|
Salam, Yousuf.
Thank you for your question.
The Qur’an in Surat Maryam tells us that Maryam the Virgin, daughter of `Imran, gave birth to `Isa (peace be upon him) miraculously, without her having been in contact with any man. The Qur’an says what means: *{Relate in the Book [the story of] Mary, when she withdrew from her family to a place in the East. She placed a screen [to screen herself] from them; then We sent her Our angel, and he appeared before her as a man in all respects. She said: “I seek refuge from thee to [God] Most Gracious: [come not near] if thou dost fear God.” He said: “Nay, I am only a messenger from thy Lord, [to announce] to thee the gift of a holy son.” She said: “How shall I have a son, seeing that no man has touched me, and I am not unchaste?” He said: “So [it will be]: Thy Lord saith, ‘That is easy for Me: and [We wish] to appoint him as a sign unto men and a mercy from Us.’ It is a matter [so] decreed.” So she conceived him, and she retired with him to a remote place}* (Maryam 19:16-22)
*{At length she brought the [babe] to her people, carrying him [in her arms]. They said: “O Mary! truly an amazing thing hast thou brought! O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a man of evil, nor thy mother a woman unchaste!” But she pointed to the babe. They said: “How can we talk to one who is a child in the cradle?” He said: “I am indeed a servant of God: He hath given me revelation and made me a prophet; And He hath made me blessed wheresoever I be, and hath enjoined on me prayer and charity as long as I live; [He] hath made me kind to my mother, and not overbearing or miserable; So peace is on me the day I was born, the day that I die, and the day that I shall be raised up to life [again]!” Such [was] Jesus the son of Mary: [it is] a statement of truth, about which they [vainly] dispute.}* Maryam 19:27-34)
As you can see, there is no reference to anybody here called Joseph. If there had been a husband to Maryam before she gave birth to Baby Jesus, the claim of a miraculous birth for Jesus would have been suspect. The Qur’an does not say that Mary was married and to a husband called Joseph before she gave birth to Jesus. Whereas the Bible does say that Mary had “a husband” (or at any rate one who was “espoused to her”) when the Holy Ghost “overshadowed” her to make her conceive “the Son of God”.
Read the following verses in the Gospel according to Luke, chapter 1:
“And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.” (26-27)
“And the angel said unto her, fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.” (30-31)
“Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” (34-35)
We see another account of the birth of Mary in Matthew, Chapter 1, where Joseph is referred to as her husband:
“And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.” (16)
“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.” (18-19)
Here we have a chance to compare the two accounts of Jesus’s birth as described in the Gospels and in the Qur’an. The Gospels say nothing of the reaction of the people towards Mary when she brought a baby in her arms, probably because there was nothing strange in that, as she had a husband. But the Qur’an says that the people gathered around her finding fault with her, and she was saved from them through a miracle: the baby Jesus in her arms spoke to the people; he told them that God had blessed him and appointed him a prophet. If this miracle had not happened, probably the people would have given Mary the punishment prescribed in the Torah for fornication: death by stoning. Only Allah knows.
In this context, it would be appropriate to quote Rudolph Karl Bultmann (1884-1976), a leading German New Testament professor of immense influence on Christian studies in the twentieth century. He maintained that the gospels were not history but theology in story form. He wrote:
“There is no historical-biographical interest in the Gospels, and that is why they have nothing to say about Jesus’ human personality, his appearance and character, his origin, education and development.... They do not tell of a much admired human personality, but of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Lord of the Church, and do so because they have grown out of Christian worship and remain tied to it.” (The History of the Synoptic Tradition, [ET Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1963], pp. 372-73).
You can see here a learned theologian honest enough to say that the gospel narrations about Jesus are not necessarily true to history. This fact should open one’s eyes to the Qur’anic narration, which comes from God and so it has got to be true. And remember, we have only these two sources (the Gospels and the Qur’an) for the story of Jesus. The bulk of the voluminous compositions on Jesus that appeared much after his life-time are based on the scant details of the thirty-three years of his earthly sojourn given in the Gospels, plus creative imagination spurred on by ardent faith.
And Allah knows best. Thank you and please keep in touch.
Salam.
Useful Links: The Story of Jesus A Brother for Jesus?!
Virgin Mary in Islamic Teachings
|
