Tafheem ul Quran
Surah 5 Al-Ma'idah, Ayat 116-120
وَاِذۡ قَالَ اللّٰهُ يٰعِيۡسَى ابۡنَ مَرۡيَمَ ءَاَنۡتَ قُلۡتَ لِلنَّاسِ اتَّخِذُوۡنِىۡ وَاُمِّىَ اِلٰهَيۡنِ مِنۡ دُوۡنِ اللّٰهِؕ قَالَ سُبۡحٰنَكَ مَا يَكُوۡنُ لِىۡۤ اَنۡ اَقُوۡلَ مَا لَـيۡسَ لِىۡ بِحَقٍّؕ اِنۡ كُنۡتُ قُلۡتُهٗ فَقَدۡ عَلِمۡتَهٗؕ تَعۡلَمُ مَا فِىۡ نَفۡسِىۡ وَلَاۤ اَعۡلَمُ مَا فِىۡ نَفۡسِكَؕ اِنَّكَ اَنۡتَ عَلَّامُ الۡغُيُوۡبِ
﴿5:116﴾
مَا قُلۡتُ لَهُمۡ اِلَّا مَاۤ اَمَرۡتَنِىۡ بِهٖۤ اَنِ اعۡبُدُوا اللّٰهَ رَبِّىۡ وَرَبَّكُمۡۚ وَكُنۡتُ عَلَيۡهِمۡ شَهِيۡدًا مَّا دُمۡتُ فِيۡهِمۡۚ فَلَمَّا تَوَفَّيۡتَنِىۡ كُنۡتَ اَنۡتَ الرَّقِيۡبَ عَلَيۡهِمۡؕ وَاَنۡتَ عَلٰى كُلِّ شَىۡءٍ شَهِيۡدٌ
﴿5:117﴾
اِنۡ تُعَذِّبۡهُمۡ فَاِنَّهُمۡ عِبَادُكَۚ وَاِنۡ تَغۡفِرۡ لَهُمۡ فَاِنَّكَ اَنۡتَ الۡعَزِيۡزُ الۡحَكِيۡمُ
﴿5:118﴾
قَالَ اللّٰهُ هٰذَا يَوۡمُ يَـنۡفَعُ الصّٰدِقِيۡنَ صِدۡقُهُمۡؕ لَهُمۡ جَنّٰتٌ تَجۡرِىۡ مِنۡ تَحۡتِهَا الۡاَنۡهٰرُ خٰلِدِيۡنَ فِيۡهَاۤ اَبَدًا ؕ رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَنۡهُمۡ وَرَضُوۡا عَنۡهُ ؕ ذٰ لِكَ الۡـفَوۡزُ الۡعَظِيۡمُ
﴿5:119﴾
لِلّٰهِ مُلۡكُ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَالۡاَرۡضِ وَمَا فِيۡهِنَّ ؕ وَهُوَ عَلٰى كُلِّ شَىۡءٍ قَدِيۡرٌ
﴿5:120﴾
(5:116) And imagine when thereafter Allah will say: 'Jesus, son of Mary,
did you say to people: "Take me and my mother for gods beside Allah?"130
and he will answer: "Glory to You! It was not for me to say what I had no right
to. Had I said so, You would surely have known it. You know all what is within
my mind whereas I do not know what is within Yours. You, indeed You, know fully
all that is beyond the reach of human perception. (5:117) I said to them nothing except what You commanded me, that is: 'Serve
Allah, my Lord and your Lord.' I watched over them as long as I remained among
them; and when You did recall me, then You Yourself became the Watcher over
them. Indeed, You are Witness over everything. (5:118) If You chastise them, they are Your servants; and if You forgive
them, You are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise."' (5:119) Thereupon Allah will say: 'This day truthfulness shall profit the
truthful. For them are Gardens beneath which rivers flow. There they will abide
for ever. Allah is well- pleased with them, and they well-pleased with Allah.
That indeed is the mighty triumph.' (5:120) To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and all
that is in them and He has full power over everything.
Notes
130. The Christians were not content merely with deifying Jesus and the Holy
Spirit. They even turned Mary, the mother of Jesus, into a full-fledged object
of worship. The Bible does not contain even the remotest suggestion that Mary
was in any way either divine or superhuman. During the first three centuries
after the Messiah, such a concept was totally alien to Christian thinking. Towards
the end of the third century of the Christian era, however, some theologians
of Alexandria employed, for the first time, the expression 'Mother of God' in
connection with Mary. Subsequently, belief in Mary's divinity and the practice
of Mariolatry began to spread among Christians. Even then, however, the Church
was not prepared to accord official approval to this belief and denounced the
Mariolaters as heretics. It was not until the Council of Ephesus in 431 that
the Church officially used the expression 'Mother of God' for Mary. The result
was that Mariolatry began to spread fast within the Church itself, so much so
that, by the time of the revelation of the Qur'an, Mary had become so important
a deity that she obscured even the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Statues
of Mary adorned the cathedrals. She became the object of rites and worship.
People addressed their prayers to her. She was regarded as the one who responded
to people's supplications, who heeded people's grievances and complaints, who
relieved them in distress, who provided support and succour to the helpless.
For a devout Christian there could be no greater source of comfort and inner
strength than the belief that he enjoyed the support and patronage of the 'Mother
of God'. In the preamble of his code, Justinian had declared Mary to be the
defender and supporter of his empire, and his general, Marses, sought Mary's
guidance on the battlefield. Heraclius, a contemporary of the Prophet (peace
be on him), had a picture of Mary on his standard and he was confident that
by her grace the standard would never be lowered. Several centuries later the
Protestants argued strongly against Mariolatry during the movement which led
to the Reformation. The Roman Catholic Church has, nevertheless, managed so
far to cling to Mariolatry in one form or another.