Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

The Disciples

Allah Almighty has said, “But when Jesus perceived disbelief on their part, he said: Who will be my helpers in Allah's way? The disciples said: We are helpers (in the way) of Allah: We believe in Allah and bear witness that we submit (to Him in Islam)” (Qur'an, 3:52). The Almighty has also said, “And when I inspired the disciples saying: Believe in Me and in My messenger, they said: We believe and (you) bear witness that we are Muslims (submitters to the will of Allah)” (Qur'an, 5:111), that is, Allah enabled the disciples to believe in His messenger.

They were the elite from among those who believed in Jesus son of Mary and who followed him. They were his supporters and viziers, and they were twelve in number. Their names are: Simon al-Safa who is also called Peter, his brother Andrews, Jacob son of Zebedee, his brother John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew al-Ashshar (collector of the `ushr tax, the tithe[21] ), Jacob son of Halfa, Leah who is also called Thaddaeus, Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot. Biblical lists of them, however, differ from this one.

The “saints” who wrote the Gospels named after them are: John, Mark, Luke, and Matthew. Let us see what Christians tell us about them:[22]

St. Mark was a friend of Saints Peter, Paul, and Luke. He is John Mark; his mother is believed to be the owner of the house where the Last Supper (where the Table of Viands, or al-Ma'ida) was held. His Gospel is the shortest and simplest, the only one which stands out from among all the other three in context and in spirit. Some Biblical critics are of the view that it was the first to be composed. It narrates the life of Jesus from his baptism by John the Baptist to the passion and alleged “resurrection”.

St. Luke, a man from Antioch[23] , Syria, was said to be a doctor, a physician, and a friend and companion of Saints Paul and Mark. Christian tradition, however, says that he was a painter and that he died as a martyr. He is described as “a disciple of the apostles”[24] which clearly means he learned not directly from Jesus but from his twelve apostles. His Gospel provides an account of the birth of Jesus, tells of his ministry and ends with the passion and alleged “resurrection”. He is author of a twelve-volume literary work, the Gospel and the Acts, and is the most literary of the New Testament writers. The approximate date of his death or “martyrdom” is given as 66 A.D.

St. Matthew, also named Levi, is said to be a publican (tax collector) of Capernaum, a city in northeast Palestine on the Sea of Galilee. He was employed as a tax collector by Herod Antipas, tetrach of Galilee. He is described as one of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ. He is author of the first synoptic Gospel which, like the rest, gives an account of the birth of Jesus, tells of his ministry, and ends with the passion and alleged “resurrection”. The Bible offers scanty and uncertain information about him. Everything about his character, conduct, conviction and life is subject to debate and is never ascertained... He wrote his Gospel, the first of the four, in Hebrew. His Gospel is also attributed to Matthew who is said to be one of the twelve apostles or disciples.

St. John is the son of Zebedee, a fisherman from the Galilee, and Salome. He is the younger brother of St. James the Greater, also one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. Jesus Christ, we are told, also had a brother named James...! Ancient Christian tradition claims that John is the author of all the four Gospels comprising the Bible..., in addition to three epistles and the Book of Revelation.

Is he really?! This is the subject of debate among Christians; so, let us leave them debating and arguing till the Day of Judgment! He is described in Christian books as a “divine,” theologian, and as an Evangelist, a writer of the four Gospels. No date of his birth or death is available, and even the place where he died is not known for sure. Some writers admit that what is written about him is more of a legend than a fact.

One is tempted to ask: “Why is it that there are four Gospels instead of one? Why is there so much duplication and difference between one Gospel and another? Whose Gospel is the right or the more reliable one? Since they cannot all be right, which one is right? If those Gospels were all written by St. John, as stated above, why, then, are they divided into four with each one of them bearing the name of an apostle? Had they all been written by St. John, why was not the Bible called the Book of John?” My bet is that if you ask a priest or even the most learned Christian cleric, he will never give you a straight answer to any of these legitimate questions.

Saint Barnabass

According to the Gospel of Matthew, and to be exact Ch. 10, verse 4, the list of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ is as follows: Simon (or Peter), Andrew (Peter's brother), James (son of Zebedee), John (James' brother), Philip, Batholomew, Thomas, Matthew (the tax collector), James (son of Alphaeus), Thaddaeus, another Simon who is said to be “a member of `The Zealots,' a subversive political party,” and Judas Iscariot. Why is the name of Saint Barnabas not among them, and how did he come to write his own Gospel, the only one accepted by Muslims as the true Bible?

