Stories of the Prophets,
Stories of the Prophets,
peace be upon them.
May the blessings of Allah,
followed by His
peace,
be upon the best
of all creation,
the resolute Messengers
whose rank
is exalted.
The Story of Jesus,
peace be upon him.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all creation,
and may peace and blessings
be upon our Prophet Muhammad,
and upon his family and Companions
all together.
To proceed:
The speech of the Prophet of Allah, Jesus,
peace be upon him,
while he was still in the cradle,
was a miracle demonstrating
the power of Allah Almighty
and His choosing of him
from among mankind.
Yet it was not
the only miracle granted to him,
peace be upon him;
for Allah Almighty supported him
with numerous clear
signs and wondrous,
dazzling miracles.
When Jesus, peace be upon him, grew up
and reached the age of moral responsibility,
Allah Almighty sent him
to the Children of Israel,
calling them to Allah Almighty,
enjoining what is right,
forbidding what is wrong,
and making lawful for them
that which had previously been forbidden to them
because of their wrongdoing,
disbelief, and transgression.
As Allah Almighty said concerning them:
"For the wrongdoing
of the Jews,
We made unlawful for them
good things
that had been lawful to them,
and for their hindering
from the path of Allah
so much,
and for their taking of usury
while they had been forbidden from it,
and for their consuming the wealth of people
unjustly;
and We have prepared
for the disbelievers among them
a painful punishment."
Allah Almighty brought
Jesus, peace be upon him, into existence through a word
from Him, which is His command:
"Be!"
Thus, he is the Word of Allah.
He was given the title of the Messiah (al-Masih)
due to his frequent wandering
in the land and worshipping within it;
and it is also said:
because whenever he wiped
over someone afflicted with an ailment,
they were cured by the permission of Allah Almighty.
Allah gave him the patronymic
"the son of Mary,"
which indicates that his lineage
is established solely through his mother and no one
else,
and that he is not the son of Allah Almighty
as the misguided ones
among the Christians claim.
Allah Almighty bore witness
to the high standing of Jesus, peace be upon him,
and his exalted status in this world,
and that is
because of his immense impact
in guiding people,
bringing them out of darkness
into the light,
calling them to the oneness of Allah Almighty
and to noble
character,
and upholding the Torah after
they had differed over it.
And in the Hereafter,
by accepting his intercession
and granting him high rank therein;
He chose him
and made him among those brought near
to Him, Blessed and Exalted is He.
What a magnificent attribute that is,
the ultimate aspiration
of all souls
and the deepest longing of hearts!
Allah described Jesus,
peace be upon him, as being
among the righteous in his words
and deeds,
and that he would speak to people
as an infant before his time,
and speak to them as a mature man
after his descent at the end
of time,
addressing them with what rectifies
their religious and worldly affairs.
Above and beyond that, Allah Almighty taught him
writing
and script,
and granted him wisdom, which is
understanding the inner secrets of the divine law
and placing things in their proper places.
He also taught him
the Torah and the Gospel:
the Torah being the scripture
that Allah revealed to
Moses, peace be upon him,
and the Gospel
being the scripture that Allah revealed
to him. Thus, Jesus,
peace be upon him, memorized both this
and that.
Allah bestowed immense favor
upon Jesus, peace be upon him,
choosing him as a Messenger to the Children of
Israel,
and making him among the Messengers of Strong Resolve,
alongside Noah, Abraham,
Moses, and Muhammad,
may peace and blessings be upon them all.
All the aforementioned
were glad tidings with which Allah gave good news
to Mary, peace be upon her,
and comforted
her heart, she who
had said in heartbreak:
"Oh, would that I had died
before this
and become a thing completely forgotten!"
Allah,
the Exalted, said:
"[And mention] when the angels said,
'O Mary,
indeed Allah gives you glad tidings
indeed Allah gives you glad tidings
of a word from Him,
whose name will be the Messiah,
Jesus, the son of Mary,
whose name will be the Messiah, Jesus,
the son of Mary,
held in honor
in this world
and the Hereafter,
held in honor
in this world
and the Hereafter,
and among those brought near [to Allah].
He will speak to the people
in the cradle
and in maturity,
and will be of the righteous.'
