JESUS
IN QURAN & ISLAMIC CELEBRATIONS
TALK DELIVERED BY MULLA MUJAHIDALI SHERIFF
AT PORTSMOUTH CATHEDRAL
Thursday
7th December 2004
In the Name of God, the Beneficent, the
Merciful
May his peace and blessings be upon all
those who receive His guidance and follow it devotedly.
Ladies and Gentlemen
Good evening and peace be upon you all.
Once again, we have the honour of
gathering here this evening to celebrate the birth of Jesus son
of Mary (Peace be upon him).
Jesus
has been referred to as ‘Issa and
his chaste mother as Maryam in the Holy Quran.
Both Jesus and his mother Mary
have been held in high esteem in Islam. Muslims believe in Jesus
as the Prophet of the Almighty God and his mother Mary as a pure
and chaste woman who conceived and gave birth to her son purely by the
will of God without any mortal touching her.
Let us briefly look at some of the verses
from the Holy Quran, which talks about them.
BIRTH OF JESUS – A WILL OF GOD
Regarding the birth of Jesus, in
chapter 19 known as Maryam Quran states that:
“And mention in the book Mary, when she
withdrew from her family to a house eastward.
Thus she secluded herself
from them, whereupon We sent Our spirit to her, and he appeared to her
exactly like a sound human being.
She said, ‘I seek protection from the All
beneficent from you, should you be God wary’.
He said, ‘I am only a messenger of your
Lord that I may give you a pure son’.
She said, ‘How shall I have a child seeing
that no human being has ever touched me nor have I been unchaste?’
He said, ‘so it shall be.
Your Lord says: It is simple for Me; and so that We make him a sign for
mankind and a mercy from Us; and that is a matter already decreed’.
According to these verses, the birth of
Jesus to a virgin mother, without a male partner, was an immediate
effect of God’s will, manifested to the world as a miracle. When the
Almighty God wills a thing ‘to be’, it becomes.
In the last two verses of chapter 36 known
as Yasin Quran clearly states the power of the Almighty God in
His creation. It states:
“Verily His command, when He intends a
thing, is only to say: ‘Be’ and so it becomes. Therefore, glory be to
Him in whose hand is the kingdom of all things. Unto Him, you will all
return.”
In chapter 3, known as Aali ‘Imraan
(the family of ‘Imraan), verse 59, Quran says:
“Verily, the likeness of Jesus with God is
as the likeness of Adam; He created him out of dust, then He said to
him: ‘Be’ and he was.”
According to this verse, just as the birth
of Adam took place without the agency of a father and a mother, so did
the birth of Jesus without a father. The likeness of
Jesus
therefore is as the likeness of Adam; and
this is the manifestation of the Almighty God’s will and power.
JESUS REVERED IN THE QURAN
To Muslims,
Jesus
is
one of the greatest prophets of the Almighty God. His miraculous birth
serves as the greatest sign of God and His mercy over mankind. In the
following verses we see how
Jesus
has been revered:
In chapter 2 verse 87 God says:
“We gave Jesus, the son of Mary, clear
evidences, and aided him with the Holy Spirit.”
‘Holy Spirit’
in
Islam, has a special significance. According to the Scholars of Islam,
it is in reference to a very highly refined spiritual entity, whose
function is to guide, inspire and infuse the prophetic spirit. It also
equips the divinely selected individual to exercise miraculous powers.
The repeated mention of
‘Holy Spirit’
with
the name of Jesus
in the Holy Quran clearly establishes the
fact that he was particularly chosen for this distinction.
In chapter 5 verse 46 God, the Almighty
says:
“And We followed them with Jesus son of
Mary, to confirm that which was brought before him of the Torah, and We
gave him the Evangel containing guidance and light, confirming what was
before it of the Torah, and as guidance and advice for the Godwary.”
This verse explains that
Jesus
came
to confirm and verify the basic doctrines of the universal religion of
One God – unity and justice of the Almighty God, and truthfulness of all
the prophets who preceded him.
Jesus
himself came with Evangel containing
guidance and light. Herein therefore, there is a precise mention that
the original Torah has been confirmed by the original Evangel; and in
every book of God there was guidance to people who are Godwary.
CELEBRATION OF EID
I have been requested to briefly talk
about how Muslims celebrate their festivals, or rather how Islam expects
Muslims to hold their festivals?
Many at times we will see the behaviour of
the followers contradicting the teachings of their religion and its
tenets. However, their behaviour does not necessarily represent the true
teachings of their religion. This problem is prevalent in all religions
without exception!
These are the days of Christmas. They are
the days to celebrate the birth of a great divine representative of God
who was sent to guide mankind to His path. The Christian brethren are
required to hold prayers, unite with their families; and revive and
strengthen their spirituality. However, it is not uncommon to see people
behaving exactly opposite to the noble ethical teachings of Christianity
and committing offensive behaviour.
