Dâwûd (’alaihi ’s-salâm) was born about one thousand years before Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’. (Although the era of Hadrat Dâwûd’s sovereignty is said to be 1015-975 B.C., by some European historians, it is not known with certainty.) Hadrat Dâwûd was formerly a shepherd. Since he had a very attractive voice, he was taken to Tâlut,[106] the head of state. Afterwards he became his zither player. First, they became good friends and Tâlut made him his own intimate. But, Hadrat Dâwûd ‘alaihis-salâm’ was becoming more well known day by day. At the age of thirty he killed Goliath, a very huge man, with a stone thrown from his sling; upon this, the people admired him even more. However, Tâlut was alarmed and kept Dâwûd ‘alaihis-salâm’ away from himself. However, after Tâlut had passed away. Dâwûd ‘alaihis-salâm’, based on public demand, became his successor. It was he who, for the first time, ordered Jerusalem to be a capital city. The sovereignty of Dâwûd ‘alaihis-salâm’ lasted forty years. The fact that he received the holy book Psalms (Zabûr) is written in the 163rd verse of Chapter Nisa and the 55th verse of Chapter Isra in the Qur’ân al-kerîm. It is certain that Dâwûd ‘alaihis-salâm’ implored Allâhu ta’âlâ for mercy and forgiveness. In today’s Psalms, in the Holy Bible, there are some false scriptures which were added by an unscrupulous type. Because of these additions, it has lost its originality completely. Allâhu ta’âlâ granted Dâwûd ‘alaihis-salâm’ many great endowments. The meanings of the 10th verse of Chapter Saba:“We bestowed Grace aforetime on Dâwûd from Ourselves. O ye Mountains! sing ye back the praises of Allah with him! and ye birds (also)! And We made the iron soft for him.” And the meanings of the 17th-19th verses of Chapter Sâd: “O Muhammad! Remember Our slave Dâwûd. For he ever turned to Allah. It was We that made the mountains join him in praise morning and evening, and the birds, too; all were obedient to him.” And the meaning of the 25 th verse of Chapter Sâd: “In our sight Dâwûd has a great rank and a good future.” The ugly story written in today’s Tawrat and Bible stating: “The adventure between slave and his officer Uria’s wife named Bathseba”[107] is not true. Hadrat Ali (radiy-Allâhu ’anh), the fourth khalifa declared that he would beat those who told this false story by hitting them with a stick 160 times. The interpretation of the 26 th verse of Chapter Sâd written in the tafsîr book Mawakîb is: “Urya sent a message to a girl named Teshamu to inform her that he wanted to marry her. Though the girl accepted, her relatives did not. They spoke ill of Urya to the girl. Meanwhile, Dâwûd ‘alaihis-salâm’ also wanted to marry Teshama. After Urya had died in a war, the girl married Dâwûd ‘alaihis-salâm’. However, Allâhu ta’âlâ did not like it because of the fact that Teshama was a betrothed girl. After Dâwûd ‘alaihis-salâm’ realised that he had blundered, he repented and Allâhu ta’âlâ forgave him.” There is no clear information in the Qur’ân al-kerîm on this matter. Nevertheless, it is revealed that Hadrat Dâwûd always had fear of Allah; he had been granted knowledge of science and the ability to distinguish right from wrong. In the 24th verse of Chapter Sâd, it is purported that he had imploringly prostrated himself before Allâhu ta’âlâ to be granted a just decision in a matter concerning a sheep; he always begged Allâhu ta’âlâ for mercy, and he was very prayerful. All the Islamic scholars unanimously agree with the fact that the myth of Urya was added to the Tawrat and the Bible afterwards. Though these invented stories called “Isrâeleyyat” infected some ignorant Muslims, Islamic scholars declared they were myths.
