachariah visited Mary, he found that she had been supplied with sustenance.
What happens next in the Protevangelium of James? The same thing that happens next in the Qurans account: Mary gets married off to Joseph. An angel tells Zacharias to "Go forth and assemble the widowers, and let each one bring a rod, and to the one to whom the Lord gives a sign, his wife shall she be." (This, itself, is reminiscent of the selection of the rod of Aaron in Numbers 17:1-10.) Joseph hears the summons and goes, with others, and a dove descends and perches on Josephs rod. Joseph protests that he is too old to marry such a young girl, but the priests insist that the Lord has chosen him, so he agrees to take Mary, saying that he will take her to his house, and then get back to carpentry.
If someone (such as Waraqa Ibn Nawfal, an educated friend of Muhammad before his career as a prophet began, or the two individuals Jabara and Yasara, who are mentioned in an online book at answering-islam.org.uk/Books/Goldsack/Sources/chap3.htm ) told Muhammad the story in the Protevangelium of James, but replaced the word "rods" with the word "reeds," and if Muhammad interpreted reeds to refer to reed-pens, then a natural explanation for the statement in 3:44 that "they cast lots with their pens" presents itself.
(Waraqa Ibn Nawfal is described in the hadith Sahih al-Bukhari Vol. 4, Book 55, #605, and Vol. 1, Book 1, #3 as a Christian convert who used to read the Gospel in Arabic, and as someone who would write from the Gospel in Hebrew as much as Allah wished him to write. [Using different notation, thats Sahih al-Bukhari 4:605 and Sahih Muslim 1:301 p. 98.])
In v. 45, Marys coming son is described: "Allah gives you glad tidings of a Word from Him, his name will be the Messiah Isa [Christ Jesus], the son of Mary, held in honor in this world and in the hereafter, and will be one of those who are near Allah." This is pretty interesting, not only because it somewhat echoes Luke 1:31-32 (with the part about Jesus being the Son of God edited out), but also because it is nothing less than an affirmation that Jesus is the Messiah! However, it appears that Muhammad either had no clear concept of the profound theological meaning of the term "Messiah," or that he regarded the term "Messiah" to mean that Jesus was "anointed" in about the same sense that all prophets are anointed. (Probably the first idea is more likely to be true, since, as far as I know, the Quran does not refer to other prophets as "Messiah" in the same way that Jesus is called the Messiah.)
The statement that Allahs Word was coming indicates an awareness of the opening verses of the Gospel of John, in which the pre-incarnate Christ is described as the eternal Word. But in v. 47, when Mary asks how she, a virgin, is going to have a son, the explanation is given that Allah will create Jesus within her. (This does not fully resolve the question of whether or not the Quran teaches that the pre-incarnate Word was created by Allah; I hope to address that later.)
Another detail in this passage should be noted: v. 49 describes how, on one occasion, Jesus made a bird out of clay, and breathed life into it, and it became a bird. This miracle is featured in the Infancy Gospel of Thomas the Israelite (which can be read at www.gospels.net/translations/infancythomastranslation.html ). A couple of short essays at answering-islam.org.uk/Quran/Sources/cradle.html and at www.aboutisa.com/thomas-2.shtml discuss the apparent connection between the accounts in the Quran and the Infancy Gospel of Thomas the Israelite 2:3-6. (For those who dont want to click the links, heres a summary of what this text says: one day in His childhood, Jesus molded twelve sparrows out of clay on a Sabbath-day. A Jew told Joseph what Jesus had done. Joseph went to Jesus and asked, "Why are you doing this unlawful thing?" In response, Jesus clapped His hands, and told the sparrows, "Go, fly away, and remember me now that you are alive." And away flew the sparrows, chirping.)
An interesting feature of this passage is that the word "khalq" is used to describe Jesus formation of the birds a term that is elsewhere reserved to describe divine acts of creation.
Another comparison: the fabulistic First Infancy Gospel of Jesus Christ (which may be read online at www.synaxis.org/ecf/volume08/ECF00042.htm ), a.k.a. the Arabic Gospel of the Infancy, begins with the statement that Jesus "spoke even when He was in the cradle," which sounds like 3:46s statement that "He will speak to the people in the cradle." (However, the possibility exists that this sentence in the First Infancy Gospel of Jesus Christ was interpolated from the Quran. The description at www.ccel.org/fathers2/ANF-08/anf08-66.htm says that the date of composition is unknown.)
