An illustration of Prophet Essa's (son of Virgin Maryam) birth

[Zainab_M]

Here is a painting, attempting to illustrate the atmosphere and surroundings during the birth of Prophet Essa, son of Virgin Maryam.  It's probably been painted by a Christian artist from Palestine or Syria.

Can we compare it with the facts of the Noble Quran to confirm the extent of the authenticity of this portayal?


Sorry for the watermark done by stupid Photobucket; it wants us to pay for the link of this pic, those greedy idiots. 


ALSO CHECK OUR POST:
"Was December 25th the birth date of Jesus son of Virgin Mary?"
http://muslimvilla.smfforfree.com/index.php?topic=996.msg2712#msg2712

[Zainab_M]

For analysing the illustration and comparing its information with the information of the Quran, the following are the various Quranic verses on the Virgin Mary and Prophet Essa, son of Virgin Mary, for references:


Verses 3:33-37   (On the birth of Mary)
"Lo! Allah preferred Adam and Noah and the Family of Abraham and the Family of 'Imran above (all His) creatures.   They were descendants one of another. Allah is Hearer, Knower. (Remember) when the wife of 'Imran said: My Lord! I have vowed unto Thee that which is in my belly as a consecrated (offering). Accept it from me. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Hearer, the Knower!  And when she was delivered she said: My Lord! Lo! I am delivered of a female - Allah knew best of what she was delivered - the male is not as the female; and lo! I have named her Mary, and lo! I crave Thy protection for her and for her offspring from Satan the outcast. And her Lord accepted her with full acceptance and vouchsafed to her a goodly growth; and made Zachariah her guardian. Whenever Zachariah went into the sanctuary where she was, he found that she had food. He said: O Mary! Whence cometh unto thee this (food) ? She answered: It is from Allah. Allah giveth without stint to whom He will."

Verses 3:43-44 (Virgin Mary preferred above all women of creation for her purity)
And when the angels said: O Mary! Lo! Allah hath chosen thee and made thee pure, and hath preferred thee above (all) the women of creation.  O Mary! Be obedient to thy Lord, prostrate thyself and bow with those who bow (in worship). This is of the tidings of things hidden. We reveal it unto thee (Muhammad). Thou wast not present with them when they threw their pens (to know) which of them should be the guardian of Mary, nor wast thou present with them when they quarrelled (thereupon).

Verses 3:45-47 (announcing to Virgin Mary of the birth of her son, Essa)
"(And remember) when the angels said: O Mary! Lo! Allah 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 Allah).   He will speak unto mankind in his cradle and in his manhood, and he is of the righteous.  She said: My Lord! How can I have a child when no mortal hath touched me ? He said: So (it will be). Allah createth what He will. If He decreeth a thing, He saith unto it only: Be! and it is." 

Verses 19:16-35 (Birth of Essa, son of Virgin Mary)
"And make mention of Mary in the Scripture, when she had withdrawn from her people to a chamber looking East, And had chosen seclusion from them. Then We sent unto her Our Spirit and it assumed for her the likeness of a perfect man. She said: Lo! I seek refuge in the Beneficent One from thee, if thou art God-fearing. He said: I am only a messenger of thy Lord, that I may bestow on thee a faultless son. he said: How can I have a son when no mortal hath touched me, neither have I been unchaste ?  He said: So (it will be). Thy Lord saith: It is easy for Me. And (it will be) that We may make of him a revelation for mankind and a mercy from Us, and it is a thing ordained.  And she conceived him, and she withdrew with him to a far place.  nd the pangs of childbirth drove her unto the trunk of the palm-tree. She said: Oh, would that I had died ere this and had become a thing of naught, forgotten!  Then (one) cried unto her from below her, saying: Grieve not! Thy Lord hath placed a rivulet beneath thee, And shake the trunk of the palm-tree toward thee, thou wilt cause ripe dates to fall upon thee. So eat and drink and be consoled. And if thou meetest any mortal, say: Lo! I have vowed a fast unto the Beneficent, and may not speak this day to any mortal.  Then she brought him to her own folk, carrying him. They said: O Mary! Thou hast come with an amazing thing.  O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a wicked man nor was thy mother a harlot.  Then she pointed to him. They said: How can we talk to one who is in the cradle, a young boy ? He spake: Lo! I am the slave of Allah. He hath given me the Scripture and hath appointed me a Prophet, And hath made me blessed wheresoever I may be, and hath enjoined upon me prayer and almsgiving so long as I remain alive, And (hath made me) dutiful toward her who bore me, and hath not made me arrogant, unblest. Peace on me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I shall be raised alive! Such was Jesus, son of Mary: (this is) a statement of the truth concerning which they doubt.  It befitteth not (the Majesty of) Allah that He should take unto Himself a son. Glory be to Him! When He decreeth a thing, He saith unto it only: Be! and it is."


Verse 4:171 (Jesus son of Mary was only a messenger of Allah, and trinity is Haram!)
"O People of the Scripture! Do not exaggerate in your religion nor utter aught concerning Allah save the truth. The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only a messenger of Allah, and His word which He conveyed unto Mary, and a spirit from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers, and say not "Three" - Cease! (it is) better for you! - Allah is only One God. Far is it removed from His Transcendent Majesty that He should have a son. His is all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth. And Allah is sufficient as Defender."

Verse 3:59  (birth of Jesus son of Virgin Mary was same as the creation of Adam)
"Lo! the likeness of Jesus with Allah is as the likeness of Adam. He created him of dust, then He said unto him: Be! and he is."

[Ruhi_Rose]

Hummm ,, this looks like a nice pic.  A very good idea to analyse it in accordance with Quranic information.  Overall, it seems pretty much compatible with Quranic information but there could be minor flaws. 

This place may be similar to Virgin Mary's chamber where she used to be in seclusion worshiping Allah and the place where she used to be given food from Allah.   The place where Virgin Mary received the announcement of the birth of Prophet Essa might have been a similar place, probably the same chamber facing East as mentioned in the Quran.

The illustration of this place of shelter or an ancient room or chamber looks quite suitable for the kind of rooms or chambers of the first century.   Apparently the place consisted of muddy floors and walls .. the familiar rudimentary structures of those times, thus, grazing animals  could also stay in those chambers.  The ones we see in the picture are goats, sheep, poultry and a donkey.   

No one seems to be dressed in very warm clothes which is again an evidence that Jesus wasn't born in winter.  Such chambers would be extremely cold, almost freezing, in the month of December in Palestine.  People living in earthen chambers like these would definitely need to wrap themselves in blankets and warm shawls.  But the picture shows the usual summer or at best, autumn, clothing of the first century as worn by people in middle-class homes.   

However, what seems unauthentic is that the baby illustrated as Jesus looks like any other infant which Jesus was not.  Jesus spoke a lot from his cradle and he should have been painted as such instead of showing him sleeping peacefully like any other baby.

[Heba E. Husseyn]

Pic maybe acceptable but only Allah knows best.  As some Christian concepts claim, Jesus was born in a stable, that indeed is not true as the Quran gives NO reason to believe that.  This place doesn't look like a stable either so that too makes it in conformity with the Quran.  The Quran mentions the birth of Jesus but never is there any mention of a stable or any similar place as the spot where Jesus son of Virgin Mary was born.  After conceiving him she withdrew to a far place.  Then the pangs of childbirth drove her near a palm tree which provided Mary with dates to eat and Allah Almighty caused a rivulet to flow beneath it.  It was at this time that Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus.  Also, it doesn't sound like winter time because  dates don't grow in winter.  And neither does this place nor the place where Virgin Mary withdrew earlier are mentioned as a "stable."   This picture doesn't resemble a stable, but quite full of harmless animals.  Though this isn't in the Quran either, only Allah Almighty knows what the real surroundings were when Virgin Maryam brought the infant, the Prophet who spoke from the cradle, before the people.

I presume the elderly man beside Virgin Mary is her guardian, Zakariya.

[N. Truth Seeker]

However, what seems unauthentic is that the baby illustrated as Jesus looks like any other infant which Jesus was not.  Jesus spoke a lot from his cradle and he should have been painted as such instead of showing him sleeping peacefully like any other baby.

Yes, agree with this.

Otherwise the painting seems okay.  It's a simple one and doesn't seem to contradict the reality too much as most biblical pictures do. 

Of course, this pic is well after the birth of Essa, son of Virgin Mariam, after she had brought him to her community and they saw the miracle of Essa speaking from the cradle.  The actual event of Essa's birth was in an undislcosed location as described in Verses 16 to 35 of Chapter 19 of the Noble Quran quoted in the above post by sister Zeynab.  Thus, no one can confirm the exact location nor the settings of Prophet Essa's (son of Mariam) birth.  Only Allah would know that.

[Zainab_M]

Thanks for all the wonderful talkback. 

I agree brother PT

I presume the elderly man beside Virgin Mary is her guardian, Zakariya.

Yes, sister Heba.  It can only be Zakariya and no one else. 

.... what seems unauthentic is that the baby illustrated as Jesus looks like any other infant which Jesus was not.  Jesus spoke a lot from his cradle and he should have been painted as such instead of showing him sleeping peacefully like any other baby.

Very correctly perceived Sister Ruhi.

Pic maybe acceptable but only Allah knows best.  As some Christian concepts claim, Jesus was born in a stable, that indeed is not true as the Quran gives NO reason to believe that.  This place doesn't look like a stable either .. After conceiving him she withdrew to a far place.  Then the pangs of childbirth drove her near a palm tree which provided Mary with dates to eat and Allah Almighty caused a rivulet to flow beneath it.  It was at this time that Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus.  Also, it doesn't sound like winter time because  dates don't grow in winter.  And neither does this place nor the place where Virgin Mary withdrew earlier are mentioned as a "stable."   This picture doesn't resemble a stable, but quite full of harmless animals.  Though this isn't in the Quran either, only Allah Almighty knows what the real surroundings were when Virgin Maryam brought the infant, the Prophet who spoke from the cradle, before the people. 

Thank you dear Sster Heba, very well analyzed.