With all their prejudices, speculations, sectarian motivations, it is unwise to accept what today's or yesterday's Christians tell us about Saint Barnabas and his Bible, or about the other disciples. The Encyclopedia Britannica III, for example, describes those who believed that Christ was human and not divine as heretics, and so do many Christian writers and theologians.

An independent research, therefore, will yield better results, that is for sure. One such research has been undertaken by M.A. Yusseff who published his findings in a very interesting book titled The Dead Sea Scrolls, the Gospel of Barnabas, and the New Testament which was published in 1405 A.H./1985 A.D. by the American Trust Publications of Indianapolis, Indiana.[25] Saint Barnabas was originally called Joseph the Levite or Joses the Levite and is better known as Matthai or Matthias. In the Christian document known as Recognitions, Matthias is identified as another name for Apostle Barnabas, which is correct. In another document known as Homilies, Barnabas is said to be a personal Apostle of Jesus, “a strict servant of the Law,” and, hence, one of the original twelve Disciples (or Apostles) of Jesus Christ. The Jews, too, list his name among not twelve but five apostles, the remaining four being: Naki, Nester, Buni, and Todah. But we find the name “Lebbacus” among these disciples in Matthew 10:13, that of “Judas son of James” in Luke 6:16 and Acts 1:13, both contradicting other Biblical accounts; so, which one is correct and which one is not?!

Saint Barnabas was born in Cyprus in the first century A.D. Other references to him are recorded in the Bible in Acts 11:19 and 15:41. He is said as having joined the Jerusalem church “after the alleged crucifixion of Jesus[26] ,” which is not true, sold his property, and gave the proceeds as a donation to his community. He founded the church in Antioch (Turkish Antakya), where he preached. Inviting Paul of Tarsus (Turkey) to be his assistant, he undertook missionary activity and then went to Jerusalem. Shortly after 48 A.D., a conflict separated both men, and Barnabas sailed home to Cyprus.

Where did he write his Gospel and when? Nobody seems to know. How did he die? Nobody seems to know, yet he is called a martyr... We are also told that he knew St. Mark. In 488 A.D., his grave was discovered near the Monastery of St. Barnabas in the Cypriot city of Salamis. A copy of his Gospel was found buried with him[27] . The accurate list of the twelve disciples of Jesus exists in the Gospel of St. Barnabas himself who records the following:

Jesus, having returned to the region of Jerusalem, was found again of the people with exceedingly great joy, and they implored him to abide with them, for his words were not as those of the scribes, but were with power; for they touched the heart.

Jesus, seeing that great was the multitude of them that returned to their heart for to walk in the law of God, went up into the mountain, and abode all night in prayer. When the day came he descended from the mountain and chose twelve whom he called apostles, among whom is Judas, who was slain upon the cross[28] . Their names are: Andrew and Peter his brother, fishermen; Barnabas, who wrote this, with Matthew the publican, who sat at the receipt of custom; John and James, son of Zebedee; Thaddaeus and Judas[29] ; Bartholomew and Philip; James, and Judas Iscariot the traitor. To these he always revealed the divine secrets. He made Iscariot Judas his dispenser of that which was given in alms, but he stole the tenth part of everything. (The Gospel of Barnabas 14)

The Gospel of St. Barnabas is the one that contains the true teachings of Jesus Christ; it will be discussed later how it refers to Prophet Muhammed as the “Paraclete,” a Greek word meaning “Messenger” and “Comforter,” in Arabic al-Amin... Even if you set aside the Gospel of St. Barnabas, a good Greek translation of the original text of John 14:16 will read as follows: “And I will Pray the Patera, and he shall give you another Paraclete, so that he may abide with you forever.” The Greek word Patera is erroneously translated as “the Father,” a reference to the Almighty, in a “modern” version of the Bible which gives the following text for John 14:16-17: “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever__the Spirit of Truth.”[30] No man of righteousness has earned the title of “the Spirit of Truth” (in Arabic al-Sadiq) more than Prophet Muhammed. A good scholar of Greek will do better than that; he will translate Patera into “Nourisher” or “Sustainer,” and Paraclete into “Comforter,” al-Amin in Arabic, a title given to Prophet Muhammed even before he had started his prophetic mission. The translation of what John has in 14:16-17 should instead run as follows:

And I will request the Nourisher (God) to send you another Messenger, so that he may be (your) guide always, the inspired, the Truthful, whom the world at large will not welcome because it will not comprehend or appreciate him, but you (believers) will recognize him. He will dwell with you and (his message) will find a place in your hearts.

