Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah - Ibn Kathir - (6/427)

Al-Bidayah wa an-NihayahIbn Kathir

…over me. A man from among the Jews used to own me, and whenever I mentioned you I would stumble, whereupon he would strike me painfully.’

The Prophet ﷺ said, ‘Then you are Yaʿfūr.’ 1

This ḥadīth is gravely problematic, and there is no need to cite it in the presence of the sound reports already mentioned, which render it superfluous. It has also come down to us in versions different from this one, and Ibn Abī Ḥātim transmitted from his father that he judged it defective. Allah knows best.

A word on what Jesus son of Mary (peace be upon him) was granted. He is called al-Masīḥ 2 for several reasons that have been proposed: because he traversed the earth; because of the anointing of his feet; because he emerged from his mother’s womb already anointed with oil; because Gabriel anointed him with blessing; because Allah wiped sins away from him; or because he never laid his hand on anyone without curing him. Ḥāfiẓ Abū Nuʿaym (may Allah have mercy on him) related all of these explanations.

Among his distinctive qualities is that he (peace be upon him) was created by the divine word from a woman without a man—just as Eve was created from a man without a woman, and as Adam (peace be upon him) was created without either, for Allah fashioned him from earth and then said to him, ‘Be!’ and he was (Āl ʿImrān 3:59). Likewise, Jesus came into being by that word and by Gabriel’s breath into Mary, from whom Allah created him.

Another privilege shared by him and his mother is that when he was born, Satan—may Allah curse him—attempted to stab him but was stopped by a veil, as is authentically reported. 3

He is further distinguished by the fact that he is alive and has not died; his physical body is now in the lowest heaven. Before the Day of Resurrection he will descend upon the eastern white minaret of Damascus, will fill the earth with equity and justice after it has been filled with tyranny and oppression, and will rule in accordance with this Muhammadan law. After that he will die and be buried in the Prophet’s chamber, as related by al-Tirmidhī. 4 We have treated this subject at length in his biography earlier in this book.

Our teacher, the eminent scholar Ibn al-Zamlakānī (may Allah have mercy on him), said: Among the miracles of Jesus (peace be upon him) is the raising of the dead. The Prophet ﷺ possessed many examples of that as well, and reviving lifeless objects is an even greater marvel than reviving the dead. The poisoned foreleg spoke to the Prophet ﷺ, and that restoration surpasses the revival of a dead human being in several respects:

It involved bringing to life only a single part of an animal, not its entire body—something miraculous even had the part remained attached.
That part was made alive while completely detached from the rest of the animal, whose remaining parts were dead.
Life was restored to it together with perception and intellect, although the animal in normal life lacks rational faculty; thus the part became alive and endowed with understanding.
Allah enabled it to articulate speech, even though it had never been able to speak…

(1) This report is mentioned by Qadi Iyad in al-Shifa (vol. 1, p. 314) and by al-Suhayli in al-Rawḍ al-Anf and al-Fuṣūl fī Sīrat al-Rasūl (p. 259). Al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Kathīr relates: “I asked our shaykh Abū al-Ḥajjāj al-Muzzī about this report, and he said that it has no basis and is a fabrication.” (2) The correct view is that al-Masīḥ is a laqab; its Hebrew origin is mashīya, and in Arabic it means “the Truthful (al-Ṣiddīq).” (3) It is narrated by al-Bukhārī in his Ṣaḥīḥ (no. 3286) under the chapter on the Beginning of Creation. (4) It is narrated by al-Tirmidhī in his Sunan, in the Virtues (Manaqib) section (no. 3617), who commented: “This hadith is ḥasan gharīb, and its isnād is weak.”

رجل من اليهود، وكنت إذا ذكركَ عثرتُ به، فيُوجعني ضربًا. فقال النبي ﷺ : "فأنتَ يعفورُ" (١) . وهذا الحديث فيه نكارةٌ شديدة ولا يُحتاج إلى ذكره مع ما تقدَّم من الأحاديث الصحيحة التي فيها غُنيَةٌ عنه، وقد رُوي على غير هذه الصِّفة، وقد نصَّ على نكارته ابن أبي حاتم عن أبيه، والله أعلم. القول فيما أُوتي عيسى ابن مريم (عليه السلام) ويُسمَّى المسيح (٢) ، فقيل: لمسحه الأرض، وقيل: لمسح قدمه، وقيل: لخروجه من بطن أمه ممسوحًا بالدهان، وقيل: لمسح جبريل بالبركة، وقيل: لمسح الله الذنوب عنه، وقيل: لأنه كان لا يمسحُ أحدًا إلا برأ. حكاها كلَّها الحافظُ أبو نعيم (رحمه الله) . ومن خصائصه أنه (عليه السلام) مخلوق بالكلمة من أُنثى بلا ذكر، كما خُلقت حواء من ذكر بلا أُنثى، وكما خُلقَ آدم (عليه السلام) لا من ذكر ولا من أنثى، وإنما خلقه الله تعالى من تراب، ثم قال له: ﴿كُنْ فَيَكُونُ﴾ [ال عمران: ٥٩] . وكذلك يكون عيسى بالكلمة وبنفخ جبريل مريم فخلق الله منها عيسى. ومن خصائصه وأمه أن إبليس لعنه الله حين وُلد، ذهبَ يطعن فطعنَ في الحجاب كما جاء في الصحيح (٣) . ومن خصائصه أنه حيٌّ لم يمت، وهو الآن بجسده في السماء الدنيا، وسينزل قبلَ يوم القيامة على المنارة البيضاء الشرقية بدمشق، فيملأ الأرض قسطًا وعدلًا، كما مُلئت جورًا وظلمًا، ويحكمُ بهذه الشريعة المحمَّدية، ثم يموتُ ويُدفن بالحجرة النبوية، كما رواه الترمذي (٤) . وقد بسطنا ذلك في قصته من كتابنا هذا. وقال شيخنا العلامة ابن الزملكاني رحمه الله تعالى: وأما معجزات عيسى (عليه السلام) ، فمنها إحياء الموتى، وللنبيّ ﷺ من ذلك كثير، وإحياء الجماد أبلغ من إحياء الميت، وقد كلَّم النبيَّ ﷺ الذراعُ المسمومةُ، وهذا الإحياء أبلغ من إحياء الإنسان المَيِّت من وجوه، أحدُها: إنَّه إحياءُ جزءٍ من الحيوان دون بقيَّة بدنه، وهذا معجز لو كان متصلًا بالبدن. الثاني: أنه أحياه وحدَه منفصلًا عن بقية أجزاء ذلك الحيوان مع موت البقية. الثالث: أنه أعاد عليه الحياة مع الإدراك والعقل، ولم يكن هذا الحيوانُ يعقل في حياته فصار جزؤه حيًّا يعقل. الرابع: أنه أقدره الله على النطق والكلام ولم يكن

(١) ذكره القاضي عياض في "الشفا" (١/ ٣١٤) والسهيلي في "الروض الأنف" وفي "الفصول في سيرة الرسول ﷺ " (ص ٢٥٩) قال الحافظ ابن كثير: سألت شيخنا: أبا الحجاج المزي عن هذا الخبر، فقال: ليس له أصل وهو ضحكة. (٢) الصواب أن المسيح لَقَبٌ، وأصله في العبرانية مشيحا، ومعناه في العربية: الصديق. (٣) رواه البخاري في صحيحه (٣٢٨٦) في بدء الخلق. (٤) رواه الترمذي في سننه في المناقب رقم (٣٦١٧)، وقال: هذا حديث حسن غريب، وفي إسناده ضعف.