Sulayman[108] [’alaihi’s-salâm] the son of Dâwûd (’alaihi’s-salâm) succeeded his father and became the prophet and the sovereign of the Israelites. He could speak to jinns, wild animals and birds. The era of Sulaymân (’alaihi ’s-salâm) was the best era for the Israelites. Until the era of Sulaymân (’alaihi ’s-salâm) Jewish sovereigns did not know what a palace was. The house of Tâlut, mentioned above, was not so different from that of an ordinary peasant. It is he who, for the first time, established the city of Jerusalem and built a palace there. He had a lot of buildings, palaces, gardens, ponds, places to slaughter animals, and places of worship built. The name of his most magnificent temple, built in Jerusalem, was Masjîd-i Aqsâ (Bayt-i Muqaddas/The House of the Holy One.) He invited Phenician architects to build this mosque. And the creatures called “jinn” worked on the construction. The construcçtion materials used in this building were very valuable. It appeared as if it was a piece of shining gold when it was seen from afar, and the people looking at it could not help becoming overawed. The construction lasted for seven years. Unfortunately, this beautiful masjîd was burned by Buhtunnasar, the second of the Assyrian sovereigns, when he captured Jerusalem. Though Kayhusrav repaired it, afterwards the Romans burned it again. It states in the book Kâmûs-ul ’a’lâm: “After that disaster, the restoration, building and improvements in Jerusalem were not done by the Israelites. Later, Byzantine emperors repaired Masjîd-i Aqsâ, and they named Jerusalem “Ilia.” Our Prophet Muhammad (sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam) performed prayer in Masjîd-i Aqsâ. The city of Jerusalem was conquered by Muslims in the 16th year of the Hegira, during the time of Hadrat ’Umar (radiy-Allâhu ’anh). The present masjîd was built during the time of Abdulmalik (rahima-hullah).” The remaining foundation walls are called “The Wailing Walls” by present day Jews, and they pray in front of these Walls.
The best and the richest city in the world was Jerusalem during the era of Sulaymân (’alaihi ’s-salâm). Countless stories are told among the people about the palaces built by Sulaymân (’alaihi ’s-salâm) in Jerusalem, and about the rooms and the valuable furnishings in them. It can be said that no sovereign, up to now, has lived as magnificient a life as that of Sulaymân (’alaihi ’s-salâm). Sulaymân (’alaihi ’s-salâm) had numerous wives and jâriyas (female slaves). Since he attached great importance to trade, he got richer all the time. He adorned his palaces with new, valuable, and beautiful goods and fed an untold number of valuable horses, birds and other animals. Every day, thirty cows, one hundred sheep, dozens of deer and gazelles were slaughtered in his palace. Sulaymân (’alaihi ’s-salam) always kept the peace and tried to establish friendships and good relationships with his neighbours. He married Pharaoh’s daughter who was his neighbour; furthermore, he invited Balkîs, the Queen of Sheba, to the true religion. He extended friendship to her, and according to Islamic historians, he married her, too. The fact that Balkîs was invited to the true religion by Sulaymân (’alaihi ’s-salam) is written in the 29-32 verses of Chapter Naml in the Qur’ân al-kerîm.
Sulaymân (’alaihi ’s-salâm) was an extremely just sovereign like all the other Prophets (aleyhimussalawâtu wattaslîmât). “The justice of Solomon” has been taken as an example for justice all over the world, and so has that of Umar (radiy-Allâhu ’anh). Sulaymân (’alaihi’s-salâm) tolerated other faiths. In spite of the protest made by fanatical Jews, he had temples for other religions built, too. So, he was given regard and respect all over the world and became a good example. He carried out the Sharia (religious law) of his father, Dâwûd (’alaihi ’s-salâm).
Sulaymân (’alaihi ’s-salam) is written about in the Qur’ân al-kerîm. The meaning of the 12th verse of Chapter Saba is: “To Sulaymân We subdued the wind, travelling a month’s journey morning and evening. We made a font of molten brass to flow for him. And there were jinns that worked in front of him, by the leave of his Lord. And if any of them turned aside from our command, We made him taste of the penalty of the blazing fire.” And the meaning of the 30-39th verses of Chapter Sad is: “To Dâwûd We gave Sulaymân as a son. He was a good slave. Ever did he turn to Us. One evening, his prancing steeds were ranged before him. Sulaymân said: “My love for the good things of life has caused me to forget my Lord. For now, the sun has vanished behind the veil of darkness.” He was very sorry. “Bring them back to me” [he said], and he started to cut their legs and necks. [He delivered their meat to the poor.] Then he did turn to Us. He said: “O my Lord! Forgive me. And grant me such power as shall suit none after me.
For You are the Grantor of bounties (without measure). So We subdued the wind to him, so that it blew at his bidding wherever he directed it; and the devils, too, among whom were builders and divers and others bound with chains. Such are Our gifts. Whether you bestow them on others or withhold them. No account will be asked. In the world to come he shall be honoured and well received.” According to Jewish and Christian publications, three parts of the Holy Bibles in their hands have been quoted from the Book of Solomon (’alaihi ’s-salam). These are “The Proverbs,” “Ecclesiastes,” and “The Songs of Solomon.” It is said in the Torah that the wind, the birds and the other animals were at Solomon’s (’alaihi ’s-salâm) disposal. He could speak their languages. The birds and the other animals immediately did whatever they were ordered. Various constructions were completed in a short time with the help of spirits who were under his control.
