The Similarities Between the Creation of Adam and the Creation of `Isa
Allah said,
إِنَّ مَثَلَ عِيسَى عِندَ اللَّهِ
(Verily, the likeness of `Isa before Allah) regarding Allah's ability, since He created him without a father,
كَمَثَلِ ءَادَمَ
(is the likeness of Adam), for Allah created Adam without a father or a mother. Rather,
خَلَقَهُ مِن تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ قَالَ لَهُ كُن فَيَكُونُ
(He created him from dust, then (He) said to him: "Be!" and he was.)
Therefore, He Who created Adam without a father or a mother is able to create `Isa, as well, without a father. If the claim is made that `Isa is Allah's son because he was created without a father, then the same claim befits Adam even more. However, since such a claim regarding Adam is obviously false, then making the same claim about `Isa is even more false.
Furthermore, by mentioning these facts, Allah emphasizes His ability, by creating Adam without a male or female, Hawa' from a male without a female, and `Isa from a mother without a father, compared to His creating the rest of creation from male and female. This is why Allah said in Surah Maryam,
وَلِنَجْعَلَهُ ءَايَةً لِّلْنَّاسِ
(And We made him a sign for mankind) 19: 21.
Allah said in this Ayah,
الْحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّكَ فَلاَ تَكُنْ مِّن الْمُمْتَرِينَ
((This is) the truth from your Lord, so be not of those who doubt.) meaning, this is the only true story about `Isa, and what is beyond truth save falsehood Allah next commands His Messenger to call those who defy the truth, regarding `Isa, to the Mubahalah (the curse).
The Challenge to the Mubahalah
فَمَنْ حَآجَّكَ فِيهِ مِن بَعْدِ مَا جَآءَكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ فَقُلْ تَعَالَوْاْ نَدْعُ أَبْنَآءَنَا وَأَبْنَآءَكُمْ وَنِسَآءَنَا وَنِسَآءَكُمْ وَأَنفُسَنَا وأَنفُسَكُمْ
(Then whoever disputes with you concerning him after the knowledge that has come to you, say: "Come, let us call our sons and your sons, our women and your women, ourselves and yourselves") for the Mubahalah,
ثُمَّ نَبْتَهِلْ
(then we pray), supplicate,
فَنَجْعَل لَّعْنَتُ اللَّهِ عَلَى الْكَـذِبِينَ
(and we invoke Allah's curse upon the liars) among the two of us.
The reason for the call to Mubahalah and the revelation of the Ayat from the beginning of this Surah until here, is that a delegation from the Christians of Najran (in Yemen) came to Al-Madinah to argue about `Isa, claiming that he was divine and the son of Allah. Allah sent down the beginning of this Surah until here, to refute their claims, as Imam Muhammad bin Ishaq bin Yasar and other scholars stated.
Muhammad bin Ishaq bin Yasar said in his famous Sirah, "The delegation of Christians from Najran came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ . The delegation consisted of sixty horsemen, including fourteen of their chiefs who make decisions. These men were Al-`Aqib, also known as `Abdul-Masih, As-Sayyid, also known as Al-Ayham, Abu Harithah bin `Alqamah, of the family of Bakr bin Wa`il and Uways bin Al-Harith. They also included, Zayd, Qays, Yazid, Nabih, Khuwaylid, `Amr, Khalid, `Abdullah and Yuhannas. Three of these men were chiefs of this delegation, Al-`Aqib, their leader and to whom they referred for advice and decision; As-Sayyid, their scholar and leader in journeys and social gatherings; and Abu Harithah bin `Alqamah, their patriarch, priest and religious leader. Abu Harithah was an Arab man from the family of Bakr bin Wa`il, but when he embraced Christianity, the Romans and their kings honored him and built churches for him (or in his honor). They also supported him financially and gave him servants, because they knew how firm his faith in their religion was." Abu Harithah knew the description of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ from what he read in earlier divine Books. However, his otherwise ignorance led him to insist on remaining a Christian, because he was honored and had a high position with the Christians. Ibn Ishaq said, "Muhammad bin Ja`far bin Az-Zubayr said that, `The (Najran) delegation came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in Al-Madinah, entered his Masjid wearing robes and garments, after the Prophet had prayed the `Asr prayer. They accompanied a caravan of camels led by Bani Al-Harith bin Ka`b. The Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ who saw them said that they never saw a delegation like them after that... Then Abu Harithah bin `Alqamah and Al-`Aqib `Abdul-Masih or As-Sayyid Al-Ayham spoke to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and they were Christians like the king (Roman King). However, they disagreed about `Isa; some of them said, `He is Allah,' while some said, `He is the son of Allah,' and some others said, `He is one of a trinity.' Allah is far from what they attribute to Him."