A testimony to the truth of the statement saying “... and (his message) will find a place in your hearts” is that most converts to Islam used to follow one sect of Christianity or another. Upon acceptance of Islam, such converts do not abandon Christ; they simply rediscover him and get to know the real Christ whose message has been and is still being distorted. The best Christians in the world are the Muslims. Muslims wholeheartedly honour Jesus Christ and his true and pristine message presented by Prophet Muhammed; read the following verses of the Holy Qur'an and see for yourself how such message is described:

Allah said: O Jesus! I am going to terminate the period of your stay (on earth) and cause you to ascend unto Me and purify you of those who disbelieve and make those who follow you above those who disbelieve to the Day of Resurrection... (Qur’an, 3:55)

Carefully examine the above verse especially this portion: “... and make those who follow you above those who disbelieve to the Day of Resurrection” and see how the Almighty raises the status of those who follow Jesus above those who disbelieve in him till the Day of Judgment. Those who believe in Jesus Christ and who follow his pristine message are none other than the Muslims, whereas the rest may be divided into two groups: 1) those who have distorted the message of Jesus Christ and lied about it one generation after another and are still doing so, and 2) the Jews who disbelieved in him and in his message and disbelieved in his virgin birth. Although the Jews now are the masters of the world, thanks to the West in general and to the U.S. in particular, but such power they will not keep forever. They will eventually weaken because the promise of the Almighty is true and irreversible; they will be exposed for what they really are: the anti-Christ, the Dajjal, the disseminator of falsehood through their absolute control over the news and information media.

Let us go back to the argument about the Paraclete. This is not the first time such an argument is raised. `Allama al-Majlisi records an incident narrated by al-Hasan ibn Muhammed al-Nawfali involving Imam Ali ibn Mousa al-Rida debating with a Catholic about the authenticity of the existing four Gospels comprising the Bible. It went on as follows:

The Imam asked the Catholic, “O Christian! Are you familiar with a statement in the Bible wherein Jesus says, `I am going to my Lord and your Lord, and the Paraclete is coming who shall testify to my truth just as I testified for him, and he shall explain everything to you, and he shall be the one to expose all the sins of nations, and he shall be the one to smash the pillar of apostasy'?”[31] The Catholic said, “We admit all what you have just quoted of the Bible.” The Imam asked him, “Do you testify that such a statement is actually fixed in the Bible?” “Yes,” said the Catholic. Imam al-Rida said, “O Catholic! Could you tell me about the first Bible, how you lost it then found it, and who put your existing Bible together?” The Catholic said, “We did not lose the Bible except for one single day then we found it fresh; John and Matthew brought it back to us.” Imam al-Rida said, “How little your knowledge of the Bible and its scholars is! If such is your claim, then why do you dispute with one another about the Bible? Rather, controversy has always revolved around the Bible which is in your hands today. Had it been the same as the first one was, you would not have thus disputed (with one another) about it, but I shall inform you of such controversy myself.”

The Imam went on to state the following:

“Be informed that when the first Bible was lost, the Christians gathered around their scholars and said to them, `Jesus son of Mary has been killed, and we do not know where the Bible is. You are the scholars; so, what do you have with you?' Luke and Mark said to them, `We have learned the Bible by heart; so, do not grieve in its regard, and do not forsake the churches, for we shall recite to you one Gospel after another on each Sunday till we put it all together.' Luke, Mark, John and Matthew sat together, and they put this Bible of yours for you after you had lost the first (original) one. These four men were students of the early disciples; are you aware of that?!” The Catholic answered, “This I did not know and now I do. It is also now clear to me how much you know about the Bible, and I have heard from you things with which I was familiar and to which my heart testifies to be the truth.

