The previous surah, Al-Baqarah, described what Islam is; this surah describes what Islam is not: it is not Christianity, it is not Judaism, and it is not paganism. It includes (from v. 33 to v. 63) stories about Mary and Jesus. Marys mother is called the "wife of Imran" (though in Christian tradition, Mary's father is named Joachim), and in another place (surah 66:12) Mary is called the "daughter of Imran." Because "Imran" = the "Amram" of the Bible (in Exodus 6:20), this provokes a question: in Exodus, Amram is the father of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, but Miriam/Mary the mother of Jesus lived over a thousand years later. So why did Muhammad call Mary the daughter of Imran? It looks like on at least one occasion, he confused Miriam the sister of Moses with Miriam the mother of Jesus (even though on other occasions, an interim between Moses and Jesus seems to be taken for granted).
It is possible to resolve this difficulty by proposing that there were two men named Imran, living in different eras, both of whom had famous daughters named Miriam. However, Mary (the mother of Jesus) is also called the "sister of Aaron." So to sustain this resolution, it is necessary to either propose that two men named Imran, in different eras, had a son named Aaron and a daughter named Mary, or that sister of Aaron was used non-literally to describe Mary as one who served in the temple.
Before exploring the part about the family of Imran (after which this surah is named), we must first get through the opening 32 verses, which are peppered with the statement that there is no god but Allah. Part of Ayat-al-Kursi is repeated, followed by several verses of self-endorsement and warnings about the fiery fate of unbelievers.
Verse 7 is the center of a controversy: it qualifies the verses which emphasize how plain and perspicuous the Quran is. It says that some of the Qurans verses are plain and others have hidden meanings. Those with craven hearts - the text says - try to get the hidden interpretation, but here is the controversy. The Quran was originally written down without vowels and without much punctuation. So the next phrase might mean "But no one knows their meaning but Allah. And the stable in knowledge say, We believe it; it is all from our Lord." Or it might mean, "Yet no one knows their meaning but Allah and the stable in knowledge. Say, We believe it; it is all from our Lord."
Typically, I think, Muslims who subscribe to well-established forms of Islam prefer the first interpretation, and those who subscribe to mystical or innovative forms of Islam prefer the second one.
Verse 13 says that a sign has been given "in the two armies that met." The reference-point for this is the Battle of Badr, in which 319 Muslim troops defeated 1000 Meccans who went to battle to defend a caravan (which did elude the Muslims).
(Incidentally, some time before this, some Muslims had raided a caravan at Nakhla. They did this during a holy month, a truce-month. Surah 2, verse 217 probably constitutes a "revelation" Muhammad delivered after his raiders returned to Medina from this raid.)
(This, by the way, helps establish the date of this part of the surah 3, as sometime after the Battle of Badr, which took place in March of 624.) The Quran says that Allah caused the Muslim army to see the Meccan army as twice as numerous themselves (that is, although the Muslims were actually outnumbered 3-to-1, Allah made it seem to the Muslims as if they were only outnumbered 2-to-1).
Mixed in with affirmations of the truth of the Quran and the greatness of Allah, there are brief descriptions of the joys of Paradise, the horrors of hell, and denunciations of those who reject Islam. Verse 28 instructs Muslims against taking unbelievers as their friends. Some Muslims get around this by interpreting the Arabic word "Auliya" to refer to allies and/or family patrons, not to casual friends.
Verses 26-27 comprise a tidy little passage that interrupts the theme of the surrounding text. Part of v. 26 ("You give the kingdom to whom You will, and You take the kingdom from whom you will") is remarkably similar to Daniel 2:21 ("He removes kings, and deposes kings"). The sentiment of verse 27 is similar to Psalm 104:20-30, describing various natural occurrences which may be taken as signs of Gods existence (but not of Muhammads prophethood). Rodwell proposed that these two verses might be a fragment of some "lost surah."
