| “Verily, the likeness of Jesus before Allah is the likeness of Adam. He created him from dust, then He said to him: “Be!” – and he was”…. |
As is well known, Jesus Christ (pbuh) is one of the most popular and controversial personalities in history. To some, he is seen as God, to others he is the son of God. Muslims in particular, however, view Jesus Christ as a messenger of God, who was sent to spread God’s word and obey his commands, as did Moses (pbuh), Noah (pbuh), Abraham (pbuh) and those who were sent before him, as well as Muhammad (pbuh) who was sent after him. Muslims have a most honourable regard for Jesus, and belief in him is a condition of Islam.
While it may come as a surprise to some, the Qur’an is in fact a great source for anyone wishing to learn about Jesus Christ! The Qur’an speaks with utmost respect and beauty of this Holy Messenger and his mother Mary.
There is no doubt that there are people who are sceptical about the Qur’an and consider it the written word of Muhammad, and it is the duty of a Muslim to acknowledge and respect all opinions, so long as they can be logically and fairly proven.
There are also people who deny the Prophets and the miracles that came with them. Among those are the miracles of the creation of Adam and Jesus Christ. God’s response to those rejecting such miracles is: (Verily, the likeness of Jesus before Allah is the likeness of Adam. He created him from dust, then He said to him: “Be!” – and he was.) [Al-Imran: 59].
In examining this verse, we notice that God Almighty tells us that Jesus Christ, like Adam (pbuh), was created without a father. Similarly, both were Prophets, and both presented a miracle in the way in which their exemplary morals and behaviour were different from those of ordinary people. This is the Islamic argument; that Jesus cannot be regarded as divine simply because he had no father, because if that holds true, then Adam must also be considered divine as he had neither a father nor a mother.
But the question is: How can this verse really convince someone who simply rejects the Qur’an as the true word of God? After all, a sceptic has every right to be sceptical, but along with this scepticism comes a right upon him to seek proof in order to erase any doubt beyond question! So is there any physical proof for the truth of these words? Is there something, within this verse, that can tangibly prove the proposed similarities between Jesus and Adam? No judgment is made in the words to follow; this is left for the reader to contemplate.
What is interesting is that this connection between Jesus and Adam is not merely confined to the meaning of the verse as explained above. This connection even exists with regards to the various mentions of both Jesus and Adam in the Qur’an.
To explain further, if we look for the word ‘Jesus’ in the Qur’an, we find that it is mentioned 25 times in the Qur’an. Similarly, if we look at the mention of ‘Adam’ in the Qur’an, we find, again, that it is mentioned exactly 25 times!
It is only natural for an atheist, probably even a Muslim, to consider this a coincidence. Therefore, we must look further, and see whether God Almighty has deposited in this verse any consistent numerical symmetry that could destroy any possibility of coincidence.
Now, reflecting on the various verses where Jesus and Adam are mentioned, we find that the previous verse – (Verily, the likeness of Jesus before Allah is the likeness of Adam) – is the only verse in the Qur’an where both Jesus and Adam were mentioned collectively. In no other verse do the two names meet; this gives the verse a pivotal importance in our discussion.
Furthermore, and amazingly enough, the number of times the word Adam was mentioned from the beginning of the Qur’an up to this crucial verse is 7 times, and the number of times Jesus was mentioned from the beginning of the Qur’an up to this verse is also 7 times!
