As a reminder, I am not writing about the Qur’an as a Muslim scholar, or even as a Muslim; I am an infidel (in their eyes). I am simply reading the Quran and commenting on what I read, just as in my Bible posts I read what that book says and comment on it. Anyone with good reading comprehension skills should be able to do the same. Otherwise, what is the point of having written texts?
Who is ‘Imran and why is his family important? ‘Imran is said to be the name of the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus. In Christian tradition the name is Joachim. As Muhammad begins this sura he seems to find common ground with the Jews and Christians:
Step by step, He has sent the Scripture down to you [Prophet] with the Truth, confirming what went before: He sent down the Torah and the Gospel earlier as a guide for people and He has sent down the distinction [between right and wrong].
3:3, 4
However, he points out that not everyone gets it right:
Some of its verses are definite in meaning–these are the cornerstone of the Scripture – and others are ambiguous. The perverse at heart eagerly pursue the ambiguities in their attempt to make trouble and to pin down a specific meaning of their own: only God knows the true meaning.
3:7
I agree with him that in religious texts there tends to be a lot of ambiguities, leaving a lot of room for discussion and even dissension, but I suspect if he were to read my blog he might place me among those “perverse at heart!” Really, I’m just trying to read and understand what these books say.
Although Muhammad begins this sura with the usual statement: “In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy”, he is quick to remind us that “The disbelievers will be fuel for the Fire” and “God is severe in punishing.” I mean, nothing says “mercy” like severe punishment by fire. However, he also reminds us that “Their Lord will give those who are mindful of God Gardens graced with flowing streams, where they will stay with pure spouses and God’s good pleasure” (3:15), so there is some good news. But let’s fast forward to ‘Imran, since such warnings were also spelled out in the previous sura.
God chose Adam, Noah, Abraham’s family, and the family of ‘Imran, over all other people, in one line of descent– God hears and knows all. ‘Imran’s wife said, ‘Lord, I have dedicated what is growing in my womb entirely to You; so accept this from me. You are the One who hears and knows all,’ but when she gave birth, she said, ‘My Lord! I have given birth to a girl’– God knew best what she had given birth to: the male is not like the female–‘ I name her Mary and I commend her and her offspring to Your protection from the rejected Satan.’ Her Lord graciously accepted her and made her grow in goodness, and entrusted her to the charge of Zachariah.
3:33-37
Now, for background you might want to review the birth stories of Jesus and John the Baptizer as told in Luke 1, and also the Infancy Gospel of James (aka The Proto-gospel of James. You can find it online; see the links to two sites on the home page). That Infancy Gospel goes into detail about the birth of Mary, kind of a back story not included in Luke.
In this sura Imran’s wife dedicates her unborn child to the Lord, and is surprised when she gives birth to a girl. I think the way it is put is kind of funny: “God knew best what she had given birth to: the male is not like the female,” as if “Of course God didn’t make a mistake! He knows the difference between a boy and a girl!” (It’s interesting to note that in Bible stories when a woman appeals to God for a child it’s always a boy that is born, never a girl.) And as in the Infancy Gospel Mary is raised in the temple and is fed by angels. It’s interesting that Muhammad knew these traditions about Mary that few Christians know today, since most Christians only read the stories that made it into the New Testament. And Zechariah becomes the father of John the Baptizer, as in the Gospel of Luke. He also mentions the casting of lots to see who will care for Mary, and that also parallels the Infancy Gospel, where Joseph is chosen in miraculous fashion to be Mary’s husband.
Note Mary being fed by an angel in the upper right.
