talking to Mary? " has stated that the two narratives in the Qur'an
regarding the incident when the angels of Allah visited Mary to give
her the news of the birth of Jesus -- the Christ --are in
contradiction with one another. In the first instance, the Qur'an says
that "angels" (i.e. the word in its plural form, implying, in Arabic
language, that there were at least three) visited Mary. While in the
second instance, it says that there was only one.
Writes Mr. Katz:
There are (at least) two passages in the Qur'an relating the
annunciation of Jesus' birth to Mary.
Behold! the angels said: "O Mary! Allah has chosen thee ...
Behold! the angels said: "O Mary! Allah gives thee glad tidings ...
-- Sura 3:42 & 45
Then we sent to her Our angel, and he appeared before he as a man in
all respects. She said: "I seek refuge from thee to (Allah) Most
Gracious: (Come not near) If thou dost fear Allah."
-- Sura 19:17-18
How many angels came to Mary? One or three or more? [Correct me if the
word for "angel" is in the dual, but if it is plural then there have
to be at least three.]
The object of this article is to give answers to the objections raised
by Mr. Katz in this respect.
Let us first of all consider the related verses of the Qur'an. In
Surah Aal Imraan , the Qur'an says:
And bring to mind when the angels said: "Mary, God has chosen you; He
has purified you and has exalted you above all otherwomen of the
world"."Mary, be obedient to your Lord, bow down and submit [to Him]
with those that submit". This is an account of a hidden event. We
reveal it to you. You were not present when they cast lots to see
which of them shall have charge of Mary; nor were you present when
they argued about her.
Bring to mind when the angels said: "Mary, God gives you glad tidings
of a" word " from Him; his name shall be the Messiah, Jesus son of
Mary; he shall be noble in this world as well as in the hereafter; and
he shall be amongst those who are close [to God]; he shall preach to
people, while in his cradle and while in the prime of manhood; and he
shall be a righteous man." She said:"Lord, how can I bear a child,
when no man has [even] touched me?" He replied: "Even so it shall
happen as told. God createswhat He wills; when He decides a thing, He
needs only say 'Be' , and it is." (3: 43 - 47)
In Surah Maryam , the Qur'an says:
And recount in the book, the story of Mary. [The time] when she left
her people and took for herselfa place to the eastern side and hid
herself from them. We sent to her Our spirit,which appeared to her as
aperfect man. She said: "I give myself to the protection of the All
Mercy (i.e. Al-Rahmaan ) from you,if you fear Him." He replied:"I am
but a messenger of your Lord and have come to gift you a boy, pure
[from sin]". She asked:"How can I bear a child, when a man has never
even touched me and neither have I ever been unchaste?" He said: "Thus
shall it happen; your Lord says: It is easy for me." (19:16 - 21)
Before explaining my pointof view regarding these verses, I would
first like to clarify that we can call two phenomena " contradictory "
when there is no possibleexplanation that can, in any way resolve or
removethe apparent contradiction.If, on the other hand, an explanation
can be given for the apparently contradicting phenomenon, then these
phenomena cannot be called "contradictory". I do submit that everyone
has aright to criticize the explanation given. In such a case, if the
explanation cannot face the criticism, it may then be rejected, and
subsequently, due to lack of satisfactory explanation, the apparently
contradictory phenomena may then be termed as a proven
"contradiction". But, on the other hand, if the explanation
adequatelyexplains the phenomena, then unless the explanation is
logically andconvincingly rejected, the phenomena cannot be termed as
"contradictory".
By close examination of the stated verses of the Qur'an, I think there
can be two very acceptable explanations for the objections raised by
Mr. Katz. Either of these two explanations, if acceptable, remove the
objection raised by Mr. Katz in this respect. In case Mr. Katz or
anyone of my readers believes that neither of theexplanations is
acceptable, he should then present his criticism on these
explanations. Without rejecting both the explanations given, I really
do not think that the referred verses of the Qur'an can in any way be
called "contradictory".
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