for it was the blast of the Resurrection, and the terror of that Day turned the hair of my head, my eyebrows, and even the lashes of my eyes white. She then turned to her mother and said, “Mother, what drove you to make me taste the agony of death twice? Be patient, Mother, and seek your reward, for I have no desire for this worldly life. O Spirit of God and His Word, ask my Lord to return me to the Hereafter and to ease the pangs of death for me.”

He prayed to his Lord; her soul was taken, and the earth settled over her. When this reached the Jews, their anger toward him only increased (1).

We have already mentioned, immediately after the story of Noah (2), that the Children of Israel asked him to bring Shem the son of Noah back to life. So he called upon God and prayed to Him (3); God revived Shem for them, whereupon he told them about the Ark and its affair. Then Jesus prayed again, and Shem returned to dust.

Al-Suddi narrated—from Abū Ṣāliḥ, and Abū Mālik from Ibn ʿAbbās—in a report he related, that a king from among the Children of Israel died and was carried on his bier. Jesus came, supplicated God, and God revived him; the people beheld something awe-inspiring and astonishing.

Allah, and He is the truest of speakers, says:

“When Allah said, ‘O Jesus, son of Mary, remember My favor upon you and upon your mother: when I strengthened you with the Holy Spirit so that you spoke to people in the cradle and in maturity; when I taught you the Book and wisdom, and the Torah and the Gospel; when you fashioned from clay the likeness of a bird, by My permission, then breathed into it and it became a bird, by My permission; when you healed the blind and the leper, by My permission; and when you brought the dead forth alive, by My permission; and when I restrained the Children of Israel from you when you came to them with clear proofs, but those of them who disbelieved said, “This is nothing but evident sorcery.” (110) And when I inspired the disciples, “Believe in Me and in My Messenger,” they said, “We believe, so bear witness that we are Muslims.”’” [al-Māʾidah: 110–111]

Allah reminds him of His favor and kindness: that He created him without a father—only from a mother without the involvement of a man—making him a sign to people and a proof of Allah’s perfect power, and then sent him forth. He likewise reminds him “and upon your mother,” in that He chose and selected her for this tremendous blessing, establishing proof of her innocence against the slanders of the ignorant.

Hence His words, “when I supported you with the Holy Spirit,” namely Gabriel, who conveyed the spirit into your mother and accompanied you during your mission, defending you against those who denied you; “you spoke to people in the cradle and in maturity,” meaning you called people to God both as an infant in the cradle and later in adulthood; “and when I taught you the Book and wisdom,” that is, writing and understanding, as some of the early scholars stated (4), “and the Torah and the Gospel.”

His saying, “and when you fashion from clay the likeness of a bird, by My permission,” means you form and shape it from clay to resemble a bird (5) at God’s command; “then you blow into it and it becomes a bird, by My permission”—that is, by My command; the Most High reiterates the permission to remove any misconception.

And His saying, “and you heal the blind”—some of the early scholars said it refers to one born blind, for whom none of the physicians has any remedy