Prophet Jesus in the Quran

Prophet Jesus in the Quran

(بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ - bismillahir-rahmanir-rahim)

In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.

Opening Greetings and Personal Introduction

As-salamu alaykum to everyone. You know, you saw me talking to Wissam during your speech, I apologize. It was a great speech by the way. But that's because I have a lot of love for Wissam, who is a very close brother as well as Nouman. But I think this is the first time we actually rocked it together, which is incredible. And it's wonderful to see both of these incredibly articulate, intelligent young men doing it, you know. And may Allah increase them in good in this life and the next, insha'Allah.

Secondly, I just came from Boston, so I'm going to be finishing before 8. My talk will finish before 8 o'clock. That's for sure. And those of you from Philly, don't even give me salaam today. Alright? I actually am from Oklahoma, USA. Yes. And I became Muslim in 1992.

The Topic's Importance and Personal Journey to Islam

And I was talking to Wissam about, really, honestly, I think the topic is not given enough time. You didn't take the time you needed actually to talk about three heavyweights, you know, three incredible prophets in 15 minutes. And I think also there will be a little bit of information overload. But one thing that did initially surprise me about Islam at the age of 18, my first imam was Rakim. And through that, being directed towards getting a copy of the Quran and thinking that when I read the Quran, it was going to be almost like a diatribe against Christ.

And that's really, that's something I, I was so scared, I put the Quran in the restroom. Because I was worried that if my mother found the Quran, I would be like Gulab Jamun or something. Like, she would take me out. So actually in Oklahoma, right? I kept the Quran in the restroom and I opened the Quran for the first time and I found a chapter called Mary, the 19th chapter of the Quran. And I was expecting again to be, you know, kind of a diatribe against Christ, his family, Christians, Jews, you name it.

But in fact, it was really one of the most beautiful chapters in the Quran that when I read it to my mother, who to this day is a non-Muslim, goes to church every Sunday and Wednesday, when I read the first 40 verses of Surah Maryam to her in English, she began to cry. And she said, this is from God. So, that really sparked my interest and that ultimately kind of led me to become Muslim.

The Prophets and Their Relationship to Sharia

Now, the topic that we're given is about the prophets and the backdrop of this convention is about Sharia. And in

this attempt to Sharia-ize America, right? We need to become educated and literate as Muslims in speaking about Sharia. And when we're given this opportunity to talk about the prophets, three of the greatest prophets, what is their relationship to Sharia? This attempt to Sharia-ize America.

Unity of the Prophets' Creed

Number one, we believe that all of the prophets from Adam to Muhammad, peace be upon them, had the same creed. (الْأَنْبِيَاءُ إِخْوَةٌ وَدِينُهُمْ وَاحِدٌ - Al-anbiya ikhwah wa dinuhum wahid). The hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari says that the prophets were brothers, the fundamentals of their creed were the same. Secondly, we believe that as a source of Sharia, all of the prophets agreed on that source. Secondly, we agree that they all agreed upon the maqasid of Sharia, the objectives of Sharia.

And this is a discussion that we need to be having here at this conference because the topic is about Sharia. And people are Sharia-ized. I am from Oklahoma. It was the first state to try to attempt to pass the anti-Sharia bill. This creeping Sharia, it's like a TLC song. And I creep, right, you're creeping with Sharia. So how do you respond to that in light of three of the most important historical figures for all of us is that we believe that they brought five major objectives that can be touched on, that make up the core of Sharia. And you learn this, by the way, in the fourth year in Al-Azhar in Kulliyyat al-Sharia, and you practice it in two years in Dar al-Ifta, as someone who's training.

The Five Objectives of Sharia

1. Preservation of Faith

Number one, we believe that the Sharia came to preserve faith, to look after faith. And that's why we believe, (وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ وَمَا صَلَبُوهُ وَلَٰكِن شُبِّهَ لَهُمْ - "And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but it was made to appear so to them") (Quran 4:157). And that's why we believe that Christ was not crucified or killed. He was protected. Because if your point man dies, that means that there's a weakness in your call.

2. Preservation of the Intellect

Secondly, we believe that they came to preserve the intellect, the intellect of the people. That's why he said, (لِأُعَلِّمَكُم - "I came to teach you," Isa said. And our Prophet Muhammad says (وَقُل رَّبِّ زِدْنِي عِلْمًا - "And say: My Lord, increase me in knowledge") (Quran 20:114). And the only thing that a Muslim is asked to ask of an increase for in Quran, as mentioned by Imam Ibn Hajar, is an increase in knowledge.