Unfortunately, the same is also true with
some Muslims and in the process; the whole ideology behind such
religious festivals is shattered and lost.
In Islam, there are two great festivals
known to one and all.
One is
Eid al-Fitr
meaning ‘the festival of breaking fast’ marked at the end of Ramadhan (9th
month of the lunar calendar), and the other is
Eid al-Ad-haa
meaning ‘festival of sacrifice’ celebrated on the 10th day of
the 12th month of the lunar calendar marking the end of the
Hajj
(rituals of pilgrimage to Mecca).
In addition to these two festivals,
Muslims also celebrate the birth of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in the 3rd
month of the lunar calendar.
The celebrations of the two great
Eids
in Islam, which follows the fasting of Ramadhan and rituals of
pilgrimage to
Mecca are basically to mark the
achievement of piety; and to remind Muslims about the Hereafter so that
they continue to remain God conscious at all times.
The rituals of Ramadhan and pilgrimage to
Mecca
are in fact meant to train the Muslims to learn self-restraint and
become Godwary at all times. Therefore, the philosophy of the two
Eids
is to mark these achievements after having
undergone the exhaustive trainings.
Let me quote here what ‘Ali bin Abi Talib
(PBUH), the successor of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had said in his sermon
to the Muslims of his time during the day of
Eid al-Fitr.
He (PBUH) said:
“O People! Verily this day of yours is the
day when the righteous are awarded and the wretched are the losers.”
Meaning those who benefited from the
trainings given in Ramadhan are awarded; whereas those who did not
spiritually benefit, and their fasting was no more than hunger and
thirst inflicted upon themselves are losers.
The he (PBUH) continued and said,
“It is a day which is similar to the one
when you shall be standing before your Lord.”
(Here, the reference has been made to
Judgement day when one and all shall be gathered to account for their
deeds).
The first thing that the Muslims do on the
day of
Eid
is to go to the Mosque to say special
prayers for that day. Talking about how they should behave, ‘Ali (PBUH)
then added,
“Therefore, when you come out of your
houses to go to the places of your (EID) prayer, remind yourselves about
the day when you shall come out of your bodies to go to your Lord.
When you stand on places of your prayer,
remind yourselves of your standing in presence of your Lord (to give
account of your deeds).
And when you return to your homes, remind
yourselves about your returning to your houses in
Paradise.”
Thus we see that the whole concept of
celebrating the
Eids
is related to the spiritual aspects of our
lives.
SO WHAT DO MUSLIMS DO ON EID?
Muslims have been directed to spend the
day of Eid in a useful manner without going against the commandments of
God.
-
On
Eid al-Fitr
they
first pay Zakat
(Poor rate). This is compulsory on all Muslims who can afford to pay the
poor rate and it amounts to approximately 3kgs per person of their
staple food.
On
Eid al-Ad-haa
they offer sacrifice of lamb in
remembrance of the great sacrifice of Abraham, the champion of
Monotheism and distribute its meat to the poor and the relatives.
-
They offer special prayer early in the
morning together at the Mosque.
-
Visit the graveyard to remember their
dead, offer prayers for them and remind themselves of their eventual
return to the Almighty God.
-
Visit relatives and friends to exchange
greetings and gifts; and to resolve their differences.
CELEBRATING PROPHET MUHAMMAD (PBUH)’S
BIRTHDAY
Every community honours its saints. For
Muslims, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is not only a servant and messenger of
the Almighty God, but also an excellent example to follow and emulate in
all aspects of life. In chapter 33, verse 21 Quran says:
“Certainly you have in the Apostle of God
an excellent exemplar for him, who believes in (One) God and the latter
day, and remembers God much.”
With regard to his birth, there is a
difference of opinion among the Muslim historians. Some say that he (PBUH)
was born on 12th day of the 3rd month in the lunar
calendar whereas some insist that he (PBUH) was born on 17th
day of the said month. To patch up the minor difference, the scholars of
Islam have declared the week between 12th and 17th
of the month as UNITY week; and have called the Muslims of the world to
dedicate the entire week for the celebration of the birth of Prophet
Muhammad (PBUH).
Once again, the celebration does not
entitle one to go against the commandments of God. Rather, it provides
Muslims with an opportunity to learn more about their noble Prophet (PBUH),
and motivates them to strengthen their belief and faith in him.
-Poems are recited in praise of Prophet
Muhammad (PBUH) and his mission
-Islamic Scholars address Muslims in the
mosques to talk to them about their Prophet’s life
-Seminars are organized and conducted on
the life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in different parts of the Muslim and
non-Muslim world
-Islamic Television and Radio channels
relay programs on his noble life too.
With this, I conclude my talk.
On behalf of my Shia Muslim Community of
Wessex, and on my own behalf, I offer our heartiest greetings and best
wishes to all our Christian brethren and a happy New Year!
Thank you. |