Appearance
Characteristics of Jesus (a.s.)
The angels enumerated certain qualities for John (a.s.): “Then the angels called out to him, as he stood praying in the sanctuary: ‘God gives you the good news of John, as a confirmer of a Word of God, eminent and chaste, a prophet, among the righteous’”.(287) However, they mentioned more qualities for Jesus (a.s.). Some of these qualities are as follows:
1. Being the “Word of God”
“God gives you the good news of a Word from Him”: All beings are God’s words; however, Jesus (a.s.) has a strong connection and special relationship with God, and applying the term “word” to a creation like Jesus (a.s.) is more appropriate and suitable.
This “word” is existential (takwīnī), not conventional, meaning it is not composed of letters. A verbal word is called a word because it indicates the speaker’s intention. On this basis, the entire universe consists of divine words, as they are all signs of the unseen: “If all the trees on the earth were pens, and the sea replenished with seven more seas [were ink], the words of God would not be spent. Indeed God is all-mighty, all-wise”.(288)
Applying the term “word” to the beings of the created world, based on the assignment of terms for the spirits of meanings and concepts, is a true application; especially for a being that better demonstrates God and is His greatest sign.
Jesus (a.s.) is either a perfect example of God’s “word” for this reason, or because he came into existence through the word “Be”. Indeed, when God wills to create anything, He brings it into existence through the command “Be”: “All His command, when He wills something, is to say to it ‘Be,’ and it is”.(289) Since God’s speech is His word, we can say that Jesus (a.s.) is God’s speech and word, because he, like Adam (a.s.), came into existence through the divine word “Be”:(290) “Indeed the case of Jesus with God is like the case of Adam: He created him from dust, then said to him, ‘Be,’ and he was”.(291)
In the emergence of ordinary matters from God, time is not a factor; however, the receptive causes that are temporal require time: “Say, ‘Do you really disbelieve in Him who created the earth in two days, and ascribe partners to Him? That is the Lord of all the worlds! He set in it firm mountains [rising] above it, and blessed it and ordained therein its [various] means of sustenance in four days, alike for all seekers“.(292) This means that the creation of earth, heaven, provision of sustenance and the like take time; however, the receptive causes in words and extraordinary matters and miracles do not require time: “All His command, when He wills something, is to say to it ’Be,’ and it is”. Since existence takes form through the issuance of divine speech without the involvement of time, it is called the divine word, and Jesus (a.s.) is also called “word” for this reason: “When the angels said, ’O Mary, God gives you the good news of a Word from Him whose name is Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary”. Jesus (a.s.) is not only a miracle because he has no father, but also considering the nature of Mary’s (a.s.) pregnancy and delivery, he was born miraculously from his mother’s side without going through the days of pregnancy.(293)
2. Being God’s Spirit
God speaks about general spirits: “So when I have proportioned him and breathed into him of My spirit”(294) and about supporting spirits He says: “Those, He has written faith into their hearts and strengthened them with a spirit from Him”(295) and specifically about Jesus son of Mary (a.s.) He says: “And Mary, daughter of Imran, who guarded the chastity of her womb, so We breathed into it of Our spirit”.(296) The spirit of Jesus the Messiah (a.s.), in addition to being attributed to God like all other spirits, has a special connection with God’s sacred essence. On this basis, while the entire universe consists of divine words, some creatures are specifically considered the word of God, and Jesus (a.s.) is among this group.
Note: The meaning of “Thus did We send to her Our Spirit”(297) is different from the bestowal of spirit, because that sent spirit was commissioned to announce God’s gift.
Point: The good news in this verse: “When the angels said, ’O Mary, God gives you the good news of a Word from Him whose name is Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary’” contains two messages: you will become a mother; your motherhood will come through the unseen and Jesus (a.s.) is only your child. 2. His title and epithet: His name is “Jesus,” his title is Messiah, and his epithet is “son of Mary”: “whose name is Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary.”