3. Preservation of Life

Number three is the preservation of life. People should not be killed. And that's why in all three of these incredible Prophets' messages, we have basically from the Ten Commandments (وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا النَّفْسَ الَّتِي حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ - "And do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden except by right") (Quran 6:151). Thou shalt not kill.

4. Preservation of Lineage and Family

The fourth is the preservation of lineage and family. And that's why, you know, try it before you buy it doesn't work. You have to marry it if you like it. If you like it, put a ring on it. And we know who said that. And don't ask me how I know. It's a long story. I got kids, man. If you like it, put a ring on it. And vice versa. Sis, if you like it, put a ring on it. According to the Malikis, it's fine.

And that's why we find the Mother of Christ saying (يَا لَيْتَنِي مِتُّ قَبْلَ هَٰذَا وَكُنتُ نَسْيًا مَّنسِيًّا - "Oh, I wish I had died before this and was in oblivion, forgotten") (Quran 19:23). In the 19th chapter of the Quran, when Mary was apprised of the fact that when she goes back to her people with this child, they may accuse her of fornication. And she said, I would rather die than be accused of that. Her sense of haya, her sense of dignity, her sense of iffah, and let me translate that and I apologize, her sense of fidelity and integrity was such that instead, and you can compare that to Kim Kardashian now. Or J. Lo, 45-year-old woman on a cover magazine with no clothes on. Come on, man. No, I mean, it's a trip.

Because it's inverted. And Imam Ibn Qayyim said that when people see the permissible as forbidden, and the forbidden as permissible, this is a sign of a spiritual psychosis. They have forgotten their very nature. So, she said, I wish I was dead before they would accuse me of something like that.

Maintaining Dignity and Modesty

Now, how do we carry ourselves at the convention, sis? Or bro? Do we have that iffah? Shaitan comes and says, you ain't ever gonna get married. Come on, man. Put a little foundation here. Your foundation's here, girl. It ain't here. Come on, bro. Walk with a little swag. He made a mistake. We say iman swag. All right? Carry yourself, man. Come on. You can wear some bracelets, man. It's cute, man. You know, wear a little necklace here. Allah, you know, Mr. T. Them girls will like you. Right? Where's the iffah?

As one of our young sisters from Boston told me, I love a brother who lowers his gaze. And the brother that has the nur of dhikr is the one who appeals to me. And vice versa. So a sense of dignity, a sense of iffah. And we see that Islam encourages us, no, try it before you buy it. And unfortunately in our communities, the hardest thing to do is get married. And the easiest thing in any book of fiqh is marriage. And that's a curse that we have polluted the sharia. We've made it so difficult that now we see fasad in our community because we make it easier to climb Mount Everest in some sandals than get married in our community. And let's not even talk about the converts.

5. Preservation of Honor and Property

The other thing that they came to protect was the honor of people. There should be no Jim Crow policy in Islam. There should be, no one should be looked down upon. There should be humility. And that's why when Christ came from his mother as a baby, he talked. Now all of us have accomplished things. All of us have done

incredible things in our life that cause us at times to become self-inebriated. We forget who we are. And that leads to oppression and wrongdoing, the firaonic personality.

And when he came from his mother, can you imagine if he walked up in the hospital and this baby was like spitting? I'm saying like Cornel West. Saying like nefarious instead of bad. Just, you know, dropping it. And not only that, he knew the Torah up and down. He was a Hafiz. And he had everything rocking. And as a baby, you would say, this baby has a right to be a little proud. Proud, you know, have a little pride.

But what did he say when he came out of his mother's loins and the people started to accuse his mother of an evil crime? He said (إِنِّي عَبْدُ اللَّهِ - "Indeed, I am the servant of Allah") (Quran 19:30). The first thing that Christ said when he was born and he spoke as a child is, I am the servant of God. Why? To maintain humility. Because a humble person will not oppress others. A humble person will not dishonor others. So we learn how to gauge success. And finally, property. The property should be preserved.

