seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Quran 43:57. And when the son of Mary was cited as an example, your people opposed.
58. They said, “Are our gods better, or he?” They cited him only for argument. In fact, they are a quarrelsome people.
59. He was just a servant whom We blessed, and We made him an example for the Children of Israel.
60. Had We willed, We would have made of you angels to be successors on earth.
61. He is a portent of the Hour, so have no doubt about it, and follow Me. This is a straight way.
62. And let not Satan divert you. He is an open enemy to you.
63. When Jesus came with the clarifications, he said, “I have come to you with wisdom, and to clarify for you some of what you differ about. So fear God, and obey me.
64. God is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him—this is a straight path.”
65. But the factions differed among themselves. So woe to the wrongdoers from the suffering of a painful Day.
66. Are they only waiting for the Hour to come upon them suddenly, while they are unaware?
67. On that Day, friends will be enemies of one another, except for the righteous.
Here's today's commentary.The Qur’ån in many places condemns the doctrine of attributing children to the Almighty. Such a condemnation is contained in this very chapter in the section preceding the last. But when the case of Jesus was cited, the disbelievers objected to the respect shown to him, while their own idols were condemned. This is the significance of the words occurring in the next verse: Are our gods better, or is he? Why should not the same honour be shown to their national gods as was shown to the god of another nation; for was not Jesus accepted as God by the Christians?
This verse contains the answer to the objection referred to in v. 57. Jesus was not honoured because the Christians took him for God or Son of God, which was in fact their own error, but because he was a righteous servant of Allåh on whom He had bestowed favours. Not only was Jesus the recipient of Divine favours, but he was also an example of virtue for the Israelites to whom he was sent as a prophet, a model whom they could imitate in righteousness. On the other hand, the idols whom the Arabs took for gods were mere stones and could do no good to their worshippers. Moreover, the idolworshippers represented even their great men as sunk in immorality. As an instance, take the Puranas of the Hindus, where even such Hindu gods as Shiva are represented as deeply sunk in immorality.
The Hour signifies here the departure of prophethood from the house of Israel. Such is the clear significance of the parable of the vineyard in Matt. 21:33, Mark 12:1, and Luke 20:9, which ends with these remarkable words: “Therefore I say unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof” (Matt. 21:43). Prophethood had long remained in the house of Israel, and, as history shows, Jesus was the last prophet of the Mosaic dispensation. The Qur’ån is here called the knowledge of the Hour in the sense that its revelation was a clear indication that prophethood was now being taken away from the house of Israel and given to another people, as Jesus himself had said. Some take the personal pronoun h∂ as referring to Jesus, but even then the meaning would be that Jesus was sent to give people the knowledge that he was the last prophet of the Israelite dispensation.
The Hour here signifies the doom of the Quraish.
Well, at least the Christians were not idol worshippers. They worship Jesus... Jesus is a "someone" not a "something". The people were worshipping "some things".... and that was obviously ignorant.
The topic of worshipping Jesus... well that is a horse of a different color.
People worship Jesus.... Jesus came to earth to do away with the death penalty caused by Satan at the tree with Adam and Eve.
People found out that God sent Him so that everyone could go back to having Eternal Life.... and they started to worship Jesus as if He is God.
Jesus prayed to God. Jesus told people about God. Jesus told people to Love God. Jesus never tried to get anyone to Believe in Jesus.... He only worked for God.
The whole mission of the Life of Jesus was predicated on God is the Only Living God. Jesus never asked anyone to worship Him. Jesus always pointed the admiration to God. Jesus always gave God all the credit.
The story got distorted.... not the mission.
Jesus came to earth on a mission. He did not come to divert praise away from God. He came to do God's work.
It was the humans who started worshipping Him. It was the humans who started praying to Jesus when they were instructed by Jesus Himself to pray to God not Jesus.... The Lord's Prayer begins "Our Father...... " not "Jesus". We pray in His Name because He taught us it's ok to "Go to God....."
The Quran respects Jesus as a Prophet.... but they resent the worship of Mary and her son. No one, they say, should be praying to Mary or her son. That's what Jesus taught too.... it must have gotten lost in the translation between the days when Jesus was walking the earth and the year 650 when the Quran came about.
It was the ignorant humans who started worshipping Him as if He were God Himself.
This is about Jesus.