As in Luke God explains to Mary about having a son, although He does not say it is His son (Sura 2 is quite clear that God does not have a son); He simply says it will happen by His word: “He only says, “Be”, and it is.” And he says Jesus will go to the Children of Israel and he will have a special sign: “I have come to you with a sign from your Lord: I will make the shape of a bird for you out of clay, then breathe into it and, with God’s permission, it will become a real bird…” I find this most curious because another gospel, the Infancy Gospel of Thomas (also easily found online) has a story in which Jesus makes some clay birds, but on the Sabbath. When he is confronted about violating the Sabbath, Jesus claps his hands and the birds become alive and fly away (removing the evidence!). For Muhammad to know these stories about Mary and Jesus these traditions must have been fairly widespread in his day. It’s a shame that these stories came to be neglected and ignored, not that they represent fact, but they can certainly tell us something about the way early Christians thought and the kind of stories they told about Jesus.
Muhammad says Jesus and his disciples tried to teach people about God, but he is quite clear about his origin: “In God’s eyes Jesus is just like Adam: He created him from dust, said to him, ‘Be’, and he was” (3:59). So, he confirms the idea that Jesus had a miraculous birth to the virgin Mary, but that doesn’t make him God’s “son,” any more than Adam was. (You might want to read my Bible post #7: Does God Have Chromosomes?)
So, Muhammad recognizes Jesus as a prophet from God but takes issue with the way Christians think of him as God’s son. Then he takes issue with “the People of the Book,” as he calls the Jews. The Jews were somewhat unique in the ancient world because their religion was based on written scriptures (at least, more so than other religions). He makes this statement: “Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian” (3:67). Of course, one might add, “Neither was he a Muslim!” I see this as a major problem in religion: we divide into our various camps, each with its own set of writings and doctrines, and then fight about who is right, rather than all sharing in a common effort of seeking God (or in more secular terms, seeking truth). I wish Muhammad had gone into more specific detail about how he thought the Jews had gone wrong, but he mentions some issues. He says you can trust some Jews with a heap of gold, but others can’t be trusted with even a single dinar because they don’t recognize any obligation to non-Jews. I think that may be behind his objection to the Jews: they refused to acknowledge and treat him and his fellow Muslims as true believers. There may have been a disagreement over food laws, too. Muslims drank camel’s milk and ate camel meat, which was forbidden in Jewish law, since camels do not have cloven hooves or chew their cud. He points out that “all food was lawful to the Children of Israel before the Torah was revealed” (3:93), having pointed out that Abraham had faith even before the Torah was written. And the Jews continued to worship in Jerusalem rather than Mecca, and he argues that Mecca was the first place of worship, established by Abraham himself.
Muhammad seems to be appealing to the common faith they should all share going back to Abraham, and not skewed by later interpretation of laws (the Torah) and new doctrines (Jesus is God’s son). He goes on to say that ‘We [Muslims] believe in God and in what has been sent down to us and to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes. We believe in what has been given to Moses, Jesus, and the prophets from their Lord” (3:84). So, they should all have a common faith, but that obviously hasn’t materialized, has it? At the cost of many lives.
Speaking of the cost of lives, Muhammad does make reference to various battles that he and his followers fought. He attributes their success at Badr to God sending angels to help them win the battle (3:123-129). This seems to be an encouragement to his followers. Later he rebukes those who would not fight but instead said, ‘If only they had stayed with us they would not have died or been killed’ (3:156). He reassures his followers: “Whether you die or are
killed, it is to God that you will be gathered” (3:158, see also 169-171). Like the Vikings who would die in battle and go to Valhalla. Or the Christian martyrs who would be waiting for everyone else in Heaven, as in the book of Revelation. It pays to promise your soldiers a short cut to Paradise.
This sura ends with warnings of fire for those who refuse to believe but those who are faithful will be welcomed into God’s Garden. And not just ‘Muslims.’ Even ‘People of the Book’ who truly believe will be saved: “These people will have their rewards with their Lord” (3:199). I wonder if Muhammad was really as militant as many of his followers today appear to be. There is common ground for Muslims, Jews and Christians to discuss and consider.
Jesus said the Law boiled down to only two: Love God, and love your neighbor. I think Jews and Muslims could generally agree with that. Unfortunately, religion is too often about the details and not the big picture. So the fighting continues.
Next time: Sura 4: Women. And also children and orphans and even the feeble-minded!
(Remember to leave your comments and questions below).