Adam takes a prominent role in Islamic traditions concerning the fall of Satan. In these, when God announces his intention of creating Adam, some of the angels express dismay, asking why God would create a being that would do evil. God Teaches Adam the names reassures the angels as to Adam's abilities, dispute which particular names were involved; various theories say they were the names of all things animate and inanimate, the names of the angels, the names of his own descendants, or the names of God. believe he was given the gift of speech to separate himself from all other animals.
In the Muslim tradition, Satan, is regarded as a djinn made out of fire, rather than an angel made out of light. This supports the Islamic notion of angels being creations that would not be accountable since they lack free will. When God commands the angels to bow to Adam, Satan is also present and refuses due to his pride, and is summarily banished from the heavens. Liberal movements within Islam have viewed God's commanding the angels to bow before Adam as an exaltation of humanity, and as a means of supporting human rights.
Al-Qummi records the opinion that Eden was not on earth but in heaven. After disobeying God, God sends Adam and Eve to earth, arriving first at mountain peaks outside Mecca; Adam on Safa, and Eve on Marwa. In this account, Adam remained weeping for 40 days, until he repented, at which point God rewarded him by sending down the Kaaba, and teaching him the hajj. The Quran does not mention Adam's weeping but it does mention the forgiveness he was granted.
The Qur'an also describes the two sons of Adam (named Qabil and Habil in Islamic tradition, but not mentioned by name in the Qur'an) that correspond to Cain and Abel.
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Quran's Noah lives for a total of 1000 years, with the Flood coming in his 950th year; (In later tradition, only 83 people are willing to submit, i.e., become Muslim, "those who accept a peaceful yield to the god" with God; these 83 are saved with Noah. It is mankind's obduracy which eventually brings the wrath of God on the unbelievers.
The theme of the Quranic story is the unity of Allah and the need to seek peace with Him. The narrative does not include the Genesis account of Noah's drunkenness, and the possibility of the Curse of Ham narrative is in fact implicitly excluded: Qur'an doesn’t mention the number of Noah’s sons. Nevertheless the traditions of Prophet Mohammed clearly mention that Noah had three sons, and that all the population descended from them., and a fourth son who does not join his father despite Noah's final plea to be saved ("O my son! Come ride with us, and be not with the disbelievers!"); instead he flees to the mountains and drowns in the flood and God tells Noah that this is because he is an evildoer. (In later Islamic tradition the son is given the name Kenan, "Canaan").
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Four thousand years ago, the valley of Mecca was a dry and uninhabited place. According to Islamic history, the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) was instructed to bring Hajar and their child Ismael to Arabia from the land of Israel - Canaan - by God's command. As Ibrahim made ready to return to the land of Canaan, Hajar asked him, "Who ordered you to leave us here"? When Ibrahim replied: "God", Hajar said, "then God will not forget us; you can go". Although Ibrahim had left a large quantity of food and water with Hajar and Ismael, the supplies quickly ran out and within a few days the two were suffering from hunger and dehydration. According to the story, a desparate Hajar ran up and down between two hills called Safa and Marwa seven times, trying to find water. Finally she collapsed beside her baby Ismael and prayed to God for deliverance. Ismael struck his foot on the ground, and this caused a spring of water to gush forth from the earth. Other accounts have the angel Jibral (Gabriel) striking the earth and starting a spring to flow. With this secure water supply, they were not only able to provide for their own needs, but were also able to trade water with passing nomads for food and supplies. When the Prophet Ibrahim returned from Canaan to check on his family, he was amazed to see them running a profitable well. The Prophet Ibrahim was told by God to build a shrine dedicated to him adjacent to Hajar's well (the Zamzam Well). Ibrahim and Ismael constructed a small stone structure–-the Kaaba--which was to be the gathering place for all who wished to strengthen their faith in God. As the years passed, Ismael was blessed with Prophethood and he gave the nomads of the desert his message of surrender to God. After many centuries, Mecca became a thriving city and a major center for trade, thanks to its reliable water source, the well of Zamzam
ــــــــــــ
Aziz's wife, who was disappointed by Yusuf, complained to her husband, saying: "Yusuf had made me infamous among the women of Egypt, and has disgraced me. Now, if you want my fame returned and this stain removed from my reputation, you must put him in prison."