She said, 'My Lord,
how will
I have a child
when no man
has touched me?'
He said, 'Such is Allah;
Allah creates
what He wills.
When
He decrees a matter,
He only says
to it: "Be,"
and it is.
And He will teach
him the Book and wisdom
and the Torah and the Gospel,
and [make him] a messenger to
the Children of Israel, [saying]:
"Indeed,
I have come to you
with a sign;
indeed, I have come to you
with a sign;
with a sign
from your Lord:
that I design
for you
out of clay
"[fashioned] like the shape
of a bird, and I breathe
into it,
and I breathe
into it, and it becomes
a bird
by Allah's permission;
and I heal the blind
and the leper, and I revive [the dead]
by Allah's permission;
and I inform you
of what you eat
and what you store up
in your houses.
Surely in that
is a sign for you,
if you are [believers];
and confirming
what came before me
of the Torah,
and to make lawful for you
some of
that which was forbidden
to you.
And I have come to you
with a sign
from your Lord; so fear
Allah and obey me.
Indeed, Allah is my Lord
and your Lord, so worship Him;
this
is a straight
path.'"
Jesus,
peace be upon him, began calling
his people, the Children of Israel,
to the worship of Allah alone.
So he said to them:
"Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord..."
“They surely disbelieve who say: Lo! Allah is the Messiah, son of Mary. The Messiah (himself) said: O Children of Israel, worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. Lo! whoso ascribeth partners unto Allah, for him Allah hath forbidden paradise. His abode is the Fire. For evil-doers there will be no helpers.” (5:72)
"...Allah has forbidden
Paradise for him,
and his refuge is the Fire;
and there are no helpers
for the wrongdoers."
But as is the habit of nations that reject
their messengers,
they demanded proofs of his truthfulness.
So Allah supported him
with extraordinary miracles.
During the time of Jesus,
peace be upon him, the science of medicine flourished,
physicians became widespread,
and the prevailing topic among
people was about the latest
medical discoveries.
Therefore, Allah Almighty supported Jesus,
peace be upon him, with miracles
of the very nature of their interests,
yet beyond the reach of any
among them.
Among these
was that Jesus, peace be upon him, said
to them: "I am able
to fashion for you from clay
an image in the shape of a bird,
then I breathe into it,
and it becomes a real bird
by Allah's permission."
So they said to him,
by way of challenge:
"Fashion for us a bat
and impart life into it,
if you are truthful in what you say."
And they only
asked for the creation of a bat
because it is among the most wondrous of creatures;
among its wonders
is that it is made of flesh and blood,
flies without feathers,
gives birth just as mammals do,
and does not lay eggs
as other birds do;
and it has udders
that produce milk.
So Jesus, peace be upon him, took
clay and fashioned from it
the shape of a bat,
then breathed into it,
and suddenly it was flying between
the sky and the earth
while they were watching.
Jesus, peace be upon him, said to them:
"And among the miracles that
attest to my truthfulness
is that I heal and restore
sight to whoever is born
blind, and I cure whoever
is afflicted with leprosy.
Yet I do not do that
through my own power or knowledge,
but rather I do it by the permission of Allah."
And he singled out
the healing of the blind and the leper
for mention because they were
two intractable diseases
for which medicine, up to that point,
had found no path to cure.
A number of them were cured
after Jesus, peace be upon him,
supplicated for them
and wiped over them,
while the Children of Israel looked on.
Jesus, peace be upon him,
also said to them:
"Indeed, among the miracles with which
Allah has supported me
is that I bring the dead back to life by the permission of
Allah."
So he revived four persons for them:
Lazarus,
who was a friend of his,
an old woman's son, the tax collector's daughter,
and Shem, the son of Noah;
and Allah knows best.
As for Lazarus,
he was a friend of his;
his sister sent word to Jesus,
peace be upon him,
saying, "Your brother Lazarus is dying."
Between them was
a three-day journey.
So he came to him and found
that he had already died.
He said to his sister,
"Take us to his grave."
So she went with them
to his grave,
and he supplicated Allah Almighty,
whereupon he arose from his grave,
lived on, and had children.
As for the old woman's son,
Jesus passed by him as he was being carried
on his funeral bier,
so he supplicated Allah for him,
and he arose and returned to his family.
