Jesus' Life

JESUS' LIFE
According to the historical sources, Mary was born at a time when the
chaos mentioned earlier in the book was happening, when
Romanoppression was real, and the Jews were impatiently awaiting the
Messiah's arrival. She wasa descendent of `Imran, whose family had
been made superior by God (Qur'an, 3:33). God chose her from among
them, purified her, and placed her above all other women, for as the
Qur'anreveals:
And when the angels said: "Mary, God has chosen you and purified you.
He has chosen you over all other women. Mary, obey your Lord
andprostrate and bow with those who bow." (Qur'an,3:42-43)
The family of `Imran was known to believe in God, to seek His good
pleasurein whatever they do, andto always respect the limits that He
has established. When Imran's wife learned of her pregnancy, she
immediately turned to God in prayer and dedicated her unborn child to
God. It is a sign of her true submission to God that she named her
child Maryam (Mary in English), meaning"someone who is always
worshipping God." This subject is revealed in the Qur'an:
Remember when the wife of 'Imran said: "My Lord, I have pledged to You
what is in my womb, consecrated [for Your service]. Please accept
myprayer. You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing." When she gave
birth, she said: "My Lord! I have given birth to a girl"-and God knew
very well what she had given birth to, male and female are not the
same-"and I have named her Mary and placed her and her children in
Your safekeeping from the accursed Satan." (Qur'an, 3:35-36)
God reveals that Mary's mother dedicated her to God, "consecrated for
His service." The Arabic wordused here, i.e., muharraran, means "one
who is wholly preoccupied with the Hereafter, who has no business with
the world, who worships God at all times, who is in the service of the
House of God, who is sincere in hisor her worship and, who has no
worldly intentionsin his or her worship." Imran's wife asked God to
allow Mary to serve only Him, and for her to become totally devoted to
His good pleasure rather than other people's.
When Mary was born, Imran's wife asked God to protect Mary and her
descendents from the evilof Satan. God answered her sincere prayer and
gave Mary a superior morality. The Qur'an reveals how carefully Mary
was raised under God's protection:
Her Lord accepted her with approval and made her grow in health and
beauty. And Zechariah became her guardian. (Qur'an, 3:37)
God states that Zechariahwas a righteous servant who was favored over
allbeings, and one guided to a straight path as a Prophet. God praises
him in the Qur'an and points out his impeccable character (Qur'an,
6:85-87). Zechariah, who took on the responsibility of caring for Mary
and thus witnessed many of her miracles, realized that she was God's
chosen one.
For instance, whenever Zechariah entered the presence of Mary, who
always worshipped by herself, he found food with her. The Qur'an says:
Every time Zechariah visited her in the prayingchamber, he found food
with her. He said: "Mary, how did you come by this?" She said: "It is
fromGod. God provides for whoever He wills withoutany reckoning."
(Qur'an, 3:37)
Mary became well knownin her community as a member of her family who
was dedicated wholeheartedly to God. The Qur'an speaks of her chastity
in particular, as follows:
And Mary, the daughter of 'Imran, who guarded her chastity-We
breathedOur Spirit into her, and she confirmed the Words of her Lord
and His Book and was one of the obedient. (Qur'an, 66:12)
Mary's Encounter with Gabriel
Mary's life was full of miracles, one of which was her encounter with
Gabriel. At a particular stage in her life, Mary lefther community and
family and secluded herself somewhere in theeast. There, the Qur'an
mentions that Gabriel appeared to her in the form of a man:
Mention Mary in the Book, how she withdrewfrom her people to an
eastern place and veiled herself from them. Then We sent Our Spirit to
her, and it took on for her theform of a handsome, well-built man. She
[Mary] said: "I seek refuge from you with theAll-Merciful if you guard
against evil." (Qur'an, 19:16-18)
At first, she did not know that the unknown personwas Gabriel. Thus,
she immediately sought refuge with God when he approached and said
that she was a God-fearing believer. Herwords make it clear that she
was a God-fearing and chaste servant. Gabriel introduced himself by
stating that hewas sent by God to give her the following good news:
He said [to Mary]: "I am only your Lord's messenger so that He cangive
you a pure boy." (Qur'an, 19:19)
When the angels said:"Mary, your Lord gives you good news of a Word
from Him. His nameis the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, of high esteem
in this world and the Hereafter, one of those brought near." (Qur'an,
3:45)
Mary received this important news and asked Gabriel how she could have
a child while she was still a virgin:
She said: "How can I havea boy when no man has touched me and I am not
an unchaste woman?" Hesaid: "It will be so, for your Lord says: 'That
is easy for Me. It is so that We can make him a Sign for mankind and a
mercyfrom Us.' It is a matter already decreed." So she conceived him
and withdrew with him to a distant place. (Qur'an, 19:20-22)
She said: "My Lord, how can I have a son when noman has yet touched
me?" He said: "It will be so." God creates whatever He wills. When He
decides on something,He just says to it "Be!" and it is. (Qur'an,
3:47)
Gabriel replied that God has the power to do anything and that He
needs only to say "Be!" and it is. This is how Maryconceived Jesus-by
the will of God and without ever being touched by a man. Her pregnancy
was created independent of the worldly order in a miraculous way. As
our Lord reveals, after receiving this good news, Mary withdrew to
somewhere quiet. God supported her during that time in every way and
provided all that a pregnant woman could wish for psychologically as
well as materially. He made her withdraw fromher people, who would not
have been able to comprehend her situation, and thereby prevented the
physical orspiritual damage that they could have caused her.