In this phrase, “his name is Messiah” is subject and predicate, and “Jesus” is an explanatory apposition or substitute, and “son of Mary” is also an explanatory apposition or substitute; meaning he has these three signs: he is both “Messiah” (spiritual leader and anointed with blessing) and his name is “Jesus” and his attribute and epithet is “son of Mary.” The word “Messiah” is a title and should be mentioned after the word “Jesus”; however, because it is an honorary title (like Ṣiddīq (“the truthful”)), it is placed first.
In the Hebrew language, Messiah refers to spiritual leaders. “Mary” was an established name and “son of Mary” was a common epithet, and “Jesus” was not a name without precedent like “John”: “O Zechariah! Indeed We give you the good news of a son, whose name is ‘John.’ Never before have We made anyone his namesake”.(298) However, this collection of attributes and names is specific to the Messiah (a.s.), and since being named Jesus (ʿalam), being titled Messiah, and having the epithet “son of Mary” are unique to him, therefore He said: “a Word from Him whose name is Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary”; meaning this combination is his sign.(299) The expression of this combination as “name” is also because name includes title, proper name, and epithet.(300)
Point: The verses that are about the time after Jesus’s (a.s.) birth remind the Children of Israel that Jesus (a.s.) is the son of Mary, and in other words, the Qur’an has used the title “Jesus son of Mary” repeatedly to dispel the illusion of those who believed in trinity who said(301) “God is the third [person] of a trinity”(302) and “the Messiah is the son of God”.(303) However, the verse under discussion, which is about the time before Jesus’s (a.s.) birth, gives good news to Mary (a.s.) that Jesus (a.s.) is only your child, so that she would not think that she would have a child through a husband. So this verse is not like the verses related to after Jesus’s (a.s.) birth which were to refute accusations, rather the expression “Jesus son of Mary” here is actually good news to Mary (a.s.) that you will have a child without a husband, for this reason Mary (a.s.) was surprised, and if it had said, for example, “Jesus son of Zayd,” it would have actually been news of Mary’s (a.s.) marriage and would not have been surprising.
3. Being eminent in this world and the Hereafter
“Eminent in this world and the Hereafter”: It gives good news to Mary (a.s.) that your child will have both an accepted and popular face in this world, meaning prophethood and messengership, and a spiritual face in the Hereafter such that others, especially sinners, will make him their intercessor with God.
This eminence belongs only to the “face of God” (wajh Allāh), which benefits those who do works “for the sake of God” (li-wajh Allāh), and his words are: “He has made me blessed wherever I may be”.(304) Until someone turns towards God, and consequently does not become addressed and included in divine grace, God will not turn to him, and until God’s special grace does not turn to someone, they will not become eminent before God, and in the resurrection God will neither speak to them: “God will not speak to them”,(305) nor look at them: “nor will He look at them”.(306)
Being “eminent before God” (wajīh ʿind Allāh) is different from being “eminent before people” (wajīh ʿind al-nās). Since the accusation against Mary (a.s.) indirectly included Jesus (a.s.) as well, God, by describing Jesus (a.s.) as being eminent in this world and the Hereafter, points out the falseness of these accusations and declares the innocence of the Messiah and his mother.
It should be noted that the Qur’an also calls Moses the Speaker (a.s.) “eminent before God”: “O you who have faith! Do not be like those who tormented Moses, whereat God absolved him of what they alleged, and he was distinguished in God’s sight”.(307) Perhaps this is because both Moses and Jesus (a.s.) were subject to false accusations from their people, and God cleared both of these great ones from those accusations.
The accusations against Moses the Speaker before his prophethood can be found in attributing oppression and unjust killing to him, and after his prophethood in claiming that he was dishonest in hearing God’s word and did not converse with Him, and also in the delay of the appointed time from thirty days to forty days, and so on.
4. Being among those brought near
“and one of those brought near”: The “brought near ones” (muqarrabīn) in this verse is the minor premise of a syllogism, and the major premise of this syllogism appears in this verse: “Then if he be of those brought near, then ease, abundance, and a garden of bliss”.(308) Jesus the Messiah (a.s.), due to his special nearness, in addition to being ease and abundance and benefiting from the privileges and blessings of Paradise, is himself a garden of bliss.