Although Aziz had seen with his eyes the pruity of Yusuf, and one of his household had testified to his innocence, he sent Yusuf to prison for a time, even though he was innocent.
On the day that Yusuf was taken to prison, two other young men were also taken there with him. One of them was the king's butler and the other, his cook. They had been accused of intending to poison the king.
The next day, the butler came to Yusuf and said: "In my dream, I saw myself pressing grapes for the king." And the cook said: "I dreamt I was carrying bread on my head and the birds were eating it. Tell us what our dreams mean. We see that what you do it honest and your nobility is obvious."
Yusuf realized that these men were ready to listen to him, so he took the chance of propogating his religion in prison and said: "Before they shall bring you food, I shall tell you its interpretation. This is what my Lord has taught me. Surely I have rejected the religion of the people who did not believe in Allah and denied the existence of life after death. I follow the religon of my forefathers; Ibrahim, Ishaq, and Yaqub. It is not right for us to believe there is more than one God."
"O my fellow prisoners, can anyone prefer useless and false gods to the One Mighty Allah? The false gods that you and your fathers worshipped were not true. Allah (swt) has sent down no authority for them."
After showing the right way, Yusuf began to interpret their dreams, and said: "O my fellow prisoners, one of you, the one who dreamt that he was making wine, will soon be freed, and will start his work in the palace. The other will be hanged and the birds will eat from his head. This is the interpretation of your dreams."
Then Yusuf said to himself: " Now that the king's butler is to be freed, and will return to the king's court, it would be better to ask him to tell the king of my innocence, perchance I may be freed from prison."
Their dreams came true, exactly as Yusuf had told them - the butler was saved and the cook was executed. unfortunately, the butler forgot Yusuf after he was freed, and Yusuf remained in prison for some years.
One morning, when the king got up, he seemed distressed by a dream he had in the night. He sumoned the wise men and told them about the dream. He said: "I saw seven fat and beautiful cows coming out of the river and start grazing in the pasture. Later, seven thin and ugly cows came out of the water and ate the other seven up. Then I saw seven green ears of wheat and seven whithered ones. Now, interpret my dream." They thought for a while, looked at each other, and as they could not find any reasonable explanation, shook their heads and said: "We don't have any interpretation for your dream. What you had, must have been a nightmare."
The king's dream was Allah's way of rescuing Yusuf from prison. The forgetful butler at last remembered what Yusuf had told him. He immediately went to the king and said: O king! There is a young, learned, noble, pious man in your prison who is skilful in the interpretations of dreams. Allow me to go to the prison and ask him about your dream." The king allowed the butler to go to the prison. He went to Yusuf and said: "O truthful Yusuf, tell me about the king's dream." Then he retold the king's dream to Yusuf. Yusuf, who was Allah's divine prophet, had a mission to improve the people's secular life as well as their faith. He not only interpreted the king's dream, but also gave the solution to the problem. He said: "In Egypt, there will be seven years of excellent harvest followed by seven years of famine, and people will suffer hunger. So people should grow lots of wheat, use only as much as they need, and store the rest in the storehouses, so that it can be used in the seven years of famine."
When the butler heard the interpretation, he went to the king quickly and explained what he had heard from Yusuf. The explaination removed sorrow from the king's face. He found the interpretation of his dream to be logical, and realized it had come from a noble mind. The king ordered Yusuf to come to the court and stay there and help him with his noble ideas. The king's men went to the prison to free Yusuf, but he refused to leave, although freedom was so important to him, as he had been suffering in prison for years, deprived of seeing the sun, the moon and the stars, having had no good food nor a sound sleep. In spite of all these past hardships, and the king's pardon, he still refused to leave. He said: "Go and say to the king that I won't leave the prison until he sorts out my past so that my innocence can be proved to the public, and say to the king to go ask the noble ladies of Egypt why they cut their fingers at the party given by Aziz's wife and why they bothered me."