I have, therefore, gained a better understanding.” Imam al-Rida then said to him, “How do you, then, find the testimony of these men?” “Accurate,” said the Catholic, “since they are the scholars of the Bible, and everything to which they testified is the truth.” Imam al-Rida then turned to al-Mamoon and his company and said, “Bear witness to what he has just said.” They said, “We testify.” Then the Imam turned to the Catholic and said, “I challenge you to swear by the son and his mother whether you know if Matthew had said, `The Messiah is David son of Abraham son of Isaac son of Jacob son of Yehuda son of Khadrun', and that Mark said about the lineage of Jesus son of Mary that he was `The word of God which He placed in the human body, so it became human', and that Luke said, `Jesus son of Mary and his mother were humans of flesh and blood, so the Holy Spirit entered into them'. Then you testify that Jesus had himself said the following about his creation, `I tell you the truth: None ascends the heavens except that he descends therefrom except the man who rides the camel, the seal of the prophets, for he shall ascend to the heavens then shall he descend;' so, what do you say about that?” The Catholic said, “This is the speech of Jesus, and we do not deny it.” Imam al-Rida said, “If so, what do you say about the testimony of Luke, Mark, and Matthew with regard to Jesus and what they had attributed to him?” The Catholic said, “They lied about Jesus...” Imam al-Rida turned to the audience and said, “O people! Has he not (a moment ago) testified to their truthfulness and said that they were the scholars of the Bible and what they said is the truth?!” The Catholic said to the Imam, “O scholar of the Muslims!

I would like you to excuse me from having to discuss these men.” After a while, the Imam turned to that Catholic high-ranking cleric, an archbishop, and said, “In the Bible, it is written: `The son of the virtuous woman is departing, and the Paraclete is coming after him, and he shall lighten the burdens and explain everything to you, and he shall testify for me as I have testified to you. I have brought you the parables, and he shall bring you the interpretation.' Do you believe that such a text exists in the Bible?” The Catholic answered in the affirmative.[32]

The Holy Qur'an, moreover, tells us in Surat al-Saff (Ch. 61) that “Jesus son of Mary said: O Children of Israel! I am the prophet of Allah to you testifying to that which is before me of the Torah and giving the glad tidings of a Prophet who will come after me; his name is Ahmed; but when he came to them with clear arguments, they said: This is clear magic” (Qur'an, 61:6). Compare this Qur'anic verse with the following text in the Gospel of St. Barnabas:

Thereupon said the disciples, “O master, it is thus written in the book of Moses, that in Isaac was the promise made.”

Jesus answered with a groan, “It is so written, but Moses wrote it not, nor Joshua, but rather our rabbins, who fear not God. Verily, I say to you that if you consider the words of the angel Gabriel, you shall discover the malice of our scribes and doctors. For the angel said: `Abraham, all the world shall know how God loves you, but how shall the world know the love that you bear to God? Assuredly it is necessary that you do something for the love of God.' Abraham answered, `Behold the servant of God, ready to do all that which God shall will.'

“Then spoke God, saying to Abraham, `Take your son, your firstborn Ishmael, and come up the mountain to sacrifice him.' How is Isaac firstborn, if when Isaac was born Ishmael was seven years old?”

Then answered Jesus, “Verily I say to you that Satan ever seeks to annul the laws of God. Therefore he with his followers, hypocrites and evildoers, the former with false doctrine, the latter with lewd living, today have contaminated almost all things, so that scarcely is the truth found. Woe to the hypocrites, for the praises of this world shall turn for them into insults and torments in hell.

“I therefore say to you that the messenger of God is a splendor that shall give gladness to nearly all that God has made, for he is adorned with the spirit of understanding and of counsel, the spirit of wisdom and might, the spirit of fear and love (of God), the spirit of prudence and temperance. He is adorned with the spirit of charity and mercy, the spirit of justice and piety, the spirit of gentleness and patience, which he has received from God three times more than He has given to all his creatures. O blessed time, when he shall come to the world. Believe me that I have seen him and have done him reverence, even as every prophet has seen him. Seeing that of his spirit God gives to them prophecy. And when I saw him my soul was filled with consolation, saying, O Muhammed, God be with you, and may he make me worthy to untie your shoe latchet, for obtaining this I shall be a great prophet and holy one of God.” (The Gospel of Barnabas 44)

“... unworthy to untie your latchet” above brings to memory what St. Mark said in 1:7: “And this was his message: `After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.” The speaker is undoubtedly Jesus and the one whose coming he is predicting is none other than Prophet Muhammed. But people look at things and make them appear as they would like them to. Such is the truth which all other disciples, with the exception of Barnabas, had deliberately hidden.

