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CONGRUITIES AND INCONGRUITIES BETWEEN THE BIBLE AND THE QUR'AN |
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Gospel according to St. LUKE
The birth of Jesus Christ was a divine miracle. He was born in Bethlehem, in the proximity of Jerusalem, without a father. Here is the account given by Luke about His birth. « And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth. To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And, behold, you shall conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shall call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, how shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God… For with God nothing is impossible. » ( Luke 26-37)
The expression Son of God denoted that he was not a biologically conceived child. It connoted the state of being close to Him; of having deserved His compassion and mercy. The same concept can be observed in the Old Testament and in the Psalms.
According to Holy Qur'an
The birth of Jesus according to the Qur'an is told in the Surah 17, Mary. « So she screened herself from them. Then we sent to her Our spirit and it appeared to her as a well-made man. She said: I flee for refuge from thee to the Beneficent, if thou art one guarding against evil He said: I am only bearer of a message of thy Lord: that I will give thee a pure boy. She said: How can I have a son and no mortal has yet touched me, not have I been unchaste? He said: So (it will be). Thy Lord says: It is easy to Me; and that we may make him a sign to men and a mercy from Us. And it is a matter decreed. Then she conceived him; and withdrew with him to a remote place. »(Surah 17/22)
As can be seen, the birth of Jesus is described in the gospels and in the Qur'an, both using almost the same expressions. Nevertheless, the Christians elevated him to the rank of God (325 A.D.), made him homoiousian, according to which God the Father and God the Son were like but not identical substance. The Holy Qur'an explicitly denies this and declares that Jesus had been created, just like Adam, upon God's decree: « Be!" It beseems not Allah that he should take to Himself a son. Glory be to him! when he decrees a matter. He only says to it, Be, and it is. (Surah 19/35) The creation of Jesus was similar to Adam's. The likeness of Jesus with Allah is truly as the likeness of Adam. He created him from dust, then said to him Be, and he was. »(Surah 3/59). The Supreme Creator had thus created Adam from dust and instilled spirit into him. According to the Qur'an, Jesus was created without the involvement of a father, just like in the creation of Adam. So that he was not the son of God Almighty, but his servant and prophet.
THE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS CHRIST