Transcription
A pregnant woman, alone in the shade of a palm tree. Labor pains started, and they were getting worse. But more than the pain of giving birth, she was worried about her situation. Because she was afraid of being accused of indecency when she returned to her people. The baby she was carrying wasn't just an ordinary baby. As a miracle, it was created without a father. Yes, she had become pregnant even though no man had ever touched her. And now she was about to give birth to this child. But her people would not believe her and would make false accusations.
So who was this baby that was created in such a miraculous way? The one who was born without a father, who brought the dead back to life by Allah's permission, who healed incurable diseases, who opened the eyes of those born blind, and who was raised to the heavens. The son of Mariam, Jesus the Messiah (pbuh). Also known as Isa (as). While he is accepted in both Islam and Christianity, his story is told differently in these two religions. Today, we will explore this story through the perspectives of the Qur'an and the Bible and compare their similarities and differences. If you're ready, let's begin.
Before Mariam, also known as Mary, was born, may Allah be pleased with her, her mother Hannah said that if she had a child, she would dedicate it to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, Bayt al-Maqdis. This is mentioned in the Qur'an as follows: "Remember when the wife of Imran said, 'My Lord, I dedicate what is in my womb entirely to your service. So, accept it from me. You are truly the all-hearing, all-knowing.'" And when Hannah made this prayer, she was actually expecting a boy, but instead she had a daughter. At first, it seemed like Allah had not accepted her prayer, but in reality, he had accepted it in a much more beautiful way. Despite being a girl, Mariam was still given by her mother to Bayt al-Maqdis. Dedicating a girl to such a place was unprecedented, something never heard of. There, Mariam lived a life devoted to Allah, worshipping Him day and night. The person responsible for her care was her aunt's husband, Prophet Zakariya (pbuh). Also known as Zechariah in the Bible, he had great compassion for her.
One day, while Miriam was engaged in worship as usual, she suddenly saw a man in front of her. In great shock, her heart filled with fear. She was afraid that he might harm her. She said, "Indeed, I seek refuge in the Most Merciful from you, if you have any fear of him." But the stranger standing before her was no ordinary being. He was an angel with no bad intentions at all. He was Jibreel (as), also known as Gabriel in the Bible. To avoid frightening Mariam, he appeared in human form and actually came to give her good news. In a calm and reassuring voice, he said, "I am only a messenger of your Master to grant you a pure son." She said, "How can I have a son while no man has ever touched me and I have never been unchaste?" He said, "So will it be! Your master says, it is easy for Me, and We will make him a sign to the people and a mercy from us, and it is a matter already decreed." This is how the good news of Jesus was given. Almighty Allah decreed that he would be born without a father. It was very easy for Allah to do that, just as He had created the first human, Prophet Adam, without a father and without a mother, He would also create Jesus without a father. And only a servant as pure as Mariam could bear this sacred responsibility.
The story of Mariam's pregnancy is told almost in the same way in the Bible. However, interestingly, no one finds her pregnancy strange or questions it. While according to the Qur'an, this marked the beginning of a great test for Mariam, may Allah be pleased with her. Days passed and the birth gets closer. But how would she make her people believe her? How could she prove it? With this storm of emotions raging inside, she moves away to a place far from everyone. And now the time of birth has come. In pain, she approaches the trunk of a palm tree. Being overwhelmed with anxiety and sadness, she says, "I wish I had been dead and forgotten long before all this." Can you imagine that fear? More than the pain of childbirth, she was worried about what people would say to her. Then Gabriel called her from below her. "Do not grieve, your Master has provided a stream at your feet. Shake the trunk of the palm tree towards yourself, and it will drop upon you ripe fresh dates. So eat, drink and cool your eyes, be glad. Then, if you see any human being, say, 'I have vowed a fast for the All-Merciful, so I will not speak to anyone today.'"
The distress Mariam went through, how the birth took place, and how she was received by her people and their reactions are mentioned in the Qur'an. However, the Bible doesn't talk about this part of the story, and there is no atmosphere where the people find this event extraordinary. When you think about it, wouldn't this have led to slander? Now, let's continue to explore what happened during this process. They were accusing her of a terrible sin she had absolutely nothing to do with. Her innocence had to be proven, and she saved from this horrible accusation. By Allah's command, she pointed to the baby. In great shock, they said, "How can we talk to someone who is an infant in the cradle?" But there was something they didn't know. He was a chosen servant of Allah. Then Jesus in the cradle began to speak. "Indeed, I am the servant of Allah. He has given me the Scripture and made me a Prophet." Everyone was amazed to hear a baby speak. However, the incident of Jesus speaking in the cradle is not mentioned in the Bible.