Indeed, these are the creeds of the Christians. They claim that `Isa is God, since he brought the dead back to life, healed blindness, leprosy and various illnesses, told about matters of the future, created the shape of birds and blew life into them, bringing them to life. However, all these miracles occurred by Allah's leave, so that `Isa would be a sign from Allah for people.
They also claim that `Isa is the son of Allah, since he did not have a father and he spoke when he was in the cradle, a miracle which had not occurred by any among the Children of Adam before him, so they claim. They also claim that `Isa is one of a trinity, because Allah would say, `We did, command, create and demand.' They said, `If Allah were one, he would have said, `I did, command, create and decide.' This is why they claim that `Isa and Allah are one (Trinity). Allah is far from what they attribute to Him, and we should mention that the Qur'an refuted all these false Christian claims.
Ibn Ishaq continued, "When these Ayat came to the Messenger from Allah ﷺ, thus judging between him and the People of the Book, Allah also commanded the Prophet to call them to the Mubahalah if they still refused the truth. The Prophet called them to the Mubahalah. They said, `O Abu Al-Qasim! Let us think about this matter and get back to you with our decision to what we want to do.' They left the Prophet and conferred with Al-`Aqib, to whom they referred to for advice. They said to him, `O `Abdul-Masih! What is your advice' He said, `By Allah, O Christian fellows! You know that Muhammad is a Messenger and that he brought you the final word regarding your fellow (`Isa). You also know that no Prophet conducted Mubahalah with any people, and the old persons among them remained safe and the young people grew up. Indeed, it will be the end of you if you do it. If you have already decided that you will remain in your religion and your creed regarding your fellow (`Isa), then conduct a treaty with the man (Muhammad) and go back to your land.' They came to the Prophet and said, `O Abu Al-Qasim! We decided that we cannot do Mubahalah with you and that you remain on your religion, while we remain on our religion. However, send with us a man from your Companions whom you are pleased with to judge between us regarding our monetary disputes, for you are acceptable to us in this regard."'
Al-Bukhari recorded that Hudhayfah said, "Al-`Aqib and As-Sayyid, two leaders from Najran, came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ seeking to invoke Allah for curses (against whoever is unjust among them), and one of them said to the other, `Let us not do that. By Allah, if he were truly a Prophet and we invoke Allah for curses, we and our offspring shall never succeed afterwards.' So they said, `We will give you what you asked and send a trusted man with us, just a trusted man.' The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said;
«لَأَبْعَثَنَّ مَعَكُمْ رَجُلًا أَمِينًا حَقَّ أَمِين»
فاستشرف لها أصحاب رسول اللهصلى الله عليه وسلّم، فقال:
«قُمْ يَا أَبَا عُبَيْدَةَ بْنَ الْجَرَّاح»
فلما قام، قال رسول اللهصلى الله عليه وسلّم:
«هَذَا أَمِينُ هذِهِ الْأُمَّة»
("Verily, I will send a trusted man with you, a truly trustworthy man." The Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ all felt eager to be that man. The Messenger said, "O Abu `Ubaydah bin Al-Jarrah! Stand up." When Abu `Ubaydah stood up, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "This is the trustee of this Ummah."')
Al-Bukhari recorded that Anas said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said on another occasion,
«لِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ أَمِينٌ، وَأَمِينُ هذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ أَبُو عُبَيْدَةَ بْنُ الْجَرَّاح»
(Every Ummah has a trustee, and the trustee of this Ummah is Abu `Ubaydah bin Al-Jarrah.)
