26. EXPLANATION OF THE REVELATION OF FOUR SCRIPTURES AND THE TIMES OF THEIR REVELATION
Abu Zur‘ah Ad-Dimashqi said, ‘Abdullah Ibn Saleh told us, “I was told by Mu‘awiyah Ibn Saleh, on the authority of the person who informed him, that he said, The Towrah was sent down to Moosa (Peace be upon him) on the sixth night of the month of Ramadan. The Zaboor (Psalms) was sent down to Dawood (Peace be upon him) on the twelfth night of the month of Ramadan. This was four hundred and eighty-two years after the Towrah. The Injeel (Gospel) was sent down to ‘Eesa, (Peace be upon him) on the eighteenth night of the month of Ramadan, one thousand and fifty years after the Zaboor. And Al-Furqan (the Criterion, i.e. the Qur’an) was sent down to Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) on the twenty-fourth night of the month of Ramadan.”
We have mentioned in the Tafseer in the explanation of the Words of Allah, Most High: The month of Ramadan in which the Qur’an was revealed. (Soorah Al-Baqarah 2:185) the Ahadeeth reported to that effect and it is mentioned in them that the Injeel was sent down to ‘Eesa (Peace be upon him) on the eighteenth night of the month of Ramadan.
Ibn Jareer mentioned in his Tareekh that it was sent down to him when he was thirty years old and he remained until Allah raised him up to the heaven, when he was thirty-three years old.
Ishaq Ibn Bishr said, “We were informed by Sa‘eed Ibn Abi ‘Aroobah, who reported on the authority of Qatadah – and Muqatil on his authority – on the authority of ‘Abdur-Rahman Ibn Adam, who reported on the authority of Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) that he said, “Allah, the Almighty, the All-Powerful, revealed to ‘Eesa (Peace be upon him), ‘O, ‘Eesa! Be diligent in (practicing and teaching) My Religion and be tireless; and listen and obey, O son of the pure woman, the chaste, the virgin. You were born without a father, and I created you as a Sign for the worlds. So worship Me Alone and depend upon Me Alone. Take the Scripture (i.e. the Injeel) with vigor and zeal and go to the Syriac people and convey to them from what is in your hands, that I am the Truth, the Living, the Everlasting, Who never goes away. Believe in the Unlettered, Arab Prophet, the owner of the camel and the headdress (i.e. the ‘imamah [turban]), the woollen garment, the sandals and the staff, the wide-eyed, the smooth-browed, the smooth-cheeked, the curly-haired, the heavily-bearded, whose eyebrows are joined, the hook-nosed, whose incisors are split, whose ‘anfaqah is free of hair, whose neck is like a silver pitcher, whose clavicles appear to have gold running in them, who has hairs from his throat to his navel, like a branch – and there is no hair on his stomach or on his chest except this. His hands and feet are thick, when he turns (to look), he does so with his whole body and when he walks, it is as if he is walking down from a rock and descending from a hillside (i.e. he walks with confidence). The sweat on his face is like pearls and the scent of musk emanates from it. His like has not been seen before and will not be seen again. He is of fine build and he has a good odour. He will marry many women, but will have only a small number of offspring, His descendants are from a blessed woman (i.e. Khadeejah, may Allah be Pleased with her) and she will have an abode (in Paradise) made from hollowed pearls, in which there will neither be fatigue nor clamor. You will support him, O ‘Eesa, at the end of time, just as Zakariyya supported your mother. He will have two offsprings through her (i.e. Khadeejah), both of whom shall be martyred. He will have an abode in Paradise the like of which no other human being will have. His speech is the Qur’an, his Religion is Islam and I am Peace. Tooba will be for those who live in his time, witness his days and pay heed to his words’.”
‘Eesa (Peace be upon him) said, “O, my Lord! What is Tooba?” He said, “It is a tree which I have planted with My Own Hands; it is for all of the Gardens (of Paradise). Its roots are of ridwan, its water is from tasneem, whose coldness is like kafoor and whose taste is like that of ginger. Anyone who drinks once of that spring shall never be thirsty.” ‘Eesa said, “O, my Lord! Give me to drink of it.” He answered, “It is forbidden for the Prophets to drink from it until that Prophet first drinks of it; it is forbidden for the nations to drink from it until the nation (i.e. followers) of that Prophet first drinks from it. I shall take you up to Me and send you down at the end of time to see wonders from the nation of that Prophet, and that you might assist them against the accursed Dajjal. I shall send you down at prayer time that you may pray with them, but then you shall not lead them in prayer, for they are a nation favored with mercy, and no Prophet will come after him.”
