Prophet Issa (a.s) had a very special mother, her name was Maryam (s.a). Maryam is the only woman who is named in the entire Qur’an and she has a whole surah named after her!
Maryam was an amazing women who loved Allah (s.w.t) and worshipped Him very much. She used to worship Allah (s.w.t) throughout the days and nights. Prophet Zachariah (a.s) was the uncle and guardian of Maryam (s.a).
In the Qur’an it says that whenever Zachariah (a.s) would go check on Maryam (s.a) he would find her with plenty of fruits, even though no one had visited her! When Zachariah (a.s) asked Maryam (s.a) who had brought her this fruit, she stated it was from Allah (s.w.t) and that Allah (s.w.t) provides for whoever He wants1. Maryam is a very special person to Allah (s.w.t), in the Qur’an Allah (s.w.t) says that he had chosen Maryam as the best of women2.
Prophet Muhammad (a.s) said that Maryam was one of the four best women of all time along with Aasiyah the wife of the Pharoah, Khadijah the wife of Prophet Muhammad (a.s) and Fatima (s.a) the daugther of Prophet Muhammad (a.s). Allah (s.w.t) describes Maryam as an honest, modest and obedient worshiper of Him3. Maryam was so special that even angels used to speak to her!
1. Qur’an 3:37
2. Qur’an 3:42
3. Qur’an 66:12
One day when Maryam was praying to Allah (s.w.t), angels came to Maryam (s.a) and told her that she would become the mother of a very important person, Prophet Issa (a.s). After some time Maryam began to experience signs telling her that should have a baby soon.
She was in a far away place where she was all alone with no food or water and no one was with her except for Allah (s.w.t). Allah (s.w.t) helped Maryam by bringing her towards a palm tree with nutritious dates and a stream of river with water she could drink1!
Through the support and power of Allah (s.w.t), Prophet Issa (s.a) was born! Maryam had now become the mother of one of the greatest Prophets of Allah (s.w.t). The birth of Prophet Issa (s.a) is a miracle from Allah (s.w.t), that a child was born with only a mother and no father.
1. Qur’an 19:23-26
When Prophet Issa (a.s) was born, many people were confused because he did not have a father. This was a miracle of Allah (s.w.t) and Allah (s.w.t) gave Prophet Issa (a.s) the ability to speak as a baby so that he could tell people who he was.
In the Holy Qur’an it says that Allah (s.w.t) told Maryam not to speak if anyone spoke to her, instead Prophet Issa (a.s) would answer them. This was to show the people that birth of Prophet Issa (a.s) was from Allah and not the actions of Maryam (s.a).
Prophet Issa (a.s) told the people that he is a slave and Prophet of Allah (s.w.t). He also told them about the ways to worship Allah (s.w.t) through praying and giving charity and even being good to his mother1! Prophet Issa (a.s) spoke all of this while he was just a newborn baby, this was definitely a miracle from Allah (s.w.t)!
1. Qur’an 19:30-33
Prophet Issa (a.s) came to the people of Israel with the mission to tell the people to worship Allah (s.w.t) only1! Prophet Issa (a.s) told the people that there is only One God. The people he came to were followers of Prophet Musa (a.s) and the holy book he brought down which was the Torah. Prophet Issa (a.s) came to the people now with another holy book, the Injeel which is also known as the Gospel.
The Injeel shared the same message as the Torah but it had new rulings for the people. This is similar to the Qur’an, the Qur’an has the same message as the other holy books of Allah (s.w.t) but it has new rulings. This is because every book and Prophet came to a different time and place which required different rules. Something very important about the prophethood of Prophet Issa (a.s) is that he never told his followers to worship him.
In the Qur’an we can see that Issa (a.s) never said he was the Son of God or that people should worship him, he only said that Allah (s.w.t) is the Lord of everyone and only Allah should be worshiped. In the Qur’an when Allah (s.w.t) asks Issa (a.s) if he had told people that he and his mother (Sayeda Maryam (s.a)) were partners with Allah (s.w.t), Issa (a.s) of course says no! He only told the people what Allah (s.w.t) had told him to, which is that Allah is One with no partners2!
References:
1. Qur’an 43:63-64
2. Qur’an 5:116-117
Prophet Issa (a.s) had many special miracles which proved he was a Prophet of God. These were miracles which Allah (s.w.t) gave Prophet Issa (a.s) the power of doing and it would not have been possible without Allah (s.w.t).
Two of the biggest miracles of Prophet Issa (a.s) we have already talked about, it was that he was born without a father and that he could speak like an adult when he was only a newborn baby1! Prophet Issa (a.s) was given the power to speak like this when he was a baby so that he could protect his mother Maryam (s.a) when people would ask her about where this baby came from.
One other great miracle of Prophet Issa (a.s) was that one day he had made a bird out of clay, then with the power of Allah (s.w.t) the clay bird became to a real living bird! Allah (s.w.t) also gave Prophet Issa (a.s) the power to bring people back to life after they had died, to give people who were born blind the power to see again and to heal people who had illnesses2!
These were all amazing miracles of Prophet Issa (a.s) especially because at his time the people valued doctors very much, so Allah (s.w.t) gave Prophet Issa (a.s) the power to cure and save people better than any other doctor, this was to show the people the power of Allah (s.w.t)!
1. Qur’an 19:30-33
2. Qur’an 3:49
Many people today believe that Prophet Issa (a.s) was killed on the cross. In the Qur’an Allah (s.w.t) tell us that Prophet Issa (a.s) was never put on the cross or killed, actually Allah (s.w.t) raised Prophet Issa (a.s) to heaven to protect him1.
Some of the people at the time of Prophet Issa (a.s) were very mean and evil to him, they did not like that Prophet Issa (a.s) was telling them to worship Allah (s.w.t), this made them want to kill him. But Allah (s.w.t) saved Prophet Issa (a.s) from these bad people by taking him up to heaven2.
Before Prophet Issa (a.s) had returned to Allah in heaven, one of his companions was chosen to be the leader after Issa (a.s) who would keep spreading the message of Allah. This person’s name was Shamoun, he was a very strong believer in Allah (s.w.t).
1. Qur’an 4:157-158
2. Qur’an 2:54
From Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s) and the Imams of Ahlulbayt (a.s) we know that Prophet Issa (a.s)’s will return to Earth once again (a.s). Muslims believe that Prophet Issa (a.s) will return to Earth when the occultation of Imam Mahdi (a.j.f.s) ends. Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s) said that when Al-Mahdi (a.j.f.s) reappears Prophet Issa (a.s) will pray behind Imam Mahdi (a.j.f.s).
Together Issa and Imam Mahdi (a.j.f.s) will cause peace and justice on Earth for all humans. One of the missions of Prophet Issa (a.s) when he returns will to be to tell the people the truth about who he was and make sure no one believes in lies about him like that he is the son of God.
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