Mary and Jesus in Islam

The Disciples

Allah Almighty has said, “But when Jesus perceived disbelief on their part, he said: Who will be my helpers in Allah's way? The disciples said: We are helpers (in the way) of Allah: We believe in Allah and bear witness that we submit (to Him in Islam)” (Qur'an, 3:52). The Almighty has also said, “And when I inspired the disciples saying: Believe in Me and in My messenger, they said: We believe and (you) bear witness that we are Muslims (submitters to the will of Allah)” (Qur'an, 5:111), that is, Allah enabled the disciples to believe in His messenger.

They were the elite from among those who believed in Jesus son of Mary and who followed him. They were his supporters and viziers, and they were twelve in number. Their names are: Simon al-Safa who is also called Peter, his brother Andrews, Jacob son of Zebedee, his brother John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew al-Ashshar (collector of the `ushr tax, the tithe[^1]), Jacob son of Halfa, Leah who is also called Thaddaeus, Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot. Biblical lists of them, however, differ from this one.

The “saints” who wrote the Gospels named after them are: John, Mark, Luke, and Matthew. Let us see what Christians tell us about them:[^2]

[^1] It is a tax on agricultural produce, goods, or personal items set aside as an offering to God. Very few Christians nowadays pay it. Here in the U.S., taxes collected by federal, state, social security, insurance, etc. take out about 30% of one's hard earned income, leaving him in need for charity himself!

[^2] The following text material is excerpted from two sources: The Columbia Viking Desk Encyclopedia (The Viking Press, New York, 1968), and the Encyclopedia Britannica III.

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St. Mark was a friend of Saints Peter, Paul, and Luke. He is John Mark; his mother is believed to be the owner of the house where the Last Supper (where the Table of Viands, or al-Ma'ida) was held. His Gospel is the shortest and simplest, the only one which stands out from among all the other three in context and in spirit. Some Biblical critics are of the view that it was the first to be composed. It narrates the life of Jesus from his baptism by John the Baptist to the passion and alleged “resurrection”.

St. Luke, a man from Antioch[^1], Syria, was said to be a doctor, a physician, and a friend and companion of Saints Paul and Mark. Christian tradition, however, says that he was a painter and that he died as a martyr. He is described as “a disciple of the apostles”[^2] which clearly means he learned not directly from Jesus but from his twelve apostles. His Gospel provides an account of the birth of Jesus, tells of his ministry and ends with the passion and alleged “resurrection”. He is author of a twelve-volume literary work, the Gospel and the Acts, and is the most literary of the New Testament writers. The approximate date of his death or “martyrdom” is given as 66 A.D.

St. Matthew, also named Levi, is said to be a publican (tax collector) of Capernaum, a city in northeast Palestine on the Sea of Galilee. He was employed as a tax collector by Herod Antipas, tetrach of Galilee. He is described as one of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ. He is author of the first synoptic Gospel which, like the rest, gives an

[^1] The city of Antioch is situated on the banks of the river al-Asi (Orontes). It was founded about 300 B.C. by Celeucus I (Nicator) who died in 280 B.C. Celeucus I was a general of Alexander the Great. Antioch is the city where the followers of Jesus Christ were called “Christians” (rather than Nazarines) for the first time. It is the seat of a Melchite, or Maronite, and a Jacobite patriarch. It fell to the Persians in 538 A.D., to the Arabs in 637 (16 A.H.), to the Byzantians from 969 - 1084 (358 - 477 A.H.), to Seljuk Turks in 1085 (478 A.H.), to the Crusaders in 1098 (491 A.H.), to Egyptian Mamlukes in 1268 (666 A.H.), and to Ottoman Turks in 1516 (922 A.H.). It was transferred to Syria by Western powers in 1920 (1339 A.H.) but restored to Turkey in 1939 (1358 A.H.). This is why the reader sometimes sees Antioch identified as a Syrian town and sometimes as a Turkish one! What a busy little town!

[^2] Encyclopedia Britannica II, Vol. 11, p. 178.

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account of the birth of Jesus, tells of his ministry, and ends with the passion and alleged “resurrection”. The Bible offers scanty and uncertain information about him. Everything about his character, conduct, conviction and life is subject to debate and is never ascertained... He wrote his Gospel, the first of the four, in Hebrew. His Gospel is also attributed to Matthew who is said to be one of the twelve apostles or disciples.

St. John is the son of Zebedee, a fisherman from the Galilee, and Salome. He is the younger brother of St. James the Greater, also one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. Jesus Christ, we are told, also had a brother named James...! Ancient Christian tradition claims that John is the author of all the four Gospels comprising the Bible..., in addition to three epistles and the Book of Revelation.

Is he really?! This is the subject of debate among Christians; so, let us leave them debating and arguing till the Day of Judgment! He is described in Christian books as a “divine,” theologian, and as an Evangelist, a writer of the four Gospels. No date of his birth or death is available, and even the place where he died is not known for sure. Some writers admit that what is written about him is more of a legend than a fact.

One is tempted to ask: “Why is it that there are four Gospels instead of one? Why is there so much duplication and difference between one Gospel and another? Whose Gospel is the right or the more reliable one? Since they cannot all be right, which one is right? If those Gospels were all written by St. John, as stated above, why, then, are they divided into four with each one of them bearing the name of an apostle? Had they all been written by St. John, why was not the Bible called the Book of John?” My bet is that if you ask a priest or even the most learned Christian cleric, he will never give you a straight answer to any of these legitimate questions.