Quran Garden

Session 379

Chapter 3

Verse 45

And when the angels said, "Mary, God gives you the glad tidings of a Word from Him, whose name will be the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary; honourable in the world and the Hereafter, and one of those near-stationed to God." (Chapter 3: Verse 45)

The Virgin Mary had a great task ahead of her.  She would be the only woman ever to bear a child without a father, thus becoming the target of accusations about her purity and honor.    But our Lord is the most-merciful, so he prepared Mary well for her future task.  The first stage of preparation was completed when Mary uttered the following words: "Indeed God provides whom He wills without account."  While she was secluded in her prayer chamber, Allah provided her with food and drink, the likes of which no one had seen before.  The second stage of preparation was completed when Mary witnessed the pregnancy of Prophet Zachariah's wife, who was old and barren.  Now, she had firsthand knowledge of the limitlessness of God's power in all matters, especially provision and pregnancy.  Then, Mary received God's revelation of her stature, as the following verse illustrates:

The angels said to Mary, "Mary, God has chosen you and made you pure, and then truly chose you above all women." (3:42)

             Now, she was ready to enter a new stage.  God says:

And when the angels said, "Mary, God gives you the glad tidings of a Word from Him, whose name will be the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary; honorable in the world and the Hereafter, and one of those near-stationed to God." (Chapter 3: Verse 45)

People often ask, what did God mean by "a Word from Him?"  We answer that Allah exercises His authority in His dominion with a word, not physically or through means and causes.  For example, if you wanted to make a chair, you would have to gather the raw materials of wood and iron and then work these materials into the shape of a chair.  Allah, on the other hand, does not work through elements or materials.  He says in the 47^th verse of Al Imran:

This is how God creates what He will: when He has ordained something, He only says to it, "Be," and it is.

"Be" is a mere clarification and an approximation for us because we do not know of any word shorter than "be."  God's power is so absolute that His will manifests even before the pronouncement of the letter "b."  Take note that Allah did not say, "when He has ordained something, He only says, "Be," and it is." Instead, He said, "when He has ordained something, He only says to it 'Be' and it is." By adding the pronoun "it," Allah showed us that His will brings the matter into existence even before the word "Be" is pronounced.   That is how God created Jesus, peace be upon him, in the womb of Mary with "a Word from Him."

The verse continues with "whose name will be the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary." Note that the name consists of three parts: "Messiah," "Jesus," and "son of Mary." Let's take them one by one. 

The word "Messiah" is derived from the Arabic root  مَسَحَ (Ma Sa Ha) which means to wipe clean.  The words "Messiah" may mean "the one whose sins are cleaned and wiped off."  It may also be referring to one of his signs that, when he wiped his hand over the ill, the patient was cured.  It is also used to refer to the blessed Christ, the leader of his people. 

As for "Jesus," it is the prophet's actual name, while "the Messiah" is the nickname, and "the son of Mary" is his surname.  It was customary in the Arabic language that a name comes in three forms: first name, last name –often referring to family heritage– and then a title.  The title could be used as an indication of honor or as a sign of low status in the community.  The three names of Jesus have great wisdom behind them that will appear to us later.

Our beloved Jesus will be "honorable in the world and the Hereafter." The word "honorable "is translated from the Arabic origin وَجِيهًا (Wajeeh).  It refers to a person who is respected and never turned away when he asks for a favor. People would hesitate to deny his request.  Would you turn away a prophet if he asked you for a favor? Of course not.  Would you turn away a person who asks you for the sake of a prophet? You may hesitate.  We see this in our daily lives.  For example, a beggar may say, "Please give me some money for the sake of Allah." He asks you not to look at him but at the face of God, because God is the One Who created him.  And when you help provide for the poor whom God has brought into existence, you become part of God's people, even when the poor person you are helping is a disbeliever.

This brings us back to the phrase, "honorable in the world and the Hereafter."  We understand how a person may be distinguished on earth, but how about the hereafter? Why did Allah specify that day? Aren't all believers honored then? We answer: yes, every believer will be honored, but Prophet Jesus will have a special status because he will be asked the following question in front of all to see:    

When God says, "Jesus, son of Mary, did you say to people, 'Take my mother and me as two gods alongside God?' " he will say, "May You be exalted! I would never say what I had no right to say. If I had said such a thing, You would have known it: You know all that is within myself, though I do not know what is within Yours, You alone have full knowledge of unseen things." (5:116)

The question in this verse is not a rebuke from God to Jesus.  To the contrary, it is a vindication before all to see.  Prophet Jesus' stature is above any doubts, as the following verse illustrates:

"Peace was on me the day I was born and will be on me the day I die, and the day I am raised to life again." (19:33)

Jesus' birth was controversial as some Israelites accused the Virgin Mary of her honor. Jesus' death was also controversial as the story of the crucifixion caused an uproar.  Prophet Jesus was not crucified, but the person who betrayed and denounced him was.   God says:

And for their saying, "We killed the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, the apostle of God" —though they did not kill him nor did they crucify him, but so it was made to appear to them— indeed those who differ concerning him are surely in doubt about him: they do not have any knowledge of that beyond following conjectures, and certainly they did not kill him. (4:157)

It is Jesus, the son of Mary, whom God honors in life, death, and eternal life.  God says, "honorable in the world and the Hereafter, and one of those near-stationed to God." Being close to Allah is indeed the highest degree of honor.  More importantly, Prophet Jesus' stature will not be affected by those who came later and claimed him to be a God or the son of God.  Such outrageous claims will earn the people who make them great punishment, but not our beloved Jesus.  God says:

Some say, "The All-Merciful has taken to Himself a son."  You have indeed uttered something monstrous.  How terrible is this thing you assert: it almost causes the heavens to be torn apart, the earth to split asunder, the mountains to crumble to pieces, that they ascribe to the All-Merciful a child!  It does not befit the Lord of Mercy to have offspring. (19:88-92)