Significance of Jesus' conception and birth in the Last Judgement

In our last blog post, we expressed the view that, at the Last Judgement, Allah will single Jesus out positively among all the other messengers. “Then will Allah say: "O Jesus the son of Mary! Recount My favour to thee and to thy mother.” (Maide 5:110a).

Significance of Jesus' conception and birth in the Last Judgement

As we explained, correctly understanding the truth about Jesus is crucial in God's judgement of the followers of the prophets. In this blog, we will explore the aspects of Jesus' life that are so important to God that they form the basis of His judgement on the Day of Resurrection. When answering this question, we must always bear in mind the comparison with Adam's status before God at the beginning of creation, since Jesus' status before Allah is similar to Adam's at the time of his creation (Al-i Imran 3:59).

When recounting the favours shown to Jesus, God first recalls specific events from his earthly life.

• the favour shown to Mary and Jesus;

• being endowed with the Holy Spirit;

• the gift of prophetic speech, both as an infant and an adult;

• receiving the full divine revelation of the Book, Wisdom, Torah and Gospel;

• performing various miracles with God's permission;

• being protected from physical attacks by Jesus' opponents;

• being provided with supportive followers (v. 111).

As this conversation is taking place in front of all the messengers who have ever appeared in world history and the religious communities that came into existence through them, rather than in private between Allah and Jesus, we must ask ourselves what important messages God wants to convey to the Jewish, Christian and Muslim communities. We will explore this question through an in-depth discussion of each of the above topics.

Grace shown to Jesus and Mary:

First, God emphasises the grace that He has shown to Jesus and his mother Mary: ‘Remember My grace which I have bestowed upon you and your mother...’ (Maide 5:110). The Qur'an describes the joint activities of the two as being limited to the extraordinary conception and birth of Jesus (hereafter referred to as 'C-B') and Mary's visit with her baby Jesus to her relatives after the birth. The context makes it clear that this grace refers to the extraordinary 'C-B' of Jesus, and not merely to a general introduction to what follows1. Mary's visit with her baby Jesus to her relatives is mentioned separately in Maide 5:110 and is immediately followed by the verse about Jesus being strengthened by the Holy Spirit. All other points listed in this verse refer exclusively to Jesus, not his mother. Therefore, this first point does not constitute a general introduction, but the grace shown best fits the 'C-B'. We conclude, that what God considers decisive in Jesus' life and work is, first and foremost, his conception and birth.

a) Contents of the grace shown at Jesus' 'C-B'

From the accounts of Jesus' ‘C-B’ (Al-i ʿImrān 3:42–47; Meryem 19:16–27), we learn that God's grace was manifested in Mary conceiving a son miraculously, without the involvement of a man, through God's intervention alone. An angel announced this good news to her: "O Mary! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a Word from Him: his name will be Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honour in this world and the Hereafter and of (the company of) those nearest to Allah;' (Al-i Imran 3:45). The angel dismisses Mary's reservations, 'How shall I have a son, seeing that no man has touched me, and I am not unchaste?' with the remark that God ‘creates what He wills’ (Al-i İmran 3:47). The angel also states: 'Your Lord said: ´It is easy for Me,´ and that: ´We shall make him a sign for men and a blessing from Us.´ This is a thing already decreed." (Meryem 19:21).

According to these verses, the mercy that God showed Jesus at his conception is as follows:

• Allah created him in Mary's womb without the involvement of a man.

• This method of creation had been decided upon by Allah long ago (Al-i Imran 3:47 and Meryem 19:21). The arrival of Jesus thus fulfils God's long-cherished plan.

• Jesus is, in a sense, the 'embodiment' of a word of Allah2 (Al-i Imran 3:45).

• Through this extraordinary creation, Jesus becomes a ‘sign for mankind’ (Meryem 19:21);

• Furthermore, through this sign, God shows mercy to humanity (Meryem 19:21).

In Al-i Imran 3:42, the grace that God bestowed upon Mary in connection with the conception of Jesus is described: 'The angels said: "O Mary, indeed God has favoured you and made you immaculate, and chosen you from all the women of the world' (al-`aalamuun) (Ahmet Ali). The grace shown to Mary therefore lies in:

• her selection,

• God's act of purification, and

• her primacy over all other women in the world.

• Enbiya 12:91 cites yet another aspect of the grace bestowed upon Mary: 'And (remember) her who guarded her chastity: We breathed into her of Our spirit, and We made her and her son a sign for all peoples'  (al-`aalamuun).3 Sayyid Qutb comments: 'What a great honour to be bestowed upon her. She is chosen to receive the Divine spirit directly in the same way as Adam, the first human being to be created, received it. She is to be the means through which this miraculous event is shown to humanity. It is an event which has not been repeated in the entire history of mankind. Hence, it is undoubtedly a great moment.'4 Qutb rightly emphasises here that Mary's pre-eminence among women is based on the extraordinary nature of the miracle that happened to her. God's spirit is breathed into Mary, just as it was breathed into Adam at the beginning of creation. Unlike many Muslim commentators, Qutb does not classify the breathed spirit as a created, angel-like being5, but recognises it as the divine, uncreated, eternal spirit of God6.

