Thanks for sharing your personal story.
“Islam is broadly considered to have been founded when the Angel Jibreel descended upon the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) at Mount Hira in 610 A.D.”
(UK Islamic Mission, ”When Did Islam Begin?”)
Do you agree with this Islamic source on the founding date of Islam?
Do you / does Islam affirm that Jesus is a Jew?
Good day, Brother.
Happy New Year.
The scholarly consensus is that the first revelation of the Qur’an came to the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) in the Hira Cave, near Mecca, in 610 CE; and that these revelations continued – at intervals – for the following 23 years.
The first revelation was very brief, consisting of just five ʾāyāt, beginning with the imperative verb ‘
iq'ra’ – meaning ‘read’ or ‘recite’.
‘Read! In the name of your Lord who created: He created man from a clinging form. Read! Your Lord is the Most Bountiful One who taught by (means of) the pen, who taught man what he did not know.’ (Al- Alaq:1-5).
It is important to emphasise (and the site you reference has not done this) that the Prophet did not bring a new religion; rather, he conveyed truths that have existed since the very beginning of humankind’s relationship with the Beloved.
That:
The Beloved is our Creator and Lord; that He is absolutely perfect; that He is infinite in every perfection; that He is the True God, possessing an infinite power of cognition; that He is absolute Veracity; that He is is absolutely faithful; that He is absolute ontological Goodness in Himself, and in relation to others; that He is is absolute Moral Goodness or Holiness; that He is absolute Benignity; that He is absolutely immutable; that He is eternal and everywhere present in created space; that His knowledge is infinite; that His Attributes really are identical among themselves, and with His Essence; that He is omnipotent; that He is Lord of the heavens and of the earth; and that He is infinitely just, and infinitely merciful.
And:
That human existence does not end at death, but that all will experience resurrection, judgement, reward and retribution; that Heaven and Hell are realities; that polytheism and idolatry are unacceptable, for there is only one Lord; and that the Beloved requires nothing less than a complete change in one’s way of life, through repentance and right action.
The
Hijrah (migration to Medina) in 622 created the first Islamic state; a state responsible for its own development and protection.
In an essay entitled ‘The Qur’an as a Source of Islamic Law’, Aḥmad Muḥammad al-Ṭayyib writes:
‘The Madinan parts of the Quran are distinguished by the promulgation of laws for personal affairs, society, and the state, including rules of marriage, child nursing (
raḍāʿah), family maintenance (
nafaqah), inheritance (
mīrāth), usury (
ribā), commercial transactions (
buyūʿ) retribution (
qiṣāṣ) and struggle in society and in the path of God (
jihād) – all of the different laws that came to be a matter of concern for Muslims as soon as they were constituted as a community, with a state of their own, social institutions, an army, and a leader.’ (‘The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary’; by Seyyed Hossein Nasr, et al).
In a nutshell:
There are – for the various human communities – different ways of revering and worshipping the Beloved, who has revealed, not one law, but many; and to each law corresponds a particular path that is based upon the performance of rites specific to that form of worship:
‘We have appointed acts of devotion for every community to observe, so do not let them argue with you (Prophet) about this matter. Call them to your Lord – you are on the right path – and if they argue with you, say, ‘Allāh is well aware of what you are doing.’ On the Day of Resurrection, Allāh will judge between you regarding your differences.’ (Al-Hajj: 67-69).
The Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) revealed the law – and taught the path – set out (by the Beloved) for those who embrace the community of ‘Islam’.
……………………………………………………..
Concerning the lineage of Yeshua (ʿalayhi as-salām):
‘Allāh chose Adam, Noah, Abraham’s family, and the family of Imran, over all other people, in one line of descent – Allāh hears and knows all. Imran’s wife said: “Lord, I have dedicated what is growing in my womb entirely to You; so, accept this from me. You are the One who hears and knows all”; but when she gave birth, she said: “My Lord! I have given birth to a girl” – Allāh knew best what she had given birth to: the male is not like the female – “I name her Mary and I commend her and her offspring to Your protection from the rejected Satan.” Her Lord graciously accepted her and made her grow in goodness, and entrusted her to the charge of Zachariah……...’ (Al‘Imran: 33-37).
As you know, Zachariah (Radi Allahu ‘anhu) was Mary’s uncle; and is regarded as a prophet of Islam; based on the following ʾāyah:
‘Zachariah, John, Jesus, and Elijah – every one of them was righteous – Ishmael, Elisha, Jonah, and Lot. We favoured each one of them over other people, and also some of their forefathers, their offspring, and their brothers: We chose them and guided them on a straight path. Such is Allāh’s guidance, with which He guides whichever of His servants He will. If they had associated other gods with Him, all their deeds would have come to nothing.’ (Al-An‘am: 85-88).
There is no doubt that Zachariah was a righteous man; worthy of being Mary’s spiritual guide and mentor.
There is no doubt that Mary (Radi Allahu ‘anha) – the only woman mentioned by name in the Qur’an – is of the
Banu Israel (the Children of Israel); and that Yeshua was her son.
It is necessary to trace Yeshua’s lineage through Mary since, as you know, Jewish heritage is passed matrilineally. This has been the teaching since the time of the covenant at Sinai, c 1310 BCE (cf; Sir – the Baron – Immanual Jakobovits: ‘The Timely and the Timeless’); consider also this comment from Chabad.org:
‘The Code of Jewish Law clearly states that a child of a Jewish mother is Jewish, regardless of the father’s lineage (or whatever else may show up in a DNA test), while the child of a non-Jewish mother is not Jewish. Matrilineal descent has been a fundamental principle of Torah since the Jewish people came into existence.’
By the way, a geezer by the name of Kenneth Donsky objects to Chabad’s claim, writing:
‘If Judaism is spread matrilineally then how are there any Jews? the first Jew was a man. check mate.’ (Chabad).
Good grief!
Simcha Bart – on behalf of Chabad – responds:
‘Halachic Jews were only established when the rules were given - at Mt. Sinai when G-d gave us the rules for everything in the Torah. This included who is a Jew and how to become a Jew. At the time the Torah was given it was a mass conversion of the entire Jewish people, because none of us were Jewish according to Halacha until then.’
Make of this what you will.
According to Islam, Yeshua (ʿalayhi as-salām) is also of the
Banu Israel; a Jew. I agree with this teaching.
Blessings.