بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
The Miracles
Allah describes in the Quran how
He elevated Eesa (as) to a special status and granted him honour:
إِذْ قَالَتِ الْمَلَائِكَةُ يَا
مَرْيَمُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُبَشِّرُكِ بِكَلِمَةٍ مِّنْهُ اسْمُهُ الْمَسِيحُ
عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ وَجِيهًا فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ وَمِنَ
الْمُقَرَّبِينَ
وَيُكَلِّمُ النَّاسَ فِي الْمَهْدِ وَكَهْلًا وَمِنَ الصَّالِحِي
The angels said, ‘Mary, God
gives you news of a Word from Him, whose name will be the Messiah, Jesus, son
of Mary, who will be held in honour in this world and the next, who will be one
of those brought near to God. He will
speak to people in his infancy and in his adulthood. He will be one of the
righteous.’ (Surah Al Imran: 45- 46)
Eesa (as) was sent by Allah as a
prophet to Banu Isra’il. True to the
ayaat (verses of the Quran) Eesa (as) began calling the people to worship Allah when he entered
adulthood. He spent his time travelling
in the Holy Land calling the people to believe.
As with other prophets before him, Allah granted Eesa (as) special
miracles as signs for the people to witness with their own eyes and so to
believe in Allah and the message of his prophet Eesa (as). The Quran describes some of these miracles
given to Eesa (as):
وَيُعَلِّمُهُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَالتَّوْرَاةَ وَالْإِنجِيلَ
وَرَسُولًا إِلَىٰ بَنِي
إِسْرَائِيلَ أَنِّي قَدْ جِئْتُكُم بِآيَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ ۖ أَنِّي
أَخْلُقُ لَكُم مِّنَ الطِّينِ كَهَيْئَةِ الطَّيْرِ فَأَنفُخُ فِيهِ
فَيَكُونُ طَيْرًا بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ ۖ وَأُبْرِئُ الْأَكْمَهَ
وَالْأَبْرَصَ وَأُحْيِي الْمَوْتَىٰ بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ ۖ وَأُنَبِّئُكُم
بِمَا تَأْكُلُونَ وَمَا تَدَّخِرُونَ فِي بُيُوتِكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ
لَآيَةً لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ
He will teach him the Scripture and wisdom,
the Torah and the Gospel, He will send him as a messenger to the Children of
Israel: “I have come to you with a sign from your Lord: I will make the shape
of a bird for you out of clay, then breathe into it and, with God’s permission,
it will become a real bird; I will heal the blind and the leper, and bring the
dead back to life with God’s permission; I will tell you what you may eat and
what you may store up in your houses. There truly is a sign for you in this, if
you are believers. (Surah Al Imran: 48- 49)
The miracles of Eesa (as)
included fashioning birds from clay which would become real birds when breathed
upon, curing those who were blind and lepers and bringing the dead back to
life. Eesa (as) made it clear to his
people that these miracles were not a result of divine powers on his part, but
due to the fact that he was a prophet of Allah, bringing the same message to
his people which prophets before him had delivered:
وَمُصَدِّقًا لِّمَا بَيْنَ
يَدَيَّ مِنَ التَّوْرَاةِ وَلِأُحِلَّ لَكُم بَعْضَ الَّذِي حُرِّمَ
عَلَيْكُمْ ۚ وَجِئْتُكُم بِآيَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ
وَأَطِيعُونِ
إِنَّ اللَّهَ رَبِّي وَرَبُّكُمْ فَاعْبُدُوهُ ۗ هَٰذَا صِرَاطٌ مُّسْتَقِيمٌ
I have come to confirm the truth of the Torah
which preceded me, and to make some things lawful to you which used to be
forbidden. I have come to you with a sign from your Lord. Be mindful of God,
obey me: God is my Lord and your Lord, so serve Him- that is a straight path.
(Surah Al Imran: 50- 51)
Despite the many miracles which
he showed them most of Banu Isra’il did not believe in Eesa (as), the prophet
sent specifically to them as a nation.
The Quran says:
إِذْ قَالَ اللَّهُ يَا عِيسَى
ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ اذْكُرْ نِعْمَتِي عَلَيْكَ وَعَلَىٰ وَالِدَتِكَ إِذْ
أَيَّدتُّكَ بِرُوحِ الْقُدُسِ تُكَلِّمُ النَّاسَ فِي الْمَهْدِ وَكَهْلًا
ۖ وَإِذْ عَلَّمْتُكَ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَالتَّوْرَاةَ
وَالْإِنجِيلَ ۖ وَإِذْ تَخْلُقُ مِنَ الطِّينِ كَهَيْئَةِ الطَّيْرِ
بِإِذْنِي فَتَنفُخُ فِيهَا فَتَكُونُ طَيْرًا بِإِذْنِي ۖ وَتُبْرِئُ
الْأَكْمَهَ وَالْأَبْرَصَ بِإِذْنِي ۖ وَإِذْ تُخْرِجُ الْمَوْتَىٰ
بِإِذْنِي ۖ وَإِذْ كَفَفْتُ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ عَنكَ إِذْ جِئْتَهُم
بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ فَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْهُمْ إِنْ هَٰذَا إِلَّا
سِحْرٌ مُّبِينٌ
Then God will say, ‘Jesus, son
of Mary! Remember My favour to you and to your mother: how I strengthened you
with the holy spirit, so that you spoke to people in your infancy and as a
grown man; how I taught you the Scripture and wisdom, the Torah and the Gospel;
how, by My leave, you fashioned the shape of a bird out of clay, breathed into
it, and it became, by My leave, a bird; how, by My leave, you healed the blind
person and the leper; how, by My leave, you brought the dead back to life; how
I restrained the Children of Israel from [harming] you when you brought
them clear signs, and those of them who disbelieved said, “This is clearly
nothing but sorcery” (Surah Al Ma’dah: 110)
When Eesa (as) saw that most of
his people rejected his message, he appealed for those who believed to help him
in the path of Allah. One group of those
who believed, Al Hawariyyun, is described in the Quran:
فَلَمَّا أَحَسَّ عِيسَىٰ
مِنْهُمُ الْكُفْرَ قَالَ مَنْ أَنصَارِي إِلَى اللَّهِ ۖ قَالَ
الْحَوَارِيُّونَ نَحْنُ أَنصَارُ اللَّهِ آمَنَّا بِاللَّهِ وَاشْهَدْ
بِأَنَّا مُسْلِمُونَ
رَبَّنَا آمَنَّا بِمَا أَنزَلْتَ وَاتَّبَعْنَا الرَّسُولَ فَاكْتُبْنَا مَعَ الشَّاهِدِينَ
When Jesus realised they
[still] did not believe, he said, ‘Who will help me in God’s cause?’ The
disciples said, ‘We will be God’s helpers; we believe in God- witness our devotion
to Him. Lord, we believe in what You
have revealed and we follow the messenger: record us among those who bear
witness [to the Truth].’ (Surah Al Imran: 52- 53)
To be continued in part III inshaAllah.
No comments:
Post a Comment