Commentary on the Quran (Chapter 3:48-49)

Shafaqna – Commentary on the Quran (Chapter 3:48-49)

By: Mohammad Sobhanie

Miracles of Isa (AS)

بِسْمِ اللَّـهِ الرَّحْمَـٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

وَيُعَلِّمُهُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَالتَّوْرَاةَ وَالْإِنجِيلَ ‎﴿٤٨﴾‏ وَرَسُولًا إِلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ أَنِّي قَدْ جِئْتُكُم بِآيَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ ۖ أَنِّي أَخْلُقُ لَكُم مِّنَ الطِّينِ كَهَيْئَةِ الطَّيْرِ فَأَنفُخُ فِيهِ فَيَكُونُ طَيْرًا بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ ۖ وَأُبْرِئُ الْأَكْمَهَ وَالْأَبْرَصَ وَأُحْيِي الْمَوْتَىٰ بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ ۖ وَأُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا تَأْكُلُونَ وَمَا تَدَّخِرُونَ فِي بُيُوتِكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَةً لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ ‎﴿٤٩﴾

3:48 And God will teach him the Scripture and Wisdom and the Torah (Taurat) and the Gospel (Injeel)

3:49 And (make him) a messenger to the Children of Israel, (who will say), ‘Indeed I have come to you with a sign from your Lord in that I fashion for you from clay (that which is) like the form of a bird, then I breathe into it and it becomes a bird by permission of Allah (SWT). And I cure the blind and the leper, and I give life to the dead – by permission of Allah (SWT). And I inform you of what you eat and what you store in your houses. Indeed in that is a sign for you, if you are believers.

Commentary: Verses 3: 45-46 state that the angels gave Mary (SA) good news that Allah (SWT) has chosen her to give birth to a child who will be honored in this world and the next. He would announce his prophetic mission in infancy and preach during adulthood. The rest of the angels’ conversation with Mary (SA) in Verses 3:48-49 is as follows:

Allah (SWT) would teach him (Isa (AS)) the Book and the Wisdom, specifically the Taurat and Injeel (وَيُعَلِّمُهُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَالتَّوْرَاةَ وَالْإِنجِيلَ), and send him as a messenger to the Children of Israel (وَرَسُولًا إِلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ):

وَيُعَلِّمُهُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَالتَّوْرَاةَ وَالْإِنجِيلَ ‎﴿٤٨﴾‏ وَرَسُولًا إِلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ … ‎﴿٤٩﴾

3:48-49 And God will teach him the Scripture and wisdom and the Torah (Taurat) and the Gospel (Injeel) And (make him) a messenger to the Children of Israel…

“Al-Kitab” (الْكِتَابَ) translates to “The Book” and it pertains to the divine revelation or Scriptures. Examples include the Torah (Taurat), revealed to Prophet Musa (AS), and the Gospel (Injeel), revealed to Prophet Isa (AS). “Al-Hikmata” (الْحِكْمَةَ) is translated to “The Wisdom”, or the knowledge and understanding that enables one to make a sound judgment.

Then the angels said that Prophet Isa (AS) would tell the Children of Israel: “I have come to you with (four) miracles from your Lord,” which are:

1. أَنِّي أَخْلُقُ لَكُم مِّنَ الطِّينِ كَهَيْئَةِ الطَّيْرِ فَأَنفُخُ فِيهِ فَيَكُونُ طَيْرًا بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ ۖ
2. وَأُبْرِئُ الْأَكْمَهَ وَالْأَبْرَصَ
3. وَأُحْيِي الْمَوْتَىٰ بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ ۖ
4. وَأُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا تَأْكُلُونَ وَمَا تَدَّخِرُونَ فِي بُيُوتِكُمْ

• I fashion for you from clay (that which is) like the form of a bird, then I breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by permission of Allah (SWT).
• And I cure the blind and the leper.
• I give life to the dead by permission of Allah.
• And I inform you of what you eat and what you store in your houses.

At the end of the verse, it is mentioned that these four signs are enough to convince the children of Israel that Isa (AS) is God’s messenger if they want to believe in him:

… إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَةً لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ ‎﴿٤٩﴾

3:49 …Indeed, in that is a sign for you, if you are believers.