The reader is encouraged to obtain a copy of the Gospel of Saint Barnabas[33] and compare it with other existing Bibles, be they those accepted by the Catholics or those endorsed by the Protestants and judge for himself as to how much distortion the message of Christ has suffered and is still suffering...

Al-Dahhak has said that the disciples (in Arabic hawariyyun) were called so due to their pure hearts. Apparently he gave them more credit than they deserve, seeing how much distortion they inflicted on the message of Jesus even as early as the very first century. As a matter of fact, one very famous Christian writer, George Bernard Shaw, described these disciples very well when he said the following on p. 72 of The Adventures of a Black Girl in Her Search for God: “Jesus could be reproached for having chosen his disciples very unwisely if we could believe that he had any real choice.

There are moments when one is tempted to say that there was not one Christian among them and that Judas was the only one who showed any gleams of common sense.” Imagine! Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak has said that they were called so because their faces were shining with the mark of adoration, its glow and whiteness. The Arabic root word, hur, means: intense whiteness. Al-Hasan has said that it means “supporters” or “helpers,” while Qatadah thinks that it means “the ones most fit to be successors of their master.”

Did those disciples or apostles deserve all these compliments? Let us examine how they dealt with their master:

The night preceding the “imprisonment” of Jesus Christ was truly a testing night for the faith of those disciples. On that night, those disciples joined him in his concealment. Jesus knew perfectly well what they were; so, he recommended them to devote themselves to prayer so that they might not fail the test. On that occasion, they made a great profession of faith and integrity. One said, “I will shed my blood where a drop of your perspiration falls.

” Another said, “I will die before anyone hurts a hair of your body.” Despite all these protests and professions, they could not keep even the night's vigil along with Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Stay here with me keeping the night's vigil along with me...” Then he came to the disciples and saw them fallen asleep. He then said to Peter, “Can you not keep even a moment's vigil with me? Keep vigil and keep yourself engaged in prayers lest you should fail the test...” Then, coming out again, he saw them sleeping the second time, and their eyes were heavy with sleep..., and he saw them the third time sleeping. If you have a copy of The New Testament in Today's English Version (third edition, New York), turn to p. 73 and see for yourself.

Ibn `Abbas has said that they were fishermen. Some of them were. Jesus passed by them once and asked them what they were doing. “Fishing,” said they. He asked them, “Would you like to come with me so we may fish for people?” They asked him, “How can that be?!” He said, “We invite them to the way of Allah.” They asked him who he was, and he answered them that he was Jesus son of Mary, a servant and messenger of Allah. “Is there any other prophet whose status is higher than yours?” they asked him. “Yes,” he answered, “the Arabian Prophet,” so they followed him, believed in him, and joined his march.

This is what we, Muslims, would like to think of these disciples, but how do Christians look at us? Contrary to what we, Muslims, are taught by our Islamic code of ethics, Christians do not recognize our religion or any other religion besides theirs. To them, anyone who does not recognize Jesus as the “son of God,” His “only begotten son,” and who is not baptized, can have no place in heaven.

Adherents of all religions in the world, and those who have no religion, have the right to wishful thinking. Compare this with the tolerance Islam demonstrates in the following verse of Surat al-Baqara and judge for yourself:

Surely those who believe (Muslims), and those who are Jews, and the Christians, and the Sabeans[34] (Sabians), whoever believes in God and in the Last Day and does good, they shall have their reward from their Lord, and there is no fear for them, nor shall they grieve. (2:62) Such is the tolerance of Islam, and such is the perfect code of Islamic ethics.

The Holy Spirit

Among the signs of the prophethood of Jesus is that he was assisted by the Holy Spirit. The Almighty has said, “We gave Jesus son of Mary clear arguments and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit” (Qur'an, 2:87); “Allah will say: O Jesus son of Mary! Remember My favor on you and on your mother when I strengthened you with the Holy Spirit” (Qur'an, 5:110).

Scholars have differed regarding the Holy Spirit (al ruh al qudus). Al-Rabee` ibn Anas has said that it is the spirit that blew the breath of life into him, and that Allah attached it to His own Name as an act of honoring. The qudus is Allah Almighty according to the verse, “... and a spirit from Him” (Qur'an, 4:171), and also, “... so We breathed into her of Our ruh “ (Qur'an, 21:91). Other scholars have said that what is meant by the qudus is purity, hence al ruh al qudus means “the pure spirit.” Jesus is also called ruh,. for the simple reason that he was not carried in men's loins, nor was he carried by the wombs of married women; rather, he was an order decreed by the Almighty. Al-Suddi says that al ruh al qudus, the Holy Spirit, is Gabriel, and that this phrase means: “supporting Jesus through Gabriel,” peace be upon both of them, since he was his companion, friend, and guard, walking with him wherever he walked till he ascended to heavens. Sa`eed ibn Jubayr and `Ubayd ibn `Umayr say that it is Allah's Greatest Name, and through it did he (Jesus) bring the dead back to life and perform those miracles to people.

