Re: [IN URDU] Will History repeats itself ?
Assalamu Alaykum,
For each of the issues that have been raised, I will address them in different responses to keep a track of everything myself.
In this part, I will address the two narrative of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) in which Isa Ibn Mariyam (Jesus son of Mary) and Ibn Mariyam (son of Mary) are used.
Before addressing this particular issue, it is important for us to understand the way Arab names are composed and used by the Arabs. Not understanding Arab names can cause a lot of confusion especially for the people of the sub-continent who are often times not able to understand the naming conventions.
In the simple forms, an Arab name is composed of the following parts:
1) Given name (ism), e.g. in my case, it would be Omer
2) Kunyah, containing a term of relationship, such as father, mother, brother, son, sisters etc. In my case, it would be ibn Iqbal. When followed by Omer, according to Arabic rules, it would become bin Iqbal.
3) Laqab, which I do not have, but given to some men for some quality that he possesses. For instance, Abu Bakr Siddique has Siddique as Laqab.
The remaining components of an Arab name are not important for our discussion so I will not go in those details.
The name components of Jesus (pbuh) are the following:
Given Name: Jesus (Isa)
Kunyah: ibn Mariyam (son of Mary)
Laqab: Al-Masih (Messiah)
Arabs may refer to the same person using one or multiple components of the names. So for instance, Abu Bakr is also known as Abu Bakr Siddiqui. However, in our purpose, we need to establish whether only one component suffices as a complete name or not. In this regard, the following references shall help:
W. M. Thackston in "An Introduction to Koranic and Classical Arabic" writes,
"An individual may be known by any one or more of his names." (Ibex Publishers, 2000, p 182)
J. A. Haywood, H. M. Nahmad in "A new Arabic grammar" write,
"In the case of authors and other famous historical characters, the name by which a man is popularly known may be any one of the above three elements, e.g.
a) Al-Khalil bin Ahmad is known as Al-Khalil;
b) Abul-Hussain Muhammad bin Jubayr is known as Ibn Jubayr;
c) Muhammad bin Jarir At-tabari is known as At-tabri from Tabaristan, his place of birth." (Lund Humpries, 1965, p 360)
From this, we can conclude that prophet Jesus (pbuh), who is a famous historical character, can be mentioned by Arabs using any one of: Jesus (isa), ibn Mariyam (son of Mary), Al-Masih (Messiah) along with any combination of these. Now if we look at the name of the prophet Jesus (pbuh), it has been used in Quran as "Al-Masih Isa Ibn Mariyam" in the following verse:
"(And remember) when the angels said: O Mary! Lo! God giveth thee glad tidings of a word from him, whose name is the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, illustrious in the world and the Hereafter, and one of those brought near (unto God)." (Al-e-Imran 3:45)
If we look at other verses in Quran, we shall find that Quran has often times used different methods of referring to prophet Jesus (pbuh). For instance:
Use of only Al-Masih:
"The Messiah will never scorn to be a slave unto God, nor will the favoured angels. Whoso scorneth His service and is proud, all such will He assemble unto Him;" (An-Nisa 4:172)
Use of only Jesus:
"The similitude of Jesus before God is as that of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him: "Be". And he was." (Al-e-Imran 3:59)
Use of Jesus, son of Mary:
"Such was Jesus, son of Mary: (this is) a statement of the truth concerning which they doubt." (Mariyam 19:34)
Use of Al-Masih, son of Mary:
"The Messiah, son of Mary, was no other than a messenger, messengers (the like of whom) had passed away before him. And his mother was a saintly woman. And they both used to eat (earthly) food. See how We make the revelations clear for them, and see how they are turned away!" (Al-Maidah 5:75)
And finally the use of son of Mary only:
"And We made the son of Mary and his mother as a Sign: We gave them both shelter on high ground, affording rest and security and furnished with springs." (Al-Muminoon 23:50)
As you can see, Quran has not only mentioned son of Mary but also mentioned about her mother who have been made a sign. In other words, this is a direct reference to prophet Jesus (pbuh).
In some of the narratives of the Prophet (pbuh), we shall find a similar usage of the names for the same person. For instance,
"Abu Huraira reported God's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: While I was asleep I saw myself on a well with a leathern bucket on a pulley. I drew (water) out of that as God wished me (to draw). Then the son of Abu Quhafa (Abu Bakr) drew from it one bucketful or two and there was some weakness in drawing that (may God forgive him). Then that bucket (changed into a large bucket) and Ibn Khattab drew it. I did not see any strongest man drawing it like 'Umar bin Khattab. He brought out so much water that the camels of the people had enough to drink and then laid down (for rest)." (Sahih Al-Muslim No 5890)
As you can see, it is generally the way Arabs use their name. It is indeed my belief that such confusions only exist in subcontinent where people do not understand Arab names well.
I hope this clarifies that the two narrative of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) really talk about the same person, and taking that to be a different person is not only a stretch, rather incorrect and against the Arab's usage of names.
I hope this issue has been clarified.
Best Wishes,
Omer Iqbal