As for the tax collector's daughter,
her father was a man
who collected tithes;
his daughter had died the previous day,
so Jesus supplicated Allah, Glorious and Exalted,
and Allah Almighty revived her,
and she lived on after that
for a time and bore children.
When the Children
of Israel saw that,
they said, "You only revive
those whose death was recent;
perhaps they were not truly dead.
Revive for us Shem, the son of Noah!"
So he said to them,
"Show me to his grave."
He went out,
and the people went out with him,
until he reached his grave;
he then supplicated Allah for him,
and he emerged from his grave
with gray hair.
All of this took place right before
their eyes as they watched.
We notice in these miracles
how they progressively advanced
from difficult to even more difficult,
yet despite that,
none believed except a few
of them.
Then they demanded yet another sign from him,
saying:
"Tell us what we eat in our homes
and what we store up
of food for tomorrow."
So he informed them, saying:
"O so-and-so,
today you ate such-and-such,
and you stored up such
and such;
and you ate such-and-such,
and you stored up such-and-such."
And this too was
among his miracles, peace be upon him.
Yet despite that,
they accused him of sorcery
and did not believe him.
Allah Almighty said:
"[Remember] when Allah will say,
'O Jesus,
son of Mary, remember
My favor upon you and upon
your mother when
"I strengthened you
with the Holy Spirit,
so that you spoke to the people
in the cradle
and in maturity;
and when I taught you the Scripture,
wisdom, the Torah,
and the Gospel;
and when you designed
from clay the shape of
a bird by My permission,
then breathed
into it,
and breathed into it,
and it became a bird
by My permission;
and you healed the blind
and the leper by My permission;
and when you brought forth
the dead by My permission;
and when I restrained
the Children of Israel
from you
when you came to them
with clear proofs,
when you came to them
with clear proofs,
and those who disbelieved among them said,
“When Allah saith: O Jesus, son of Mary! Remember My favour unto thee and unto thy mother; how I strengthened thee with the holy Spirit, so that thou spakest unto mankind in the cradle as in maturity; and how I taught thee the Scripture and Wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel; and how thou didst shape of clay as it were the likeness of a bird by My permission, and didst blow upon it and it was a bird by My permission, and thou didst heal him who was born blind and the leper by My permission; and how thou didst raise the dead by My permission; and how I restrained the Children of Israel from (harming) thee when thou camest unto them with clear proofs, and those of them who disbelieved exclaimed: This is naught else than mere magic;” (5:110)
'This is nothing but clear
magic!'"
The Children of Israel stubbornly resisted
the message of their Prophet Jesus,
peace be upon him,
accusing him of sorcery and falsehood,
as was their customary habit with
their Prophets:
a group of them they denied,
and another group they killed.
So Jesus said to them,
peace be upon him,
"O Children of Israel,
indeed I am a messenger of Allah
sent to you; I have come to you
confirming what came before me with Moses,
peace be upon him, from the Torah
and divine laws.
Were I a false claimant
to prophethood, I would have brought something contrary,
yet you read in the Torah
that it foretold my coming
and gave glad tidings of me.
Thus I have come confirming
it, and I
bring you glad tidings of a messenger who will come
after me, whose name
is Ahmad." For I am like all Prophets:
every
one of them confirms the preceding Prophet
and brings glad tidings of the succeeding
Prophet.
Yet they did not believe
and persisted in their disbelief.
Then Muhammad was sent,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
with clear signs,
but they said, "This
is merely the sorcery of previous times."
Thus they were like cattle,
nay, even more astray
from the path.
It is narrated that a group
of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah,
peace be upon him, said to him,
"O Messenger of Allah,
tell us about yourself."
He replied, "Yes;
I am the supplication of my forefather Abraham
and the glad tidings of Jesus."
'Abdullah Ibn 'Abbas,
may Allah be pleased with them both, said:
"Allah never sent any Prophet
except that He took a covenant from him:
if Muhammad were to be sent
while he was alive,
he must believe in him and support him;
and He commanded him to take
a covenant from his nation:
if Muhammad were to be sent
while they were alive,
they must believe in him and support him."