So how does the story unfold in the Bible? According to both Islam and Christianity, the Messiah was now born, and this meant a threat to King Herod, who was the king of that region. According to the Bible's narrative, Magi, the astrologers of that time, came and asked, "Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him." And when the King heard about that, he was disturbed. Fearing that his power would be shaken, the cruel king issued a terrible order. An order which was similar to the one in the story of Moses (pbuh). In Bethlehem and the surrounding areas, all male children aged two and under will be killed. But there was one thing King Herod forgot. If Allah had a special plan for His servant, no one could stand in the way. But how would Jesus be protected? In the Bible, it is mentioned that Mariam was engaged to a young man named Joseph. However, Islamic sources do not mention such a person or any engagement. According to the Gospel of Matthew, shortly before the King's order, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and escape to Egypt." So Jesus stays in Egypt for some time. Then after the King's death, he returned and settled in Nazareth.
So how was the duty of Prophethood given to Jesus (pbuh)? By that time he had continued his spiritual growth and reached the age of 30. He had now achieved the spiritual maturity to give people the good news of eternal life and deliver God's revelation. According to Islam, his mission began when Jibreel brought revelation to him. Gabriel's other name in the Qur'an is Ruh al Qudus, meaning the Holy Spirit. However, according to the Bible's account, after the baptism, Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness, where he stayed for 40 days and was tempted by the devil. In the Bible, it is described like this: The devil led him to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor. It has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours." Jesus answered, "It is written, worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only."
Don't you find it strange, too? According to the Bible, Jesus was put through a trial by the devil. This means he was someone who could be tested, just like you and me. But if he is God according to Christianity, how could he be tested? And the devil should know his nature too, right? So then, why would he even try to misguide him? But yet we still see him attempting to do so in the Bible. But as we saw, the answer of Jesus was clear. He said he would never worship the devil, but would worship and serve only Allah. He emphasized that neither wealth nor the devil, nor any other creation should be worshipped. The Bible says that the devil tempted him for 40 days. Yes, 40 days. But in the end he failed. And later Jesus returned to Galilee, and he saw that it was his own people, the Israelites, who needed his answer to the devil the most. They had become so corrupt that they were putting their material interests above Allah's commands, and didn't even hesitate to kill their prophets when it suited them. Since Jesus was also taught the knowledge of the Torah, he would stand up to those who use religion for their own gain, and wouldn't be afraid to remind them of the rulings and verses that went against their interests. His sermons and words would have a powerful impact on people, drawing their attention and making them listen.
The Bible tells a different story about how his mission began. Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River by Prophet Yahya, also known as John the Baptist in the Bible. As Jesus was coming up out of the water, the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove. He would now continue the work of the prophets who had come before him. In the Qur'an, Allah says, "Then in the footsteps of these prophets We sent Our messengers, and after them we sent Jesus, son of Mariam, and granted him the Injiil, and put compassion and mercy into the hearts of his followers." He would guide them towards what is lawful, and warn them against what is forbidden, and remind them to serve Allah.
Let's now try to visualize those conversations with an example. One day, a scribe, meaning a religious scholar, approached Jesus and asked him a question. Here's that passage from the Gospel of Mark: "'Of all the commandments, which is the most important?' 'The most important one,' answered Jesus, 'is this.' 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, strength.' 'Well said, teacher,' the man replied, 'You are right in saying that God is one, and there is no other but Him.'" Now that seems like an unexpected answer, considering mainstream Christian theology, doesn't it? Remember what Jesus said to the devil? Doesn't it seem like he's emphasizing the same thing here? "The Lord our God, the Lord is one," meaning, He's both your God and my God. And this belief is further reinforced in the Bible by the statement "There is no other but Him." Similarly, in the Qur'an, Jesus told his nation a shared truth: 'Indeed, Allah is my Lord and your Lord, So worship Him alone. This is a straight path."