The king's men inevitably returned to him and told him the case. The king recalled the ladies of Egypt (whom possibly Yusuf had introduced by name), and asked them about the story of cutting their hands at the party. All those women confessed and testified that Yusuf was innocent. In the end, Aziz's wife also admitted that she had been wrong and Yusuf had been innocent. Thus Yusuf, glad to be proved truthful and honourable, left the jail.
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Muslims believe in the virginal conception of Jesus by Mary (Arabic: Maryam), which is recounted throughout several passages in the Qur'an. According to the Qur'anic narrative, Mary had withdrawn into a temple and was visited by an angel an agent of divine action or communication commonly identified in Islam with the angel Gabriel (Arabic: Jibreel) but also with the created spirit from God by which he enlivened Adam. He proclaimed to her the conception of Jesus. Mary was startled, for she had vowed her virginity to God and intended to retain it. The angel reassured her, stating that such a conception was easy for God, who wished to make from her a sign to men and a mercy from Him. The Qur'an describes the conception as the result of a creative decree made by God, similar to the creation of Adam. Some Qur'anic exegetes describe the event of conception as the angel's breathing into the cloak of Mary; which, upon putting it on, resulted in Jesus being conceived. Afterwards, Mary withdrew "to a distant place.
After delivering Jesus, Mary was overtaken by the pangs of childbirth, resting near the trunk of a palm tree. Jesus then addressed her from the cradle, to instruct her to shake the tree and obtain its fruits and also to allay Mary's fears of a scandal surrounding his conception. She then showed the new-born to her family, and in silencing immodest rumors he declared: "Lo, I am God's servant; God has given me the Book, and made me a Prophet. Blessed he has made me, wherever I may be; and He has enjoined me to pray, and to give alms, so long as I live and likewise to cherish my mother."
According to Islamic texts, Jesus was divinely chosen to preach the message of monotheism and submission to the will of God to the Children of Israel. Muslims believe that God revealed to Jesus a new scripture, the Inj?l (gospel), while also declaring the truth of the previous revelations - the Tawrat (Torah) and the Zabur (Psalms). It is unclear or unknown whether Jesus declared the truth of the other holy book of Islam at that time, the Suhuf Ibrahim. Written 700 years after Jesus' life on earth, the Qur'an speaks favorably of the Inj?l, which it describes as a scripture that fills the hearts of its followers with meekness and pity. Muslims believe that Biblical manuscripts (both the Torah and the Inj?l) have become distorted over time in text, interpretation, or both.
The Qur'an states that Jesus was aided by a group of disciples (haw?riy?n) who believed in Jesus' message, and termed themselves the ans?r ("helpers") of God. He was also strengthened by the same holy spirit that visited his mother Mary. Jesus is also depicted in Islam as having been given miracles as evidence of his prophetic mission. Such miracles, all performed by the leave of God, include: speaking while still in the cradle; breathing life into clay models of birds; curing a leper and a life-long blind man; raising the dead; and requesting the descent of a table from heaven upon which was a feast, upon petition of his disciples. Some Muslim accounts also relate that the Islamic prophet Yahya ibn Zakariyya (known otherwise as John the Baptist) traveled to Palestine and met Jesus at the Jordan river.
