The Miracles of Jesus |
   Description: A look at some of the miracles of Jesus mentioned in the Quran, with a brief comparison with Christian sources. By IslamReligion.comPublished on 22 May 2006 - Last modified on 25 Jun 2012 Viewed: 24225 (daily average: 11) - Rating: - Rated by: 16 Printed: 697 - Emailed: 32 - Commented on: 0 Category: Articles > Comparative Religion > Jesus |
 Jesus
in the Quran holds one of the highest statures amongst the Prophets. Unlike
other Prophets who performed miracles, Jesus himself was a miracle, as he was
born of a virgin mother, and God describes him and his mother Mary as such:
“…and We made her (Mary) and her son
(Jesus) a sign for the worlds.” (Quran 21:91)
Nonetheless, in the Quran, Jesus
is described as having many miracles not bestowed upon other prophets. God
says:
“And We gave unto Jesus, son of Mary,
clear miracles” (Quran 2:87)
The following is a brief
description of the miracles performed by Jesus mentioned in the Quran.
1. A Table Laden with Food
In the fifth chapter of the
Quran, “The Table Laden with Food” – named after this miracle of Jesus, God
narrates how the disciples of Jesus requested him to ask God to send down a
table laden with food, and for it to be a special day of commemoration for them
in the future.
“When the disciples said: O Jesus, son
of Mary! Is your Lord able to send down for us a table spread with food from
heaven? He said: Observe your duty to God, if ye are true believers. They
said: We desire to eat of it and our hearts be at rest, and that We may know
that you have spoken truth to us, and that We may be witnesses thereof. Jesus,
son of Mary, said: 'O God, our Lord, send down for us a Table laden with food
out of heaven, that shall be for us a recurring festival, the first and last of
us, and a miracle from You. And provide us our sustenance, for You are the best
of providers!” (Quran 5:112-114)
Since the occasion was to be
“for us a recurring festival,” it is likely the Last Supper,[1] also called the Lord's Supper,
Breaking of Bread, Eucharist, or Communion. The Eucharist has always been at
the center of Christian worship. Encyclopedia
Britannica says:
“Eucharist is a Christian
sacrament commemorating the action of Jesus at his Last Supper with his
disciples … The letters of Paul and the Acts of the Apostles make it clear that
early Christianity believed that this institution included a mandate to continue
the celebration… The Eucharist has formed a central rite of Christian
worship.”[2]
2. While Still in the Cradle
One of the miracles mentioned in
the Quran, although not mentioned in the Bible, is that fact that Jesus, while
still in the cradle, spoke out to protect his mother Mary from any accusations
people may have placed on her due to having a child without a father. When she
was approached about this strange incident after her childbirth, Mary merely
pointed to Jesus, and he miraculously spoke, just as God had promised her upon
annunciation.
“He shall speak to people while still
in the cradle, and in manhood, and he shall be from the righteous.” (Quran
3:46)
Jesus said to the people:
“I am indeed a slave of God. He has
given me the Book and made me a Prophet, and He has made me blessed wherever I
may be. And He has enjoined upon me prayers, and to pay the alms, as long as I
live and (He has made me) kind to my mother, and He has not made me insolent,
unblessed. And may Peace be upon me the day I was born, and the day I die, and
on the Day I shall be raised to life.” (Quran 19:30-33)
3. And It Becomes a Bird
God mentions a miracle given to
none other in the Quran but Jesus, one which is quite parallel to how God
himself created Adam. This miracle was one which none can argue its greatness.
God mentions in the Quran that Jesus says:
“I create for you out of clay the
likeness of a bird, then I breathe into it and it becomes a bird with God’s
permission.” (Quran 3:49)
This miracle is not found in the
New Testament, but it is found in the non-canonical ‘Infancy Gospel of Thomas,’
“When this boy, Jesus, was five years old, he was playing at the ford of a
rushing stream… he then made soft clay and shaped it into twelve sparrows… but
Jesus simply clapped his hands and shouted to the sparrows: “Be off, fly away,
and remember me, you who are now alive!” And the sparrows took off and flew
away noisily.” (Infancy Gospel of Thomas:2)
4. Healing the Blind and the Leper
Similar to the New Testament[3], The Quran also mentions Jesus to
a have healed the blind and lepers.
“I also heal the blind and the leper.”
(Quran 3:49)
The Jews during the time of Jesus
were quite advanced in the science of medicine and were quite proud of their
achievements. For this reason, miracles of this nature were given by God to
Jesus, ones which the Jews could well understand that no force in nature could
perform its like.
5. The Resurrection of the Dead
“…and I bring to life the dead, by the
permission of God.” (Quran 3:49)
This, like the creation of a
bird, was a miracle of incomparable nature, one which should have caused the
Jews to believe in the prophethood of Jesus without doubt. In the New
Testament, we read three cases where Jesus brought the dead back to life by
God’s permission - the daughter of Jairus (Matt 9:18, 23; Mark 5:22, 35; Luke
8:40, 49), the widow's son at Nain (Luke 7:11), and Lazarus (John 11:43).
6. The Provisions of Today and Tomorrow
Jesus was given the miracle of
knowing what people had just eaten, as well as what they had in store for the
coming days. God says.
“I inform you too of what things you
eat, and what you store up in your houses. Surely in that is a sign for you, if
you are believers.” (Quran 3:49)
A Demonstration of Truth
Similar to other prophets, Jesus
performed miracles to convince skeptics of his truthfulness, not to demonstrate
his divinity. The Quran says:
“Surely in that is a sign for
you, if you are believers.” (Quran 3:49)
These miracles were performed
only by the Will of God, had he not willed them to occur, they could never come
to be. God explicitly states this in the Quran, saying that they were:
“…by the permission of God” (Quran
3:49; 5:10)
Although Muslims can not
confirm it, the Bible, through certain narrations, states that Jesus at times
failed to perform miracles. Once when Jesus tried to heal a blind man, he was
not healed after the first attempt, and Jesus had to try a second time (Mark 8:
22-26). In another instance, “He could not do any miracles there, except lay
his hands on a few sick people and heal them.”(Mark 6:5)
The fact remains that indeed it
was not through his own will that Jesus or any other prophet performed miracles.
Rather, they were performed only by Will of God Almighty - a fact also
explicitly stated in the Bible:
“A man attested to you by
God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through him
in your midst.” (Acts 2:22)
Footnotes:
[1] Matt. 26:17–29; Mark 14:12–25;
Luke 22:7–38; I Cor. 11:23–25
[2] “Eucharist.” Encyclopædia
Britannica from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service.
(http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9033174)
[3] Healing the blind (Matt 8:2, Mark
1:40, Luke 5:12, Luke 17:11), and the leper (Matt 9:27, Matt 8:22; 20:30, Mark
10:46, Luke 18:35, and John 9:1)
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