And if all the Prophets,
peace and blessings be upon them,
were destined
to be gathered at one time
and live alongside our Prophet Muhammad,
peace be upon him,
it would not be permissible for them
to do anything except believe in him and follow him.
Jesus,
peace be upon him, sensed disbelief
from the Children of Israel
and saw their resolve to kill him,
so he stood among them and said,
"Who are my helpers
for the sake of Allah?"
The disciples answered him—
and they were his sincere companions
who believed in him,
affirmed his truthfulness, and dedicated
their lives to Allah—
saying, "We are
the helpers of Allah,
and we will stand by your side
to support the truth.
For we have truly believed in Allah
with profound faith,
and we ask you to bear witness to
our faith."
And so they said to their people on the Day of Resurrection...
and these words of theirs,
which the Qur'an relates
regarding them, demonstrate
that they had reached a
lofty degree of firm faith
and sincere certainty.
They were twelve
men in number.
Allah Almighty praised them
and commanded the Muslims to be
like them, as helpers of Allah
and of His religion.
During the time of Jesus, peace be upon him,
they said to Jesus, peace be upon him,
"Can your Lord, O Jesus,
send down to us
a feast spread with food from heaven?"
It was said
that they only requested this
due to their dire need and poverty,
so they asked him to bring down for them
a table of food from which they could eat
and gain strength
for acts of worship.
Jesus said to them,
peace be upon him,
"Fear Allah,
and do not make such a request,
for it may prove to be
a trial for you;
rather, rely upon Allah
in seeking your sustenance,
if you are truly believers."
The disciples said,
"We only requested this
because
we are in desperate need of eating
from it,
especially after our enemies have restricted
our supply of food;
and also that
our hearts may be set at ease when we witness
its descent from heaven,
and that we may increase in faith in you
and in knowledge of your message,
and bear witness that it is a sign
from Allah
and a clear proof
of the truth of what you have brought."
When Jesus,
peace be upon him, heard that
and understood their intention,
he consented to their request.
He stood up and supplicated Allah,
"O Allah, our Lord,
“Jesus, son of Mary, said: O Allah, Lord of us! Send down for us a table spread with food from heaven, that it may be a feast for us, for the first of us and for the last of us, and a sign from Thee. Give us sustenance, for Thou art the Best of Sustainers.” (5:114)
let the time of its descent be
a recurring festival and an occasion
through which we commemorate
this magnificent sign,
and grant it as sustenance for us."
So Allah answered
the supplication of Jesus, peace be upon him,
and said,
"I will indeed send down to you
this feast that you have requested;
but whoever disbelieves
among you after it is sent down
should blame no one
but himself,
for I shall punish him with a severe
torment the like of which I have not inflicted
upon anyone in the worlds."
And Allah fulfilled for them
His promise, and sent it down
upon them.
The angels came flying down
with a feast from heaven,
carrying seven fish
and seven loaves of bread,
Until I placed it between
their hands,
so the last of the people ate,
just as the first of them ate from it.
And they were commanded not to betray the trust
nor to save any of it for tomorrow,
but some of them misappropriated from it
and said,
"Perhaps it will not descend tomorrow."
So they betrayed the trust, hoarded it,
and stored it away, whereupon the table
was withdrawn, and they were transformed
into apes and swine.
It was said that
when those who doubted it reached the evening
and went to their beds
in the finest form
with their wives, feeling secure—
when it was
the last part of the night,
Allah transformed them into swine,
and by morning they were picking through
offal in garbage dumps.
They remained in that state for
three days,
and then they perished.
Allah Almighty said:
"And [remember] when I inspired
to the disciples,
“And when I inspired the disciples, (saying): Believe in Me and in My messenger, they said: We believe. Bear witness that we have surrendered (unto Thee) "we are muslims".” (5:111)
'Believe in Me and in My Messenger.' They said, 'We have believed,
and bear witness that
we are Muslims.'
[Remember] when
the disciples said,
'O Jesus,
“When the disciples said: O Jesus, son of Mary! Is thy Lord able to send down for us a table spread with food from heaven? He said: Observe your duty to Allah, if ye are true believers.” (5:112)
can your Lord send down
to us
a table spread with food
from heaven?'
He said,
'Fear Allah,
if you are
if you are
believers.'