According to some Muslim traditions, Jesus was replaced by a double; others suggest it was Simon of Cyrene, or one of the disciples such as Judas Iscariot. Some others view it as Jesus surviving the crucification. A minority of commentaries of Ismaili or rationalist (fal?sifa) leaning affirmed the crucifixion by arguing that Jesus' body had been crucified, but his spirit had ascended. However, this interpretation was generally rejected, and according to the Encyclopedia of Islam, there was unanimous agreement amongst the scholars in denying the crucifixion. Modern commentators such as M. Hayek interpret the verse to say that the crucifixion "seemed thus to them"
Allah would send Christ, son of Mary, and he will descend at the white minaret in the eastern side of Damascus wearing two garments lightly dyed with saffron and placing his hands on the wings of two Angels. When he would lower his head, there would fall beads of perspiration from his head, and when he would raise it up, beads like pearls would scatter from it. Every non-believer who would smell the odour of his self would die and his breath would reach as far as he would be able to see. He would then search for him (Dajjal) until he would catch hold of him at the gate of Ludd and would kill him. Then a people whom Allah had protected would come to Jesus, son of Mary, and he would wipe their faces and would inform them of their ranks in Paradise and it would be under such conditions that Allah would reveal to Jesus these words: I have brought forth from amongst My servants such people against whom none would be able to fight; you take these people safely to The Mount, and then Allah would send Gog and Magog and they would swarm down from every slope
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Muhammad (pbuh) believed that there was only one Allah, Creator of the sun, the moon, the earth, the sky, and of all living things, and that all people should worship only Him. Muhammad (pbuh) would often leave the crowded city and go to the cave in Mount Hira'. He liked to be alone there, away from all thoughts of the world and daily life, eating and drinking little. In his fortieth year, Muhammad (pbuh) left Mecca to spend Ramadan,
the traditional month of retreat, in the cave. In the second half of Ramadan, Allah began to reveal His message for mankind through Muhammad (pbuh). This first Revelation occurred as follows. The Archangel Gabriel came to Muhammad (pbuh) in the cave and commanded him to 'Read'. Muhammad (pbuh) replied 'I cannot read.' At this the Archangel took Muhammad (pbuh) in his arms and pressed him to him until it was almost too much to bear. He then released him and said again 'Read.' 'I cannot', replied Muhammad (pbuh), at which the Archangel embraced him again. For the third time the Archangel commanded Muhammad (pbuh) to read, but still he said he could not and was again embraced. On releasing him this time, however, the Archangel Gabriel said:
"Read: In the Name of thy Lord who createth, Createth man from a clot. Read: And thy Lord is the Most Generous Who teacheth by the pen, Teacheth man that which he knew not. (Koran xcvi.1-5) Muhammad (pbuh) repeated these verses, just as the Archangel had said them.
When the Archangel was sure Muhammad (pbuh) knew them by heart, he went away. Now that he was alone Muhammad (pbuh) could not understand what had happened to him. He was terribly afraid and rushed out of the cave. Perhaps the cave was haunted? Perhaps the devil had taken a hold of his mind? But he was stopped by a voice from heaven which said; '0 Muhammad (pbuh) you are the Messenger of Allah, and I am Gabriel.' He looked up at the sky and wherever he turned he saw the Archangel Gabriel.
In a state of confusion he returned home to Khadijah. When his wife saw him she became very worried as he began to shiver, as though in a fever. He asked her to wrap him in blankets, which she did. After a while he recovered sufficiently to tell her what had happened at Hira'. Khadijah believed all that he told her and with great respect said: 'Be happy, 0 son of my uncle and be confident. Truly I swear by Allah who has my soul in His hands, that you will be our people's Prophet.' Muhammad (pbuh),
the Messenger of Allah, was eased by her faith in him, but after all that had happened he was exhausted and felt fast asleep.
Khadijah left the Prophet (pbuh) sleeping and went to see her cousin, Waraqah Ibn Nawfal, to ask him what he thought about all that had happened. Waraqah was a very wise man who had read many books and had become a Christian after studying the Bible. He told Khadijah that Muhammad (pbuh) had been chosen by Allah to be His Messenger. Just as the Archangel Gabriel had come to Moses before and had ordered him to guide his people, so, too, would Muhammad (pbuh) be the Prophet of his people. But Waraqah warned that all the people would not listen to the Prophet and some would mistreat his followers. He must, however, be patient because he had a great message for all the world. From that day on, the Archangel Gabriel came often to the Prophet (pbuh) and the verses he taught him, the message from Allah to man, were later written down, and are known to us as the Holy.