Every prophet was supported with miracles when they were sent to their people. And like all other prophets, Jesus also had miracles mentioned in both the Qur'an and the Bible. However, while some of them are shared between the two Scriptures, others are unique to each. For example, both books mention miracles such as bringing the dead back to life, curing skin diseases, and healing the blind. So what are the miracles that are mentioned only in the Qur'an? For example, the miracle of Jesus speaking while still in the cradle. Also in the Qur'an it is told that when he made the bird shape out of clay and blew into it, it turned into a living bird by Allah's permission. Or at the request of his disciples, he prayed to Allah and a table full of various foods came down from the sky. He also told people, "I can tell you what you eat and what you store in your homes." Finally, we see in the Qur'an that he was saved from crucifixion and ascended to the Heavens. I guess this might be a spoiler for the Christians that are watching. When we look at the miracles mentioned only in the Bible, we see Jesus feeding 5000 people with just five loaves of bread and two fish, walking on water and making a fig tree dry out and die.
In addition to his miracles, one of the qualities that made him special was his deep piety. He worshipped with great sincerity and devotion. Sometimes he would retreat to the mountains and spend the whole night praying to God. The Bible also talks about his prayers: "In the days when he was in the flesh," meaning, during his life on Earth, "Jesus offered up prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears, to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence." Similarly, many other verses describe how Jesus worshipped and prayed to God. Praying to someone greater than himself, showing an attitude of a humble servant, crying helplessly, fearing Him. Don't these things seem completely contradictory to the idea of being God? After all, you won't find anything like God worshipping Himself in the Bible, in the Qur'an, or in any other Scripture. Verses like these in the Bible remain as question marks and continue to raise questions about the church's traditional teachings.
Another characteristic that set him apart from the other people at that time was his way of speaking. He used beautiful analogies to make the truth easier to understand. Now let's imagine ourselves in his time again, and listen to one of his speeches as told in the Gospel of Matthew: "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus by their fruit you will recognize them." The Qur'an, however, does not mention such a method for distinguishing false prophets. This is because, according to Islamic belief, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is the last prophet. And since no prophet will come after him, naturally, there is no need for such a method. However, with this parable, Jesus points out that the chain of prophethood does not end with him. He makes it clear that another prophet will come in the future and explains how he can be recognized.
We are now in the third year of his prophethood. Since the age of 30, he had been patiently and courageously preaching the message he was given, without stopping. In those days, the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, was approaching. The Jewish religious leaders were so tired of having uncomfortable truths thrown in their faces that, they had reached a point where they could no longer tolerate Jesus at all. So they started to work with some government officials to find a way to get rid of him. However, they were afraid of the people's love and support for Jesus. That's why they decided to plot against him in secret. Jesus felt that his last days among his people were approaching, but he was worried about them. What was going to happen after he was gone? Would they, and all the generations after them, live in disbelief until the Day of Judgment? Who would guide them? For someone as compassionate as him, this was a very difficult feeling to bear. But he had such knowledge that he found comfort in it. People wouldn't be left alone without guidance. He knew that after him, someone would come to lead all of humanity to the truth. This is mentioned in both the Qur'an and the Bible. In the Gospel of John we see this passage: "I have much more to say to you. More than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own, he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come." Remember, in another place he mentioned the method of recognizing a false prophet. In that passage, he also gave a clue about how to identify the last prophet to come.
For a Christian, this is certainly unexpected, but if they look more carefully, they will see that mentioning Prophet Muhammad in the Bible is absolutely necessary. Why? Because from a Christian perspective, there are two possibilities: Either Muhammad (pbuh) is a true prophet or, Maadhallah, a false one. When we look at it, we see that one fourth of the world's population follows his religion. And throughout history, countless people, including Christian scholars, have converted from Christianity to Islam. If he weren't a true prophet, then Jesus would definitely have warned Christians. He would have said, "Such a person will come in the future. Don't believe in him." In this way, he would have protected them. But if Muhammad (pbuh) is a true prophet then Jesus should have said, "A prophet with these qualities will come after me, and he will guide you to the right path. You must follow him." In other words, whether in a positive or negative way, don't you think Jesus must have mentioned him? In fact, many scholars have explained and proven that Prophet Muhammad was foretold in different verses of the Bible, just like the ones we discussed earlier. So Jesus knew that a prophet would come after him, and this was his greatest comfort and consolation in his last days.