During the time of Sulaymân (’alaihi ’s-salâm), the people were given civil rights more than in the era of Dâwûd (’alaihi ’s-salam). According to new laws a father had innumerable rights over his children. A child, no matter how old he was, had to fulfill the orders of his father. The share of inheritance for the older child was doubled. For those matters concerning engagements or marriages, the prominent ones of the family were given authority. The candidates had to accept the ones selected for them. A divorced woman was paid some money called “mahr.” A widow with or without children had to marry her brother-in-law. The first child after this marriage was judged to belong to the dead husband; therefore, the child was the dead husband’s legitimate heir. A man was given permission to marry more than one woman.
After Sulaymân’s (’alaihi ’s-salâm) passing away, the Israelites broke into twelve tribes, which struggled against one another. The divisions had started before the death of Sulaymân (’alaihi ’s-salâm). But, with the help of Allâhu ta’âlâ, Sulaymân (’alaihi ’s-salâm) managed to keep them united. Rehoboam, the son of Sulaymân (’alaihi ’s-salâm) became his successor. But, only two of the twelve tribes followed him. The state of Israel divided into two parts. One of them was named “Israel” and ten of the tribes settled in it. The remaining two tribes formed the “Yahûda” state. This state presided over Jerusalem. Eventually, they lost their morality. Allâhu ta’âlâ became angry with them and punished them. They lived for some time under the control of the Assyrian state. Buhtunnasar (Nebukadnezar), the sovereign of the Assyrian state, destroyed and burned down the city of Jerusalem in 587 B.C. By force, he expelled them from Jerusalem to Babylonia. But, after Keyhusrav (Cyrus) the Shah of Iran defeated the Assyrians, he allowed the Israelites to return to Jerusalem. They attempted to repair the burned city of Jerusalem. First, they lived under the sovereignty of Iran and then under Macedonia. The Romans entered Jerusalem in 64 B.C. They destroyed and burned down the city again. The Romans, once again, devastated Jerusalem in 70 A.D. It was Titus, the Roman emperor, who burned Jerusalem to the ground.
While the Israelites were under the control of the Romans, Îsâ (’alaihi ’s-salâm) was born. During the days of those calamities, the original copies of the Torah were destroyed. Some new books were written and were given the name Torah. Many foreign passages and even myths were added to them. That is why Allâhu ta’âlâ sent Îsâ (’alaihi s-salâm) as a prophet to convert the Israelites (and other human beings) back to the right path. The Israelites did not want to accept Îsâ (’Alaihi ’s-salâm) as a prophet. They were waiting for a prophet exactly like the one explained in the Torah. They thought that the Prophet would be very powerful, very brave and that he would successfully do whatever he wanted, and that they would be saved from the hands of the Romans with the help of that Prophet. When they saw that Îsâ (’alaihi ’s-salâm) was a very tenderhearted man, they did not like him. They thought that he was a false prophet. They slandered his mother, Hadrat Maryam (the Virgin Mary). Today there are about 15 million people known as Jews. No one among them follows the true Tawrat (Torah). According to the “Britannica of the Year,” the international almanac, it is questionable if they all believe in the same religion since there are so many sects among Jews.
The RELIGION of CHRISTIANITY
Îsâ (Jesus) [’alaihi ’s-salâm] was sent to improve the religion of the Israelites. That means, true Christianity is only the reformed religion of the Israelites. Îsâ (’alaihi ’s-salâm) says in the seventeenth verse of the fifth chapter of the book of Matthew, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the Prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.” It will be unnecessary to repeat the same explanations given in the section “Qur’ân al-kerîm and the Bibles,” but we kindly request our dear readers to refer to that section. The original Bible containing the initial scriptures of Christianity conveyed by Hadrat Îsâ (’alaihi ’s-salâm) was changed many times and a great deal of foreign scriptures and myths were added. As a result of these invented myths being mixed with the words and orders of Allâhu ta’âlâ, the Bible lost the characteristics of being a holy book. In his Turkish book Izâhulmerâm fî Kashfîz-zulâm, the great Islâmic scholar Alhaj Abdullah Ibn Dastân Mustafa (rahimahullâhu ta’âlâ), who died in 1303 [1885], explains what the book that was sent to Hadrat Îsâ and that was mentioned in the Qur’ân al-kerîm was. That book states as follows: “When the Jews tried to kill Hadrat Îsâ (’alaihi ’s-salâm), they seized him and burnt the Bible he had with him or they tore it into pieces. Until that time, the Bible itself had not yet been spread all over the world, and his religion and Sharia (religious laws) had not been established. This was due to the fact that Îsâ (’alaihi ’s-salâm) had preached his religion for only two and half or three years. Also for this reason no possibility existed of finding another copy of the Bible. His apostles were few and most of them were uneducated; therefore, it was impossible for them to have had other written proofs. Up to that time, the Bible had not been written down, but it had been memorized by Îsâ (’alaihi ’s-salâm), only. This may be another possibility: In the spiritual council of Nicaea (Iznik), 325 years after Christ, a large number of Bibles were burned as a result of being judged ‘false, wrong or baseless.’ Perhaps, the real Bible was burned among them.”