God mentions the worship of Jesus (a.s.) alongside the worship of the angels brought near: “The Messiah would never disdain being a servant of God, nor would the angels brought near [to Him]. And whoever disdains His worship and is arrogant, He will gather them all toward Him”.(309) Neither the Messiah (a.s.) nor the angels brought near disdain being servants of God.
In Sūrat al-Wāqiʿa, God divides humans into three groups: the companions of the right (aṣḥāb al-yamīn), the companions of the left (aṣḥāb al-shimāl), and those brought near (muqarrabūn); however, He has explicitly identified only Jesus the Messiah (a.s.) as being among those brought near.(310) After the phrase “distinguished in the world and the Hereafter”, He says: “and one of those brought near”; meaning his eminence is at the level of those brought near, not at the level of the righteous (abrār) or the companions of the right.
The Qur’an considers some people as companions of the left, meaning people of ill fortune (shuʾm), and others as companions of the right, meaning people of blessing and fortune, and some as “brought near” (muqarrab), and it also considers those brought near as witnesses to the deeds of the righteous: “No indeed! The record of the pious is indeed in Illiyun. And what will show you what is Illiyun? It is a written record, witnessed by those brought near”.(311) Based on this, all the deeds of the righteous are witnessed by Jesus the Messiah (a.s.) and other brought-near ones and all the prophets (a.s.).(312)
Note: a. God’s nearness to humans is real, as it pertains to existential encompassment. Human nearness to God is conventional; meaning they follow His commands and are ready to receive His reward.(313) Of course, this legislative proximity (taqarrub tashrīʿī) provides the basis for existential proximity, meaning the elevation of the level of being.
Divine proximity is sometimes acquired and sometimes bestowed. Divine bestowal is wise and no intercession changes the path of God’s wisdom: “O He whose wisdom is not altered by means”,(314) because intercession itself is a product of the Ṭūbā tree of wisdom and never destroys the fruit of the tree. Acquired proximity is achieved through acts of worship, and bestowed proximity is based on “God knows best where to place His gift.” Jesus (a.s.) could become brought near in two ways, but angels can only become brought near through bestowal.
5. Speaking in the Cradle: “And he shall speak to the people in the cradle and in maturity”
The apparent meaning of what those who said: “How can we speak to one who is yet a baby in the cradle?”(315) shows that this child was in the cradle, and for a child in the cradle to speak, even if outside the cradle such as in his mother’s lap, is miraculous. Moreover, Jesus’s (a.s.) speaking in the cradle occurred in the first days after his birth.
In addition to the miraculous nature of the Messiah’s (a.s.) speech, the particular characteristics of his words are another sign of the miracle, as the words of one with the station of prophethood flowed from his tongue: “Indeed I am a servant of God! He has given me the Book and made me a prophet. He has made me blessed, wherever I may be, and He has enjoined me to [maintain] the prayer and to [pay] the zakat as long as I live, and to be good to my mother, and He has not made me self-willed and wretched. Peace is to me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I am raised alive”(316)
Based on the context of “in maturity” (kahlan), one can say that his childhood speech was not ordinary speech, but rather of the same nature as what he would express to people in his maturity, since speaking in old age has no special characteristic to be presented as a miracle. Thus, “in maturity” (kahlan) does not mean that he says in his forties the same thing he said in the cradle, but rather that he speaks in the cradle what prophets say at forty years of age, and this can only be miraculous, for this distinguished child in his cradle has traversed a hundred-year path. The verses of Sūrat Mary testify to this claim.(317) Of course, one can say that the very fact of Jesus (a.s.) speaking in the cradle is supernatural, and in maturity he also has prophetic speech, which itself is supernatural.
Another possibility in the meaning of “in maturity” (kahlan) is that this child speaks the same way from cradle until the age of forty, which is the age of human intellectual maturity and prophethood of the prophets (a.s.). With this explanation, in reality, it presents the quantitative extension of his blessed life.
Some believe that “maturity” (kahlan) refers to the time after his descent from heaven,(318) when he will pray behind Imam al-Ḥujja (a.s.) and support his government, speaking at that time while in mature age. However, it is not certain whether this stage is what is meant by “maturity” (kahlan).(319)