This Kor'an

Chapter 2

Heavenly Sign To Mark The Birth Of Jesus!!!!

Heavenly Sign to Mark the Birth of Jesus as It is stated in the Bible that soon after the birth of Jesus as some wise men came from the east to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is he that is born King of Jews? for we have seen his star in the east.’1 T h is account, if it is true, tells us that a special star, known as the ‘Star of Bethlehem’ appeared in the sky to mark the birth of a very special child who was to spiritually lead the Israelites. The people, who had the knowledge of stars, might have recognised the star and known that such a child had been born.

T h is indeed was an extraordinary sign, but we know from the history of religion that God sometimes shows heavenly signs to inform people of great religious events. For example, in present times the eclipses of the sun and the moon occurred in 1894 within the same month of Ramadan according to the prophecy of the Prophet of Islam, to mark the advent of the Mahdi.

It is also related in the Bible that the star guided those wise men to the place where Jesus as was born. This seems to be an exaggeration. We know from our own experience that heavenly bodies like stars and the moon cannot lead us to a particular place. They seem to move along with us wherever we go. Again the Bible says that the men came and worshipped Jesus. This cannot be a true account either. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a pious lady. She believed in one God and worshipped Him alone. Therefore, she could not have allowed anyone to worship her child.

In spite of the fact that the Jews were waiting for the Messiah to 1. Matthew 2:2 The True Story of Jesusas 12 appear, they rejected Jesus as. They believed that the ‘King of Israel’ would come and lead them to victory over the Romans. They were expecting a mighty king who would come with power and glory.

Therefore, when Jesus as, who was of humble origin, claimed to be the Messiah, he was rejected outright. The Jews were indeed mis-taken. Jesus as did not claim to be a worldly king. He explained that his kingdom had nothing to do with this physical world.

Early Life of Jesus Jesus as was an intelligent child. He was obedient and dutiful to his mother and was very kind to every one. Being a specially blessed child, he spoke words of wisdom from his early childhood.

Whenever he was confronted with difficult and complex questions, his answers were so profound and wonderful as would not be expected.

Jesus as was merely a child when Mary decided to go back to her people. Th ey were riding a donkey when they entered the town.

When people learnt of their return they came out of their houses and surrounded Mary. They began to ridicule and taunt her and behaved mischievously towards her. They thought she had com-mitted a sin and censured her by saying, ‘O Mary, surely you have committed a monstrous thing. Your father was not a wicked man, nor was your mother an unchaste woman!’1 1. Holy Quran 19:28–29 The True Story of Jesusas 16 T h ere were many a rude remark from the people. Mary was deeply hurt but she did not say anything in reply. Instead she pointed towards Jesus as meaning that such a blessed child who was already showing signs of being in communion with God, could not have been the fruit of sin.

At this they said, ‘How can we talk to one who is merely a child in the cradle?’; meaning that the boy was too young to give them a meaningful explanation.

Jesus as told them, ‘I am a servant of Allah. He has given me the Book and has made me a Prophet; and He has made me blessed wheresoever I may be, and has enjoined upon me Prayer and almsgiving so long as I live; and has made me dutiful towards my mother, and has not made me arrogant and graceless.’1 People were amazed to listen to such talk. It seemed that God had already informed Jesus as, perhaps in his dreams, of the spiritual heights he was to climb. Many children because of their love of God are shown such signs. We read another example of such a case in the Holy Quran. Joseph as, son of Jacob as, when he was yet a small child, was also shown such dreams regarding the high spiritual status he would achieve in the future.

After listening to Jesus as some of the people were very impressed and stopped bothering Mary, while others thought that Mary had put all this into the child’s mind which he was just repeating in parrot-like fashion.

Jesus as lived in Nazareth, a small secluded town amongst the hills of Galilee, the land of pastures, olive groves and vineyards.

There is a veil of obscurity over the period from his childhood to 1. Holy Quran 19:30–33