PROPHET ISA (‘a)

Prophets of Allah

A long time ago, there lived a pious young lady whose name was Maryam (‘a). Maryam used to worship Allah from the time when she was just a child. Allah loved Maryam (‘a) so much that He would send food for her from Jannah.

One day, Allah sent Angel Jibra’il (‘a) to Maryam in the form of a man. Jibra’il told Maryam (‘a): Allah wishes to give you a son. Maryam replied: But how will I get a son when I am not even married?! Jibra’il said: This is the command of Allah and it shall come to pass. Then he gave her some dates. When Maryam (‘a) ate the dates, she became pregnant.

As the days passed, Maryam (‘a) hid from the people because she was afraid that they would think ill of her. When the time for her to give birth came near, she left the city and went out all alone to a desert. She took rest under a dry date tree and prayed to Allah to help her in this difficult time.

At that very moment, she heard a voice telling her: Do not be sad, your Lord has made a spring of water flow forth near your feet. And shake the dried date palm, fresh dates will fall from it for you! When Maryam (‘a) shook the trunk of the tree, by a miracle, fresh dates appeared on it and fell down to her.

When she returned to the city, the people gathered around her and asked: Where did you bring this child from Maryam?! Maryam (‘a) pointed towards the child as if to say: Ask the child yourself! They began laughing and said: How can we ask a newborn baby?! Suddenly, the baby spoke: I am the servant of Allah. He has given me the Book and made me a prophet. He has made be blessed wherever I may be!...

When Isa (‘a) grew older, Allah commanded him to start spreading His message to the people. Prophet Isa would travel to different cities and preach the message of Allah to the people. However, only a few people accepted his teachings and followed him.

Allah gave Isa (‘a) the miracle of healing the sick, giving sight to the blind and even bringing the dead back to life.

When people saw these miracles being performed by Prophet Isa (‘a), they all flocked to him, seeking to be healed from their ailments. Some even followed him from city to city.

Once the chief priests of the Jews came to know about what Prophet Isa (‘a) was preaching and how popular he had become, especially among the poor masses, they became frightened of losing their authority over the people. For this reason, they went to see the emperor and convinced him that Isa (‘a) was a threat and sought his permission to arrest Isa (‘a).

As the chiefs accompanied by the Roman soldiers began searching for Prophet Isa (‘a), one of his companions called Judas was tempted by Shaytan to betray him in order to get a reward. He informed the Jewish chiefs where Isa (‘a) was staying with his disciples.

At that very moment, Allah made Prophet Isa (‘a) ascend to the heavens and made Judas appear like Isa (‘a). The Roman soldiers mistook him for Prophet Isa (‘a), arrested him and crucified him.

F. T. Jaffer