Islamic heritage considers Jesus Christ to be among the five great prophets in whom they believe, while the other four are: Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Muhammad. Christ and his mother, Mary, were mentioned in many Qur\u2019anic verses that dealt with their lives, deeds, and miracles from the birth of Mary until Christ was raised to heaven and returned as a sign of the Hour. Maryam is the only woman mentioned by name in the Qur\u2019an, and an entire surah of the Qur\u2019an has been dedicated to her. We will try here to present the Qur\u2019an\u2019s account of the birth of Christ and compare it with what was mentioned in the pre-Islamic Christian heritage, especially in the apocryphal Gospel literature, which is the literature that the Church did not recognize as a reliable source of faith and did not, therefore, consider the apocryphal Gospels to be authentic Gospels.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Islamic heritage believes in Mary\u2019s virginity and purity when the angel came to her giving her good news of a pure (i.e., pure) boy who would be born from her: \u201cThe angel said to her: \u2018I am only a messenger of your Lord to give you a pure boy.\u2019 She (Mary) said, \u2018How can I have a boy, since no human has touched me, and I have not been unjust?\u2019\u201d (Surat Maryam, 19-20). The Qur\u2019an denies any human intervention in Mary\u2019s pregnancy of Christ, as he was miraculously born from her. The Qur\u2019an even curses the Jews who doubted Mary\u2019s virginal conception and falsely accused her of adultery, saying: \u201cAnd because of their disbelief (meaning the Jews) and their saying against Mary a great slander\u201d (Surat An-Nisa, 156). Here it is worth noting that the Jewish Talmud contains many fabricated narratives and stories about Lady Maryam and her son that we are ashamed to mention here or cite.<\/p>\n
One of the interpreters of the Qur\u2019an says that Mary became pregnant with Christ as soon as the angel breathed on her, and naturally, she went through all stages of pregnancy until she gave birth to him. Another commentator says that the duration of pregnancy was nine months, or seven, or six, or eight, \u201cand no child born to eight lived except him,\u201d and it was said that one hour carried him and gave birth to him. This disagreement regarding the duration of pregnancy is due to the Qur\u2019an not specifying this period. As for his birth, it took place with a miracle that the Qur\u2019an narrates as follows: \u201cThen labor brought her to the trunk of the palm tree. She (Maryam) said, \u2018I wish I had died before this and had been forgotten and forgotten. So he called to her from beneath her: Do not be sad, for your Lord has placed a stream beneath you (a small stream with its water flowing). And shake the trunk of the palm tree towards you, and it will drop on you fresh (fresh) dates and ripe (soft, ripe) dates. So eat and drink and give comfort to your eyes\u201d (Surat Maryam, 23-26).<\/p>\n
Islamic interpretation dealt with this Qur\u2019anic account of the birth of Christ in many details. It was said that the time of birth was a time of winter and the palm tree was withered, so she shook it, so God gave it a head and produced fruit for it to eat from. Commentators point out that Arab women who were giving birth ate fresh dates because it was \u201cthe best food for the mother.\u201d As for the one who called Mary from below, there are two stories: the angel Gabriel, who \u201cwas in a place lower than her place,\u201d or the Lord Christ, whom we will see shortly speaking in the cradle. As for the stream of water, it is so that she can drink after she eats the fresh fruits and soothe her eyes, and so that she may also know that God, who created for her the fresh fruits from the dry palm tree and caused the stream to spring for her in the desert, is able to turn away from her the faults of those who reproach her and the reproaches of those who reproach her.<\/p>\n
The incident of the palm tree and the stream is reminiscent of the scene of the escape to Egypt that was mentioned in the apocryphal Gospel of Matthew (which is not the correct Gospel of Matthew). The apocryphal story says that Mary, who was tired of traveling, sat by a palm tree to rest. She saw dates at the top of the tree and wished to eat from them, while Joseph was suffering from thirst. \u201cThen it happened that the child Jesus, who was resting quietly on his mother\u2019s knees, said to the palm tree: \u201cO tree, bend down and feed my mother with your fruit.\u201d Upon this request, the palm tree inclined its head to Mary\u2019s feet, and they picked fruits that satisfied them all. After they picked all the fruits, the tree remained bent, waiting, before it straightened, for the command of the One who had commanded it to bend. Then Jesus said to her: Stand up, O palm tree, and regain your strength and be a companion of my trees in my Father\u2019s garden. And open, with the power of your origin, the spring hidden under the earth, and let enough water come down to quench our thirst.\u201d In the Qur\u2019an, Mary is mentioned alone, but in the apocryphal Gospel of Matthew, Joseph is present with her.<\/p>\n
Then the Qur\u2019an mentions that God asked Mary to fast from speaking until the miracle of Christ\u2019s words in the cradle came to acquit her of the accusation of adultery with which the Jews were accusing her: \u201cSo if you see any human being, say, \u2018Indeed, I have vowed a fast to the Most Merciful, and I will not speak to any human being today.\u2019\u201d (Surat Maryam, 26) . When her people asked her why she did what she did? The answer came from Christ, \u201cand she pointed to him (to the newborn Christ). They said, \u2018How can we speak to someone who was a child in the cradle?\u2019\u201d The newborn answered them: \u201cI am the servant of God. He gave me the Book (i.e. the Gospel) and made me a prophet and made me blessed... And peace be upon me the day I was born and the day I die and the day I am resurrected alive\u201d (Surat Maryam, 29-33). For Christ to speak in a cradle or as a young child is a miracle mentioned in the apocryphal Gospels, as stated in the incident of the palm tree mentioned in the apocryphal Gospel of Matthew.<\/p>\n
What we want to say is that the Qur\u2019anic account of the birth of Christ has roots deep in Christian history and heritage. It contains what confirms some Orthodox Christian beliefs, such as Mary\u2019s virginity and her birth of her son without human mediation. It contains what confirms the love of Muslims for Christ and his mother, such as the Qur\u2019an\u2019s defense of Mary against the Jews and the slander they said about her. However, there are some details in this Qur\u2019anic narration that Christian logic did not accept, such as the incident of the palm tree mentioned in the apocryphal Gospel of Matthew and restored here in Surat Maryam.<\/p>\n
From my parish bulletin 2002<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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