It’s important to note that Allah (SWT) granted Isa (AS) the ability to perform miracles. The verse emphasizes this fact with the statement “by permission of Allah (SWT)” (بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ). If it had not been for divine permission, Isa (AS) would not have been able to perform these miracles.

In the commentary of verse 3:48, Tafsir Al-Manar^[1],[2] asserts that Isa (AS) claimed he could perform the abovementioned miracles at the command of Allah (SWT), but he never did so. However, Al-Manar’s statement is invalid as verse 5:110 (Ma’idah) explicitly states that one of God’s many blessings upon Isa (AS) was the power to create a bird out of the mud and bring it to life at God’s command.

إِذْ قَالَ اللَّهُ يَا عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ اذْكُرْ… إِذْ تَخْلُقُ مِنَ الطِّينِ كَهَيْئَةِ الطَّيْرِ بِإِذْنِي فَتَنفُخُ فِيهَا فَتَكُونُ طَيْرًا بِإِذْنِي ۖ وَتُبْرِئُ الْأَكْمَهَ وَالْأَبْرَصَ بِإِذْنِي ۖ وَإِذْ تُخْرِجُ الْمَوْتَىٰ بِإِذْنِي ۖ …. ‎﴿١١٠﴾‏

5:110 when Allah (SWT) will say, “O’ Jesus, Son of Mary, remember … when you fashioned from clay (what was) like the form of a bird with My permission, then you breathed into it, and it became a bird with My permission; and you healed the blind and the leper with My permission; and when you brought forth the dead with My permission; …..”

Wilayat-e-Takwini: Wilayat-e-Takwini[3] means guardianship over all things in this world and to have control over them and to be able to render change in them in any way; such power primarily belongs only to Allah (SWT), but can also be attributed to the prophets and infallible imams and perfect individuals secondarily with the permission of Allah (SWT).

Verse 3:49 asserts that the divine prophets have Wilayat-e-Takwini with the permission of Allah (SWT). For instance, Prophet Isa (AS) was able to revive the dead, cure congenital blindness and leprosy, and give life to inanimate beings by God’s command.

The Mission of the Prophet Isa (AS): Prophet Isa (AS) was a Ulu l-ʿAzm (أولو العَزم) prophet sent to the Children of Israel (وَرَسُولًا إِلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ). There is a difference of opinion among commentators as to whether the mission of a Ulu l-ʿAzm prophet is universal. Tafseer-e-Namoona states that a Ulu l-ʿAzm prophet possesses a new divine book and sharia (divine law). His mission could be exclusive to a single nation, such as Prophet Isa (AS), or it could be a universal mission, such as Prophet Mohammad’s (SAWA). The exclusivity of the mission of Isa (AS) to the Israelites is reflected in the commentary of “Noor al-Saqlain”[4].

Some commentators have stated that Prophet Isa’s (AS) mission was universal. However, his mission focused on the children of Israel. The late Allameh Majlisi, in “Bihar al-Anwar,” narrates hadiths in support of the universality of Prophet Isa’s (AS) mission [5].

Imam Rida (AS) was once asked about the distinction of Ulu l-‘Azm prophets. His response was enlightening: “Allah (SWT) sent Noah with a book and sharia, and all subsequent prophets followed his book, his sharia, and his practice until Ibrahim introduced a new book. This pattern continued with each prophet introducing a new sharia. Musa brought the Torah (Taurat), and Isa came with his Gospel (Injeel) as a new sharia. Until the Prophet of Islam era, everyone adhered to Isa’s sharia. The Prophet of Islam brought the Qur’an and a new sharia, the halal and haram of which will remain in force until the Resurrection. Some divine prophets had divine books, but their books didn’t establish new independent rulings and sharia, like Adam, Seth, Idris, and David. Hence, they weren’t Ulu l-‘Azm [6].”

[1] https//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tafsir_al-Manar

[2] Tafseer-e-Namoona, Vol. 2, P. 557

[3] https://www.islamquest.net/en/archive/fa1406

[4] Tafseer-e-Namoona, Vol. 2, P. 555

[5] Tafseer-e-Namoona, Vol. 2, P. 555

[6] http://lib.eshia.ir/11008/11/56/%D8%B5%D9%84%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AA