3:49 Aal-i-Imraan (The Family of Imraan)

ثم ذكر له كمالا آخر وفضلا زائدا على ما أعطاه الله من الفضائل، فقال { ورسولا إلى بني إسرائيل } فأرسله الله إلى هذا الشعب الفاضل الذين هم أفضل العالمين في زمانهم يدعوهم إلى الله، وأقام له من الآيات ما دلهم أنه رسول الله حقا ونبيه صدقا ولهذا قال { أني قد جئتكم بآية من ربكم أني أخلق لكم من الطين } طيرا، أي: أصوره على شكل الطير { فأنفخ فيه فيكون طيرا بإذن الله } أي: طيرا له روح تطير بإذن الله { وأبرى الأكمه } وهو الذي يولد أعمى { والأبرص } بإذن الله { وأحيي الموتى بإذن الله وأنبئكم بما تأكلون وما تدخرون في بيوتكم إن في ذلك لآية لكم إن كنتم مؤمنين } وأي: آية أعظم من جعل الجماد حيوانا، وإبراء ذوي العاهات التي لا قدرة للأطباء في معالجتها، وإحياء الموتى، والإخبار بالأمور الغيبية، فكل واحدة من هذه الأمور آية عظيمة بمفردها، فكيف بها إذا اجتمعت وصدق بعضها بعضها؟ فإنها موجبة للإيقان وداعية للإيمان.

قوله "ورسولا إلى بني إسرائيل" قائلا لهم "أني قد جئتكم بآية من ربكم أني أخلق لكم من الطين كهيئة الطير فأنفخ فيه فيكون طيرا بإذن الله" وكذلك كان يفعل يصور من الطين شكل طير ثم ينفخ فيه فيطير عيانا بإذن الله عز وجل الذي جعل هذا معجزة له تدل على أنه أرسله "وأبرئ الأكمه" قيل: إنه الذي يبصر نهارا ولا يبصر ليلا وقيل بالعكس وقيل: الأعشى وقيل: الأعمش وقيل: هو الذي يولد أعمى وهو أشبه لأنه أبلغ في المعجزة وأقوى في التحدي "والأبرص" معروف "وأحيي الموتى بإذن الله" قال كثير من العلماء: بعث الله كل نبي من الأنبياء بما يناسب أهل زمانه فكان الغالب على زمان موسى عليه السلام السحر وتعظيم السحرة فبعثه الله بمعجزة بهرت الأبصار وحيرت كل سَحَّار فلما استيقنوا أنها من عند العظيم الجبار انقادوا للإسلام وصاروا من عباد الله الأبرار وأما عيسى عليه السلام فبعث في زمن الأطباء وأصحاب علم الطبيعة فجاءهم من الآيات بما لا سبيل لأحد إليه إلا أن يكون مؤيدا من الذي شرع الشريعة فمن أين للطبيب قدرة على إحياء الجماد أو على مداواة الأكمه والأبرص وبعث من هو في قبره رهين إلى يوم التناد. وكذلك محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم بعث في زمان الفصحاء والبلغاء وتجاريد الشعراء فأتاهم بكتاب من الله عز وجل فلو اجتمعت الإنس والجن على أن يأتوا بمثله أو بعَشْر سور من مثله أو بسورة من مثله لم يستطيعوا أبدا ولو كان بعضهم لبعض ظهيرا وما ذلك إلا أن كلام الرب عز وجل لا يشبه كلام الخلق أبدا وقوله "وأنبئكم بما تأكلون وما تدخرون في بيوتكم" أي أخبركم بما أكل أحدكم الآن وما هو مدخر له في بيته لغد "إن في ذلك" أي في ذلك كله "لآية لكم" أي على صدقي فيما جئتكـم به.

The Description of `Isa and the Miracles He Performed

Allah states that the good news brought to Maryam about `Isa was even better because Allah would teach him,

الْكِتَـبَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ

(the Book and Al-Hikmah). It appears that the `Book' the Ayah mentioned here refers to writing. We explained the meaning of Al-Hikmah in the Tafsir of Surat Al-Baqarah.

التَّوْرَاةَ وَالإِنجِيلَ

(the Tawrah and the Injil). The Tawrah is the Book that Allah sent down to Musa, son of `Imran, while the Injil is what Allah sent down to `Isa, son of Maryam, peace be upon them, and `Isa memorized both Books. Allah's statement,

وَرَسُولاً إِلَى بَنِى إِسْرَءِيلَ

(And will make him a Messenger to the Children of Israel) means, that Allah will send `Isa as a Messenger to the Children of Israel, proclaiming to them,

أَنِّى قَدْ جِئْتُكُمْ بِآيَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ أَنِى أَخْلُقُ لَكُمْ مِّنَ الطِّينِ كَهَيْئَةِ الطَّيْرِ فَأَنفُخُ فِيهِ فَيَكُونُ طَيْرًا بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ

(I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, that I design for you out of clay, a figure like that of a bird, and breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by Allah's leave). These are the miracles that `Isa performed; he used to make the shape of a bird from clay and blow into it, and it became a bird by Allah's leave. Allah made this a miracle for `Isa to testify that He had sent him.

وَأُبْرِىءُ الاٌّكْمَهَ

(And I heal him who is Akmah) meaning, `a person who was born blind,' which perfects this miracle and makes the challenge more daring.

وَالاٌّبْرَصَ

(And the leper) which is a known disease,

وَأُحْىِ الْمَوْتَى بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ

(And I bring the dead to life by Allah's leave).