Today’s Christian world admits that many foreign words were inserted into the Bible resulting in the actual orders of Allâhu ta’âlâ and the words of His human slaves being mixed together. No doubt, the Bible was originally in the Hebrew language. Later, it was translated into Latin and Greek. While translating the Hebrew Bible into Greek, a lot of mistakes were made. Furthermore, because of the fact that the Greek idolaters opposed the idea of “One Allah,” they tried to adapt the Bible itself to the philosophy of Plato. Consequently, the dogma of the Trinity (union of three), which is completely unreasonable, was introduced into the Bible. According to the philosophy of Plato, it is not good to worship many idols by making specific idols for specific gods. Plato’s Philosophy also claims that god is the union of three. The first one is the “Father.” This is the greatest creator and the father of the other two gods. He is the first hypothesis.
The second is the visible creator who is the vizier of the Father who is invisible. This word means logos and perception. The fact that Îsâ (’alaihi ’s-salâm) is called “logos,”holy word, by Christians, and they believe in him as “god” is written at the beginning of the book of John. The third one is the universe (nature), the visible and the known. So, the Romans and the Greeks tried to make Christianity a philosophy. Îsâ (’alaihi ’s-salâm) said: “I am only a man, just like you.” In spite of this, they accepted him as the son of Allah. Going even further, they invented something called “the Holy Ghost.” They claimed that there were three divine persons —Father, Son and Holy Ghost— whose unity forms the Christian God. However, the word “Father” used in the Hebrew Bible meant that Allâhu ta’âlâ was almighty. And the word “son” used for Hadrat Îsâ meant that he was the “beloved slave of Allâhu ta’âlâ,” not something else. The Holy Ghost was the power of prophethood granted to Hadrat Îsâ by Allâhu ta’âlâ. This fact is told in the Qur’ân al-kerîm, in the twelfth verse of Chapter Tahrîm as follows: “And Mary the daughter of Imrân, 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 (slaves).”
In early Christianity, there was no such thing as “Trinity.” The above-mentioned Islamic Scholar Dastân Mustafa (rahima hullah) says: “The idea of the ‘Trinity’ was suggested first by a priest named Sibelius, two hundred years after Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’. Until that time, people believed that Allah was one and that Hadrat Îsâ (’alaihi ’s-salâm) was His Prophet. The concepts suggested by Sibelius were furiously rejected by many Christians. Fights broke out between churches and much blood was shed. In a history book, written during that time and translated from French into Arabic, this fact is substantiated. In the year 200 A.D., only the idea of ‘Father’ and ‘Son’ had been suggested. The idea of the ‘Holy Ghost’ was added 181 years later by a religious council held in 381 during the time of Theodosius, the Byzantium emperor. There were many popes, opposed to this decision.’ Pope Honorius never believed in the “Trinity.” Although Honorius was excommunicated, some years after his death, new sects were formed that were opposed to the idea of the “Trinity.” Even drawing invented pictures of Hadrat Îsâ, making his statue, putting them into churches, deeming the cross sacred, and the other matters like them caused much trouble, even bloody flights, but they were accepted by the church 700 years later.