Imam Ahmad recorded that Ibn `Abbas said, "Abu Jahl, may Allah curse him, said, `If I see Muhammad praying next to the Ka`bah, I will step on his neck.' The Prophet later said,
«لَوْ فَعَلَ لَأَخَذَتْهُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ عِيَانًا، ولو أن اليهود تمنوا الموت لماتوا، ورأوا مقاعدهم من النار، ولو خرج الذين يباهلون رسول اللهصلى الله عليه وسلّم لرجعوا لا يجدون مالًا ولا أهلًا»
(Had he tried to do it, the angels would have taken him publicly. Had the Jews wished for death, they would have perished and would have seen their seats in the Fire. Had those who sought Mubahalah with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, went ahead with it, they would not have found estates or families when they returned home)." Al-Bukhari, At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasa'i also recorded this Hadith, which At-Tirmidhi graded Hasan Sahih.
Allah then said,
إِنَّ هَـذَا لَهُوَ الْقَصَصُ الْحَقُّ
(Verily, this is the true narrative) meaning, what we narrated to you, O Muhammad, about `Isa is the plain truth that cannot be avoided,
وَمَا مِنْ إِلَـهٍ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُفَإِن تَوَلَّوْاْ
(and none has the right to be worshipped but Allah. And indeed, Allah is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise. And if they turn away,) by abandoning this truth,
فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ بِالْمُفْسِدِينَ
(then surely, Allah is All-Aware of those who do mischief.) for those who abandon the truth for falsehood commit mischief, and Allah has full knowledge of them and will subject them to the worst punishment. Verily, Allah is able to control everything, all praise and thanks are due to Him, and we seek refuge with Him from His revenge.
And whoever disputes with you concerning him, that is, concerning Jesus. [As for the intepretation of the rest of] the verse: mutual imprecation (mubāhala) against prophets has a tremendous consequence the cause of which is the connection of their souls to the holy spirit and God's reinforcing theirs with this [latter] which is the cause of effects in the world of elements and so the world of elements is acted upon by it in the way that our body is acted upon by our spirit by means of the configurations that occur to it such as wrath, grief, reflection upon the states of the beloved one and so on in the way of the movement of limbs when will and resolve arise and human souls act upon them just as our senses and all our other faculties are acted upon by the configurations of our spirits. Thus if a holy soul is joined to it or to certain spirits of the celestial bodies and souls of the angelic realm, its effect on the world upon the joined orientation is the effect of that to which it is joined and so the elemental bodies and deficient human souls are acted upon by it in the way that it wants. Have you not seen how the souls of the Christians were acted upon by his [Muḥammad's] soul, peace be upon him, with fear and thus refrained from the mutual imprecation [against the Prophet] and sued for peace by accepting to pay the poll-tax (jizya).
And whoever disputes with you concerning him, that is, concerning Jesus. [As for the intepretation of the rest of] the verse: mutual imprecation (mubāhala) against prophets has a tremendous consequence the cause of which is the connection of their souls to the holy spirit and God's reinforcing theirs with this [latter] which is the cause of effects in the world of elements and so the world of elements is acted upon by it in the way that our body is acted upon by our spirit by means of the configurations that occur to it such as wrath, grief, reflection upon the states of the beloved one and so on in the way of the movement of limbs when will and resolve arise and human souls act upon them just as our senses and all our other faculties are acted upon by the configurations of our spirits. Thus if a holy soul is joined to it or to certain spirits of the celestial bodies and souls of the angelic realm, its effect on the world upon the joined orientation is the effect of that to which it is joined and so the elemental bodies and deficient human souls are acted upon by it in the way that it wants. Have you not seen how the souls of the Christians were acted upon by his [Muḥammad's] soul, peace be upon him, with fear and thus refrained from the mutual imprecation [against the Prophet] and sued for peace by accepting to pay the poll-tax (jizya).