Hisham Ibn ‘Ammar reported on the authority of Al-Waleed Ibn Muslim, who reported on the authority of ‘Abdur-Rahman Ibn Zaid, who in turn reported on the authority of his father that ‘Eesa (Peace be upon him) said, “O, my Lord! Inform me about this nation that is favored with mercy.” He said, “It is the nation of Ahmad; they are scholars and men of wisdom, as if they are Prophets. They are pleased with little that they receive from Me and I am Well-Pleased with few deeds from them. I will admit them to Paradise because of (their declaration:) ‘La ilaha ill-Allah (none has the right to be worshipped except Allah)’. O, ‘Eesa! They will be the majority of the inhabitants in Paradise, because the tongues of no nation have been humbled by ‘La ilaha ill-Allah (none has the right to be worshipped except Allah)’ as their tongues have been humbled. And the necks of no nation have been humbled by prostration as their necks have been humbled.” (Narrated by Ibn ‘Asakir)
And He, Most High, says, And when I (Allah) put in the hearts of Al-Hawariyyoon (the Disciples of ‘Eesa) to believe in Me and My Messenger, they said, “We believe. And bear witness that we are Muslims.” (Soorah Al-Ma’idah 5:111) It was said that what is meant by this Revelation is the Revelation of inspiration. That is, Allah led them to it and guided them to it. It was also said that what is meant by it is Revelation through the medium of the Messenger and the reconciliation of their hearts toward the acceptance of the truth. This is why they responded by saying, we believe in Allah, and bear witness that we are Muslims (i.e. we submit to Allah).” (Soorah Ali ‘Imran 3:52)
This is one of the Blessings bestowed by Allah on His slave and Messenger, ‘Eesa (Peace be upon him), that He granted him helpers and supporters, who aided him and called with him to the worship of Allah, Alone, without partners.
The miracles given to each Prophet in his time were suited to the communities in which they lived. It was said that the miracle given to Moosa (Peace be upon him) befitted the people of his time, who were skilled magicians, so he was sent with Signs which dazzled the eyes and humbled the necks. And since the magicians were well-versed in the art of magic and its consequences and they witnessed those dazzling occurrences, which they knew could not have been produced by anyone except one who was helped by Allah and given supernatural miracles to prove his truthfulness, they immediately embraced Islam and they did not hesitate.
Likewise, ‘Eesa (Peace be upon him) was sent at a time when his people excelled in the natural sciences and so he was sent with miracles which they could not emulate and the secrets of which they could not discover, for what could a physician do for the one who was born blind, which is the worst form of blindness, the leper and the one who was afflicted with a chronic illness? And how could any created being acquire the knowledge of how to raise the dead from his grave? As everyone knows, such a miracle proves the truthfulness of the one who performs it and the Omnipotence of the One Who sent him.
Likewise, Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him), according to the consensus of the scholars, was sent at a time renowned for the eloquence and articulacy of the people. So Allah sent to them the Mighty Qur’an, which falsehood cannot approach from the front or from behind; (it is) sent down by the Most Wise, Worthy of All Praise. Its Words are a miracle, which challenge the mankind and the jinn to produce the like of it, or to produce even ten Soorahs like it, or even one Soorah like it – and He pronounced definitely that they would not be able to do so, whether at that time or in the future, saying that if they did not do it, and they would never do it, because it is the Speech of the Creator, the Almighty, the All-Powerful. And there is nothing that resembles Allah, Most High, neither in His Essence, nor in His Attributes, nor in His Actions.
What is meant is that when ‘Eesa (Peace be upon him) established the arguments and proofs against them, most of them persisted in their disbelief, error, obduracy and oppression, though a righteous group of them dedicated themselves to him and they were his helpers and supporters. They followed him, assisted him and offered sincere advice to him. This was at the time when the Children of Isra’eel became preoccupied with him and denounced him to one of the rulers of that time. They became determined to kill him and crucify him, but Allah saved him from them and raised him up to Him from their midst and cast his likeness on one of his companions and they took him and crucified him to death, believing him to be ‘Eesa (Peace be upon him). But they were mistaken in this and contradicted the truth. Many of the Christians believed their claim, but both parties were in error in the matter.