Qur’an includes them in the above quoted verse among the believers. Other writers say that their religion is pretty much what Christianity teaches except that their qibla was towards the south. Still others say that they followed the religion of Prophet Noah, and surely Allah knows best.

Miracles Of Jesus

Al-Suddi has said that when Jesus was at his class, he used to tell his fellows what their parents were doing. He would tell one of them, “Go home and see that your family has eaten such-and-such food,” or “they have left such-and-such for you,” so he would go home and ask his parents to let him have it. The family would in turn ask him how he came to know about it, and he would say that Jesus had told him. For this reason, the parents prohibited their children from having anything to do with Jesus, telling them that he was a sorcerer.

They once gathered them all together at a house, and Jesus came and wanted to see them. When he asked who were confined inside the house, it was maliciously said to him, “Pigs.” He said, “So shall they be,” whereupon the door of the house was opened and indeed pigs came out of the house, and the news of the incident became widespread.

The Children of Israel felt fed up with Jesus. They wanted to get rid of him. When his mother sensed the danger, she conveyed him on a donkey and went out to Egypt[35] .

When Jesus and his mother, peace be upon both of them, came out wandering about in the land, they left the Children of Israel behind and came to a villager who hosted them and was very kind to them. The king during that time was a stubborn oppressor, so their host one day came back home looking very depressed. He entered his house while Mary was in his wife's company. Mary asked his wife why her husband looked so depressed, whereupon she said to her, “Our king compels every man to take care of feeding him and his soldiers and serve them wine; anyone who refused would be penalized. Today is our turn to host him, and we are not able to handle such a burden.”

Mary asked her to tell her husband not to worry, since he was kind to her and to her son, and that she would ask her son to invoke Allah on his behalf, and that his invocation would alone be sufficient. Then Mary told Jesus of it, whereupon he said that if he were to do so, there would be some mischief [due to wine drinking]. “It does not matter,” Mary said, “for he has surely been very kind to us.” Then Jesus told his host to have his pots and containers filled with water, then to inform him once they were all full.

The man did so, whereupon Jesus invoked his Lord and the water in the pots turned into meat and gravy, while the water in the containers turned into wine[36] . People had never tasted anything like it before. When the king came, he and his men ate, and when he drank of that wine, he asked his host where he had obtained it from. When the man told the king where he had obtained it from, the king said to him, “The wine I am served at my palace is brought to me from that land, and it surely does not taste like this one.”

The host had to change his story, but the king pressured him to tell him the truth. Finally, the man gave up and said, “The truth is that there is, at my house, a child who is granted by Allah the answer to any of his pleas, and he is the one who invoked Him to turn the water into wine.”

It so happened that that king had a son whom he very much wished to succeed him as monarch, but that son had died only a few days ago. He loved him more than anyone else. The king said, “A man who invokes Allah to turn water into wine and Allah answers his plea is surely capable of bringing my son back to life.” Jesus was brought to him, and he discussed the matter with him. Jesus said to him, “Do not do that, for if he is brought back to life, a great deal of evil shall take place.” The king said, “I am not concerned about that after seeing him again.” Jesus asked him, “If I bring him back to life, are you all going to leave me and my mother to go wherever we want?” The king said, “Yes.” Jesus, therefore, invoked Allah Who did, indeed, bring that son back to life. When the king's subjects saw him, they rushed to grab their weapons and said, “This king has plundered our wealth and now wants to appoint his son as his successor over us so that he, too, will do what his father has been doing...” They fought among themselves. Jesus and his mother left them and continued their journey.

Another of his miracles is that he created out of clay birds, as Allah Almighty tells us in the Holy Qur'an, 3:49: “... I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, that I determine for you out of mud like the form of a bird, then I breathe into it and it becomes a bird with Allah's permission,” and in 5:110: “... and when you determined out of mud a thing like the form of a bird by My permission, then you breathed into it and it became a bird by My permission.”