In the Muslim tradition, Satan, is regarded as a djinn made out of fire, rather than an angel made out of light. This supports the Islamic notion of angels being creations that would not be accountable since they lack free will. When God commands the angels to bow to Adam, Satan is also present and refuses due to his pride, and is summarily banished from the heavens. Liberal movements within Islam have viewed God's commanding the angels to bow before Adam as an exaltation of humanity, and as a means of supporting human rights.
Al-Qummi records the opinion that Eden was not on earth but in heaven. After disobeying God, God sends Adam and Eve to earth, arriving first at mountain peaks outside Mecca; Adam on Safa, and Eve on Marwa. In this account, Adam remained weeping for 40 days, until he repented, at which point God rewarded him by sending down the Kaaba, and teaching him the hajj. The Quran does not mention Adam's weeping but it does mention the forgiveness he was granted.
The Qur'an also describes the two sons of Adam (named Qabil and Habil in Islamic tradition, but not mentioned by name in the Qur'an) that correspond to Cain and Abel.
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Quran's Noah lives for a total of 1000 years, with the Flood coming in his 950th year; (In later tradition, only 83 people are willing to submit, i.e., become Muslim, "those who accept a peaceful yield to the god" with God; these 83 are saved with Noah. It is mankind's obduracy which eventually brings the wrath of God on the unbelievers.
The theme of the Quranic story is the unity of Allah and the need to seek peace with Him. The narrative does not include the Genesis account of Noah's drunkenness, and the possibility of the Curse of Ham narrative is in fact implicitly excluded: Qur'an doesn’t mention the number of Noah’s sons. Nevertheless the traditions of Prophet Mohammed clearly mention that Noah had three sons, and that all the population descended from them., and a fourth son who does not join his father despite Noah's final plea to be saved ("O my son! Come ride with us, and be not with the disbelievers!"); instead he flees to the mountains and drowns in the flood and God tells Noah that this is because he is an evildoer. (In later Islamic tradition the son is given the name Kenan, "Canaan").
ـــــــــــــ
Four thousand years ago, the valley of Mecca was a dry and uninhabited place. According to Islamic history, the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) was instructed to bring Hajar and their child Ismael to Arabia from the land of Israel - Canaan - by God's command. As Ibrahim made ready to return to the land of Canaan, Hajar asked him, "Who ordered you to leave us here"? When Ibrahim replied: "God", Hajar said, "then God will not forget us; you can go". Although Ibrahim had left a large quantity of food and water with Hajar and Ismael, the supplies quickly ran out and within a few days the two were suffering from hunger and dehydration. According to the story, a desparate Hajar ran up and down between two hills called Safa and Marwa seven times, trying to find water. Finally she collapsed beside her baby Ismael and prayed to God for deliverance. Ismael struck his foot on the ground, and this caused a spring of water to gush forth from the earth. Other accounts have the angel Jibral (Gabriel) striking the earth and starting a spring to flow. With this secure water supply, they were not only able to provide for their own needs, but were also able to trade water with passing nomads for food and supplies. When the Prophet Ibrahim returned from Canaan to check on his family, he was amazed to see them running a profitable well. The Prophet Ibrahim was told by God to build a shrine dedicated to him adjacent to Hajar's well (the Zamzam Well). Ibrahim and Ismael constructed a small stone structure–-the Kaaba--which was to be the gathering place for all who wished to strengthen their faith in God. As the years passed, Ismael was blessed with Prophethood and he gave the nomads of the desert his message of surrender to God. After many centuries, Mecca became a thriving city and a major center for trade, thanks to its reliable water source, the well of Zamzam
ــــــــــــ
Aziz's wife, who was disappointed by Yusuf, complained to her husband, saying: "Yusuf had made me infamous among the women of Egypt, and has disgraced me. Now, if you want my fame returned and this stain removed from my reputation, you must put him in prison."