Sharia as a Universal Principle

Now, we don't have much time now. I think my 15 minutes is over. To be real. But I want to touch on a few points quickly about the story. But I thought it was important to show how Sharia, this incredible Sharia that we're talking about, how that doesn't bleed back through, but moors back through all of the other prophets. And you find the Sharia in their life. So for a Christian to say, I want to ban Sharia, you want to ban Christ. For a Christian to say, I want to ban Sharia, a Jew to say that, you would ban the Torah. Because we'll find many of the similar objectives in the same text.

The Story Begins with Incredible Women

But the story starts with a woman. And that's what's incredible about the story of Musa. That if you look at the story of Moses, the entire story is about incredible women. His mom, his sister, his wife, the wife of Pharaoh.

The wife of Pharaoh was so entranced with God. Now when we get married, the first thing we hear is, I want a house. I can relate. I want a house too. But she (رَبِّ ابْنِ لِي عِندَكَ بَيْتًا فِي الْجَنَّةِ - "My Lord, build for me near You a house in Paradise") (Quran 66:11).

She said, I want, and here in Arabic, actually it doesn't work. If you're good in Arabic, you're like, why is the ظرف coming before the actual object of the supplication. It's very strange. She didn't say, oh my lord, I want a house in paradise close to you. She said, oh my lord, close to you I want a house in paradise. Because as one of our mashayikh said, for her to be in paradise and be far away from Allah would be hell. So the قربة comes before the نعمة. So being near to God is more important to her than even her own pleasure. So she sacrificed in this life and she sacrificed in the next. I'm sorry to hit on your story.

Women in the Life of the Prophet

But that takes us to the life of Christ. And this incredible example of women. I mean the Prophet when he made

hijrah, we never talk about how a woman, he climbed on her back to go over a fence in Mecca. This has reached to us with a sanad which is sahih from Imam al-Bayhaqi that the Prophet, he couldn't get out of Mecca. I mean after he left the house, what happened? Bing! He was in a cave. Yeah, ask yourself what happened. He couldn't get out. The walls were there. A woman she got on her all fours and said, climb my back, Ya Rasulullah. I had that sanad of sahih because I know where it's going to head now. How could he, you know.

The Family of Mary

But this story is about also incredible women and men. And one of them was the mother of Mary who supplicated to God for a child. And Allah says about him, the family of Isa, because as Muslims we learn a quick lesson, nothing happens in a vacuum. The Mahdi syndrome doesn't work, yo. I'm not going to join him and say, well, I'm just waiting for the Mahdi to come. Get out of here. You know, I'm gonna be righteous when Imam Mahdi comes. One of our scholars said, if you have that attitude when Imam Mahdi comes, you better run. Because he's going to be looking for you.

So first and foremost, it didn't happen out of a vacuum. These were righteous people. These were a righteous group of people. And that's why it's important for us, even before we're married, to be righteous. A taqwa has jamal to it. Has a nur to it. And that's why the prophets constantly thought ahead and said, dhurriyat, dhurriyat, dhurriyat. Not only my aqarib, my close family, but my distant relatives as well.

Yesterday, a woman from Uzbekistan became Muslim in Roxbury. And she said, my ancestors were Muslims, but we left Islam. And I said, but their supplication came back to you. So that outward concept of having ufuq, so Christ doesn't come out of a vacuum. Christ comes out, (ذُرِّيَّةً بَعْضُهَا مِن بَعْضٍ - "Descendants, some of them from others") (Quran 3:34). Ba'duha min ba'd means that they were, as we understand it, helpers of each other, or cooperative towards righteousness.

Cooperation Towards Righteousness

And we believe that cooperation towards righteousness is one of the fundamental principles of shariah, no matter who it's with. And that's why Allah says (وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ - "And advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience") (Quran 103:3). And Allah says (وَتَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَىٰ ۖ وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ - "And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression") (Quran 5:2), which means help all of you, Muslim, non-Muslim, whatever you are, towards goodness and not towards evil.

And this is the same advice that Luqman gave to his son that's found in Surat al-Asr (الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا - "Those who believe") - (يَا بُنَيَّ لَا تُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ - "O my son, do not associate anything with Allah") (Quran 31:13) - (وَآمِنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ أَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَأُمُرْ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَانْهَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ - "And believe and do righteous deeds, establish prayer, and enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong.") And what's the last? (وَاصْبِرْ عَلَىٰ مَا أَصَابَكَ إِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ مِنْ عَزْمِ الْأُمُورِ - "And be patient over what befalls you. Indeed, all that is of the matters requiring determination") (Quran 31:17). So we find and continue.