They have changed the fundamentals of Christianity: the Pope is believed to be infallible; the priests have been given the authority of confession; man is condemned to have been born a sinner. Although it was written in the Injil (Bible), they disbelieved the final Prophet, Muhammad (’alaihi ’s-salâm). Even today, they are continuously changing the so-called Bible. All these facts have provoked Allâhu ta’âlâ’s wrath. The holy meaning of the 171st ayât of Sûra Nisâ is: “Oh, people of the book! Do not exaggerate in your religion! Tell nothing except the truth about Allah. Isâ, the son of Maryam, was merely Allah’s messenger. And a creature created by His order “Be!” which He bestowed into Mary, and a spirit from Him. Believe in Allah and His Prophet. Do not say: “Three!” Stopping (it) will be better for you. Allah is only one Allah. He is beyond having any son. He created whatever is in Heaven and whatever is on Earth.”
Using the word “Spirit” to mean “Îsâ” (’alaihi ’s-salâm) in that ayât (verse) has been interpreted with different meanings. It means that Gabriel (’alaihi ’s-salâm) cast him into Mary and after she had been breathed upon, she became pregnant. That breathing done by Gabriel (’alaihi ’s-salâm) is referred to as “spirit.” Or, the Spirit here means revelation from Allâhu ta’âlâ. Hadrat Mary was given good news by means of this word, and also Gabriel (’alaihi ’s-salâm) was ordered to breathe upon her, and Îsâ (’alaihi ’s-salâm) was given the order “Be!” Or, it is the order “Be!” It is said that the relation between Allâhu ta’âlâ and the spirit is just like the relation between a man’s speech and his breath.
It is declared to those who changed the Bible in the seventy-nineth verse of Chapter Baqara in the Qur’ân al-kerîm: “Woe to those who write the Scriptures with their own hands and then say: ‘This is from Allah,’ in order to gain some paltry end. Woeful shall be their fate, because of what their hands have written, because of that which they have gained.”
The holy meaning of the 1-4 âyats of Surâ Ikhlâs: “Say that Allah is One and Only. He is free of all needs. Everything depends on Him. He has no son nor father nor partner. There is no person like unto Him.”
We quoted the story below from the Turkish book Diyâ-ul-kulûb by Ishaq Effendi (rahima-hullâhu ta’âlâ) of Harput, Turkey:
Two Jesuit[109] priests went to the city of Kanton for the first time in order to Christianize the Chinese people. They asked the governor of Kanton for permission to preach the Christian religion. The governor took no heed of them. But when the Jesuits annoyed him by coming to him every day (and soliciting for permission), he said at last, “I have to ask the Faghfûr [Emperor] of China for permission for this. I shall let him know.” So he reported the matter to the Emperor of China. The answer was: “Send them to me. I want to know what they want.” Upon this he sent the Jesuits to Peking, the capital of China. This news caused great alarm among the Buddhist priests. [They begged the emperor to expel the Jesuits from the country on the grounds that “These men are trying to imbue our people with a new religion which emerged under the name Christianity. These men do not recognize the Holy Buddha. They are going to misguide our people.”] The emperor said, “We must listen to them first. Then we will decide.” He made an assembly of the eminent statesmen and clergy of the country. Inviting the Jesuits, he told them to explain to the assembly what the principles of the religion they wanted to promulgate were. Upon this the Jesuits made the following discourse:
“God, the Creator of heaven and earth, is one. Yet at the same time, He is three. God’s only Son and the Holy Ghost, too, are a God each. This God created Adam and Eve and put them in Paradise. He gave them all kinds of blessings. Only, He commanded them not to eat from a certain tree. Somehow the Satan deceived Eve. And she, in her turn, deceiving Adam, they disobeyed God’s command by eating fruit from the tree. Therefore God deported them from Paradise and sent them to the world. Here they had children and grandchildren. They were all sinful because they had been depraved by the sin committed by their grandfather. This state lasted six thousand years. Eventually God pitied human beings, yet He found no other way than sending His own son for the expiation of their sin and immolating His only son as an atonement of the sin. The Prophet we believe in is Jesus the Son of God. There is a city called Jerusalem in a region called Palestine to the west of Arabia. In Jerusalem there is a place called Jelîla (Galilee), which has a village named Nâsira (Nazareth). One thousand years ago there lived a girl named Maryam (Mary) in this village. This girl was betrothed to her paternal first cousin, but she was a virgin yet. One day, as she was alone, the Holy Ghost appeared and put the Son of God into her. That is, the girl became pregnant, virgin as she was. [Then, as she and her fiance were on their way to Jerusalem, she had a child in a stable in Beyt-i-lahm (Bethlehem). They placed the Son of God into the manger in the stable. The monks in the east, who knew that he was born when they saw that a new star suddenly emerged in the sky, set out for him with presents in their hands, and at last they found him in this stable. They prostrated themselves before him. The Son of God, called Jesus, preached to God’s creatures until he was thirty-three years old. He said, ‘I am the Son of God. Believe in me. I came to save you.’ He displayed numerous miracles, such as resuscitating the dead, making the blind see again, making the lame walk, curing the leprous, stopping sea-storms, feeding ten-thousand people with two fish, changing water into wine, withering a fig tree with one (hand) signal because it did not yield any fruit in winter, and so forth. Yet very few people believed in him. Eventually, the treacherous Jews betrayed him to the Romans, thus causing him to be crucified. However, three days after dying on the cross, Christ resurrected and showed himself to those who believed in him. Then he ascended to heaven and sat on the right hand side of his Father. And his Father left all the matters of this world over to him. And He Himself withdrew. This is the basis of the religion we are going to preach. Those who believe in this shall go to Paradise in the hereafter, and those who do not shall go to Hell.”