They said, 'We wish
to eat
from it, that our hearts may be satisfied,
our hearts,
and that we may know
that
you have indeed told us the truth,
and that we may be among
the witnesses to it.'
Jesus,
son of Mary, said, 'O Allah,
our Lord,
send down to us
a table spread with food
a table spread with food
from heaven
to be
for us a festival—
to be for us
a festival for the first of us
and the last of us,
and a sign from You.
And provide for us,
for You are
the best of providers.'
Allah said,
'Indeed, I am
sending it down to you.
So whoever
disbelieves after [that]
among you—then indeed I will
punish him with a
punishment
then indeed I will
punish him with a punishment
such as I have not punished
anyone among
the worlds.'"
'Abdullah
Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said,
"Indeed, the most severely punished of people
on the Day of Resurrection
will be the hypocrites,
those who disbelieved among the companions of the table spread with food,
and the family of Pharaoh."
After all these signs
that the Children of Israel had witnessed,
and this table spread with food
from which they had eaten,
along with the punishment of those who disbelieved in it
right before their eyes—
namely transformation and destruction—
it only increased them
in resentment against the Prophet of Allah,
Jesus (peace be upon him).
So they gathered together and plotted
to kill him, setting out
determined to carry it out.
But they plot,
and Allah plots;
and Allah is the best of plotters,
as Allah protected His Prophet
and raised him up to Himself,
turning them back in their scheme,
sinful and disgraced.
Regarding this,
Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said:
"When Allah
Almighty intended to raise Jesus
to heaven,
Jesus (peace be upon him) came out
to his companions while his head
was dripping with water.
In the house there were twelve men
from among the disciples.
He said to them,
'Which of you is willing to have my likeness cast
upon him,
so that he may be killed in my place,
and be with me in my rank
in Paradise?'
A young man, the youngest among them, stood up
and said, 'I will.'
Jesus said to him, 'Sit down.'
Then he repeated it to them,
and the young man stood up and said,
'I will.'
So Jesus (peace be upon him) said to him,
'You it shall be.'
Thus, the likeness of Jesus was cast upon him,
and Jesus (peace be upon
him) was raised through an opening
in the house into heaven.
The search party of the Jews arrived,
took the man made to resemble him,
thinking he was Jesus,
and killed him, then crucified him.
Thus they went astray thereby,
led many astray,
and strayed from
the right path."
Allah Almighty said:
"So for their breaking
of their covenant,
and their disbelief
in the signs of Allah,
and their disbelief
in the signs of Allah,
and their killing of
the prophets,
and their killing of the prophets
without right,
and their saying,
'Our hearts are
wrapped'—
rather, Allah has sealed them
because of their disbelief,
so they do not believe,
except a few—
and for their disbelief
and their saying against Mary
a great slander,
and their saying,
'Indeed, we have killed
the Messiah, Jesus,
son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah.'
And they did not kill him,
and they did not kill him,
nor did they crucify him,
but another was made to resemble him to them.
And indeed,
those who differ
over it are in doubt
about it;
they have no knowledge of it,
“And because of their saying: We slew the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, Allah's messenger - they slew him not nor crucified him, but it appeared so unto them; and lo! those who disagree concerning it are in doubt thereof; they have no knowledge thereof save pursuit of a conjecture; they slew him not for certain.” (4:157)
except the following of assumption.
And they did not kill him, for certain.
Rather,
Allah raised him
to Himself,
and Allah is Ever-Mighty,
All-Wise."
The Children of Israel split
after Jesus (peace be upon him)
into three sects.
One sect said,
"Allah was among us as long as He willed,
then He ascended into heaven."
Another sect said,
"The Son of Allah was among us
as long as Allah willed,
then Allah raised him up to Himself."
And the third sect were the Muslims.
So the two disbelieving factions combined
against Muslims,
so they killed her.
Thus Islam remained
effaced
until Allah sent Muhammad,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
To be continued,
Allah willing.
And another group said:
"Among us was the servant of Allah
and His Messenger, for as long as Allah willed."
To be continued,
Allah willing.
And Allah knows best.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
And may Allah send blessings and peace
upon our Prophet Muhammad,
and upon his family and Companions,
all of them.
You were listening to Stories of the Prophets.