Although Aziz had seen with his eyes the pruity of Yusuf, and one of his household had testified to his innocence, he sent Yusuf to prison for a time, even though he was innocent.
On the day that Yusuf was taken to prison, two other young men were also taken there with him. One of them was the king's butler and the other, his cook. They had been accused of intending to poison the king.
The next day, the butler came to Yusuf and said: "In my dream, I saw myself pressing grapes for the king." And the cook said: "I dreamt I was carrying bread on my head and the birds were eating it. Tell us what our dreams mean. We see that what you do it honest and your nobility is obvious."
Yusuf realized that these men were ready to listen to him, so he took the chance of propogating his religion in prison and said: "Before they shall bring you food, I shall tell you its interpretation. This is what my Lord has taught me. Surely I have rejected the religion of the people who did not believe in Allah and denied the existence of life after death. I follow the religon of my forefathers; Ibrahim, Ishaq, and Yaqub. It is not right for us to believe there is more than one God."
"O my fellow prisoners, can anyone prefer useless and false gods to the One Mighty Allah? The false gods that you and your fathers worshipped were not true. Allah (swt) has sent down no authority for them."
After showing the right way, Yusuf began to interpret their dreams, and said: "O my fellow prisoners, one of you, the one who dreamt that he was making wine, will soon be freed, and will start his work in the palace. The other will be hanged and the birds will eat from his head. This is the interpretation of your dreams."
Then Yusuf said to himself: " Now that the king's butler is to be freed, and will return to the king's court, it would be better to ask him to tell the king of my innocence, perchance I may be freed from prison."
Their dreams came true, exactly as Yusuf had told them - the butler was saved and the cook was executed. unfortunately, the butler forgot Yusuf after he was freed, and Yusuf remained in prison for some years.
One morning, when the king got up, he seemed distressed by a dream he had in the night. He sumoned the wise men and told them about the dream. He said: "I saw seven fat and beautiful cows coming out of the river and start grazing in the pasture. Later, seven thin and ugly cows came out of the water and ate the other seven up. Then I saw seven green ears of wheat and seven whithered ones. Now, interpret my dream." They thought for a while, looked at each other, and as they could not find any reasonable explanation, shook their heads and said: "We don't have any interpretation for your dream. What you had, must have been a nightmare."
The king's dream was Allah's way of rescuing Yusuf from prison. The forgetful butler at last remembered what Yusuf had told him. He immediately went to the king and said: O king! There is a young, learned, noble, pious man in your prison who is skilful in the interpretations of dreams. Allow me to go to the prison and ask him about your dream." The king allowed the butler to go to the prison. He went to Yusuf and said: "O truthful Yusuf, tell me about the king's dream." Then he retold the king's dream to Yusuf. Yusuf, who was Allah's divine prophet, had a mission to improve the people's secular life as well as their faith. He not only interpreted the king's dream, but also gave the solution to the problem. He said: "In Egypt, there will be seven years of excellent harvest followed by seven years of famine, and people will suffer hunger. So people should grow lots of wheat, use only as much as they need, and store the rest in the storehouses, so that it can be used in the seven years of famine."
When the butler heard the interpretation, he went to the king quickly and explained what he had heard from Yusuf. The explaination removed sorrow from the king's face. He found the interpretation of his dream to be logical, and realized it had come from a noble mind. The king ordered Yusuf to come to the court and stay there and help him with his noble ideas. The king's men went to the prison to free Yusuf, but he refused to leave, although freedom was so important to him, as he had been suffering in prison for years, deprived of seeing the sun, the moon and the stars, having had no good food nor a sound sleep. In spite of all these past hardships, and the king's pardon, he still refused to leave. He said: "Go and say to the king that I won't leave the prison until he sorts out my past so that my innocence can be proved to the public, and say to the king to go ask the noble ladies of Egypt why they cut their fingers at the party given by Aziz's wife and why they bothered me."
