The Miracle of Mary or Jesus (a.s.)

The speech of Jesus (a.s.) at birth is a miracle, but was he a prophet at that time to perform miracles? Or is it a miracle of Jesus who would become a prophet in the future? Or like John (a.s.), about whom God says: “O John! Hold fast to the Book with [all your] strength. And We gave him judgement while still a child”,(320) did he receive a gift in childhood - meaning he had wisdom, prophethood, and miracles? Or is his prophethood in the future and this miracle is an irhāṣ (precursor) - meaning extraordinary events that occur before the manifestation of a prophet’s prophethood, just as with the birth of the Messenger of God (s.a.w.), when the fire temple of Persia was extinguished, the palace of Ctesiphon cracked, and Lake Sāwa dried up?(321) Amīn al-Islām al-Ṭabrisī states that this miracle could be from Mary (a.s.) to demonstrate her purity.(322)

This possibility is unlikely, because the Qur’an attributes the types of miracles mentioned in these verses to Jesus (a.s.), so the speech is also a miracle of the Messiah (a.s.). That is, from the verse “Indeed I am a servant of God. He has given me the Book and made me a prophet”,(323) it can be understood that Jesus’s prophethood was from the beginning, as indicated by a narration from Imam al-Bāqir (a.s.) that will be discussed in the narrative section,(324) not in old age. His speech was both a miracle proving his prophethood and evidence that “I am pure and born of a pure womb,” otherwise he would not have attained this station and worthiness, just as proof would not have been established for the purity of Mary’s (a.s.) character.

The Qur’an considers Jesus and Mary (a.s.) together as one miracle: “And We made her and her son a sign for all the nations”(325) “and We made the son of Mary and his mother a sign”.(326) Therefore, the miracle of the Messiah’s (a.s.) speech could be attributed to both mother and child; meaning that although this child spoke by God’s permission, he also required his mother’s gesture, and without her gesture, he would not speak. The reason for the mother’s involvement was that they had made inappropriate accusations against her.

Yes, Mary (a.s.) was revered by religious servants for many years, and a noble prophet like Zechariah took responsibility for her guardianship. Now when they ask her about the unexpected birth of her child, she indicates through gesture that she is fasting, and this behavior only increases suspicion, and only a miracle in the general sense can reveal the truth. So she points to the cradle, and the child begins to speak, and the problem is solved.

Based on this, Mary (a.s.) must have received the command to gesture: “Thereat she pointed to him”(327) from the unseen. Therefore, one cannot say that Mary (a.s.) had no role in this miracle. Rather, from the verses of the Qur’an, such as what appears in Sūrat al-Māʾida, Mary’s influential role becomes apparent: “When God will say, O Jesus son of Mary, remember My blessing upon you and upon your mother, when I strengthened you with the Holy Spirit, so you would speak to the people in the cradle and in adulthood, and when I taught you the Book and wisdom, the Torah and the Evangel, and when you would create from clay the form of a bird, with My leave, and you would breathe into it and it would become a bird, with My leave; and you would heal the blind and the leper, with My leave, and you would raise the dead, with My leave; and when I held off [the evil of] the Children of Israel from you when you brought them manifest proofs, whereat the faithless among them said, ‘This is nothing but plain magic’”(328)

In summary, based on this verse, the strengthening of the Messiah (a.s.) with the Holy Spirit and his speech in the cradle were with his mother’s involvement.