The Word of God

Maryam had withdrawn to a place of solitude in the East. An angel appeared to her in the form of a perfectly formed man. She said: "I seek refuge from you in the Most Merciful — if you fear God, stay away." The angel said: "I am only a messenger of your Lord, to give you the gift of a pure son."

قَالَتْ رَبِّ أَنَّىٰ يَكُونُ لِي وَلَدٌ وَلَمْ يَمْسَسْنِي بَشَرٌ

"She said: "My Lord, how can I have a child when no man has touched me?""

— Surah Al-Imran, 3:47

"How can I have a son when no man has touched me, and I am not unchaste?" The angel said: "This is how God creates what He wills. When He decrees something, He only says to it: Be — and it is." The creation of Isa was parallel to the creation of Adam: both came into being by a direct divine command, without the normal means. One from clay. One from a word breathed into a pure woman.

Maryam withdrew further into isolation, and the birth came upon her near a palm tree. She was alone, in pain, and overwhelmed. She said: "I wish I had died before this, and been completely forgotten." A voice came — perhaps Isa, speaking even before birth, or Jibreel beside her: "Do not grieve. Your Lord has made a stream flow at your feet. Shake the trunk of the palm tree — fresh ripe dates will fall on you. Eat, drink, and be comforted."

She returned to her people carrying the infant. They confronted her with accusations. She pointed to the baby in her arms. They said: "How can we speak to one who is a child in the cradle?" And Isa spoke. From his cradle, as a newborn, he said: "I am the servant of God. He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet. He has made me blessed wherever I am, and has enjoined upon me prayer and charity as long as I remain alive."

When God sent Isa with the Injeel (Gospel) and made him a messenger to the Children of Israel, He gave him signs unlike any prophet before him. He shaped birds from clay and breathed into them — and they flew by God's permission. He placed his hand on the blind and they saw. On the leper and they were cleansed. He called the dead back to life. He told people what they had eaten in their homes and what they had stored away.

وَرَسُولًا إِلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ أَنِّي قَدْ جِئْتُكُم بِآيَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ

"And a messenger to the Children of Israel: "I have come to you with a sign from your Lord.""

— Surah Al-Imran, 3:49

His disciples asked for a table spread with food from heaven — a banquet sent down as a divine sign and a day of celebration. Isa made the prayer and the table descended. This was one of his greatest miracles. But the Children of Israel rejected him despite every sign. They plotted against him, conspired with the authorities, and sought to have him crucified.

But God does not allow His beloved to be humiliated. The Quran is clear: "They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him — but it was made to appear so to them." God raised Isa — alive — to Himself. Someone was made to resemble him, and the plot failed. Isa is alive in the heavens at this moment, and he will return before the Final Hour, descending in Damascus, to pray behind the Mahdi, to break the cross, and to bring justice to the world.

وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ وَمَا صَلَبُوهُ وَلَٰكِن شُبِّهَ لَهُمْ

"And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but it was made to appear so to them."

— Surah An-Nisa, 4:157

Isa himself foretold the coming of a prophet after him, saying: "O Children of Israel, I am the messenger of God to you, confirming what came before me of the Torah, and bringing good tidings of a messenger to come after me, whose name is Ahmad." That prophet came — and with his coming, the long chain of prophethood reached its seal. The message that began with Adam, carried by Nuh, purified by Ibrahim, given the Law through Musa, given song through Dawud, given the kingdom through Sulaiman, and given mercy through Isa — was completed, perfected, and preserved forever through Muhammad ﷺ.