Listening to these words, the Chinese Emperor said to the priests, “I shall ask you some questions. Answer these questions.” Then he began asking his questions, “My first question is this: You say on the one hand that God is one and on the other hand that He is three. This is as nonsensical as saying that two and two make five. Explain this theory to me.” The priests could not answer. They said, “This is a secret that belongs exclusively to God. It is beyond the human comprehension.” The Faghfûr (Emperor) said, “My second question is this: God is the almighty creator of the earth, heaven, and all the universe, and yet, on account of a sin committed by one person, He ascribes the blame on all his progeny, who are completely unaware of the (sinful) deed (committed by their forefather); is this possible? And why is it that He did not find any other way than sacrificing His own son as an atonement for them? Is it worthy of His Majesty? How will you answer this?” The priests, once again, could not answer. “This, too, is a secret peculiar to God,” they said. The Faghfûr said, “And my third question: Jesus asked the fig tree to give fruit prematurely, and then withered it because it would not give fruit. It is impossible for a tree to give fruit out of season. Despite this fact, would it not be cruelty for Jesus to get angry with the tree and wither it? Could a Prophet be cruel?” The priests could not answer this, either. Instead, they said, “These things are spiritual. They are God’s secrets. The human mind cannot comprehend them.” Upon this, the Chinese Emperor said, “I give you the permission (you want). Go and preach in any part of China.” When they withdrew from the Emperor’s presence, the Emperor turned to those who were present, and said, “I do not presume that anyone in China would be so stupid as to believe in such absurdities. I therefore find nothing wrong in allowing these men to preach these superstitions. I feel certain that, after listening to them, our compatriots will see that there are such idiotic tribes over the world and think even more favourably of their own faith.”
What the Fagfûr said was so true. Even though 2000 years have passed since those days, and in spite of the great efforts made by Christian missionaries, they have not been able to convert the Chinese nation to Christianity.[110]
As far as it is understood through the books we have read in different languages, Hadrat Maryam (Mary) lived alone in one of the rooms of Bayt-ul Muqaddas (Masjîd-i Aqsâ). Nobody entered that room except Zacharias (Zakariyya [’alaihi’s-salâm]). The angel Gabriel (’alaihi ’s-salâm) revealed to Hadrat Maryam (Mary) that she would have a son who would be a prophet, though she was a virgin. One of the legends in the book Mir’ât-i kâinât states: “While Hadrat Mary (Maryam) was having a bath in her aunt’s and Zacharias’ (âlaihi ’s-salâm) house, Gabriel (’alaihi ’s-salâm) appeared as a human and breathed on her. As a result, she became pregnant. She went to the “Bayt-ul-lahm” together with her uncle’s son, Joseph (Yusuf) Najjâr. Îsâ (Jesus [’alaihi’s-salâm]) was born there. Then, they went to Egypt. They lived there for twelve years. They eventually moved to Nazareth and settled there. When Îsâ (Jesus) was thirty he became a prophet. For this reason, the people who believed in Îsâ (Jesus [’alaihi’s-salâm]) were called “Nasrânî” and all the Nasrânî people were called “Nasâra.” According to the Bible, when Îsâ was born, a new and bright star appeared in the sky. But, according to some philosophers and communists this entire story is a myth. No one was ever named Îsâ (Jesus). According to Ernest Renan, a professor at the University of Paris, Mary married Yusuf (Joseph). Îsâ (Jesus [’alaihi’s-salâm]) was born normally. He even had brothers and sisters as well. This assertion by Renan caused him to be excommunicated by the Pope. But, his ideas were immediately accepted by atheists.
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