To better illustrate this beautiful consistency, each of the 25 verses mentioning Jesus and Adam are listed below in their order of appearance in the Qur’an:
| REFERENCES TO ‘ADAM’ IN THE QUR’AN | |||
| Verse | Chapter Number | Verse Number | |
| 1 | And he taught Adam all the names | 2 | 31 |
| 2 | He said : O Adam! Inform them of their names | 33 | |
| 3 | Prostrate yourselves before Adam | 34 | |
| 4 | O Adam! Dwell thou and thy wife in the Garden | 35 | |
| 5 | Then Adam received Words from his Lord | 37 | |
| 6 | Indeed! God chose Adam | 3 | 33 |
| 7 | Verily, the likeness of Jesus before Allah is the likeness of Adam | 59 | |
| 8 | Recite to them the truth of the story of the two sons of Adam | 5 | 27 |
| 9 | Then We bade the angels bow down to Adam | 7 | 11 |
| 10 | O Adam! Dwell thou and thy wife in the Garden | 19 | |
| 11 | – O Children of Adam! We have bestowed raiment upon you | 26 | |
| 12 | O Children of Adam! Let not Satan deceive you | 27 | |
| 13 | O Children of Adam! Look to your adornment at every place of worship | 31 | |
| 14 | O Children of Adam! If there come to you Messengers | 35 | |
| 15 | And (remember) when thy Lord brought forth from the Children of Adam | 172 | |
| 16 | Prostrate to Adam | 17 | 61 |
| 17 | Verily We have honoured the Children of Adam | 70 | |
| 18 | Prostrate to Adam | 18 | 50 |
| 19 | of the offspring of Adam | 19 | 58 |
| 20 | And indeed We made a covenant with Adam before | 20 | 115 |
| 21 | Prostrate yourselves to Adam | 116 | |
| 22 | O Adam! Verily, this is an enemy to you and to your wife | 117 | |
| 23 | O Adam! Shall I lead you to the Tree of Eternity | 120 | |
| 24 | Thus did Adam disobey his Lord, so he went astray | 121 | |
| 25 | Did I not ordain for you, O Children of Adam, that you should not worship Satan | 36 | 60 |
| REFERENCES TO ‘JESUS‘ IN THE QUR’AN | |||
| Verse | Chapter
Number |
Verse
Number |
|
| 1 | We gave Jesus the son of Mary Clear Signs | 2 | 87 |
| 2 | and that given to Moses and Jesus, and that given to (all) prophets from their Lord | 136 | |
| 3 | to Jesus the son of Mary We gave clear (Signs) | 253 | |
| 4 | Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a word from Him, whose name is the Messiah, Jesus | 3 | 45 |
| 5 | Then when Jesus came to know of their disbelief | 52 | |
| 6 | O Jesus! I will take you and raise you to Myself | 55 | |
| 7 | Verily, the likeness of Jesus before Allah is the likeness of Adam | 59 | |
| 8 | and that given to Moses and Jesus, and that given to (all) prophets from their Lord | 84 | |
| 9 | And because of their saying : We killed the Messiah Jesus son of Mary | 4 | 157 |
| 10 | we sent inspiration to Abraham, Isma’il, Isaac, Jacob and the Tribes, to Jesus | 163 | |
| 11 | The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only a messenger of Allah | 171 | |
| 12 | We sent Jesus the son of Mary, confirming the Law that had come before him | 5 | 46 |
| 13 | by the tongue of David and of Jesus the son of Mary | 78 | |
| 14 | O Jesus , son of Mary! Remember My favour unto thee and unto thy mother | 110 | |
| 15 | O Jesus the son of Mary! can thy Lord send down to us a table spread | 112 | |
| 16 | Jesus, son of Mary, said: O Allah, our Lord | 114 | |
| 17 | O Jesus, son of Mary! Didst thou say unto mankind: Worship me and my mother | 116 | |
| 18 | And Zachariah and John and Jesus and Elias | 6 | 85 |
| 19 | Such is Jesus, son of Mary | 19 | 34 |
| 20 | and from Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus | 33 | 7 |
| 21 | that which We commended unto Abraham and Moses and Jesus | 42 | 13 |
| 22 | When Jesus came with Clear Signs | 43 | 63 |
| 23 | We sent after them Jesus the son of Mary | 57 | 27 |
| 24 | And remember Jesus the son of Mary | 61 | 6 |
| 25 | As said Jesus the son of Mary to the Disciples | 14 |
The above facts demonstrate the accurateness of the Qur’an in its depiction of Jesus and Adam, not only in terms of meaning, but also in terms of context and numerical symmetry. Both prophets are mentioned 25 times, and the sole place where they meet together is at the point where both happen to be mentioned for precisely the seventh time. In addition, anyone who reads the Qur’an will note that this is not a deliberate play on words to simply preserve consistency; meaning and context are never lost throughout the verses of this Holy Book.
Finally, this is simply one out of thousands of similar examples that have been discovered in the Qur’an, and the question is whether all these can come by chance? Or is it in fact God Almighty who preserved this perfect balance? This is left to the reader’s discretion, but regardless the answer, the ever-present challenge of the Qur’an to all of mankind and angels still resonates today: (Say: If the whole of mankind and the Jinns were to gather together to produce the like of this Qur’an, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they backed up each other with help and support.) [Al-Isra’: 88].
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By: Abduldaem Al-Kaheel