Among his other miracles was his curing the leprous and those born blind, as Allah Almighty has said, “... and you healed the [born] blind and the leprous by My permission” (Qur'an, 5:110). The reason why these two ailments were particularly mentioned is due to the fact that nobody among the physicians of the time could find any cure for them. Jesus lived during a time when medicine was considered the most prominent branch of knowledge, so he was able to demonstrate to them miracles in it which nobody else could.

Still another of his miracles was his bringing the dead back to life by the Permission of Allah Who says, “... and when you brought forth the dead [back to life] by My permission” (Qur'an, 5:110). Among the dead whom he brought back to life was Lazarus (as he is called in Latin, a word which means “one helped by God,” or Eleazar in Hebrew), a friend of his. He, his sisters Martha and Mary were friends of Jesus. His sister Mary sent Jesus a message saying that her brother had died three days ago. Some people suggested to her to escort them to his grave. She did, and it was inside a closed vault. Jesus supplicated to his Lord saying, “Lord! Creator of the seven heavens and the seven earths! You have sent me to the Children of Israel to invite them to Your creed, and I have told them that I can bring the dead back to life with Your permission; therefore, do bring Eleazar back to life, O Lord!” Lazarus came back to life and got out of his grave on his own. He lived and even fathered a number of children. References to this incident exist in three of modern day's versions of the Gospels[37] : Matthew, John, and Luke.

The son of an old woman was another. This story says that while touring the land in the company of his disciples, Jesus passed by a city and said, “This city has a treasure; who among you would like to go and take it out?” They said, “O Ruhullah (spirit of Allah)! No stranger enters this town without being murdered by its people.” Jesus said, “Stay here, all of you, till I come back.” He went and entered it. He came to the door of a house and said, “Assalamo `Alaikum, O residents of the house! This is a stranger asking you to feed him!” An old woman said to him, “Are you not satisfied with the fact that I do not go to the governor and tell him about you, yet you have the courage to ask for food?!

” While Jesus was thus standing at the door, her young son joined them. Jesus said to him, “Please do host me tonight!” The young man repeated what his old mother had said. Jesus then said to him, “But if you do host me, I will enable you to marry the king's daughter.” The young man said, “You must be either a mad man or Jesus son of Mary!” Jesus said, “I am Jesus,” whereupon he agreed to host him. He offered to let him stay there for the night.

The next morning, he said to his host, “Go to the king's palace and tell him that you had come to ask for his daughter's hand. He will order to have you beaten and kicked out.” The youth stood before the king and told him that he wished to ask him for his daughter's hand. The king ordered him to be beaten; he was beaten and kicked out.

The youth came back and told Jesus what had happened, whereupon Jesus said to him, “Tomorrow, go back and ask for his daughter's hand; what will happen to you will be different from what has happened to you today.” The youth did as he was told, and he was given a beating worse than the one he had received the day before. He told Jesus about what had happened to him, and Jesus said to him, “Go one more time back to him, for he will tell you that he will marry her to you on his own terms, and that his terms will be a gold and silver mansion with everything in it made of gold, silver and chrysolite.

Tell him that you will do that. If he sends someone with you, you will find your quest, and do not say anything about it to him.” The youth entered the king's palace for the third time and again approached the king regarding his marriage to his daughter. The king asked him, “Do you accept to pay her dowry if I decide it?” He asked him what the dowry was, and the king told him what Jesus had already told him to expect. He said, “Yes, I do; so send someone to see it.”

The king sent a number of men with him, and he did, indeed, show them what he had promised to, and people were quite impressed. The king married him to his daughter, and the youth found it hard to believe that he finally married into the royal family. He said to Jesus , “O Ruhullah! How can you do all of this while you yourself look in such a (shabby) condition?!” Jesus said, “I have preferred what will last to what will perish.” The youth said to him, “I, too, am willing to abandon what perishes, and I desire to accompany you.” He actually renounced this vanishing world and became a follower of Jesus who took him by the hand and introduced him to his disciples. “This,” said Jesus, “is the treasure I had told you about!” The son of that old woman remained in the company of Jesus till he died. Jesus passed by and saw his corpse lying in state on a bed, so he invoked Allah and the dead man came back to life and sat on the edge of the bed. He was carried by other men from the bed and given clothes to wear. He put the carrier on his shoulders then went back home. He remained with his family and fathered a number of children.