Many scholars stated that Allah sent every Prophet with a miracle suitable to his time. For instance, in the time of Musa, magic was the trade of the time, and magicians held a high position. So Allah sent Musa with a miracle that captured the eyes and bewildered every magician. When the magicians realized that Musa's miracle came from the Almighty, Most Great, they embraced Islam and became pious believers. As for `Isa, he was sent during a time when medicine and knowledge in physics were advancing. `Isa brought them the types of miracles that could not be performed, except by one sent by Allah. How can any physician bring life to clay, cure blindness and leprosy and bring back to life those entrapped in the grave Muhammad ﷺ was sent during the time of eloquent people and proficient poets. He brought them a Book from Allah; if mankind and the Jinn tried to imitate ten chapters, or even one chapter of it, they will utterly fail in this task, even if they tried to do it by collective cooperation. This is because the Qur'an is the Word of Allah and is nothing like that of the creatures.

`Isa's statement,

وَأُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا تَأْكُلُونَ وَمَا تَدَّخِرُونَ فِى بُيُوتِكُمْ

(And I inform you of what you eat, and what you store in your houses) means, I tell you about what one of you has just eaten and what he is keeping in his house for tomorrow.

إِنَّ فِى ذَلِكَ

(Surely, therein), all these miracles,

لأَيَةً لَّكُمْ

(is a sign for you) testifying to the truth of what I was sent to you with,

إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَوَمُصَدِّقًا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيَّ مِنَ التَّوْرَاةِ

(If you believe. And I have come confirming that which was before me of the Tawrah,) affirming the Tawrah and upholding it,

وَلاٌّحِلَّ لَكُم بَعْضَ الَّذِي حُرِّمَ عَلَيْكُمْ

(and to make lawful to you part of what was forbidden to you.)

This part of the Ayah indicates that `Isa abrogated some of the Laws of the Tawrah and informed the Jews of the truth regarding some issues that they used to dispute about. In another Ayah;

وَلأُبَيِّنَ لَكُم بَعْضَ الَّذِى تَخْتَلِفُونَ فِيهِ

(And in order to make clear to you some of the (points) in which you differ) 43:63.

`Isa said next,

وَجِئْتُكُمْ بِأَيَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ

(And I have come to you with a proof from your Lord.) "Containing affirmation and evidence to the truth of what I am conveying to you."

فَاتَّقُواْ اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُونِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ رَبِّى وَرَبُّكُمْ فَاعْبُدُوهُ

(So have Taqwa of Allah and obey me. Truly, Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him (Alone).) for I and you are equal in our servitude, submission and humbleness to Him,

هَـذَا صِرَطٌ مُّسْتَقِيمٌ

(This is the straight path.)

And He will make him to be a messenger to the Children of Israel during his tender years or after puberty. Gabriel breathed into the opening of her garment and she became pregnant. What happened to her after this is mentioned later in sūrat Maryam Q. 1921ff. Thus when God sent him to the Children of Israel he said to them ‘I am God’s Messenger to you’ and ‘I have come to you with a sign an indication of my truthfulness from your Lord and it is that I will create a variant reading for the particle introducing the relative clause annī ‘that I’ has innī ‘truly I’ indicating a new independent sentence that I will fashion for you out of clay like the shape of a bird ka-hay’at ‘something like the shape of’ the kāf is the subject of a passive participle then I will breathe into it fīhi the suffixed pronoun -hi refers to the preceding kāf and it will be a bird tayran is also read tā’iran by the leave the will of God. So he created for them a bat being the most perfectly-created of birds and they would watch it flying but when it went out of sight it would fall dead — so that the work of a creature sc. Jesus may be distinguished from the work of the Creator namely God exalted be He and that he might know that perfection belongs to God alone. I will also heal the blind akmah is one that is blind from birth and the leper; these two are singled out for mention because with both afflictions the person is completely helpless. He Jesus was sent in an age of characterised by medicinal science and he cured through supplication fifty thousand in one day on the condition that each person would become a believer; and I bring to life the dead by the leave of God — He repeats this to preclude any false attributions of divinity to him — he brought back to life his friend ‘Āzar the son of an old woman and the daughter of the tithe-collector all of whom lived on and produced offspring and he also brought back to life Shem son of Noah but he died again immediately. I will inform you too of what things you eat and what you treasure up store in your houses and what I have never seen and he would inform people what they had eaten and what they would eat. Surely in that mentioned is a sign for you if you are believers.

1. Verse 48 recounts the august virtues of Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) who would be born blessed with the honour of learning from Allah: Scriptures, Wisdom and specially the توراۃ Torah and the اِنجیل Injil; and that he will be sent as a Messenger of Allah to all of the Children of Isra` il.

2. The message he will carry to them will be his argument in favour of his prophethood. In order that they believe, enumerated in verse 49, there are four signs or miracles that he would perform, being enough for willing believers.

3. Verse 50 says that Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) will declare that he has come to confirm Torah which was revealed before his coming and to make lawful what remained unlawful for them in the law of Moses. This means that the unlawfulness of some things in the earlier code would stand abrogated by the new one, (that of Sayyidna ` Isa علیہ السلام) whose station of prophethood was the conclusive argument for that claim of abrogation. The proof of his truth were the signs from their Lord.

4. Once his prophethood is established, verse 51 states that Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) will ask them to beware of any contravention of Divine commandments, fear Allah, and follow his teachings in matters of religion which, in a nutshell, are that 'Allah is my Lord and your Lord' (the ultimate in belief) and 'Worship Him' (the ultimate in deeds). This, then, is the straight path which helps perfect the ideal combination of beliefs and deeds, leads to the way of salvation and is the source of communion with Allah.

Ruling:

Making the shape of a bird was the making of a picture, something permitted in that Shari` ah. In our Shari'ah, its permissibility was abrogated.