Besides the parallels with the Protevangelium of James, the Infancy Gospel of Thomas the Israelite, and the (possible) parallel with the First Infancy Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Qurans text reflects much of the material in the canonical Gospel-accounts. One of these close parallels occurs when Mary responds to the angelic message, in v. 47 ~ "She said, O my Lord! How shall I have a son when no man has touched me." This would pass for a translation of Marys statement in Luke 1:34 ("How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?").
Verses 52-53 describe a scene in Jesus ministry in which "Isa came to know of their [the Jews] disbelief." This is probably based on a recollection of John 6:66-68, where Jesus, responding to the withdrawal of many of His disciples, asks the twelve, "Will you also go away?" and Peter replies, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God." This is drastically re-cast in the Quran so that Jesus asks, "Who will be my helpers in Allahs cause?" to which the disciples reply, "We are the helpers of Allah we are Muslims Our Lord! (referring to Allah) We believe in what you have sent down."
Verse 55 is interesting. Allah is depicted telling Jesus, "O Jesus! Verily I will cause you to die, and will take you up to Myself, and deliver you from those who believe not." (Thats Rodwells translation. The Hilali-Khan translation and the translation by M.H. Shakir have very different renderings, and the Hilali-Khan translation includes a dubious interpretive note.) Islamic interpreters are not in unanimous agreement about what is meant by "Ya Isa inni mutawaffi-ka." At www.muslim.org/islam/deathj-5.htm you can read the interpretations of various Islamic commentators. I will revisit this subject, God willing, when examining 4:157.
The same verse includes the statement that Allah "will make those who follow you [Jesus] superior to those who disbelieve till the Day of Resurrection." It would seem that if 3:55 is going to be taken seriously, one must conclude that Allah promised that those who followed Jesus without detouring into unauthorized teachings or practices would be exalted throughout history until the resurrection. It would also seem that there is an implicit promise from Allah in this verse to the effect that for a period extending from the ministry of Jesus until the day of resurrection, the followers of Jesus will be exalted above unbelievers.
Verse 59 is even more interesting. It says, "Verily, the likeness of Jesus before Allah is the likeness of Adam. He created him from dust; then said to him, 'Be!' and he was." It seems obvious that the part about the creation from dust describes Adam, not Jesus, inasmuch as Jesus physical body began to form in the womb of Mary, and wombs are not dusty. This verse could be taken as an observation that Jesus, like Adam, did not have an earthly father. But theres an intriguing aspect to the first phrase that compares Jesus to Adam. Thats a Biblical theme: the Gospel of Luke, which calls Jesus the Son of God (in 1:35, et al), also calls Adam the son of God (in 3:38). Paul draws a comparison between Jesus and Adam in First Corinthians 15:45 ~ The first man Adam became a living soul; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.
Inasmuch as the Quran teaches that Allah commanded the angels to do obeisance to Adam (in 2:34), what objection can be made to the Christians obeisance to Jesus? Adam was merely physical, a being with a beginning, but as the personified Word of God, which is not created but proceeds eternally, like light from an ever-shining lamp, Jesus is the expression of His Father. So if the likeness of Jesus is the likeness of Adam, then I think whoever believes this should give some latitude for the offering of obeisance to Jesus not the worship of His physical body, but of everything about Him that is expressive of the Father.
Verse 61 instructs Muhammad about how to respond to some individuals who disputed with him about Jesus (and much of this surah was probably elicited as a reply to these people). The historical background for this is described at www.al-islam.org/kaaba14/2.htm and al-islam.org/message/58.htm (as part of a brief biography of Muhammad, written by a lucid Muslim). According to the record preserved by Muslims, some visitors from the nearby territory of Najran who were Christians, of one sort or another were going to face Muhammad in a "Mubahilah" contest (a meeting at which both sides say something like, "May God strike whichever side is wrong," sort of like the showdown between Moses and Korah in Numbers 16). However, they backed out when they observed the sincerity of Muhammad and his followers, and saw that he had brought children with him. Muhammad then made a treaty with the visitors from Najran. (A point in hindsight: relying on the material to which I gave links, I think the visitors from Najran quit their dialogue way too soon.)
This section closes with a self-endorsing claim that this is the real story about Jesus, which no one should have any doubts about.
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