The king's men inevitably returned to him and told him the case. The king recalled the ladies of Egypt (whom possibly Yusuf had introduced by name), and asked them about the story of cutting their hands at the party. All those women confessed and testified that Yusuf was innocent. In the end, Aziz's wife also admitted that she had been wrong and Yusuf had been innocent. Thus Yusuf, glad to be proved truthful and honourable, left the jail.
ــــــــــــ
Muslims believe in the virginal conception of Jesus by Mary (Arabic: Maryam), which is recounted throughout several passages in the Qur'an. According to the Qur'anic narrative, Mary had withdrawn into a temple and was visited by an angel an agent of divine action or communication commonly identified in Islam with the angel Gabriel (Arabic: Jibreel) but also with the created spirit from God by which he enlivened Adam. He proclaimed to her the conception of Jesus. Mary was startled, for she had vowed her virginity to God and intended to retain it. The angel reassured her, stating that such a conception was easy for God, who wished to make from her a sign to men and a mercy from Him. The Qur'an describes the conception as the result of a creative decree made by God, similar to the creation of Adam. Some Qur'anic exegetes describe the event of conception as the angel's breathing into the cloak of Mary; which, upon putting it on, resulted in Jesus being conceived. Afterwards, Mary withdrew "to a distant place.
After delivering Jesus, Mary was overtaken by the pangs of childbirth, resting near the trunk of a palm tree. Jesus then addressed her from the cradle, to instruct her to shake the tree and obtain its fruits and also to allay Mary's fears of a scandal surrounding his conception. She then showed the new-born to her family, and in silencing immodest rumors he declared: "Lo, I am God's servant; God has given me the Book, and made me a Prophet. Blessed he has made me, wherever I may be; and He has enjoined me to pray, and to give alms, so long as I live and likewise to cherish my mother."
According to Islamic texts, Jesus was divinely chosen to preach the message of monotheism and submission to the will of God to the Children of Israel. Muslims believe that God revealed to Jesus a new scripture, the Inj?l (gospel), while also declaring the truth of the previous revelations - the Tawrat (Torah) and the Zabur (Psalms). It is unclear or unknown whether Jesus declared the truth of the other holy book of Islam at that time, the Suhuf Ibrahim. Written 700 years after Jesus' life on earth, the Qur'an speaks favorably of the Inj?l, which it describes as a scripture that fills the hearts of its followers with meekness and pity. Muslims believe that Biblical manuscripts (both the Torah and the Inj?l) have become distorted over time in text, interpretation, or both.
The Qur'an states that Jesus was aided by a group of disciples (haw?riy?n) who believed in Jesus' message, and termed themselves the ans?r ("helpers") of God. He was also strengthened by the same holy spirit that visited his mother Mary. Jesus is also depicted in Islam as having been given miracles as evidence of his prophetic mission. Such miracles, all performed by the leave of God, include: speaking while still in the cradle; breathing life into clay models of birds; curing a leper and a life-long blind man; raising the dead; and requesting the descent of a table from heaven upon which was a feast, upon petition of his disciples. Some Muslim accounts also relate that the Islamic prophet Yahya ibn Zakariyya (known otherwise as John the Baptist) traveled to Palestine and met Jesus at the Jordan river.