Finally, the time for Passover arrived, and this special day became a turning point for Jesus. When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into it. Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew this place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees, Jewish religious scholars. They were carrying torches, lanterns, and weapons. Then the soldiers and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus and tied him up. An interesting detail here is Jesus's reaction to those who came to arrest him. Because in two different gospels that narrate the same event, we see two completely opposite attitudes. While the Gospel of Matthew portrays Jesus as surrendering peacefully and telling his disciples not to use violence, the Gospel of John depicts him as displaying more authority and standing his ground. In Matthew, Jesus says, "Do what you came for, friend." But in John's account, when the soldiers arrived, Jesus stepped forward and asked who they were looking for. Upon hearing their response, "Jesus of Nazareth," he declared, "I am he," and they all fell to the ground. Although Christians believe that both gospels were divinely inspired, the differences in events have always remained a mystery. Because these inconsistencies are not just found here. They are found in earlier and later parts of the story as well. In all four Gospels, we can see that sometimes the information does not match and sometimes the order of events is different.
So what happened after his arrest? According to Islamic sources, the authorities found out where Jesus was staying and came to capture him, but he was already gone. Allah had saved him from these cruel people and miraculously raised him to the Heavens. However, they were completely unaware of this. Because standing before them was someone who looked just like Jesus. Judas. Allah made Judas appear like Jesus and authorities arrested him on the spot. Even though Judas desperately cried out, "I'm not Jesus," no one believed him. After all, who could stand in the way of Allah's punishment? How could the betrayer get away with his crime? No one listened to him. And in fear and despair, the betrayer was crucified and executed. He received part of his punishment in this world, and his journey towards his real punishment had just begun. In the Qur'an, Allah says the following about what happened to Jesus: "They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, though it was made to appear like that to them. Rather, Allah raised him up to Himself. and Allah is Almighty, All-Wise." In Islam it is believed that Jesus is in the Heavens, meaning the skies, not in Paradise. Whereas in the Bible, this part of the story is told like this: The soldiers who crucified Jesus were mocking and insulting him, and the Jewish people gathered to witness what was happening. And finally Jesus cried out. That is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" When you compare the scene just described to this one, what differences do you see? Is this really how the story of Jesus should have ended? Dying under mockery and insults, saying words that sound like rebellion against God? Or should it have ended the way it is described in the Qur'an? And isn't it strange that someone considered to be God would have such an ending? Leaving aside the fact that he died, if he is God, then who is he talking to when he said, "Why have you forsaken me?"
me?" Meaning, left me?"
Also, we are talking about someone who dedicated his life to guiding people to God and spreading His love. Doesn't his last sentence leave an impression that undermines trust in Allah? Could Jesus really have said that? Did he say those words because he thought he had trusted the wrong person? Or if he were truly God, wouldn't a statement like "Why have you forsaken me?" imply things like, not knowing what was going to happen or being disappointed? How would these characteristics really suit God? There are many more questions we could ask. Don't you think that the story told by Islam gives us a more accurate picture of Jesus?
In many parts of the story, when we replace titles used for Jesus, like "God" and "Son of God" with "Prophet" and "Messenger", the confusion disappears. Jesus (pbuh) repeatedly emphasized that God is one and introduced God to his people as "Our God". Just like the Prophets of the Old Testament. None of them ever spoke of God as having a second or third person. Instead, they always emphasized His oneness and said that God is the first and the last. None of them worshipped Jesus or presented him to their people as God. From this perspective, are we really going to say that none of these great Prophets could find the right path?
Let's now go back to the story. According to the Bible, Jesus died, was resurrected after three days, and then taken up to Heaven. So if both beliefs agree that he has been raised, what happens next? This is where we see one of the commonalities between Islam and Christianity. Both believe that Jesus will return to Earth near the end of time. He will come to Earth and lead humanity out of the catastrophe it is in. He will fight against ideologies that ruin both people's worldly and eternal life, and will guide them to the right path as a fair judge. Additionally, according to Islam, he will show people the true essence of Christianity and will cleanse this religion from falsehoods and superstitions and reveal its original form. That is, he will lead them to Islam, the common message of all prophets. He will guide them to the path of Prophet Muhammad (saw), the final link in the chain of prophethood. And on the Day of Judgment in front of all Christians, Jesus will speak the truth with his Master, with Allah.
In Surat Al-Ma'idah, this is how the scene is described. "And (beware the Day) when Allah will say, 'O Jesus, son of Mary! Did you say to the people, 'Take me and my mother as two gods besides Allah'?" "He will say, 'Glory be to You! It was not for me to say what I had no right to say. If I had said it, You would have surely known it. You know what is within myself, and I do not know what is within Yourself. Indeed, You alone are the Knower of all unseen. I never told them anything except what You commanded me, to worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. But when You took me up, You were the Watcher over them. And You are a Witness over all things.' Al Quran 5:116-117