Verse 32 sums up the crucial difference between Islam and everything else: the text instructs Muhammad to say, "If you love Allah, then follow me." A lot of things taught in Islam - especially things borrowed from the Judaism and quasi-Christianity of seventh-century Arabia - are compatible with Christianity. But when one considers what Muhammad taught and did, this command to follow Muhammad makes Christianity and Islam perpetually two separate quantities.
Then in v. 33 the story of the family of Imran begins.
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
It is possible to resolve this difficulty by proposing that there were two men named Imran, living in different eras, both of whom had famous daughters named Miriam. However, Mary (the mother of Jesus) is also called the "sister of Aaron." So to sustain this resolution, it is necessary to either propose that two men named Imran, in different eras, had a son named Aaron and a daughter named Mary, or that sister of Aaron was used non-literally to describe Mary as one who served in the temple.
Before exploring the part about the family of Imran (after which this surah is named), we must first get through the opening 32 verses, which are peppered with the statement that there is no god but Allah. Part of Ayat-al-Kursi is repeated, followed by several verses of self-endorsement and warnings about the fiery fate of unbelievers.
Verse 7 is the center of a controversy: it qualifies the verses which emphasize how plain and perspicuous the Quran is. It says that some of the Qurans verses are plain and others have hidden meanings. Those with craven hearts - the text says - try to get the hidden interpretation, but here is the controversy. The Quran was originally written down without vowels and without much punctuation. So the next phrase might mean "But no one knows their meaning but Allah. And the stable in knowledge say, We believe it; it is all from our Lord." Or it might mean, "Yet no one knows their meaning but Allah and the stable in knowledge. Say, We believe it; it is all from our Lord."
Typically, I think, Muslims who subscribe to well-established forms of Islam prefer the first interpretation, and those who subscribe to mystical or innovative forms of Islam prefer the second one.
Verse 13 says that a sign has been given "in the two armies that met." The reference-point for this is the Battle of Badr, in which 319 Muslim troops defeated 1000 Meccans who went to battle to defend a caravan (which did elude the Muslims).
(Incidentally, some time before this, some Muslims had raided a caravan at Nakhla. They did this during a holy month, a truce-month. Surah 2, verse 217 probably constitutes a "revelation" Muhammad delivered after his raiders returned to Medina from this raid.)
(This, by the way, helps establish the date of this part of the surah 3, as sometime after the Battle of Badr, which took place in March of 624.) The Quran says that Allah caused the Muslim army to see the Meccan army as twice as numerous themselves (that is, although the Muslims were actually outnumbered 3-to-1, Allah made it seem to the Muslims as if they were only outnumbered 2-to-1).
Mixed in with affirmations of the truth of the Quran and the greatness of Allah, there are brief descriptions of the joys of Paradise, the horrors of hell, and denunciations of those who reject Islam. Verse 28 instructs Muslims against taking unbelievers as their friends. Some Muslims get around this by interpreting the Arabic word "Auliya" to refer to allies and/or family patrons, not to casual friends.
Verses 26-27 comprise a tidy little passage that interrupts the theme of the surrounding text. Part of v. 26 ("You give the kingdom to whom You will, and You take the kingdom from whom you will") is remarkably similar to Daniel 2:21 ("He removes kings, and deposes kings"). The sentiment of verse 27 is similar to Psalm 104:20-30, describing various natural occurrences which may be taken as signs of Gods existence (but not of Muhammads prophethood). Rodwell proposed that these two verses might be a fragment of some "lost surah."
Verse 32 sums up the crucial difference between Islam and everything else: the text instructs Muhammad to say, "If you love Allah, then follow me." A lot of things taught in Islam - especially things borrowed from the Judaism and quasi-Christianity of seventh-century Arabia - are compatible with Christianity. But when one considers what Muhammad taught and did, this command to follow Muhammad makes Christianity and Islam perpetually two separate quantities.
Then in v. 33 the story of the family of Imran begins.
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