Allah, Most High, says, And they (the disbelievers) plotted (to kill ‘Eesa), and Allah planned too. And Allah is the Best of planners. (Soorah Aal ‘Imran 3:54) And He, Most High, says, And (remember) when ‘Eesa, son of Maryam, said, “O, Children of Isra’eel! I am the Messenger of Allah unto you confirming the Tawrah (which came) before me, and giving glad tidings of a Messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad.” But when he (Ahmad i.e. Muhammad) came to them with clear proofs, they said, “This is plain magic.” And who does more wrong than the one who invents a lie against Allah, while he is being invited to Islam? And Allah guides not the people who are Zalimoon. They intend to put out the Light of Allah (i.e. the Religion of Islam, this Qur’an, and Prophet Muhammad) with their mouths. But Allah will complete His Light even though the disbelievers hate (it). (Soorah As-Saff 61:6-8) – up to the Words of Him, Most High after that: O you who believe! Be you helpers (in the Cause) of Allah as said ‘Eesa, son of Maryam, to Al-Hawariyyoon (the Disciples), “Who are my helpers (in the Cause) of Allah?” Al-Hawariyyoon said, “We are Allah’s helpers (i.e. we will strive in His Cause)!” Then a group of the Children of Isra’eel believed and a group disbelieved. So We gave power to those who believed against their enemies, and they became the uppermost. (Soorah As-Saff 61:14)
And something similar to this has been narrated on the authority of Al-‘Irbadh Ibn Sariyah and Abu Umamah (may Allah be Pleased with them both) from the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) and in it he spoke of: “…the supplication of my father, Ibraheem and the glad tidings of ‘Eesa.” This was because when Ibraheem (Peace be upon him) built the Ka‘bah he said, “Our Lord! Send amongst them a Messenger of their own.” (Soorah Al-Baqarah 2:129) When Prophethood among the Children of Isra’eel came to an end with ‘Eesa (Peace be upon him), he addressed them and informed them that Prophethood had been cut off from them and that after him, it would go to the Arabian Prophet, the final Seal of the Prophets, Ahmad, who is Muhammad Ibn ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Abdul-Muttalib Ibn Ibn Hisham Hashim, who was of the descendants of Ishmael (Peace be upon him), son of Ibraheem Al-Khaleel (Peace be upon him).
Allah, Most High, says, But when he came to them with clear proofs, they said, “This is plain magic.” (Soorah As-Saff 61:6)It is possible that the pronoun ‘he’ refers to ‘Eesa (Peace be upon him) and it is also possible that it refers to Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him).
Then He encouraged His believing slaves to help Islam and its adherents and to assist its Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) and support him in establishing the Religion and propagating it, saying, O you who believe! Be you helpers (in the Cause) of Allah as said ‘Eesa, son of Maryam, to Al-Hawariyyoon, “Who are my helpers (in the Cause) of Allah?” (Soorah As-Saff 61:14) means who will assist me in calling the people to Allah? Al-Hawariyyoon said, “We are Allah’s helpers (i.e. we will strive in His Cause)!” (Soorah As-Saff 61:14) This took place in a village known as An-Nasirah, which is why they became known as Nasara (Nazarenes). Allah, Most High, says, Then a group of the Children of Isra’eel believed and a group disbelieved. (Soorah As-Saff 61:14) That is, when ‘Eesa (Peace be upon him) called the Children of Isra’eel and others to Allah, Most High, some of them believed, while others disbelieved. Among those who believed in him were the people of Antioch in their entirety, according to what has been reported by more than one of the scholars of Seerah, history and tafseer. He sent three messengers to them, one of whom was Simon the Pure and the people believed and responded positively to their preaching. But it is not they who are referred to in Soorah Ya Seen, according to what we have already established in the story of the people of the town. Others from among the Children of Isra’eel disbelieved, and they were the majority of the Jews. Allah supported those who believed in him against those who disbelieved afterward and they became victorious over them and conquered them, as Allah, Most High, says, And (remember) when Allah said, “O ‘Eesa! I will take you and raise you to Myself and clear you (of the forged statement that ‘Eesa is Allah’s son) of those who disbelieve, and I will make those who follow you (Monotheists, who worship none but Allah) superior to those who disbelieve (in the Oneness of Allah, or disbelieve in some of His Messengers, e.g. Muhammad, ‘Eesa, Moosa, etc., or in His Holy Books, e.g. the Tawrah, the Injeel, the Qur’an) till the Day of Resurrection. (Soorah Aal ‘Imran 3:55) So those who are closest to the truth will always be victorious over those who are farthest from it. And because the saying of the Muslims about him is the truth, of which there is no doubt, i.e. that he is the slave of Allah and His Messenger, they were victorious against the Christians, who were excessive in their claims regarding him and ascribed to him a status above that which Allah has designated for him.
And because the Christians were closer to the truth regarding him than the Jews – may Allah’s Curse be on them – the Christians were victorious over the Jews during the period up to the time of Islam and its followers.
By Ibn Katheer
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