According to some Muslim traditions, Jesus was replaced by a double; others suggest it was Simon of Cyrene, or one of the disciples such as Judas Iscariot. Some others view it as Jesus surviving the crucification. A minority of commentaries of Ismaili or rationalist (fal?sifa) leaning affirmed the crucifixion by arguing that Jesus' body had been crucified, but his spirit had ascended. However, this interpretation was generally rejected, and according to the Encyclopedia of Islam, there was unanimous agreement amongst the scholars in denying the crucifixion. Modern commentators such as M. Hayek interpret the verse to say that the crucifixion "seemed thus to them"
Allah would send Christ, son of Mary, and he will descend at the white minaret in the eastern side of Damascus wearing two garments lightly dyed with saffron and placing his hands on the wings of two Angels. When he would lower his head, there would fall beads of perspiration from his head, and when he would raise it up, beads like pearls would scatter from it. Every non-believer who would smell the odour of his self would die and his breath would reach as far as he would be able to see. He would then search for him (Dajjal) until he would catch hold of him at the gate of Ludd and would kill him. Then a people whom Allah had protected would come to Jesus, son of Mary, and he would wipe their faces and would inform them of their ranks in Paradise and it would be under such conditions that Allah would reveal to Jesus these words: I have brought forth from amongst My servants such people against whom none would be able to fight; you take these people safely to The Mount, and then Allah would send Gog and Magog and they would swarm down from every slope
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Muhammad (pbuh) believed that there was only one Allah, Creator of the sun, the moon, the earth, the sky, and of all living things, and that all people should worship only Him. Muhammad (pbuh) would often leave the crowded city and go to the cave in Mount Hira'. He liked to be alone there, away from all thoughts of the world and daily life, eating and drinking little. In his fortieth year, Muhammad (pbuh) left Mecca to spend Ramadan,
the traditional month of retreat, in the cave. In the second half of Ramadan, Allah began to reveal His message for mankind through Muhammad (pbuh). This first Revelation occurred as follows. The Archangel Gabriel came to Muhammad (pbuh) in the cave and commanded him to 'Read'. Muhammad (pbuh) replied 'I cannot read.' At this the Archangel took Muhammad (pbuh) in his arms and pressed him to him until it was almost too much to bear. He then released him and said again 'Read.' 'I cannot', replied Muhammad (pbuh), at which the Archangel embraced him again. For the third time the Archangel commanded Muhammad (pbuh) to read, but still he said he could not and was again embraced. On releasing him this time, however, the Archangel Gabriel said:
"Read: In the Name of thy Lord who createth, Createth man from a clot. Read: And thy Lord is the Most Generous Who teacheth by the pen, Teacheth man that which he knew not. (Koran xcvi.1-5) Muhammad (pbuh) repeated these verses, just as the Archangel had said them.
When the Archangel was sure Muhammad (pbuh) knew them by heart, he went away. Now that he was alone Muhammad (pbuh) could not understand what had happened to him. He was terribly afraid and rushed out of the cave. Perhaps the cave was haunted? Perhaps the devil had taken a hold of his mind? But he was stopped by a voice from heaven which said; '0 Muhammad (pbuh) you are the Messenger of Allah, and I am Gabriel.' He looked up at the sky and wherever he turned he saw the Archangel Gabriel.
In a state of confusion he returned home to Khadijah. When his wife saw him she became very worried as he began to shiver, as though in a fever. He asked her to wrap him in blankets, which she did. After a while he recovered sufficiently to tell her what had happened at Hira'. Khadijah believed all that he told her and with great respect said: 'Be happy, 0 son of my uncle and be confident. Truly I swear by Allah who has my soul in His hands, that you will be our people's Prophet.' Muhammad (pbuh),
the Messenger of Allah, was eased by her faith in him, but after all that had happened he was exhausted and felt fast asleep.
Khadijah left the Prophet (pbuh) sleeping and went to see her cousin, Waraqah Ibn Nawfal, to ask him what he thought about all that had happened. Waraqah was a very wise man who had read many books and had become a Christian after studying the Bible. He told Khadijah that Muhammad (pbuh) had been chosen by Allah to be His Messenger. Just as the Archangel Gabriel had come to Moses before and had ordered him to guide his people, so, too, would Muhammad (pbuh) be the Prophet of his people. But Waraqah warned that all the people would not listen to the Prophet and some would mistreat his followers. He must, however, be patient because he had a great message for all the world. From that day on, the Archangel Gabriel came often to the Prophet (pbuh) and the verses he taught him, the message from Allah to man, were later written down, and are known to us as the Holy.
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