Another miracle of Jesus: He brought Sam son of Noah back to life. Jesus was once describing the ark of Noah to his disciples when the latter asked him, “Is it possible that you bring to life one of those who were aboard it so that he may describe it for us?” Jesus stood up and went to a hill, took a handful of its soil and said, “This is the grave of Sam son of Noah. If you wish, I can bring him back to life for you.” They welcomed the idea, so he invoked Allah by His Greatest Name, struck the hill with his staff then said, “Come back to life by the Will of Allah,” whereupon Sam came out of his grave with half of his hair looking gray.

Immediately Sam asked, “Has the Day of Judgment come?” Jesus said, “No, but I have called upon you in Allah's Greatest Name.” During the time of Noah, old age never changed the color of people's hair; only during the time of Abraham did all of that start to change. Sam lived five hundred years maintaining his youthful look. He told them about the story of the ark. After that Jesus ordered him to die, and Sam responded with, “On one condition! That Allah spares me the agony of death!” Jesus invoked Allah and included Sam's wish in his invocation, and Allah responded favorably to his plea.

Another of the miracles of Jesus was his walking on water. Jesus once went out on one of his trips accompanied by a short and faithful follower of his. When Jesus reached the sea[38] , he said, “Bismillah, in health, and in conviction,” then he started walking on the water. The man was quite amazed and said to himself, “This is Jesus, the spirit of Allah, walking on the water's surface!” Having inaudibly said so, he fell into the water. Fearing drowning, he sought help from Jesus who took hold of him and pulled him out.

Jesus said to him, “O Shortie![39] What did you say to yourself?!” He told him about it, whereupon Jesus said, “You placed yourself in a position in which Allah did not place you; therefore, Allah despised you for having said what you said; so, do regret and repent.” The man regretted and repented, so he went back to the status with which Allah had blessed him. Thus did Jesus provide us with a lesson in piety and admonish us not to envy one another.

Another tale says that Jesus passed once by a man who used to sit quite often by a grave. He saw him doing so quite often; therefore, he decided to find out why. Jesus came to him and said, “O servant of Allah! I see that you spend a lot of time sitting by this grave.” The man said, “O Ruhullah! This grave contains my wife's corpse, a woman of beauty and affinity, and I have a trust with her.” He asked him, “Do you like that I pray Allah and He brings her back to life for you?” The man warmly welcomed the suggestion. Jesus made his ablution and offered two prostrations, then he invoked Allah Almighty to bring the person inside that grave back to life. A coal-black man came out of the grave looking like a burnt stump of a tree.

He asked him who he was, so he answered him by saying, “O Ruhullah! I am a man being tormented for the past forty years, and at this hour, it was said to me to respond to your call, so I did,” adding, “O messenger of Allah! I have seen so much torment that if Allah ever returned me to this world, I would grant Him my covenant that I shall never disobey Him in anything; so, please do pray Allah on my behalf.” Jesus felt sorry for him, and he invoked Allah Almighty on his behalf, then he told him to go away, and he did.

The man who used to frequently sit by the grave then said, “O messenger of Allah! I have made a mistake about identifying this grave! Her grave is over there!” Jesus invoked Allah again, and a very beautiful young woman came out of the grave. Jesus asked him, “Do you know her?” “Do I know her?!” the man retorted adding, “Of course I do! She is my wife.” Jesus invoked Allah to reunite her with her husband, and the latter took her by the hand till they came to a tree under which he slept, putting his head on her lap. The son of the king happened to pass by, and he looked at her and she looked at him, and they instantly admired each other.

He beckoned to her, so she moved her husband's head away from her lap and followed the prince. Later, her husband woke up. He looked for her and could not find her, so he went out looking for her till he was able to get hold of her. He held her and said that she was his wife, while the prince kept saying that she was his bondmaid. As they argued thus, Jesus happened to pass by. The husband said to the prince that that man was Jesus. Having heard the husband tell his story, Jesus asked the woman, “What do you have to say?” She said, “I am the bondmaid of this man, and I do not know the other.” Jesus said to her, “Give us back what we have given you.” She said, “I have done so,” falling dead. Jesus retorted, “Have you seen anything more strange than this?! A man whom Allah caused to die as a disbeliever is brought back to life to believe, and a woman whom Allah caused to die as a believer, then He brought life back to her, chose to disbelieve!”