Ultimately, it is the infusion of God's own spirit that gives Jesus' 'C-B' its extraordinary significance. This results in Mary and Jesus becoming symbols for humanity and in God mentioning them at the Last Judgement as recipients of His mercy. The similarity of this event to the creation of Adam is of particular interest to us here, based on Al-i Imran 3:59. Although Sura 3 does not compare the ‘C-B’ of Jesus with the creation of Adam (see earlier blogs), this comparison is nevertheless theologically relevant. This is particularly pertinent when considering the event described in Maide 5:110. At the beginning of the second creation, Allah reminds all messengers and their followers that the creation of Jesus on earth is akin to the creation of Adam at the beginning of the first creation. In both cases, their coming into existence through God breathing his spirit into them is of extraordinary significance. At the beginning of the first creation, this breathing distinguishes Adam from the angels as God's caliph (Bakara 2:30–34). This is why, in the first creation, God demands that His messengers prostrate themselves in obedience before Adam: ‘When I have fashioned him (in due proportion) and breathed into him of My spirit, fall ye down in obeisance unto him (qa`uu lahuu saadschidiena)!’ (Sad 38:72). Ali Ünal adds the following explanation in brackets, '(as a sign of respect for him and his superiority)'.

It is extremely thought-provoking that, at the beginning of the second creation and in connection with the selection of an intercessor from among His messengers, Allah refers to this same event at the start of the first creation. As explained in detail in relation to Al-i Imran 3:59, Jesus is the firstborn of the second creation. Could the emphasis on the similarity between Jesus' 'C-B' on Earth and the creation of Adam in Paradise symbolically indicate Jesus' position in the second creation, which will become apparent to all at the Last Judgement? Does the significance of the sign that he and his mother represent for all people lie in the fact that it points to Jesus as the firstborn of the second creation? Should humanity have recognised Jesus as God's caliph in the second creation thanks to his 'C-B'? And thus given him the honour due to the one in such a position?

Angel blows divine Spirit into Mary's womb

Satan's disobedience to God's caliph, Adam, resulted in enmity between Satan and humankind. This led to humankind being exiled to Earth for a period of time. At the end of this period, at the Last Judgement and reunion with God, the same question arises: Did the followers of the prophets recognise Jesus as the one blessed with God's Spirit, and did they behave towards him in accordance with God's will? Or did they, like Satan at that time, fail to understand the significance of God breathing his spirit into matter, and therefore behave inappropriately towards Jesus?

Understanding the significance of Jesus' conception and birth correctly will be decisive in the Last Judgement. For those Jews who made a 'grave false charge' against Mary (Nisa 4:156), and for all those who failed to recognise the significance of Jesus' 'C-B' during their earthly lives, the first blessing that Allah bestowed upon Jesus and his mother is a powerful indictment.

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1 See Qutb: 'Here we have a full account of the various aspects of grace bestowed by God on Jesus and his mother, Mary. To start with, he was supported by the Holy Spirit in his infancy.' (In the Shade of the Quran, All in One, p. 1337).

2 'In the construction of the sentence [in Al-i Imran 3:45], the name “the Christ” is a substitute for the term “a word”. Yet, he is indeed the “Word”.' And as with difficult Koranic statements about Jesus, Qutb continues in his usual manner: 'What does this expression actually mean? This and similar statements are of those matters which lie beyond our human perception. There is no way to determine what they precisely mean.' (Sayyid Qutb, In the Shade of the Quran, All in One, p. 513.)

3 See also Tahrim 66:12: 'And Mary the daughter of 'Imran, who guarded her chastity; and We breathed into (her body) of Our spirit; and she testified to the truth of the words of her Lord and of His Revelations, and was one of the devout (servants).'

4 Sayyid Qutb, In the Shade of the Quran, All in One, p. 511.

5 Many follow Taberi's idea that the angel blew through Mary's clothes and Mary became pregnant with Allah's permission (see Taberi Tefsiri, Vol. 5, Meryem Suresi, s. 404 in https://archive.org/details/taberitefsiri3_201912/Taberi%20Tefsiri-5/page/n403/mode/2up?view=theater), i.e. the assumption that the breathed spirit ranks among angels, but is not God's own spirit. See also Ibn Al Kathir on Tahrim 66:12: ‚And We breathed into it (private part) through Our Ruh, meaning, through the angel Jibril. Allah sent the angel Jibril to Maryam, and he came to her in the shape of a man in every respect. Allah commanded him to blow into a gap of her garment and that breath went into her womb through her private part; this is how `Isa was conceived.' (in https://quranx.com/tafsirs/66.12).

6 'Now the question arises as to whether the reference in these two surahs [Meryem 19:17 and Tahrim 66:12] is to the same thing or not. From our point of view, the references would appear to be different on each occasion. In the present surah, Mary, it refers to Gabriel, the Holy Spirit, who was God's emissary to Mary. In Surah 66, The Prohibition, it refers to the spirit that God breathed into Adam when He created him to make of him a human being. He again breathed of it into Mary to bring about her conception. It is this divine breathing of the spirit that gives life with all its human characteristics. These include the qualities and faculties that enable man to be in contact with the Supreme Society, while also giving him his human feelings, intellect, thought, emotions and inspiration. In Mary’s case, Gabriel carried this breath of the spirit from God to place it into her. We must also add however that we do not know anything about the nature of the spirit, neither when it refers to Gabriel himself, nor when it has a different connotation. Both belong to the realm which is beyond our perception. We simply try to understand the relevant text in the two surahs and consider that the usage differs in each case. (Sayyid Qutb, In the Shade of the Quran, Surah 19, s. 270 in https://archive.org/details/in-the-shade-of-the-quran/019%20%D9%85%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%85%20Maryam%20%28Maryam%29/page/269/mode/2up?view=theater (visited: 03/05/2023).