Najran (about 150 miles north of Sana‘ towards Yemen) was a great centre of Christianity at the time of the revelation of the Quran. In the 10th year of the Hijra, a Christian deputation came from Najran, to discuss Christian beliefs with the Prophet Muhammad. The Prophet presented many arguments to them. He asked how Christ could be God’s son, when God is a living being who would never die, whereas Jesus would eventually be overcome by death. They could not counter his arguments but, nevertheless, stood their ground. When the Prophet saw that they were not going to accept his arguments, however sound they might be, he gave them a final challenge. He said that if they really believed that they were right (in believing Christ to be the son of God) they should be ready for a mubahalah, i.e., a solemn meeting, in which both sides should summon not only their men, but their women and children, to pray earnestly to God, and invoke the curse of God on those who lied. Those who were pure and sincere in their faith would not hesitate. The next day the Prophet came out of his home accompanied by his grandsons, Hasan and Husayn, and his daughter Fatimah, and son-in-law ‘Ali. On seeing this the Christians were so impressed that they sought some time to reconsider. In their consultations one of their religious scholars said: ‘You know God has promised to send a Prophet among the Ishmaelites. Suppose he be the same prophet. In that case, the only result of engaging in a mubahalah with him would be the destruction of all our people and its effect would even extend to our next generations. By God, I am seeing such faces as could move mountains with their prayers. So it is better to enter into certain peace treaties with him and go back to our homes.’
The Meaning of Mubahalah
As stated earlier, verse 61 has instructed the Holy Prophet ﷺ to invite his opponents (Christians) to Mubahalah which literally means 'mutual prayer' but in the terminology of Islamic Shari'ah it refers to a particular form of resolving religious disputes. When the argumentations from both sides fail to resolve a religious issue, the parties jointly pray Allah to cast His curse on whichever of the two parties is parties is false. Since curse means 'moving someone far away from the divine mercy', - and moving far away from mercy is being close to divine wrath--therefore, the essence of the meaning is: Wrath be on the liar. As such, whoever is the liar shall face the evil consequences whereupon the truth will become evident before the disbelievers as well. Invocation in this manner is called 'Mubahalah'.
Originally, the Mubahalah can be carried out by the disputants only; they can simply get together and pray. It is not necessary that all their family members are assembled. However, if all the family members participate in the Mubahalah, it becomes more effective. (That is why the Holy Prophet JJ was instructed to invite the family members of both sides).
'Son' includes grandson
In verse 61 the words 'our sons' does not mean 'our' sons as of the loins only. Instead, the sense is general. They may be sons or grandsons, because this is how the word is used in common usage. Therefore, the grandsons of the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، namely Sayyidna Hasan and Sayyidna Husain ؓ as well as Sayyidna ` Ali ؓ the son-in-law of the Holy Prophet ﷺ are all included in the words: 'our sons'.
Sayyidna ` Ali ؓ has another additional reason for being included in the 'sons' of the Holy Prophet ﷺ because he had grown up under the patronage of the Holy Prophet ﷺ who had treated him like his own son.
It is, therefore, evident that Sayyidna ` Ali ؓ is included in the words: 'our sons'. Some Shiites have claimed that since he was not the son of the Holy Prophet ﷺ he could not be referred to by the Holy Prophet ﷺ as 'our son'. Through this notion the Shiites conclude that Sayyidna ` Ali ؓ was included in the words 'ourselves', therefore, he was the immediate successor of the Holy Prophet ﷺ .
The fallacy of this argument is evident from what has been discussed above.
Allah then mentioned the dispute of the delegation of Najran with the Prophet (pbuh) after he explained to them that the likeness of Jesus with Allah is as the likeness of Adam, for they said to the Prophet: it is not as you say that Jesus was not Allah, his son or His partner. As response Allah said: (And whoso disputeth with thee concerning him) concerning Jesus, (after the knowledge which has come unto thee) after the exposition that has come to you that Jesus was not Allah, His son or His partner, (say (unto him): Come! We will summon our sons and your sons) and you summon your sons, (and our women and your women) and you summon your women, (and ourselves and yourselves, then we will pray humbly (to our Lord)) and exert our effort in praying ((and (solemnly) invoke) all together (the curse of Allah upon those who lie) about Allah concerning Jesus.
�then let us humbly pray (nabtahil)That is, �Let us invoke [God�s] curse, one upon the other.� The one who beseeches (mubtahil) is the supplicant (dāʿī), and the [act of] beseeching (ibtihāl) is supplication (duʿāʾ). The one who glorifies (musabbiḥ) is the one who remembers (dhākir), and this is not written down by the recording angels, for it is a witnessing of the One remembered in a remembrance that is through the One remembered. This is the meaning of His saying, �I keep company with the one who remembers Me, and when and wherever My servant seeks me out he will find Me.� His words: