In the name of God, the Kind, the Merciful
A systematic study of the Holy Qur'an-27
By
Dr Javed Jamil
THE HISTORY OF CONFRONTATION
BETWEEN THE RIGHT AND THE WRONG (contd)
It is to be noted that
1. Majority of the stories of the Quran are the same as in Bible;
2. But there are several stories in Quran that are not there in Bible. These include the accounts of Prophets like Hud, Saleh, Shuayb, the possible prophets like Luqman and Dhul Qarnain (Peace be upon them)and the story of Companions of Cave, which is not there in Bible, though a similar story is there in some other Jewish literatures;
3. There are some parts of Biblical stories that attract only hints in Quran; the details can be seen in Bible. The notable example is the indication given in Qur'an about an argument between Prophet Abraham (AS) and God relating to the possibility of Punishment to be given to the People of Lot. Quran says that Abraham argued for the sake of the people; Bible describes the details of the argument;
4. There are several parts of stories about the Biblical figures that are there in Quran but not in Bible; the most notable examples are those of the stories of the birth and childhood of Mary and the birth and childhood of Jesus; both these parts are not there in the New Testament. It is also Quran that clarifies the truth of Jesus never having died and raised alive in the Heaven.
5. Quran's stand is that prophets can make lapses but cannot commit grave sins. In Bible, there are certain parts of stories related to Noah, Lot and David, which cannot be acceptable to Quran.
ZAKARIYAH, MARIAM (MARY), YAHYA (JOHN), AND ISA MASIH (JESUS CHRIST)
* Behold ! a woman of Imran
Said: "O my Lord! I do Dedicate unto Thee
What is in my womb
For thy special service:
So accept this of me:
For Thou hearest
And knowest all things.
When she was delivered,
She said: "O my Lord!
Behold! I am delivered
Of a female child!"
And God knew best
What she brought forth
"And nowise is the male
Like the female.
I have named her Mary,
And I commend her
And her offspring
To Thy protection
From the Evil One,
The Rejected."
Right graciously
Did her Lord accept her:
He made her grow
In purity and beauty:
To the care of Zakariya
Was she assigned.
Every time that he entered
(Her) chamber to see her,
He found her supplied
With sustenance. He said:
"O Mary! Whence (comes) this
To you? She said:
"From God: for God
Provides sustenance
To whom He pleases,
Without measure. " (3: 35-37/A)
* Kaf.Ha.Ya "˜Ain.Sad
(This is) a recital
Of the mercy of thy Lord
To His servant Zakariya.
Behold! he cried
To his Lord in secret,
Praying: "O my Lord!
Infirm indeed are my bones,
And the hair of my head
Doth glisten with grey:
But never am I unblest,
O my Lord, in my prayer
To thee!
"Now I fear( and colleagues)
(Will do) after me:
But my wife is barren:
So give me an heir
As from Thyself,
(One that) will (truly)
Represent me, and represent
The posterity of Jacob;
And make him, O my Lord!
One with whom Thou art
Well-pleased!" (19: 1-6/A)
* While he was standing
In prayer in the chamber,
The angels called unto him:
"God doth give thee
Glad tidings of Yahya,
Witnessing the truth
Of a word from God, and (be
Besides) noble, chaste,
And a prophet,
Of the (goodly) company
Of the righteous."
He said: "O my Lord!
How shall I have a son,
Seeing I am very old,
And my wife is barren?"
"Thus", was the answer,
"Doth God accomplish
What He willeth."
He said: "O my Lord!
Give me a sign!"
"Thy sign," was the answer,
"Shall be that thou
Shall speak to no man
For three days
But with signals.
Then celebrate
The praises of thy Lord
Again and again,
And glorify Him
In the evening
And in the morning." (3: 39-41/A)
* (To his son came the command):
"O Yahya! take hold
Of the Book with might"
And We gave him wisdom
Even as a youth,
And pity (for all creatures)
As from Us, and purity:
He was devout,
And kind to his parents,
And he was not overbearing
Or rebellious.
So peace on him
The day that he was born
The day that he dies
And the day that he
Will be raised up
To life (again)! (19: 12-15/A)
* Behold! the angels said:
"O Mary! God has chosen thee
And purified thee-chosen thee
Above the women of all nations.
O mary! worship:
Thy Lord devoutly:
Prostrate thyself,
And bow down (in prayer)
With those who bow down."
This is the part of the tidings
Of the things unseen,
Which we reveal onto thee
(O Apostle !) by inspiration:
Thou wast not with them
When they cast lots
With arrows, as to which
Of them should be charged
With the care of Mary:
Nor wast thou with them
When they disputed (the point).
Behold! the angels said:
O Mary! God giveth thee
Glad tidings of a Word
From Him: his name will be Christ Jesus,
The son of Mary, held in honour
In this world and the Hereafter
And of (the company of) those
Nearest of God;
He shall speak to the people
In childhood and in maturity;
And he shall be (of the company)
Of the righteous." (3: 42-46/A)
* 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 to her
Our angel and he appeared
Before her as 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." (19: 16-21/A)
* So she conceived him,
And she retired with him
To a remote place.
And the pains of childbirth
Drove her to the trunk
Of a palm-tree:
She cried( in her anguish):
"Ah! would that I had
Died before this! Would that
I had been a thing
Forgotten and out of sight!"
But (a voice) cried to her
From beneath the (palm-tree)
"Grieve not! for thy Lord
Hath provided a rivulet
Beneath thee;
And shake towards thyself
The trunk of the plam-tree:
It will let fall
Fresh ripe dates upon thee.
So eat and drink
And cool (thine) eye
And if thou dost see
Any man, say, "I have
Vowed a fast to (God)
Most Gracious, and this day
Will I enter into no talk
With any human being."
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"! (19: 22-33/A)
* "And God will teach him
The Book and wisdom,
The Law and the Gospel,
And (appoint him)
An apostle to the children
Of Israel, (with this message):
"˜I have come to you
With a sign from your Lord,
In that I make for you
Out of clay, as it were,
The figure of a bird,
And breathe into it,
And it becomes a bird
By God's leave:
And I heal those
Born blind, and lepers,
And I quicken the dead
By God's leave;
And I declare to you
What ye eat, and what ye store
In your houses; surely
Therein is a Sign for you
If ye did believe;
(I have come to you),
To attest the Law
Which was before me.
And to make lawful
To you part of what was
(Before) forbidden to you;
I have come to you
With a Sign from your Lord.
So fear God,
And obey me.
It is God
Who is my Lord
And your Lord:
Then worship Him.
This is a Way.
That is straight.' (3: 48-51/A)
* Behold! the Disciples said:
"O Jesus the son of Mary!
Can thy Lord send down to us
A tablet set (with viands)
From heaven?" Said Jesus:
"Fear God, if ye have faith."
They said: "We only wish
To eat thereof and satisfy
Our hearts, and to know
Thou hast indeed
Told us the truth; and
That we ourselves may be
Witnesses of the miracle."
Said Jesus son of Mary:
"O God our Lord!
Send us from heaven
A Tablet set (with viands),
That there may be for us
Fro the first and the last of us
A solemn festival
And a sign from Thee;
And provide for our
Sustenance,
For thou art the best
Sustainer (of our needs)."
God said:" I will Send down unto you:
But if any of you
After that resisteth faith,
I will punish him
With a penalty such
As I have not afflicted
On anyone among
All the peoples." (5: 114-115/A)
* O ye who believe!
Be ye helpers of God
As said Jesus the Son of Mary
To the Disciples, "Who will be
My helpers to (the work
Of) God?" Said the Disciples,
"We are God's helpers!"
Then a portion of the children
Of Israel believed, and
A portion disbelieved:
But We gave power
To those who believed
Against their enemies,
And they became
The ones that prevailed. (61: 14/A)
* And remember, Jesus,
The son of Mary, said:
"O children of Israel!
I am the apostle of God
(Sent) to you, confirming
The Law (which came)
Before me, and giving
Glad tidings of an Apostle
To come after me,
Whose name shall be Ahmed. (61: 6/A)
(Note: Ahmed means "˜praiseworthy', the word nearest to the original Hebrew word, which is now translated as "counsellor" or "comforter".)
* And (the unbelievers)
Plotted and planned,
And God, too, planned
And the best of planners
Is God.
Behold! God said:
"O Jesus ! I will take thee
And raise thee to Myself
And clear thee (of the falsehoods)
Of those who blaspheme;
I will make those
Who follow thee superior
To those who reject faith,
To the Day of Resurrection:
Then shall ye all
Return unto me,
And I will judge
Between you of the matters
Where in ye dispute. (3: 54-55/A)
* That they said( in boast),
"We killed Christ Jesus
The son of Mary,
The Apostle of God;"
But they killed him not,
Nor crucified him,
But so it was made
To appear to them,
And those who differ
There in are full of doubts,
With no (certain) knowledge,
But only a conjecture to follow,
For of a surety
They killed him not;
Nay, God raised him up
Unto himself; and God
Is exalted in Power, Wise.... (3: 157-158/A)
Companions of the cave
* Or dost thou reflect that the Companions of the Cave and of the Inscription were wonders among Our Sign? Behold, the youths betook themselves to the Cave: they said, "Our Lord! bestow on us Mercy from Thyself, and dispose of our affair for us in the right way!" Then We drew (a veil) over their ears, for a number of years, in the Cave, (so that they heard not). Then We roused them, in order to test which of the two parties was best at calculating the term of years they had tarried! We relate to thee their story in truth: they were youths who believed in their Lord, and We advanced them in guidance. We gave strength to their hearts: Behold, they stood up and said: "Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and of the earth: never shall we call upon any god other than Him: if we did, we should indeed have uttered an enormity! These our people have taken for worship gods other than Him: why do they not bring forward an authority clear (and convincing) for what they do? Who doth more wrong than such as invent a falsehood against God? When ye turn away from them and the things they worship other than God, betake yourselves to the Cave: Your Lord will shower His mercies on you and disposes of your affair towards comfort and ease."
Thou wouldst have seen the sun, when it rose, declining to the right from their Cave, and when it set, turning away from them to the left, while they lay in the open space in the midst of the Cave. Such are among the Signs of God. He whom God guides is rightly guided; but he whom God leaves to stray,- for him wilt thou find no protector to lead him to the Right Way. Thou wouldst have deemed them awake, whilst they were asleep, and We turned them on their right and on their left sides: their dog stretching forth his two fore-legs on the threshold: if thou hadst come up on to them, thou wouldst have certainly turned back from them in flight, and wouldst certainly have been filled with terror of them. Such (being their state), we raised them up (from sleep), that they might question each other. Said one of them, "How long have ye stayed (here)?" They said, "We have stayed (perhaps) a day, or part of a day." (At length) they (all) said, "(God) (alone) knows best how long ye have stayed here.... Now send ye then one of you with this money of yours to the town: let him find out which is the best food (to be had) and bring some to you, that (ye may) satisfy your hunger therewith: and let him behave with care and courtesy, and let him not inform any one about you. For if they should come upon you, they would stone you or force you to return to their cult, and in that case ye would never attain prosperity." Thus did We make their case known to the people, that they might know that the promise of God is true, and that there can be no doubt about the Hour of Judgment. Behold, they dispute among themselves as to their affair. (Some) said, "Construct a building over them": Their Lord knows best about them: those who prevailed over their affair said, "Let us surely build a place of worship over them."
(Some) say they were three, the dog being the fourth among them; (others) say they were five, the dog being the sixth,- doubtfully guessing at the unknown; (yet others) say they were seven, the dog being the eighth. Say thou: "My Lord knoweth best their number; It is but few that know their (real case)." Enter not, therefore, into controversies concerning them, except on a matter that is clear, nor consult any of them about (the affair of) the Sleepers. Nor say of anything, "I shall be sure to do so and so tomorrow"- without adding, "So please God" and call thy Lord to mind when thou forgettest, and say, "I hope that my Lord will guide me ever closer (even) than this to the right road." So they stayed in their Cave three hundred years, and (some) add nine (more). Say: "(God) knows best how long they stayed: with Him is (the knowledge of) the secrets of the heavens and the earth: how clearly He sees, how finely He hears (everything)! They have no protector other than Him; nor does He share His Command with any person whatsoever. (18: 9-26/A)
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